Adventurous Anthros
Temperance and doubt (Part 1)(Season 1 Chapter 16)
Story by TheAnnonymousKat on Furaffinity
All characters belong to their respective owners, this fanfiction is a nonprofit project for fun, please support the official release of the respective series shown.

Panthro breathed heavily as he was in hot pursuit of a cloaked figure, he didn't know who he was chasing, though he did know that whoever it was, they had stolen a valuable gemstone from a nearby museum and were attempting to get away with it, and they ran fast too. After running for a bit, Panthro got the idea to throw his.nunchucks at the thief's feet to try and trip them up, which thankfully worked as the thief fell to the street, and Panthro took the opportunity to jump on top of the thief and pin them down. Panthro held the thief by the neck to the ground with one of his hands, while readying the other into a fist and drawing it back,
"Alright thief, time to-!!" Said Panthro angrily before he stopped speaking mid sentence as the realization of who he pinned down, and who committed the theft caused his eyes to widen and his heart to skip a beat,
"K-Kat?!" Said Panthro in disbelief, and indeed pinned under him was none other than his teammate and partner Kat, who simply smiled.

Earlier...

A week had passed since Kat filed the report at the HR building, it had been a fairly slow week for the Anthros of Justice, with only a few incidents requiring their attention, though they did get the chance to show Beast and Mercenary the ropes, and Kat got to see first-hand how well they fight. Beast fought with his razor sharp claws and brute strength, while Mercenary fought with his impressive strength, greatsword and some smoke bombs that he kept on hand. Though Kat felt troubled as there were still no leads towards Zero, he was happy to be fighting alongside the new Anthros. During the week Kat also got into contact with Jotaro who told him everything he needed to know about stands, especially the important rules such as stands only being able to be seen and damaged by other stands, with some exceptions, and a stand disappearing when the user dies. Kat was in his room lying on his bed while reading his book about Pokemon he obtained on Cinnabar Island with Kuriboh and Bruiser nuzzled up next to him, Kat tried to keep his mind off Zero by reading up on information about Pokemon, though his worry towards Zero that rested in the back of his mind would drift towards the front on occasion as he read. Though as Kat was lost in thought, the door to his room swung open without warning, causing Kuriboh and Bruiser to turn their attention towards the door, Kat also looked towards his door to see Panthro was in the doorway. Panthro took a few steps and crossed the threshold to Kat's room,
“Kat, good news, we finally gained a lead on Zero,”Panthro explained, Kat’s eyes widened, and he immediately sat up on his bed,
“Really?! Well what’s the lead? Where is she?!” Kat asked in excitement, Panthro gestured with his hands for Kat to calm down,
“Easy now, there was a report of her being spotted in the world we’re in now conveniently, just in the city,”Panthro explained,
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s head to the city, I’ll grab a pair of shoes!” said Kat as he stood up and was about to retrieve his pair of blue shoes from his closet, though Panthro stopped him by standing in front of his closet,
“Hold on now, I know you really want to help search for Zero, but I need you to stay at the base for me,” Panthro explained,
“What?! But why?” Kat asked in confusion,
“I know that you’re not going to like this, but I need you to stay at the base while me and the other Anthros investigate the city because I need you to prove to me that I can trust you,” Panthro explained,
“But… I thought I already proved that I was trustworthy…” Kat commented with his feline ears drooped, Panthro raised a brow,
“When did you do that?” Panthro asked,
“The multiple times I’ve helped out with missions?” Kat suggested,
“Oh right...ok yeah, you’ve definitely proved that you’re a good teammate, though, do you remember the time you left the base with Winston despite me telling you not to?” Panthro asked
“Um… yeah,” Kat replied,
“Well the way I see it, having you stay at the base now would be a good way to make up for your past mistake,” Panthro explained,
"If you wanted to punish me why didn't you do it around the time I did wrong?" Kat asked,
"Don't think of it as a punishment, think of it as a test, a test to prove once and for all that I can trust you," Panthro explained,
"But… why does the test have to be now of all times?! I've been waiting for a lead on Zero all week!" Said Kat in displeasure,
"It wouldn't be much of a test if it was easy, besides, there's no guarantee that the lead is true and we'll find Zero from it" Panthro explained,
"But… I want to see her again…I want to return her grimoire to her," Kat explained in a sorrowful tone, Panthro walked over to Kat and put a hand on his shoulder,
"Kat, please, believe me, I want you to come along, but I need you to prove that you trust my judgement… and besides that it'd be foolish to have everyone go into the city to investigate and leave the base empty," Panthro explained,
"Wha-!? Winston is going too?" Kat asked in disbelief,
"Yeah, his jump pack can help him get on top of the tall buildings to help search… so do you think you can listen to me?" Panthro asked. Kat stared into Panthro's eyes for a bit before he sighed and smiled,
"Yeah ok, I won't leave the base, I promise, just be careful out there" Kat replied, Panthro petted Kat on his head,
"Don't worry, we will," Panthro replied, before he stopped petting Kat and the two Anthros gave each other a fist bump.

