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Invincible flew toward the shapes he saw on the sky kingdom, and his heart soared as he recognized Chara’s familiar stripes in the distance. His smile lifted and he roared in their direction, a sound of pure delight he hadn’t felt in days. The shapes turned toward him, hesitating briefly as they saw Invincible and his reunited army fly toward them, and then he saw Chara’s face light up. She screamed his name and raced to the edge of the kingdom toward him, the shapes on her haunches tumbling to the ground.
“INVINCIBLE!” she yowled, her smile as wide as his.
“Chara!” With a couple more wing beats, he crash-landed into her, and they tumbled and rolled on the ground for a moment before they stopped with Invincible above her. “Chara! I’m so glad you’re alright! So much has happened, but don’t worry; the Streak has been taken care of and we’re all feeling better than ever now.”
Invincible straightened, spreading his wings in a gesture to his army landing behind him as Chara wiggled out from under him and stood up, her smile never dropping the littlest bit. “Oh, Invincible, I’m just glad you’re here. A… a lot has happened over here, too.” She lashed her tail toward the group of cats, and Invincible glanced at them.
They looked very odd, Invincible noticed. One had a spiked collar with a large scar slashed across his face, and another had some of the oddest colors Invincible had ever seen; a mixture of black and dark blue, with white specks scattering across her entire body over the black and blue-like stars in the night sky.
Invincible scanned over the patrol of cats for a long moment, then glanced at the two shapes, pulling themselves back on their talons, that were most definitely not felines. One was a pure black color, while the other was pure snowy white, and they both had the same forest-green eyes. They had scales, horns on their heads, narrow snouts, thick tails, and sharp talons. Invincible hadn’t ever seen a creature like it, and he peered at it curiously, then acknowledged them to Chara. “What… are those?” he asked.
Chara followed his gaze and then back at him, her gaze unreadable. “Oh, those two- long story short, we found them not long ago when we came up here looking for Pinwheel, and we found these two dragons, as you call them. We- I- have decided to take care of them. Despite what the other dragons did to Pinwheel and Lichen over there,” she lashed her tail at the odd white cat with the wrap around her right eye, “these hatchlings have done nothing bad yet. They can be raised to be different than the dragons they were born upon,” Chara said confidentially.
Invincible had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. His mind was sent into a spiral of confused thoughts. Dragons? Pinwheel? Missing? They did something to Pinwheel? Dragons? Taking care of them? He blinked for a moment, then glanced at the hatchlings again, then returned his gaze to Chara.
“Pinwheel’s missing? Again? What happened to him?” he blurted.
Chara explained to him about Pinwheel and Lichen’s situation with the dragons, how he suddenly got the power to shapeshift that drove Pinwheel to kill all the dragons in the kingdom except the hatchlings, who survived, and how Pinwheel flew away in a rage in his dragon form.
Despite the anger making his fur bristle, Invincible felt a small twinge of pride for Pinwheel. He got a power of his own, and he dealt with a huge problem of his without my help in the slightest. It sounds like he’s growing well. But then, the pride was quickly replaced by guilt and his anger rose. Not that it’s his fault. It’s mine. I’m to blame for this. If I hadn’t left the Streak so mindlessly earlier, before I ever properly protected myself from any of their potential threats, and then that happened.
Invincible finally snarled, making Chara jump. “Then we’re going to get him right back. Bring your dragons and patrol or whatever and we’re leaving to find him and Rapier.”
Gritting his teeth, he turned, his fur bristling. Why do I feel like I hate myself right now? If I can’t keep these two moons-blasted young cats safe without having to interfere with their quest for just a moment, how can I take care of all of these Great Cats and species, one by one, just in plain sight? Am I even deserving all this right now? Am I even real? If the Great Tiger is in trouble, I am too! It’s like I’m a piece evolved from him that will crack just as much as Eco himself whenever he gets in his own trouble. Why did he create me? If he has the power to turn tigers into… creatures like me… all along, then why does it seem I’m the first one? What is the point? Is there something I’ve been missing? Or does he really just feel enough pity for me to give me these abilities?
