Chapter 1
A Roped Knot
Sunshine padded throughout the nursery and she smelled milk and small cats. She turned and entered one door that led to the office. Her cream fur with gold stripes sparkled in the morning sunshine and the stone floor gave soft clicks as she walked across it
,"Aster," Sunshine called outside the office door as she knocked and the door swung open and a silver she cat swung the door open
,"Well hello there Sunshine, come on in," Aster purred and as Sunshine padded in Aster closed the door on them,"What do you need today Sunshine?" she asked and Sunshine sighed
,"Everyone thinks that Lucy's story is cursed for anyone who is named Lucy and that it's just all superstitions but, but there is news coming in that an actual TY exist and that they found our location," Sunshine meowed and she flicked her tail in worry. Aster sighed a long sigh and she flicked her ears
,"Ya know Sunshine, I can't help you there. I know I'm the boss here but that lies with the government ya know. I can't help but I mean believe in whatcha believe in though," Aster meowed as she shrugged her shoulders. Sunshine sighed and she stood up from her chair
,"Well thank you Aster, I'll get going then," Sunshine meowed irritably and padded out the door
,"Wait! Sunshine!" Sunshine heard her call but ignored her and padded down the halls she had come from. Government? Great answer Aster Sunshine thought and she bumped into a group of cats gathered around a television. Sunshine opened her mouth to say sorry but she looked at the television and she saw what it was saying in breaking news.
Breaking News!
Around 9:00 this morning government officials have discovered our worst fears being true. The tale of Lucy is true and the TY exists. Government officials are still trying to find out answers of the attack. Winged cats of the nation, prepare yourselves.
Then the news turned off and the cats looked at in awe and Sunshine padded away from the televison, bemused. If the TY existed they were all in danger. Like big time. Sunshine ran down the hall as cats milled around in fright, the news was everywhere now. She turned a corner and banged on te office door
," Aster!" she yelled through the panic rising around her. Aster opened the door and Sunshine rushed in and when the door closed the noise quieted a little,"Aster," sunshine repeated," We need to solve this problem," she puffed and Aster nodded in agreement
,"Big time," she meowed and she padded over to her computer,"Superhero time, bingo," she meowed and typed rapidly onto her computer
,"Okay Aster, since we know the government is just mouse dung and they won't find coordinates," she meowed and paused as she swiveled her chair to face Aster,"We'll do it ourselves," she meowed and Aster smiled
,"Let's do it girl," she meowed and we bumped paws and she typed something and Aster frowned,"Okay, first things first we do know when and where they attacked the last time. At Lucy's town," she meowed and Sunshine nodded
,"Well, we've been there before already Aster, we didn't find much remains," Sunshine meowed uncertainly. Aster turned her chair to face me
,"Well Sunshine, there wouldn't be much use to remains now but coordinates are spot gold for us. And the dates. Look at the database on the computer over there for the date of when those artifacts became what they were otherwise saying, when did teh TY attack them. And then find the time period for me please," Aster meowed and Sunshine padded over to the computer and went into the database
,"Alright then Aster, lets finish this up," Sunshine meowed and I pressed print and handed Aster the sheet of paper
,"Okay, perfect," she meowed and put the coordinates in the computer and immediately it located the spot. She zoomed out and took the date examining it to the date now. After a few minutes she sighed in relief,"Okay, we're good. So apparently I guessed right and they do have a pattern with their attacks. Every 90 years they attack again but they are attacking early this time and since there haven't been survivors before Lucy everyone thought the Lucy attack was the first," she paused and Sunshine let out and Ahhhh,"And now apparently they will attack," she peered at the screen and her notes for a moment and let out a yelp,"Tonight at 9!" she meowed in surprise and Sunshine gasped,
"Oh dear," she murmured and Aster gave the notes to Sunshine to put them in the database an she logged out of her computer
,"This isn't real good is it," Aster meowed and Sunshine nodded. Sunshine turned the computer off and she shoved it, slowly mind you, in a corner, for safety. Aster dusted off her hands on a rag next to her,"Well, we'd better get moving shall we," she meowed and Sunshine smiled as she looked at a nearby clock perched above Aster's desk
