Chapter Text
The only thing that could be felt around him was a cold, crushing pressure around his entire body, a feeling of helplessness, darkness, and actual terror of death. This was a feeling that he has never felt before. Tom had been in comical situations almost his whole life, he was a single cat in a world full of cartoon characters who always did wacky, creative things that no normal person could do. He had friends who chomped on carrots and lead his duck friends into comically funny shots from a hunter which made his beak spin backwards, a black and white cat who always chased a yellow bird to try and catch him, which always ended with the bird backfiring his attempts on him, to a coyote who always chased a road runner to make him a meal, which always ended in his own bought products blowing up in his face.
Tom was part of a similar lifestyle, in his life, he always chased a little mouse through different lifetimes and eras, as a cat, he had 9 lives where he's from. With 9 lives like that, one could think that could give him an advantage, to try and find a way to outsmart the little mouse finally, it gave him as much time as one could need to come up with the right kind of plan. But, as much as one may think that, for him, this couldn't be more wrong for him. No matter what he's done, no matter how clever he thought his plans or attempts could be, the mouse known as Jerry always found a way to outsmart him with his mischief and clever tricks, and his plans always blew up in his face no matter what he did, sometimes, quite literally for him.
But this.. this was different. It was supposed to be a simple global race for him to try and win a mansion after yet another chase with him got his home and owner's property destroyed, a race that could try and give him a home to enjoy for a while, even if it may be destroyed quickly later on if he encounters Jerry like he always does. It was a cycle for him, a cycle of a petty rivalry, planning a trap, and a humiliating backfire. He was always the butt of the joke, and Jerry always came out on top, no matter how clever he thought his plans were, it always failed, but normally, he'd just snap back to normal, brush any small pain he had away, and try to do it again until he finally got that little mouse.
But this event, completely changed everything for him.
All he could hear were muted alarm sounds as he felt a cold, crushing pressure rise up his body, a rising water that was going up past his chest, and quickly to his neck, the little sub he made for the race to try and win, it was another part of multiple places he had to go to fully win the race, and he was behind Jerry yet again during this race. He tried taking a shortcut, he tried finding a way to get past that little mouse and his clever traps, and win that mansion. All he simply wanted this time was a home so he couldn't be homeless, because if Jerry won it, he'd just rub it in his face as he got a home of luxury and warmth while he would get a cold, hard street if he didn't.
But right now, he was experiencing something worse, his vision was blurry, his heart was pounding at his own chest, and he felt genuine fear as the water went above his mouth, and then past his own eyes. Tom tried holding his breath, he tried clawing his way out of the sub to make an escape, he tried finding a door, an escape pod, anything to get him out of here, but he didn't find anyway out as his vision was getting too blurry. He felt the cold water crushing him as he tried to move, he crashed into an iceberg not too far ahead of the Artic ocean he was traveling through, by now Jerry was probably close to winning the next part of the race, but right now, he didn't care for it, he just wanted to get out, he wanted to try and swim to the surface, anything to get him out of here.
But he couldn't find any way out, because in his rush to build this thing from scrap, he didn't plan on making any proper escape pods for the sub part of his vehicle. He was trapped. And for the first time, Tom felt his luck running out, he couldn't even scream at risk of drowning quicker then he already was at risk of, the alarms began to muffle out, becoming more quiet as the walls around him cracked, and were crushed as the water flooded the small space he was driving the sub. He couldn't see any light, his heart was starting to beat so fast it felt it was going to burst out of his chest, this was.. actual pain, he has never felt pain this severe in his last 2 lives, but this one felt real, painfully real, one where a normal person could actually die too, with nothing to fish him out of it if he's even found.
"No.. please.. I.. I don't want to go.. like this.. I just wanted to win this race.. I just.. needed.. a home.. I need.. help.." Tom could barely even think this to himself as he felt his breath starting to leave him, he made a desperate cry for anyone who could find him, any network executive who wouldn't let their star die like this, anyone he knew who's been in similar situations to him, Sylvester, Daffy, Coyote, even his rival Jerry, he wouldn't care if he rubbed his victory in front of him if he was rescued, he just wanted to escape, he just.. wanted.. too..
Then.. that's when everything went dark for him, he felt his remaining air leave his lungs as his heart completely stopped, his eyes closed upon feeling the crushing depths swallow him alive, with his body being left to take the unfortunate fate he's found himself in, he was always stuck in a cycle of failing, but this one.. was the most harsh, and most crushing he's experienced yet. And everything for him just.. stopped.
In the last lingering moments of this life he blew out, he saw a single number appear in his mind as he felt his soul leave him.
3.
