Kittix note: I did not put the neat background and fonts in. They were
done by the author, so don’t think It’s just special treatment or something. It
is a good fic though! And I have NO idea why this thing goes from bold to regular text, then bold, and etc. It just uploaded like that. Bear with me while I try to fix the problem which may take time cuz I dont know much about Microsoft Word HTML.
~ The Mungojerrie AND Rumpleteazer Series ~
1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mungojerrie skipped down
the road toward his home at the Victoria Grove mansion in a frenzy of
excitement. He was a rather handsome young tom; his fur was marked with black,
orange, cream, white, and ginger. His hazel eyes glittered in the moonlight, as
did the sliver charms set in his blue collar. He carried a bracelet in his paw.
“Wot’d
you think o’ that ‘ousebreak?” he asked. His voice was laden with a rich
Cockney accent.
“It wos a lot o’ fon!” his twin sister, Rumpleteazer, told him.
Her voice was also laden with that same Cockney accent. “We su’ sca’d that
lady, didn’ we?”
Rumpleteazer looked very
similar to her twin brother, as you may have guessed. Her coat was marked in
the same colors, but with a good deal less black. Her mischievous eyes were
sparkly, like Jerrie’s, only brown, and she was a trifle smaller than
Mungojerrie.
Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were a notorious couple of cats.
They were known for being knockabout clowns, quick-change comedians, tightrope
walkers, and acrobats. They had an extensive reputation, and they made their
home in a grand mansion called Victoria Grove. However, this was merely their
center of operations, for they were incurably given to rove. They also had a
wonderful way of working together.
They were also known for
being thieves and pranksters. For example, when the family they lived with at
Victoria Grove assembled for Sunday dinner, the cook would appear from behind
the scenes and say in a voice that was broken with sorrow, “I’m afraid you must
wait and have dinner tomorrow. For the joint has gone from the oven like that!”
Then the family would shake their heads and say, “It’s that horrible cat! Was
it Mungojerrie or Rumpleteazer?” And then, most of the time, they’d leave it at
that.
Mungojerrie skipped along, admiring the clear, lovely night.
Suddenly he stopped short, causing Rumpleteazer to run smack into him.
“Owwie! Wot’d ya do tha’ fo’?” Rumpleteazer asked, pushing
herself off her twin’s back. Mungojerrie wasn’t paying attention.
“Do ya smell tha’?” Mungo asked. “It smells loike a…Poll’cle!”
“Nope,” Teazer said, sniffing the air for the scent of a dog, or
Pollicle, as the Jellicle cats often called them. “Don’ smell anythin’.”
Mungojerrie advanced into a dark side street, much to his
sister’s obvious dismay.
“Jerrie!” she hissed uneasily. “Get outta the’! Ya neva know
when a Poll’cle’s gonna jump out a’ ya!”
But Mungojerrie was more curious than afraid. He kept advancing,
ignoring Teazer’s protests.
Rumpleteazer moaned
softly to herself when her brother disappeared into the inky blackness. She
didn’t want to go into that dark ally, but she didn’t want to be out on this
dark street alone, and she certainly didn’t want Mungo to be in that even
darker back street by himself. She took a small, frightened step forward.
“Jerrie?” she said in a soft, rather scared voice. She was
slowly advancing in the direction Mungo had gone, when suddenly…
Wot 'n the bloody ‘Eavisoide wos that!
Then Teazer recognized
the sound: a bark, a growl, and some crashing sounds followed by Mungojerrie’s
rarely heard scream. Too frightened to know whether to go forward or back,
Rumpleteazer jumped forward. All she could think of was that scream. Only
something serious could’ve possibly caused it, otherwise, Mungo wouldn’t have
screamed like that. It wasn’t like him to scream so high-pitched out of mere
surprise. Shout a bit maybe, but not shriek like that.
“Mungo! Mungojerrie!” she called. “Whe’ a’ ya?”
The only reply she got was a soft moan from farther ahead.
“Jerrie!” she called again. “Is tha’ you?”
Again, she only heard a quiet moan. It sounded enough like
Jerrie to persuade her to creep towards the sound. She was horrified to find
her twin lying in a puddle of water, on his back, and not moving.
“Mungojerrie!” she cried, racing to him. She tenderly licked his
face, and finally he woke up and gently swatted her away.
