Munkustrap and Mistoffelees’ Big Secret/
Macavity’s Acceptance
By Calamity

Calamity Meow: I was feeling rather odd and playful and mysterious when I wrote this stupid fanfic. Please accept this odd story. If you can picture Munkustrap and Mistoffelees together as mates, and picture Misto as a queen, then you can easily get this. I would like to use the idea of someone (I don’t know their name) that wrote “Confusions and Conclusions” for my fanfic. Please, author, don’t be offended in any way, but if you are, e-mail me and tell me so. I also added a thing about Macavity in this. So please read! E-mail me with your thoughts of my first fanfic! Thanks!

Munkustrap walked merrily down the sidewalk, heading for the magic shop where Mistoffelees was. He hadn’t seen his friend for days, and since he was the magician’s cat, just like Mistoffelees was, he could come and go as he pleased. He expected to see a smile on his friend’s white face and a playful image go flying across the floor, chasing a red foam ball. He came to the magic shop and meowed at the door. The magician looked out the window to see his silver feline. He opened the door and Munkustrap went in. The magician grinned and picked up the large tabby. He scratched behind his ears and Munkustrap purred. He set the cat on the counter, next to a little black and white feline that was playing with, of course, a red foam ball.

Mistoffelees heard the door to the shop open and close. He heard a deep purr and the old man set down a large cat. He looked up from the almost torn into pieces ball and smiled warmly at the tabby. Munkustrap smiled back. The magician went back to work with cleaning up little red balls from the floor. Munkustrap shot a playful look at the little feline, who began to giggle. He jumped down from the counter and up to his basket on the bookshelf. He kneaded the blanket that covered the bottom of the basket with his paws and lay down. He swayed his tail lazily back and forth, making Munkustrap dizzy, causing him to fall. He landed with a ‘thump’ and glared at Mistoffelees, who just smiled. The old man slowly rose to his feet with a groan and put the box full of little red balls on the counter. He shook is head when he saw his gray cat on the floor with a silly grin on his face. The magician sighed then chuckled. “Oh, you silly cat, Gin. Fell of the counter and didn’t even land on your feet. You crazy little cat.”

He glanced up to Mistoffelees’ basket and saw the cat lounging in it. He called his cat down and Mistoffelees obeyed and jumped down from his resting-place. Munkustrap rolled over onto his tummy and watched Mistoffelees slowly come near. He was concerned about him: he had been acting strangely the past few days. He seemed tired a lot and really calm. The magician kneeled and stroked the silky black fur. Mistoffelees meowed and the old man said, “Are ya hungry? It’s dinner time, then.”

He got up and went into the kitchen. Munkustrap turned to the tired tom. He looked at him all over and asked, “Hey, you okay, Misto? You haven’t been to the Junkyard lately, and everyone’s worried. What’s wrong? Why are you so tired lately? Want to talk about it?” He sat down next to the tux cat and put his paw on his sholder. Mistoffelees sighed and responded, “I’ll tell you later. I have secret that I must tell you. But later. I need to think it over on how I’m supposed to tell you.” Munkustrap nodded. It might tell him why he felt a little strange towards Mistoffelees lately.

The old man came in with two cans of food and presented them to the two toms. “So, what is it tonight, guys?”

Munkustrap chose the Fish with Water Chestnuts. To his surprise, Mistoffelees chose the same. The man nodded and went back into the kitchen to open two cans of the Fish with Water Chestnuts. He put one can of it in Mistoffelees’ half of a crystal ball, and Munkustrap’s in a half of a different crystal ball. He put the food before the cats and watched them eat. He stroked Mistoffelees’ back while he ate and talked to them. When they finished, Munkustrap cleaned his paws off and occasionally rubbed his face with one. Mistoffelees finished his meal and the two climbed up onto the man’s lap and purred loudly.

The man smiled and picked both up in his arms. He put Mistoffelees to bed and put Munkustrap to bed also. He said, “Good night Misto, Night Gin,” and turned out the light to go to sleep. Munkustrap crept out of his basket and silently made his way across the floor to Mistoffelees’ basket. He jumped up to him and sat down outside the basket. Mistoffelees sat up and looked at his friend’s emerald eyes that were filled with concern. He made room for Munkustrap to sit and motioned for him to sit next to him. Munkustrap entered the bed for his friend and sat down. Mistoffelees took in a deep breath and began.

“Munku, listen, I know I’ve been acting weird and you’ve noticed it. You seem to be kinda attracted to me for the past few days. You wonder why, right?” Munkustrap nodded. “Well……..” Mistoffelees hesitated. “You promise not to tell anyone, right? Please.” Munkustrap nodded again. “Okay, then. Munkustrap, you’ve been attracted to me because,” he took a deep breath, “I’m a queen in heat.” ‘His’ voice changed from a deep male voice to a female voice.

Munkustrap was shocked. He jerked back and stared at the white face with disbelief. His best friend was a queen??? He couldn’t believe his ears. Mistoffelees was a female. A queen. He looked at Mistoffelees, hard. Now that she told him that she wasn’t really a tom, he could see that Mistoffelees did look somewhat like a queen. Mistoffelees seemed ashamed of herself and turned her head away from her friend’s gaze. She said, “I’m very sorry about this, Munkustrap. But, I just couldn’t bring myself together to tell you. I’m awfully sorry. Really, I am.”

“It’s alright, Mistoffelees. I forgive you completely. I understand how you feel.” He gently turned her head to face him. He smiled sweetly and stroked her cheek. She smiled and purred lightly. Then she stopped and said, “ I have one more thing to say to you.”

“Yes?”

“I love you, Munkustrap. With all my heart. I have for many years, for you are so handsome and cute.”

“You have?”

“Yes. But…” her voice trailed off.

“But what?”

“But you love Demeter. What am I thinking. I’m just a little black magic cat that loves a future leader who already has a mate. A little strange, isn’t it?” She bushed with embarrassment.

“No, not at all,” was the response. “In fact, Mistoffelees, Demeter and I aren’t mates.” Mistoffelees’ eyes grew wide. “We’re just friends. Demeter’s mate is Alonzo. That’s all.” He smiled. Mistoffelees’ eyes danced with joy. He’s single!! YYEEESSS!!! Make your move, Mistofflees! Now’s your chance before another girl gets him! Mistoffelees thought to herself. She nuzzled Munkustrap’s neck and whispered in his ear, “Thank you for listening to me. I appreciate that.”

She pulled away and smiled. Then she nearly fainted at what happened next. Munkustrap put his arms around her and kissed her, right then and there! Mistoffelees thought that she was dreaming. Munkustrap looked into her blue eyes and saw that she really loved him. He got out of the basket and jumped down, very quietly. Then he turned around, winked at the stunned Mistoffelees, and said, “Good night, Mrs. Mistoffelees.”

He trotted across the floor and jumped up to his basket on the counter. He curled into a ball and fell asleep. Mistoffelees stared the sleeping tabby for a long time. She sighed and curled up and spoke out into the darkness of the shop, “Good night, Munkustrap. I love you.”

