Day Fifteen - Cat, Rat, and Dog

SpaceWizards
(Another SpaceWizards Action/Adventure Mystery)

There are several hundred thousand planets where a cat is called a cat, a rat a rat, and a dog is a dog. And there are even a few thousand planets where two of the three are called that. But there is only one planet where all three live. Gantha is one of those planets that a cat is a cat. Kuddom is a planet where a rat is called a rat. And ReaCa is a planet where a dog a dog. This is a story about all three of those planets.

“Cat, Rat, and Dog”

A Short Story

Remembered By

Angoria

     Horrald was ten times bigger than he normally was. So were the Fire Balls that he was firing one after another at the SpaceWizard’s spaceship. Every one of those balls made that spaceship shake when it exploded against in. And those within were shaken up by it too.

     Mairon and the other six SpaceWizards were in the Control Chamber. He was at the controls while the others were in the chairs behind them. They were all strapped in their chairs. So they weren’t thrown to the floor after every Fire Ball exploded. But they were shaken up by it.

     “I knew that the death of Tonnie would make Horrald a million times worse than he was before. But it didn’t expect it to be this bad so quickly.” Mairon had both Horrald and their spaceship on the view screen in front of them.

     “What are we going to do. Horrald already stopped us from getting away from him. It’s only a matter of time before one of those Fire Balls penetrates our Protective Shield spell. When that happens, he will destroy the spaceship, and us too.”

     A few seconds later she continued. “This is all my fault. I knew it was wrong to kill Tonnie. But I did it anyway. And now we are all going to die because of it.”

     Everyone looked at her. “If he wanted to destroy us he would have already done it by now. But he hasn’t, why?” Stavon asked.

     “There’s only one way to find that out. We have to confront him.” Mairon looked over at Angoria. “I know that you don’t like to be treated like a child. But I’m not treating you like one. You have been hurt by this attack. And you need time to heal yourself. I think you should stay behind while we find out what Horrald really wants from us.”

     A few minutes later Mairon and the other five SpaceWizards disappeared from their spaceship. Angoria now sat behind the controls. She watched as they disappeared and a few seconds later they re-appeared in Space in front of their spaceship. Horrald shrank back down to his normal size in front of them.

     “Okay, we are you. You got our attention. What do you want?” Mairon floated in front of the other five.

     “What I want is which one of you that killed Tonnie? Give me that individual and I will let the rest of you live just this once. I know I had said that before and lied about it. But this time I’m telling you the truth. All I want is who took Tonnie away from me forever.”

     No one said anything for several minutes. They just stared at Horrald. And he stared back at each one of them, one after another. “I am the leader of this team. I’m the one responsible for the death of Tonnie.”

     Jacci floated up next to Mairon. “No, he isn’t. I’m the one who did it.”

     Pacill floated up on the other side of Mairon. “Neither one of them did it. I did.”

     “Let me guess. All of you are about to admit that you did it.”

     A few seconds later Horrald continued. “Wait a second. There’s one of you not here. one, two, three, four, five, and six. Who is missing? Oh yes, it’s the child. So, that is who you are protecting.”

     Horrald mumbled something, and a few seconds later a skin-tight bubble appeared around two pairs of the six SpaceWizards out there. Pacill and Yena got one clear enclosure. Stavon and Jacci got another one. And Mairon and Borrele got the third one. Each could move as they struggle within their enclosures. But they couldn’t break free of them.

     “We aren’t protecting Angoria. Angoria got hurt during your attack. She needs time to heal. That’s why she isn’t here with us.” Mairon’s voice was a little muffled as he spoke.

     Horrald started laughing. “I don’t believe you. You would do or say anything to protect the child.” Horrald mumbled something, and a few seconds later all three enclosures disappeared.

     “Where did they go? What happened to them? Did you kill them because of what you think I did to Tonnie?”

     “I didn’t kill them.” Horrald appeared in the Control Chamber. But it was obvious it was just him image the way it was flickering in and out constantly. “But you will if you don’t admit to me that you killed Tonnie.”

     “You heard Mairon. I didn’t kill her. The one who did you sent somewhere. Where did you send them?”

     “That is for me to know and for you to try to find out. I will give you a hint as to where they are at, ‘Cat, Rat, and Dog.’ But you had better hurry to find them. You only have a few days at the most before you kill them too. Of course, if you admit to killing Tonnie I will bring them back to you right now.”

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     Angoria hovered a couple of inches above the floor as she paced around the Control Chamber. Her face wrinkled up in pain every few seconds. “Mairon and the others weren’t lying. I was hurt during your attack.”

     “What am I going to do? How am I going to find them?”

     The entrance into the Control Chamber slid open as Angoria got near it. It closed again after she went through it. She was now hovering down one of their corridors. “Maybe I could do a spell to find them. But I’m not very good with spells. That’s why I keep messing them up probably.”

