1 1. Meet The Catcher

The moon shines brightly, and there is a thick fog creep. The cold starts to come into thin air. Baron strolls, rubbing his hands to ease the coldness, while his eyes warily looked around. He could feel the danger waiting for him behind the bush.

The moon has never looked so big and bright like that before. Baron looks at his reflection go under his feet. He can hear the rustling sound nearby. He grasps the sharp sword tightly in his hand for Baron protection.

The Hair behind his neck starts to bristle. A cat with black fur leaped past the trash can with a loud sound while chasing the mouse that managed to escape into the ditch. Baron convinces himself that it just a real cat, not one of them.

Baron breathes a sigh of relief. Now, he can casually walk as he has to find a portal to return to the Emporion. The compass in his hand glows faintly. The portal waves show the portal closely in few kilometers; it shows he needs to head southwest.

Accidentally, he turns his body around and catches a glimpse of two black figures with guns in their hand. It seems ready to hunt him down. Baron sweats and sees clearly that the figure is the Catcher.

The Catcher is the cruel creature that ever existed in this world. They are humans with special powers who can see the Animagus form. They always vow to chase the Animagus and destroys them.

Baron did not continue his step and get his sword ready from his magic bag. He will retaliate back and defend himself from the Catcher. In just a split second, the sword divides the bullet in half by the sword in his hand.

Baron needs his concentration at the moment to recall all his practice with Majer that he always missed. He was lucky to catch the bullet with the sword as he did not know the next movement with the sword. It has been a long time for him to use this weapon.

He closes his eyes and gathers all his energy to the sword until it turns green. He nicks it toward the Catcher with only one hard blow, and it manages to strike one of the catchers with a high voltage of electricity. The man fell backward, screaming in pain.

"Pron!" shouted the other friend.

At least Baron knows how to use that trick. His other friend accelerated his pace, and several bullets shot, almost hitting Baron's body.

He could feel the presence of bullets around his body in slow scenes. Baron tilted his body thirty degrees backward. He saw the bullets pass over his face.

Baron straightened up again. The Catcher was running fast enough, and he was already in front of Baron. A kick struck Baron's stomach, sending him back several steps. He wasn't ready for that kick. Baron slashed the sword several times, which the man could easily dodge.

His friend, Pron, has recovered and ready to follow. The man in front of Baron took advantage of Baron's careless condition as his attention was distracted. He hit Baron's face hard enough with a gun.

Baron fell into the street that makes his jaw hurts so badly. The two catchers laughed loudly.

"Get ready, Animagus. This is your last day on earth," said the man as he pulled the trigger on his gun and aimed it at Baron's head. "Say your last word."

Pron held the gun in his hand. "We shouldn't kill him, Vuit."

Vuit was reluctant to lower the gun. The two of them seemed to be arguing in their way. Suddenly Baron hit the weapon with his sword until it was released from the man's hand.

Baron moved fast. He stomped the ground, then with one jump, his body was thrown several hundred meters away. The surrounding trees swayed violently in the wind as Baron jumped while he got closer to the portal door.

An iron hook pulled at his leg. Baron fell rolling on the asphalt road. The Catcher dropped too, but there's enough distance from Baron. Baron quickly let go of the iron hook. The bullets exploded several times again. Baron slashed the sword to all the direction, to fend off those bullets. They run towards him. The iron hooks were untied, but the ropes were wrapped around his legs, forming bonds challenging to untie.

With a soft 'pop,' Baron turned into a labrador. Well, it worked. He ran as fast as possible as the Catcher continued to chase him. All of his senses became sharper. He even can see in the dark.

Baron's smile appeared when the two men wouldn't be able to catch him. He kept running into the forest, and the pine trees flashed.

"Hey! Stop!" exclaimed one of the catchers.

They shot Baron several times but missed. Not a single shot could hit him because he moved very fast. But maybe he wasn't that smart when one of his feet hit a tree root.

Baron rolled his body to the ground. His face brushed against the dirt and gravel. From far away, he was sure he could hear one of them laugh. One more shot, and this time the bullet managed to scratch his cheek. Blood drenched his face. Another gunshot sounded. This time the sound of the gunshot is different. A mine net with electric sparks floated above him, then landed directly on top of his body.

Baron howled in pain. His whole body twitched under the electric shock as The Catcher walked closer to him.

"This is not difficult at all, Vuit," exclaimed Pron, panting.

Vuit laughed with satisfaction. "Jagro will be delighted to see our catch tonight."

The catchers never knew that Baron had so much energy. He concentrated, then pop to turned into a rat. He quickly broke through the electric net.

"What? Where is he going?" asked Vuit.

"I can't believe this! How can he ..."

"That rat! I'll kill him! Come on, quickly! Let's find him!"

Baron ran as fast as his tiny feet carried him. This time he didn't have to worry about the tree roots. He hated sniffing the burning smell coming from his body, and his cheeks were very sore. The blood was still pouring out.

He managed to hide under a pile of dry, damp leaves. His heart was beating fast. Flashlights danced over him. He was grateful that there were so many piles of leaves.

The compass is luminous. Baron could feel the wave of the several portal meters away from him. He must immediately transform into a human so that he can open the portal. But the catchers got too close to him.

Baron got ready. The catchers stepped closer. Pron's feet stepped on a pile of leaves. Baron choked. A second later, Baron jumped up and turned into a human. The sword swung and slashed Pron's face.

"Take it!" Baron smiled widely. He wants to revenge for Pron's previous actions.

Vuit takes him by surprise by entangles his neck with a rope. His grip is getting weak, and his sword falls to the ground. He tries to hold the rope with his hand, which catches his breath short as he struggles to salvage his neck.

Furthermore, Baron tries to gather his remaining energy and transform into a big bear. His body grows one meter taller. Vuit and Pron stun at the Baron's transformation.

Baron beat him with his sharp claw until he gets throw away several meters. Baron did not stop in there. He lifts Pron's body and throws it away carelessly to the big tree nearby until he passes out.

The compass on his chest shook violently. The portal is very close. Baron must change into human form for the portal to recognize his figure. Instantly, he changes back to his human form.

The portal door is opening and recognizing the figure in front of it. Baron gets sucks into it and instantly disappears from the catchers.