The Cat, Witch and the Wormholes

Chapter 16. A song of Hope and Fire

[Her world was on fire.]

Maria and Trish woke her and others, and then immediately gone to awaken the caretakers. Quickly dressing she ran after the other children into the corridor, and then she suddenly remembered that she left Mister Silky Paws in the game room in the middle of a toy fort. He was there all alone and probably didn't even know that there was a fire in the building.

She could not leave him there, because she promised Cadence that she would take care of him, that she would look after him. No! She is a good girl! She will not betray the trust of her best friend! She will not abandon Mister Silky Paws in trouble! He must be rescued! And this is definitely the job for Shimmering Sunshine Lady!

Sunset quickly returned to the bedroom and pulling a yellow sheet from her bed tied it on her shoulders in the manner of a heroic cape. Now she is no longer Sunset Shimmer, now she is a superhero and she will save her best friend's pet! And ignoring the screech of the fire alarm, she ran not into the trail of other children, but to the left along the corridor toward the playroom.

And despite the fact that the corridor was already puffed up with smoke, and glimpses of fire flashed in front of her, she didn't stop, because real heroes don't give in to fear! Still it was getting harder to run, her eyes were watering from smoke, and more and more often she coughed when she tried to breathe. The fires spread very quickly and already licked the walls and ceiling of the corridor. But she was already there.

[The flames swirled around.]

She rushed into the game room and stared in horror at the fire-ridden fort, which she, together with other children, had built from large wooden blocks in the afternoon. But Mister Silky Paws was somewhere inside! Sunset tried to get closer, but the flame was too hot and when she reached out with her hand, it burned her painfully. And several blocks collapsed exposing a burning plush cat toy in front of her.

"No! NO! It can't be!" She cried, falling to her knees in despair. "I was late. I was too late." And tears flowed down her cheeks. "Oh, Cady, I'm a bad friend. I can't even save him."

Sunset jumped to her feet and ran to the exit from the room, bursting into tears, and with her eyes were watery she did not notice how she stumbled with her foot on the toy left by someone and then fell and hurt her elbow badly. She screamed in pain, and for some time lay on the floor cradling her injured arm. But the fire consumed more and more space and now she had to hurry.

With great difficulty overcoming the pain in her hand, she got up and walked slowly towards the corridor. But before she could even make a dozen steps, the beam engulfed in fire collapsed in front of her, almost hitting her head, blocking Sunset from leaving the room.

[And the blazing fire like an impenetrable veil enveloped everything before her.]

She tried to get away from the fire, but it already covered the entire game room and now she had nowhere to run. But the fire was only getting stronger, and the flames was getting closer to her. It licked her hands and Sunset screamed in terror. Her coat was already charring, and her hair began to burn.

She knocked the flames from her hair, but they flared again. She fell on all fours and grabbing the rug wrapped it around her, trying to hide from the fire. But it didn't work and the fire danced on the outer surface of the mat, turning her into a huge living bonfire.

The skin on her hands was blistered, and the pain was unbearable. And she could no longer hear her own cries, because her eardrums had burst from her shrill screams.

[The flame became her and she turned into a flame.]

Her hands were charred and her body was drowned in fire. She realized that she was dying, and only regretted that she could not keep the promise given to her best friend. She could not protect Mister Silky Paws, she could not even protect herself. It seems that she wasn't destined to become a hero, and her fate was to die as a sore loser. She broke her pinky promise. And those who break promises no longer deserves to have friends.

She closed her eyes and prepared to die. And then she saw purest bright light and the stars twinkled around her.

[And she dissolved into the fire letting it to consume herself.]

The pain abruptly stopped and the heat from the fire disappeared. She opened her eyes and saw a frozen flame, rigid and motionless. She gasped, and heard her own voice. She raised her hands, which were safe and sound again and stared at them blankly. Even her hair was a luxurious mane again.

"I knew that I would find you here again." From her right came a very familiar female voice. She looked up and saw a woman glowing with white radiance. "Hello, Sunset. We finally met again."

