The Story of a Wayward Cat

Chapter One- Two Cats, Three Ninjas and a Rocket

Once upon a time, in another dimension, there lived a cat. She didn't even know what she was doing there, but she was there. Her name was Minka. The planet she inhabited was called Lop Lop, and she was the only cat on the planet. The "Lop Lopians" always stopped to stare at her as she walked past, and Minka liked to hiss at them just to make them jump.

One day, as she was walking along, she came across another cat. She eyed it suspiciously and said, "Where did you come from?" The cat looked at Minka and cried out joyfully, "Another cat! I thought I was lost forever on this strange planet!" Lop Lopians turned in wonder to see that two cats now inhabited their planet, and many took out their cameras and took lots of pictures.  But Minka hissed at them, and they went running. Minka turned back to the cat and was suspicious. "I just came from Earth," explained the other cat. "My name is Minke." Minka looked even more suspicious.

"How did you get here?" asked Minka.

"I don't know," said Minke, "I'm just here now." Minka groaned in frustration. 

"Can you help me get back to Earth?" asked Minke.

"No," said Minka. "I like it here on Lop Lop." Minka never thought that she would say such a thing. Normally she said that she detested Lop Lop and that she wished that she could get back to Earth, but when she thought about it, her life on Lop Lop was the only life that she had ever known. Minka turned to leave, but then she paused. "Fine, I'll help you get back to Earth," she said. "But you have to obey me at all times and not wander off. I don't want to go looking for you."

"Thankyou!" said Minke. "I will be forever in your debt!"

The next day, Minka had found a space rocket and was busy repairing it. "The Lop Lopians don't use space rockets because these types are designed for humans to use them," Minka said. "Pass the crooked metal thing, please." Minke passed Minka the spanner. "How long until we go?" Minke asked. "A few days," said Minka. "Don't worry, we'll get back to Earth." But unknown to them, a few Lop Lopians were plotting against their departure...

"They can't just go!" said Lop Lopian 1. "They'd wreck our tourism industry! We won't be able to say that we are the only planet other than Earth with cats anymore!"

"I was going to catch them and eat them for dinner!" cried Lop Lopian 2.

"They're also taking the space junk from the junkyard to fly to Earth!" screamed Lop Lopian 3.

"But we don't use that stuff," said Lop Lopian 1, now confused. "Why do you care?"

"I'm just making a point!" screeched Lop Lopian 3, "Don't make fun of me!"

The space rocket was now finished. Minke wanted to fly for Earth straight away, but Minka stopped her. "There's no point in going right now and starving to death in space," Minka grumbled. "We need to get some supplies."

"Ok," said Minke.

"Let's go to get some." suggested Minka. Minke followed Minka out the door.

After making sure that Minka and Minke had left, Lop Lopians 1, 2 & 3 lowered themselves into the room. They were actually Lop Lopian Ninjas, but they were still very clumsy. (Lop Lopians are considered gifted and sent to Ninja School if they can do so much as pat their head and rub their stomach at the same time.)

 "Ow! You stepped on my foot!" shouted Lop Lopian Ninja 3.

"Quiet, you fool!" hissed Lop Lopian Ninja 1. "Do you want us to be discovered?"

"Stop arguing, you two!" said Lop Lopian Ninja 2. "We have a job to do!"

"Oh. Right." said Lop Lopian Ninja 1 & 3 in unison.  

They got to work, cutting wires and denting metal. They were so engrossed in their work that they didn't even hear the door open, let alone the key in the lock. Only when Minka stood in the doorway, did they look up. "Oh no, they're back!" whispered Lop Lopian 2 to Lop Lopian 1. "What do we do?" Lop Lopian 1 gave Lop Lopian 2 a scathing look. "We leave." Suddenly, Lop Lopian 1 took out a glowing sphere from his jacket and threw it in front of him. Minka leaped towards them, but it was too late. The Lop Lopian Ninjas were gone.

Minka and Minke were examining the damage to the rocket. "Looks like we'll be here another month," said Minka eventually. "The damage they did is almost irrepairable. Lucky that they didn't smash the motherboard." Minke looked on fearfully. "What do we do now?" she asked. "We work hard and hope it pays off," replied Minka, "and also hope that the Lop Lopian Ninjas don't visit again."

Minka and Minke worked hard for a month or so, and the Lop Lopians 1, 2 & 3 were very happy about this. They worked and worked, and finally the work was finished. "We can go to Earth now!" said Minke. Minka was grinning, when she realised that they had no petrol. Also, how would they get any? Lop Lopians didn't power their ships with petrol. They used ash from cremated bodies instead. When this technology was first introduced, the Scientists of Lop Lop insisted that this was a very sustainable idea. "Use your dead loved ones instead of petrol!" they had said. "There will always be Lop Lopians dying, but petrol won't be here forever!" They were very puzzled when no one agreed with them. "Oh well," they had said. "We'll just jail the ones that don't agree with us! You know, wrongly accuse them of treason and such..."

But Minka couldn't use ash to power the ship. 1) It wouldn't work anyway. 2) The very idea of it made her feel sick. 3) She didn't think Minke would think much of the idea.

"Do you know where to get petrol?" asked Minka to Minke, who was still doing a celebratory jig.

"No, do you?" replied Minke. "Shouldn't you know since you've been on this planet for so long?

"Unfortunately, I don't," said Minka.

"Then what do we power the ship with then?" asked Minke.

There was a stunned silence as Minka and Minke saw their dreams falling apart. "I guess it's goodbye to Earth then," said Minke. "I really hoped we could get back..."