Chapter 1

Bloody and hurt you ask why

The world has left you alone to cry

Bruised and broken you utter a plea

"Why have you taken all from me?"

The world passes by without a word

So much you wonder if you were even heard.

Now seal up your heart and keep it tight

And don't ever let anyone see you cry.

"Mia! Mia, can we get a word?"

"How do you feel now that you're off the hook?"

The reporter's questions were all the same, all hungering for information of what just came to pass in the courtroom. But their victim, a beautiful tabby-mountain lion mix, was stoic. She simply walked through the crowd as though they didn't exist, the photographers and reporters parting so they could get a perfect shot. Mia Barrington was not going to give them what they wanted.

She stopped only long enough to climb in the Coring Aldebaran SE, a slick and ecologically-friendly HV. HV's, or Hover Vehicles, had almost entirely replaced the vehicles that had tires in a matter of years. The Aldebaran belonged to her lawyer, who got in the driver seat.

"How 'bout a celebratory meal? My treat."

"Home. And for the record, if I were in the mood, it would be my treat since you'd be paying with what I just gave you. I only want to fade away; a night on the town would draw too much."

"K. Too bad your dream couldn't come true."

"Dreams are nothing more than promises that only exist in our head. Goals are real. Goals are solid. Goals can be reached. Dreams are the stars in a child's eyes."

"That child can reach those stars one day."

"Not without a lot of help or some damned miracle."

The conversation had remained silent for the rest of the ride. Mia lived in a small apartment on the middle side of Corneria City. She was conveniently close to the Persimmon's building, a place that had just about everything on its five floors. The walls were soundproof, so she couldn't hear the near constant traffic.

Silently she looked around the apartment with silent indifference. Oddly, Mia found herself sitting on her couch and looking through a yearbook of hers. It was her senior year at Rockies 405 when this was put together, and there were only two sets of handwriting in it, appearing all over the place. One, a soft, not-too-girly mix of normal and cursive writing, was hers. She had jotted random notes about different trips and events, and even a few people. The other resembled a hasty normal writing, with everything seeming to be in all caps, the capital letters being larger than others. That writing was her one and only friend, Panther Caruso.

She chuckled lightly, finding it odd to think about him. Mia and Panther met when he exchanged to Rockies 405, and their friendship, though tested often, blossomed into love. Mia allowed her imagination to wander, curious to know what may have happened had they stayed together.

Panther was always a gentleman, so much so that by his action alone all the other boys were spurred to do the same just to keep up with him. Their wedding would be no quick visit to the Justice of the Peace; it would be something romantic. Their song would have to be something nice and slow so he could slowly waltz with her, spinning her lightly and dipping her expertly. The honeymoon wouldn't be some simple camping trip; it would be a lodge visit to the beautiful mountains of MacBeth, or to a wonderful cruise on Aquas. Mia would have been inspired to make art with a lighter feel to it, so she'd make more money. This meant a bigger apartment on the upper part of the city. Closing the yearbook, she whipped away her tears. Those were only dreams, and she had said goodbye to them a long time ago.

Aimlessly and restlessly Mia began to wander across the apartment. She was searching for nothing of meaning, and she just seemed to move about in a trance. She went to the bedroom and looked under the bed, where she found a box that she never new existed.

"What were you up to Joe?" She whispered as she pulled it out. Joe was her former husband.

Opening it up, she found envelopes. The writing on all of them matched, and it was in a spidery-writing, one almost too familiar. Then she saw the name on the return address.

"Panther…he's been trying to contact me, and Joe hid them." Mia looked closely at all the dates, and carefully read each letter. During the time that he had completely vanished, the one trace he left were these letters. At first he was just letting her know he was okay. He couldn't tell her the details, but he wanted her to know he was alive and well when all the world thought he was dead. Then as time passed on, he became more frantic; more worried about her. He finally announced in one letter that he would join Star Wolf in the hopes that they would help him find her and make sure she was safe. There was no real return address, but they all bore the same name.

Panther Caruso.