When Munkustrap awoke the next day, he stretched and looked about the room. He hopped down from his bed and pranced around the room, looking for something to do until Mistoffelees woke up. He found some colorful ribbon on the shelf and pulled on it. He took the end of it in his mouth and pulled with all his might. The ribbon flew off the shelf and Munkustrap went rolling across the floor. He hit a large bin and upset the rubber mice that were stacked high in it. The mice came down in a shower of black and gray. Munkustrap dodged and moved out of the way for them. Then he saw the mess he made, and tried to clean it up. He began to take a rubber mouse or two in his mouth and carry it back to the shelf. He would jump up on it and drop the mice back into the bin. He did that until all the mice were back where they were supposed to be. His attention was drawn to a stirring female on a bookshelf. He trotted over to her and sat at the foot of the shelf. He meowed at her to wake up and come down. Mistoffelees slowly woke up and stretched. She glanced around and heard meowing. She called out, “Who goes there?”

“It is I, Sir Munkustrap, fair princess.” Munkustrap called back up, sounding important.

Mistoffelees giggled and continued on with the game. “Oh! Sir Munkustrap, what a pleasure to hear thy voice. What brings you here, sire?”

“Princess Mistoffelees, I have come to take you to breakfast, my dear. Come, we shall eat together, if you please, milady.”

“I will join you, Sir Munkustrap in but a minute. I shall be right down.”

“I will be awaiting your presence, Princess Mistoffelees.”

“Here I come!”

Mistoffelees jumped off the shelf and into Munkustrap’s strong arms. She threw her arms around his neck and purred loudly. Then she looked up at his face and said, “I am here, my lord. Like I said I would.”

“I did not doubt you, princess. I knew you would keep your word.” He smiled. “Let us be off!” He took off to the counter with Mistoffelees in his arms. There, he set her down and they leaped up to the top. The old magician opened his bedroom door and saw the two sitting there, giving him the ‘feed me’ look. He laughed and said, “Okay, okay, I’ll feed you hungry kitties. So, what is it today, kits? Chicken, or Turkey?”

Mistoffelees and Munkustrap looked at each other. Mistoffelees batted at the Chicken and Munkustrap batted at the Turkey. The magician nodded and went into the kitchen saying, “One Chicken in Gravy and one Turkey in Gravy comin’ right up!” Mistoffelees rolled onto her back and batted at Munkustrap’s silver ring on his collar. Munkustrap let her play with it while he looked down at her innocent white face. The magician returned to the counter with the crystal ball halves filled with food. He set them down before the two and went to get something to eat himself. Munkustrap waited for Mistoffelees to begin eating before he did. Mistoffelees gave him an odd look and asked him why he didn’t start eating. The reply was, “Ladies first.”

Mistoffelees giggled and playfully batted his ears, than began to eat. Munkustrap joined her and they ate in silence. The magician came back into the room and put his plate of scrambled eggs and an English muffin on the counter. He pulled up a chair and ate with the felines. He had no idea that his Misto was a female, but he would find out soon. He gave each cat a little bit of his muffin in their food bowl and smiled as they ate it up. The two Jellicles finished and they went over and nuzzled the man’s arm and purred their thanks. The magician petted them and told them to run off and do something, but not to get into trouble. Mistoffelees licked the old man’s hand and trotted off to the red foam balls awaiting her. Munkustrap followed her and rolled his eyes as she started to play with one. She laughed as the ball flew out of her paws and hit Munkustrap’s nose and bounced away. Munkustrap sneezed. Mistoffelees playfully tugged on his collar and urged him to play with her. She scampered away with a gray tabby at her heels. She launched at the little foam ball and batted it to her gray friend. Munkustrap attacked it and set it soaring over to the black and white queen. She caught it in her mouth and raced away. Munkustrap shot after her, trying to catch the magical queen.

Mistoffelees tripped and fell head over heels. She rolled across the floor and crashed into the wall. Munkustrap went to her side and licked her face. Mistoffelees groaned and muttered, “That was humiliating.” Munkustrap helped her up and they went back to the counter to rest. The magical cat purred as her friend licked her head, straightening her fur. She shyly smiled at him and he nuzzled her. The old magician saw them nuzzling and laughed. “Now, why are you two rubbing each other like that? You would think that you guys are mates!”

Munkustrap blushed a little. Mistoffelees turned her head away. She watched her owner open the shop by turning the sign that said ‘Closed’ to ‘We’re Open! Come On In!’ She and her friend jumped up to the window and waited for a customer. Munkustrap looked at the queen out of the corner of his eye. She looked beautiful in the sunlight; her jet-black fur glistening, her eyes shining, and her figure made her look like a real queen. She took his breath away. The door swung open, causing the little bell to ring. A mother and her two children entered the shop and began looking around. Munkustrap snapped out of his trance and watched the little monsters race around the shop. The little girl caught sight of the male and female and pointed at them. The magician told her, “ Those are my two cats. The black and white one is Misto, and the tabby is Gin.”

“Ohhhh, I wanna pet the kitties!”

“Go right ahead, little girl. They won’t bite.”

The little beast made her way to the window and petted the cats. She smiled and said, “Good kitties.”

Mistoffelees meowed and purred, and Munkustrap did the same. The girl squealed in approval and turned her attention to her brother that was holding a top hat and a crystal ball. The mother followed her children around the shop, telling them not to touch this and that. Finally, they proceeded to the counter and placed a magic kit and a wand. The two children played with the cats while their mother paid for the items. The Jellicles ate the attention up. They were having a great time until the mother called her kids over to her to leave. The two whined, but got up, not without scratching the cats first, and stood beside their mother. They thanked the magician and waved good bye to them and departed from the shop.

Mistoffelees rolled onto her back and batted wildly at the dust she saw in the air. She sat up and grinned at Munkustrap. He cocked his head in confusion. She breathed, “That was fun! Can’t wait for another customer! Wow!”

“I’m glad you enjoyed that. It really was.”

“Yeah, seriously,” Mistoffelees continued on, “and the little girl was so in love with you! She kept playing with your ears and kept petting you! You should have seen the look on your face when she hugged you, Munku! Ha ha! Ohhh, that was great. Whew!” She managed to control herself and settle down. Munkustrap grinned sheepishly and giggled. He and his female friend played all day in the shop, not thinking once about the Junkyard. At the end of the day, the two snuggled close together and rested. They were exhausted from running around all day. They had already eaten and the lights were turned out. Mistoffelees snuggled closer to the strong body and buried her head in his chest fur. She smiled contently as Munkustrap purred softly in her ear.

Munkustrap had found out that Mistoffelees was female only the day before, and had begun to love her the same way she loved him. He decided that he would tell her tonight that he loved her. He wrapped his arms around Mistoffelees and whispered in her ear, “I have something to tell you, Misto.”

Mistoffelees looked at his face and answered, “Yes? What is it, Munk?”

Munkustrap looked into her sapphire blue eyes and said, “I love you.”

Mistoffelees was in complete shock. Her mind raced around and she felt like she was dreaming. “Really? You love me?”

“Yes, Mistoffelees. With all my heart. Care to be my mate?”

Mistoffelees’ heart skipped a beat. She squealed with joy and shouted, “Yes! Yes, I will! My gosh, I’ll never forget this day as long as I live! I love you, Munkustrap.”

“I love you to, Mistoffelees.”

The happy couple kissed and rejoiced in their own way. They slept together all night, with little smiles on their furry little faces.

