x
Chara broke away from the guards as they snarled on her tail. These fools will never get their paws on me, nor on Invincible for long. She drew a quick glance over her shoulder to all the cat species getting thrown into multiple bramble nests. I have to save each and every one of them, especially Invincible. I hope . . . I hope he truly notices me after I help him and free the Great Tiger. Chara had never gotten a chance to share her feelings with the powerful tiger.
She raced out of the den-area, her heart pounding without any powers helping to defend her. She was no more than her own teeth and claws for now. She ran until the tigers were no longer behind her, but the sound of not-too-distant pawsteps made her ear fur tremble.
Unable to think of a better plan, she scrambled up a tree and crouched in the thick leaves. She forced her fur to not bristle and kept her ears flat as the guards raced right past her. She swallowed a purr of laughter and leaped down, landing silently on the ground.
She scurried away, not knowing how long it would take for the Streak tigers to know they were being tricked. I have to find help! I can’t defeat the Streak on my own.
She went all the way to the forest where she met Pinwheel and Rapier, the weird-looking kits that Invincible looks after. She climbed up the Sand Rocks, paw after paw until the trees looked like insects. She slowed down her pace and padded along the edge of the rocks, looking for the Dewdrop Tribe’s den-area.
Where is it, where is it? She growled impatiently, scanning the view. Not long after, she found the canopy of the Dewdrop Tribe and sniffed out the scents of cats.
She looked over the edge, searching for a way down. She caught a jagged opening in the rock with places to step on, all the way down to the bottom.
That doesn’t look natural, she thought. The Tribe must have used their powers to create this, to be able to go up and down safely.
An idea then rang into her head. Powers! Yes! The Dewdrop Tribe is just what I needed. Pinwheel and the Tribe can help me free Invincible and the Great Tiger! She hurried down the Sand Rocks and ran to the den-area where she halted at the entrance.
A cat who was standing at the opening stood up and stared warily at her. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”
She lifted one scarred paw, and vines automatically grew from the dirt and tied Chara’s paws together. She looked at them in surprise, trying to shift her paws, but the vines would not let them budge.
“I’m with Invincible and Pinwheel!” She said hurriedly, the vines threatening to wrap around her snout. “I’ve come here for help! Please! Where is your leader? Where is Pinwheel?” she asked.
The vines paused but did not let go of her paws. “You’re with Pinwheel? How?” The cat glanced at Chara suspiciously.
“Invincible, the black-and-white tiger? I’m with him. I’m the first friend he’s ever had, and Pinwheel- I met him with Invincible, while we were searching for new allies. I promise, I just need your help. Invincible’s in trouble. All of us are in trouble!” She pleaded.
The cat hesitated, and after a moment, she finally nodded. “Gaze is eating with Holo,” she said, and the vines unwrapped her paws and vanished underground. “A-and Pinwheel?” Chara asked.
The cat looked at the ground and shook his head. “Pinwheel isn’t here. He went with Invincible to find his brother. Apparently Rapier’s in trouble. Wait.” She looked at Chara again. “Invincible went with Pinwheel. He’s trapped now, you say? Is Pinwheel trapped, too?” she asked.
Chara shook her head, confused. “No. I summoned Invincible while the Streak was threatening us. I-I didn’t know he was helping Pinwheel. It’s my fault he’s trapped,” she sighed.
The cat stared at her with an alarmed gaze. “Pinwheel is by himself?” she gasped. She raced into the clearing, Chara at her heels.
“Gaze!” she called. The leader of the Tribe glanced up from his vole, the ginger tabby beside him also staring at her. “What is it, Garden?” Gaze asked uneasily, shooting a glare at Chara.
“Pinwheel is missing! Tiger, explain to him.” The cats all turned to her with shocked expressions.
“That’s right. Pinwheel left with Invincible, but now Invincible is in trouble. I summoned him, and now Pinwheel is by himself. You must find him, and for everyone’s sake, help me free Invincible, or the Streak will gain power over all of us, no matter how many powers you have. Invincible and his whole army were loaded with incredible superpowers and invincibility, but in the end, the Streak overtook us all. We must stop them before they learn how to defeat your Tribe as well. I escaped, and they’re after me. We must use our powers as one and free Invincible and save Pinwheel, so he can help us too. Are you with me?” She looked around, and the clearing was silent. Cats glanced at each other, and others murmured bewildered conversations.
It took a while before a cat spoke up and said, “I’ll fight for Pinwheel and our powers!”
One by one, the Dewdrop Tribe took up the chant, until Chara was afraid it would catch the Streak Guards’ attention from far away.
“They won’t defeat us!”
“We’ll defeat them like hunting prey!”
“For Pinwheel and the Tribe!”
Gaze whirled around and pointed a claw at a black-and-blueish cat with white speckles that looked like stars. “Midnight!” he screeched. “Track down Pinwheel!”
Midnight closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them once more. “I have him in sight. He’s . . . with another cat. He has something on his neck. I . . . I don’t know how to explain it.”
Gaze nodded and glared at Garden. “Garden, make a clear path to where Pinwheel is.” The orange-and-white scarred cat parted the trees and grass to make a dirt path leading out of sight to Pinwheel.
The leader of the Tribe then looked at Chara with a calm gaze. “What’s your name, tiger?” he asked.
“Chara,” she answered.
“Alright. Chara, Owl, Scar, Midnight, Garden, Holo, and Loyal, go find and bring Pinwheel and come back. Once that matter is finished, we will help Chara free Invincible.” He turned away, signaling with his tail to the patrol to head out.