Adding up to 3 lives lost, with only 6 remaining now.
As a cat, 9 lives could be considered huge luck with them getting extra chances, but for the loss of this life, it made him believe one thing as he lost his 3rd life, the 9 lives weren't a miracle, they were a curse. And this loss, was the first one to help him realize how fragile he really was...
Tom felt nothing but the black void as he felt himself lose his 3rd life, with him losing it in what could be considered one of the worst ways to go out, it wasn't a comical punchline that would be something he can snap back from, he's experienced things that are far more humiliating in the eyes of the audience, but for this, it wasn't funny, it wasn't comical, it was horrific, it was painful, and one that no normal person could come back from. There was no" That's all folks" being heard as he felt everything go dark, he didn't feel the same kind of air he'd feel if he were to come back from being flattened, turned to dust, or blown to smithereens, he felt like a husk, and only now, he felt his soul coming back to him, but it was met with a cold, drop of rain that landed right on his nose.
Tom's ears were ringing as he felt himself waking up again after that horrific death, his heart was starting to beat again, and his chest was rising and falling again, he made a weak groan as his vision finally began to clear, and as they did, he saw dark rain clouds above him, with the sound of what felt like thunder as he saw a black brick wall next to him. And as Tom's eyes widened once he remembered what just happened, he made a painful gasp as he suddenly jumped up, his heart continued to pound at his chest as he clutched it, he felt an actual string of pain go through him as he finally woke up again.
He tried calming himself down as he felt himself come back to life for the 3rd time at this point, but the shock of his most recent death was still affecting him, he still felt the cold of the sea on his fur, the pressure of the water that engulfed him, and the pain that came of his sub crushing around him. His body felt stiff, weak, and was incredibly cold. He always woke up with barely a feeling of whatever comical failure happened to him previously, but this most recent one still affected him, he still felt the pain, and he actually felt terrified after actually drowning in such a crushing way.
Even as he felt the rain fall down on him, it felt more.. real, then anything he'd normally experience, he often barely felt the rain at all back where he's from, but here, every drop he felt was cold, wet, and made him feel light headed. Tom coughed weakly as he tried standing up on his legs again, with the hopes he can find someone to help him, but as soon as he got on his feet again, and looked at his own claws, he once again noticed something different upon waking up.
He saw.. texture, on it, single strains of fur went along his body that felt smooth, yet cold because of the rain. They didn't look like drawn lines with small detail here and there, every part of him had the same texture, and even as he looked around, he saw faint lights coming from small street lamps that looked like they haven't been changed in a while, and the brick walls around him, and the stone sidewalk he found himself on had the same kind of texture, he felt an actual breeze of wind pass by him as he felt the chill brush over his fur.
"Where.. where am I?" Tom thought as he slowly tried to move, he still felt some pain as he moved. Every step he took left a splash of water as he moved through the rain, and it felt just as cold as the last. And it made him flinch whenever he heard the splash, after this experience, he may never be able to look at water the same way again..
And as he stepped out of the alleyway, Tom's eyes widened with shock as he saw the world around him. It was.. unlike anything he's seen. This wasn't Hollywood, this wasn't part of a studio he'd normally go too for his attempts at making shorts, he didn't even see a single human in sight as he stepped out into a neon lit district that was part of a city currently going through a rainstorm.
He could barely see any kind of natural light as he stepped out into the streets, he looked to be in a city of sorts, one with different kind of aesthetics that he normally doesn't see. There were neon lit signs of some restaurant that were still open, some street lamps that went along the path with some basic street lights that cars drove past whenever they went green, that part was normal for him at least. But what really stood out to him, was what exactly was walking around the city even despite it being pretty late from the looks of it.
He saw.. animals, not normal animals of a respective species, no small birds that a cat could chase or for a coyote to trap, they walked on 2 legs just on him. They had clothes just like a human would. But he didn't see a single human in sight, they were all animals. He saw some large, 7 foot tall birds flying through the sky and carrying some supplies to some homes that looked to be designed for them, there were some reptiles passing into an alley with what smelled like.. food, it wasn't leaving a steamy trail he'd float too and fail at getting, it felt like actual food, but more accurately, it smelt like.. meat..
Tom's mind felt instinctively drawn to where the smell was coming from, as he slowly stepped through the street as a car passed right by him, he tried following where the scent was coming from, passing by a few more of these tall animals that felt more human then some of the ones he's met. They barely made a glance at him as he was moving past them to the alley he felt the smell come from. And it was only one turn away from finding out where it came from.
But the sight of what he went into made his jaw drop with pure shock, not in ways where it'd literally fall to the floor, but one of pure shock as he felt multiple smells of meat hit his senses all at once.