The Anthros searched all around the city that was quieter in the dead of night. Panthro drove around the streets with his Thundertank, Jon rocketed through the city and searched the alleyways with his beast cannon, Doggie ran all around the city as Shadow Ranger, Sulley and Leomon looked around the city's nearby park, and Winston used his jump pack to check the rooftops, Beast and Mercenary were also absent from the mission, Beast returned to his castle to spend some time with his wife and make sure no one breaks in to his castle, while Mercenary was making sure he was well equipped by sharpening his greatsword with a whetstone and making sure he had plenty of smoke bombs. The search went on for a few minutes to the point where Panthro knew his team would've combed the entire city, Panthro was about to call off the search when he heard distant building alarms go off. Doggie ran up to the Thundertank and stopped right next to it,
"Looks like a robbery at the museum…" Doggie commented,
"Guess some poor fools didn't know we were gonna be in the city tonight, well whatever, let's handle this robbery real quick" Panthro instructed before he drove his tank closer to the museum.

When Panthro arrived at the museum he noticed a dozen individuals dressed in black cloaks run out of the museum and away from it, each in a different direction. Panthro then heard his communicator ring, and answered it,
"Hello?" Panthro inquired, he heard Leomon's voice on the other end,
"Panthro, it appears there isn't just a robbery at the bank, there are robberies all over the city, I can see some thieves making their way through the park," Leomon explained,
"What?! Geez what is this a thief holiday?... Alright-," said Panthro before he tapped a few buttons on his communicator to send a message to all of his teammates,
"Change of plans Anthros, focus your efforts on stopping the thieves going around the city!" Panthro instructed before he put up his communicator, and got out of his tank. The Anthros then went from searching to taking down criminals, Jon tackled any criminals he came across with his beast cannon technique, and if that wasn't enough he incapacitated them with swift kicks and punches, Winston got the jump on a number of the thieves by coming down from a large height, then zapping the thieves with his Tesla Cannon, Doggie could easily catch up and incapacitate a number of the criminals he came across given the amazing speed he had in his ranger form, Leomon and Sulley tackled and restrained the criminals who cut through the park, and Panthro caught up to the thieves running out of the museum, and knocked them out with his powerful punches or by hitting them in the head with his nunchuks. Panthro dealt with nearly all of the thieves that came out of the museum, though he noticed one more was on the run, and immediately gave chase. Panthro soon realized just how fast the last thief was as the chase with that specific thief lasted a few minutes. As Panthro ran he noticed the thief was holding a valuable gemstone which presumably came from the museum, and this motivated Panthro to run even faster.