Holo raced ahead, his super speed carrying him across to the Sand Rocks in a second. “Come on!” he called. The patrol raced after him, Loyal and Scar climbing the Sand Rocks with ease, Loyal using his wall-climbing powers and Scar nimbly leaping from rock to rock with incredible agility, not bothering to take the custom-made path that the others took.
They climbed to the top, and the path stretched out as far as Chara could see. Where could Pinwheel be, so far away? she wondered.
Holo carried on ahead while Owl flew above them. I wish I had my powers back, Chara thought. They reached the other end of the Sand Rocks where Garden made an easy trail down. They stopped for a moment as Scar easily caught two rabbits that the patrol shared. Once everyone’s hunger eased, they carried on, bounding through the forest until Chara’s heart seemed to pound loud enough for everyone to hear. They ran on until black-sky, Chara thinking the path would never end until she spotted something pressed into the dirt.
A pawprint!
Chara sniffed at it. It smelled like a cat. But not any cat.
Pinwheel!
“He’s here! Pinwheel’s been here!” she exclaimed to the patrol excitedly. The patrol gathered quickly to look at the pawprint.
“That really is Pinwheel’s scent!” Owl meowed.
“Then let’s keep going. The scent isn’t too stale; he can’t have gone far,” Chara replied, padding ahead on determined paws.
“Wait,” Chara said urgently. “I’ve found something else.”
A small trickle of red liquid was dribbled on the grass, and it took a moment for Chara to realize that it was fresh blood.
“This is blood!” she cried, and the patrol raced to her sides, looking at the blood in dismay.
“This is no stale blood,” Midnight growled. “Do you think Pinwheel’s hurt?” Chara asked. She sniffed at the blood, searching for a hint of Pinwheel’s scent. She realized Pinwheel’s scent came from it, and she gasped quietly.
“Pinwheel’s scent is here,” she murmured. Then, as Chara looked ahead, she saw that the path stopped in the near distance. At the end, there were two moving shapes walking slowly.
“Pinwheel?” Chara stalked toward the shapes, her heart in her throat. The young black-and-white cat was dragging along a weird-looking white cat who was bleeding from its ear. “Pinwheel!” Chara exclaimed behind him.
Pinwheel whirled around, dropping the white cat on the dirt and lashing his tail. He hissed, baring his teeth, before he realized who he was seeing. “Tiger? Who are you?” he growled.
Chara dipped her head. “I suppose I haven’t told you my name yet. I’m Chara, and I’m friends with Invincible,” she said softly. At that, Pinwheel’s ears pricked up, and his blue-and-yellow eyes glared at her. “Invincible? I . . . I think Invincible has mentioned a ‘Chara.'" His eyes were racing with thoughts. “Where is he? What happened to him?” Pinwheel demanded.
Chara looked at her paws. “That’s . . . exactly why we’re here, actually. We need your help. Invincible’s been captured,” she meowed.
Pinwheel flattened his ears. “You’re kidding,” he growled in disbelief. “Invincible’s never been captured by anything. What are you playing at?” he snarled, but his eyes were troubled.
“I know it sounds unbelievable, but it’s true. The Streak took the Great Tiger and somehow managed to snag him enough so that he couldn’t keep hold of Invincible’s powers. We must free Invincible and the Great Tiger if Invincible is to get his powers back. You won’t be able to get your special future world without him, Pinwheel. That’s why he didn’t come back for you. I . . . I summoned him while he and you were away. It’s my fault he’s trapped. I’m sorry.” Chara sighed and braced for the storm of protests.
But Pinwheel just stayed silent. Silent for an agonizingly long amount of time.
It took a while until Pinwheel finally spoke up, his fur beginning to bristle. “You mean you summoned him?” His eyes darkened and dilated to dangerous narrow slits. “You’re telling me you are the reason all of this is happening?!”
He launched himself at Chara, claws outstretched and his gaze glittering with rage. He raked her in the muzzle and bit her in the paw. Chara yelped in pain as Pinwheel whirled around and clamped his jaws around her tail.
“Pinwheel, stop!” The patrol pried Pinwheel off of Chara, struggling to hold the frenzied cat from tearing at Chara’s throat.
Then, Pinwheel huffed in anger and gave up, the fury dying in his eyes. The patrol let go of him, and Pinwheel sighed. “I’m sorry. I’ll help. Of course, I will. But straight after, Invincible is in big trouble,” he chuckled softly. He then padded to the white cat and crouched before her, licking at the dried blood on the cat’s ear.
“Who is that?” Chara mewed gently, limping over to his side. “Lichen. Her ear is injured.” Pinwheel muttered something under his breath, and Chara pricked his ears to hear him say, “Those stupid dragons,” and cocked her head.
Since she found Pinwheel, it was the first time she truly noticed the metal collar around his neck. It had jaggedly carved numbers that said #087 on the front.
Pinwheel seemed to notice her gazing at it and hissed. “I know you’re thinking about it. You’re all thinking about it. To answer you’re question, yes, I hate this collar so much WHOSE FACE CAN I CLAW OFF TO MAKE IT COME OFF I AM SO MAD AT INVINCIBLE.” The cat roared in fury, and Chara saw faint claw marks on the collar as if Pinwheel had been trying to tear it off.
She stepped closer to examine it. “Oh . . . that? Once free, Invincible can slice that off before you can say horn-head,” she huffed.
Pinwheel lashed his tail. “Maybe to a regular collar, but not this one. This collar is enchanted to stay on my neck, despite anything. I don’t think even Invincible will be able to get it off.” He stuck two claws into the collar and pulled, but it was as if the object just . . . refused to come off. Pinwheel sighed after a while, his shoulders slumped. He turned a trustful gaze on Chara and nodded at the patrol.
“Alright. What’s the plan?"
ns 15.158.61.12da2