"Again? What do you mean? Who are you?" Sunset blinked in surprise.

"My name is Oma Desala and this is moment where it all began." She smiled. "The place where we have already met once, a long time ago."

"But. Where are we?" Still not understanding, she asked again.

"Look around, don't you think this place is familiar?"

"I was not..." She wanted to continue, when she stopped and looked. This place was so familiar, but she couldn't remember where and when she saw it. "It really looks familiar, but where are we?"

"This is your first home, Sunset."

"My home? But why can't I remember it then?"

"Are you sure?" Oma tilted her head slightly and the scenery has changed. "What about now?"

The fire and destruction disappeared and the room looked untouched again. And instead of the night there was a day, and on the floor of the room children were playing, who absolutely did not notice Sunset and Oma standing in the middle of the room. She wanted to ask something when she noticed in the corner of the room two little girls who were drawing on a large piece of paper with bright markers.

And they were very different from all the other children in the room. The one on the left had a mane of pink-violet-yellow hair, and the one on the right was bright red with a yellow stripe. They both smiled and laughed, drawing flowers and houses on paper. And next to them lay a plush toy in the form of a tabby cat.

"Mister Silky Paws..." Sunset said in shock. "But why do I know this? Why does it have the same name as Cadence gave to Seth?" She turned to Oma. "Why do they look like me and Cadence? Why? What's going on?" She shouted.

"But you already know the answer." Sounded melodious voice of Oma. "You're just afraid to admit it to yourself."

"No! This is impossible!" She continued to deny the obvious. "It just can't be!"

"How can you be so sure?"

"But she and I are ponies! We have always been ponies!" Sunset stood her ground. "And I first met her just five years ago!"

"Or maybe you just forgot?"

"What are you saying?" Sunset's pupils widened and she was already afraid to hear Oma's answer.

"It seems I should tell you how it really was."

Oma sighed and the scenery changed again to the street filled with a lot of wrecked cars, firetrucks, police cruisers and ambulances.

"Your story begins with this event. You lost your parents when you weren’t even a year old, and because you were left alone authorities sent you to an orphanage for upbringing, where you lived until this fire happened."

The scenery transformed into a creche full of infants.

"There you met another orphan named Cadence, with whom you very quickly became friends, and from infancy you were together all the time." She pointed to the child with multicolored hair. "Both of you were different from others in appearance, having an unusual color of eyes and hair. And both of you have always been more active and cheerful than other children. Perhaps this is why other children have kept aloof from you."

The scene around them changed again to the picture of holiday festival on the street.

"The two of you were thick as thieves, and even on an orphanage joint trip for the amusement park you played together on the gaming machines, in one of which she won herself this plush toy cat, who she called Mister Silky Paws. And she always took him with her wherever she went."

"But it did not last forever?"

"Yes, unfortunately." And sadness appeared in her voice. "One day a young couple came to the orphanage, they loved each other very much, but they couldn't have their own children. And so they decided to adopt a child."

The scenery flowed around them and turned to the game room where a young couple watched small children play.

"They really liked both of you, inseparable friends who behaved like real sisters. And they were ready to adopt you together, but circumstances intervened and the authorities allowed them to adopt only one child." Oma showed her a crying couple. "It almost broke their hearts, being forced to choose between the two of you."

"They chose Cadence." Guessed Sunset.

"It was a very difficult choice." Oma hurried to assure her, and the scene was replaced with a parting episode. "She didn't want to leave you alone and because of this she handed you her precious toy, asking to look after him and remember her more often."

"And I lost it in the fire." A small tear appeared on her eye.

"Yes, you did. But you couldn't have known that this would happen." And the scene of the fire appeared again. "You tried to save it, but you failed and almost died." Oma walked to the small figure bathed in flames. "But at that moment a miracle happened. Your subconscious reached for something in the depths of your being, something that slept in you and was inactive for many, many generations of your ancestors. And when it woke up, it met something on its way that also wanted to touch your mind, but your legacy was against it and was not going to let it subdue you, and swallowed it."

