Chapter 10: The Blood-Eyed Cat Syndicate's Brush With Freshness

Quincy O'Snappers stared with blank eyes at the recently cheeseified Grumbles as he sat in their small prison. The Blood-Eyed Cat Syndicate had taken both of them to their Volcano Lair and locked them in a dungeon. Where Stacy was and if she was still in good health, Quincy didn't know. Not that it mattered, it was all over now; if Stacy was in the Blood-Eyed Cat Syndicate's hands, then so was the Golden Pony of Kubla-Kahn, the one thing that they had been trying to keep from their clutches. To think of everything that had transpired in just the past week. "Had it really been a week?" Quincy thought to himself. Yes, it was only a week ago that Optimus had told Stacy that she had to leave with the Golden Pony, and to take Quincy, her best friend, with her, because the Blood-Eyed Cat Syndicate would stop at nothing to have the pony. Before they had left, Optimus had taken Quincy aside to tell him of the dangers that they both faced and to give him his apologies. It had been there that Quincy, for the first time in over 20 years of knowing Stacy, confessed his true feelings for her, and to her husband no less, to show that there was no apologies necessary. That night seemed like a lifetime ago now.
Before Quincy could give the glum situation anymore though, he noticed that the cheese engulfed Grumbles had seemed to twitch. Quincy quickly got to his feet and moved over to Grumbles, hardly daring to believe that what had just happened had been anything more than a trick of the light. As he came up next to Grumbles, he heard a very faint "Quincy..."
"Yes Grumbles, I'm here!" Quincy O'Snappers excitedly declared, amazed that this bear had so much stamina.
"Quincy...I need...need...Mentos..." the bear somehow spoke through the cheese.
"What!?" Quincy asked, completely and utterly bamboozled.
"Mentos...I smell Mentos...in your...your pocket..." Quincy opened up his super secret inner jacket pocket, having completely forgot about his spare stash of Mentos that he always kept around in case of emergencies, such as sitting on a painted park bench or breaking a high heeled shoe right before an important business meeting with those darn sexist bosses that just don't get today's working class woman. He detached a mint from the rest of the pack, lamenting the loss of one of those delightful delights. He had nothing to lament after placing it in the eagerly waiting mouth of Grumbles, however; with a sudden burst of energy, Grumbles burst free from his dairy prison. On top of that, he seemed to be fully rejuvenated, ready to stir the pot of the Blood-Eyed Cat Syndicate's Volcano fortress.
"Ah, Mentos, the freshmaker," Grumbles said as he nodded knowingly. "Listen, I don't know if Stacy's here or not, but while we're here, why don't we end the Blood-Eyed Cat Syndicate's reign once and for all?"
"How do you propose we do that?" Quincy asked hesitantly.
"I wasn't supposed to tell you yet, but Lizard Man and I have been planning an assault on this volcano for years now. See, getting in is the hardest part, and they've apparently already done the job for us. Once Lizard Man finds out that we're here I'm sure he'll bolt on over and help us finish this fight. I know you're worried about Stacy," Grumbles said in response to the misgiving in Quincy's eyes. "But think about it; regardless of if she's here or not, they'll continue following her as long as she holds the pony, no matter what. We have the power to stop this right now." Quincy nodded silently in agreement.
Grumbles, satisfied at having gained the trust of Quincy O'Snappers, then let out one of his trademark "GRUMBLES PUUUUUUUUUUUNCH" and sent the entire wall crashing through the innards of the Volcano Lair. The seemingly omnipotent bear then ran out of the newly made exit, with Quincy O'Snappers following close behind, knowing that they had to make their way up to the top of the Volcano in order to gain entrance into the main control chambers. Along the way, countless Blood-Eyed Cat Syndicate members threw themselves at the duo, but what chance did these poor, pitiful humans ever have against the might of a recently freshified talking bear?
After punching in another entire wall, Grumbles and Quincy O'Snappers finally made their way to fresh air, at the very top of the Volcano Lair. They quickly looked around, and saw a set of metallic stairs leading down into the center of the volcano itself. Simultaneously the friends ran forward to the stairway, but suddenly, the volcano started shaking quite violently.
"Is it going to erupt!?" Quincy O'Snappers yelled like a woman while tinkling himself a teensy bit. Before Grumbles could give a bemused response to the girly Quincy O'Snappers, the true reason behind the quaking of the volcano made itself clear: a giant robotic bipedal cat emerged from within the volcano. The robot cat was at least three stories tall and looked like it weighed 20 tons. As if that wasn't enough, as its whole feline robot cat body emerged from its molten lava depths, the fact that it could fly with the rocket jet boosters attached to its feet became apparent. Quincy and Grumbles could only stare in awe at this spectacle, wondering what was about to happen. The head of the cat tilted backwards, and slowly but surely, the two could see the inside of the robot, and at its helm was none other than Sing-Song Man.