One week later, Mistoffelees bounded up to her mate with a huge smile on her face. Munkustrap knew that it must be something really good, for his mate practically ran to him with good news. She almost knocked Munkustrap over, but was able to skid to a stop. They were nose to nose and Munkustrap gave her an look that said, ‘How much catnip did you eat last night?’

Mistoffelees licked the black nose in front of her and breathed, “I have some important news to tell you, Munkustrap!”

“Well?”

“I’m gonna have kittens! I’ll be a mother! You’re gonna be a father! Isn’t that great?”

Munkustrap’s eyes bulged out. He couldn’t believe his ears. “Kit…. Kit….….. kittens?!” Munkustrap stuttered. Mistoffelees nodded. “You, Mistoffelees, you’re gonna have kittens?”

“Yes, Munku!”

“Good Heavyside. I’ll be a father.”

“Yes, Munk!”

Munkustrap fainted. Mistoffelees rolled her eyes and muttered, “Toms. Why are they like this?” She began to lick his face to awaken him.

Two hours later…….

Munkustrap woke up at the sound of his mate’s voice calling his name. He looked around with a blank look on his face, wondering what happened. Then he remembered about Mistoffelees and sat up instantly. He saw his mate’s soft, worried face and gently stroked her cheek with his paw, indicating that she needn’t worry and that he was all right. Mistoffelees smiled and took hold of her mate’s black paw. She rubbed it against her face lovingly. Munkustrap leaned over and kissed her, rubbing her back and then his mate laid her head on his sholder. She sighed and asked, “Are you all right, love? You worried me when you fainted and you didn’t wake up.”

“I’m fine, dear. I was just thrilled and happy to learn that you are with kittens. I’m sorry I worried you.”

“It’s all right. I’m happy that you’re happy. I’m so excited! Kittens, finally!” She pulled away and looked at him with a soft smile. “The Keeper of Kittens is going to have kittens! What do you think about that, Mr. Second in Command?” She gave him mischievous grin.

Munkustrap giggled. “I think it’s funny. What do you think, Magical Mrs. Mistoffelees?”

Mistoffelees giggled and answered, “I think I need to talk to Tugger about a new theme song titled, ‘Magical Mrs. Mistoffelees’!” The duo rolled on the floor with laughter. As soon as they were beginning to calm down, they looked at each other with goofy grins and went into another fit of laughter. Munkustrap rolled onto his stomach and wiped a few tears from his emerald eyes and giggled out the few last laughs. Mistoffelees ended on her back, breathing heavily and giggling a bit. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She rolled onto her tummy and gazed at her handsome mate. She felt extremely lucky to be his love. The cats snuggled up close together and had a little conversation. When the Junkyard was mentioned, both of them seemed worried. Mistoffelees gave an uneasy whimper and Munkustrap comforted her. She whispered to him, “What will we tell the Jellicles? They’re probably wondering why we haven’t been there for a long time. Do you think they thought we left the tribe?”

“No, they don’t. I was there this morning talking to Tugger about the Jellicle Ball last year. When they asked about you, I had to lie.”

“What did you tell them?”

“I told them that you were sick and was going to stay at the shop for awhile. Just to play it safe, Mistoffelees, we should go back next week.”

“Why?”

“Because Tugger and Macavity didn’t seem to believe me.”

“Ouch.”

“Next week, we’ll return so no one will be suspicious.”

“Okay.”

Before the week was out, Mistoffelees’ stomach holding the kittens grew some and it made her look like she was eating waaayyy too much for a cat her size. But they had to return to the Junkyard, whether they liked it or not. The day arrived when they were to appear back with their fellow Jellicles. Mistoffelees’ stomach was a little bigger, making her look like she gained weight and got a little pudgy. She groaned as her owner let the couple out, not wanting to go anywhere. Munkustrap helped her along the way. At the entrance to the Jellicle Junkyard, she glanced up at her mate and asked weakly, “Do we really have to do this? I feel fat and embarrassed.”

Munkustrap looked down at her sadly. He knew how she felt. He nodded and Mistoffelees spoke to him once again in her female voice one last time before entering. “Okay, let’s get this over with so we could go back home. I’m cold.”

It was October and the outside was cold. Munkustrap held his pregnant mate close to his body as they walked into the Junkyard. As they appeared, Mistoffelees stood straight and put on a shy and innocent face. A ginger cat announced them when he called, “Munkustrap and Mistoffelees has entered the Jellicle Junkyard!”

Munkustrap smiled up at Macavity, who was lying on his side outside of his lair. Macavity grinned mischievously down at them and noticed right away that something was wrong with the black and white magic cat. He shot the two a worried look and mouthed, ‘What’s wrong with him?’

Munkustrap looked at his mate, who nodded, then mouthed back, ‘We’ll tell you later.’ Mistoffelees saw Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer heading their way with big smiles on their faces. She waved hi to them as they approached. Rumpleteazer happily hugged her friend and didn’t even take notice of Mistoffelees’ big stomach. She said, “’Ello, Mistoffelees! We’ve missed you a lot! It’s been a lil lonely around ‘ere since you’ve been gone.” Mistoffelees smiled shyly and said in her now deep male voice, “I’ve missed you guys too. Really, I have.”

Mungojerrie nodded and all her Jellicle friends greeted Mistoffelees. Tugger suspected that they were hiding something when he went to greet his little feline friend. ‘He’ seemed big and was shyer than usual. When the cats departed, he pulled his brother aside and asked him about Mistoffelees. Munkustrap only looked for a sign on his mate’s face to tell him, but she pointed up at Macavity. Munkustrap understood and he, Tugger, and Mistoffelees went up to Macavity’s lair. The toms had to help the queen up all the way, for she couldn’t do it herself. At the top, Mistoffelees thanked the two toms for helping her and the three of them went to their ginger friend.

Macavity knew that they were up there and silently went back into his lair unnoticed by the Jellicles. He offered them a seat and tea, which they accepted. Mistoffelees held the cup tightly in her paws and stared down at the liquid inside. Munkustrap put an arm around her shoulders and rubbed her arm. Tugger set his tea down and asked, “So, tell us about your little secret you two are keeping from us.”

“We promise that we won’t tell anyone,” added Macavity. Mistoffelees looked up from her drink and smiled weakly. She knew that they were good and trustworthy friends and would keep their word on not telling a single soul. Munkustrap felt her give him a sign to tell him that she was ready to tell and put down his cup. He began. “I guess we’ll start from the beginning, if you don’t mind.”

Tugger and Macavity shook their heads. “I like long stories.”

“Ditto.”

“Okay. When I got back from the Junkyard three weeks ago, Mistoffelees was acting strangely. Misto was tired and calm a lot and it worried me. Also, I had been strangely attracted to Misto for awhile. That night, Misto called me over to talk. There, I learned that…..”

“I told him I was a queen and not a tom,” Mistoffelees finished, using her real female voice. Tugger stared at her in shock. Macavity gave Munkustrap a look to see if it was true. To his surprise, Munkustrap nodded. Macavity was struck dumb. There was a silence in the lair until Macavity himself broke it. “A queen. Mistoffelees is a queen. Wow.”

Tugger snapped out of his trance. “Is that all?” Mistoffelees shook her head. “No, it isn’t. You probably noticed I’ve gained weight, right? Well….”

