Everyone scattered out of the way as Tiberius returned. The hawk dropped a weird looking creature on the rooftop before landing on a metal exhaust. The pets gaped at the strange being before them. "That doesn't look like Max," Mel whispered to Buddy, who nodded his head quietly in agreement.
"Are you an alien?" Norman asked.
"For your information, I'm a cat," the strange creature hissed. Tiberius growled menacingly, "Harm one hair on his head and I will kill you."
"Lovely..." Chloe muttered.
"When I told you to find Max, I didn't say anything about a cat," Gidget pointed out. "You described Max as a roguishly handsome brown and white shorthair with a sparkle in his eyes," Buddy piped up. Sweetpea let out a loud chirp.
"Can I leave?" the cat grumbled. "Where's your fur if you're a cat?" Mel questioned. Huffing, the cat snarled, "I lost it to a dog. A very large dog. I won that fight too."
"Spit it out!" Tiberius snapped, glowering at the feline. Confused, Gidget was about to ask when the cat started coughing. The pets watched in horror as he hacked up a weird object. Seeing it, Sweetpea flew over to a corner and started throwing up. Recognizing it, Gidget cried, "It's Max's collar! Where is he?"
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"I'm sorry, if you wanna talk to Ozone, aka me, I believe he's unavailable at the moment," the cat, who had just introduced himself as Ozone, sneered. He was suddenly snatched by Tiberius, who held him over the rooftop as he growled, "Tell us where Max is or I will find out if you cats actually land on your feet!"
"We do land on our feet," Chloe grumbled. Mel and Buddy shared a sideways glance.
"Tiberius, that's not how we make friends," Norman squeaked. Sighing, the old hawk threw Ozone back on the roof. "Too stupid to talk and too ugly to eat..." he muttered under his breath as he passed the hairless feline. Hissing, Ozone growled, "I'ma shred ya into a waffle!"
Stepping forward, Gidget spoke softly to Ozone, "Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice."