"What legacy?" Sunset became curious.

"To explain this to you, we will have to go back in time."

Everything around them fell apart and spun in a whirlwind of light and color. The stars were lit and extinguished, the planets were born and died, and time flowed around them like a torrent. Until finally everything slowed down and a beautiful planet appeared before them.

"Long time ago on a planet far far away lived a race of very curious creatures. They were inventive, their inquiring mind was constantly eager to learn something new and unusual." Before Sunset came the world of unusually dressed people.

"The humans."

"Not exactly, but close. They were virtually indistinguishable from them." Clarified Oma. "Their kind was called the Lanteans, and they loved to build extraordinary things."

She showed her the huge city-ships flying in space, planets filled with magnificent buildings and machines that boggled the imagination.

"And they achieved all this because they possessed a marvelous gift of magic. But they did not rely on their talent alone, preferring to learn the secrets of the universe without its help. And having studied almost everything that they could, they finally reached the pinnacle of nature, beyond which there was only a transition to another form of existence."

And the people on the scenery began to glow and soar towards the heavens, dissolving into the light.

"And soon they learned how to ascend themselves and become practically gods for the rest of the universe. But not all of them wanted ascension, and so some of them left their homeworld and began to spread life across the rest of the galaxies. And arriving in this galaxy, they found this world - the Earth."

And the globe of the planet appeared before them.

"They built new cities and settled this world, and lived in peace with their neighbors from other galaxies, until one day they stumbled upon the bloodthirsty race of Wraiths, which decided that the Lanteans would be the perfect food for them."

"They look like vampires."

"Yes, they are." Smiled Oma. "Of course these Wraiths were no match for the Lanteans and would never have been able to defeat them, but the unfathomable

epidemic had suddenly occurred, the one which the Lanteans could not cure or prevent. And one after another they began to die, the cities population began to dwindle, and panic seized them."

The view of the planet was replaced by the image of a panicked population.

"And most of those who were still alive decided to leave the Earth in an attempt to escape from the plague, and only a few who remained calm chose to stay. They dismantled their cities and their ships and hid themselves in the deep bunkers, awaiting until everything was over."

Sunset saw underground vaults filled with capsules with sleeping ancients.

"They slept for eons, and when they woke up they discovered that the Earth was once again inhabited by creatures that look very similar to them. And no one could tell for sure whether they were their descendants who turned to savagery, whose ancestors didn't hided in the bunkers, or were they the creations of some of their compatriots who tried to find a way for their species to survive."

And the scene of the meeting of several ancients with primal humans spread out before them.

"I can't even distinguish them from each other!"

"The Lanteans learned that these people were not much different from them, except that they were more primitive in the physical sense and were not capable of magic."

The scenery has changed to view of humans astonished by magic feats and technology wonders.

"And seeing the new humanity some of the survived ancients decided to remain among them, while others, who did not agree with their decision, left the Earth through the Stargate or ascended to a new plane of existence."

The view of activated Stargate amazed Sunset.

"And the years flowed one after another, and those who stayed gave birth to their children and grandchildren, and then their children began to take as spouses this new humans, mingling with them, and dissolving into new generations. Their blood has thinned over the centuries, and their talent for magic has almost dried up. And soon it was already impossible to determine who was the descendant of the ancients, and who was not. Until one day two girls were born in two different families." And then Sunset was in the middle of the nursery in the hospital. "The mother of one girl died in childbirth, and her father is overwhelmed with grief decided to abandon her." Sunset saw a bundle with a child at the door of an orphanage. "As for the parents of another, they died in a massive car crash."

"These were my parents. It's so unfair, I never knew them before, and now I'll never get to know them."

"I'm sorry." Oma put her hand on the girl's shoulder trying to calm her down. "Both of you are very exceptional girls. Both of you are the last of our descendants. The first among an incalculable number of generations of your ancestors who managed to revive a talent for magic."

Sunset stared at the woman, slightly confused about what was going on.

