Summer happily left her meeting with Harper, head full of illusions. In the first place, what did illusions even mean? As if to answer her question Summer caught sight of something rather out of place. A rather large fluffy white cat sat on the sidewalk, staring her down. When their eyes met, the cat rose and began to walk away. Summer wasn't sure why, but she decided to follow the feline to wherever it was going. It probably wasn't the smartest decision, but a cat couldn't be an agent of MysteriousMaskz, right?

  Had these back alleys always been there? She was certain she would have remembered them being so winding. She followed the cat for quite some time, and eventually ended up walking past her new apartment where Ashton spotted her.

  "Summer? Where are you going?"

  "I'm following a cat," she replied honestly.

  Ashton looked around with suspicion. "What cat? Pets aren't allowed here."

  Did he not see him? Summer stared right at the fluffy white cat that was now stretching right at Ashton's feet. "That cat there," she told him, pointing.

  Ashton looked down, visibly confused. "There is no cat there. Summer, maybe you should come inside."

  He really couldn't see it? Ashton wasn't the type to pull a prank like this on her. In that case, was it some sort of illusion only she could see? The cat met eyes with her again and began walking. Summer followed it, entranced. If she had gone this far, she might as well find out where it was going. Before she noticed, Ashton's footsteps fell in line with hers.

  "I don't know what cat you are seeing, but I can't let you go alone," he told her.

  "Thanks," Summer replied, already more excited about this strange adventure. Even if the cat did turn out to be a trap, Ashton could protect her.

  The cat led them further from their apartment towards a more commercial zone. Gas stations and convenience stores popped up between greasy diners and bars. At last the cat came to a stop again in front of an tiny building that felt just as out of place as the cat did.

  "Can you see the sushi place?" Summer asked Ashton, just in case.

  "I can see it," Ashton confirmed, "How did they even squeeze a new building in there?"

  "The cat went in," Summer informed him, moving to follow.

  Ashton grabbed her arm. "Wait, let me go first. This stinks of a trap."

  Ashton pushed open the door of the sushi shop with Summer close behind. Inside was the cat being fed fresh cuts of fish by a man who looked like he was younger than Ashton. Shorter, too. He looked up as they walked in and smiled brightly.

  "Welcome!" he greeted, "What kind of sushi are you looking for today?"

  "You can see the cat?" Summer asked him. She looked to Ashton and he shook his head. He still couldn't see it.

  "Of course. It would be silly not to be able to see my own cat," the man said, beckoning them closer, "You must have followed him here. In that case, I have a special offer for you."

  "What kind of offer?" Ashton demanded warily.

  The man set out two plates at a counter. "Fortune Sushi!" he announced, "My sushi has special powers. These can see into your future. I will let you have a taste for free."

  "How can sushi see the future?" Summer asked with interest.

  "Technically the sushi doesn't seem the future. It shows you a vision when you eat it," the man explained, offering her the plate.

  It looked tasty enough, but Ashton held her back from taking it. "We don't eat food that has powers," he told him, "It is far too dangerous."

  The man frowned and put the plate down. "How sad. It was such a a good opportunity for you. In that case, leave my shop."

  Summer flinched at his sudden hostility. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the cat growing in size until it became the size of a lion. "Ashton! Run! The cat got bigger!"

  Ashton didn't question her words and they fled from the sushi shop, through the twisted alleys that seemed different from the ones they had followed there. No matter how far they ran, they couldn't lose the giant cat. That was when Ashton pulled her over to the ladder of a fire escape.

  "We need to go up," he told her.

  "Can we climb fast enough?" Summer asked, watching the cat approach slowly as if stalking it's prey.

  "It doesn't matter. If we don't move we die," Ashton pointed out.

  Summer threw herself into the ladder, trying to ignore the strained creaking noise it was making under both of their weight. They just had to get to the top. The top... Where was the top? The ladder kept going, and the creaking was getting worse. A gut wrenching clang rang out as Ashton pulled out the ring he was grabbing and started to fall.

  "No!" Summer screamed, reaching out for him and losing her own footing. The sensation of falling, the feel of the ground rushing closer, the fear of losing Ashton. Just as Summer felt death closing in-

  Summer shot up from her bed, sweating, her heart still racing. It took a moment for reality to sink in. A dream. It had all been a dream. She looked at the clock and grimaced. Still barely two in the morning. She wasn't sure she would be able to get back to sleep.