“Shhhh!” he admonished softly. Rumpleteazer was so relieved that
she couldn’t help but let out one of the giggles that were another thing she
was known for.
“Shhhh!” Mungo said again, struggling to his feet. Rumpleteazer
slapped a paw over her mouth, trying to muffle the sound of her own laughter.
What if the dog should hear her and come back? Mungojerrie lent a hand and
covered her mouth with one of his own paws. Teazer was finally able to stop giggling.
Once he was sure Teazer would keep quiet, Mungo took his paw away from her
mouth and shook water from his coat, shivering.
“I’s bloomin’ col’ ou’ ‘ere,” he said. “Le’s go.”
They hurried to Victoria Grove and were relieved to find the
master and mistress asleep. Mungojerrie was so relieved he let out an audible
sigh.
“A’ ya sleepy?” Teazer asked.
“Koinda,” Mungo said. He sat in front of the fire, with
Rumpleteazer leaning against him, until he fell asleep. Teazer had a harder
time with it, though the fire was relaxing, especially with her twin brother
safely and protectively by her side. She contented herself with snuggling as
close as possible to her sleeping brother, until at last the sound of his
breathing lulled her to sleep. When the early morning sun’s rays woke her up,
she put on her special Woolworth pearl necklace that Mungo had given her quite
awhile back and looked around for Mungo. She finally found him in the stream
nearby, for some reason having decided to take a bath. She started giggling,
for she knew how much Mungojerrie hated getting a bath! Every time he knew it
was coming, he would try to saunter away. But when he was caught, it was
something of a sight.
“An’ wot, may Oi ask, is so fonny?” he asked as he climbed out.
Rumpleteazer just laughed harder as Jerrie shook out his coat, causing it to
fluff up, and licked it down smooth. Mungojerrie sighed and walked up the path
to the mansion still trying to smooth down his fur. Rumpleteazer regained
control over herself and caught up to him as he was walking inside.
“I gotta know one thing. Wot made ya decoide ta take a bath?”
she asked. Mungojerrie sat in front of the fire, drying himself.
“Las’ noight,” he said simply. “Oi got koinda beat up, an’
fig’a’d that if Oi didn’t give meself a bath, mistress’d do it fo’ me, so Oi
jus’ did it moiself.”
“Oi see,” Rumple said, trying her best not to giggle. Only a
small laugh managed to escape her.
“So wot we gonna do taday?” she asked, quickly changing the
subject and hoping her twin hadn’t noticed the giggle.
“Oi koinda thought we’d go down ta Kensington Square,” Mungo
said thoughtfully. Teazer jumped up and down in circles around Jerrie.
Teazer was excited. They’d be almost sure of seeing one or two
of their friends at Kensington Square!
“Quit that ‘oppin’ an’ le’s get goin’,” Mungo said playfully,
slipping into his vest. “Oi’m droi now.”
As they neared the square, they caught sight of a
reddish-colored queen named Bombalurina and her cousin Demeter sitting there
chatting. Mungojerrie couldn’t help but sigh to himself. He and Demeter weren’t
exactly what you’d call friendly with each other. Demeter was one of those who
suspected him of being an agent for Macavity, so she stayed away from him and
often shot indirect insults at him, and Mungo resented that and shunned her
because of it.
“’Oi!” Teazer called. Bombalurina and her cousin turned and saw
them. Demeter turned away, but not before Mungojerrie caught her rolling her
eyes at him. He gave her a small scowl in return, as if to say I’m not the
bad guy here!
“Hi,” Bombalurina greeted. “Did you hear about the jewel heist
in town?”
“No,” Mungojerrie said frankly, knowing the female just barely
well enough to know that she was going to go into detail. Demeter shot him a
meaningful look. Mungo simply turned away. It was the kind of look that told
him she thought he was guilty. Though he knew he hadn’t stolen the valuables,
he also knew he’d never be able to convince Demeter.
“Is ana’one else ‘ungry?” Rumpleteazer asked when Bomby had
finished with her explanations.
“Oi am,” Mungo offered. He’d completely forgotten about
breakfast.
“Well why don’t you steal something then? I’m sure you
could do that the best,” Demeter said. She shot him another meaningful look.
Mungo just gave her a look of defiance in reply as Demeter’s cousin tugged on
her tail, a sort of punishment for speaking to him so curtly.
