"Gyaaaaah!"
The German Shepherd snapped irritably after Pouncival as the kitten bounced off with a few strands of hair in one paw. It was very fortunate for Pouncival that the dog was old and tired, and wasn't about to chase after him like he would have done in the good old days. But the hairs for the potion had been taken care of, and Pouncival gracefully jumped up on the surrounding stonewall of the dog kennel. There he smiled, turned around, and poked his tongue at out at the German Shepherd.
"Neener, neneer, nee-ner!" he shouted gleefully. "Thank you, Mr. Doggy!"
"That was unnecessary," said Mistoffelees, who was sitting in the tree at the other side of the wall. In front of him stood a green glass bottle, which the magician held both his paws around to make sure it didn't fall.
"Oh yeah? Well next time you get the bloody hairs," muttered Pouncival. "And we'll see what you find necessary."
Mistoffelees ignored him and held out the bottle. "Here you go," he said. "That should be everything."
Pouncival carefully poked down the hairs into the bottle, and Mistoffelees corked and shook it. The liquid in the bottle, which had been clear up until now, took the colour of muddy water. A balsamic smell rose up through the cork and made the two cats' eyes tear up.
"It doesn't look very tasty," said Pouncival. "Is it done now?"
"It should stand on the table in the hideout for a while, according to the recipe," said Mistoffelees and looked contentedly at the bottle. "Then it will be ready for tasting."
He took the bottle in his mouth, and they climbed down from the tree. Slowly they made their way back to the junkyard in silence.
"Are you going to tell Munkustrap about the potion?" asked Pouncival after a while. "I mean, he should know."
Mistoffelees stopped and put the bottle on the ground to speak. "No, I can't tell him yet. We don't know if it's working."
"But if it does work? Will you tell him?"
The magician was quiet for a bit. "Yeah, sure," he said finally. "If it works, I'll tell everybody, and then I'll make it again so that they all can have a sip and be strong."
"Oh. Good."
They started walking once more. Pouncival didn't speak again until they had reached the hideout, and Mistoffelees had placed the bottle on its spot on the table. They stood and looked at it for a while. Their saviour.
"So you're going to drink it, are you?" said Pouncival quietly, almost reverently. "You're really sure about it?"
Mistoffelees nodded. "A magician always tries something before he lets one of his charges taste it. That's the first rule I learned from the Twins. You should always test it on yourself, so that you don't risk somebody else's life."
"It's a good rule."
"Yeah."
Silence.
"So," said Pouncival suddenly, "let's say that something goes wrong, okay? I don't know, you stirred the potion too little or too much or something. Would it be dangerous?"
"Maybe. Like I said, I've never tried anything like this before. And I'm still learning this trade."
"But you're good. The Twins said so when they first saw you. I heard the stories from when they found you. Jennyanydots told me that you were lying in a puddle, because it had been raining that day, and you were sleeping, and there were little sparkles flying around you..."
"Yeah. I heard the stories too. But I don't remember any of that, and it doesn't matter. The talent is there, but I lack practice. And practice is what makes a magician, in the end."
"If you get sick from this potion, who should I go to for help? No one knows about it."
"I won't get sick."
"You don't know that."
Mistoffelees paused. "True, I don't. But I don't feel like..." He tensed suddenly, and the tips of his black ears vibrated as if they'd picked up something. "Did you hear that?"
Pouncival got very, very quiet and listened. "No, I didn'..." He interrupted himself, for there it was.
Soft, padding steps in the staircase. They were the steps of someone who was trying to be very silent, and if Mistoffelees hadn't had his magic, he probably wouldn't have picked up on it. The magician's paws started glowing bright blue.
"Pounce," he whispered. "Take the potion and hide. We've got company. I can... take care of it."
"I'm not leaving you here," hissed Pouncival.
"Don't try and be brave, you silly kitten. Go now, or I'll chase you out myself."
Pouncival took the bottle and took in his mouth. The smell was still seeping through the cork and it tickled his nose, filling him with the most wonderful feeling of relief. Nothing could really happen if he just held on to this bottle, he knew. Nothing really bad at all...
"Pounce, I swear that if you don't..."