As he walked into the alley, he did expect to find maybe one restaurant he could swipe a bit of food from. But instead, he ended up walking directly into an entire market area full of meat meals with dozens of animals around the place, and he was quick to notice they all looked to be predators. He saw foxes taking pieces of meat from what looked like cooked rabbit parts, wolves were lining up to take pieces of steak from someone selling it, who all looked really shady just from the sight of them, and larger polar bears, certain groups of birds like hawks, and even other cats like him were taking pieces of what looked like.. mice.
That's when he realized what this place was, it was a whole meat market that was part of the city that these groups of animals went too for food, he didn't know why this was here, but he felt uncomfortable the moment he saw all of this, he felt like he shouldn't be here, he felt like he needed to turn back and not run into the wrong person. He was a complete stranger in this city as far as these people were concerned, he didn't have proper clothing on yet either, which could weird out some of the animals seeing him.
He tried to step back, to just find another way out of here, and maybe run into Jerry if this is all some sort of.. sick prank by him.
But he felt his stomach growl almost as soon as he moved back, almost like it was urging him to choose something to eat. He couldn't help himself, he was always chasing Jerry to catch him to make him his meal, much like Coyote did with the Road Runner, or Sylvester did with Tweedie, it was just how things were for people like him. But the smells were overwhelming him, he felt so many different types of prey animals hit his senses, especially the smaller cooked forms of mice he always felt urged to take.
As the senses went through his lungs, he felt something.. primal, take his mind, he felt an urge to eat, an urge to take anything he could find from anyone who wouldn't want it. Even steal it if he was that desperate.
"No.. I can't.. give in.. there's got to be.. another way.." Tom's mind spoke to him again as he tried resisting the smells, but his mouth only started to drool as he tried resisting, his stomach churned as it became more desperate for food, he hasn't felt a hunger like this at all before, and it was getting worse with every second that passed without being satiated.
Tom felt his body trembling as he tried resisting, but his body also urged him to go into it, to eat, to try and get something from the folks here, and.. he couldn't.. help himself. He saw one single market owner turning around for a brief moment while no one was looking or eating at the place, with some open chicken being just within his reach. And as Tom felt himself make a small hiss from the hunger, he tried reaching out to swipe a piece.. just.. one.. single piece.
"Hey! If your gonna touch that, you better plan on paying for it kitty cat! I was just about to buy that myself!" An animal suddenly shouted which broke him out of his thoughts, and just next to him, he saw a Fox looking down at him with an aggressive expression, and Tom's eyes widened with shock as he saw him towering over him, he felt tiny, helpless, and unable to fight back if he dared take anything now. And to make matters worse, his shouting got the attention of the owner who turned around to him, who looked just as upset as the one who caught him about to swipe a piece.
"You trying to steal my food cat?! You know how hard it is to cook up helpless chicken who wonder in here?! You don't look like you have any money on you either, not a single pocket to hide any! Either you get out of here now, or you'll be another victim of the Black Market!" The owner threatened with no signs of hesitation in his voice, he was extremely aggressive, far more then any normal shop owner he'd try to mess with whenever he was in a chase with Jerry.
Tom quickly raised up his hands to show he didn't mean harm, but they barely looked convinced by it, they saw the drool in his mouth, and the desperate look of hunger he had on him, and it made the Fox only scoff seeing him not say a thing.
"What's the matter coward? Never been caught like this before? Is stealing something you normally do?!" The fox asked aggressively while Tom was backing up again with fear, he saw more animals start to look at him, not like he was a person, but like he was another piece of meat to take, he didn't loo like any normal person here, and to them, that's the perfect opportunity to strike.
"I bet that fur of his would look real nice as a floor mat, how much do you think he can take before he starts to scream?" A hawk asked as he started to walk towards him with a group of friends behind him, with them all carrying actual pocket knives with them, they were sharp, they looked like they could really cut something, and they really looked like they'd make him bleed if he even gets scratched by them.
"Here kitty kitty..." One of them said in an extremely scary tone as they marched towards him, and despite Tom's hunger, he knew he couldn't fight back, he didn't have a hammer he could pull from his back, he didn't have Jerry to drop an Anvil on them, he was alone, he was surrounded by aggressive animals who look like they actually want to eat him too. And after seeing how overwhelmed he was, he couldn't fight back against any of them.
And with one quick step back forward, he ran as fast as he could. And the group of hawks began chasing after him with a killing intent.
