Upon enrolling Boriss and Gino into the tour, the group exit the building to the sight of approag dusk. With the world dimming, Gdius seems to e to life in colored firelight. The streets, formerly smothered in your everyday worker, are now repced by those who excel when darkness reigns above. Women walk the streets in skimpy outfits while men stride about with purses bulging. Rich jewelry glistens from the firelight, attrag both wanted and unwatention.

  “I’m getting some Las Vegas vibes right now.”

  “Is that a city?” Gond asks.

  “It is.” I look at the old man. “Gond, before I fet, how on are skills that tell a css? I’m not keen on having people knowing I’m more than just a kitten.”

  “Extremely rare. Gdius only has three who tell csses uheir employ- Lye being a very rare case on at of her css.”

  “Which is?” I urge.

  “Something that she prefers to keep to herself.”

  Of course she does.

  “Fine. Just tell me where I gamble on Boriss winning.”

  “Tomorrow in the coliseum before the tour starts. There will be betting booths. You make a lot of profit if you win.” Gond expins.

  Gino chuckles. “After the thirty pert cut to Gdius. If you really want to make money, gamble in the undercrust. They barely take any cut.”

  I perk up. “The undercrust?”

  “Illegal gamblihat get you arrested.” Gond warns.

  “The [Guards] don't care what goes on down there.” Gino frowns slightly. “They never care.”

  “I should mention that I am to report ahat gambles illegally to Gdius authority.

  The smart thing for me to do is to ighe kids words and avoid the Undercrust- whatever that very iing pce is. It would be stupid and illogical to involve myself in such a clearly illegal location where clearly illegal and dangerous activity is happening.

  “Gino, how’s your wounds? Are you still sore?”

  The kid shifts his shoulder with a grunt. “U-ughhh. Yea, a bit. But I’ll be good tomorrow.”

  I shake my head. “You don’t look good.” I hop off of Gond’s shoulder and nd on the kids.

  “W-what?”

  “Rex, you’re clearly not at your best. And I, the magnanimous cat that I am, will escort you bae. In the meantime, Gond, you escort Boriss bay ship. He o rest.”

  Gond rolls his eyes while Boriss gives me a grin. Boriss, the smart former prisohat he is, removes his -bag from his hip and throws it at Gino. The kid catches it, nearly dropping it from the ued weight. “rade Fluffy is hungry, yes? Snack is good, yes?”

  “Good idea Boriss. I 't exactly escort pino on ay stomaow I? Gino, take me to a restaurant, preferably one a bit underground that serves something with a nice crust.”

  Gond shakes his head, though he does have a slight smile. “I’ll make sure Boriss returns to the Timbergrove. Just try to keep out of trouble. There are a lot of Buxon who find cats to be a delicacy.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind. Gino!” I tap the side of the kid's head, “Onwards to adventure!”

  _______________________________________________________

  Sore and tired, Gino wants nothing more than to steal something to eat and go to sleep. Unfortunately, the cat on his shoulder clearly has a different idea in mind.

  The thought of pushing the cat off and running away with the pouch does e to mind, but so does the bloody grin from Boriss. The man won a fight he shouldn’t have, just to make sure Gino ehe tour. As much as he he money, it’s not worth it if he betrays the person who gave him that ce.

  “So, you mentioned you need moo buy your sister's freedht? What's the deal with that?”

  Gino frowns and looks down as the guilt hits him. “It's plicated.”

  “Kid, yiving me I screwed up big time vibes right now. I hope you realize my curiosity just keeps on increasing.”

  “I said it’s plicated. You wouldn’t uand.”

  “Of course I would. I’m a cat, remember. There's a reason why cats have nine lives, and it’s absolutely, pletely, undeniably not because we make safe, perfectly sane decisions that we never ever Ever regret. Uand?”

  “Cat’s have nine lives?” Gino asks.

  “... right. Different worlds, different sayings. Look, Gino, you’re clearly guilty as fuck. You ooze guilt like diarrhea oozes out of my ass. It’s messy, it stinks, and if you don't wipe it away with a versation, it’s going to attract flies. So just do the right thing and tell me what ails your puckered butthole.”

  Gino stops as his brain attempts to prehend what he’d just heard. “What?” he look at the cat that grins expetly on his shoulder. “You’re weird.”

  “Yea, but I’m not the oh an infmed ass.”

  The absurdity of the situation and what he’d just heard gives way to ughter. A pained ughter that slowly shits to tears. Gines to a nearby wall and sits down with his back to it. “I screwed up.” The kid cries. “I shouldn’t have been so greedy!’

  The cat is no lrinning. Instead, his paw is affeately petting the kid's dirty-brown hair.

  “I stole. I stole the wrong thing from the wrong person and I got caught. It was supposed to be simple.”

  “I fucked up and my sister had to pay the price. I-if I’d only not taken the fug job.”

  “There there.” Quasi tinues patting. “I hope you realize you’re lucky.”

  The kid looks up at the cat with his tear-stri face. “How am I lucky?”

  The cat raises a paw. “Well, you’re alive. Your sister is alive. You clearly have a unlikely, but no impossible way of saving her, but most importantly you have an adorably cute kitten on your shoulder. That alone makes you the luckiest person alive- and it is only ynorahat keeps you from appreciating that.”

  “You’re an ass.”

