Astral looked around at all the floating Number Cards that contained his memories. He had been watching TV while Yuma slept, but then he felt like there was another presence inside the key.
That's why he was wandering around.
"I sense another presence. But where is it?" Astral wondered aloud as he floated around. It was only when he heard groaning did he actually get concerned. He flew towards it, and was beyond stunned when he found out who was making it.
"Kat?"
Kat opened her eyes and groaned again. She stared at Astral from where she sat. Her cat-green eyes twinkled in despair as she struggled against the black chains that held her by her wrists.
"I'm so dizzy. That guy...that guy is insanely powerful." Kat whispered it, just barely loud enough for Astral to hear. He floated down next to her and touched her shoulder.
"Kat, are you alright?"
"I think so. Just really dizzy. A black version of you captured me. Eh, he has my memories doesn't he?"
"Yes, I am afraid he does. But I am not sure how to free you from these. Only he can. That or a Number Card, but I do not think I could summon yours."
"Don't worry about it Astral. Maybe the others could help me...?"
Astral nodded. "Perhaps they could. I shall wake Yuma and tell him of the news." The blue being was gone before Kat could respond. She just nodded instead and looked up weakly.
"Good luck," she muttered, staring at where Astral had once been floating. She just hoped that Yuma would actually listen for once.
XxXxXxXx
"Astral, what is so important?"
"Kat. She has been captured by Black Mist."
"WHAT?!" Yuma shot out of the bed and hit the floor with a thud. His crimson eyes stared up at the mismatched ones that stared at him. "She got captured by Black Mist?! Ah! Astral we gotta do something!"
"The others could help, could they not?"
"Well yeah but I can't go around town at..." -he turned to the clock for a moment- "3:30 in the morning! They'd kill me!"
"That us a chance you will have to take. Besides, if you just explain it to them, they will be okay with it, correct?"
"Um..." Yuma sat there in thought for a moment, then nodded and stood up. "Yeah that'll work. Now let's go find them."
They raced down the hall, storming into Kite's room and flipping the switch. Kite and Hart growled at the sudden brightness and sat up. Obviously they weren't happy.
"What is the meaning of this Yuma?" Kite asked, glaring at the pink and black-haired boy that stood next to the switch. "Turn the light off and go back to sleep."
"But this is important! Kat got captured by Black Mist!"
"WHAT?!" Hart screamed it and jumped out of the bed, not bothering to stop and change from his PJ's as he raced out of the room. Kite slipped his jacket on, but that was it before he followed them.
The front door flew open, and they darted out. Orbital bounded after them, changing to motorcycle mode and speeding away when Kite and Hart jumped on. Yuma ran through the forest with a flashlight, going straight until he saw the highway. Perfect. Just past this was Tori's house.
"Tori Tori Tori!" Yuma yelled it quickly, banging on Tori's window. He kept at it until her light flicked on and the window opened. There she stood, with a very annoyed face.
"What Yuma? It's 3:45 in the morning. What do you want?"
"Kat's been captured by Black Mist."
Tori's orange eyes went wide, and she jumped out of the window, following Yuma and Astral as they ran throughout Heartland City to find the others. Next on the list was Cathy's house.
Cats meowed as the two ran into Cathy's yard. Yuma ran up to a tree and began climbing it, then balanced on the limb as he opened the bedroom window.
The window flew open, causing Yuma to fall from the tree limb. He landed on the ground with a thud next to Tori, and seconds later, an agitated Cathy peered out the open window. "Will someone please tell me why you're waking me from my required cat-nap at 4:00 in the FREAKING MORNING?!" Cathy demanded, crossing her arms in anger.
"Gah...Cathy seriously...this is important," Yuma said, sitting up. Cathy raised an eyebrow, as if to say "Get on with it."
So Yuma and Tori got on with it. In complete unison, they yelled, "Kat's been captured by Black Mist!"
A yowl emitted from Cathy's throat. With a single leap, she came flying from the window, landing on the ground with grace. She had an angered expression on her face again as she grabbed the others by the wrists and began running away. Yuma and Tori let out yelps of shock as their friend went speeding around the corner, flying across the road and racing in the direction of motorcycle sounds.
"Cathy! Let go of us!" Yuma yelled, struggling against her grip.
Cathy shook her head. "You two would never be able to keep up. Besides, we're almost there." Just as Yuma and Tori were about to protest again, Cathy stopped running. She stood there and blinked in amusement. "Told you."
Well she'd been right. There was Kite, tugging on the back of Caswell's shirt, and Shark, who was holding Flip by his shirt collar. Both were struggling, but after Yuma blurted out the situation, they stopped and simply agreed to come along.
"Alright, what do we have to do to get inside that key?" Shark asked, pointing to Yuma's key. He shrugged. "I have no idea. Maybe Astral knows?"
Tori suddenly let out a shrill scream, followed by a horrified yowl from Cathy. Everyone turned and watched in horror as the darkness around them shifted and grabbed the two girls. It soon flew backwards, gripping all the others as well. Hart cried out and gripped onto Kite for dear life as they vanished into the key.
"Ow! Hey not so hard!" Flip whined, staring around at everything as they hit the ground. All of them were doing that. Suddenly, the darkness flooded over them again. Instead of yanking on them, however, it took the form of Astral. Yuma gasped.
Black Mist had shown himself.
"Well well well, what have I got here? Looks like a bunch of desperate kids trying to save a brainless Kat. Oh well, you can try, but it won't do you much good." Black Mist cackled, then vanished.
And slowly, the ground beneath the group began to crack.
