Chapter Text
Apo blinked open his eyes. Miraculously, he wasn’t dead. Through the inky blackness, he could see a small crack in which light filtered through. He reached his paws toward the light, and the surface below him shifted and twisted. He wrigged around until the black surface regurgitated and he emerged into the sunlight.
The smell was awful. Apo was surrounded by rotten food and slimy substances along with multiple black objects like the one that had swallowed him up earlier. And standing above him was a rat he’d never seen. His fur was a dark brown and he wore a mask and donned a black and yellow outfit along with a cape.
“You look comfortable down there!” The mysterious rat said with a chuckle. “Must’ve been nice sleeping in a dumpster!” He laughed.
“Who are you?” Apo asked as he wrigged out of the ‘dumpster’ as the rat called it. His paws scrambled to get a hold on the edge of the dumpster, but finally he managed to get a grip and hoist himself out of the foul-smelling place.
“I am Ratman!” The rat squeaked with pride. “And who are you? Catboy? Oh wait, I’ve got it: Meow Meow!” He laughed again.
“Wh- why are you calling me that?” Apo squeaked. The mention of cats suddenly brought back the memories from last night. The large terrifying creatures with glowing evil eyes… and his parents, were they…? No, no, they have to be alive; they just managed to escape a different path than what Apo took. Yeah, that sounded about right.
“Your little hood makes it look like you have cat ears!” Ratman said as if it was the funniest joke in existence. “You’re like a tiny cat!” He giggled.
“I- I’m not a cat!” Apo protested. Was this rat really calling him a cat? A monster? Apo knew he looked different from most rats, but there was no way that he resembled a cat!
Ratman sighed. “Can’t take a joke can you?” He shook his head. “Whatever. You got any place to stay other than that dumpster?”
Apo wanted to decline. He just wanted to go home and see his family again, but the threat of those cats made the fur on his back stand on edge. And… this was what he always wanted, a chance to explore the world outside his home. Surely his parents can wait a little longer while he ventured out a bit…
“Not really,” Apo replied.
Ratman smiled. “Then follow me!”
The two of them trotted down the streets past roaring cars and crowds of humans. Apo had only seen humans from afar, but he never really had a good idea of the sheer size of them until he was running underneath their feet! They were easily ten times the size of him and could probably squash him like a bug if he ever got caught in the path of one! Thank goodness that humans hunt rats like the cats do, or else Ratman and Apo would be screwed.
“So Meow Meow, how’d you end up in a dumpster?” Ratman asked.
“I’m not ‘Meow Meow!’” Apo hissed. “I’m Apo! And I fell out of a window!”
Ratman shrugged. “Eh, Meow Meow is still a better name.” He giggled again. “How does one fall out of a window anyway? There’s glass, so unless you had the window open, there’s pretty much no way that you would-”
“I purposely jumped out the window!” Apo shouted. “Because- because there were cats! And they were- they were going to kill me!”
“Ohhh that makes more sense,” said Ratman. “Cats are little demons aren’t they? But all you need to do is claw their eyes out and then they’ll stop bothering you! You know, because they won’t be able to see you anymore!” He laughed.
“What do you mean?” Apo asked. “Are you saying that you clawed a cat’s eyes out once?”
Ratman nodded. “Oh yes, many times. I am the local vigilante here after all! Who would I be without a few murders here and there to protect the rat citizens?” He smirked. “I even killed a human once! Like I said before, go for the eyes. Small target, but easy to stab!”
Apo glanced up at the towering humans. He couldn’t imagine a tiny rat killing such a giant creature. “Wow…” Apo gasped. “Can you teach me how someday?”
Ratman laughed. “Of course! I have a feeling a rat like you could go far!”
They ran across the asphalt road until they made it to a gigantic building on the other side. It had multiple floors, but unlike the building Apo lived in before, it wasn’t thin at all. It seemed three times as wide as Apo’s old home, maybe even bigger! And at the top of the building were shining red letters that spelled out “Le Terrière.”
“Welcome to Le Terrière!” Ratman announced. “It’s a hotel for humans! But us rats like to live here as well. Plenty of food as long as you’re clever enough not to get caught!” He beckoned for Apo to follow him as he scurried toward the building’s front doors.
“Wait wait wait, did you say ‘if you’re clever enough not to get caught?’” Apo asked. “What- what does that mean?”
“Oh, it just means that the humans here aren’t exactly friendly to rats,” Ratman replied. “They don’t kill us, but they do try to lock us in cages. It’s not much more than a minor annoyance, unless someone decides to not free you, then you’d probably starve to death, but that’s not very likely. We’re a tight-knit group around here! Once everyone sees you as one of us, then they’ll come save your life whenever you need it!”
Apo didn’t like the idea of being locked in a cage, but it did seem better than getting clawed to death by a bunch of vicious cats. He followed Ratman through the giant double doors and into a massive room. Everything inside was clearly made for human-sized creatures from the giant tables and chairs to the staircase that looked so tall that it might as well have been a mountain. How could any rat live in a giant place like this? Wouldn’t they get lost?
