by Tumblebrutus
Macavity returned to his hideout with a large grin on his face. They were victorious. " Well my minions! We have suceeded! We showed those Jellicles who are the top cats in this town!" shouted Macavity. There was a large cheer among the strays. " Snarl! Bring our prize forward!" The brown stray dragged Tumblebrutus who was trembling. The strays grinned wickedly at the small kitten. He glaced around looking for a familiar face.
" Mama?! Daddy?!" he cried. he looked all over for his parents.
A few strays laughed at the kitten's terror. Macavity grinned as he picked Tumblebrutus up by his scruff. " Your parents aren't here anymore little one. You're mine now!" he laughed.
A small tan colored kitten in the crowd, a little older than Tumblebrutus observed. She was the only other kitten in the group, her name was Anybodys. Tumblebrutus started to cry. " Where Mama?! I want Mama!" he wailed.
Macavity frowned at the sound and hurled the kitten away allowing him to crash to the floor which made a few female strays cringe. " Strike, take 'Brutus to the beginners bedroom. He must be tired after such an experience," hissed Macavity.
Strike seized Tumble by his scruff and dragged him off. Anybodys followed Strike. Strike took Tumble to a room full of cages and locked him in one. " Get used to this place kid! This will be your new headquarters!" laughed Strike.
He then left the kitten passing Anybodys who he didn't even see. Tumblebrutus began crying and pawing at the bars. " MAMA! DADDY! MAMA!!" he cried.
" Quiet!" hissed Anybodys. Tumblebrutus looked at the kitten. She made her way over and jumped up next to the cage. " YOu cry like that and they'll never let you out!"
Tumblebrutus wiped the tears away from his eyes. " I miss Mama! I miss friends...Peter! Augustus! James!" He started crying again. Anybodys shook her head.
" You have to make new friends kid. My name is Anybodys. What's yours?" she asked. He wiped more tears away from his muzzel.
" Mama call me Tumblebrutus," he mewed. Anybodys nodded.
" Well, stop crying and they'll probably even let you out of this cage tommorow," said Anybodys. " Try and get some sleep."
" Can't sleep without Mama," explained Tumblebrutus.
" Well get used to it kitten. Your mama's never coming back!"
With that, Anybodys left. Tumblebrutus curled up into a ball and shut his eyes. The next day he was awoken by a harsh grab of his scruff. Leper, one of Macavity's upper henchmen, took him back to the main hall where he was first brought. The brown-patched kitten was dropped at Macavity's feet. He glared down at it. " Hello," he hissed. Tumble didn't say anything. He recieved a slap across his muzzel. " Answer me when I speak to you!" roared Macavity.
Tumble yelped. He had never been struck before. " Hello!" he mewed sadly. Macavity glared.
" Better. Now this is your new home...Your parents are no longer with you. They were killed by the Jellicles," he said with a grin. A henchcat frowned.
" What? But I thought you..." Macavity slashed the cat across the face.
" SHUT-UP!" He turned back to the kitten. " They told me that I was to raise you to be my best stray follower. " We're all the family you have left." The kitten sniffed and crawled onto Macavity's paw rubbing against it for comfort. The Hidden Paw shoved the kitten away. Tumble stared up at him in confusion. " Affection makes a cat soft. And you will NOT be soft!" he snarled. Tumblebrutus crouched back. A single tear falling from his eye and down his chin. " What are you crying about?!"
" Mama and Daddy gone," whimpered Tumble. Macavity growled and turned his back on the child.
" Take him back to his cage! I'll deal with him in time!"
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Over time, both Tumblebrutus and Anybodys grew. They soon became good friends. Tumble was glad about Anybodys because she was the only friend he had now. Anybodys now had a red bandana that she wore around her head. They gathered around. Sharkspaw, a new recruit among Macavity was set up to test Tumblebrutus' training. He grinned at a black female cat named Misfortune. The two seemed fond of each other. Anybodys was with Tumblebrutus. Macavity watched from his throne. Anybodys grinned at him. " Goodluck Brutus!" She gave him a playful punch in the shoulder. Tumble grinned at her and arched his back.
" BEGIN!" shouted Macavity.
Sharkspaw leaped forward as did Tumblebrutus. Sharkspaw then bared his secret weapon. Huge, razorsharp claws. Tumble gasped and started to back away. Too late, Sharkspaw was upon him and digging his claws into his white fur coat. Tumblebrutus took a couple of swipes with his claws but it had no effect. he had no choice but to cry for mercy. Sharkspaw got off with a smug look on his face. Tumble licked at the scratches on his coat. Macavity made his was over hatred in his eyes. He smacked Tumble across the face. The cat was pretty much used to the beatings.
" What was that?!" snarled Macavity. " That was pitiful!"
" I...I tried," whimpered Tumblebrutus. That earned him another smack.
" That was a horrible display of strength! You're making your parents turn in their graves!" Tumble held his head low. " Get out of here! I'll deal with you later!"
