Notorious Duo Turns Triple
Part XV
By Mistacor
The cool late night air swept through the junkyard silently, the soft sound of tinkling crystal coming to the ears of all who listened in the somber hush. The moon overhead shined brightest pale, the telltale signal from the Everlasting Cat above that the time was near to choose the one who would ascend to the Heavyside Layer this year.
Munkustrap, the Mystical Twins, and Mistoffelees along with Mistacor, Mungojerrie, Rumpleteazer, Alonzo, Bom, and Tugger stood around the huddled Demeter in council.
Tumblebrutus suddenly flipped away from the playing group of kittens overseered by the elders and up beside Misto just in time for the conversation that inevitably took place.
" So... we know we have another threat to our peaceful existence here," Munkustrap began slowly, his voice lowered. " With Macavity, we knew well of his nature and his tendencies of magickal trickery. But what can we expect from this Cimmerian? "
" Well..." Bombalurina started thoughtfully. " Since Misto sent her to Sweden..."
Tumble grinned to the black and white tom beside him. " Nice move, by the way, Misto."
" ...We probably won't be seeing her for a while," Bom completed, casting a rather annoyed glance to the young white and brown.
" But what are her intentions? " the Jellicle Leader questioned.
Mistoffelees looked to Mungojerrie. " She said she wanted to release Macavity so she must obviously know a bit about him. Ever see her in the lair? "
" If I did, I don't remember her," the calico tom replied truthfully. " Macavity always had a lot of queens in his lair."
Mistacor's eyes were hazed as she stared down at the reflection of the moon flickering within a small puddle at her feet, her voice soft and wispy, " Whe' I we' ca'napped an' ta'en ta a cell, we wen' pas' a 'all of cells, a queen in ea' one..." She shivered slightly from memory, her side pressing gently against her mate's. " The' looked re'lly strange... The' we' mewin' an' bitin' a' the' legs... The' all sme'ed of 'eat... An', fer a minu'e, I though' I we' goin' ta sha'e th' same fa'e."
Jerrie gently nuzzled her, sympathetically. " I'd ne'er le' tha' 'appen, luv," he whispered kindly.
Mista returned the nuzzle affectionately. " I know..." She looked up at the others, her voice rising slightly. " An' I know none of ya woul' e'the' bu' th' fact sti' stan's tha' Macavity was 'oldin' a lo' of queens as pris'ne'."
The Rum Tum Tugger rolled his eyes, derisively. " And we can all get it right at the first guess what he was using them for."
There was an unanimous nod from all present. Bombalurina finally looked to Munkustrap straight on, her normally easygoing expression a cloud of infinite seriousness. " When Demeter and I managed to escape," she spoke deathly soft, a living testament to her friend's ordeal, "...she was never the same. I felt like I was looking and talking to a completely different person, a stranger." She looked to her friend who even now had a blankness in her eyes. " She sees Macavity in every shadow now, regardless to whether he's sealed away or not. Her nerves are all but gone..."
" Macavity may have very well had the same impact on this Cimmerian, only the results were varied," Misto deducted.
" Yeah," Tumble agreed. " That queen is even more insane than Dem."
The small black and white tom elbowed his outspoken friend in the arm just as he saw Munkustrap's face flood in some painful sort of thought, Tumble immediately and meaningfully falling silent.
Coricopat and Tantomile could see the source of their leader's pain and responded to it.
" Munkustrap," Coricopat started.
" ...You must ask her," Tantomile finished.
Beginning with a scowl and ending with a defeated nod, the tabby leader sighed and kneeled beside the estranged torti-coloured female whose attention turned inward to something invisible. Gently, he placed his paws on her shoulders.
With a small gasp, Demeter turned her focus to him, green eyes clearing for a moment from their foggy haze. His voice was distant and echoing in her ears...
" Demeter? Dem? "
Silence and a faraway stare was his reply.
" Love, we need to know who this Cimmerian is, why she wants Macavity back, how dangerous she is..."