"Well, well, well," he smiled smugly. "Isn't this just swell?"
"Sing-Song, you're still working for the Blood-Eyed Cat Syndicate after Lizard Man completely destroyed you?" Grumbles angrily yelled.
"No no no, you see, I have been promoted to the leader's personal secretary. And who has been sent to destroy thee, why who else but me?"
"Can't you just cut the rhyming stuff out for once?" Grumbles asked, growing more and more angry.
"Do you know what it's like to speak this way, only able to rhyme each and every day? All it does is push others away." While saying this, Sing-Song's voice became somber and sad, the years of loneliness finally catching up to him. Before Grumbles could tactlessly yell at the rhyming man some more, Quincy O'Snappers spoke.
"If it's a friend you want, why did you join the Blood-Eyed Cat Syndicate? You should have known they would only be out to hurt people. And believe me, I know they don't have any respect for the musically inclined. I...I tried to join back in high school, but once they saw how important music was to me, they turned me down." Sing-Song threw these caring words to the wayside.
"It now matters not; I'll usher in the end of this town in my robot!" he retorted.
"No, please!" Quincy O'Snappers begged. "There has to be something you care about enough to spare."
"ENOUGH OF THIS FLUFF!" Sing-Song screamed wildly at the top of his lungs. "I will fly high above this pseudo Metropolis, and I'll rain terror down on the general populace!" And at this, the robot cat's head hatch closed back down upon the rest of its body, and the eyes started to glow red - a blood red, one might say. Suddenly, the eyes fired a laser beam, directly at the heart of Quincy O'Snappers. Quincy had no time to react, only time to see the laser firing directly at him, and surely he was about to die, when Grumbles swatted the lasers away like a bothersome fly. Grumbles then jumped high into the air directly towards the robot cat and gave it his mightiest Grumbles Punch. Even the full force of Grumbles seemed to do nothing, however, as the robot didn't even give the slightest of mid-air wobbles. Grumbles landed hard on the ground next to Quincy, obviously injured from his assault.
"Quick Quincy, one more Mentos," Grumbles grunted out. Quincy immediately reached for this secret pocket again, but realized that it was all in vain, as the cat robot was about to step on the both of them. Suddenly, a rainbow streaked across the sky, did a quick turn and landed right in front of Quincy O'Snappers and Grumbles. Before Quincy's eyes could adjust, the robotic paw came crashing down. Miraculously, the rainbow seemed to be holding it back.
"QUINCY, THE MENTOS, HURRY!" Grumbles roared. Quincy regained his thoughts once again, and grabbed his last Mentos and gave it to Grumbles. The effect upon Grumbles was immediate, as he not only joined the mysterious rainbow figure, but proceeded to tear the entire leg off with his bare bear paws. He then jumped high into the air once again, knowing that this was his last shot, and gave the strongest Grumbles Punch he had ever delivered, straight to the central nuclear cortex of the robot, sending it flying into the atmosphere. He then came back down to the ground once again, this time sans the injuries.
"Thanks Lizard Man, I thought we were done for sure," the bear said gratefully as he patted the now not so mysterious rainbow figure. "Oh, and you already rescued Stacy? Good, that makes things a lot easier." At this, Quincy forcefully tore his eyes away from the sight of the Blood-Eyed Cat Robot, which was still flying into space, and turned around to see Stacy standing and beaming at him. Before he could think his actions through, he ran over to embrace and kiss her, not caring about the fact that she was married to a personal friend of his; that she was alive was all that mattered to him anymore. As they parted lips, Quincy O'Snappers looked directly into Stacy's eyes.
"You don't know how long I've been waiting to do that."
"Quince, I'm sorry, but I can't," Stacy said as her eyes filled up with tears. "You're my best friend, and I'm sorry, but I can't. I'm married to Optimus, I've been fighting this whole time for him."
"Yeah, I know," Quincy said quietly with wave after wave of disappointment crashing against his heart.
"Hey, lovebirds," Grumbles said, half amused and half frustrated. "We have a world to save here, save the high school drama for later." Lizard Man and Grumbles then walked towards the staircase leading into the center of the Blood-Eyed Cat Syndicate's Volcano Lair, while Stacy and Quincy O'Snappers looked at each other for a few moments more. Stacy was the first to break eye contact as she followed the other two. Quincy remained behind for a few moments longer, wondering to himself if telling Stacy how he truly felt had been a good idea. Putting these thoughts aside, he ran after the others, eager to end these shenanigans.