Follow the Blueprints

  “Didn’t you say that that Nirvana dy could shapeshift?” Rosso asked, bumping into several people.

  “Yeah, and the professor said the Shadows also know how to use the Gifts, but that they're even better at using them.

  “So, he could be anyone,” Rosso’s paranoid gnces darted around. "There's a man behind us I keep seeing. I think he’s following us. Keep moving."

  The stranger trailing behind wore an apron, blending seamlessly with the bustling crowd of shopkeepers. Just when he was about to reach them, Rosso fshed a confident smile and flung his arms open dramatically.

  "Here it is! We have been looking for some delicious cakes. We thought we missed it," he excimed, veering with a sharp, sudden motion into a stall.

  The shopkeeper greeted them as they unched into a flurry of cheerful small talk. Their words danced lightly, masking the pounding drumbeat of their racing hearts. They could feel the stranger’s gaze behind them, heavy and unyielding. He slowed his pace, lingering for what felt like an eternity before the weight of his presence faded into the crowd.

  “I’m closing soon so you can have these. I’m just going to throw them out,” the shopkeeper expined with a nod and a smile, as he pced two heavy cupcakes, the size of basketballs, into their hands.

  The sugary aroma clung to their noses as they continued, forced smiles hiding their lingering unease. An hour passed before they allowed themselves a collective sigh of relief. They asked passerby after passerby about the Pace, but their answers were all the same—bnk stares and shrugs of confusion. No one had a clue what they were talking about.

  "This must be the Pace. We have been walking for hours, and this building never ends. Plus, the blueprints the professor gave us check out," said Roa convinced.

  As he spoke, a man stood in front of them, forcing them to stop with a jolt. He gnced at both, scanning them from head to toe with a look of suspicion.

  "They found us," he thought as his heart sank, his breath catching in his chest.

  The man stepped closer, thrusting a carrying case into his hands.

  “He’s your problem now,” he muttered before vanishing into the crowd without another word.

  They exchanged puzzled gnces.

  “What is it?” Rosso asked.

  "It's a very chubby cat," said Roa as he peered inside.

  "Leave it. What are we going to do with a damn cat? We got enough problems," he said, but the boy, not wanting to abandon it in the middle of the crowd, decided to keep it.

  "How could you abandon such a cutie? Come on."

  The water deepened as steps disappeared in the dark-blue hues of its depths, revealing a bustling port. They lingered at the docks, the mingling scents of saltwater and fresh-caught seafood filling their lungs. Around them, fishermen hauled in writhing catches of crabs, lobsters, and even a rge swordfish. Buoys swayed on gentle waves, their bells chiming in a zy rhythm. The scene was both surreal and mesmerizing, a bustling harbor in the heart of a pace. Hours ter, their ride finally docked. The water rippled and churned as the boat rose higher and higher out of the water, revealing itself to be attached to a massive, green shell. Waves cascaded off its sides, crashing against the dock.

  “A sea turtle” they said in unison, awe and ughter lighting up their faces.

  As they prepared to board, a sudden commotion erupted. A horde of twenty cats surged toward them, cws fshing and teeth showing. The air filled with furious yowls as the felines swarmed, scratching and hissing at them. The pair barely managed to scramble aboard the turtle’s shell, their arms and legs covered in cuts.

  "We left the case on the dock," said Roa.

  "I think I had enough of cats for today," his friend said as he wiped blood off his arm with a handkerchief.

  The turtle glided forward, its rhythmic movements carrying them through a grand archway fnked by gilded columns. Two towering marble angels loomed above, their serene faces watching over the travelers. Beyond the threshold y a room of incomprehensible scale. Rosso stood at the front of the ship, arms wide open, his mouth agape.

  "I have never seen so much water in my entire life! To think that so much exists—my mind could never have imagined it like this. Is this how your world looks like?"

  “Yes, we also have huge pces full of water called seas, although ours are always—outdoors,” Roa expined, scratching his head, as he tried to wrap his mind around the size of the room they were in. "Look there. The sky looks like is painted on the ceiling, and the sun here is attached at the top—like a chandelier. This is unbelievable,” he pointed left and right with an excitement he had rarely felt back in his old life. The two marveled at the sights with wide-eyed wonder, like kids discovering something amazing for the first time.

  "Hurry up, you—stupid, stupid turtle," compined a woman wearing a pirate hat. "We'll never make it at this pace.”

  Ahead, the opening to the next chamber began to seal, a painted mural of clouds and sky repcing the view.

  "What’s going on?" they asked.

  "We will have to find another way or wait it out. Look at the time!" she pointed at something on one of the giant walls in the distance.

  An immense, intricate manda hung with a mirror at its center. Made of wood, its eborate patterns revealed several clocks with too many hands, turning in chaotic harmony. Some spun slowly, some quickly, while others rotated so fast, they were barely visible.

  “Looria said that the Pace shifts all the time, remember?” Roa said. He then gazed down into the water, noticing something that caught his eye. "Look—there's a submerged city under the waves."

  Beneath the rippling surface y skyscrapers, monorails, and highways, eerily still and forgotten.

  "What happened to it?"

  The captain looked at them and smirked grimly.

  "They got unlucky. Their city was way down there at the bottom. When a wall opened up one day and the water came rushing through it, they went for a really long bath."

  Roa looked ahead as the briny breeze caressed his skin. The turtle turned left, following the side of the walls where the opening once was, as the waves crashed against it.

  "Hey, stay away!" screamed Rosso, shielding himself.

  An orange cat jumped up onto the ledge and sat next to them with an angry look in its eyes. The boy reached out, only for the cat to swat at his hand, cws grazing his skin. Then, to their astonishment, the feline spoke.

  "Ya messed with the wrong felines, kidnapping our boss. Ya thought you could get away with it, get some ransom money, huh?" its paws swiping again.

  The pair exchanged bewildered looks.

  "Ya well, your pn backfired. Now you got yourselves a special spot on top of our hit list,” said the kitty.

  "You mean the chubby cat in that case? We didn't kidnap your boss—some random guy just dropped him in our hands," expined the young man, attempting to calm it down.

  “Oh yeah? So, you just go around picking up random cats, huh?” the cat hissed.

  “I told you we should have just left it,” Rosso shot an annoyed gnce at this friend. “Who the hell are you, anyways?”

  "Who the hell are we? Who the hell are we?" it said, raising its voice, swiping at him a few times with its paw. "We're the Cat Mafia—and your days are numbered."

  The cat lunged at them, narrowly missing as he jerked back. With a hiss, it tumbled into the water, spshing awkwardly before paddling away.

  Roa blinked, then turned to Rosso.

  “The Cat Mafia?” he said, letting out a chuckle.

  "What an odd pce. Even the cats are strange here," he said as the two ughed their unusual day off.