Tom quickly ran back out of the market area he walked into, and tried running for his life as he was being chased by the group of hawks going after him. They were chasing him not like how he normally would be by Spike, his original owner or even Jerry when he had the upper hand over him, they were not looking to play around with him, and if he's caught, he's dead, again. And he can't risk losing another life after losing one again so soon after drowning to death in the ocean.
Tom was panting as he tried wiping the drool from his face as he ran, but he kept on salivating as he still felt the lingering feeling of the hunger in his mind, he felt so many thoughts rushing through him all at once as he ran, this hunger he felt wasn't just one he'd satiate with a bite of cheese or with a simple sandwich, he needed a proper meal, but right now, he was at the closest point of another death just by trying to get something in a world that felt completely hostile to him.
He ran with a panicked expression as the group of Hawks chased him down the streets with knives drawn, the shine of the sharp blades made him panic more as he saw the detail in the edges, he felt just as terrified as he did not long ago before he woke up here, one stab from one of those knives, and that could be it for him, he still felt his remaining lives, but if each one is just as painful, and crushing as his last one was, he could not take the mental hold that could have on him if it happens.
"Get back your you little pussy cat! You went into the wrong alley tonight!" The hawk shouted as Tom kept running for his life, he felt tears coming down his eyes as he turned down a street to try and lose them, and the rain falling down on him made it harder as it was slick and could make him fall if he's not careful.
"Please leave me alone, I just.. needed something to eat!" Tom begged in his head as he tried running faster, experiencing this much desperation and despair in such a short time felt like it could break him, he didn't want to die again, not so soon after his last, he just needed..
Tom suddenly felt himself run right into something as he was too lost in his thoughts to pay attention, but he bumped into something that made him trip onto the ground, and he felt his knee scrape on the stone floor which made him hiss with pain, it felt just like what he went through right before he drowned, and as he looked at his knee, he saw.. blood. The scrape left a bad mark on his knee, and it was not going to help him at all with the group that was chasing him right now.
"No.. please.." Tom thought with despair as he held it painfully, but as he felt the footsteps approach him, he had a dreadful feeling of just who was right behind him.
"Looks like the little cat scraped his knee, how sad, look at his face, he looks so helpless now.." One of them said maliciously while Tom slowly turned to the voices behind him, and he saw the group of hawks looking at him with their knives drawn, and he felt tears coming down his eyes even more thinking this was gonna the end again.
"Don't worry little cat, we'll make it nice and slow for you." The other one said as they were slowly approaching the trembling cat who could barely make a sound to call for help.
But just before one of them scrapped his fur, a long, strong, scaly claw suddenly grabbed one of the hawks wings aggressively, followed by an aggressive push back which made the hawk scream a bit with surprise as he was pushed back. And as Tom heard that sound, once he opened his eyes again, to his shock, he saw that the thing he bumped into wasn't a wall, it was a person, a reptile clearly, but looking at his shape, the muscle on him, and the long tail, he recognized what type of animal it was, a Komodo Dragon.
"You punks trying to chase a helpless cat? The hell is your problem with him?" The Komodo Dragon asked aggressively while the hawks started to back up a bit with fear seeing him, he wasn't just any other animal they can fight, he was an apex predator in their world, and he was not one to just let people like them go down without a warning.
"T.. this cat was trying to steal some meat in the Black Market past the last block! He was walking himself right into getting himself killed anyway!" The leader hawk said as the Komodo Dragon looked down at Tom, and even as he saw his eyes, he didn't see one that looked to harm him, but one.. to protect him, a look he has rarely seen from anyone he knew.
"And yet you were chasing him right through the streets with knives drawn, knowing thugs like you, I take it you were gonna skin this poor cats fur for yourselves, weren't you? Even out in public, where any officer could see this and arrest you, for a group of tough hawks like you, you sure made some stupid choices when chasing this little cat." The Komodo Dragon scolded as he stood in front of him, his large tail smashing on the ground as a warning to make them back off.
"Like any officer would care, you see how little people there are out at this time? Even if that cat didn't run into us, it wouldn't have been long before he ran into someone at the Black Market there if he stayed any longer, just look at him, he's still salivating from the food before he even took a bite! He's one mistake away from giving into his true instincts just like other Carnivores like him!" The thug mocked while Tom just noticed the drool in his mouth again, and he quickly tried wiping it away with the water to avoid getting the sense of hunger out of them.
"Like I give a damn about what you say, what I know is, you were chasing this little cat who happened to bump right into me as I was heading home, and I'm not one to just let people like you kill an innocent person like this. So I'm going to give you one, small warning.." He warned as he took a scaled thumb in front of him, and by simply dipping it in his jaws, a hot, purple liquid came out of it, a liquid that made the thugs back away with fear seeing it hiss, they knew what it was, since he was a Komodo Dragon, this was a natural thing they used to use against their foes, Venom.