Silence again.
The Jellicle Leader sighed again in exasperation. " Demeter, please..."
Mista pawed the ground worriedly as she looked to her adopted father and then to her mate. " Ma'be th' Twins shoul' try an' ge' through ta 'er? "
" ...She was a prisoner..." the edgy tortoiseshell's voice emerged suddenly in a flat tone, not a bone moving in her body. " ...no different from me..." Her head twitched to one side in one violent movement. " We were simply for his pleasure, always for him... We had no other purpose. We were forced to live in cells and rot slowly with them, only allowed to leave their confines when he desired us."
Munkustrap could feel her quake beside him and ever so gently, he rubbed her shoulders in the attempt to ease her.
" Cimmerian was in the cell beside mine. She went through the exact same torture I went through - we all went through. We were slowly driven mad. Some of us were scared to death of being chosen, began to fear his visits to our cells more and more. Others made it a necessity to their lives, craved him, constantly in heat... Cimmerian was one of those... Queens in heat who weren't tended to, fell even deeper into their insanity than those who feared his touch...
" I became his favourite, though I did nothing to invoke it. I scratched. I hissed. I clawed... I did everything possible to keep him away from me but it just made him want me more..." Tears came to her eyes, cold and blurry, her strong and dormant emotions quickly flowing back to life with her tale.
She gulped, forcing down the onslaught of tears. " He began choosing me everyday. Cimmerian didn't like that. She was jealous of me, thought me unworthy of such an 'honour,' undeserving of his attentions... In her insanity, she fell in love with him, wanted me out of the way. Dear Bast, I wanted her to kill me, if it would only save me from him! "
The tabby tom embraced her lovingly and she gladly took the solace, sobbing softly into his fur like a poor kitten.
" So it's anger all anchored on a vendetta..." Bombalurina remarked.
" An' a love unrequi'ed," Mistacor added in murmur.
Alonzo looked to her. " But that still doesn't explain the whole Macavity-unsealing process."
" It's an ancient ritual," Tantomile replied, her voice ringing clear.
" ...Buried in time," Coricopat added as he stood beside his sister.
Alonzo raised an eyebrow. " Sacrificing one he loved with their blood to bring him back from another dimension? Does it really work? "
The bonded twins nodded simultaneously " Yes."
Munkustrap's brows furrowed in stoic determination as he stroked his beloved's head fur like a father comforting his child. " We won't let that happen. I won't let that happen." He stood up then with Demeter still in his arms. "Cimmerian will have a difficult time gathering force and it will take her awhile to return to London. After the Ball tonight, we will deal with necessary precautions and defense. I would ask Mistoffelees to start a protection barrier, just in case..."
The said magickal tom nodded, dutifully.
The kittens will also be in possible danger - Jennyanydots, Jellylorum and Skimble can take shifts watching over their daily activities. I want everyone to return to the yard as soon as they are rested to receive further instruction. Understood? "
" Understood! "
~
The time had at last come. The moon flashed like a twinkling star in the heavens and the wind howled as the star of Venus made its solitary way to greet the oncoming dawn.
The junkyard was all but hushed as Munkustrap appeared from the dark and into the pale, sweet rays of fading moonlight before his people.
He smiled kindly to them, extending his arms out to express his extreme love and devotion to them just as they began to purr softly against the hum of silence. "Now... I, just before dawn, through a silence you feel you could cut with a knife, ... announces the cat who can now be reborn and come back to a different Jellicle Life..."
He was rewarded with the smiles of his tribe, family and friends. And it was then, at that moment, that he understood his father's completeness as Jellicle Leader. The feeling transcended all of the others, clearing his mind and soul and giving him the power to make the customary Jellicle Choice...
He smiled at each cat, slowly viewing each face. He saw his brother the Rum Tum Tugger who, even now, distracted the ever-seductive Bombalurina. He saw his niece happily situated beside Pouncival and thought inward of how the poor kit needed a mother's care. And, of course, he saw his adopted daughter beside her mate Mungojerrie, both stars glowing with the light of joy. He only wished he and Demeter could soon be as blissful...
