Change is the way of nature. It can be good or bad, depending on the situation. In this case, it was a mix of both. It was good for one person, but bad for another.
"Aaaaand… DONE!" Blaze exclaimed, hopping off of the step ladder. She had just finished pinning up a sign in the main foyer of the castle. The sign had an extensive list of rules that were created in response to a certain red cat's many exploits. Blaze smiled as she put her hands to her hips, surveying her work. The sign read:
RULES FOR WYATT…
-No playing "jackpot" off of the high tower… EVER.
-Your sword is a sword, not a back scratcher.
-You WILL return your plate to the sink after a meal.
-You WILL take a bath before passing out on the couch after training.
-You WILL NOT play your background music loudly unless Blaze says so, especially if said music is anything by: Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Metallica, Kataklysm, Disturbed, or Van Halen.
-KNOCK before entering the bathroom.
-No inter-dimensional travel without Blaze's consent.
-No playing catch with a Sol emerald while standing guard on your shift.
-The training courtyard is meant for swordplay, not paintball.
-I don't care if you're just training the soldiers in the art of "modern warfare", NO PAINTBALL!
-No food fights with the soldiers in the mess hall.
-If it looks valuable, it probably is.
-SEE ABOVE.
-No dressing up in the princess' clothes and doing over- zealous impersonations of her in front of the soldiers.
-This castle may be yours also, but it's still MY REMOTE!
-You will not whine when I want to watch Twilight.
-NO pranks unless I have declared a prank war.
-Do NOT play the guitar that looks like a gun. It will shoot lasers when strummed and cause un-imaginable destruction.
-NO spray painting "Wyatt Wuz Here!" on the sides of the castle walls.
-NO SPONGEBOB SHALL EVER BE PLAYED ON THE TV.
-No remembering the time you had a migraine. Keep in mind that your fellow guardian can feel what you feel. Enough said.
-You WILL NOT go fishing in the mote.
-Lastly, NO RUNNING THROUGH THE HALLS!
If you see the above guardian breaking any of these rules, tell Blaze immediately, and he will be burned, beaten, and tied to the tree outside.
Thank you for your cooperation on this urgent matter,
Your princess,
Blaze the Cat
Blaze read the last bit of the sign and sighed. Now all that there was left to do was wait…
"$500,000! ALIVE!" Wyatt shouted down the one thousand foot drop to the beach. Down below, a bunch of off duty soldiers that he had become quite friendly with were waiting anxiously for him to throw the ball. He was currently standing on the roof of the tallest tower in the castle. He brought his hand back and hurled the ball. It took about thirty seconds to drop the long distance. Vincent, the bear soldier from their last adventure, easily towered over everybody. He simply brought his hands out above him in anticipation for the football. But, when the ball was only five feet from Vincent's paws, Ace, a tiger, hopped up on his shoulders and snagged the ball out of the air.
"Damn it!" Vincent shouted angrily. Wyatt snapped his fingers and teleported down to them in a pillar of fire. It was a nifty little ability that Blaze had taught him in training.
"Alright Ace, you're up!" Wyatt said, holding out his hand to teleport them to the top of the tower. But before that could happen, the worst possible thing happened…
"WYAAAAAAAAT! ARE YOU PLAYING JACKPOT AGAIN?" Blaze's angry voice boomed from somewhere in the castle. Everyone on the beach froze a look of sheer terror evident on their faces. Wyatt threw his hands up.
"SCATTER, SCATTER, SCATTER!" He shouted in panic. All seven of the animals looked at each other before sprinting in different direction to find a hiding place 'til it all blew over…
… Blaze stormed angrily out of the castle, the air around her scalding hot from her rage. She teleported herself to the side where the tower was located, only to find no one there.
"Damn it boy, when I get my hands on you!" She shouted.
Oh Wyatt, come out, come out, wherever you are! She called telepathically. No response. She sighed in exasperation. Fine, I guess I'm going to have to hunt you, and all of your accomplices, down.
She walked along the beach for a moment before spotting a strange stick jutting out of the salty water just fifteen feet offshore. It looked like a piece of driftwood at first glance, but if you looked closer, you would've easily seen that it was too straight. Blaze raised an eyebrow and walked out to the stick. She looked down from right above and saw that it was a hollow tube! She felt warm breath pulsing out of it.
One down…
She made the water in that spot start to boil. Almost instantly, Ace flew out of the water with a yelp of pain. He tried to run away, but Blaze caught him by the tail. She proceeded to drag him to the training courtyard and tie him to the large oak tree.
Six more left…
Blaze then wandered around until she heard a rustle in one of the bushes in the palace garden. She reached a hand inside and grabbed onto something big and furry. With a mighty tug, she pulled Vincent out of the shrubbery. She then tied him up next to Ace.
Now where are the rest?
(Two hours later…)
Six of the seven people that where playing jackpot were successfully caught and tied up, all except for Wyatt. Blaze had yet to find the cat. She had to admit, he was good.
"Wyatt, where are youuuuu?" She called.
"Miep!" Someone squeaked from… above her? She slowly arched her head up. There, in the branches of the tree she had walked past all day, was Wyatt.
"THERE YOU ARE!" She shouted. Wyatt bolted out of the tree in a dead sprint with Blaze hot on his heels. They ran as super- sonic blurs through the city, around the open countryside, and even past Soriah's castle.
(Thirty minutes later…)
"Finally." Blaze said with one last grunt of effort and tied the ropes binding Wyatt. Everyone tied to the tree were scared out of their mind. What was she going to do?
Blaze began to walk towards Wyatt and he shut his eyes tightly in preparation for what was to come. But instead of torturous punishment, she kissed him full on the lips and pressed him up further against the tree.
"Aw!" The other guys said with a grin, but Blaze sent them all a death glare.
"Wait, you're not going to do something excruciatingly painful?" Wyatt asked with a hopeful gleam in his eyes. Blaze smirked.
"Of course I am, silly!" She said in a happy tone. "That was just for good luck." She snapped her fingers and fifty men with paintball guns and masks filed into the courtyard and surrounded the tree. One of them handed Blaze her own mask and gun.
"Fuck." The captives muttered at the same time. Blaze slipped on her mask.
"Men." She said, turning on the gun, "Lock and load." Everyone took aim at them from all sides. Blaze aimed straight at Wyatt's chest. They couldn't have been more than fifteen feet away!
"FIRE!" one of the officers shouted.
"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" the seven tied to the tree shouted in terror…