     Angoria hovered around the corridors for several minutes. Then she stopped at an entrance that slid open as she approached it allowing her to enter the Communications Chamber. “I think the first thing I need to do is figure out what he meant from that stupid hint that he gave me. What does ‘Cat, Rat, and Dog’ mean?”

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     Pacill got off the ground. Then he helped Yena up too. “Where are we? How did we get here? The last thing I remember is us being enclosed in that artificial enclosure. At least we are out of that. And the next we are here. Wherever here is.”

     A few seconds later Pacill continued. “I don’t think I have ever been here before. Does this place look familiar to you?”

     Yena slowly looked around her. They were at the edge of a Wooded Area. In front of them was a Wooded Area. And looking behind them Yena saw a small water hole. “Somehow I think it does look familiar to me. I think I have been here before. But I can’t remember where here is.”

     Pacill and Yena started looking at their surroundings. But there wasn’t very much to look at but the Wooded Area and the water hole. There wasn’t anything else there to look at. They did that for about ten minutes. Then they heard some rustling sounds and some mumbled voices. I think we should hide until we know where we are at.

     I agree with you, Pacill. We also need to figure out how we are going to get out of here. Yena and Pacill quickly moved just inside the Wooded Area.

     A few minutes later two cat looking individuals came walking through the Wooded Area talking to each other. They sat down next to the water hole and continued talking. Those are Ganthaians. We are on the planet of Gantha.

     We are in a lot of danger because of me again. A long time ago, about a hundred years I think, I chased two SpaceWizards here. Several Ganthaians got killed while I was trying to catch them. The Ganthaians couldn’t verify that I killed anyone. So, they throw me off their planet, almost literally. And they said if I ever returned I would be executed for those deaths. One of them was a Horrald Follower.

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     “How am I going to find them, especially in only a few days. They could be anywhere in the universe. In fact, they could be anywhere in time too.”

     Angoria sat down in front of one of the Data Monitors in the Communications Chamber aka the Information Chamber. She started tapping away on the control panel in front of that monitor. After about a minute she stopped. “I need information on any connection between ‘Cat, Rat, and Dog’ beside the obvious one.”

     A few seconds later Angoria leaned in closer to that monitor, and she started mumbling softly to herself. She did that for about fifteen minutes then leaned back in her chair and sighed. “There are a lot of planets out there where they could be. It narrows down the search for them considerably. But there are still several hundred thousand possible planets where they could be.”

     “I also need information on any connection between ‘Cat, Rat and Dog’ regarding the other six SpaceWizards.” A few seconds later Angoria started mumbling again.

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     Jacci opened her eyes, and she started screaming. She mumbled something. A few second later began thrashing around, her hands and legs were flying everywhere. Two hands reached down and grabbed her clothing. She was pulled out of a squared metal hole she was lying in a few seconds later by Stavon.

     Stavon helped Jacci into a seated position on a flat metal surface next to that hole. “You tried to use wizardry, didn’t you? But it didn’t work, did it? Mine didn’t either. That’s why I had to pull you out of that hole personally.”

     “Why couldn’t I do any wizardry?” Jacci asked after she calmed down a lot a few minutes later. She was still shaking. So, was her voice. But he looked a lot better.

     “I don’t know why we couldn’t do it. But it’s probably because of the planet we are on. They are blocking it somehow.” Stavon sat down beside Jacci. “I don’t recognize this planet. Do you?”

     Jacci slowly scanned the large metal room they were on. She stopped scanning a second time as she saw the large hole in the center of it. “I don’t even know where we are.”

     “It’s some of a watercraft. I didn’t appear here when Horrald sent us here. Horrald sent me to a room like this one four rooms from it. While I was looking for you, I noticed we were on a watercraft.”

     Slowly, Jacci got up and walked over to the hole in that room and peeked into it. “I was lying in a hole full of rats. And I hate rats.”

     “I had a hole full of rats too. In fact, every room in the watercraft has a hole full of rats. At least they do in the rooms I’ve looked in so far.”

     Jacci suddenly had a shocked look on her face. “I know where we are. We’re on the planet of Kuddom. Before I joined this team of SpaceWizards, I came to this planet to stop Horrald from turning this population into rats. I don’t know why he was doing it. But Horrald had started doing it a few planets before this one.”

     Stavon looked confused. “If he had done it to other planets how do you know this one is Kuddom.”

     “Because I couldn’t do any of my wizardry on this planet. But I could use it on the others. I just wasn’t fast enough to stop him.”

     Jacci continued a few seconds later. “This is all my fault, again. There haven’t been any rats on this planet for over thirty thousand years. Does that mean Horrald has sent us back in time to this planet?”

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     Angoria sat back in her chair in shock. “That new search reduced the number of possible planets a lot. But there are still several thousand they could be on.”

