Notorious Duo Turns Triple
Part XIV
By Mistacor
" C'mon, Tease! Higher, higher! " Pouncival laughed as he and his playmate bounced up and down on the old mattress together.
Rum Tum Teazer tried to contain the gulp of laughter in her throat. "I'm tryin', I tell ya! Me rear won't let me go any 'igher."
The young mackerel tom grinned. " Bet I can make it letcha..."
" Oh, yeh? 'ow? " the young queen asked suspiciously as she descended only to flounce back up like a rubber ball.
Smirking wickedly, the tom flicked his wriggling tail into view...
Eyes widening in a fit of alarm, Teaser tried to frantically keep her backside from his reach. " Oh, no..."
" Oh, yes..."
" No..."
" Yes..."
" No, Pounce," she countered evenly, more seriousness in her voice where there wasn't before.
" Beat ya on it," he laughed and started to use his tail as a sword.
Giggling, Tease tossed her tail around and joined in happily.
All of a sudden, a loud yet distant sound made the two kits start and topple over to the ground, Pouncival rolling bumpily on top of his companion.
" What the heck is that?! " he asked in bewilderment, nose sniffing wildly in curiousity, completely unaware of the blushing female below him. Smiling, he jumped off her with not so much as a look. " Let's go see what's goin' on! "
Shaking away her burning shyness in agitation, Teaser jumped up as well and ran after the tom heading back towards the junkyard.
~
When the two kittens returned to the yard, they found the place in complete and total disarray with Rum Tum Tugger in the centre of it all wearing a smile of smug satisfaction.
The elders were shaking their heads in disapproval while the adults were watching in stern silence from the tire as they kept a close eye on their young. The kittens, on the other hand, were bouncing up and down excitedly and following the Tugger's every move, along with many of the young toms who wished to emulate him...
Nothing had changed, despite all changes and circumstances. They still loved him and the females still adored and pined at him, regardless if he had a daughter or not. Even Bombalurina who had seemed sore at first about the news of him being a father, was showing off her charm in her customary flirtation.
" The Rum Tum Tugger is a curious cat! "
The said Maine Coon tom caught his daughter's eye and winked, posing sexily for all the queens there to admire. " And there isn't any call for me to shout it."
" For he will do what he do do..."
" And there's no doin' anything abou-ou-out it! "
Where the other queens pined and mewed appreciatedly at the display, Rum Tm Teazer rolled her eyes.
" Wot do they see in 'im, Pounce? ... Pounce? " Blinking in confusion, she saw the waggish tom crawling towards the crowded group in intrigue, oblivious to her callings.
Sighing in exasperation, she scanned the many faces of Jellicles for Mungo and Mista and, not seeing them, finally decided to join Munkustrap, Demeter, and Skimbleshanks to watch.
As she jumped up beside her step-uncle, she noted silently that Demeter, estranged, gazed at her blankly from the corner of her eye.
She lost her awkwardness at the moment Munkustrap purred to her in welcome.
" We were starting to get worried," he smiled. " Where were you, hmm? "
The young queen froze inside herself but then quickly yawned in boredom, hiding a tell-all blush. " Just with Pouncival..." Deciding to change the subject as immediately as possible and save herself the raised-eyebrow part, she cleared her throat. " Is Mista about? "
The regal tabby nuzzled Demeter in a sort of reassurance as he replied offhandedly, " I'd suppose she's with her mate."
" And I don't blame the lass! " Skimble interjected heatedly as he watched the Rum Tum Tugger sway his hips in Etcetera, Jemima, and Electra's awed faces. " Newly mated and she would be the witness of this rot." He motioned his hand to the spectacle in front of them all.
Teaser looked to the marmalade tom, ducking her head in respect. "But... Mista was a street cat, right, Uncle Skimble? She's probably seen a lot more than just a little flirtation..."
The railway cat threw his arms up, trying to think of a good reply in his irritated state but failing. " Still! "
There was a silence before Teaser spoke again, her nose wrinkling at sight of her father fooling with Bombalurina yet again, the fiery red female getting rejected in the end. " Is 'e really that 'andsome to waste time with? "
Asparagus came up beside them with a smile, overhearing. " To most of the queens."
" Hm," was the unimpressed queen's reply as she continued to observe the going-ons.
" But I'll leap on your lap in the middle of your sewing 'cause there's nothing I enjoy like a terrible muddle! "
As he raced off, Tease noted that Bom merely slinked up onto the Ford to have a coquet session of her own with Alonzo who was surprised yet delighted at the attention.