Eventually Panthro tripped up the thief with his nunchuk, and pinned him down, before the realization that Kat was the thief was made. Panthro couldn't believe what he was seeing, his heartbeat was uneasy and he was sweating uncontrollable, he wouldn't have expected to see his partner go against his orders and go into the city that night, let alone commit a crime while he was there,
"K-Kat… what in the blazes were you doing?!" Panthro demanded in disbelief, Kat simply smiled,
"Isn't it obvious? I stole a valuable gemstone from the museum," Kat explained casually. Before Panthro could even think of a response, his communicator rang, and he promptly answered it,
"What is it?" Panthro inquired, Panthro heard Doggie's voice on the other end,
"Panthro ...all the thieves around the city, they didn't have anything on them!" Doggie explained,
"What…?" Panthro inquired in confusion,
"That's not the weirdest part, they're all Krybots!" Doggie explained, Panthro's heart skipped a beat,
"W-What?!" Panthro asked in disbelief,
"That's right, though I'm not sure why several Krybots were sent to break into a museum and several other places only to not steal anything… unless it was for a distraction," Doggie suggested,
"A distraction… but for who? Or what?" Panthro pondered before Kat giggled a bit, causing Panthro to connect the dots, Panthro's grip on Kat's neck and his communicator tightened,
"Doggie, I need to take care of something, tell the other Anthros to eliminate all the Krybots," Panthro instructed,
"Got it," Doggie replied before Panthro ended the call, put his communicator in his pocket, and turned his attention towards Kat,
"Kat… on top of stealing something… were you working with the enemy?!" Panthro demanded angrily,
"I think you already know the answer," said Kat casually with a smile,
"I don't believe this… I thought-" Panthro tried saying before Kat cut him off,
"You thought what? That I'd stop stealing because of the power of friendship? That I could change so easily just because I was surrounded by a bunch of goody two shoes?" Kat asked mockingly,
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE A GOOD PERSON!!" Panthro yelled angrily,
"You thought wrong, though there are many worlds out there, almost all of them follow an important principal- nice guys finish last, you're either terrible and on the top, or nice and getting walked all over, and between me and you, I think it's clear as day who falls into which category," Kat explained nonchalantly. Panthro's grip on Kat's neck tightened,
"I don't care if you were my partner, I'm taking you in!" Said Panthro angrily, Kat gagged a bit from the choking though managed a chuckle,
"I don't think so," said Kat before he released a flashbang grenade from his hand, and it went off right next to him and Panthro. In the moment of confusion after the extremely bright flash went off, Kat slipped out of Panthro's grip, ran a few yards away from him, then opened a dark vortex, took out a submachine gun and aimed it at the still dazed Panthro. Just as Kat was about fire at Panthro without hesitation, he saw his gun break apart, as if slashed with a clean and expert sword slash, Kat then noticed Shadow Ranger standing before him with his Shadow Saber out,
"I heard everything, you won't get away with this Kat!" Said Doggie angrily,
"Just try and stop me!" Said Kat before he threw a strange container into the air, and a small army of Krybots fell to the ground, landing on their feet in front of Kat,
"Have fun dealing with those guys," said Kat before he ran away from Panthro and Doggie. Panthro stood up, his sight returned to him and his ears stopped ringing,
"Doggie, warn the others," Panthro instructed as he picked up his nunchuk, Doggie nodded and got out his communicator, quickly typing out and sending a message to the rest of his teammates that read-
"Everyone, I know this might be hard to believe but we have a traitor amongst us, namely Kat, he was the one who broke into the museum and stole a very valuable gemstone, and on top of that he worked alongside the Krybots involved in the theft, so I think it's safe to assume he's working with the Syndicate, if you see Kat, apprehend him."