Mistoffelees had not the time to finish his sentence, for suddenly he was swept aside and hit the wall, full force. Pouncival froze. He saw his friend crumble to the ground, and he knew he had just one second to react. Someone was there. Someone who was quite probably very dangerous. No one with friendly intentions would slam Mistoffelees into the wall.
Pouncival turned on the spot and dove behind a cupboard. It wasn't the best of hiding places, but the windows were locked and impossible to get through unless you were a mouse. His only hope was that the intruder wouldn't spot him, and if he managed to stay really quiet he might be able to sneak away out the door. A nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach called him a coward for leaving Mistoffelees behind, but he had been told to do it, and... Well, Mistoffelees was very persuasive when he put his mind to it.
The kitten crouched behind the cupboard and tried to make sure that his breathing was inaudible and that no part of him was showing. Then he tried to listen.
There were two cats in the room with the unconscious Mistoffelees. One female, which steps he had been hearing, and one male. The only explainable reason for neither Mistoffelees nor Pouncival hearing him enter the hideout was that he must have floated up the stairs, and that solved the mystery on who he was.
Macavity.
'There are barriers protecting this place,' though Pouncival frantically as he tried to calm his beating heart. 'How did he get through the barriers? He shouldn't even be here!'
"Is that my new present?" asked a queen's voice conversationally.
Of course. The Lady Griddlebone. She was the only cat who dared to follow Macavity everywhere. Pouncival had seen her once, when he had been out with Tumblebrutus and Pattipaws, and they'd been in what dad called a "bad neighbourhood." They'd seen a beautiful Persian just like the Lady walking towards the marina, and had been so freaked out about it that they'd run straight home. The Lady had many stories told about her. The one with pirates was by far the nicest one.
"Too bad you knocked him out, darling," Griddlebone continued. "He could have been amusing."
"Magician's skulls are so fragile," said Macavity, and there was a grin in his voice. "He'll come around soon enough, my pretty. Now we shall take a look around, while he sleeps."
Pouncival heard the two villains dig around the hideout, Griddlebone occasionally making a little delighted squeal as she found something pretty. After a while Mistoffelees groaned, and Pouncival dared to take a peek out into the room to see how his friend was doing.
Macavity had his back turned to his hiding place, which was a relief. Griddlebone stood leaning casually against the table, smiling sweetly at Mistoffelees. Pouncival looked at the cupboards. The boxes had been tipped over in the search for the strength potion, their contents a stinking mess on the floor. The gems that had been on the table a few days ago, when they had started making the potion, had clearly been removed from their little wooden box and were now quite probably in her possession.
The magician hadn't as much as opened his eyes before Macavity slammed him up against the wall and held him there, his paws firmly pinned down.
"Hello, Mistoffelees," he said, smiling. "A little someone told me that you were in the making of a potion. I think that you are much too young for such complicated magic, little Mistoffelees. Maybe you should just give me the potion, let the more experienced sorcerer handle it. Where is it, pray tell?"
Mistoffelees's eyes darted to the place on the table where the bottle had been standing just a few minutes ago, and when he saw that it wasn't there and that Macavity was very upset about it, he exhaled slowly. Good old Pounce.
"I think I'm old enough to decide what is too difficult for me, old tom," he said smoothly. "And you really have to investigate your sources more. I have no idea what you're talking about."
Macavity didn't do anything at first. Pouncival couldn't see his expression, but it was probably not very happy. Then the Napoleon of Crime turned around, quickly, and started to walk towards the hiding place.
Pouncival's heart stopped, and then pounded twice as fast as before. He had two choices. He could either hand over the potion to Macavity and maybe, but probably not, live to see another day. Or he could...
He did. He tore the cork from the bottle and was about to turn it upside down when he thought about what he and Mistoffelees had gone through to make the potion. It would be their salvation. It would be a help. It had taken them such a long time to make, and now he was going to pour it out?
He only hesitated for a second, but he had to make a choice fast, and he chose to do something really stupid. He drank the potion, forcing down every drop, for every drip he swallowed was one that Macavity wouldn't get. When he had finished he felt dizzy and light-headed, but wrote that off as being a result of lack of oxygen while he drank.
Suddenly Macavity was in front of him, yellow eyes blazing.
