~~~

Despite the head start, Luco hit the bottom step about the same time as Wu Dog Yan, probably because she was almost twice the size of him. She put a paw on his shoulder, keeping him back, then held up her sword and pointed it at the two villains, both of whom[1] were staring at her as if she were a special effect.

‘No lightning moves…’ she said, trying to get a clear look at the figure in black. It was still hard to see clearly as there was a lot of shadow around the face area, but she could see it was a dog.

‘Who the hell are you?’ demanded Lin Gik, reaching for his belt and stopping when he realised there was no weapon.

Zade and Cha Cha appeared beside her, with the little dog wearing a confused expression. ‘You don’t know who she is?’

The cat martial artist didn’t answer. He was too busy gawping at Zade, trying to hide his shaking paws.

‘Hey…’ whispered Wu Dog Yan, ‘where’s your weapon?’

‘Forgot,’ said Zade, shrugging.

‘You idiot…’

‘It was heavy. Difficult to hold. Sorry.’

‘Listen up, cat witch,’ shouted Luco, glaring upwards at his new foe. ‘Tell us where Dog Lee is and maybe…we’ll go easy on you.’

‘Luco…’ whispered Wu Dog Yan, kicking the hamster lightly on the shin.

‘What?’

‘Let me do the talking.’

‘You’re taking too long.’

‘What are you on about? We’ve been standing here for ten seconds.’

‘Too slow…’

‘Luco…’ said Cha Cha, putting a finger to her neck.

‘What?’

‘You,’ said Wu Dog Yan, ignoring Luco and jabbing her sword in the direction of the cloaked figure. ‘Drop your hood, show yourself.’

‘Nuut,’ answered the figure, voice deep and possibly disguised.

‘Do it, or I start moving forward, sword first.’

The figure hesitated, bringing the book in his paw closer to his body. Then, strangely, he looked down at the cover of the tome and nodded.

‘Are you deaf? Hood down,' repeated Wu Dog Yan.

‘Ka, hood down,’ repeated Luco. ‘Only cowards conceal their identities.’

The figure put both paws on the top of his hood and slowly lifted it up and over the back of his head. There was almost complete silence throughout the cave, with the sole exception of Lin Gik snickering nearby.

‘Wah…’

Luco looked like he was having a stroke, his paw moving onto his neck instead of his chest.

Zade appeared frozen.

Wu Dog Yan didn’t seem surprised at all, or, if she was, it was hidden behind some pretty decent acting.

Cha Cha looked around at everyone, opening her mouth and closing it like a malfunctioning puppet a few times before finally getting it open far enough to ask, ‘who’s that?’

‘Dog Lee[2]…’ replied Wu Dog Yan.

‘Is it?’

‘You’ve seen him before, at his school, remember?’ whispered Zade.

‘I forgot.’

‘That is my old name,’ said Dog Lee, ignoring the two whisperers. ‘Given by someone not worthy of naming me.’

‘Huh? You mean your mum?’ asked Cha Cha, puzzled.

‘Mothers are meaningless, irrelevant. I have moved beyond your world, to the realm ruled by the ancient and unknowable Lord Prosperoro.’

‘I knew I recognised that voice,’ said Wu Dog Yan, nodding to herself.

‘That is a lie. I disguised my voice.’

‘I guess my brain just couldn’t accept it was really you.’ Wu Dog Yan stared at Dog Lee, lowering the sword a little. ‘What the king of hell are you doing here? Why are you doing all of this?’

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

‘You are not worthy of answers.’

‘Dog Hood stole his island,’ said Lin Gik, gesturing toward the figure tied up on the boat. 'He wanted it back.'

‘Quiet,’ shouted Dog Lee, activating a claw.

‘Stole it?’ asked Wu Dog Yan, puzzled. ‘I thought he bought it.’

‘He did, but something called Prosperoro used to live here and Dog Hood bought it in secret, no publicity before the sale and…nuut kaata, none of it makes much sense to be honest. But that book in his paw...'

‘Silence,’ Dog Lee shouted again, pointing his left paw at Lin Gik's head.

‘Who’s Prosperoro?’ asked Cha Cha, not hiding her confusion facially.

‘No one.’

‘Is it something to do with that book you’re hugging?’

‘Nuut.’

Wu Dog Yan stepped forward, raising the sword higher. ‘Okay, keep it to yourself then. But I’m gonna need you to let Dog Hood go.’

‘That I will not do.’

‘Satfu…’ said Luco, regaining his senses a little and stepping past Wu Dog Yan.

‘Ah, the hamster. I didn’t see you there.’

‘Student with Tornado Big Anger.’

‘What?’

‘My fighting name,’ said Luco, voice wavering a bit. 'That you gave to me.'

‘Ha, hamsters can’t fight. Everyone knows that.'

‘Satfu…’

‘Though I admit you were strangely determined.’

‘…I don’t understand. Why are you dressing up like an assassin and hanging out in a murky cave?’

'Enough.' Dog Lee shifted upright, glancing down at the book in his paw. ‘Like her, you are not worthy of answers.’

‘Okay,’ said Wu Dog Yan, taking another step forward, waving the sword about a bit. ‘No more weird, old style talking. Hand over Dog Hood. Slowly.’

‘Are you gonna deal with this?’ asked Lin Gik, taking a step backwards.

‘They are unimportant,’ replied Dog Lee, eyes still on the cover text.

‘Ka, well, she has a sword, and a tiger. We’ve got a dusty, old book.’

‘Their weapons cannot hurt me.’

