Macavity: The Mystery Cat
By Bombakat
Part Three: Griddlebone in Trouble
*Pouncival speaks in announcer’s tones* When we last left the Jellicles, Griddlebone had helped them escape, in return that she become a Jellicle. Macavity found Griddlebone gone and swore revenge. Will Griddlebone be all right or will Macavity get his wish?*
**********
The Junkyard. Is a messy yard. But the Jellicles call it home.
"Welcome to the Jellicle Junkyard." announced Munkustrap.
"This is our home." Said Jenny. "Just pick a place to call your own. Mine’s in the car boot."
"Mine’s in that pipe. There are plenty of empty pipes." Demeter told Griddlebone.
"We never did return to our old numbers after the massacre." murmured Carbucketty. Griddlebone hadn’t heard about that.
"What massacre?" she asked softly.
"You don’t know about it?" Plato was amazed.
"She may have been with Growltiger back then." Tugger said pointedly.
"Oh. Well…"
"Spit it out Plato." Jellylorum told him.
"Well, about two years ago, Macavity rallied his army and launched a surprise attack on the Jellicles. Many of us died on that day. Glint and Sparkle, Mistoffelees' parents, were amongst those that died on that day. That day became known as the Day of Reckoning."
"Oh my…" Griddlebone murmured. "I’m so sorry."
"That’s OK. You can’t change the past, but what matters now is the future." Munkustrap told the white Persian.
Griddlebone smiled softly at him. "Thank you, Munkustrap. I’ll stay with Jenny for now, until I get used to this. That is, if it’s all right with you, Jenny?"
"Of course, dear. Do you want something to eat?" Jenny asked her.
"Yes please. Macavity hardly ever gave me food. I had to forage in the trashcans for my food."
"Come with me! My owners always feed me too much, you can share my lunch!" Tugger called across.
"Thank you." Griddlebone replied, and followed Tugger and Bombalurina to his house.
**********
"Fluffy, if you bring one more cat in here besides Flame, I swear, I’ll….!" Yelled Tugger’s owner.
Tugger winced. "Live with it. She’ll come round." He told Griddlebone.
Bomba glowered. "I HATE being called Flame!"
"Live with it. It’s your first name." Tugger said. "I don’t exactly LIKE being called Fluffy."
"Why are you called Fluffy?" asked Griddlebone. Tugger mumbled something.
"What?!" asked Griddlebone.
"BECAUSE MY REAL OWNER IS A FIVE YEAR OLD!!!!" yelled Tugger. Bomba and Griddlebone were laughing too hard to hear what he said after that. Unfortunately for Griddlebone.
"LISTEN TO ME!!!!!!!!" bellowed Tugger. Bomba and Griddlebone sat up to find…
"Macavity!" screamed both the queens.
"Macavity, why don’t you do what some humans do to eggs?" Tugger asked.
"What might that be?" asked Macavity.
"Beat it!!!!" Tugger snapped. Macavity replied to that by knocking Tugger out.
"Now then, my dear Griddlebone, where were we…?" hissed Macavity. Griddlebone backed away, until her back hit the cupboard. Tugger was flat out, and Bombalurina was with him. Panicked, Bomba looked at Griddlebone.
"Bomba!! Get Tugger’s owner!!!"
Bomba fled, and returned with Tugger’s (28 year old) owner. Too late… Griddlebone was gone. So was Macavity.
"Macavity’s not there!" sobbed Bombalurina, as Tugger’s owner took him into
the front room.
**********
"… And when I got back, both were gone."
"This is serious." Munk said, trying to think.
"If it’s not one Jellicle it’s another!!!" shouted Pouncival. Munk threw something at him, then resumed thinking.
"My oh my, thinking about it won’t help fuzzball." A voice snapped from above. Munk looked up to see the pink, white and blue kitten.
"Crysta! You were exiled a year ago! Told never to return to the Junkyard!" Crysta’s green eyes hardened.
"And I had to accept that because you were bigger and stronger than me, put together. But I believe the times have changed, have they not? During my time
as an exiled cat, I’ve developed my magic even beyond Mistoffelees’ powers. If I wanted to, I could kill you all now with one magic word." All the Jellicles gasped in fear. "… but I’m not going to."
The collective sigh of relief was exceptionally loud.
"We seem to have a shared enemy, do we not?" Munk looked Crysta in her green eyes.
"Yes we do. Your point is?" Crysta gave him a look as if he were the daftest cat she’d ever met.
"I’ll help you get your friend back. I’ll help." Munk now stared at the ex-Jellicle.
"Why would you want to help us? What’s in it for you?"
"I don’t have that mangy alleycat on my back anymore. That’s reward enough." Munkustrap turned to his advisor.
"Munkus, I think we should take her offer. It’ll help to have a cat with magical powers of such strength on the team. You heard her say she could kill us all with a mere word. Imagine what she could do to Macavity. Call a truce. Join with her." Demeter told him, her eyes soft. Munk turned back to Crysta.
"We accept." He said. Crysta opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by a loud crash punctuated
by a Tugger-ish yell of pain.
"Tugger!" gasped Bomba, rushing off to save him from crashing off more junk. She returned with a basically intact Tugger.
"When do we leave?" Crysta said, without batting an eyelid at the gawping Tugger.
"No time like the present!" Pouncival said, hopping up and down on one foot anxiously.
"He’s right. We’ll all leave now."
"Munku! What about Tugger?"
"You stay with him Bombalurina. I don’t trust you two together, but you’re the most obvious choice." Munk said. Bomba looked at Munku indignantly.
"Joking."
Bomba grinned, and put her paw around Munku. "Be careful."
"We all will. We’ll do all we can."
"Good luck, to all of you." Tugger offered.
"We’ll need it." Crysta said blandly.
**********
Griddlebone awoke. First thing that she thought was *my head hurts.* Then she thought *where am I?* The bars finally came into focus. An orange face came into her line of sight suddenly. Griddlebone screamed as long claws locked around her throat. Macavity’s eyes flashed with a dangerous light.
"Now I will have my revenge… TRAITOR!" he shouted the last word angrily. Griddlebone’s sight blurred, and she couldn’t breathe.
Suddenly she was dropped, and Macavity was staring at his paws.
"What am I doing?" he spoke more to himself than anyone else. "She’s not a Jellicle… why am I trying to kill one of my most trusted agents?"
He seemed to have forgotten that Griddlebone had defected to the opposite side.
To be continued
there's no place like home!