  “At least mine isn’t infmed.”

  The kid snorts at the ent. He wipes his face with a dirty sleeve and stands up.

  “Feelier?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good. Now lead me to food and then this Undercrust.”

  “How about both?”

  “At the same time? That sounds absolutely Purrfect.”

  Sn again, Gino makes his way into one of the numerous entrao the undercrust.

  “So what exactly is the undercrust?”

  “It's the city uhe city.”

  “That’s not an expnation.”

  “Well, it's hard to expin. It might be better for you to see it first.”

  “Fine.”

  Turning into a dark hallway, two men be seen standing guard over a closed door. They g him as he approaches. Reag into his pocket, he fshes a bck card to the two guys.

  Seeing the card, one of them turns the handle, activating numerous runes which allow the door to open. As Gino moves to enter, an arm moves in the kid's way. “The boss wants to see you as soon as possible.”

  “Later. I o get-”

  “No. Now. You know how he is.”

  Gino g the cat on his shoulder.

  “Meoo.” The cat replies.

  “Just go. The boss doesn’t mind cats.”

  “Fine.”

  The guard removes his arm. “Good. Now go and mind your step.”

  Gino takes o look at the guy and starts heading dowairs until he is far enough away.

  “So, who is this boss? I hope you’re not pnning to sell me- not that he could afford me. I’m kinda one of a kind.”

  “He’s the gang-leader that screwed me over.”

  “Oh? And you still work for him?”

  “Once you’re in a gang, there's no way of getting out.”

  “Pshhhh. That's loser talk. Have you tried sughtering the entire gang? If you kill every member including the leader, then the gang ceases to exist. It’s not hard. I did it a couple months ago- though it did take me a while.”

  “You're crazy.”

  “Not the first time I’ve been called that, and it won't be the st. By the way, why is this so far down?”

  Gino doesn't answer because he already see the bottom of the stairs. At the bottom, he opens the door and walks through.

  “Oh shiiit. You weren’t joking when you said there is a city uhe city.”

  The undercrust is a massive underground cavern spanning nearly a quarter of Gdius in size and twice its height. Firelight bzes throughout the entire system, enlightening the entire cavern, making even the fighting rings all the way at the bottom visible.

  “Wele to the real Gdius- where dreams are made aroyed on the regur.”

  Quasi tinues assessing the cavern- ing ead every detail like a child at his first dy store. Not that Quasi hasn’t seen underground cities before- but it has been awhile since he’d seen one built underh an actual city.

  “Aight. Where to now? Foang?”

  The kid sighs. “I have to see the boss. I’d rather not get punished for taking my time.”

  “Aight. I’ll back you up if things turn violent.”

  Kid frowns. “It might be best for you to wait. He doesn’t like it when people are brought to him without him knowing.”

  “Yea, but he likes cats. The guard guy said so.”

  “But you’re not a cat.”

  “Of course I am. I mean, sure, I’m superior to every si you’ve probably ever dealt with before, but I am a cat.”

  “Cat’s don’t level or talk.”

  “What don’t you uand about me being superior? Anyway, enough talk. Let's go see the boss.”

  Gino groans but piles. He strides through the cavern, filled with all manner of sights, sounds, and vices. Drugs and women lihe streets like coe at a rapper's home. You ’t u, though you ig.

  “So, where is this gang and how many are there?”

  “There are three major undercrust gangs and seven minor ones. I’m part of the Vultures, which is one of the minor ones.”

  “hem all for me,” Quasi orders.

  Gino yawns a little. “Sure. The majangs are the Royals, the Crusts, and the Warriors. The minor ones are the Hogs, the Locust, the Fish, the Fox, the Fmingos, the Lions, Gambino, and the Vultures.”

  Quasi chuckles. “I love how the minangs have this animal theme going, and then there's Gambino - a literal Mafia.”

  “The Gambinos are hey’re not part of the inals.”

  “Alright, you’ve gained my i. What's the story with Gdius? How is there a city underground and how did these gangs e to be?”

  Gino shakes his head. “I don’t know the story too well but I know someone who does. We go meet her after I deal with the boss. We’re almost there.”

  Almost is an uatement, for the two walk a good five minutes until they reach Vulture territory. The gang members notice our arrival, but a single look turns their i away. They eventually arrive at a stone building carved halfway into the cavern.

  “Gino, you look like shit.” the [Guard] at the entranents.

  “I’m fine. Just had a bit of a tussle. I heard the boss wants to see me?”

  “He does- what's with the cat?”

  “Meooo.”

  Gino sighs. “It’s plicated. I just go see the boss? I’m kinda tired right now.”

  “Yea, yea.” The [Guard] opens the door and Gino makes his some stairs and stops at what seems like an offi. Gino knocks. “Boss, you wao see me?”

  “e in!”

  Mount and cat enter ihe spacious room where bookshelves don the walls and a single desk sits in the ter. Behind the desk is your typical tall, bony, gaunt, man with a bck suit that matches the goatee and the toupee. Yes, the man is bald, probably balding, and a skilled feline eye notices the minor discrepancies with ease.

  Staring at the man, his job title pops out as much as the gaunt look in the man's eyes.

  Vulturan Gallinae: Level 49 [Gang Leader]

  Then Quasi notices it. A ball of fluff on the man's desk.