"You're too late," said a gravely voice that Pouncival surprisingly had to realize was his own. "I poured it all out."
He showed the empty bottle. Macavity bared his teeth.
"You are a liar, kitten," he hissed. "I smell it. What is to stop me from taking you with me and gut you open like a fish to get the potion?"
There was a slight fizzing sound, like a can of soda being opened, and suddenly Griddlebone screamed. Macavity turned around. The white Persian was locked firmly in Mistoffelees's grip, and he had conjured up a fine web of lightning around her.
"She moves, or you move, and her pretty fur gets awfully singed," said Mistoffelees with an eerie calm. "Step away from the kitten. He's got nothing to do with this."
Macavity regarded the scene, clearly thinking it through. Large tears started to well up in Griddlebone's eyes, and she sobbed silently. After minutes that stretched into eternities, Macavity smiled.
"Go ahead, little Mistoffelees," he said. "You go right ahead. Do you think I'd care? Let's see if you've got some guts, after all."
"Darling?" whispered Griddlebone.
It could have been in Pouncival's imagination, but he thought he saw Macavity flinch. It was gone in a flash, and the Napoleon of Crime quickly rearranged his expression to that of a mocking sneer.
Mistoffelees hesitated. His eyes darted to Griddlebone, who was crying as if her heart had just been broken. Maybe it had been. The moment of uncertainty made Macavity laugh.
"You're an idiot, Mistoffelees. A cowardly idiot. Why have power at all when you will not use it?"
"I'll do it," said Mistoffelees, but his voice faltered. "I swear I'll do it..."
"Of course you won't. Because you fear the consequences of you giving in to the power. But watch now, and learn."
His paw on Pouncival's head was warm and almost gentle. Then Pouncival heard something snap with a deafening CRACK, and a wave of pain came shooting down his spine, and things went dark.
Pouncival opened his eyes and immediately wished he'd stayed unconscious. He was lying on the floor of the office, which was sort of expected, and Mistoffelees was leaning over him.
"You're awake," said the magician and heaved a sigh of relief. "That's... that's good. Very good."
There was not a part of Pouncival that wasn't hurting. Even the tip of his tail hurt, and that was saying something. He tried to sit up, but abandoned the idea when he discovered that his muscles wouldn't obey.
"I hurt," he said, just to say something.
"I am not surprised at all about that, out of many reasons," said Mistoffelees. "But you should be thankful for being back. A lot of cats don't, after Macavity's done with them. Do you need help to sit up?"
"Yeah..."
Together they helped in getting Pouncival to lean against the wall. His body felt strange. There wasn't just pain, but a strange feeling of having been altered somehow. Like something had been taken out of him and put back, but slightly askew. Something was wrong, and he couldn't put his paw on it exactly.
"You drank the potion," said Mistoffelees after having made sure that his assistant was as comfortable as he could be. "Are you feeling okay? No signs of poisoning or anything that your father would kill me for?"
"Just... pain and all around weirdness," said Pouncival and groaned. "My head feels like it's going to fall off..."
Mistoffelees laughed nervously. "Heh. Yes. Mm. Heh. Let's hope it doesn't, okay?"
Pouncival looked at him strangely. "Why are you sounding so strange? Is... is something wrong with me?"
"No!" said the magician a little too quickly. "Not... exactly," he added hesitantly. "Not anymore, anyway. Heh. Do you want something to eat?"
"What do you mean 'not any more'?" asked Pouncival suspiciously. "Did something happen to me? Did Macavity do anything?"
Mistoffelees didn't answer. He seemed to be thinking it through from every angle first. "What do you remember from Macavity's visit?" he asked finally.
"Well, he came for the potion, you wouldn't tell him where it was, he found me, I drank the potion, there was a lot of threatening going on..."
"And then what? What do you remember from when he put his paw on your head?"
Pouncival thought about it. "It... hurt. Very intense pain. I think he struck me, or something." He looked surprised as he thought of one particular detail. "Just... I had just made him upset, he's much, much stronger than I am, and I'm just a kitten, and he... why didn't he kill me? I thought that was what he did to cats that made him mad."
"That is sort of the issue at hand," said Mistoffelees slowly, carefully choosing his words now. "Because you see... he did."
