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The bird kept soaring above the No-Fur land, carrying Invincible, along with Chara, Calzar, and the cheetahs, until it apparently reached its destination, circling over this land of tan rock. There was a building with peaks and it looked old, and strange No-Furs, some with spiky hair and bright red furs, and Invincible curled his muzzle in disgust. He couldn't quite understand No-Furs and their strange gadgets.
Then, the bird started to drop toward a clearing, big enough for the bird to rest. It took a while, the bird taking its time.
Then, finally, it landed.
No-Furs immediately raced to the bird, carrying a large cage- Invincible’s size.
Invincible cocked his head in confusion. Do they really think they can trap me? He sighed in exasperation. Well, I’ll act powerless for now . . . until I find out what’s going on.
He bared his teeth at the No-Furs, and they took caution, moved the net, and made an opening facing the cage. Invincible knew that they wanted him to step into the cage so they could lock it.
He sighed again. “I’m only doing this because I have to. This could be a threat to my Streak, and I’ll have to deal with it later. For now, we play it cool. I will decide when it’s time to strike,” he told the cheetahs and then stepped into the cage. The No-Furs quickly shut it, and he was moved into a dark, wide room, and he had quickly changed into a normal tiger, so the No-Furs hardly noticed he had the power to do so.
He was thrown in there, and the door was shut.
Invincible paced around the walls, snarling in confusion and rage. “Did you just separate me from my cheetahs, No-Furs? You will pay, you wretched pink-paws! I will stay here until I find out what’s going on with your minds, but I will get my revenge!” He was about to form into a spirit to look for his cheetahs, but then he heard a clatter of chains outside.
Sniffing in confusion, he pricked his ears to hear outside the walls. With his power to speak to any creature, he concentrated on what the No-Furs were saying.
“You are a dead man, Rafel, when our new tiger gets a hold of you. Guards, tie him up!” Invincible heard more rustling chains, and then silence. Then he heard more commotion.
“Finally, some action ‘round here! Rafel, you’re going down when this dude in there has you for dinner.”
He heard “Rafel” say, “Whatever's in there, I will face it.”
Invincible growled in shock. They want me to kill the No-Fur?
“Behind those walls is a fearsome beast, Rafel. Behold, the tiger, not yet named, his first kill standing before him!” The other strange No-Fur said. Invincible heard the moveable walls rattle, and then, finally, they slowly started to open. He saw No-Fur paws, hooked up to chains, facing him with a hint of fear.
And then, the walls opened enough for him to stalk through. Invincible smiled.
This might be a bit of fun. I won’t miss a chance on a little No-Fur kill.
“Why hello there, Rafel. How’s it going today? Do you want to tell me how you ended up here?” Invincible growled in a low voice. Rafel never took his eyes off him as Invincible slowly stalked out of the tiger cell, taking his time. “I . . . I tried to challenge the King.” He took a slow blink.
“King, eh? I think I should be . . . King. You see, I know I’m a new tiger here and all, but I’m more powerful than you could imagine. You don’t even know what I can do, do you? Oh, no, you don’t, but why should I waste time . . . chatting about it, when I can kill right now? Do you even know my name?” He trotted to the side of the prisoner, and he cowered behind the plank on the opposite side of him.
“No, tiger. But . . . I’ve never heard of one that can talk,” Rafel stammered.
“Oh, I bet you haven’t. But I have the power to do so, and much more abilities. My name is Invincible, and by the Great Tiger, I will leave this cell with you in my teeth!” He bared his teeth and stopped stalking, grabbing the chains with his claws.
“My whole life, I’ve been bullied, taunted, even by my mother and father! Did you know that? Oh, no, you didn’t, did you? 'Blite, you're a disgrace to every tiger in this Streak! In the world!' Yes, yes, I know! But just because I’m different doesn’t mean you have to taunt me, do you? 'Of course! Your littermates will grow up to eat No-Furs for a living!' I know! The whole forest knows!” He rounded on Rafel.
“And this is why I’m different.”
He quickly turned black and white, but Rafel didn’t have time to object. He leaped at him, jaws open for the kill. Rafel screamed and slid with the chains to the other side, and Invincible dashed after him.
“I’ll show you how powerful I can be, Silver! Tigro, I’ll prove you wrong! You wish you had given me a chance!”
With a powerful swipe of his paws, he snapped the chain right off the plank holding it. Rafel, in the momentum of swinging away, went off with the chain and slammed into the cell walls with a grunt. He backed away against the walls, and Invincible stood before him.
“Any last words?” he crouched in pouncing form, ready to tear the No-Fur’s throat out.
“Don’t you want to make your parents proud in a nice way?” Rafel whispered.
Invincible sneered. “Oh, I think I prefer the harder way.” He leaped, bowling the prisoner over and pinning him down with ease.
“But why should I, honestly? They never cared about me! Never showed a bit of respect! I’ll show my mother and father what I can do.” He leaned down and whispered into Rafel’s ear. “I can do anything I want, and no one can do anything about it!” He crunched bone, and it was all over.