,"Well, it's almost 10:30 so we better get moving," Sunshine meowed and Aster yelped
,"That took longer than I expected, so much for us thinking that took a few a minutes," she meowed in surprise and she padded out of her chair and we both exited the office. Things seemed to have calmed down a little and the lights were all on and cats were still huddled in groups though, whispering,"You think we should tell 'em?" Aster asked and Sunshine shrugged at her and opened her mouth
,"I don't know Aster, depends. If they will freak out, no. If not, yes. By yea, soon we should. Or else we're just a deer in headlights,'" Sunshine meowed and Aster frowned and tried to crack a joke
,"Well literally, the fire would be the headlights. And the TY," she meowed and Sunshine smiled at her an she grinned. Sunshine wondered if they actually understood the TY's power and level of scariness they had. Or whatever. Aster pushed another door open leading out of the nursery which was actually a building and not a nursery. Aster padded out with Sunshine behind her,"Okay, we know when they're going to attack and it will be terror for everyone, great. So the question is, how in the world of science do we stop the TY?" she meowed ending with a yelp. Sunshine sighed irritably
,"Well, we obviously don't know that. Couldn't we try evacuating instead?" she tried and Aster shook her head
,"No, that couldn't work because they would just find us somewhere else," she meowed shaking her head to herself. Sunshine sighed and flicked her tail back and forth, again and again
,"Well then, no solutions huh," Sunshine muttered and Aster glared at her
,"Well they are the TY Sunshine," she meowed and raised her wings and stretched them and then flattened them again. Sunshine watched her and she crossed her front paws
,"Aster! You aren't supposed to do that in public!" she meowed and Aster stuck her tongue out at her
,"I can do anything I want! Especially under stress!" she meowed and Sunshine huffed and Aster gave a grin and she padded down the court yard and she stopped to look at the church,"Okay Sunshine, let's go visit the shaman, church probably just ended and he's, well, he'll help us," she meowed and Sunshine picked at her necklace anxiously
,"I dunno Aster, the Shaman's sketchy," she meowed and Aster sighed
,"Goodness Sunshine!" she complained," He's helpful and he's nice if you get to know him Sunshine so stop being a scaredy cat and follow me," Aster meowed and Sunshine sighed and followed her into the church building. A set of lonely bells chimed as the doors opened and the piano played a set of notes. Sad, but beautiful ones. Aster cleared her throat and we saw the shaman look over from behind the piano.
,"Ah, greetings Aster. Mind me, I'm practicing my piano before TY strikes," he meowed, his voice deep and calming, as usual. We gaped at each other and the Shaman looked at us, confused,"Did I say something?" he asked, puzzled and Aster shook her head
,"No Shaman, it's just that...Do you know TY is going to strike? Today?" Aster meowed and Sunshine nodded in agreement. The Shaman sighed and played a piano note
,"Well..I suppose. Yes, I could...Well yes, I do," he muttered and he stepped up from his chair at the piano and he padded down the stairs,"Why does that matter?" he asked and Aster looked at me her eyes very surprised.
Sunshine gave a quick sigh," Well Shaman sir, you do realize that world is in a mortal danger. You do understand that. TY actually exists," she meowed looking at the Shaman who was in front of them now
,"Well.. Yes," The shaman muttered. Sunshine stood up irritably
,"So, since you seem to know everything, can you help us Shaman sir," Sunshine snapped and Aster kicked her quietly and Sunshine glared at her
,"Give us a second Shaman," Aster meowed and she pulled Sunshine over,"What are you doing?" she whispered angrily. Sunshine frowned
,"Well his brain is obviously full of plot holes so I don't think he'll tell us anything if we just play doll with him," Sunshine growled irritably and Aster sighed and she looked at Sunshine
,"Come on Sunshine!" she urged," We aren't getting anywhere but we can't drop hope. We can't let the TY get to us," she meowed and Sunshine glared at the Shaman when his back was turned
,"Face it Ace, they're coming for us and there's no escape. Might as well just hope were not important. Oh but look, we are," Sunshine growled and Aster sighed
,"Don't call me Ace Sunshine," she meowed looking away and Sunshine stood up straight
,"I'll do what I want Aster," she meowed and turned around,"Okay Shaman, please tell us what we need to know please, we're on a rushed schedule, so please tell us what you know," Sunshine meowed gritting her teeth as the Shaman burst into song
