"What the hell. Did you see it? She killed that guy!" Akira said to the cat flying next to him.
"For real-yo?" Pako asked. "This planet is worse than what I had thought. Anyway, we are there..." They began drifting toward dark protrusion, a pitch-black mass of land standing out against the dimly lit streets and buildings surrounding it.
"That's weird," Akira muttered as he slowly fell past the coiled, interlocked branches. "It shouldn't be this dark." If he remembered correctly, there had been electric lamps flanking the path that connected the base of the mountain to the shrine on the top.
Pako landed softly on his four while Akira stumbled as soon as his feet touched the cold ground, and before he could still himself to take in his surrounding, his stomach churned. Akira turned away from the cat and puked.
"What are you doing?" Pako asked.
"Uh... My body is just reacting to the rollercoaster ride I just had." Akira wiped his mouth against his shirt sleeve.
"Where is my ship?" Pako asked.
Akira didn't reply. He took in a deep breath and sat down. "Wait. My head hurts."
"We don't have much time," Pako said, floating before Akira's face.
"Damn it." Akira gritted his teeth and stood up. He squinted in the darkness. "Up there. Past those trees."
Akira began walking in the darkness while Pako floated next to him. Akira's head was still spinning. The forest was surprisingly quiet. There was no sound of scurrying small mammals, nor could Akira hear the chirping of crickets. It was as if all the animals had abandoned the hill and the small forest that sat atop it. There was also something else that he noticed to be different about the forest: the stench that was similar to the smell of burned rice. The more they moved toward the direction he had pointed, the stronger the stench became, making him believe they were on the right path.
A few moments later, they were out of the groves and at the edge of a flat but surprisingly wide crater. The crater was littered with broken and burned tree stumps and stalks. That slightly crumpled sphere in which Pako had come to Earth was nowhere in sight.
"What hell-yo?" Pako said, flying ahead. "Where is my ship?"
"I-it was right there... in the middle of the pit," Akira muttered. "Wait... Where is that huge thing that attacked me?"
"What huge thing?" Pako asked.
"That thing that came behind you," Akira said, and it came to him. "Of course! It's her. She hid them away. There is no way she would have allowed an alien tech to lie around."
"Ah, I knew this place was stupid... but this is too much," Pako said, placed his paws on his ears and pulled them down. The gesture was comically similar to humans pulling their hair in frustration. "What should we do now?"
Akira scratched his head. "Who are you asking?"
"I'm asking you, of course," Pako said and began circling Akira. "Is there anyone else here with us, kid-yo?"
"UH. Don't ask me," Akira said and began massaging his forehead with his thumb and two fingers. "All this is new to me. Aren't you some space criminal? I bet escaping a planet is nothing new for you."
"Of course," Pako said. "Piece of cake--"
"See..."
"But for my past self," Pako said. "And, on a planet that is not as crappy as this."
"Hey, this is my home."
"Yeah. Yeah," Pako said. "I'll have to focus hard and get some of my past experiences back."
"Talking about past experiences," Akira said, "what kind of criminal were you anyway? If you were an alien cat in some stupid story written by some mediocre writer, you would have probably been a burglar of some sort."
"I was a thief. A master thief."
"So a burglar, after all," Akira muttered, his voice barely audible.
"What did you say, kid-you?"
"Nothing," Akira said, suppressing a grin. "Gah. Why am I joking at a time like this? There is a crazy chick with a gun behind us." It was his turn to grab and pull at his hair.
"Who are you calling a crazy chick?"
"Uh, Pako, why did you sound like a girl?" Akira asked, taking a back step.
"That was not me," Pako said. "I didn't say that."
"Then..." Akira muttered. Both he and Pako slowly turned their heads watched as a girl dressed in pajamas emerged from the thicket. She had her gun pointed at them.
"It's over," Rin said. "Don't make a single move."
"H-how did you find us?" Akira asked, instinctively raising his hand, and backing away, though she warned him not to move around.
"Do you really think I would let an alien cat fly around my house without putting a tracker on it?" Rin took a step towards them. "It's over. Give up, you two."
"Damn it, I don't want to die," Akira said, still backing away from her.
"Die?" Rin asked, lowering her gun a bit. "Who's killing you?"
"You, of course," Akira said.
"Huh." Rin completely dropped her gun. "I knew you were stupid, but I didn't know you were this big of a stupid."
"You are not planning to kill me?"
"Of course not! Do I look like a killer to you?"
"With that gun in your hand," Akira said, "you do."
"This gun doesn't kill people," Rin said. "It puts them into sleep. Temporarily."
"Ohh..." Akira let out a sigh of relief and dropped his hand. "Guess there is no need for me to worry then."
"If you two are done," Pako said, floating up."I would like to know where is my ship?"
"It's with me," Rin said, looking smug.
"Give it back to me."
"I can't give it back to you. You entered our planet illegally... You can't leave without going through a proper procedure. And besides, even if I gave you your ship back, you won't be able to use it. It's beyond repair."
"I don't believe you," Pako said, drifting toward hers.
Rin sighed. "I too tired for this shit. Anyway, this should make you believe me." She pulled out a small, silver marble and threw it onto the ground. There was a loud poof with a flash of red light, and Before Akira could blink, he found himself staring at something that looked like a crumpled washing machine.
"My ship!" Pako flew towards it and began touching and circling it.
"See," Rin said. "I told you it's beyond repair."
Akira slumped to the ground, tired. He felt bad for Pako. But he was also happy that wouldn't have to leave the planet.
"Now," Rin said, "Let's stop this stupid chase and go back to my--" She froze, slowly looked up, and gasped.
Akira followed her gaze and looked up. He heaved out a breath. "W-what is that thing?"