Of course, not liking that switch of events, no sooner had the Tugger seen this than he was attacked with a fit of jealousy. Jumping up between the two and ignoring the other tom's hiss, he tickled underneath the amorous queen's chin, regaining the attention he had lost to Alonzo.
Rum Tum Teazer shook her head again, scratching at her ear in the process. She just didn't understand him. It was okay to her if he flirted with all the females of the junkyard but at least get a move on on settling down. She did need a mother, after all.
And then, there was Pouncival and some other toms she didn't know the names of yet... They were imitating her father's every move as if he was a textbook to how to be sexy.
She rolled her eyes for the hundredth time as the Tugger ran back to the crowd and executed a perfect pelvic thrust.
Okay. He was sexy. He was suave. But he definitely was not Bast's gift to queens. Most of the hype was just a big buildup of hormones on overdrive...
And Pounce, she though with a frown. Why does he want to act so much like the Tugger? She liked him just fine the way he was...
" Wha' in a' 'eavyside is goin' on 'ere?! "
Teaser looked and grinned when she saw Mistacor, eyes wide and whiskers flared in alarm, and Mungo running up beside her.
" It's me da'! " the Maine Coon female laughed.
Both calicos ran over just as all the young queens gathered around their obsession and the young toms skidded to the sides.
The Tugger posed, raising his arms up for all to admire his immaculate physique. " And there's no doin' anything...abou'--" He swinged and rolled his hips at a slow, languid pace.
Jemima, Electra, Etcetera, and Rumpleteazer each followed the movement with their heads, blushing and mewing sweetly.
The Maine Coon tom grinned triumphantly and rolled his hips some more, faster than ever this time. " ...abou-ou-ou-ouu-- "
The queens followed the motion again, eyes wide in fascination, and mewed and purred in dizzy sensation.
Grinning, Mungo clucked his tongue teasingly at his sister who ignored him with a brightening sassy smile.
Tugger laughed in satisfaction, looking over his shoulder at his older brother and daughter with a tongue-in-cheek smirk.
" ...abou-ou-ou-ouuuuuu!! "
The females at his feet meowed again joyously until they were all tired out... all except two voices still going loud and strong: Etcetera and Rumpleteazer.
Cety pawed and screamed on one end while Teazer pawed and caterwauled on the other end, the Rum Tum Tugger whooping as he waited in interest for the one to give up first.
After ten seconds of highly amused watching from all of the Jellicles, the Tugger's face panged with what could be nothing else but boredom and worry that this little contest would never end.
" Breathe, al'eady! " Rum Tum Teazer shouted with a laugh to the two contestants.
Mungojerrie and Mistacor both shared the same lopsided grin.
" Tha's me Teazer! " Mungo exclaimed.
Cety finally lost her breath and fell in a small, exhausted heap.
On the other hand, Teazer was still going strong and proud until the Maine Coon at last shot a pelvic thrust her way.
Rumpleteazer giggled happily. " I've bee' practicin'! "
Clearing his throat, Tugger grinned. " ...about it! "
Suddenly, there was a lightning flash and a crack of thunder shocking the entire night sky devoid of cloud, invoking hisses of alarm from all directions of the junkyard.
" Macavity! " Demeter hissed, her fur standing on end in a mass of terror.
Munkustrap ran to her and took the front of the great tire, a pillar of strength and fearlessness, as he summoned all of the tribe together. Electra and Etcetera slid underneath him and to the back where Skimbleshanks and Jellylorum hugged them close, shielding them from danger.
Then there was a laugh - feminine, a mixture of sarcastic sweetness and deceptive darkness, weaving its visions of sadistic nightmare. And with another flash of lightning, the owner of the laugh was visible standing on top of the very electrical box Macavity had used not so long ago to escape their grasp...
Munkustrap turned and hissed loudly up at the figure, realizing as his ears and eyesight cleared it was a sable and brown coloured adult queen who now laughed in unamuse.
" You must be the great and powerful Munkustrap I've heard so much about. I can't say it's a pleasure."
The tabby leader gritted his teeth crouching defensively. " Who are you? " he demanded.
" Oh, didn't Macavity tell you? No, I suppose not. Such a pity since all he cared about was a certain..." the strange, dark-furred female moved to settle her fixed glare upon the edgy tortoiseshell behind the leader of the Jellicles. "...queen."