     “How am I going to break that down even more so that I can find them in time?” Angoria didn’t say anything for several minutes. She just stared at that Data Monitor. “The answer to that question is that there’s no way I’m going to find them before they die.”

     A few minutes later Angoria continued. “There has got to be a way to find them before that happens. I just have to figure out a way to do it.”

     Angoria got up and started pacing around. Every few seconds she would stop and look at that monitor. After a few minutes of doing that Angoria smiled. “Maybe there is another way to break them down even more.”

     “Horrald paired them into couples before he sent them wherever he sent them. Maybe there was a reason why he paired them together like that.” Angoria returned to her monitor.

     “Information, give me a planet list for ‘Cat, Rat, and Dog’ that are connected to Pacill and Yena, Stavon and Jacci, and Mairon and Borrele.” A few minutes later Angoria smiled again.

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     Mairon and Borrele were running through a Wooded Area. They looked back behind them every few seconds. But they kept running. And they didn’t do it at the same time. Mairon did it first. Then Borrele did it. They continued doing that for several minutes.

     Multiple howling sounds could be heard behind Mairon and Borrele. Why are they chasing us? Mairon asked.

     I don’t know. We don’t even know who is chasing us or where we are at.

     Mairon glance behind them. One second we were in Space confronting Horrald about Tonnie. And the next we appeared in this Wooded Area.

     Borrele looked at Mairon. The second we got here they started throwing pointed Poison Pointers at us. We have been running ever since then.

     We tried to use our wizardry against them. But it’s not working here for some reason.

     Several Poison Pointers sailed past them. Mairon ducked, and the Pointers flew past him only an inch or two above him. Borrele stepped aside to let her Pointers sail past her. Those Pointers struck the trees in front of them. Those trees melted away to show holes in those trees.

     Mairon and Borrele turned and continued running in another direction. They looked back at where they were. Borrele looked at the holes the Poison Pointers just created. Mairon looked at the trees to the side of them. A lot of them had holes in them too. In fact, Mairon saw at least a hundred holes.

     Why are they trying to kill us? What did we do to make them so mad at us? Borrele asked.

     What I think is that when we know who they know are we will why they want us dead. I also think we are about to find out who they are. They are getting closer and closer to us. We should be seeing them any time now.

     Just then four dog-looking ReaCans appeared among the trees behind Mairon and Borrele. We are on a dog planet.

     Borrele looked behind her. I know what planet we are on. It’s ReaCa.

     How do you know what planet they are on? Mairon asked.

     I used to live here about four thousand years ago. And I was protecting them from wizards, especially SpaceWizards like Horrald. In fact, it was Horrald that is the reason why they are now trying to kill us.

     A few seconds later Borrele continued. It was a bunch of Horrald’s Followers who were trying to kill the Ruler of ReaCa. I did stop them. But it wasn’t fast enough. They killed the Ruler. They ReaCans blame me for her dead. I’m the reason why they are trying to kill us, again.

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     “I have found them. What I mean is, I know which planets that they are on. They are on Gantha, Kuddom, and ReaCa.”

     Angoria stared at the three names of these planets on her monitor. “What I don’t know is which planet who is on. I also don’t know what time they are in. They could be in our time, or they could be in that planet’s past.”

     “Information, can you show me which planet Pacill and Yena, Stavon and Jacci, and Mairon and Borrele are likely to be on.” A few seconds later Angoria.

     “I have never heard of these planets. Information, can you show me where these planets are at compared to where I am at?”

     A few seconds later an image of Gantha, Kuddom, and ReaCa appeared on her monitor along with their spaceship. “They don’t look too far from here.”

     “Information, can I get to these planets within the next few days?” A few seconds later Angoria smile turned into a frown.

     Angoria didn’t say anything for several minutes. She just stared at her monitor. “Information, are we close enough to scan for these six SpaceWizards.”

     A few seconds later Angoria’s frown remained. Angoria mumbled something. “Information, can you detect the other SpaceWizards now.”

     “Pacill and Yena are on Gantha. Mairon and Borrele are on ReaCa. But where are Stavon and Jacci?”

     Angoria didn’t say anything for several minutes. She just stared at her monitor. Then suddenly she mumbled something. “Information, can you show me where Stavon and Jacci are on Kuddom now?”

     A few seconds later Angoria smiled again. “So, that’s where you are at. You are a part of Kuddom’s past.”

     “Now that I know where you are at, how am I going to bring them back to me?” After a few minutes, Angoria mumbled something. And a few seconds later the other six SpaceWizards appear in the Information Chamber.

=====-=====-=====-=====-=====-=====

     Angoria suddenly woke up in her Sleeper. “It was all a very bad dream. I’m not surprised I had this similar dream again. After all, I’m the one who killed Tonnie.”

Word Count = 2,944

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