"But how then did I end up in Equestria, and why was I a pony?"

"I just came to this." Said Oma and the scene of the burnt room appeared once again. "As you probably already understood, I was one of the Ancients, one of those who decided to ascend a long time ago. We live in a very closed community burdened with many restrictive rules. We are forbidden to intervene in the affairs of mortals and we are forbidden to influence what is happening in the world. But when did you, Sunset, awakened your magic, I noticed you and overstepping all the restrictions came to help you." Oma gently smiled. "You managed to awaken your talent in magic, but your body has suffered greatly from fire. And with those burns, you could never survive. But the burns could be cured, and they were not the main problem. Your newly acquired magic developed rapidly and demanded an external source of magic, which was too insufficient on Earth, in a world where there was practically no magic left. And although many of my compatriots were categorically against that, I made a decision and moved you to a far away world full of magic in which you could live and develop without such restrictions."

"To the Equestria."

"That's right. And the most interesting thing is that the whole world was shrouded in a magic spell that turns any creature who ends up in Equestria into one of the local species, and their spiritual predestination and the power of their magic were the deciding factors choosing their form."

"So I became a unicorn! But that means I'm not a real pony."

"You're wrong! It does not matter who you were before, but what matters is who you want to be, who you consider yourself."

"So I can still be a pony? And I don't need to be a human forever?"

"The choice is only yours."

"Swell! I will definitely be a pony!"

Oma smiled proudly and approvingly.

"But then how did Cadence get there? Did you move her too?"

"Yes, something similar happened to Cadence." Oma paused for a moment. "She and her adoptive parents moved to the island of Newfoundland in the northeast of this continent. Where they lived happily until the island was attacked by a monster named Leviathan, who destroyed their house and drowned the entire island along with all its inhabitants. But she was destined to a different fate."

"What? Please tell me she survived."

"She managed to survive long enough to awaken her inner magic and fueled by love for her from her adoptive parents, it manifested itself, grabbing my attention too." Explained Oma. "That's why I was able to save her too. But even if her body was in a much better shape than yours, she was still without oxygen for too long and this caused most of her memories to disappear."

"That's why she didn't recognize me too."

"Yes, she forgot almost everything she knew, except for her name and something else."

Oma waved her hand and the scenery changed to the forest.

"I moved her to Equestria and laid her on the trail right in the path of a earth pony heading to the forest. And when he found her, he immediately took her to his home, where, together with his wife, they soon decided to adopt this orphaned filly."

"Well, at least Princess Celestia took me to her palace." Sunset said with a touch of pride and a bit of envy.

"From that day Cadence began to live with the earth ponies, where she met a cat that was very much like a plush toy that she once had. That made her immediately to latch on him, because he reminded her of the last familiar thing from her past life."

"You do know that this is not a cat?"

"Yes, I knew about him, but his presence in this house was a surprise even to me." Oma's face has become unreadable. "He always manages to surprise me. And looks like he did it again."

"Huh?"

"Look at your feet."

Sunset lowered her gaze and saw a blurred, pulsing shadow in the shape of a cat that sat at her feet.

"What is this?"

"This is Setesh, or rather the projection of his soul on this plane of existence."

"Seth? But why is he like this? Why doesn't he look like us? Why does he look like a shadow?"

"I will try to explain in simple words." Oma thought for a moment. "Before I answer, let me ask you a question."

"Okay, sure."

"Where do you think we are?"

"You said that this is some kind of a plane of existence."

"That's true. But this is not just any plane, this is a plane of ascension. Where we meet those who are going to end their mortal existence and become something more."

"Ascension? Am I going to ascend? And the cat too?" Sunset asked incredulously

"Unfortunately not. At least not entirely." She sighed. "You see, despite the fact that your magic potential is very strong, and you are our descendant, but you and your body are still corporeal, and this prevents you from ascension. Although at the same time you are already something greater than a mere mortal. Much much greater than them. Your power is undeniable, your will is invincible, and your resolve is insurmountable. You're like a living god among people. But until your soul transcends your body, true ascension will not be available to you."