Part of him wanted so much to be beside her now but she needed her rest in Jenny's yard area and he needed to fulfill his yearly duty.
His gaze fell to the back of the gathering where Jellylorum sat beside Gus, the old theatre cat who even now trembled and shaked like a leaf in the wind, his eyes reflecting an unending hope and tiredness.
Smiling, Munkustrap pointed to the sad, grey tom, a shaft of paling moonlit shards falling gently over the chosen Jellicle.
The others looked over their shoulders and turned to curiously and excitedly sniff in congratulation.
Jellylorum gasped at the news, smiling in bittersweet happiness but tears coming unchecked to her eyes.
Gus looked to her, blinking, and lightly brushed away her tears with a shakey, loving paw. " Don't be sad, child. I'll be back," he reassured her softly with a weak but meaningful smile. " It's only the beginning."
Trying her hardest to return the smile tenfold, she hugged him in farewell before quickly releasing her hold on him before it became any harder to say goodbye. Smiling bravely, she nuzzled him. " Go on, now. And come back soon."
Nodding with a tender smile, Gus made his way past the clearing cats.
Wiping away a tear, Jellylorum called after him, " Don't forget to stay warm!"
Jennyanydots placed a friendly paw on her old friend's shoulder, smiling sympathetically. " Don't fret, dear. The Heavyside is warm with summer sunlight all the time."
" Grandfather Gus! Grandfather Gus! " Victoria and Etcetera mewed sadly, rubbing against his legs.
The theatre cat patted their heads lovingly and stopped beside Skimbleshanks. " Take care of them."
The marmalade tom nodded gravely, his face unrevealing of the sorrow he felt inside. " Aye," he spoke coarsely and gathered the two kits beside him.
Finally, Gus grasped Munkustrap's paws in his, sighing in relief. " At last, my limbs again will know the joys of youth."
The Jellicle Leader hugged his old mentor and guided him at a careful pace to the great tyre, the rest of the tribe trailing behind them, their voices raising to the heavens in song.
Up, up, up past the Russel Hotel... Up, up, up, up to the Heavyside Layer... Up, up, up past the Russel Hotel... Up, up, up, up to the Heavyside Layer..."
Suddenly, the clouds descended and dispersed in the form of mist, sweeping and flooding through the yard as Leader and Chosen climbed up onto the tyre and began to rise into the air steadily.
" Up, up, up past the Jellicle Moon! Up, up, up, up to the Heavyside Layer! Up, up, up past the Jellicle Moon! Up, up, up, up to the Heavyside Layer! "
The cool, cold mist swirled now to the command of the wind, the great tyre floating nearly out of sight as the sky parted its wings and a golden, shimmering arch came down to meet the two felines.
Looking to Munkustrap with sheer joy, Gus smiled a beaming smile and carefully made his way up the arch until he was just a tiny speck above, the light of a million moons cascading over him while the Jellicles below stretched and pawed in divine rapture, looking up to the heavens emanating their eternal Monarch's supreme power.
" The Mystical Divinity of unashamed felinity... Round the cathedral..." They all raised their hands to the sky, reaching out as if to touch the intangible. "...rang...Vivat! Life to the Everlasting Cat..."
Drifting back down to the earth alone, Munkustrap's gaze became distant and upward. " Father... Be well..."
~
The sounds of crickets became softer in the sight of the lightning-blue empyrean, the moon measuredly beginning to fade back far below into it's depths. The winds began to hum a sleepy tune as all nature was at rest, the foreign solitude crystallising into a natural masterpiece.
Most of the tribe stood gathered around their leader, saying their farewells and sympathies to Jellylorum, planning the meeting at the yard where they would prepare for the new evil threatening them.
