Episode 9: The Sacred Order of the Whisker
There are many legends about shooting stars. Commanders of ancient battles would look to the sky before a battle in hopes of seeing one. They hoped the appearance of a shooting star would prophesy victory for their men. I always wondered how it worked out if both generals saw the same star.
As the star crossed the sky above me with a flash, tailing off toward the horizon, I clasped my hands in prayer; according to the SPOOK archives, they like when you do that. Yet, I wondered if the omen it carried was for us or for the Dogstar.
There was another flash, this time from the ground. I turned, surprised, and saw the echoes of a flashbulb as it died out.
"Perfect!" Tom Nook said, lowering the camera. "Great expression and a perfect upward angle. The lighting leaves something to be desired, but we can work with that, hm?"
"What are you doing?" I asked, brushing grass off my rump as I stood up. "And who's the walrus?"
"Wendell, sir," he answered, bowing his head. "It's very hungry to meet you. I mean-it's very nice to meet fish. I mean-"
"That's enough, Wendell." Tom Nook cut him off. "He's a starving artist, you see. Quite literally so, yes? Very talented, though. I've commissioned him to make statues, you see. Of the heroes of Fluffytown."
"Heroes...?"
"Why, yes!" Nook nodded several times. "Those who fought valiantly to expel the Dogstar from our quaint little town. You performed quite admirably, Edgar, so I thought you should be included. Even though all you really did was get shot in the back." Nook's smile faded. "Minor details, hm?"
"Oh, thanks." I rolled my eyes. "Don't you think you should wait, though? I mean, they are coming back, you know. They're not going to rest while the idol is out of their hands."
"True, true." Nook scratched his chin. "Would you settle for miniature busts? They're cheaper and convey the message just as well. Plus, they're collectible! Gotta catch 'em all!"
"Sure, go do that if you want," I said, turning away. I could hear Nook haggling with Wendell over price as I left.
"I still want red snapper," Wendell said, "and make it snappy!"
Poor fish, I thought to myself. The smell of incense wafted across the path in front of me and entered my nose. It smelled like a cross between cinnamon and tuna. Fighting back the urge to vomit, I followed the smell in the direction of Olivia's house. There was a sword in the ground outside, something I didn't remember being there. Olivia and Tangy were kneeling outside, their skirts hanging just over their knees. I wondered silently if they'd been praying to the star as well.
"Are you guys--" I started to say.
"Fine!" Olivia sprang to her feet. "Just fine. Totally dandy. Nothing to see here."
"Then why are you acting funny? Where are Monique and Kiki?"
"Uhhh...around?" Tangy offered.
"They went to get tea leaves..." Olivia said, stabbing the ground with her foot, "for tea. Yeah, for tea."
"I thought you were the master of tea," I said, looking at Tangy, who quickly looked away.
"I was," Tangy said, "but then I...uhh...died."
"What?"
"Did I say died? I meant...dyed. My hair. Blue."
"Okay..." I felt a vein bulging out. "Then what's that sword doing in the ground?"
"Uhh...decoration?"
"Look," I began, feeling my shoulders slouch, "I may have walked unarmed into a battle earlier today, but I'm not stupid. What's going on?"
Olivia and Tangy swapped nervous looks and then faced me. "Would you believe that we're part of an ancient order of feline samurai?"
"Feline samurai?" I felt myself blink. "That's it?"
It was their turn to blink. "What do you mean that's it?"
"Well, of course I'll believe that. After what I've gone through, I'll believe anything." I took a ginger step toward them and they tensed up.
"Sorry," Olivia said, blushing, "but we cats tend to guard our own. Especially our wounded."
"Wounded?"
"Monique was hurt badly in the battle. Apparently one of the guns was set to kill for your boss, and..."
"Is she inside?"
Olivia nodded. "Kiki's tending to her. Believe it or not, she's actually pretty good at that."
"May I...?"
Olivia bit her lip and then nodded again. "Be quiet, though."
They led me into the house, which smelled strongly of the cinnamon and tuna incense I'd been subjected to earlier. A foldout bed accommodated Monique, who tilted her head slowly toward me as I entered. Several rough-looking bandages spanned her chest, and I looked away when I saw the red streaks dotting them.
"What?" she asked softly. "Never seen blood before?"
"N-no, just..."
"It's not as bad as it looks," Kiki piped in from the corner, where she was preparing a wet cloth. "If Rei hadn't stopped everything, though..."