The first Anthro to come across Kat was Jon, as Kat cut through an alleyway. Upon seeing Kat, Jon immediately sent a giant energy dragon at him, which Kat narrowly dodged. Nearly getting hit caused Kat to stop running and turn his attention towards Jon, who looked at Kat with a furious expression and a battle ready pose,
"Kat, deep down I knew you'd be trouble…" Jon commented,
"Glad to see I didn't disappoint," Kat commented with a smile, Jon responded with a growl,
"Don't try and play games with me! I'm taking you down right here and now!" Said Jon angrily before he lunged at Kat and landed several swift blows on him, one of which hit Kat right in his stomach, causing him to double over and spit out blood,
"Not so cocky now are you?" Jon asked angrily, to Jon's surprise, Kat started laughing uncontrollably, which angered Jon and caused him to slash at Kat with his sharp yellow claws while yelling-
"DON'T MOCK ME!!!" Though Jon saw his claws phase right through Kat, immediately followed by Jon getting hit in the head with a baseball bat. Jon hit the ground hard and looked up to see Kat standing up while holding a baseball bat and still laughing maniacally, it was then that Jon realized that Kat quickly switched himself out with an after image when he attacked. Then, without giving Jon a chance to retaliate, Kat quickly ran over to him and hit him repeatedly with the baseball bat, Jon blocked with his arms as best he could, though the attacks still felt immensely painful. After hitting Jon several times with the bat and leaving some bruises, Kat tossed the bat aside, pulled out a pistol, and aimed it right at Jon's head, though before he could pull the trigger, Shadow Ranger quickly appeared beside him, grabbed the pistol from Kat's hand, and crushed it. Panthro wasn't too far behind Doggie, so Kat went back to running away by quickly wall jumping off of the nearby buildings to get on the roofs.

As soon as Kat got on the roof of one of the buildings, he immediately ran as fast as he could and started jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Kat ran for a good minute or so before Winston ambushed him on one of the roofs and fired his Tesla Cannon at him with a roar. Countless strands of electricity surged around Kat as Winston had the cannon outputting the maximum voltage,
"Kat… how could you betray us?! After all that we've been through!! I thought we were friends!" Said Winston angrily, though to his surprise Kat responded with a casual giggle,
"You thought wrong…" Kat replied before he reached into a dark vortex, got out a revolver, and hit Winston with the handle as hard as he could, leaving a bruise on Winston's cheek, knocking the gorilla back a bit and even causing him to drop his cannon. When Winston looked up he saw Kat gesture towards his cloak,
"Fully insulated cloak and gloves, remember?" Said Kat before he pointed his gun at Winston's head,
"It's ok monkey, we all make mistakes," said Kat with a sadistic tone. As Kat was about to pull the trigger Winston quickly grabbed the gun from Kat's hands and using both hands broke it in half with his impressive strength before he punched Kat in his gut, causing him to double over. Just as Winston was about to grab Kat the hybrid quickly dodged the gorilla's hands by rolling to the side, Kat then quickly got on his feet and ran away from Winston as he figured the other Anthros were catching up to him, or at the very least Doggie was with his incredible speed as Shadow Ranger.

After getting away from Winston, Kat got down from the rooftops and started running at full speed to get out of the city. After running for a few minutes Kat eventually found himself in the city park and took a moment to catch his breath from all the running, though just as Kat thought he had a moment to rest, Sulley jumped out from behind a nearby bush and swung at Kat, who quickly dodged with a backflip. Right after Kat dodged with his backflip, Leomon appeared from behind Sulley and shot a Fist of the Beast King attack at Kat, the attack happened so fast that Kat wasn't able to dodge it and took it head on. Kat quickly shook off the damage and got back on his feet to see both Leomon and Sulley were looking at him with furious expressions, Leomon also drew his sword to emphasize that he meant business,
“Just come with us peacefully Kat,” Leomon instructed,
“Yeah, despite everything, we don’t want to hurt you, though we will if we have to” Sulley added, Kat looked both Anthros in their eyes before he started laughing uncontrollably again,
“BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!, Oh! I’m so terrified of the family friendly monster and the pushover lion, please have merc- Pfft, HAHAHAHAHAHA.. Whoo, sorry I couldn’t get through that sentence without laughing, even with sarcasm,” Kat explained with a smile,
“Enough! How could you do something so awful? Did the kindness that Panthro showed you mean nothing? Do you feel any shame for your actions whatsoever?” Leomon asked angrily as he aggressively clenched his sword, Kat simply rolled his eyes,
“Oh please, you’re just a bunch of ones and zeroes and fluffy beside you used to make a living out of terrifying children, your guilt trip doesn’t really resonate with me,” Kat commented casually, Sulley growled a bit and cracked his knuckles,
“Maybe we do have to hurt you,” Sulley commented, Kat responded with another devious smile,
“Then what are you waiting for? Hurt me…” Kat challenged casually. There was a bit of hesitation between Kat and the two Anthros, though Leomon was the first one to make a move, Leomon charged at Kat and was about to swipe at Kat with his sword, but Kat quickly ducked and punched Leomon below the belt as hard as he could, causing the poor digimon to double over with tears unintentionally welling up in his eyes,
“Y-you have no honor…” Leomon commented in pain, Kat shrugged,
“Nah, honor makes fighting less fun,” Kat replied casually. After seeing what Kat did to Leomon, Sulley was about to unleash a mighty roar, though before he could, Kat quickly went over to him and punched him in his throat, causing him to gag, cough, and even fall to his knees rubbing his throat, Kat giggled from seeing Leomon and Sulley in pain. Before Kat could decide what to do next, he could see the rest of the Anthros surround him, Panthro, Doggie, Jon, and Winston all quickly joined Sulley and Leomon as they formed a ring around Kat, after a few moments Sulley and amazingly Leomon got back on their feet to face Kat,
“It’s over Kat, we have you surrounded,” Panthro pointed out angrily as he readied his nunchuk, Kat pondered for a bit before he sighed,
“It sure looks that way, I’m not really good at fighting groups…” Kat commented, Panthro’s eyes then widened,
“Wait… Kat isn’t good at fighting groups? Since when? He helped me fight a group when I first met him… not to mention other adventures he’s been with me...” Panthro thought to himself, Doggie readied his shadow saber,
“Don’t do anything stupid, we have you surrounded, and we will break bones if we have to,” Doggie warned,
“What do you idiots want?” Kat asked in annoyance,
“We want to get to the bottom of why you did what you did, it doesn’t make sense, I thought you changed your ways, I thought you legitimately wanted to help Zero… I thought I could trust you! I thought you would listen to me and wait at the base!” Panthro explained angrily, doing his best to maintain his composure,
“It looks like you thought a lot of things, which is impressive, I didn’t think a muscle head like you could think…” Kat commented,
“I’m going to rip him to pieces!” Jon threatened angrily, Winston gestured for Jon to calm down,
“Easy Jon, he’s trying to provoke you, don’t let him get to you” Winston suggested,
“You know what? If you want to talk, why don’t we talk back at the base?” Kat suggested, then before the Anthros could catch him, he slid under Leomon’s legs, and took off at full speed towards the city again, the Anthros immediately gave chase. Despite their best efforts to keep up, the Anthros lost Kat once again, after much searching, Panthro instructed the rest of the Anthros to return to the base.

Back at the Anthros of Justice base, Kat sat on the couch in the lobby with a warm cup of coffee on the side table, and a book in his hands that he had been reading, Kat looked at the front door and sighed,
“They’ve been gone for a long time, I sure hope nothing happened…” Kat thought to himself, then as if on cue the front door opened, and the Anthros walked in, though they all looked less than happy and even seemed to have bruises. Kat quickly bookmarked the page he was on and stood up,
“Guys! You’re back! How was the lead? Did you find Zero?” Kat asked, most of the Anthros exchanged confused looks given how genuine Kat’s tone sounded, though Jon pushed his teammates that were in front of him aside and readied his claws,
“You’ve got some nerve, doing all those horrible things in the city, and then acting like you’re still on good terms with us…” said Jon furiously,
“The city? What did I do in the city?” Kat asked,
“DON’T PLAY DUMB! WHERE IS THE GEMSTONE?!” Jon demanded angrily,