“Don’t tell me that you and Munkustrap are mates and you are with kittens. Or, am I right?” Tugger gave them a pleading look. Munkustrap merely nodded. Mistoffelees gave a short nod. Macavity and Tugger looked at each other in surprise. Tugger felt dizzy and fell over backwards, fainting. Mistoffelees sighed and mumbled, “Sorry.”

Macavity splashed water on Tugger’s face, causing him to awaken immediately. He turned a sight shade of red in embarrassment. Macavity scolded the couple. “Why is she out here in this weather in her condition? She could get sick, which will effect the kittens. It isn’t safe for her or you! You two should really go home!”

“I want to. I’m hungry, cold, and I want to sleep. I wanna go home, Munku. Please.” Mistoffelees gave her love pleading eyes. Macavity’s face softened. Softly, he said, “Take her home, Munkustrap. She needs to rest. It’s not good to keep her out here. She looks like she needs some food and warmth. Here,” he said, giving them his warm quilt that he kept, “use this to keep warm. You’ll need it.” He and Munkustrap wrapped the quilt around the cold queen’s body. She snuggled deep into it and thanked her ginger friend. Then she thought about him in this weather, and offered to give it back to him, but he refused. She felt sorry for him, for she felt that she was taking his quilt he used to keep warm, and felt a little wrong. Macavity knew how she felt, and said, “Really, you keep it. It’s a gift. It’s yours.”

Mistoffelees gave him a little smile. “Really, Macavity? You mean it?”

“Of course! Besides, I don’t get too cold with all this fur and there’s a whole bunch of places in here that are warm. I’ll be fine.” Macavity smiled. “Go home.” Munkustrap smiled and thanked his brother and his friend for everything, just as Mistoffelees did. Tugger congratulated his older bother and his mate before Macavity transported them home. He sighed and asked, “Ya think that they’ll be all right?”

“Of course they will. They’re both strong cats. They’ll be fine, I reassure you.”

“I hope so. Munkustrap seemed really nervous about it all.”

“I know. That’s how you’ll be when you hear about Bombal….” Macavity clapped his paw over his moth and made a mental note to kill himself. Tugger turned to him and demanded to know what Macavity meant. Macavity shook his head and tried to escape Tugger’s grip. Bombalurina’s gonna kill me. Oh, well.

He smiled his evil smile and giggled uncontrollably as Tugger tried to get him to talk.

A few days later, Mistoffelees grew larger and stayed in her warm basket with Macavity’ s quilt over her small body. She was well cared for now that the magician found out about the kittens. Munkustrap stayed at her side at every waking minute. She ate a lot now, and Munkustrap would bring her a little snack if she got hungry during the night or between meals. The magician kept Mistoffelees on the counter at night, and during the day, he put her in his room. She needed a lot of rest and no disturbance.

Three months later……

It was in the middle of the night, and Munkustrap and Mistoffelees were sleeping on the counter, huddled close together in the basket. It was Christmas Day, and snow was falling outside. Mistoffelees awoke to a sudden kick in her stomach. She ignored it, until it happened again. She felt a push, and knew right away that the kittens were coming. She woke Munkustrap up and he yawned and looked at his mate’s white face. He asked what was wrong. Mistoffelees took her mate’s paw and put it to her tummy, and the kittens kicked again. Then the kittens moved around, telling them that it was time. If Munkustrap were human, he would have gone pale. Mistoffelees groaned and Munkustrap panicked. He had no idea how to deliver kittens, but he had to. Mistoffelees couldn’t help it. She began to push. Munkustrap felt dizzy and faint, but tried to focus. Mistoffelees was pushing to get the first out, and she whimpered in pain. She gasped and gave it all she had, and holding her nervous mate’s paw, she pushed harder. Munkustrap held his mate’s paw tightly and whispered to her, “Come on Mistoffelees. Push, you can do it. Push.” Mistoffelees did as her mate instructed; she pushed. She could feel the kitten come, so she decided to let it be born, now. With one last burst of strength, the first kitten was born. Munkustrap nearly fainted with joy. He had seen his first daughter born, right before his very eyes. Mistoffelees cleaned her daughter off, crying in delight as she did so. Soon, another was born. Then another. And another. By morning, the basket was full of kittens eating and sucking their mother’s milk. Munkustrap sat proudly at his mate’s side looking at his kittens. He counted all of them and almost fell backwards when he finished. He had counted a litter of 11 kittens! He danced around the counter with pride and joy. Well, until he fell off.

Mistoffelees giggled. She sighed and fell asleep, being very tired from boring 11 kittens. The magician walked into the room to hear little mews coming from the basket on the counter. He noticed Munkustrap on the floor and picked him up. He saw the kittens and muttered, “Well, I be damned. A whole litter.” Munkustrap jumped onto the counter and licked his tired mate’s face. She awoke and smiled weakly at the proud father. When the magician left them to let the new parents rest, Mistoffelees sat up and asked, “Now, what will we name them?”

“There’s and odd number of kittens.”

“All right then. I take the girls, and you take the boys. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Mistoffelees ended up having to name 5 girls and Munkustrap name 6 boys. The girls were easy. Sort of. There was one that looked just like her father, and Mistoffelees named her Munkleana. Munkustrap was pleased. The other females were named Zipporah, Loraisvia, Sausratsica, and Angel. The father found them beautiful names for a female, and smiled approvingly at the mother.

Now it was his turn to name his sons. One was a spitting image of the mother, and he named it Mephistolees. One was a mix between the two parents. It had pointy black ears, a white face, but stripes came down onto it like Munkustrap’s did. He had a black tale with a white tip and a striped body. Only, instead of the body being gray with black stripes like his father, it had a white body and black stripes. He had black paws and one white leg, one black. He named this one Mistostrap, and Mistoffelees found that name very cute. The others were Lazer, Genesis, and with his wife’s permission, he named the last two after Rum Tum Tugger and Macavity. They were RTTagger and Complexity. Mistoffelees giggled and Munkustrap held one of his kittens. He cried tears of joy and nuzzled the kittens lovingly.

Back at the Junkyard……

Macavity and Tugger sat together in Macavity’s lair, not speaking a word. They sipped hot chocolate and thought about the kittens that were supposed to arrive today. It was Christmas morning, and snow was falling. The two toms had gotten every single Jellicle something and had put it under the tree in the Junkyard. Tugger was very nervous about becoming an uncle. Yet, he smiled at the thought of little kittens calling him ‘Uncle Tugger’ or ‘ Uncle Tug.’ He watched the snow fall and land on the outside of the lair and then looked over at his companion. Macavity sat straight and stared off into space. Thinking that he was deep in thought, he decided to stay quiet. He was desperate to know about the kittens. He was determined to know if everything went well. He looked far off into the snow, wishing he could go see the newborns.

Macavity was about to get up and go wander outside, but thought better of it. He stayed put and waited with Tugger for any news. He knew that Tugger was nervous about this, and was a little himself. He pulled his long hair back and released it. He heard feet slush in the snow and perked his ears up. Tugger heard it too, and both of them silently went outside to see what it was. Tugger could make out a black figure and another dark one. Pointy ears. Long black tail. Black tail with a tip of white at the end of it. Mistoffelees and Munkustrap were here! Tugger gave a little jump and the toms raced to get the couple into warmth and safety. They made it to the lair and Mistoffelees happily set down the bundle she held. Munkustrap put the other down and 11 kittens emerged from blankets and sheets. Tears came to Tugger’s eyes when he saw the little balls of fur. He looked at each and every one of them, noticing the resemblance of their parents.