Invincible let out a low growl and pushed his way through all the cat species, the army he created himself… to get revenge on the Streak and prove his place in this unfair world. And now, the Streak was dead. All he seemed to do now was worry about these two specific, small cats who were trying to find their mother… and are now stuck in a very similar situation he was just in. Did he care for them more than most of his army? M-
“Invincible, are you alright?” Chara interrupted his thoughts, and Invincible snapped his head back to her. “Yes. Never better. Need something? We’re going. Now.”
Invincible turned his head back and took half a pawstep forward, starting to spread his unfolding wings, before the strange-looking orange-and-tan cat started flying- without wings-, exclaiming loudly and making Invincible and everyone look up at him.
“L-look- over there- what’s happening?!” Owl pointed, and Invincible turned his head in the direction to see two distant figures splashing in the distant Salt Pool. From Invincible’s position, it looked like one of the figures was fighting a moving splotch of bright purple.
“What in the Great Cats…” Invincible murmured, then shook his head. “I’ll go see what’s going on Stay here or climb down; your choice.” Invincible spread his wings and took off, not waiting for their reply, toward the two figures. He flew downward from the height of the sky-land, or whatever it was, until he was soaring just a bit above the forest trees. Keeping his vision toward the figures in the Salt Pool, he flapped his wings tirelessly until the forest spread out into sand.
He landed just at the last of the forest undergrowth, peering through it to get a closer look at what he was seeing. Now he saw it; just a bit out in the Salt Pool, where the water still rippled into waves, were two extremely odd-looking creatures, not anything Invincible had known existed. They definitely weren’t cats.
Invincible narrowed his eyes at the one fighting the purple figure. He had smooth, dirty aqua-green scales and paws that looked similar to the paws that the No-Furs had when he fought them, except they were webbed and had sharp claws at each paw tip. He had semi-circular scales for hair, facing backward and reaching the back of his head. His neck, arms, spine, legs, shoulders, and tail had a lighter green shade of frills, and his tail ended in a tip with a large frill on the end. His underbelly and other spots on his legs and tail had faded into a dusty orange color. He had a medium-sized snout and brown eyes, Invincible thought.
What… is he?
The purple one was female, and looked like him, except with short, light purple-furred hair and pointy ears, as well as horns. She was deep purple for the most part, her frills and underbelly a lighter shade of purple, not as light as her hair though.
“You need to listen to the Queen more when she gives you orders, Marine!” The dirty-green one yelled at the other creature. So they can speak normally, Invincible thought to himself.
“Oh please, Nemo. You Royals. Always looking down on everyone else. Queen Manta can handle being stood up to every here and then. She ordered me to clean the courtroom like I’m some servant!” The one named Marine retorted, pushing ‘Nemo’ roughly backward into the water with a splash. Nemo got back up quickly, slapping Marine in the side of her face with his tail.
“She’s the Queen! If anyone can order you to do something, it’s her! You could end up getting hurt for disobeying her, and I don’t want that! I know Manta can be rude sometimes, but it’s just the way things are. If you hate Royals so much, why do you hang out with me all the time?! A prince!” Nemo exclaimed.
Marine coiled and clutched her snout for a brief moment before she turned back and bared her teeth at Nemo. “Because you’re the only tolerable Royal there ever was! Kinda the only one… in general. At least… you were.” Her face turned into a shred of sorrow. “Fine. Sorry, for… disobeying your mother… or should I say Queen Manta. If you ever want to apologize or talk to me again, don’t.”
With a splash and a quick ripple in the water to the shore, Marine smoothly dove into the Salt Pool and didn’t come back up.
Nemo’s face changed from anger to bewildered shock, standing frozen in the water. She must’ve meant something to him… Invincible thought, feeling a small spark of sympathy for the Salt Pool creature. If I’m going to make an appearance, I should do it now. I can’t breathe underwater, so I wouldn’t be able to follow him if he left as well. And… a Queen? A Royal hierarchy? That sounds interesting. And apparently, he’s a… prince, son to this ‘Queen.’ I should introduce myself now and get to know more about him and these creatures.
Invincible stepped out from behind the undergrowth onto the sand. It was a warm and odd feeling under his paws. He paced over to the edge of the water before Nemo turned at the sound of him walking on the sand and saw him for the first time.
