Cats Eyes

"Stand up very straight" Casper instructed, "Now picture yourself spinning around in circles.
Jakob did as he was told, feeling more and more dizzy by the second.
"Now say the charm" Casper said, "1, 2, 3"
"TRANSVEERIUM" Jakob shouted, feeling every last drop of energy being drained from his body.
Collapsing onto the floor, gasping for breath, Jakob saw a small, pale red star float into the air. Pathetic.
"Not bad" Casper said, "It took me much longer than that to do it. And this charm's only really meant for cats. Well done"
Jakob didn't feel a bit proud of himself. 'Transveerium' was known as The Spell Of A Thousand Stars. So far, his record was two. It seemed Casper was right, this would take years. Years Earth didn't have. Already several countries had been wiped out.

He had been on Caji for three weeks, living in a specially built secret location with Casper and Mog. It was large, with 14 rooms. Old Ernie had arranged everything, including a battlecourt. Battlecourts, are football pitch sized areas, with stone floors. The have complicated markings on the ground which determined the path of spells and boundaries for battles. Jakob, who was just learning, only really understood the cross lines. In fact, there was so much to learn, that Jakob only thought about home when he was in bed. The nights were the worst, he still woke in fright from nightmares. And it was always the same dream.

Along with Transveerium, he was learning basic water charms.
"Mendax is terrified of water" Casper had told him, "So the bubble beam is perfect"
On top of that, Jakob had Ortonmoligy to practice, a particularly complex form of magic in which the user changes into a chosen animal. Jakob had chosen a crow.
Casper was the best coach Jakob could have wished for. He was patient and understanding, but best of all, he was FUN! Mog was on hand to help to. She was a little more sensible, more of a mumsy kind of friend. Jakob was shocked to find she sent him to bed earlier than Adrienne ever had.

Mendax hadn't heard that Jakob was on Caji, and Casper and Mog wanted to keep it that way.
On Sundays (or Elise's day as on Caji), they would walk to the old crater behind Mendax's palace. It had become a popular place to visit, with its array of ever changing things to do. Bt far the most fun, was the 'Mouse Hopper', a terrifying roller coaster in which the riders drop into the jaws of a giant mouse trap. Casper was sure he'd seen Fluffy Whiskerton (a Caji actress) on it, which was the real reason he'd been sick. It certainly was not because he was scared. Jakob was sure he'd seen his mum waiting for him when he'd stepped off the ride. Joey had been there too, and they'd both been waving to him. But when he'd ran over to meet them, they'd vanished.
"What's up?" Mog had asked, when she caught up, "Why did you run off"
Jakob didn't want to explain; he'd stuffed his hands in his pockets and kept walking.

Anyway, at dinner that evening, Casper was discussing Jakob's progress.
"The transveerium's getting much better" he told Mog excitedly, "And bubble beam's coming on too"
He was so jumpy, that he was spilling fish all over the table cloth.
"Sit down and eat your food" Mog said, "and let Jakob eat his"
Casper bounced around in his seat.
"And the Ortonmoligy's great" he said, "He can turn into a crow for over ten minutes now"
Jakob knew his efforts weren't nearly enough. Some ortonmoligists had to go into hiding as their animal for many years at a time. The bubble beam might be strong enough to take out Casper's targets, but it would barely tickle Mendax. What if the curse kept destroying until there was nothing left? What if he never saw his Dad again?
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"You're not making any sense" Mike shouted down the phone, "Where's Jakob now? Who the hell are Casper and Mog?"
Billie Joe clutched a photo of the family at Christmas and bit his lip. He hadn't ventured outside since Jakob left. In fact; this was his first conversation in weeks.
"Casper and Mog have taken him to Caji" he whispered, "He's gonna stop all these crazy curses"
Mike didn't say anything. He'd been trying to pretend he'd never heard of Caji.
"He's learning to do all these... Charm... Thingys" Billie Joe continued, "They think he can stop Mendax"
Looking again at the picture, Billie Joe felt something catch in his throat. How could he have even thought about letting Jakob go? In just a couple of weeks, he'd lost his whole family.
"Look mate" Mike said carefully, "Are you sure you want Jakob... Erm... There"
Billie Joe wasn't sure at all. More than anything he wanted to get Casper on the walkie talkie and tell him to put Jakob on the next flight back to Earth. But what was the point in bringing him back to wait for the world to end?
"He'll come back when things get sorted out" Billie Joe said, not really believing it, "I need to go"
He didn't really need to know, it wasn't as if he had anything to do. But someone telling him he'd made the wrong decision was the last thing he needed. The house was so empty, if Billie Joe listened closely, he could almost hear the boys laughing and playing. He could almost hear Adie talking to him. He knew it was inside his head, but he still stopped to listen, and smile. He heard it then. A joyful shriek, and Adie shouting at Joey to get on with his homework.
'Were they like that the night the cat arrived' Billie Joe wondered, 'Were the boys arguing?, was Adie telling them to tidy their rooms?, was Joey throwing a ball around, making the ornaments rattle?, was Jakob whining that he didn't like whatever was for dinner? '
Billie Joe grabbed the photo box from a shelf in the wardrobe, and tipped the contents onto his bed. He lifted picture after picture, staring at them until his eyes grew blurry. There they were, on holiday, at Christmas, having picnics, throwing parties. All of them. Together.
Filled with anger, Billie Joe scrunched up the nearest photos into a tight ball and threw it at the wall.
"Why'd you leave me" he sobbed
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"Has the boy been spotted since he arrived" Mendax asked, flicking through a newspaper, (The Daily Paw-Cuff-all the latest on the criminal world)
"There's been a few sightings at the crater" Oden answered, "But he's very hard to catch"
"HARD TO CATCH" Mendax roared, "Don't be a fool Oden. How hard is it to catch something with two less legs than yourself?"
Forcing back nervous laughter, Oden looked at the ground.
"He's well protected sir" he explained, "Casper has obviously planned their headquarters, and the boy is never out alone"
Mendax couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"So what?" he said, "You're one of my top agents, don't tell me you're scared of a couple of escapees. They missed all their Caji training, I doubt very much if they know basic reflex charms"
Perhaps it was best Mendax didn't know Casper and Mog had been studying dark curses in the dungeons and were now teaching them to Jakob.
"I want that idiot boy NOW" Mendax said, "Bring him to me so we can fight properly"
Oden nodded.
"You will be working with Agent Cosmo again" Mendax told him, "And I don't want any silly mistakes this time"
Oden nodded again.
"What about Billie Joe?" he asked, "Will someone deal with him?"
Mendax thought about it.
"It would be nice to make a clean job of it" he said, "But I can't really spare an agent. Give me a few whiskers to think about it"
Oden looked worried
"The battle will only work if both parties follow Caji Battle Laws" he said, "Will Jakob even know how to fight?"
"Oh I think so" Mendax said, "Casper and Mog will be teaching him. We need to find him quickly, before they teach him too much"
And with a nasty smile, Mendax scribbled something in his notebook.