Munkustrap picked up a certain kitten and placed it in Tugger’s arms. Munkustrap smiled and said, “Tugger, this is RTTagger, one of your nephews.” Tugger gazed at his older brother in admiration. He looked down at the little kitten and it did sort of look like him. Macavity giggled at the two. He thought it was too cute to see the Rum Tum Tugger holding a kitten. He was surprised when Mistoffelees placed a kitten in his arms and told him, “Macavity, this is one of your nephews, Complexity.” Macavity was honored. He let a silent tear run down his face and fall into his fur. He and Tugger were overjoyed to have their nephews named after them. He smiled and managed to say, “Thank you. This is an honor.”

“Yes. It really is,” Tugger whispered. He began to cry silently as he stared at his older brother. He sniffed and gave the kitten back to his parents. Munkustrap seemed confused and asked, “Tugger, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” came the reply. “I’m just happy for you and your mate. I’m also proud to be called your brother. That’s all.” (I know it’s a little mushy, but come on. This is Tugger. I made him a softy. And maybe he is. We’ll never know…) Munkustrap was touched. He couldn’t help but to hug his dear brother in happiness. He always thought that the Maine Coon hated him, but now he knew he didn’t. Macavity smiled at the cute sight as he handed the kitten back to its mother. Mistoffelees wrapped her kittens in the blanket she brought them in to keep them warm. She held them tightly to her breast, and nuzzled the furry little balls. Macavity quietly asked her, “How many?”

“Eleven kittens. Five girls and six boys.”

“Wow. That’s a biiggg litter. Jeez, child.”

“A lot, I know. I can’t wait to see their faces! The Jellicles, of course. Hehe. Ohhh, they’ll be soo surprised!”

“This will be interesting to see….”

Mistoffelees nodded. “Maybe, just maybe, Deuteronomy will let you come down. I know you wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

Macavity sighed. “I know you know, but the others still don’t trust me just yet.” Then he smiled at the magic queen. “Wait till the tribe gets a load of this!”

Mistoffelees laughed. “You’re not bad, Macavity. Now, Munku and I need to go and surprise a tribe. You could watch us, of course.” She got up and stood by her Munkustrap’s side. He smiled down at her and asked, “Ready?”

“Of course. This is gonna be great!” Mistoffelees smiled widely and the two mates and Tugger proudly went downstairs. Macavity took his usual spot outside the lair to watch. He giggled as he imagined the looks on the Jellicles’ faces when they saw. The Jellicles were waking up and they stretched and looked about. Etcetera rushed out with Victoria, Electra, and Jemima at her heels. They began playing in the snow; throwing snowballs and laughing gaily. A snowball grazed Tugger’s cheek, and he called, “Watch out, guys!”

The kittens saw Munkustrap, Mistoffelees, and Tugger and shouted, “THEY’RE HERE! MUNKU AND MISTO AND TUGGER ARE HERE!” Munkustrap rolled his eyes, Tugger held his head, and Mistoffelees giggled. Skimbleshanks and Jellyorum sauntered out of their home. They yawned and went to greet the three. But as soon as they reached them, they gasped. Jellyorum slowly neared her future leader and the little cat. She looked first at Munkustrap, then at Mistoffelees, to Tugger, then back. Unable to use words, she pointed at the bundles they were holding. Skimbleshanks moved closer to see what it was. Mistoffelees smiled and used her real voice when she said, “Congratulations, you two are grandparents.”

Skimbleshanks couldn’t believe his ears. At first, he thought that they were joking, but when they showed them the kittens, he saw it was true. Jellyorum inspected the kittens at once. She found that they were purrfectly healthy and had to hug one. She cradled the small newborn in her arms, cooing and petting it. She looked up at the parents and asked, “Are they yours?”

“Yes,” Mistoffelees answered. “I have a little confession to make. By the way, the one you’re holding is Zipporah, our daughter.”

“Daughter?” Jellyorum repeated. “Please tell me what in the world is going on here.”

“In a minute, Jelly.” Munkustrap took his mate and they both went to the magic tire where Old Deuteronomy sat. They spoke low to him, then turned to the confused Jellicles that had grouped at the bottom of the tire. Munkustrap faced them all, and Mistoffelees stood by his side. He announced, “We have a confession to make. I know we’ve been gone a lot, that’s because Mistoffelees was with kittens.”

Chatter rose among the tribe, and then it was silenced with a wave of Deuteronomy’s paw. He gestured for his son to continue, so he did. “Mistoffelees is actually female, and has played a male since she got here. So, now you all know why we’ve been missing from the Junkyard for awhile.” Rumpleteazer piped up.

“O’s the father? It’s you, isn’t it?” Munkustrap nodded. “Ow many?”

“Eleven. Eleven total.”

Rumpleteazer gaped at them. “Whoa.”

“I wanna see them!” Jemima whined. “I wanna see the kittens!”

“What are their names,” asked Jennyanydots. Mistoffelees stepped down and walked to Jenny. She showed her the girls, telling her the names. Munkustrap said the boys’ names, and Jenny asked to hold one. Mistoffelees gave her Loraisvia to hold. A celebration was held that day, along with Christmas, of course. Macavity stayed up in his lair watching the festivities. He swished his tail lazily back and forth, wishing he could go down.

When it was time to open gifts, Etcetera reached under the tree and pulled out a gift. She saw that it was hers and wondered from whom it came from. The tag said, ‘From your visitor upstairs.’ Confused, she took it to Jennyanydots to solve it for her. Jenny didn’t know herself, and the riddle was spread throughout the Jellicles like a disease. Macavity chuckled as he watched the Jellicles grow confused and determined to find out who this was. The tag was taken to Old Deuteronomy to figure out. He knew who this ‘upstairs visitor’ was, and smiled. He returned the present back to Etcetera, but not without giving her a clue to help. He whispered to her, “Think back to the Jellicle Ball when Grizabella was sent to the Heavyside Layer. Who kept terrorizing and bothering us?”

Etcetera thought for a moment. “Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer??” Deuteronomy shook his head. “No, my child. Go ask Munkustrap.” Etcetera was more confused than ever. But she did as she was told and took her matter to Munkustrap. She tapped his arm, waved hi to Mistoffelees, and said, “Old Deuteronomy sent me to ask you if you knew who this is.” She showed both cats the tag. Mistoffelees smiled and laughed. Munkustrap nodded and asked her, “Who fought me the Jellicle Ball when Grizabella came back?”

“Macavity, but….” Munkustrap gave her a nod. Etcetera gasped, “Macavity gave this to me?!” This time Mistoffelees nodded. Etcetera was stunned. So Macavity was a nice guy. She thanked the couple and bounded away to open her present. She sat next to the pipe and opened it. She gasped in surprise at what she saw. It was a sketchpad, with colored pencils, charcoal and an eraser, like she wanted! Even a book was included to teach her how to draw certain things. She squealed, for, Macavity had placed a candy cane and a chocolate with the gift. She got up to show everyone her present that Macavity had given her. Tugger sneaked upstairs to the lair with his nephew and sat down next to the ginger feline. He put Complexity in Macavity’s arms and watched Etcetera race around, showing off her present. Macavity cradled the little body and asked without moving his head, “She looks like I’m chasing her, the way she’s running around like that. How much catnip did you guys give the poor dear?”

