Do you ever think about how little you know a person?

Even among the closest of people, one really doesn't know that much about the other. Sure, one might know bits and pieces, but they never really get to see the whole picture. Then, think about celebrities, or anyone that has a presence in media, really. Chances are, one knows much, much more about any of them than they do their friends. Even without trying, eventually one just suddenly gets that information dumped on them. They probably know things about these total, perfect strangers, that both parties really, really wish they didn't.

But what if, say, you knew one of those big shots. What if, say you had dinner with them. Think it'd be fun? Or deeply disturbing? 

Maybe a bit of both? Who's to say.

Anyways, S and I went over to one of the guards, with the intent to bug them until they tell us what's going on. Man, this is the first time we've actually acted our age in days, and, let me tell ya', it is liberating. We went up to the guard nearest to us at the time. She was tall, with had long, red hair, poking out from her blue, leather helmet. 

"Yo, guard lady." S began as we walked up. 

"What is it, citizen?" She responded in an official sounding voice.

"Right, there's a lot of guards out today, what's up with that?" 

"What, you wanna write 'piss' on all the lemonade vendors carts again?" She said, more casually.

S paused, for a moment, allowing a mischievous grin sprouted his face. "I thought you looked familiar." He said, giggling to himself. 

"Vandalism is a very serious offence!" Back to sounding official, I see.

"I paid the fine." S said, dismissively. "And, it was funny." 

"Yeah, it kinda was." The guard said, quietly, holding back a giggle. C'mon, pick, are you the uptight, very official officer or the fast and loose goofy type? Your aesthetic is all wobbly. 

Wait, no, we had a goal. No more distractions! "Uh, b-back on topic, what's with all the guards today?" I asked.

"Oh, uh, I am not at liberty to discuss that information, citizen." She said, in a wobbly but kind of official-ish sort of way. 

S leaned towards her. "... C'mon." He said.

"No."

"... Please?" S said

"No." The guard predictably repeated. 

"Rats." S said, defeated, returning to a normal stance. 

 Well, if she can't tell us, that means our best course of action would be... Ooh, we could eavesdrop! I could even use the holes and do it from a safe distance! I looked around the area for any guards who were chatting each other. 

As I was about to usher S out of earshot so I could explain my plan, he seemed to get an idea of his own. "Do you know what the situation is, actually?" He asked.

The guards face twitched a bit. 

"I'm... not at liberty to discuss that." She said. 

Ah. I guess the guards weren't told, either. Hmm. 

"Right, well, we're off to see the cap'n, then. Later!" S said, doing a little wave as we walked off. 

"W-wait!" She shouted before we got too far. We stopped and turned over to her. "If you absolutely must know... The captain's out right now. You'll have better luck with his secretary. He's back at the guard house. If anyone's gonna be able to tell you anything, it'll be him. Come to think of it, he was mumbling about you earlier, actually." 

We paused, in thought, for a moment.

"That's baldy, right?" S asked. 

Oh, Desk guy.

"Yep. That's him." 

"Right. Thanks for the tip." 

"If anyone asks... you didn't hear it from me, got it?"

"Heard what?" S concluded as we walked off. Ooh. Beautiful delivery on that classic line. 

Thus, we began making our way to the guardhouse.

"You do stuff like that often?" I asked S. He navigated that whole thing pretty crazy well. 

"Eh, occasionally." He said. 

It didn't take all that long for us to get the guardhouse, as S was very familiar with the way there. I didn't really notice it before, but all the guards look real uneasy today. I wager that not knowing what's going on is probably rather unnerving by itself. Because, at this point, everyone's probably figured out that somethings going on. I wonder what's scarier, the actual situation, the ambiguity of it. 

Well, I sure look forward to finding out! 

There were two guards stationed outside the guardhouse, on either side of the door. They could see that we were headed towards the door, clearly intending to go in. 

"Nope, gonna stop you right there, kids. Any business you have in here will have to wait." 

"Right, we wont be long, we just gotta ask b-" S began. 

"No. Captains orders, I'm sorry." The guard interrupted. 

"C'mon, it'll-" S began.

This time, I interrupted him "Oh well. Looks like we'll have to come back t-tomorrow. H-Have a good day officer." I turned and began to walk away.

"Wait, Beyes, we-" S began.

I created a square with my fingers and shot him a meaningful look. Well, as meaningful as I could manage. 

He figured it out. "Right. Well, I probably shouldn't get into any more trouble today, guess I'll see you fellas tomorrow, yeah?" S said as we walked off towards a nearby alley. 

The guards seemed especially uneasy after S said that. 

As we were about to enter the alley, a young kid, probably around Michaus's age, wearing incredibly dirty and tattered clothes walked out while looking at the clouds and whistling suspiciously. Eh? What's his deal? Was he hiding here? And was he playing in mud?

Ah, whatever, not important. Once we were out of sight, I pictured the guardhouse in my mind, and placed my hands together in a familiar way, and S and I hopped on through. 