Invincible stopped walking, and Nemo’s eyes widened in surprise, staring at him for a moment. Then, after a few more heartbeats of shocked silence, Nemo slowly approached the shore, his tail acting like a swimming motor. Invincible watched as he got out of the water, standing in the wet sand and facing him.
“My… never seen anything like you before… can you… speak?” Nemo asked after a heartbeat before Invincible could say anything himself.
He dipped his head. “I do. I should also be saying the same thing. What are you?” Invincible asked.
Nemo hesitated for a heartbeat, then smiled, straightening up and putting his paw to his chest. “Ah, what a good question to ask. I am Prince Nemo of the Nematyx. You are in the presence of a Royal, in simple terms, and should bow to me immediately and beg me to spare your life,” he said in a higher pitch.
Invincible blinked, then smiled, amused. “You might be surprised to hear I heard a chunk of your conversation back then. I know perfectly well, you’re… this Queen’s son, apparently. And I’ll have you know that you haven’t the slightest idea of who I am.” Invincible grinned and straightened in the way Nemo did. “I am Invincible. Leader of the Great Cats that watch over us and, proudly, the oddest, smartest, most unique tiger there ever lived. Usually, I would be telling you to bow to me, if you know what’s good for you. But, I must say, you’ve piqued my interest quite a bit, and I just got out of something pretty complicated, so I’m in a good mood. I’d be delighted to tell you more, if you have the same interest in sharing everything about your kind, as well.”
Invincible looked at Nemo’s expression, a mixture of confusion and curiosity. After a moment, Nemo met Invincible’s gaze once more, his expression unreadable. “Invincible… what an odd name. Not a Nematyx name, to begin with… doesn’t really roll off the tongue, either. I’ll call you Vinci,” Nemo began, a kind smile forming on his face. “My, you have made my day a lot more interesting, I must say. I also don’t think of you as… odd, more… special, right? I understand being different. Being a Royal in the entire Nematyx tribe isn’t actually as great as it might seem, at least to me. Queen Manta can be quite pestering to her princes.” Nemo rolled his eyes, exhaling.
Invincible smiled in a softer tone, laughing softly before replying. “Invincible is the name the Great Tiger gave me. Though, I suppose you’re right. ‘Vinci,’ hmm? I’ve never been called a nickname before… but oh, I guess I don’t mind,” he said, then continued. “I… thank you, it’s quite rare for someone to not think of me as odd… it’s honestly extraordinary that you don’t, apparently. And… it’s just simply crazy that I’ve never seen or heard of a Nematyx before… until you, of course. You have a Royal hierarchy… and a few more ranks, I assume? Hah, I can’t believe that! To think I’m not the only Royal here when there was an entire species underwater that also has some sense in how the world should work. Extraordinary!” he exclaimed.
Nemo laughed. “Well, you do live on land, and we live in the sea. That’s probably why you haven’t seen us before,” he replied jokingly.
“I suppose that does seem reasonable,” Invincible laughed. “I’d say the same thing then, you not knowing of me because I live on land. Now, I didn’t really mean to be eavesdropping back then, but that conversation sounded pretty rough. Will you be alright after that?” Invincible added.
Nemo sighed. “Yes- well, no- b-but ye- no-,” Nemo stuttered for a moment, then winced and shook his head. “I’ll be fine. We should get over it soon.” Nemo looked at the ground, his expression almost sorrowful. Invincible’s ears tilted slightly in condolence.
“I’m sorry to appear at such a time,” he murmured after a moment. “You should cheer up, though. Looking at the ground won’t get you anywhere,” he added softly, starting on his paws.
Nemo looked up. “A-Are you going somewhere?” he asked in reply, a small shred of disappointment in his voice.
Invincible shook his head. “I just don’t sit in one place for too long, you see. I must tell you that I am not alone- at least, I wasn’t. I told my army to come down if they wanted, but apparently, they chose to stay where I first spotted you in the water. Ah, but there’s no need to worry about them now. They know where I am, and they clearly didn’t take my invitation to come with me. I wish I could just magically get the power to breathe underwater so I can properly look into your kind more, but I can’t. Trust me, I do have power, but not water breathing,” he sighed.