Now, the next thing to do was clear. He turned into a large orange-and-black tiger, with a stinging scorpion tail, and black spiky lower legs and paws. The other prisoners watching gaped in amazement and fear, and Invincible broke the cage with a touch of his tail. He ran out of the building, desperate to get to Chara and Calzar, the cheetahs, and the Streak.
The No-Furs shouted in fear and confusion, and soldiers marched forward with spike sticks, deathrays, and bows. It was time to show the No-Furs that they picked the wrong tiger to mess with. Now that he knew that they wanted to tame him to fight, he did not want to stay.
He slashed with huge claws, and the No-Furs barked in fright.
“Shoot that thing! Shoot!” they said, and he saw the deathray bullets hit him, but he didn’t feel it. He roared in fury, killing each No-Fur, bit by bit.
He sliced the throat of a red-furred No-Fur. Dead.
He cracked the spine of a spiky-haired No-Fur. Dead.
He grabbed a No-Fur with rough golden fur and smacked it against the ground of the ancient No-Fur Castle. Dead.
He killed the whole army that dared to try and harm him and then raced to a cowering No-Fur.
“Where is your King?” he demanded, raising his sting-tail. The No-Fur didn’t hesitate and pointed toward the tallest peak, stairs leading to the top. He didn’t kill the No-Fur, but growled in disgust and raced up the stairs to the King. He stood before him, growling.
“Hello, King. What is your name? You are King no longer.”
The King stared at him in bewilderment, then grunted, “I am King Slitchrew. And . . and you?” Invincible bared his teeth. “I am Invincible. King Invincible. Slitchrew, your soldiers tried to capture me and my cheetahs not long ago. Tell me where you took my cheetahs. Tell me!" he roared.
Slitchrew looked at him, indignant. “Why should I tell you?” he challenged.
Invincible let out a low growl and picked up the King with his claws by the fur he wore. “No more nice kitty. If you don’t tell me, I’ll find them myself easily and I will claw your heart out,” he snarled.
Slitchrew was shaking. Invincible could feel him shaking. It sent a wave of satisfaction through his blood.
“I-In that dungeon.” His shaking hand pointed to a stone den, bars secured on the wall gaps instead of the clear material No-Furs usually used. He abruptly let go of Slitchrew, and he thudded to the ground with a yell.
Invincible turned into his regular self and bounded toward the dungeon. The guards at the entrance ran to block him, but with a swipe of a powerful paw, he swept all of them off their feet and sent them tumbling down the steps. He shook his head in disgust and went inside.
It was dark and gloomy, like the other prison he had been in, but this was specifically for animals. He trailed the outside, looking in every cell. Then, he saw a spotted creature pacing in the one ahead. He looked inside it, and Alice was looking in panic at the enclosed space. She wasn’t paying attention to the bars where Invincible stood, just at the window, as if calculating how to escape.
“Alice?” he called, and she turned around slowly, her spiked fur bushing up with excitement. “Invincible? Is that you? You came?” she asked in disbelief. “Of course. I said I would, didn’t I? Now let’s get you all out of here.” His allies chirped in agreement, and a misty shape padded toward him.
“Hello, Great Cheetah.” He smiled at the spirit, and she dipped her head. “We knew we could count on you,” she mewed. Invincible growled happily. “I will protect you for the world, all of you. I made a promise, remember? More than a promise. An oath. And you did an oath for me. You are under my protection now. You will not regret your promise,” he said. They yowled in support.
Invincible roared and transformed back into the tiger manticore, flashing a paw at all the cells, even the other animals who were trapped. They burst out of their cages, yelping in bewilderment. Invincible noticed it was just one species of animal. A cat, at that.
One of them stalked forward, followed by the mass of other cats. It had long legs for its size, and tan fur covering its body. There were black marks on their faces, kind of like the cheetahs, but smaller and different. It had long ears with a tuft of black fur at the top.
“My name is Axe, and we are the Caracals. We thank you for freeing us, as we have been in here for moons!” He bowed to Invincible gratefully, and the other caracals did too.
“You're welcome. Uh, caracals- is that what you are?” he asked. They nodded. “Alright. Come with me. We need to talk.”
He led them all out of the dungeon, the alive No-Furs scattering in fear before him. Dead bodies and blood pools were splattered across the land. Chara and Calzar caught up to him. “What did you do while we were "trapped?” Calzar huffed. Invincible grinned. “Oh, you know, something. You can see for yourself by the bodies around you.” His friends rolled their eyes and they stalked out of the area into the forest.
Invincible paused for a second, then lifted his tail, pointing it at the land. With his powers, the No-Fur area was instantly turned into part of the forest, fresh trees and bushes now jutted into the ground as if they had been there for a long time. The alive No-Furs instantly died as well. Invincible decided he didn’t want any of them hanging around in his territory.