"But still possible. And what about Seth, he now also became a god?"

"No, of course not. His soul is too burdened by his sins, his petty desires, too impure. And now his body too is infected with this vile parasite." She said with a tone full of bile. "He will never ascend. No, I don't even want to imagine what someone of his kind would do if they ascended!"

"But he's good! He helped me many times!"

"Do not let yourself to be deceived, Sunset, I know very well what they are capable of, and none of his good deeds will ever cover what they have done all over the galaxy! I tolerate his existence for the time being, while he is useful, but if he tries to harm you, then I will immediately intervene."

"But..." Sunset baffled. "But he managed to appear here, so he is ready to ascend!"

"It does not mean anything. He did this before, and his soul is too dirty, he is like a demon, like a parasite, that who he really is."

"Still you said he did it before. When?"

"Yes he did. He appeared here at the time when Cadence became a demigoddess. And did it again on the day of your arrival to this world."

"Wait, but I don't remember it happening before."

"You appeared on this plane at the moment of great shock. When your body was on the verge of death. But your soul and mind weren't ready to surrender, you weren't going to let others to die, even if the price for their survival is your own life. So you intuitively invoked the magic of your essence, and it answered to you, lending a help to defeat the enemies."

"Monsters town. The town that I turned to ashes."

"Yes, your magical power did it."

"But I almost killed other people. And if it were not for Seth, if it were not for his shield, then they would have died!"

"As I already said, he is useful. Like now, when he holds the shield protecting the people from your magical induced firestorm."

"What?! My magic is out of control again? But why? You said that I was already here before, then I should have better control over it." Exclaimed Sunset. "And now he must protect them all from me again!"

Oma's face frowned and the glow around her faded slightly.

"You do not understand..."

"What exactly do I not understand? Why does he have to save people again? Why can't I control my power? Just why?"

"We have laws, rules, we cannot interfere in mortals lives."

"And how it relates to me, you said that I am no longer mortal."

"You were strong, brave and determined. But having such powers was too early for you. You are not ready yet. And so we had to make a decision. I was against it, but I was overruled by the majority."

"You sealed my powers and made me forget everything, right?"

"Sometimes we have to make a hard decisions. For the greater good."

"And now you will seal my power again and I will forget everything."

"No, not this time. Even the last time there were many of us disgruntled with such a move, but now when your power has grown so far beyond, they will not be able to seal it."

"Yay for me." Snorted redhead.

"You have a great destiny ahead of you, Sunset."

"A destiny? So I have to do something? Go kill a monster and save the world?"

"This is not something predetermined, because no one can know the future in advance, and even your fate is not set in stone, but you are very important. We only know that you will bring hope to the desperate and salvation to the doomed, we know that your heart is full of sympathy and compassion, that you are this world's a long awaited hero, a hero that it needs, a hero who has finally come."

"So I have to save the world? And that mean I have to stay here and never return to Equestria? But we were ready to run, to find a way home!"

"I'm sorry. But even if you fulfill your plans, you were doomed to fail."

Sunset was shocked that her long-awaited dream collapsed before her eyes. They had been preparing for so long, practicing, collecting equipment and planning routes. And now she was told that only failure would await them.

"But why?" She asked in trembling voice, with tears trailing down her cheeks. "Was Seth wrong?"

"As much as I don't like it, this is not his fault." Oma walked over to Sunset. "He remembered correctly, but he didn't realize that everything had changed in such a long time. And practically everywhere in your chosen destinations you will not find anything except bare walls. And only in some places there are still artifacts left, but you cannot reach them without heavy archeological equipment."

"So it was all in vain."

"Unfortunately it is." Oma's voice become sad.

"But what should I do then? How do I get home?"

"I don't have an answer to this question yet, but you mustn't lose hope. And about what you do, then I have a suggestion, become a hero of which this world is waiting for. They need you, Sunset, they need you more than you can even imagine."