Tumblebrutus scurried away and took off to the roof. Anybodys followed him. Once on the roof Tumble looked up into the night sky. " Mama? Father? I'm sorry. I try and become the stray you want me to be, I'm just not cut out for it. What should I do?" Tumble looked down and then sensed someone watching. He turned around and saw Anybodys. " You here to tell me what a loser I am?" Anybodys shook her head.
" Nah, you weren't a loser tonight. Sharkspaw is a professional. He came from the best fighters and just joined up with Macavity." She grinned at him. " Wanna go out and rock the town?"
" Anyplace special tonight?" asked Tumblebrutus. She nodded.
" The Jellicle Junkyard." Tumblebrutus gasped.
" But that's strictly off limits! We're forbidden to go there without a henchmen with us!" said Tumblebrutus. Anybodys shook her head.
" Brutus, if you follow the rules all the time, you'll never get to have any fun. Come on!" She started downstairs. And Tumblebrutus followed her.
They snuck past Macavity and made their way to the junkyard. Hiding behind a washing machine on the top of the junkpile, they saw the Jellicles gathered around Victor's new litter. Tumblebrutus watched on with interest. " This! Is the beginning! The beginning of the comeback of the Jellicle," stated Old Deuteronomy.
He gleamed at Admetus who was grooming her litter of queens. Bill Baily gleamed at the litter. " What are their names?" asked Bill Baily.
" Well, the entirely white one shall be named Victoria, after her father. The striped one will be Etcetera and the red headed one will be Electra," said Admetus. Victor sighed.
" I wish King-Falla could be here to see this. He would have said ' You have three in your litter, that is a sign of good luck.'"
Anybodys turned to Brutus. " They just had a litter. We shouldn't be here," she whispered.
" We never should have been here," he whispered back. The two started off when Anybodys lost her footing. Letting out a scream she toppled down the junkpile. " ANYBODYS!!"
She landed right infront of the Jellicles. Skimbleshanks hissed. " A STRAY!" The males got in a circle around her.
" Ooh! You gonna pay for Jon's death!" hissed Augustus. Anybodys arched her back hissing. She turned to see her friend about to come down after her. " No! Run! Get out of here!" she screamed. Plato jumped up.
" There's another one! They're after Victor's litter!" snarled Plato.
Victor leaped over his kittens and Admetus and stood over them protectly. Tumblebrutus didn't want to leave his friend, but took off away from the junkyard. when he returned to the fish industry he crumpled up into a ball and started crying. " This is why I'll never be a sucess! I'm a coward! A yellow-bellied coward!" cried Tumble.
Tumble cried until he heard a door open. He spun around. Macavity entered with Anybodys who didn't have a scratch on her but Macavity looked pretty beaten up. Anybodys looked at Macavity in pure terror. The strays gathered in the room full of curiousity. Macavity looked at Anybodys. " Anybodys...Did anyone go with you to the Jellicle Junkyard without my permission?" hissed Macavity.
Anybodys stared at Tumblebrutus. he was just as frightened as she was. She looked at Macavity. " No. No, I was the one." Anybodys said. Tumblebrutus stared at her in shock. Macavity nodded. " Come with me."
She followed Macavity into a room and the door shut behind them. Tumblebrutus jumped up. The frist sound was Anybodys' shrieking and cries for mercy. He raced for the door, but Mooch and Strike grabbed him and held him back. Macavity soon exited the room covered with blood, but he didn't have any new wounds. He glared at Tumblebrutus. " If you ever betray me Brutus, what happened to her will happen to you as well!" snarled Macavity.
Tumble nodded in understandment. The two henchcats released him and he rushed into teh room which was now pitch black, he had to wait for his eyes to adjust. " Anybodys....? Anybodys...?" cried Tumblebrutus.
He heard a weak mew. And saw Anybodys. She was cut up terribly and sitting in a puddle of her own blood. He rushed over and began cleaning her wounds. " Why didn't you tell Macavity?" he asked.
" Because you're my friend," she managed to purr. " I'm leaving Brutus." Tumble's ears pricked up. " I'm running away from Macavity. I can't take this torture." Tumblebrutus nodded his head. " Come with me Brutus. We'll go away and have adventures of our own together."
Tumblebrutus smiled. " It's a wonderful thought, but....."
" But?"
" My parents. I'd be going against their last wish," explained Tumblebrutus. Anybodys nodded.
" I understand." she got up. " I'm leaving tonite." She licked him on his cheeck. " Goodbye my friend."
That night Tumblebrutus watched from the rooftop to see his only friend leave, never to be seen again. He let out a deep sigh and waved to her, she waved back, blew him a kiss and dissapeared into the night. Tumblebrutus looked up into the sky. " I could have gone with her and been happy, but I'm staying and I'm going to become what you wished me to become...Yet...I have the feeling you don't want me to become a stray...I have the feeling that you're drawing me towards..." He looked at the junkyard that was in the distance. "...The Jellicles." He pondered for a moment. Then went back inside, curled up and fell asleep.
THE END