His army looked around in surprise and excitement. They stopped at a big tree with a big dirt patch around it, surrounded by undergrowth. Invincible climbed up the tree and stood on a clear branch where they could all see him. “Sit down. We have some things to discuss with you, Axe, and the Caracals,” he said.
“Well, the first question I’m going to ask you is fundamental. Do you have a . . . Great Spirit? Like- like a big ghost of yourself, that leads the caracals? For example, I have a Great Tiger, and the cheetahs here have a Great Cheetah. Do you have a Great Caracal?" Invincible asked.
Axe spoke up. “Yes! Yes, Invincible, we do. We have the Great Caracal!” he yowled.
Invincible bared his teeth in satisfaction. “That is great to hear. Now is there any way you can . . . summon it? Make it visible? I must see your Great Spirit. One of the things I want most is all of the Great Cat Spirits on my side. So, is there a way?" He looked around, and Axe didn’t hesitate.
“The way to call the Great Caracal is to say his name three times,” he replied.
Invincible cocked his head in surprise. “They have names?” he snarled in disbelief.
“Yes. You didn’t know? The Great Caracal’s name is Telbat." Axe broke into laughter, falling on the ground in his attempt to draw breath.
Invincible sighed and shook his head. “Stop that,” he said. His eyes flew to the Great Cheetah, and she met his gaze, knowing. “Great Cheetah, what is your name then? Do you have a name?” he asked.
The Great Cheetah bowed and said, “my name is Zendaya.”
Invincible smiled. “A great name. What about . . . what about the Great Tiger?” he wondered aloud.
“You mean me?”
A white shape padded toward them, gaze locked on Invincible. He gaped for a split second, then shook his head. “Hello, Great Tiger! What’s your name?” he asked cheerfully.
The Great Tiger chuckled. “I am Eco, Invincible. My real name is Eco.”
“Well, now that we have this done, we will move on. Axe, you say Telbat the Great Caracal will come if you say his name three times?” Invincible turned back to the long-eared cat.
“Indeed,” Axe replied.
“Alright, then. Here goes nothing.”
He looked up at the clear blue sky, and closed his eyes, saying, “Telbat! Telbat! Telbat!” Then, a swirl of mist formed in the sky and ran down to greet them.
It was Telbat.
A caracal, but a starry, Great version of one.
“Hello, everyone. I heard your call.” He looked at Invincible. “Invincible! I was expecting you to come. Free the caracals from prison. I sent you here beyond your notice.”
Invincible sighed. “I figured, as Zendaya did. So, everyone, it’s time to make your oath. Cheetahs, you can stand by.” The spotted cats moved out of the way while the Caracals stood up in confusion.
“Repeat after me. I vow,” Invincible waited until they repeated.
“I vow,” the caracals said, eager and curious at the same time.
“To make this oath. The caracals will look down on Invincible the tiger, never to betray his trust. I will be on his side at all times, to fight, hunt, patrol, and care for him and his soldiers, for if I fail to do this, I will no longer have the protection of Invincible and the Streak, and will be thrown out and defeated. I promise to never leave this oath, and keep it with me for life. Invincible is now my King, and always will be.” They went on until the oath was finished.
“Let’s get on to Mark and Mask. Lift your throats, please. This will barely hurt. It will be a shallow scratch.” But the caracals didn’t hesitate, lifting their necks. Invincible hopped down from the tree and drew his claws over each caracal’s throat, including Telbat. After that was done, Invincible gave each of them their dangerous and intimidating gear. They put it on excitedly.
But Invincible soon interrupted their moment. “Come on, we must continue our search for more Great Cats! In place behind me.” They took form, and they set off.
Invincible eventually turned into a large winged version of himself as the others got tired. Invincible kept his eyes out for new territory. It took a while, but soon he spotted a boundary between his forest and . . . and another one.
Invincible suddenly felt the urge to go into the new forest, almost as if some invisible presence was pulling him into it.
He went down from the sky and landed on the new ground. He shook his allies off his back, and they went flying. Invincible held back a laugh and changed back.
“Stay here, everyone. This is a job I’m going to do alone. Something is pulling me here, something that I will do by myself. I just know it. If you hear me say ‘Come out!,' you come to me, got it?” They nodded, settling down to rest while he went.
He sniffed the air and got the hint of a scent. It smelled of fear, and a little bit of rage. Something passed here, and it was scared. But what?
But why?
He padded along, eyeing the trees and undergrowth curiously, following the interesting scent. Then he got it. A blur was racing through the trees, toward a very steep hill.
No, wait, two shapes were scrambling in panic.
“The river. I hear it! Rapier, give yourself some speed! Let’s go!” Invincible heard the first one say. Invincible crept closer to get a better look at the newcomers. One was black and white but in a weird way. It curved all over its body, a mix of the two colors. Its eyes flashed, and they were two different colors. The other was also black and white, but with white dots around its eyes, and its front legs were white and covered in black spots. Invincible could tell that they were small-cats.
Then they bounded up the slope, as fast as they could, tiny paws reaching for grips in the sliding earth of the hill.
But what were they running from?
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