“I know what you’re thinking, and don’t worry, we don’t live here,” Ratman said. “We live in the attic! Or the Rattic I should say. Everything is much smaller and more manageable up there, and the main floor is where we get our food. Just follow me, and don’t get anywhere near the humans!”
Ratman scurried up the stairs, and Apo tried his best to follow. It took a lot of effort to climb up each step with his claws barely grabbing a hold on the top every time he jumped. When he finally reached the top, he was out of breath and panting heavily. Ratman on the other paw, seemed perfectly fine and unfazed.
“Come on, almost there!” Ratman said. Apo felt as if his knees might give in, but he still kept pushing on. Ratman was already five tail-lengths ahead of him, and Apo couldn’t go faster than the speed of a snail. Finally, Ratman stopped at the entrance to another giant doorway with the entrance blocked off by piles of boxes.
“You don’t… you can’t expect me to… to climb up there…” Apo asked, panting between words.
“Oh no, there’s a gap between the boxes,” Ratman assured him. “Follow me!” He squeezed through a crack between two boxes and Apo reluctantly followed. He squeezed through a tight gap between the boxes and popped out the other side into what looked like a miniature version of the world outside.
Dozens of tiny buildings dotted the place and amongst them were over a dozen rats, all of them scurrying about carrying things like tools, empty bottles, and even paintbrushes. It looked just as lively as the human world outside, but scaled down to be rat-sized! Now this, this was what Apo had always dreamed of whenever he thought of the other rats that lived in Paris. These small buildings and bustling streets not unlike the ones that the humans walked on every day.
“Impressed?” Ratman asked. “Just wait ‘till you meet the residents!” He climbed up to one of the tallest buildings in the Rattic and shouted, “Guess what everyone! We have a new rat in the attic!”
Immediately, all of the rats stopped in their tracks. They all turned to Apo, their ears twitching curiously. One by one, all of the rats scurried over to him, and Apo couldn’t help but back up against the boxes. There were so many rats…
“Hiya! Name’s Owen!” One of the rats said. He had brown fur, lighter than Ratman’s, and a nail piercing through one of his ears. He held out his claw to Apo who shook it reluctantly.
“I’m Scott!” Another rat said. This one had white fur that had strange colored splotches that didn’t look natural. There was a rat that had bright purple hair and another that had gray fur and was covered with the same smell that the dumpster had.
“Hello, welcome to the Rattic!” A rat with pale fur and an eyepatch said to him. “I’m Martyn, pleased to meet you!”
“It’s uh- it’s nice to meet all of you too,” Apo replied, his voice shaking. He wasn’t used to so many rats all crowding around him at once. It took him a while to realize that his fur had been standing on edge the entire time.
“What’s your name?” A pale rat with brown hair asked him.
“His name’s Meow Meow!” Ratman announced cheerfully.
“It’s not!” Apo protested. “My name’s Apo!” But it was too late. All of the rats had already begun greeting him as ‘Meow Meow.’ It was the worst thing Apo had ever heard in his life.
“Do you need someone to show you around?” The rat named ‘Owen’ asked him.
Apo nodded. “Yeah…” he replied. At least he hadn’t heard this rat call him ‘Meow Meow’ yet.
Owen showed him around the Rattic, introducing him to the various buildings they had. He mentioned his climbing gym where rats could train to become better climbers, either for fun or to practice avoiding danger when necessary. There was also Scott’s house where he apparently brewed various potions with tons of purposes, Mog’s train station (that didn’t have anything connecting to it), Ros’ castle, Shep’s “space station,” and Eloise’s art gallery.
Apo had never seen so many different things all at once. It was a lot to take in, but also quite fascinating. He had no idea how creative and inventive rats could be. Apo’s parents had always told him stories of the many things humans created with their two hands, but he never heard of what rats could do. He wondered if his parents even knew that this was possible. Maybe if they did, Apo could’ve grown up in a lively and colorful place like this.
“So, where do I stay?” Apo asked once Owen had finished the tour.
“We’ll build you a house, and in the meantime, you can probably find a place with one of the other rats. I’m sure they’d be more than happy to take you in.” He gave Apo a friendly smile.
“Ok, thanks,” Apo replied. One thing was for sure, he was not staying with Ratman, no matter how much he helped him. He couldn’t bear to hear the nickname ‘Meow Meow’ another time today… or ever.
Apo waved goodbye to Owen and trotted down the Rattic’s streets. He could probably sleep alone tonight, and he wouldn’t mind. He was pretty sure that everyone in the Rattic had already taken up on calling him ‘Meow Meow’ and that was the last thing he wanted to hear today. He found a small spot tucked between two large buildings and curled up in a ball inside it. Apo wished he could’ve had some soft bedding like some moss or even a piece of fabric, but this would have to do for now. He could find some soft bedding in the morning.
As Apo closed his eyes, he realized that he hadn’t found a single rat that looked like him. The other rats probably noticed that he looked a little odd by now. What if they threw him out of the Rattic? Apo shook his head. No, of course they wouldn’t. Even though they called him a horrendous nickname, they all seemed too nice to cast him away. All he could do is try to return their kindness and hope for the best.