"You leave this cat alone, you go back to whatever you were doing in the Black Market, and find a proper meal to buy from there, or you won't be getting one again. Believe me, I am much more deadly then I look despite my age punks, leave, I won't be warning you again." He warned as he stood between them and Tom, and the thugs looked just afraid enough to start to back off, he was clearly not someone who will play around with them, and they were not wanting to die by being hit with his venom like this.
"C.. come on guys! Let's get out of here! That cat's as good as dead anyway without him! Consider this your lucky day you little cat!" The leader warned just as they all put their pocket knives away, and finally started to run off while Tom held his knee in the rain.
Luck. Out of all the things that he was, lucky certainly wasn't one of them now, he just lost a life after drowning in a horrific way, a single splash of water made him flinch from time to time, and his bleeding knee didn't help him, he felt like he could barely walk, and if he did, it would make his wound worse if everything is just as real as it feels.
But as he still felt tears in his eyes as he held his knee, his chest breathing heavily after having a near death experience so closely from an actual one, the Komodo Dragon he happened to bump into soon turned to him, his expression turned to one of genuine concern and worry for him. He wiped the venom away from his claw with the rain around them, and he knelt down to take a closer look at him.
"You look like you've been through hell, I've seen a lot of animals go through problems when they go to the Black Market, but you.. your different, you don't even have clothes on, you lose them to those punks or something?" He asked while Tom weakly looked up at him, and while he's mute, and can't speak, he couldn't not answer him after he saved him. And he instead shook his head in denial to answer him.
"No huh? If that's true then.. you look homeless, you don't have a single jacket covering you, you look really cold, and that scrape on your knee is getting worse, you want some help with this sir?" He asked with concern while Tom looked up at him, and tried wiping some of the tears in his eyes as he hasn't felt someone ask him this in such a genuine way before, and he only gave a small nod again to show him he really does after what he went through just recently.
"I thought you might, look, I may not know you, and you don't know me, but I can see you need help. And if you can explain to me what happened, I can get you proper help, you think you can stand up?" He asked while Tom looked up at him, and while his knee hurt, and his body was weak and hungry, he still had enough strength to at least stand, and he tried standing up on his other knee while slowly rising on the other, and the Komodo Dragon soon gently put a claw under his shoulder, and helped him up so it doesn't hurt him.
Tom finally started to feel himself calming down after going through so much in such a short time, he didn't know where he was, he didn't know why he ended up here at all, but what mattered to him right now, is that there was someone who was actually wanting to help him, and he was willing to take whatever he can get if it means he can survive now, he felt incredibly fragile here then back where he's from, he didn't have Jerry here to mock or try to help him in his own way, he only had whoever was kind enough to help him in this world that looked to be fully habited by talking animals, and it wasn't like what he'd see in a classic cartoon he'd watch when he got the chance.
"Look at me kid, my home is only a few blocks away from here, you hold on long enough, I'll be sure to help dry you off and help out, you just need to hold on until we get there, you think you can do that?" The Komodo Dragon asked again while Tom weakly looked at him, and he gave a weak nod to show he understands what he means.
"Good, I promise I'll help you out, and just so you know, my name is Gosha. You okay with telling me yours too?" Gosha asked as Tom looked at him, and since he was mute, he couldn't answer directly again, but as he looked at the blood dripping from his knee, he got a strange way of showing it, and by simply leaning down, he took some of the blood from his thumb, and tried spelling something out on his arm before it was washed away.
"Kid? The hell are you..?" Gosha asked right before Tom put his finger on his shoulder, and as Gosha saw him carefully make a word out of it, while it was a strange way of showing his name, he soon saw it spell out in 3 simple letters that were simple to understand, T.O.M.
"Tom huh? That's a nice name for a cat like you, did you.. really have to make it with your own blood like that though?" Gosha asked with concern as the rain quickly washed it away, leaving some of his fur stained as a result since things were far different then he's used too here. And as he was asked that, Tom once again didn't answer, and seeing this, Gosha was quick to see why given his silent expression.
"So your mute I take it? That's alright, it'll take a bit more work, but we'll figure something out. But for now, let's get back to my home Tom, you really look like you need a shower, and something to eat that isn't meat. Come on, it isn't that far from here now." Gosha advised as he started to carefully take Tom with him to get him proper help, and Tom didn't hesitate to walk with him, and for the first time since in what felt like forever, there was someone who was willing to help him, and he just hoped he could understand where he's ended up, and how he can adapt to a world where everything to him feels far more fragile then it's ever been for him since he first started chasing that little mouse.