Mistoffelees sighed lightly as he looked to Munku, " We all knew this would happen sooner or later. Remember - ' Once one evil is destroyed. another one is bound to come.' "
Alonzo looked to him as he stretched a bit. " Frankly, I would have liked it to be a little more on the later side. We've been fighting Macavity for so long and we're not getting any younger, you know."
Tugger looked to his thoughtfully quiet brother in study. " Hey, what's up? "
The reply was a dismissal shrug.
" Look," the Maine Coon tom spoke in his best carefree manner. " We're sorry about Demeter but you know very well nobody's takin' her anywhere." Smiling a bit, he slung an arm over the dumbstruck tabby's shoulder. " Besides, when worst comes to worst, you always end up showing fang and save the day anyway. I wouldn't worry too much about it."
Munkustrap's stare was in a shocked drisk. " Is this my brother I'm talking to? My little brother? "
The sexy Maine Coon grinned. " Whoo! You better believe it. The one with the muscle and the body queens go gaga over! "
Everyone who heard laughed in uncontained humour as the Tugger let go of his sibling to pose.
Skimbleshanks chuckled merrily," Thank goodness the wee kits are already fast asleep and dreamin' or then where would we be? "
" I'm awa'e! " came the bright and cheery voice of Rumpleteazer.
The young calico queen rushed over in fired-up excitement beside her brother, an overly packed loot bag slung heavily over her slim shoulder. " Aww, Jer, tha's mean," she pouted. " Why di'n't ya te' me 'e we' gi'in' a free show? "
Mungo laughed in amuse. " Woul' ya 'ave 'eard me if I ca'ed? Ove' you an' yer cate'waulin'? " His eyebrows raised suddenly at the lumpy - very large - sack she carried. " Uh, Teaze, wha's in tha' sack o' yers? "
Rumple smiled cheekily then, shouldering the loot bag. " Pre'ious ca'go."
Jerrie sputtered out laughing, eyes going wide along with everyone else's until his sister nudged him hard and immediately the answer came to his eyes as he nodded and kept silent. " Pre'ious ca'go. Righ' the'."
Alonzo looked at the two first with confusion and then with realization, gaping. " Who is in that sack, you two?! "
" Wait a minute..." Munku looked around wildly " Where's Mistacor?? "
Skimble was right ahead of him, frowning at the two cat burglars " You naughty kits! Open up that sack right now or I'll right do it meself! "
Obeying the furious railway cat, Mistacor came rolling out of the open loot bag with sneezes of laughter.
The tabby leader looked from the silver calico to Mungo and Rumple. " You were going to catnap her... AGAIN?? "
The three pranksters started laughing.
" We', ya know, Munku..." Mungo grinned cheerfully.
" You di' say ya di'n't wan' 'er wit' us," Rumple smiled sheepishly.
The regal tabby smiled, an amused chuckle escaping in his tone of voice. "That announcement was null and void right after we got back to the junkyard."
Mista stood up, dust flying out of her fur from the tumble. " Ya mean i'? "
He laughed as he licked her ears playfully. " Yes, of course."
Laughing, the silver calico fell back to lean lightly against her mate's side, smiling up at him. " So tha's i'? Th' en' of th' Ball? "
Jer laughed and tossled her fur lovingly. " Yehp! Jus' li'e those sil'y 'umans, th' fi'eworks a'e o'er an' we 'ave ta be goin' ba'k 'ome."
Tugger grinned. " Speaking of home, I should be taking my daughter Teaser to my human's house... Anyone see where she went? "
" I di'," Mista smiled helpfully and moved away from Mungo. " I'll go ge' 'er for ya." And, without another word, she ran off to where she had seen her two friends head off to.
~
Mistacor ran part way to the edge of a tall junkpile, her nose telling her that both Pouncival and Rum Tum Teazer were around the corner, and stopped in her tracks. She could hear quite distinctly the low sound of voices but couldn't make out the words, didn't want to. She respected the need for privacy and would honour it.