Jerrie started to walk down the street when his eye caught
something sparkling in the sunlight hidden in a garbage can. He pulled out some
expensive jewelry and stared at the gems that lay twinkling in his paw.
Demeter gasped. “Jerrie…it was
you!”
“Oi didn’t…Oi wosn’t…” Jerrie stammered.
“Wait until Munkustrap hears about this! You’ll be far over your
head in hot water. You can’t just walk away again!”
“What do you have to say for yourself? You went to far this
time, Mungojerrie!” Munkustrap’s tail thrashed angrily at the young tabby tom
that sat before him. It was well after midnight, and the tom looked rather
peaked. Munkustrap felt sorry for him, but still, he couldn’t let this crime go
unnoticed.
“We’ve let you off easy for quite awhile now, Jerrie,” a black
and white tom named Alonzo put in. “You have to take the rap this time. This is
like an elephant in the kitchen; it’s just too big to ignore.”
“Exactly,” Munkustrap said, wishing the Jellicle leader, Old
Deuteronomy, were there so he didn’t have to do this.
“Oi didn’ do it, goys!” Mungo insisted. “ ‘Onest Oi didn’!”
“ ‘E ain’t loyin’!” Teazer offered. She looked around for
someone, anyone, who would back her up. Bombalurina might be able to…
It figu’es that Bomby ain’t ‘ere when we need ‘er!
Munkustrap cast a doubtful eye on the twin troublemakers. He
liked the two in spite of their pranks and mischief, but Mungojerrie had gotten
himself into hot water. He would have to set things right to get out of it.
“How do we know? We need proof,” a small black tom named
Mistoffelees said quietly. Mungo was one of his friends, but he had to tell him
what was true. They had no proof that Mungo wasn’t lying, and, truth be told,
they really couldn’t trust him not to lie, though he didn’t usually do it to
his friends.
“We don’ ‘ave none,” Mungojerrie said softly. He knew part of
what was coming.
“Send fo’ Bomby!” Rumpleteazer said fiercely. “She’ll tell ya!”
“I’m sorry, but I cannot just go get her at this hour,”
Munkustrap said, though he would’ve liked to get this resolved without having
to punish Jerrie. He looked sadly at the tabby tom that sat meekly in front of
him, looking a little nervous.
“I’m sorry to have to do this to you,
Mungo, but you are banished from the junkyard. No one is to go near him until
he sets things right again.”
Mungojerrie’s dark eyes
widened in dismay. He’d expected punishment, but not a punishment like this! To
be banished from the junkyard, from everyone he knew, even from his own twin!
This was too harsh! He and Rumple had never been forcefully separated by
members of the tribe!
“No!” Rumpleteazer cried. “Ya can’t do that ta ‘im! Ol’
Deut’ronomy ain’t ‘ere! Ya ‘ave no roight!”
“Shhhh!” Mungojerrie said. Even though he was being sent away,
that didn’t mean that Teazer had to go with him. It was better for her to stay
at the junkyard, where it was safer.
“No!” Rumple repeated, stamping her paw. “Ya can’t banish
Jerrie! If ‘e goes, Oi goes too!”
“Ya can’t come with me, Teaza,” Mungo said, looking at her
sadly.
“But Mungo, wot if a Poll’cle gets ya, o’ Macavi’y…oh, Jerrie,
ya’ jus’ can’t go! No matta’ wot Munku says! Oi loves ya’ too much!”
“Oi ‘ave ta’ go. Oi can’t look back, moi Teaza’, but Oi will
come back,” Jerrie said softly.
“Promise?” Teazer asked. Tears marked her colorful fur.
“Double promise,” Jerrie
agreed, brushing his sister’s cheek affectionately. He let Teazer cry on his
shoulder for a moment, knowing it would soften the blow somewhat when he turned
to walk away. But he himself was having a hard time choking back tears. He
didn’t often cry, and he certainly wasn’t going to cry now. He would walk
calmly away, without looking back, without asking for reconsideration. He had
too much dignity to plead with Munkustrap over a crime he hadn’t even
committed.
The familiar feel and smell of her brother’s soft fur against
her face gave Rumpleteazer great comfort, but not great enough. When he finally
pulled her away, she couldn’t bear to let go of him. It took all the willpower
she had to pull away from Mungojerrie. They had never been forced to separate
like this, and they’d never thought they’d have to. As Mungo walked away,
trying to keep a dignified and calm look on his face, Teazer broke into open
sobbing.