“What gemstone? My good luck charm? It’s around my neck… as usual” Kat explained,
“Not that gemstone fool! The one you stole from the museum!” Jon explained angrily,
“...the blue ruby? I gave that gemstone back remember?” Kat explained, Panthro chimed in,
“Kat, stop playing dumb, the gemstone you stole from the museum in the city tonight!” Panthro explained, Kat had the most confused expression on his face,
“What are you talking about? I wasn’t in the city tonight, I stayed at the base, just like you told me to,” Kat explained,
“Kat… we literally saw you!” Doggie replied,
“We did more than see you..” Leomon added, rubbing his still sore groin,
“Not only did we see you running out the museum but, you were also working alongside Krybots, and you even attacked us!... no, not even that, you were actually trying to kill us!” Panthro explained, Kat simply looked at the Anthros with confusion and disbelief,
“What? Are you sure it wasn’t just some dude who looked like me?” Kat asked, Jon tried lunging at Kat angrily but Sulley caught him, and held him back,
“HE LOOKED EXACTLY LIKE YOU! HE SOUNDED EXACTLY LIKE YOU! HE SMELLED EXACTLY LIKE YOU! AND NOT TO MENTION HE HAD YOUR POWERS! THAT WAS YOU!!” said Jon furiously as he attempted to free himself from Sulley’s grip and attack Kat, who couldn’t believe what he was hearing,
“But… I’ve been here all night…” Kat explained timidly,
“Kat, that story isn’t going to work…” Doggie replied,
“It isn’t a story it’s the truth!” Kat yelled defensively,
“You’re awfully bold to start yelling considering all the pain you put us through!” Jon replied angrily, Kat then noticed all the bruises on his fellow Anthros,
“Is that why you guys are hurt?... In the city… I… hurt you?” Kat asked in timid disbelief,
“You know that you did! Also how long have you been in cahoots with the Syndicate?” Jon demanded,
“I haven’t! I’ve even fought against members of the Syndicate before!” Kat replied,
“Sure you have, I bet those fights were staged so we wouldn’t suspect you! I bet your concern for that Zero girl was nothing more than an act too!” Jon speculated, Kat clenched his fist angrily,
“You take that back…” Kat demanded with suppressed anger,
“Kat…you can’t just expect us to trust you after everything that went down in the city,” Doggie explained,
“What went down in the city?! I already told you… I was at the base all night!... You guys are just messing with me… Right?..” Kat asked timidly before he turned his attention towards Winston,
“Winston… you believe me… don’t you?” Kat asked timidly, Winston looked in Kat’s shaking pupils within his sharp eyes, and the gorilla could see legitimate fear and confusion, it even looked like Kat might start crying, though Winston sighed,
“I’m sorry Kat, but I believe in what I can see… and I saw you in the city…” Winston explained with a heavy heart. Kat turned his attention to Leomon,
“Leomon?” Kat inquired timidly,Leomon shook his head, Kat turned his attention to Sulley,
“Sulley?” Kat inquired timidly,
“Sulley can’t even talk right now! You punched him in the throat so hard, who knows how long it’ll take to heal?” Jon asked rhetorically,
“That wasn’t me…” Kat replied timidly, Sulley gave an unsure expression that seemed to offer Kat a bit of sympathy, somehow Sulley’s response seemed to be the kindest one he got from the Anthros since they returned to the base, Kat didn’t dare ask Jon as he already knew what answer awaited him,
“Doggie?” Kat inquired timidly, Doggie sighed and shook his head,
“As an enforcer of the law I believe in “innocent until proven guilty”... though, I think we got all the proof we needed back in the city,” Doggie explained, with a heavy heart, Kat gulped and turned his attention towards Panthro,
“Panthro… you believe me right?” Kat asked, to his surprise Panthro said nothing, the silence was so overwhelming Kat could feel his heart beating in his chest,
“H-hey, come on, why aren’t you saying anything? I thought we were partners…” Kat commented in a frightened tone, Panthro once again didn’t respond,
“Panthro… I know I used to steal things, but you have my word, I didn’t even leave the base tonight! I even promised you earlier! I never break a promise!” Kat explained desperately, Panthro once again couldn’t bring himself to respond. Kat looked like he was about to lose his cool, though thankfully Winston’s communicator lit up with Athena’s symbol,
“May I say something?” Athena asked,
“Of course,” Winston replied,
“I can assure you all that I didn’t see Kat leave the base tonight,” Athena explained, the anthros gained surprised expressions, save for Kat,