Tugger chuckled. “We didn’t give her any catnip. She’s showing off the present you gave her. She solved your riddle, with Munkustrap’s help, that little cheater.” He sighed. Macavity let the little newborn snuggle deep into his soft fur and sleep. He whispered, “Tugger, ya think that these kittens will ever hear their parents’ songs and history?”

“I’ll teach them ‘Mr. Mistoffelees.’ But, now I have to rewrite Misto’s song cause she’s a girl. Good Heavyside, these kittens are too cute!” Tugger hugged his nephew. The kitten mewed and buried his head in his uncle’s mane. He said good bye to his good friend for now and went downstairs. He returned his nephew to his parents and began to walk away when Bombalurina, his permanent mate, confronted him. She smiled coyly at him and took him aside. Tugger was cornered now, confused and shocked. Bombalurina whispered, “We can have practice with these kittens, because, my dear Tugger…” she backed away and rubbed her belly, “I’m expecting.”

Tugger almost fainted. He slowly neared her and wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her close and whispered, “I love you, Bombalurina.”

“I love you too, Tugger.”

Mistoffelees was asleep in Munkustrap’s lap; her kittens close to her body. Munkustrap smiled as his brother came near him with his red queen at his side. He nodded when the two mouthed their little announcement, and quietly congratulated the couple. He watched them go and tell his father, Old Deuteronomy. Then he glanced up at Macavity. The ginger tom was singing to himself and looking at the cat-angel that sat on the top of the Christmas tree that stood in the Junkyard. To Munkustrap’s surprise, Macavity had a beautiful voice. It sounded like an angel. A male angel. Mistoffelees awoke to the singing. She turned her head to where it was coming from and smiled. She nudged her mate and he called up to the tom.

“Macavity!”

Macavity stopped abruptly and looked down. “Yes?”

“We love the song. What is it?”

“Oh. My mother used to sing it to me before I went to bed. It doesn’t really have a title.”

“Your voice is beautiful, Macavity,” Mistoffelees commented. “At first, I thought a male angel was singing to me!”

“Thank you,” returned Macavity, blushing a little.

“Tell me,” Mistoffelees continued, “who was your mother?”

Macavity hesitated. “Her name was Aratella. My father was Xibrothey.”

“Oh. Any siblings? Wait… we’ll come up. All twelve of us.”

Macavity rushed down to help. But only as far as he was allowed to go. He helped the family all the way up and served them tea or hot chocolate. Mistoffelees was so grateful to have Macavity as a friend. She cuddled near her kittens and her mate and sipped her hot chocolate. It was very tasty and made her feel warm inside. She smiled and asked her question again. “Do you have any siblings?”

“Three brothers, two sisters,” came the answer. “My father, being evil, killed my sisters after their eyes opened. The oldest, Febtcserty, ran away from the family after father killed our mother. I heard that he was found dead in the streets a week later. Next was Perongheihkibns, who took after father and eventually became second in command. The last was Yengilkis, who died of pneumonia after his first birthday. But before, mother always sang us to sleep at night. I believe that she was a Jellicle and so was father. I became evil from depression and mental illness. I ran away as soon as I could and the rest you two know.”

Mistoffelees nodded. She now understood why he was so bad before, and wanted to help him. “Did your father ever beat you?”

“Frequently. Whenever he felt like it, or we disobeyed or displeased him, he would beat us. Sometimes for hours. The worst was when he would whip us with his whip or he would beat us up until we passed out.”

“So your evilness was caused from being abused and mental illness? Now I understand. Macavity, maybe we can help.”

“I would be most grateful.”

“Have you ever considered suicide?”

“Many times. Almost did, once. But I thought I heard mother tell me not to. Then came all the voices in my head, blah blah blah.”

Mistoffelees giggled. Munkustrap was concerned. “Are you still ill?”

“Yes. Still. I’m as crazy as the Mad Hatter. But I won’t hurt any Jellicles. Anyway, enough about me. How are you two commin’ along?”

“Just fine.”

“Good.” Macavity smiled. He put his tea down and pulled out a top hat. Mistoffelees giggled and shook her head. Macavity remarked, “You know Mistoffelees, you’re not the only one that can produce things out of a hat.” He waved his paw over it and reached inside. He pulled out two large, sparkling presents. He gave Mistoffelees one, Munkustrap the other. Then he told them that there was more under the tree. Mistoffelees gasped. She held the gift in her paws, admiring the wrapping. She opened the box to find something very special. Inside was a beautiful music globe. In the globe was a little black and white cat, who looked just like her! In fact, it was her! Since it was a snow globe, when she turned it upside down and upright again, sparkles flew around. The stand had magic tools circling the glass ball. There were crystal balls, ribbons, top hats, doves, and others cleverly paw-painted on there. Then, engraved in 24kt. Gold were the words ‘The Magical Mrs. Mistoffelees.’ She turned it upside down and turned the key to make it play. The globe played ‘Mr. Mistoffelees’ so nicely that it made Mistoffelees sigh. She looked up at Macavity with a big smile on her white face. “Thank you so much, Macavity. It’s beautiful. I love it.”

Macavity seemed pleased with her reaction. Mistoffelees laughed when the figure disappeared and reappeared, shiny with real small diamonds in the fur and it holding a magic wand. The figure slowly rotated around in a circle throughout the song, then disappeared, then reappeared again as it was before. Mistoffelees found this very clever. She nudged her mate to open his gift. Munkustrap opened the box, and found a musical globe inside. Instead, there was a small silver tabby inside the glass ball in the position that Munkustrap stands in for ‘The Pekes and the Pollicles.’ It looked exactly like Munkustrap, only much smaller. On the outside were the Jellicles painted on dressed for the story. It was a purrfect gift. Munkustrap turned the key and let it play ‘The Pekes and the Pollicles.’ His little figure disappeared and reappeared with the Great Rumpus Cat next to him. They rotated like Mistoffelees’ did and when it finished, they disappeared, then a single Munkustrap was standing in the globe. Munkustrap was impressed and pleased with the gift and thanked his ginger friend. Macavity smiled. He put the top hat away and warmed his paws on the cup.

Macavity softly hummed the tune of the song his mother used to sing and looked out at the angel on the tree. Mistoffelees and Munkustrap carefully put the music globes back into their boxes. They wanted to help Macavity with his mental illness. But first, they had to give him a very special gift that he will be grateful for until his death. The family quietly slipped away, unnoticed by the tom.

The couple went to Old Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy greeted the two warmly. He asked them to sit and then Mistoffelees asked the question. “Old Deuteronomy, do you think we should let Macavity come down? Just for today, then see how he is, and hopefully let him down forever. Please? He is a very nice cat, and has no intention to hurt us. Please.” The old Jellicle leader thought for a moment. He stared into his son’s pleading eyes. He finally decided to let Macavity down for that day. Mistoffelees squealed and nuzzled the leader in thanks. Munkustrap hugged his father and then they raced off to tell Tugger the news. When they told him, Tugger quickly joined them to go up to the lair to bring the feline down. All this time, Macavity watched them with much confusion. The two toms and the queen appeared in the lair and nearly scared Macavity out of his fur. Tugger gripped Macavity’s shoulders and grinned widely at him. “Guess what?”