"Me a hero? I'm not a hero! I'm just some kind of life long loser. I lost my parents, I did not know my past, I stuck in a strange world, I lost my best friend, and now others suffer because of me. How can I try?"

"There is no try. Do it or don't. It's that simple. When life gets your down, you mustn't stop. Just keep going, and put your past behind you."

"But it hurts, it's pains me. Will I ever see my friends again, will I see Princess Celestia again, will I see Cadence?"

"Yes, the past can hurt, losing your friends is painful too, but the way I see it, you can either run from it, hide your pain, or you can make new friends, new memories. Your story may not have such a happy beginning, but that doesn't mean you should lose hope, and it depends only on you what the rest of your story will be. So what would be your answer."

"All right!" She sniffed and wiped away tears "Okay, I will do it! I will do my best!"

"That's the spirit! And remember, you are one of us, I believe in you. And you must believe in yourself. "

Lisa woke up with a wild headache. She certainly knew that the surge from overusing her power would end with this, but she had never before experienced anything like that. It was as if someone had stuck a hot nail into her head and continually pounded it with a hammer. Moreover, she apparently also hit her head when she lost consciousness.

She touched the big bump on her head and jerked from the pain that had pierced her. It was bad, which means that she urgently needs to find Sunset and the cat and return home before the pain becomes completely unbearable. She stumbled and almost fell, but someone grabbed her arm, preventing her from fall. Lisa looked back and saw Lily, who smiled wearily.

"You need to be careful." She said in a tired voice. "After such a fall, you'd better sit down, but it seems that you are in a hurry somewhere."

"We need to find Sunset now!" Lisa threw off Lily's hand and hurried forward.

"Geez, why are you so unfriendly." But, seeing Lisa's frown, she hurried to laugh it off. "Okay, okay, I'm coming."

And after moving over the shattered scenery, they saw the scattered bodies of the victims and the motionless Hookwolf, in front of whom stood a translucent sphere of shield, with flashes of fire flickering inside of it. Lisa looked at the sphere and realized with horror that Sunset and the cat were inside, right in the middle of a dense firestorm compressed into a seven foot ball of fiery death.

"Oh my God! They are inside of this sphere!" Said horrified Lisa.

"They are inside?" Lily uttered in disbelief. "But no one could survive there."

"Seth still holds the shield. But it weakens, and we need to quickly get them out."

"And destroy the shield? Can you imagine what will happen to us and everyone around?"

"Don't you care that Sunset might die?" Snapped Lisa.

"Of course I care! But if the shield falls, then everyone will die!"

At that moment, the huge body of the steel wolf jerked, and he began to rise to his feet. The girls recoiled from him, Lisa pulled out a gun, and Lily grabbed a long piece of aluminum pipe, applying her power on it.

"What the fuck was that?" Roared Hookwolf. "Where is the bitch who did this?! I will tear her throat and fuck her corpse!"

Both girls involuntarily stepped back from the villain making him to notice them.

"Ah, even more little bitches." A bloodthirsty grin appeared on his face. "But where did that redhead twat disappeared? Well, it doesn't matter, I can play with you for now."

He stepped towards them and Lily swung her improvised spear at him. It slashed him through, hacking a large piece of metal from his body.

"You slut, I'll make you pay for this!" And he jumped on them.

The girls, in fear, closed their eyes and Lisa mentally said goodbye to her life when the Hookwolf suddenly flew over them, shrouded in greenish glow, and with a great might slammed him through the wall of the coastal cafe.

"I won't let you do your evil again." Said the etherial female voice with a confident tone. "My fires lit up, I can't be abstain."

Lisa opened her eyes and gasped at what she saw. Here, a few meters from them, shrouded in flames, a female figure hovered in the air, as if she were a floating torch. Her eyes shone with bright white light, her hair fluttered in the wind like a celestial flow, two beautiful translucent golden wings made of flames protruded from her back, and her head was crowned with a divine radiant spikes.

Her whole visage inspired confidence, hope and faith in those who saw her. Even her voice made them respire. She was so magnificent, so majestic, so stupendous, she was absolutely divine.