,"Oh I don't know much but I know that the TY is unstoppable," he sang and Sunshine raised her eyebrows at Aster who ignored her
,"Shaman!" Aster yelled at him and he stopped and looked at her,"Please listen to us, we know their unstoppable but do you know how to stop them?" There was a little silence where we could hear crickets down below us in the wood shafts and then the Shaman scratched his ear anxiously
,"Well Aster, I don't know if you can dear. They are so powerful there's rumours that they do strange things with their captives. There's nowhere safe from the TY and if you try to stop them…" he shuddered and continued,"They dispose of you," he meowed and he shuddered and fell onto the floor,"Don't make me talk about them again," he murmured and Aster looked at Sunshine and she padded over to the Shaman
,"I'm sorry," she murmured and then followed Sunshine outside. The doors closed behind them sending the bells ringing again and Sunshine looked at Aster
,"Aster..You heard him, they'll kill us if we try to stop them," Sunshine meowed her words trembling as she spoke. Aster shrugged and flicked her tail
,"But, won't that be fun? The excitement! Come on, they won't kill us. I mean we could stop them but how would they know who tried anyway? Mind reading? No way," Aster meowed and Sunshine bit her lip uncertainly. Who knew what the TY is capable of, anything probably. Sunshine looked away from Aster
,"I dunno Aster, I mean, there's probably no way stopping them, we have to live with fate," Sunshine meowed and Aster ignored her once more
,"Come on, you're starting to make me think of the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy. It'll be fine, just let it be," Aster meowed and Sunshine closed her eyes and took a deep breath and she looked at Aster. Sunshine looked up in the sky and she wondered if the TY could hear them, talking. Sunshine looked over at Aster again she sighed
,"Well Aster, I can't finish this with you...it's too dangerous," Sunshine meowed and she shut her eyes. After all they'd been through, this was an end. Aster dropped her tail and looked at Sunshine
,"But all we've been through together, the adventures. The mysteries. You leave me now," Aster meowed, her voice trembling. Sunshine looked at her in her eye and she padded over to Aster and embraced her
"I'm so sorry Aster," Sunshine whispered and then they heard the Shaman running out of the church door sending the bells clinging
,"The TY! The TY is coming! Now!" he screamed in fear and ran back into the church as Sunshine and Aster looked up to see a missile coming toward them narrowly missing them and hitting a building behind them. Sunshine looked at Aster and pulled her away from a missile
,"We have to run Ace! Come on!" Sunshine yelled over the panic spreading through town as cats ran out of building launching themselves into the air only to be struck down. Aster scrambled away from a crumbling building as it collapsed narrowly missing Sunshine,"Don't fly Ace! They'll catch you!" Sunshine meowed over the grumbling winds and the falling stone to Aster. Aster ran back to Sunshine and she pulled her to her feet
,"I won't leave you Sunshine!" she growled and Sunshine looked at her only friend and she shut her eyes tight
,"Aster, there's a safe on the next alleyway, we'll hide there," Sunshine meowed and Aster chattered uneasily,"We'll be okay there," Sunshine meowed regaining her strength from the sudden buildings falling. Sunshine leapt to her feet and Aster raced after her as they bolted down the smoking streets in terror as ships started to go down the same alleyway as them,"Hurry!" Sunshine whispered as the approached the alley and Sunshine tugged Aster through a wall and she followed pulling the door shut behind her. She smelled the billowing smoke around her and she pressed a paw to her mouth as Aster opened her mouth. Outside there were faint footsteps.
,"Well, well, well. What do we have here," they heard a voice say outside. Aster stiffened and Sunshine backed Aster against the wall. Aster tried to protest but Sunshine held her paw to her mouth again. Aster backed herself in a dark shadowy corner. A few moments later the vault door was unceremoniously wrenched open with a creak and a face peered in and he smiled grimly at Sunshine,"Well then. Looks like I've been rewarded," he meowed and pulled Sunshine out and as she made eye contact with Aster her eyes widened with fear and Sunshine tried to message her dearest friend through her eyes
,"Run my friend, run so he'll never find you and maybe someday I might see you again. He'll search through my memories so go and hide so he'll never know where you are," and after she thought that she blacked out and she laid unconscious against the cat.
