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Pinwheel screeched, his paws batting at Red Eyes’s shadowy fur.
“Please! Stop it!”
Red Eyes suddenly released him, and their eyes locked, silent for just a few heartbeats before speaking again.
“It’s not yourself you should be worrying about, Pinwheel. Maybe you shouldn’t have left your brother, all alone, in the forest, with your useless friend. If only you knew the pain he might be going through . . . because of you.”
An awful sense of dread flowed through his blood, chilling Pinwheel to the spot.
“W-what about my brother? What’s happening to him?” he murmured.
Red Eyes smiled, his eyes shining maliciously. “And it wasn’t even part of my plan, either. Another enemy of yours just may have gotten your brother into a specific predicament.”
Pinwheel closed his eyes in thought. An enemy . . . an enemy that I know, that’s not Red Eyes . . . who would get their paws on me and Rapier if it was the last thing they did? It took only a moment until Pinwheel’s eyes shot up in realization.
“You’re telling me Sleek has caught my brother?” He howled and squealed, searching this way and that for an escape. His eyes never sought out Red Eyes, who must have vanished.
Screams welled in his ears, horrible screams that belonged to Uraza. He saw, on the gloomy horizon, the distant shape of Mist getting clawed by dark shapes. He saw the single figure in the dry bushes that dripped with black mud, endlessly watching him with gleaming green eyes. Pinwheel felt himself being sucked into the ground, into the depths of an endless fall.
He let out a great gasp as he woke, instinctively squinting his eyes at the ever-so-bright shine of the sun, as he had adjusted to the dim, gloomy light of the Core. There were faces that peered over him, their expressions covered in horror.
Seeing that he was awake, Gaze leaped down from the Dewdrop rock and ushered the others away with his tail.
“Pinwheel.” The brown cat dipped his head in respect. “It is your choice if you want to explain, but what just happened, may I ask?”
No! I can’t sit here all day and explain. My brother is in danger. He means the world to me. I must go save him from Sleek!
“There is no time for chitchat!” he yelped. “I had a horrible vision, and my brother is in terrible danger! It is time to put those powers to use. I know I haven’t been properly introduced to you all yet, but there’s no more time for that. We need to take this seriously.”
Spot spoke up from the crowd, her eyes glittering anxiously. “Pinwheel . . . what do you mean? Where is your brother?”
Pinwheel growled in impatience. “He’s with my worst enemy, that’s where he is!” Fury boiled up inside him, and he tried with all his might to hold it in, not to take it out on Spot.
Wait, Pinwheel. Calm down. You can release your fury on Sleek. Oh, just wait until Invincible gets his paws on her. She won’t stand a chance and shall perish in cold flames. His ears perked up at the thought. That’s it! Invincible! Invincible can help!
“Stand back, everyone!” When the cats did as he asked, Pinwheel opened his mouth in a great screech that sounded across the hollow.
“I summon the black-and-white tiger! Get over here now!”
In a flash, the black-and-white tiger appeared, looking around at his surroundings in confusion. Then he growled and roared at the cats around him, showing his teeth and claws and swiping at the air next to them. The cats scrambled back in surprise, and Pinwheel tilted his head and realized that Invincible thought the cats were the reason he called him.
“Invincible! Stop at once!” His tail lashing ferociously, Pinwheel stepped in front of the tiger, his eyes gleaming with pure fury and horror. Invincible looked at him, his expression blank, and then he spoke.
“Pinwheel. You have called me . . . for this, I imagine? Why are you looking at me as if I was your worst enemy?”235Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42PY04yw46
Pinwheel roared, his impatience boiling up inside him until it became unbearable. “That’s because my brother is caught by my worst enemy, and we need to go right now!”
Invincible bristled, his eyes widening in outrage, knowing who Pinwheel meant.
“You’re telling me that mange-ridden excuse for a cat has taken Rapier? In that case, we do need to go, but who are they?” He flicked his tail toward the crowd of cats, who were watching them with eyes as wide as moons.
Pinwheel let out a low growl, trying his best to contain his anger. “They’re nobody that you need to worry about right now. All I’m going to say is that they’re my new friends, and they have powers, too. Now let’s go!”
Pinwheel hopped on the tiger’s back as he turned into his manticore shape, and the others looked at Invincible in astonishment.
They flew out of the bowl in a flash, the breeze ruffling his fur, but Pinwheel wanted nothing more than to get his brother back.
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