"Please rest now, my lovely feline friend." She said leaning towards the cat's charred body, which have already started to recover. "You've done well, now it's my time to attend."

She soared higher into the night sky and began to shine even brighter, covering all the victims lying on the ground with a luminous green field. And the wounds on the people's bodies began to disappear before their eyes, their skin regained its healthy shade, and they already began to rise from the ground rejoicing that their savior finally arrived. Even the mortally wounded guy survived and now disbelievingly patted his body in search of his previous injuries.

"Phoenix, is that you?" Lily asked uncertainly. And the empyreal figure turned its gaze on her.

"You right, it's me, my faithful friend, I rose up, and came back from the end."

"But how? Why do you look like that and why are you talking so strangely?"

"We have no time for explanation, the monster woke up and crave satisfaction." She pointed to a supervillain rising to his feet.

"Damn it! And here I was hoping that he finally lost consciousness." Sighed Lily. "Can you do something with him?"

"I will."

Hookwolf howled getting out from under the rubble of a ruined cafe and his steel body exploded into hundreds of spikes, hooks, blades and chains, and they all rushed towards the hovering figure of Phoenix, but she easily reflected them all with her magic shield. He tried again and again, but the result was still the same, and she still easily repulsed all attacks. And the rescued people with screams of fear began to scatter away from the fight.

"I'll kill you, fucking whore!" He snarled and tried to jump, but was immediately surrounded by a ring of incredibly hot flames. It doesn't matter how much he tried to break through it, because even for him this fire was too hot, instantly melting all his metal from a simple touch.

"I not going let you to harm anymore. Your time is up. And you were caught. You can't escape, you wont find cover. This flames my will, they my afterglow. They will be your prison, they hot as the sun. Your vileness is over, you won't be able to run." She stated in melodic voice.

He snarled in desperation and now only could pointlessly beat against the flame, bouncing off of them every time he burned. And then his head was clouded in a greenish glow and Hookwolf fell unconscious just in time before they heard the sounds of police sirens from city. Making sure he is unconscious Phoenix flew to the girls and landed on the ground.

"This bad, the law enforcement gather here." She turned to Lisa. "They will seize up him and be austere, so you must go and interfere. You need to pick Seth and to run, I'll hold them back, so please, be gone."

"Okay. You can count on me!" Lisa smiled and ran to the unconscious cat, lifting him with her arms with some difficulty. "Jeez." She grunted. "He probably weighs a ton! And when he had time to eat so much. I'll have to put him on a vegan diet."

"He will never forgive you for this." Quipped Lily.

"Oh shut up. I'm the one who carries him, not you."

But Lisa still dragged him to the car and throwing him to the back seat she covered him under a blanket. Managing to hide him earlier than the first police cars arrived to the pier. The fiery flow around Phoenix disappeared, and the flames around Hookwolf went out, leaving him lying on the ground inside the burned circle.

"Oh no!" Gasped Lily and blushed so much, that she looked like a tomato.

"What's the matter?" Asked confused heroine who again turned into Sunset.

"You. You. You are naked!" Squeezed out impossibly embarrassed Lily.

Sunset looked down and squealing aloud immediately laid her hands on all her naked privates. Lily nervously looked around to find something that could help her, until she saw a rainbow flag hanging from a broken flagpole. She quickly ran to it and tearing it off the mounts, dragged the flag to Sunset.

"Here, take it, cover yourself with this for now, until someone sees you." Lily held out a rainbow banner to her.

"Thank you Lily, you are a true friend." And Sunset hurried to wrap the fabric around herself in the manner of a toga.

"A friend. Yes I am." She smiled with a little sadness.

"Hey, cheer up! We won, no one died! We are now real heroes!" Grinned Sunset.

"Okay, okay, but you will have to explain to me everything that happened!" Lily surrendered to her push.

"I will tell you only what I can, I myself still don't understand everything. But for now let's go to meet the bosses."

And taking Lily's hand, she dragged her to meet the arriving PRT armored cars.