There was a pause, and then Nemo smiled slightly and said, “Well, it just so happens that you ran into a Royal Nematyx, must I remind you. And a fairly interesting aspect of the Royal family is that they do have the ability to change a land creature into a version of themselves with the features of a Nematyx, allowing them to easily breathe and swim underwater. Only one at a time though. Not like I ever really use that power, since I rarely go up to the surface in the first place. Being a Royal doesn’t exactly mean having so many days to be off-task, not doing something for allllll the Nematyx citizens.” Nemo gave a short eye roll.
Invincible blinked, taking in Nemo’s response. Did he even want to go underwater right now?
“Well… wow, that’s… surprising,” Invincible managed to say, giving an oddly awkward smile.
Nemo tilted his head. “I’m not sure what Queen Manta will think… but if you want to, I’m sure I could find a way to introduce you to them underwater. Do you want to?” he asked.
Before Invincible could answer, the Great Tiger padded out from the undergrowth toward them. They both turned; Nemo bewildered, Invincible nodding in acknowledgment. “Hello, Eco; this is Nemo. Nemo, this is the one and only Eco the Great Tiger, the Spirit of all tigers. He gave me my own powers,” Invincible introduced.
Nemo’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Spirit of tigers…? He gave you your powers? How?” Nemo’s voice had a slight shred of skepticism as he studied Eco.
The Great Tiger dipped his head calmly, his expression unreadable through his starry-like face. “I assure you I heard your chat. It’s nice to see a Nematyx; I know about them, of course. It’s nice to meet you, Nemo. I understand Invincible’s interest to know more about you, and I’d be happy to give Invincible the ability to breathe underwater myself, so he can have the power permanently. It’s been quite a long time since I’ve given a new power, hasn’t it?” Eco smiled and looked at Invincible expectantly.
Invincible’s eyes widened. He hadn’t been given another power since he’d gotten his immortality… and breathing underwater would be very useful. Of course, he’d accept! “I would--,”
Invincible was cut off by Nemo’s voice, who interrupted, his tone a bit suspicious, looking at Eco as if trying to see through his starry pelt. “I’m sorry, but I’ve never used this power myself before, and if Vinci wants to… I’d like to give him it myself. It would be cool- and if he ever decides to come to the sea again, I can give him the power again. There’s no need for it to be a permanent power, I mean- what do you want, Vinci?” Nemo turned to him with a glare as if he was willing Invincible to make the right answer. Invincible himself half-thought there was a slight sort of uncomfortable tension between Eco and Nemo.
After a moment of thinking, he shrugged slowly. “Alright, Nemo, I suppose I get the feeling of wanting to use your powers… it would be interesting to see how you do it, let alone the result. Thank you, Eco, for the offer, but I’m interested to see how a Royal Nematyx’s powers work.” Invincible dipped his head at Eco.
The Great Tiger took a step forward. “With respect, my dear Invincible, if it is Nemo’s first time using his power, I’m not sure if everything will go perfectly. I know what I’m doing; perhaps I could give you the power now myself until you learn more about Nematyxes,” he said with almost a deadly calm tone.
Nemo looked somewhat offended, and he took a step forward, but Invincible put the tip of his tail over Nemo’s mouth. “What could go wrong, Eco? I’m sure it will turn out lovely- as long as I can go underwater, by the end of the day, I don’t care what could go slightly wrong. There’s no need to worry- I’m truly interested to see what Nemo can do, now that he mentions it. Oh, and of course, tell the others that I’ll be away for a bit.” Invincible smiled, dipping his head.
The Great Tiger’s eye twitched slightly, but he slowly dipped his head in return and took a step back. “If that’s what you want, Invincible.” His voice sounded a bit as if he just bit into a sour bite of stringy meat, and then he turned and padded a few paces, and then his fur vanished into the mist. Invincible tilted his head slightly as he thought he saw a pair of yellow-and-gray-looking eyes from where the forest met the Salt Pool. But then it vanished before Invincible could hardly process it.
Shaking his head, he turned back to Nemo, who gave him a suspicious look, looking around. “Something just pricks at my scales about your… friend, Vinci,” he said slowly.
Invincible snorted. “Well, it’s not every day you meet a Spirit, so I can understand,” he said. “Cheer up and let’s see that power of yours- do be careful, though,” he added with a slight smile and stood straight.
“Alright. Here we go,” Nemo breathed, and he stood up and raised his talons.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ03Ym0XpQdQ