The tabby tom moved back more, his own glare evening with the aloft queen's as a growl arose low from his throat. " You speak in riddle."
Mistacor looked up at the foreign female, sensing her. This queen was different from the millions of plain, dusty-furred queens she had seen wandering the streets and alley ways... Besides for the usually normal heat, there was also an intense evil and hate in her, stronger than she had ever known... It was then that the psychic part of her gave the knowledge she feared: this was the darkness to replace Macavity.
" I tire of riddles. My name is Cimmerian and Demeter knows very well who I am. Don't you, Demmie? "
Every cat's eyes turned to the said queen who's head moved back and forth in a slow, sinewy arc, muttering incoherent phrases as her green eyes shone in bottled up fear.
Munkustrap gazed at the pained female's face in disbelief. " Dem, you know her? "
" Oh, she knows me all right and I'll put her in a worse state than that before I'm through with her..."
The tabby leader of the Jellicles quickly whirled around and hissed viciously up at the female. " You won't dare harm her! "
" Won't I? " Cimmerian asked with a raised eyebrow. " But she's the instrument to unsealing the most powerful Napolean of Crime within the entire Realm of Cats. Don't you see? Your very destruction is at stake."
" We're trying to avoid that destruction, thank you very much, you insane lunatic! " Alonzo shouted sharply.
Cimmerian's gaze grew thoughtful, her voice soft and velvety. "Lunatic... Luna... The moon... " She raised her eyes to the greying moon which lay prisoner behind dark, unexplainable cloud. " I remember when I was happy in Macavity's embrace... There was a window I used to stare out of, the moonlight shining in my eyes..."
Mistoffelees, Mista and the Twins both exchanged meaningful glances to one another.
After a moment, Mista was about to take a brave step forward to face this new threat when Mungojerrie suddenly pulled her back by the waist, making her turn to see the worried plea in his eyes not to leave him.
Nodding slowly, the silver calico understood and saw that he was right. What would it prove or result in to tell her that she was the one responsible for sealing Macavity away? It had to be done, for the benefit of the entire Jellicle Tribe. For the sake of herself and for all cats.
Munkustrap finally spoke again, his strong voice a wave of command and power. " Cimmerian, you aren't taking Demeter and you aren't releasing Macavity from where he was sent."
" Not yet anyway, it would apparently seem," the brown and sable queen mocked. " But I will soon and I'll sacrifice each and every one of your precious females to do it, if I have to."
Pouncival escaped the safety of the others and leapt ontop of the old Ford with a weak but loud hiss, swinging a clawed paw up at the dark female. " You're not taking my friends, ya hear me?! Or my family! Especially, Teaser! She's my newest friend and you're not takin' her! "
Rum Tum Teazer's ears lowered in surprise, eyes widening to the knowledge of her heart. Quickly, she rushed forward, grabbed the tom's tail in her teeth and pulled him down hard beside her with a hiss of her own. " Ge' down 'ere, ya nut! "
Cimmerian laughed in a carefree manner. " Well then, your friend, little tom, will be the first to go..."
" Get out of here, Cimmerian," Munkustrap warned. " We outnumber you quite a bit, wouldn't you say? You have no strength here."
" Yeah," Electra piped up from beneath Demeter. " You're just a weak, old cat."
" A bully," Etcetera added, glowering.
Mistoffelees, receiving a simultaneous nod from Tantomile and Coricopat, disappeared and then reappeared above the unsuspecting dark-eyed queen with a charming grin. " It's just about time for you to leave..."
Waving his paws in the air, a golden light engulfed her before she could protest, making her vanish from sight.
Misto floated to the ground, smiling in a rather sad way to the adults who read his expression perfectly... The new enemy had come just as they had known it would...
The kits, however, did not see it as such though. Instead, they were smiling ecstatically at the magickal black and white tom, swarming about him like bees to honey.
" Yay, Misto! " Electra cheered.
Jemima and the other kittens wasted no time in joining the cheers, their happiness and joy mixing with the rest of the young majority of the Tribe.
Playing the part the best he could to keep them joyous, Mistoffelees smiled in his magnetic way and bowed with a silly, overdone flourish.
Victoria came up beside him after he was done with a curious look, speaking softly, " Where'd you send her, by the way? "
Her brother smiled wryly. " Oh... Nowhere special... Just a little place called Sweden..."