“I’m a horrible guesser. What?”

“Old Deuteronomy is gonna let you come down! You’re a Jellicle, right? So you get to come down and party with us! Isn’t that great?”

Macavity was stunned. He was silent for a moment, then spoke. “Did you drug Deuteronomy to make him let me come down? Remember, Tugger. I’m the bad guy. I’m the one that causes Demeter to pull her fur out, Bombalurina to wail, Mungojerrie to overprotect Rumpelteazer, the kittens go nuts…”

“Well, I got Bomby to trust you. Anyway, we’ll keep close together. Deuteronomy said that if you come down, we have to stick to you. So lets go!”

“But I…”

“C’mon!”

Before Macavity could protest, Tugger led him down to the Junkyard floor. No one else knew that Macavity was to be down from his lair. Demeter jerked her head up and hissed, “Macavity.” Cassandra gasped. Victoria ran to Jellyorum and hid behind her. The cats all wondered why Demeter was acting so strangely. They all knew that Macavity wasn’t allowed down, and Demeter only hissed his named when he was near. They all heard a voice call, “Demeter! Stop that!” Tugger emerged from the shadows. Behind him was a protesting Macavity. Demeter hid behind her older sister and hissed. Tugger pushed Macavity twords the two sisters. “Remember him?” Bombalurina stood face to face, nose to nose with the Hidden Paw. She hissed at him and protected her sister. Macavity imitated Rumpelteazer and put on his Cockney accent. “Aaaaoooooowww! Wot was that for? I didn’t do nothin’! I’m a good cat I am! I washed my face and paws before I come, I did.”

“Thank you Eliza Doolittle,” laughed Munkustrap.

“Garn!”

“Oy vay.” Bombalurina slowly pulled Demeter out from behind her. She set her in front of Macavity and stepped back to see what would happen. Demeter wailed and curled into a ball. Macavity kneeled down and rubbed her back. “You poor child. What in the Everlasting Cat’s name have I done to you?”

“You abucted me,” came Demeter’s muffled voice. “You took me away and threatened to kill me! You nearly murdered Munkustrap!”

“Oh, well.” Macavity sat down and mumbled, “I guess I did.” He looked at the trembling queen and remembered Febtcserty like that, trembling while father beat him. He muttered, “Sorry, Demeter.” Demeter uncurled at the apology and sat up. She stared at him in wonder. Did he just apologize?! She cautiously crept to him. Macavity stood up and announced, “Sorry! Sorry for terrorizing all of you all these years! I didn’t mean to. I’m a good cat I am!”

Macavity was about to retreat to his lair when Alonzo said, “I accept the apology. It’s Christmas, right? Isn’t it a time to make peace among cats? Forgive one another for evil deeds?” Mungojerrie stood up next to Alonzo. “’E’s rioght. You ‘ave to admit, Macavity isn’t all that bad. Although ‘e ‘as treated us ‘orribly a lot, ‘e ‘asn’t done anything to us wile ‘e’s been ‘ere. Even I think ‘e’s not that bad, and I ‘ave some ‘istory. I accept the apology. ‘O else?” One by one, cats stood in reply to Mungojerrie’s question. As cats stood, Macavity felt more at home and loved. They forgave and accepted him into the tribe. To his surprise, even Bombalurina and Demeter stood and smiled at him. Soon, all the Jellicles were standing. Deuteronomy chuckled and said, “Well, it looks like I have to accept you into the tribe, Macavity. You have full permission to come down as you please. Welcome.”

Macavity’s eyes filled with tears of joy. Mistoffelees smiled approvingly, Munkustrap silently cheered Macavity, and Tugger couldn’t help it. He went and hugged the ginger feline. He released him and breathed, “Welcome to the Jellicle Tribe.”

Two months later…

The kittens’ eyes had opened, and they roamed around the Junkyard with curiosity. Munkustrap and Mistoffelees were proud parents of their eleven kittens. Every day, Jellyorum and Jennyanydots cooed and made a big fuss over the kittens. Two of the kittens had inherited their mother’s magical powers. They were Sausratsica and Genesis. Mistoffelees began her teaching at once. The others inherited other talents. RTTagger was a great artist, Loraisvia was a beautiful singer, Angel composed songs, Zipporah could master any dance, Complexity was very flexible, Lazer became a wiz at card tricks, Mephistolees had psychic powers and could tell the past and future, Munkleana could imitate any cats’ voice in the Junkyard and could throw her voice, and Mistostrap also had magical powers and could learn any song, rhyme, dance, or trick that was taught in no time.

The kittens loved all the adults and teens and other kittens in the Junkyard. And they all loved them back. Macavity usually stayed up in his lair, since he was used to it. But occasionally he would come down. RTTagger developed a little mane like his uncle, which Tugger was proud of. Munkustrap worried that he would turn out to be a playboy like Tugger, but then pushed that thought out of his head. The mane was gray and black. He almost was a small Rum Tum Tugger, because he looked almost exactly like him! Complexity was very quiet when he walked, and was often announced by his sister. She was like Demeter with Macavity. When Macavity was around, even now, Demeter would scream, “Macavity” for the fun of it. When Complexity was around, Zipporah would shout, “Complexity” like Demeter, then run around laughing as her brother chased her. Everything was great. Then the kittens’ first Jellicle Ball came around. The kittens have heard everyone talking about it and asked their parents about it. Munkustrap told them all about it. The kittens were excited. They could hardly wait.

At the Jellicle Ball, they saw their father welcome all Jellicles to the Ball, and listened to ‘The Naming of Cats,’ and watched Victoria dance alone, then Alonzo coming out and inviting all Jellicles to the Ball. They learned from their father’s singing about what the Ball was about. They learned about Tantomile, Coricopat, and Mistoffelees’ powers in song and dance. They learned about Tugger and Bombalurina’s sexy attitude, about Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer’s notorious ways, and about Demeter’s tale about her experience with Macavity. They listened to Tugger and their father sing about Old Deuteronomy, after their mother, Coricopat, and Tantomile announced his arrival. Then they jumped for joy when the whole tribe got involved with ‘The Pekes and the Pollicles’ and their father telling the story. Then they watched in awe as the tribe danced to ‘The Jellicle Ball’ with much ease and expression. They enjoyed watching their parents and their friends dance. Even Macavity joined in. He got to lead four other males in dancing, as Tugger does near the end. They listened to Old Deuteronomy sing ‘The Moments of Happiness’ and young Jemima sing her part about the moonlight. Next came a song that Munkustrap and Mistoffelees sang about how they ended up together. Macavity, Bombalurina, and Demeter broke into their song after Munkustrap and Mistoffelees’ was finished about their old relationship they had. It was a comical song. After theirs, Tugger decided to end with his new song about Mistoffelees. Mistoffelees went along with it and enjoyed the song very much. Asparagus was sent to the Heavyside Lair that Ball, and many Jellicles were sad to have him go. The kittens were pleased with the Ball, and wished that they could do that next year.

