[Flashback] The treasure of the cat kind

[Alice]

Before Alice's open, but unseeing, eyes, a vast floral world floated. An entire planet floated on the waves, like a small boat. An entire planet, completely overgrown with purple flowers. A memory from a book she read a long time ago. Purple flowers that had taken over the world. Purple flowers that had replaced all the vegetation on the planet. Purple flowers that could imitate any grass or tree. Intelligent purple flowers that had made a deal with humans that they could populate their planet, but on one condition—some of them would continue to be purple flowers. Non-functional, but very beautiful purple flowers. Alice saw these flowers now, on the planet floating on the waves. She wanted to reach out to touch them. They seemed so close, but in reality they were very far away. Alice's hand touched the cool air. Then came the fall. Like a high-speed elevator, it quickly rushed downward. The waves upon which the purple-flowered planet floated turned into dark clouds. The sky darkened. Water poured down like a heavy tropical rain. Drops fell and soaked into the sticky soil. The drops caused the seeds of purple flowers to germinate. Strong stems shot upward. They drank the rainwater and transformed into purple flowers. Insanely beautiful and simultaneously terrifying purple flowers from a book read long ago. Purple flowers striving to replace all plants on the planet. A writer's wild fantasy? Or a documented fact disguised as a science fiction novel?

"Amir!" Alice screamed.

Alice was terrified of getting lost in these flowers. Like a cornfield from a horror movie. Endlessly passing through the same temporal anomalies, and losing Amir in them forever.

"Amir! Beware of the purple flowers! They're dangerous!"

Alice saw Amir in a field of purple flowers. The purple flowers were whispering something to him. They were making a pact with him. Amir couldn't comprehend the full implications of his pact with the purple flowers. The purple flowers knew this and took advantage of his ignorance.

Alice screamed, but her eyes remained empty and lifeless. She stared off into the distance, through space, through Amir. She didn't see him nearby. She saw him on a distant planet, overrun by purple flowers. She saw him on a planet rocking on dark waves like a small boat, the endless water reflecting the starry sky, across which drifted shaggy gray clouds.

"Amir!"

Alice rushed toward him. Through the stars and the rain. Through the waves and the wind. Up. To a planet overgrown with purple flowers.

"Amir!"

Alice shuddered, her gaze becoming focused again. Amir was nearby. There were no purple flowers. Or were there? Just there, and now they're hidden?

"Where are we? What's going on?"

Alice tried to get to her feet and look around. The two catlords were also already coming to, each of them having their own visions.

Alice touched Amir's hand. She was convinced he was real.