The two toms took a turn onto Kensington Square. Near the end of the street, they caught sight of the old Wensworth place. "Oooh," Mistoffelees said. "That place is still standing?" "Yup," Tugger replied. "Doesn't look like it'll be torn down anytime soon, either." He gave a cautious look around, and then bent down towards Mistoffelees. "Just between you and me, I think someone...or something weird is living in there." "Why do you say that?" Mistoffelees asked. "Well," Tugger began, "the other day...I think it was last Wednesday, I saw two human demolitionists making measurements of the place. You know, to tear it down. Well, they got all of their equipment and junk and got ready to give the place the old "heave ho" when this big flash of light came from the inside. No one knew what it was, but no one wanted to find out either. So they all just stood out there, looking all dumbstuck. Then...and you're gonna love this part...one of the bulldozers just tipped over. Like something huge just knocked it out of the way." "Um, maybe it was a sinkhole in the ground," Mistoffelees said. "I don't think so," Tugger said. "There wasn't anything on the ground when they hauled-butt outta there."
Mistoffelees and Tugger continued walking down the street. Upon reaching the old house, they just stopped and stared. "See?" Tugger said. "No sinkhole." "Geez," Mistoffelees said. "Everyone gets so paranoid when some piece of equipment malfunctions, or something just happens." Tugger shrugged. They looked at the house with curiosity for a brief moment. "Well, anyhow, this year's Jellicle Ball is going to be great," Mistoffelees said. "I just know it." Then, they turned and began to head back towards the junkyard. They didn't see the pair of eyes that watched them as they left.
"The Jellicle Ball," the pink teenage cat whispered. "I've heard of that. Hmm. Maybe it's time I checked it out." She made a big sweeping gesture with her paw, and vanished in a cloud of sparkles.
That night, the Jellicle Ball was underway. All of the cats made grand speciacles of themselves. But none better than Mistoffelees. When he brought back Old Duteronomy after Macavity had kidnapped him, all of the Jellicles cheered. The small black tom felt ten feet tall. "That one's worth checking out." the spying cat said. After the ball was over, she vanished.
The next day, the pink and white queen crept out of her home. "Well, Blaze, don't make an idiot of yourself," she said. She squinted in the bright sunlight. She wasn't used to coming out during the daytime. She preferred the night life. And the light reflecting off of the white sidewalks didn't help much, either. So no matter where she went, she was half-blind. "Oh, what the heck," she said. She made a gesture with her paw and a small pair of sunglasses appeared. She put them on and continued on her way.
"Oh, man, the Jellicle Ball last was awesome!" Rum Tum Tugger exclaimed. "Bomb was all over me! Did you see it, Misto? Did ya? Oh, man!" Misto wasn't paying attention to Tugger's ranting. He was busy thinking. During the Jellicle Ball, he felt something. It was like someone had been watching....Nah. It was just his imagination. He really needed to get out more. Deciding to leave Tugger, who by now was getting a tad overbearing, he saundered on over to his favorite spot in the old pipe. There, he curled up to take a nap.
Blaze now had reached her destination. The Junkyard looked very different during the day than it had the night before. She removed her sunglasses. Boy, had the humans given her some strange looks! She began to creep inside, but all of a sudden, a well of fear overcame her. She shot back behind a pile of rubbish, making a noise as she did so. Some of the cats who were nearby looked for what had made the sound, but dismissed it and went about their business. Blaze breathed deeply. A million horrible thoughts crossed her mind. She didn't know anyone here, and no one knew her. She had lived around this area her whole life, but she had never gotten to know anyone. She hadn't even talked to anyone. Shoot! No one had even seen her before!
Mistoffelees jerked up from his slumber. There was that feeling again. Whoever or whatever had been here the night before was back again. He crept out of his pipe. His ears were erect, and and his whiskers were outstreached. He sniffed the air. Yes, it was indeed close by. He followed the scent around a trash can, a stack of tires, a pile of hubcaps, Tugger and Bombalurina, and finally to a pile of rubbish near the Junkyard's opening. "Anyone in there?" he said quietly. "G...go away!" a voice from inside said. Mistoffelees jerked back. What the... He crept around the back to see exactly who it was. He was met with a strong hiss. "I said go away!" the voice said. It was definately the voice of a girl. "I'm not gonna hurt you!" Mistoffelees said. "Come out of there."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because."
"Because why?"
"Just because! Now leave me alone!"
Mistoffelees was getting a bit irritated. He jumped behind the rubbish pile and pounced onto the dark figure there. She yowled and struggled to push him off. "Get off of me, you..." The rubbish pile crashed down, and both cats were now out in the open. Mistoffelees was shocked at what he saw. A young queen, about his age lay pinned to the ground underneath him. "Get off, you jerk!" she said. He did so and backed away from her. She was almost completely pink except for her face, chest, and tip of her tail. They were all white. She was all sparkly, like he was and she had a silver lightning-bolt shaped birthmark on her right eye. All of the Jellicles nearby stopped to watch what was going on. There were several murmers at the appearance of the pink cat before them. "Sorry," Mistoffelees said. The queen looked around at the cats encircling them. She began to tremble. Mistoffelees saw this and slowly approached her. "Um, what's your name?" he said. "St...Star Blazer," the queen said. "But I go by Blaze." Mistoffelees grinned. "Blaze. Cool name!" He put his paw around her shoulders and turned her to face everyone. "Everybody, this is Blaze!" he said. Some of the cats walked forward. "Hi, Blaze!" one said. "Hello, Blaze!" another said. Blaze felt herself becoming elated. They weren't scorning her, or anything!
A big gray tabby broke up the gathering. "What's going on here, Mistoffelees?" he said. "Oh, this is Blaze, Munkustrap," he said. Blaze looked up at the tom sheepishly. The tom smiled at her and extended his paw. "Hello, Blaze," he said. "I'm Munkustrap. Welcome to the Junkyard." Blaze extended her own paw and shook his. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Munkustrap...Sir." She thought a minute. "Um...I'd....I was wondering...how exactly....that is,....uh....I'd like to join your tribe." Mistoffelees' jaw dropped. "You would?" he said. Blaze blushed underneath her white furred face. "Yeah," she said. Munkustrap looked at her skeptically. However, her expression was completely serious. "You'll need to talk to Old Duteronomy," he said with a smile. "Follow me."