A few months after the Ball, Macavity caught a horrible case of phenomena. It was so bad that he fell into a coma two days after he caught it. He was sweating because of his high fever. He breathed heavily and his cough was rasping and horrible. Jellyorum and Jennyanydots did what they could to heal him but nothing worked. The disease got worse every day. Tugger sat by his dear friend’s side every waking hour. He had now thought Macavity as another brother to him. One day, Tugger went outside to get some fresh air and was confronted by Mistoffelees. She had a worried look upon her face and asked him how Macavity was doing. Tugger told her that he was in a deep and deadly coma and the phenomena made it worse. Mistoffelees sighed. She didn’t want her friend to die so soon. He was too young. The whole tribe was concerned about Macavity, even Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer. Even Bombalurina and Demeter. Macavity grew sicker and sicker. Jelly began to think that he wasn’t going to make it another day, yet he did. Jenny thought that he wasn’t going to live much longer. Yet, every day, Macavity lived. He wouldn’t let go of his life. Not yet. Tugger prayed to the Everlasting Cat that Macavity would soon awaken and be better. But it never happened. Macavity was taken into his own world and couldn’t come out. He tried but failed every time. Mistoffelees also tried every healing potion she knew, every healing spell in her book, but nothing helped. The tribe thought he was going to die soon. To their surprise, he never did. Old Deuteronomy was asked to come to the Junkyard to look at him. Munkustrap went to the Vigerage Wall to fetch him. In the time he was gone, Macavity was about ready to descend to the Heaviside Lair. But Tugger, Jellyorum, and Jennyanydots wouldn’t let him. They did what they could to keep him alive. Old Deuteronomy arrived shortly with the help of his son. He smiled warmly at the tribe, then went to the oven where Macavity was kept. He found his other son, pale and tired by the Hidden Paw’s side. Jellyorum told him what was wrong, and how they couldn’t cure him. Old Deuteronomy listened carefully, then proceeded to Macavity’s side. Tugger got up and went to stand anxiously beside Munkustrap, who comforted him. The old Jellicle leader felt his forehead, finding it hot. High fever. He listened to Macavity’s breathing; it was rapid and horrible sounding. He checked him this way and that, using all the wisdom he had. He found that Macavity had both phenomena and scarlet fever. He wanted to move him to a vet, but that was too risky. Instead, he sighed and turned to the waiting Jellicles. “Macavity is very ill with phenomena and scarlet fever. I can tell he is in a coma. This will last for quite a while. I cannot say if he is to die or not, that depends on the sickness. Just keep him safe and warm and treat him if you can. He’ll come through if he can break away from the coma. Here,” he said as he handed Jennyanydots a small pouch, “try making tea out of these for awhile and give it to him. It’ll hopefully get him out of the coma and heal him faster. It worked before, so it should work again. And Tugger,” he added turning to the Maine Coon, “go and get some fresh air every now and then. It’ll do you good. You’re as pale as a ghost.”

Tugger nodded. Munkustrap lead his father out and into the center of the Junkyard with Tugger close behind. Mistoffelees rushed to the leader and asked if he was going to be all right. Old Deuteronomy sadly looked at her and told her what he thought. Mistoffelees sighed and nodded. Then she called Genesis over to her. The little gray kitten slowly made his way to his grandfather. Mistoffelees called Sausratsica to her side. The small gray and white striped kitten obeyed and went to her. The mother told Deuteronomy about the kittens’ powers. Then she added that Genesis found an herb in the Jellicle Garden that might have to do with Macavity’s illness. Sausratsica had tested it with her powers and had found poison in the pedals. The three experimented with the herb and found it contained enough poison to kill the whole tribe. It would make the animal that ate or touched it very sick. It wouldn’t be contagious, though. The animal would fall into a deep coma, like Macavity did. If it was treated well, the animal would live. If it were treated with the wrong medicine, then the animal would die on a special occasion of some sort. Then Mistoffelees called Lazer and Complexity over. Lazer, the kitten who had a tux pattern like his mother, but was gray and black, ran to her. Complexity, who had the markings Macavity did but was black and white, followed close behind.

Mistoffelees explained that Lazer found a different herb in the Garden that looked like catnip, but was not. It was an herb that could kill the cat that ate it in only a week. But if half was eaten or the cat touched it, it would only make the cat sick with a disease. Complexity tested it on a rabbit they had found, and the rabbit lived for two weeks then was dead. Then he had checked the rabbit over and found a rash on his neck that was a reaction to the herb. Finally, Mistoffelees called Zipporah, RTTagger, Angel, Munkleana, Mephistolees, and Mistostrap to her side. Zipporah, an all black cat, joined her siblings. RTTagger, a gray and black striped kitten with a cute little mane, rushed over. Angel, an all white kitten, pranced to her brothers and sisters. Munkleana, a striking image of her father, glided to her mother. Mephistolees, a spitting image of his mother, ran to her. Mistostrap, a mix between the parents, quietly walked over. Soon, all her kittens surrounded Mistoffelees. She told how Zipporah and RTTagger inspected the dead rabbit and saw that the herb had made the animal sick. The herb had gotten into its lungs and damaged them. Angel and Mistostrap tested the other herb that Genesis had found on a rat. The rat had fallen into a deep coma. Then it became very ill and died the following week. The two kittens checked it all over to see where it was infected the most. They found that it infected the heart and killed the animal that way. Finally, Munkleana tested both herbs together on another rabbit they had caught. She took notes down every day and it had similar reactions to them that were close to Macavity’s condition. Rapid breathing. Deep coma. High fever. It was almost the same. Then just yesterday, the rabbit died. All eleven kittens paid close attention to how long it lived. It lived three weeks. Macavity has been ill six weeks. The kittens all know that the herbs caused this from what they had learned from their experiment. They predict that Macavity won’t live much longer. He just might make it for another week, but that will be it if they don’t find the right medicine to heal it. Mistoffelees looked into her leader’s soft gray eyes. “Munkustrap, the kittens and I are trying to find a certain plant that might heal Macavity. But we can’t find anything. We fear that he will suffer greatly and die. Please, allow us to leave the Junkyard on a journey to find the plant that will save Macavity. We will be back in five days, with the plant or not. If we do not succeed, please let us take Macavity away from his suffering. We have a drink that will take his pain away, then it will kill… well… send him to the Heaviside Lair in peace.”

Old Deuteronomy was amazed, impressed, and thoughtful. He looked at his oldest son, who was giving him pleading eyes. Then he turned his gaze to Mistoffelees. He sighed and said, “All right. I’ll let you go on your journey, if you promise to be back in five days.”

“We promise.”

“I then give you my blessing. Good luck to all of you.”

“Thank you! Come, let’s go!” Mistoffelees ran back into her home and came out with a backpack. She gathered her kittens together in two lines, one for boys, one for girls. Munkustrap thanked his father, said good bye to him and Tugger, and joined his mate at the Junkyard exit. The family waved good bye and disappeared into the shadows. Old Deuteronomy whispered, “Oh, Everlasting Cat, watch over them and protect them from any harm or danger that comes their way. Give them luck and a successful journey. Lead them and guide them to their destiny.” Then he added, “Good luck, my children.”

Calamity’s Meow: NOW WHAT HAPPENS?! Well, you’ll just have to read ‘Munkustrap and Mistoffelees’ Journey/ New Additions to the Tribe’ to find out! Hehe… I hope you enjoyed my fanfic. I know it was a little hard to follow, but this next one will be better! Will Macavity die? Will the family find the plant they are looking for? Will they make it back in time to save Macavity? What happened to Bombalurina’s kittens? What is this disease? Well, you’ll just have to read my sequel to find out! ;)