Chapter 1: The Lighthouse

A tall orange cat was being chased. Down the street. By a squid.

Now, of course, the average person would be extremely confused by the likes of a occurrence... such as this.

I mean, in all fairness, one wouldn't normally expect a squid to just jump up and sprint after a cat. A very tall cat.

But in this little town, such was... well, expected, to say the least. If not absolutely ordinary. In fact, no one even batted an eye when the two

creatures -still sprinting- proceeded to have a... conversation of sorts.

" AAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNDDDDDDDD HE CROSSES THE FINISH LINE! WHOOPWHOOPWHOOPWHOOOOOP!" The orange cat yelled in an over-the-top fashion towards the lagging squid.

The voice could almost remind one of a show host announcer combined with that of an excited kitten. If excited kittens could talk, that is.

" WHAT?! No way," The squid threw back at the cat.

" You cheated me out! I saw you drink a Potion of Swiftness! Therefore, I win by default." The squid crossed his arms in a gruff manner as he watched the

cat parade around the Lighthouse; the object they were racing to in the first place. The cat would have normally decided to ignore the unhappy squid glaring

at him, but; as he did, most certainly cheat, the cat chose to console him instead.

" Hey, Squid! We can race to the top if you like," said the cat, moving his arm in a wide sweeping motion that- from Squids' point of view- took

up the expanse of the Lighthouse, ending at the very top. Squid smiled, relaxing.

" Hmm. I s'ppose," Squid said, smirking. He handed his cat friend a bucket of milk.

" But no cheating this go 'round." Squid possessed a thick accent to him that differed greatly from his friend's. The cat smiled uneasily.

He was hoping Squid wouldn't notice the effects of the lingering potion.

" Heh heh, okay Squid..." He put the bucket to his lips and took his obligatory swallow. The effects vanished instantaneously.

" Aaawww..." The cat grumbled. Squid looked pleased as he opened the doors to the Lighthouse and stood twenty paces back. The cat stood by his side.

" Ok Stampy, you ready mate?" Squid asked the cat next to him.

" Yup." Stampy replied, nodding his head.

" 3. 2. 1. GO!" Squid shouted as Stampy and him raced up the walk and into the Lighthouse. They bolted up the stairs, two at a time, and when

they reached the final stretch, Squid finally pulled in front of Stampy. He ended the race with a clumsy somersault into the railing around the Lighthouse top.

" WHEW! That was intense!" Squid breathed as he picked himself up off the ground.

Stampy heaved himself over the lip of the block the ladder was on with an exhausted huff. His normally orange complexion was tainted with red now; before he had

let the Potion of Swiftness run for him.

" Too...Many...Cakes..." Stampy panted. Squid snickered loudly. Stampy would have told him off if he had the energy to.

After letting Stampy rest for a few minutes, Squid helped his friend on his feet- or paws- and the two looked at the view just as the final rays of the brilliant

sun descended over the far mountains surrounding the West side of Stampy's Lovely World. To the East was the vast expanse of Ocean that was presumed to be Squid's

origins. To the South- 55 miles south to be exact- you could find Stampy and Squid's 'Quest to kill the Enderdragon' series whereabouts. To the North... well,

no one really knew. It was unexplored territory. Stampy didn't think that he needed to expand his Lovely World out too far right now, but Squid recalled him

saying something along the lines of, " If I need to, I'll go out with a search party and explore the land." Which was, of course, just fine by him. Still,

he felt a small tug- a pull even- to go out...there. He remembered when he was younger; when he had first joined Stampy's world, he stood at the edge of that

boundary, marked by a sign, showing where the civilization ended...and where adventure began. It excited him; to start again. To forget about self-automated farms

and mineshafts, to let go of the extravagant dog houses and underground bases. Maybe that's why he never could finish a series. Because he wanted to start fresh.

Or maybe not.

Stampy pulled him out of his thoughts.

" Squid? You alright, mate?" Stampy asked, concerned. "You're not usually quiet."

Squid turned towards Stampy, letting the last wisps of the memory fade from his vision.

" Hhmm? Oh, yeah. Never better. I was just... lost in thought." Squid answered, reassuring him.

" Oh, ok. That's good I guess." Stampy paused. He had a little glint in his eye.

" You could see for miles up here," Stampy said breathlessly. " I mean, mate, just look." He walked to the East side of the Lighthouse, dragging

Squid by the arm behind him. The moon rose up out over the unruffled waters, turning the Ocean into a dark blue silk instead of sea. Stampy then guided him to

the South side of the tower, where you could just about see the glowing lights of 'Quest'. Stampy turned Squid and himself around the last angle of the Lighthouse,

when Stampy looked upon his house. It was completely in flame.