I ended up putting the exit hole on the ceiling, for whatever reason. Next thing I knew, we were barreling towards the floor of the guardhouse at a rapid rate. 

Huh. Anyone else getting a sense of deja vu?

The guardhouse was completely devoid of life, except us, and the man behind the desk. He seemed to be feverishly looking through a bunch of papers, with an ink and quill at the ready. 

My train of thought was halted by me hitting the cold, hard floor of the guardhouse. I landed my rear. Ow. S landed fine.

"Ah!" I heard a familiar voice exclaim from behind the desk. It was that bald fellow with glasses and angry glare that was with us on the cart. "How- How did you two get in here!? I told them not to let anyone in!" He shouted in suprise.

"Right, doesn't matter." S began. Then he made finger guns, and continued. "We're here to ask you what the hecks goin' on with all the guards." 

"What?! What're you- You cant just-" The man began, stammering. Then he sighed. Then he pinched his forehead with his pointer finger and thumb. "Actually, since it's you two... Ugh. I suppose you deserve to know what's happening."  

Oh? It relates to us? How exciting! And terrifying. Fun.

"Well..." He seemed unnerved. He swallowed, probably in an attempt to calm himself. "... The cat is on the prowl."

Eh?

"Whuzzat mean?" S asked. 

"The band of criminals... No, maybe terrorists would better fit them... They're near. Every settlement in the area is on high alert." 

Wait a minute... Cats, terrorism... Hmmmm...

"There's very little information about this group. They attack almost indiscriminately, their only goal seems to be to cause chaos and destruction. The only thing we know for sure, is that they've never been caught, or at least never stayed caught for long, and that odd drawings of cats frequently appear at the scene of the crime. And that they're immensely powerful." He seemed to shudder as he concluded.

Is it..?

"Oh yeah, I've heard something like that, now that I'm thinking about it... Lotta cities around the country have been attacked, right? And every time they capture a guy, they always disappear almost immediately. Freaky stuff." 

"Neighboring countries, have fallen victim, too." Glasses guy corrected. "And, as I'm sure you've already suspected..." He sighed, once more. "That purple robed criminal we fought... is believed to be one of these 'Cats. It's clear they weren't using their full power during our altercation."  

It's Catface, the whole thing is Catface. It's Catface.

"As you're aware, they escaped our capture, and... They attacked the duke's manor, while you were inside. Truly, I cannot apologize for that enough." Glasses said, in a sincerely apologetic tone, and lowering his head. It seemed like he'd been agonizing over this for some time. 

"Right, don't worry about it, we ended up fine, nobody got hurt." S said.

"Yes... That is fortunate." Glasses said. Then, he stared directly at me. "But I must apologize to you especially."

Wha? Me? "Why?" I asked, confused.  

"You had a... direct interaction with them, didn't you? I'm truly, deeply sorry. That must have been terrifying."

"Uh..." I mean, I guess it kinda was, but... "I mean..." Yeah, not really sure what to say, here. I just kinda... Stared at the 'em.

"It's impressive enough that you can be so calm, after coming into 1 on 1 contact with them. And..." He looked at my bandages on my arms and legs. "Surviving. You are a far more capable warrior than I realized." 

"Oh, these, uh, they're not-" 

"You needn't talk about it any longer. I know it must've been hard for you."

I certainly appreciate the sentiment, but...

S covered his mouth, and I think I heard him snicker. 

"And, if I may be so bold... As much as I hate to ask of you to recall that event any further... For the sake of security, not just here in Starsford, but all across the nation... Can you recall any distinguishing features about the perpetrator? Any information you have could save lives." Glasses asked.

'Save lives', huh... 

And all I've gotta do is describe Catface? 

That's rather easy, isn't it. I mean, it's hard to forget a face like that. And I doubt I'll be forgetting our initial meeting so easily. And, my assumption is correct, Catface certainly has it coming... I could be a hero, and all I'd have to do is talk.

It's so easy, isn't it?

I noticed S began to open his mouth. Sorry, not even gonna let you be interrupted this time, pal. 

"Nope. They had their hood up the entire time. I couldn't see their face at all. Sorry."

Of course it isn't.

Yes, I know... I know that what he's saying is probably true. Of course I know that. I know that Catface is a crazy, violent, destructive criminal, and incredibly powerful, to boot. And, I know that... I know that they've probably hurt a lot of people. And, maybe... No, certainly... I'm certain they've killed before. Heck, they even told me, plainly.

But... I've seen them smile. I've heard them laugh. For a moment, just one brief moment, they even helped me. 

When I picture that... When I picture their smiling face, when I hear their annoying laugh... I just can't do it.

I'm just not that good.

I'd be a hypocrite if I was.

"Oh. I see. True, I suppose someone of their caliber wouldn't leave themselves vulnerable like that. Sorry, that was a stupid question." 

Of course it was.