“Thank you!” said Kat, relieved that someone finally believed him,
"Athena… are you sure?" Winston asked,
"I'm positive," Athena replied,
"In that case… I trust Athena, if she says Kat was at the base all night, I believe both her and Kat now," Winston explained,
"Don't be a fool! What if Kat manipulated her to say that?" Jon asked angrily,
"How would he do that?" Winston asked,
"He can pick locks, I'm willing to bet he also dabbles in hacking!" Jon suggested,
"Athena's security is top notch, it would take more than someone who "dabbles in hacking" to manipulate her!" Winston replied,
"Even so, we have six witnesses who saw Kat in the city, and only one at the base," Leomon suggested,
"There's more than one! Kuriboh and Bruiser will vouch for me!" Kat suggested,
"Their testimony doesn't count! They're close to you so of course they'll claimed that you're innocent, not to mention most of us can't even understand what they say!" Jon replied,
"So what are you suggesting Jon? That Kat was in two places at once tonight?" Doggie asked,
"It wouldn't be the first time he sustained himself in more than one place at once…" Jon commented,
"Are you stupid?! I can't sustain an after image from that far away!" Kat replied defensively,
"As far as we know…" Jon commented,
"Dammit Jon! I wasn't in the city tonight!" Kat replied angrily,
"You can repeat yourself until your voice stops working, most of us here don't believe your story," Jon replied,
"I believe him," Sulley replied, his voice was incredibly low and raspy,
"Sulley! He punched you in the throat, how can you show him sympathy?" Jon asked in disbelief,
"I've been around Kat long enough to tell when he's being genuine, I'm sure there's a reason for the Kat in the city," Sulley replied, then immediately rubbed his sore throat as talking was still painful. Jon looked over the group he was among who stood near the front door and sighed, then surprisingly he spoke with a calm tone,
"Alright, so counting Athena, three of us believe that Kat was at the base, and four of us still believe he was in the city, in other words most of us, I believe we should at the very least restrain Kat so he doesn't do anything funny while we get to the bottom of this," Jon suggested,
"That sounds like a good idea," Doggie replied getting out his Morpher, Kat's eyes widened,
"Wait, you're going to put me in a containment card?" Kat asked in a frightened tone,
"It's the necessary thing to do, don't worry it doesn't hurt and if you're proven innocent you'll be released from the card," Doggie assured Kat who was still trembling,
"B-but I am innocent! Please, those cards are for criminals! And I'm not a criminal anymore, I've bettered myself!" Kat explained desperately as Doggie readied his Morpher, though to the anubian's surprise Panthro put his hand on his Morpher as a gesture to stop,
"Doggie, wait, I believe in Kat too," Panthro explained, everyone turned their attention to Panthro,
"You do?" Leomon asked, Panthro nodded,
"I know it seems unbelievable considering all that happened in the city… but he's my partner, if we don't believe in each other during the most unlikely of times, how will we ever get through hardships?" Panthro asked rhetorically, Kat felt a weight lift off his chest to finally hear Panthro stand up for him,
"Then what do you suggest?" Doggie asked, Panthro pondered for a bit before he spoke,
"Use the judgment scanner on your Morpher," Panthro instructed,
"You think it'll register him as innocent?" Doggie asked,
"I know it will, besides you said yourself that you believe in innocent until proven guilty, this'll prove Kat's innocence once and for all," Panthro explained, Doggie pondered for a bit, then nodded before he pressed the top button on his Morpher to open it,
"Kat, you are charged with stealing a valuable gemstone from the city museum, working with the enemy, assaulting your fellow Anthros, and attempted murder, and you will be judged," Doggie explained as the red X and light blue O started flashing on his Morpher.

Everyone was silent as Doggie's Morpher was making its judgement with the alternating symbols flashing, Kat could feel his heart beating in his chest and time slow down around him as the symbols kept flashing. The tension in the air felt like it could be cut, and despite the judgment not even lasting half of a minute, to Kat it felt as though several minutes passed as his forehead became damp with sweat. When the Morpher finally made it's judgement, Kat's heart stopped for a split second and everyone's eyes went wide upon seeing it.

To be continued