The Black Cat Nightmare

The weather's so clear. It feels great!

Right, the perfect weather for a nap. Look, the kitties are enjoying the weather too.

*hiss*

Maybe not?

She looks pretty worked up about something.

I wonder... I have a bad feeling about this.

Maybe you're just in a bad mood?

I wish that was the case.

Oh no! My baby's missing! Someone, help!

What's going on?!

Anyone, please! Have you seen my baby?

That old lady's looking troubled.

Yeah, I wonder what's up. Let's find out.

I hope she's getting worked up over nothing.

Ma'am, is everything okay?

Please, help me. My baby, my baby!

Ma'am, just calm down. Take deep breaths. Hee hee fuu...

That's not how you take deep breaths.

Huh? Hee hee fuu? Oh...I'm okay...I've calmed down a bit.

I-It worked?!

So, ma'am, what's happened?

Your child's gone missing?

Right, my baby! I can't find my baby!

A lost child? Then we'd better start looking right away.

Can you describe your child for us? We'll help you find them!

My baby has long, glossy black hair...

Yes, anything else?

Okay, so they have nice hair.

Exactly! She has beautiful, strokeable hair! And her paw pads are so cute.

Paw...wait, are we talking about a cat?!

Oh, that makes sense. So it's a black cat? Could it be the one we saw earlier?

Could well be. Ma'am, could you give us some more details?

Of course. My poor baby has been acting strange lately. She'll suddenly act up like she's scared or angry.

Do you think it's some kind of illness?

I took her to the doctor, but he said she was completely fine. But then today she just ran off.

I can see why you're worried. Don't worry, we'll look for her.

You will?! Oh, thank you!

Yes. And ma'am, you should go home in case your cat goes back there on her own.

Okay, so where should we start our search?

You're unusually enthusiastic. Do you like cats that much?

Not exactly. There's just something I want to find out. Okay, let's go.

Right. You know my village is full of cats. I've gotten pretty good at finding them. We should ask around in this area first.

Hi, do you have a minute? We're looking for a lost cat. You haven't seen a glossy black cat around here, have you?

A black cat? Oh! I saw a black cat go running at full speed going that way.

Did something seem off about it?

I guess it looked a bit like it was running away from something. It looked very scared.

Hmm...thank you.

So she ran all the way out here. What was she so scared of?

Hmm...looks like this won't be so easy.

Oh. Do you need something?

Sir, have you seen a black cat around here? We're looking for one that has gone missing.

Oh, yes! I saw one not too long ago, I tried to give it some food. It didn't seem interested, and just ran off.

Not interested in food... That might be the cat we're looking for.

To be honest I'm a little offended that the cat didn't like my food.

The cat's come from a very wealthy family. It's used to the finer things in life, no offense. Your crispy snacks won't work.

What does crispiness have to do with anything?

I see! Well it's not like I carry fresh food on me.

Do you remember which way she went?

She headed for the entrance. *sigh* Looks like I'm running low on funds again...

Thank you, sir. In the future, I recommend mixing fresh and dried food.

Ah, I really wanted to pet her...

Pet? I don't suppose you've seen a cat around here?

I have! The cutest little black cat ever. I went in to try and pet her, but she ran off. *sigh* I was hoping touching something so soft might help me de-stress.

Wow, you do look a bit tired. I'd recommend you get some sleep. How about I give you some sedatives?

Wow, you're a kind one. Maybe you'll do! Let me pet you, it'll help me relax!

Erm, I guess that's okay. Just let us know which way the cat went first.

She left through the entrance. I hope she's okay.

She must be heading for the airport.

If she gets on a cargo ship she could end up anywhere.

This is bad. There's no time for petting, we have to go!

Maybe later.

Ohhh, but I need to de-stress...

There she is!

Ah! But she's sleeping, we shouldn't wake her up.

I-I suppose. She'll be easier to capture when she's asleep.

Aldo, come here.

What are you doing? Aren't we going to grab her?

I'm sorry.

Wah?! Mighty, what are you doing?! The cat...isn't running off? What's going on?

What's wrong?

......

Oh, there you are!

Ma'am? What are you doing here? It's not safe!

I'm scared! Help meeeow!

Wha?! The cat spoke! What's going on? Am I hearing things?

Don't worry, I'm hearing the cat talk too, you're not imagining it.

Oh, okay...huh? But I think... Mighty...

Okay, let's take you back home!

Graaahraaa!

Wha?! The old lady is a Synth Human?

I understand your confusion, but try and stay calm.

Mighty? There's something... No, now's not the time. Take deep breaths...

Okay... What should we do?

First, we should take it down. Let's talk once we're done.

Okay! I'll follow your lead, Mighty.

Phew... I'm glad we got it, but what was that? It felt strange. Mighty, do you know what's going on?

Well...first, we need to talk to this kid.

Meow...so scary... My owner is scary, meow!

Hey, do you know why she went all scary?

I don't know. She just got scary, meow! And we're so close to saying goodbye... Meow...it's so sad...

I see. So we should go back and talk to your owner.

Meow...I know.

It's okay. I'm sure your owner will go back to normal. I promise.

Mighty? Something's...

Huh? Whaaa?! What is this?! The air, it's different? Or...was it different before?

Mighty, what's going on?

I thought you might notice, Aldo. You see, everything that happened before, it was all in the dream world.

It was a dream? So that was the strange feeling I was having.

You're right. I can enter into people's dreams. I'm a "nightmare hunter."

What is that supposed to mean?

You see, when you enter a person's dream, it's like entering into their heart.

Hmm...I guess that makes sense.

And once there, I can remove the nightmare and the heartache. That's the role of a nightmare hunter.

Oh, wait, so is that what you've been doing at night?

Yes. I've been working as a nightmare hunter.

So before, we were in the cat's dream, so you could get information from it?

Yes. I needed to find out why she ran away. And now we know we need to talk to her owner.

Oh! You've found my baby!

She ended up in the airport, it could have ended badly.

Oh! I can't believe my little girl made you worry so much.

See, it's your owner.

Mrrr...

She's definitely scared.

Why?! Why are you scared of me?

That's what we want to know. What could you have done to scare this little kitty so much?

I've not done a thing. I treat this kitty as if she were my child.

In which case you must know if she's been acting strangely lately?

I may have started disciplining her of late...

That's it. She doesn't understand what you're disciplining her for. All she sees is you getting angry and shouting at her. No wonder she's getting scared.

Oh, so that's why the woman turned into a monster in her dreams.

But...this little kitty is my world...

Is there a particular reason why you've started disciplining her?

I'm moving to be with my son and his wife. But she hates all animals. So I can't take my kitty with me.

So what are you planning on doing? Surely you weren't thinking of throwing her out?

What?! No! I was going to give her to a close friend of mine. But, I'm afraid I may have spoiled my little kitty over the years. I wanted her to have a good relationship with her new owner, so I started disciplining her.

You may be having the opposite effect.

Really...

Ma'am, you don't have to worry. This kitty's a smart one. You don't need to try so hard. She'll be fine with your friend. I think what you need to do is enjoy your time with her before you have to say goodbye.

Oh...I'm so sorry... Please forgive me!

Ah...I thought this was a simple lost cat case, but it's been quite a ride.

Yes...I'm a little jealous.

What? You're jealous of the cat?

Yes. She can sleep whenever she feels like it. I think cats have the perfect life.

So that's why you feel so connected with cats?!