Now that I finally have a second to breathe, I shall answer the question, "Who is this Buddy that mysteriously became part of your signature about a month ago?" Well. The story behind Buddy includes intrigue, treason, the CIA, the FLO, and the witness protection program. Because of this I can t answer the question because if I do "they" will find out where Buddy is and he will have to disappear again. Well Buddy says that he wants his story told and he will take the chance of being discovered. So here is Buddy s story . . . {Please understand that the information that I have about Buddy before he came into my life is underground information given to me by a albino ferret that called himself "Shadow Stalker". The following is what he told me.} Jeffrey (Buddy s given name) was born in very humble conditions in New York. From an early age he grew up hating cats. This dislike started one day early in his life when a human put a mask over his face that made him go to sleep. When he woke up, he was "missing" a few things. [ Since this is a P.G. rated story, we will leave the graphic details out. ] When he went to sleep, he was a little man and when he woke up he was, well lets just say he was now just a little less of a man. He also found that "they" had removed his ability to sign his name and let others know that he had been there. "They" had also put the mark of the CIA (Cat Intelligence Agency) on him. This mark of the CIA consists of two black dots in his right ear. It would be later in his life that he would uncover the CIA conspiracy to create a race of docile ferrets that could not reproduce and that could be easily enslaved. Then one day, about five weeks after Jeffrey came into this world, his first big move came. He and some of the other kits his own age was moved into a dark box with a few holes in it. They were given a small amount of food and water. He could then feel the box start moving and it didn t completely stop until about 48 hrs later. During this time the box was opened a few more times to give him and his fellow kits more food and water. Even at such a young age Jeffrey showed his courage and care for others. In the group of kits that Jeffery was placed with, there was one pretty little girl. Her name was "Sprite". She was really scared and Jeffrey noticed that she wasn t getting any food. Jeffrey decided that he had better take care of her because she needed someone and she was kinda cute. So he would take food from the dish and bring it to Sprite so she wouldn t be hungry. He would then curl up with her in the corner to keep her warm, which he didn't mind at all. They finally stopped moving and were taken to another building where they met up with some other kits and were put into a big cage type thing. They stayed there for a couple of days, all the time Jeffrey protected and took care of Sprite. Then finally that fateful day arrived! Jeffrey and Sprite were cuddled up together when the cage opened. A human started taking out the different kits and putting them into two different boxes. One box was marked Idaho and the other was marked Virginia. Buddy didn t understand what the strange words meant. He didn t understand what was happening but he only knew one thing for sure, he WOULD protect Sprite no matter what happens. Finally they were the only two left in the main cage. The human then picked him up and placed him in a box marked Virginia. He stood up with his paws on the top of the box so he could see what was happening to Sprite. The human picked up Sprite and placed her in ... NO ... IT CAN T HAPPEN ... He placed Sprite in the box marked Idaho!!!! Then as suddenly as it all started, the lids were closed on the boxes. He could hear Sprite calling for him!! He could hear her screaming HIS name!! He must get to her. He started scratching at the box, he bit it, and even screamed at it. This whole time he could hear Sprite screaming his name! He promised to protect her! He must get to her! Then his box started moving and Sprites cries started fading out until they were gone. He couldn t believe it. She s gone! He had failed! He couldn t protect her! He flopped down in a corner and with tears streaming down his face he decided that the only ones that could be this cruel would be the cats of the CIA! They wanted to break him. He vowed right then that he would dedicate all of his time to bringing them down. YES, he WOULD do it! As he fell asleep in the corner after crying himself out all he could think of was Sprite ... Sprite ... Sprite I am so sorry ... (To Be Continued...) [Posted in FML issue 2234]