No one said anything to that.
"I hope I can get her back," I said.
"Well..." Monique sat up slightly. "If she's already on one of their ships, then that's going to be a little difficult. From the way your boss was acting, though, and the pressure the Dogstar placed on him, I'd say they're probably working from within SPOOK. You need to get back there as soon as possible, Edgar."
"He does?" Olivia's face scrunched up. "But he can't fight! He'll get killed if he goes back there."
"Not if he takes my sword." Monique's lips curled into a sage smile.
"But...but it's a--"
"Yes, it's a Whisker sword." Monique nodded slowly. "I know, I know, no human has ever touched a sword belonging to one of our order. Don't you think circumstances allow us to bend that, though?" At this point, Monique looked over at me and her expression soured, as if she saw a giant ketchup stain on my face. "Oh, yes. Since you didn't seem too perturbed by my condition, I'd assumed you knew all about the Whisker. I'm guessing you don't, though?"
My only reply was to exhale in relief.
"I thought so." Monique started to chuckle, then winced. "The Whisker are an ancient order of feline samurai founded by the great Master Kabuki many centuries ago. They started as covert guard for regional prefects, which turned out to be quite ingenious and very effective. Who would expect a simple house pet to thwart an elaborate assassination plot?"
"That is clever," I conceded.
"Master Kabuki passed on his skills to his offspring, and so they've gone through the ages, but always to one who takes the name of Master Kabuki. I think we're on the ninth one now."
"Tenth," Tangy corrected from her position against the wall, arms folded.
"Oh, sorry. Anyway, the basic tenets of the Whisker dogma are this: one, that a problem is always best solved now than later, and two, that love is always the best reason to fight." I felt a chill run down my spine as I considered these statements.
"It sounds like Big Eddie was concerned with sparing the planet now and hedging his bets on being able to handle a Dogstar invasion later. I'd ask him, but I heard he's in worse condition than I am." We shared a nervous chuckle. "The problem with sacrificing the future for the present, though, is that people you don't even know or love yet will have to pay your debt." Monique narrowed her eyes at me. "Would you have children if you knew they'd grow up and become generals? And their children would be on the front lines against a Dogstar?"
My stomach contorted as I pondered that.
"Doesn't sound so great, hrm?" Monique returned to her reclining position. "Whether history chooses to acknowledge it or not, the greatest heroes of this war we're fighting now are you and Rei. I just wish I could tell the two of you that your roles were over, but I think they've just begun."
"You'll have to forgive my sister," Olivia whispered in my ear. "She gets long-winded."
"I heard that," Monique snapped. "Fine...if you want me to wrap it up, here it is: go take the sword, save your girl, and be a hero." Monique reached out and clasped my hand. "You can do it."
"What about the train?" I asked.
"Oh, it's taken care of." Monique winked at me. "Now, if you'll all excuse me, I smell tea..."
"I still don't understand how this is taken care of," I said as I stood on the station platform, gravel crunching beneath my feet as I paced back and forth, trying to get used to the sheathed sword clanking around on my belt.
"Just wait," Tangy muttered, standing perfectly still. Olivia, standing several feet away, started giggling.
"You're asking a paranormal investigator to have faith in something?" Olivia spurted through her laughter. "Oh, this is too good!"
"Livvy-" Tangy began, but Olivia brushed her aside and marched up to me.
"You want the logical explanation?" she said, crossing her arms. "The logical explanation is that we blew our vacation money on a bribe to get the train here tonight."
"Oh," I said, nodding slowly. "Well, that's nice of you."
"Don't even start," Olivia shot back, fuming. "I could be sitting on a beach right now instead of doing this." As she finished her sentence, a horn sounded from the distance. Soon, a solitary light accompanied it, shattering the darkness around it.
"Good-bye, vacation," Olivia murmured as the features of our ride to Capitaltown came into view. As it settled into the station, the conductor sounded the horn again, making my ears contemplate rebellion against the rest of my body.
Did I mention I hate trains?
(Author's note: Sorry bout the lull! Life's been a smidgen hectic lately. I intended to release 9 and 10 simultaneously, but I decided to take extra care with 9 because it seems so critical to what the whole thing's all about. 10 will come out shortly, and 11 and 12 will probably receive the treatment I intended here: either a double episode or very closely released. After that, 13 will wrap everything up.)