Waiting for the quickest breach in conversation, she spoke loudly in her harsh Cockney, " Tease? Ye're Da's lookin' fer ya! "
" Oka', Mista! Be righ' the'! " came the softer-accented voice of Rum Tum Teazer.
Tease, hearing her friend run off, turned back to face Pouncival earnestly. "So... wot did ya want ta talk to me abou'? "
" Well, I..." the mackeral tom started hesitantly, eyes lowered for a second as he seemed to try and get his thoughts together before suddenly lifting his head to let his clear green eyes meet her warm blue. " Tease, I-"
" Wait! "
The young tom stopped abruptly, his features a mask of confusion.
The Maine Coon female laughed nervously, licking her lips. " No, no... It's jus'... I 'ave somethin' ta say too and... it's going to be 'ard for me to say..."
Pounce nodded, smiling uneasily and then had an idea. " You know, why don't you go first and I'll go second? Easier? "
She smiled gratefully. " Yeah..." Opening her mouth to speak, she quickly closed it again, brows furrowing. " No... You know, if you want to go first..."
There was a long pause, the mood engulfed in quiet before...
" I really like you! " both blurted out at the same time.
" What? " Pounce inquired, eyes wide.
" Erm..." Tease fidgeted slightly.
The young mackeral was the first to laugh. " We both feel the same about each other! This is great! "
Uneasily at first but then feeling as though a huge weight had been lifted off of her heart, her tentative smile turned into a grin and her giggle turned into a laugh to match his.
In their joy, Pouncival hugged her happily, astounding yet delighting the queen to no end. But when he pulled away, there was a seriousness in his face that hadn't been there before, making him look just a bit more adult than either one of them were.
" Tease..." he started softly, holding her tenderly.
The young queen nodded in equal seriousness, her eyes never leaving his.
" I really like you... I mean, I really, really like you but..." His gaze reflected a bit of an apology. " ...I'm not ready yet. Maybe, you're not either. We're still kits, even younger than Mista."
Rum Tum Teazer nodded, taking in his words.
" Look, Tease, there's something amazing happening between us and I don't want to ruin it. I don't want to lose you," he continued in determined intent, lightly nuzzling her cheek.
" Oh, Pounce...." the Maine Coon female smiled softly. " I don't want to lose you either..."
" Then, when we're ready..." Pounce paused and then smiled. " ...Be my mate? Please? " His eyes shone with confidence.
The dizzying, giddy feeling she had felt through this all rocketed through her body and soul, cleansing her and making her whole. Dear Cat, she loved him so! And now, he asked her to be his mate! What could she possibly say or do to answer this of the most wonderful questions?
" Yes! I will! " she exclaimed in joyous proclamation and ecstatically threw her arms around him in a hug, the young tom she loved more than life returning the hug with the same vivacity.
Pulling back ever so briefly, he kissed her...
The sun, a golden sphere of testimony, rose like a watery-lit dream, the sky a blur of blush and sweetest violet as Jemima's sapphire eyes took the sight in from on top of the old car.
Slowly, she sweeped her feet from under her with a grace only blessed upon the most fortunate cats, her eyes a wide, wondrous rhapsody as her soft lips opened to sing...
Daylight...
See the dew on a sunflower...
And a rose that is fading...
Roses wither away...
Like the sunflower,
I yearn to turn my face to the dawn...
I am waiting...
for the...
day...
THE END
Author's Note: This is just to say a big happy anniversary to my fanfic series because on this day, June 25th, last year 2000, I started to write this and it got finished on the same day it began a year afterwards. =) I also wish to thank my friends Kate (Rum Tum Teazer) and Drew (Mungojerrie) one more time for their constant inspiration. Thanks, guys! And, of course, my biggest shout of gratitude goes to Patrick Mullaney (B'way Final Cast, Tumblebrutus) who gave me the greatest fire of inspiration on this very day when I went to see him perform. Patrick, if you're reading this by some amazing stroke of luck, thank you for instilling the never-ending magic of CATS into my heart and soul. ~ Hugs to you all ~ Mista
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