‘Why? You got iron skin?’

Dog Lee smirked and reached inside his cloak. He fumbled about for a few seconds then brought his paw back out, unfolding it to reveal a small pile of dust.

‘What the hell's that?’ asked Lin Gik, shaking his head.

‘Your doom, cat,’ answered Dog Lee, closing his eyes, mumbling a few words then blowing the dust into the air.

Most of it went directly into Lin Gik's face, making him sneeze. Then curse in cat language. Then sneeze a few more times. Then cough a lot and raise his fist to strike Dog Lee, or strike something, but...it was too late. The dust particles on his face started to detach and float back into the air, turning into a purple mist. It grew larger and larger, becoming so big that the whole figure of Lin Gik disappeared from sight.

‘What’s going on?’ asked Cha Cha, staring at the swirling mist.

‘Is that smoke?’ asked Zade, instinctively taking a step back.

‘It’s purple…’

‘Is the cat smoking?’

‘Purple mist…’

‘Is it weed?’

‘This is the Cave of Cav, and that is the Mist of Cav, protective force of Prosperoro,’ explained Dog Lee, climbing into the boat. ‘You may try to run, but it will do you no good.’

‘The mist of Cav?’ said Zade confused.

‘Satfu…why are you making up weird names? Why are you doing any of this?’

‘Silence, hamster. You will get no more words from me.’

Dog Lee pushed the boat away from the rocks and drifted out into the middle of the cave pool. Wu Dog Yan moved towards the water’s edge, getting ready to jump onto the boat, but as soon as she made the move, the purple mist grew larger and blocked her path.

‘Go around it…’ shouted Cha Cha.

Wu Dog Yan tried to go right, but the Mist of Cav matched her steps and blocked her again. She faked to go left, then went right again, as fast as she could, but the mist wasn’t fooled at all; it spread quickly, blocking her way, and then stretched even farther until it was covering the entire length of the water’s edge.

‘Your deaths will be relatively quick,’ shouted Dog Lee, gesturing towards the rapidly growing cloud of purple mist. ‘And under the watchful eye of the omnivorous[3] Lord Prosperoro…’

‘Deaths?’ said Zade, his eyes growing twice their usual size.

‘He’s been possessed…’ said Luco, shaking his head. ‘It’s the only explanation.’

‘What does he mean deaths?’

As soon as Zade had let the words out, the area of mist that had been concealing Lin Gik moved aside. Apart from empty space, there was a skull and half a rib cage hanging in the air, the only things left to prove that the cat martial artist had ever been there at all[4].

As the mist moved, the bones dropped.

Everyone waited for someone to scream, but no one did, not even Cha Cha. She was too shocked to do anything.

‘I think we better be moving now,’ said Wu Dog Yan, moving back towards the steps and grabbing Cha Cha by the sleeve as she went.

‘Where did the cat go?’ asked Cha Cha, finally blinking.

‘I’ll tell you later.’

‘The water?’

‘Later.’

‘Okay.’

Luco shouted again one more time, ‘Satfu, what are you doing?’ but there was no answer, only the slight buzz of a boat engine starting up. And then failing. And then a curse, followed by the line, ‘fucking cheap dog technology.’

‘Luco…’ said Zade, putting a paw on his little friend’s head.

‘What?’

‘The mist…’

‘I can’t let Satfu go, he’s not himself. Something’s taken over his brain and…nuut kaata…that Prospering guy. We’ve gotta get over there and help him.’

‘We need to go.’

‘Nuut.’

‘That wasn’t gentle advice, we have to go now.’

‘I said nuut.’

‘Luco,’ shouted Wu Dog Yan from halfway up the steps. ‘Get your stubborn ass up here now.’

‘I won’t leave my Satfu.’

‘Your Satfu is a nut, he’s trying to kill you. Wake up.’

‘With magic mist,’ added Zade pointing at the purple cloud now moving their way.

‘He’d never try to kill me, he’s a good dog.’

‘Luco, what are you…’

The loyal hamster student ignored his tiger comrade, closed his eyes then walked forward into the mist. Zade tried to grab his jacket and pull him back, but his reflexes were too slow.

‘Luco,’ he shouted into the void.

There was no answer.

‘Luco,’ he tried again.

Still no answer, only the Mist of Cav swirling around like smoke in a cheap nightclub, digesting its new meal.

‘He’s gone, Zade,’ shouted Wu Dog Yan.

‘Nuut…’

‘We need to move…’

Zade looked back at his two remaining friends, shook his head and said, ‘nuut,’ once more, quietly. Then, switching his natural tiger instincts back on, he growled at the cave roof, clashed his claws together and leapt like the ancient warrior Aaaakato into the bowels of the mist.

The purple cloud seemed to anticipate this act; its particles scattered to both sides, creating a hole to let him in before closing up again fast, making not a single noise to signify its gluttonous glee, not even a token pfft.

~~~

----------------------------------------

[1] Sorry ‘who’, maybe next time

[2] Let’s be honest, we all knew it was gonna be him. There are no surprises in stories anymore.

[3] I think he meant to say ‘omniscient’.

[4] Not true. There were some other bones on the ground, hidden by the bottom layer of purple mist.