Mungojerrie, like he had told Teazer, dared not look back. He
could hear his Teazer crying somewhere behind him, somewhere back in the
junkyard, but he knew that if he looked back he’d never have the strength of
mind to leave Teazer behind again.
Oi won’t cry. Not me. Oi WILL NOT cry.
And with that, he took
off running, to hide the tears that now flowed freely from his hazel eyes.
Back
at the junkyard…
Victoria ran to comfort
Rumpleteazer, but the slender tabby refused to be comforted.
“Jerrie!” she cried,
racing towards where her beloved twin brother had disappeared. Munkustrap
caught her and held her back.
“Le’ go! Le’ go a’ me! Oi
‘ave ta go afta Mungo! ‘E moight get ‘urt! Mungojerrie!” Rumpleteazer sobbed
hysterically, struggling to get free of the strong tabby’s grip.
There was not a single
heart there that hadn’t been melted by the enforced division of the indivisible
cat burglars.
“I hope he comes back,”
Victoria said, tears dripping down her delicate white face. Mistoffelees nuzzled
her.
“So do I.”
Back
with Mungojerrie…
Mungojerrie stayed curled
up behind a clump of bushes, sobbing quietly for a few minutes. Finally, he
wiped his eyes with his paws and sat up.
Oi gotta get back in
the’, he thought to himself. Bu’ ‘ow?
He knew that a good place
to start would be to find whoever had actually stolen the jewels. He had no
idea where to begin, but he figured the sooner he began, the sooner he’d be
back at the yard with Teazer.
Back
at the junkyard once again…
Rumpleteazer cried off
and on for about an hour, and finally she didn’t have any tears left to cry.
She could only sit and think of something to do and try to help out around the
junkyard, and by now, it was surely around five-thirty or six in the morning.
She’d never thought that Mungo would be forced to leave her like this!
Munkustrap was being unfair, and that was all there was to it. He hadn’t even
looked into the matter! He’d just assumed that, because of Mungojerrie’s past
dealings with Macavity, he’d stolen the jewels.
“Rumpleteazer? Is that
you crying in there?” a kindly voice asked.
“Yeh,” Teazer said,
trying to wipe her eyes with her paws before the other cat saw her.
“I thought maybe you’d
like to come play with the other kittens. Etcetera and the others are missing
you,” an older queen named Jennyanydots said. Rumpleteazer sniffed a little
before trying to answer.
“Do you want to tell me
about it?” Jenny asked before Rumple could say anything. Teazer nodded.
“Munku sen’ Jerrie ‘way!”
she said. “ ‘E banished ‘im. ‘E banished moi Jerrie! Oi ain’t even
s’posed ta go nea’ me own brotha now!”
“That’s too bad,” Jenny
said. “What did he do?”
“ ‘E didn’t do anythin’!”
Teazer cried. “Nothin’ a’ oll!”
“I see,” Jenny said.
“Oi dunno ‘ow Munku could
think ‘e stole those jewels! Oi mean, ‘e moighta’, but still…Oi knows ‘e didn’.
‘E woulda tol’ me, a’ least,” said Teazer.
“I was coming to ask you
if you would get this for me,” Jenny said, handing Teazer a little piece of
paper. “Would you do that for me?”
“Ya mean it?” Teazer asked,
jumping to her feet. “Would Oi eva!”
“Wonderful,” Jenny said.
“I’ll see you back here later then.”
Jenny knew as she walked
away that Rumpleteazer would see this job as an opportunity to find her brother
and talk to him, but she pretended not to. Her sympathetic heart told her that
the tabby queen wasn’t lying when she said that Mungojerrie was innocent.
Rumpleteazer dashed away,
eager to begin her errand. Yes, she’d get Jenny what she’d asked for. But she
was sure that a quick search for Mungojerrie could be worked into her schedule.
She looked at Victoria Grove; he wasn’t there. She looked at all their usual
hangouts, and even at some of the more unlikely places for him to be, but he
wasn’t to be found. Sadly, she headed downtown to get Jenny what she needed.
Just as she rounded the corner, she spotted Mungo a ways up the bank.
“Jerrie!” she called
excitedly, racing towards him at top speed. Mungo turned his head a second too
late. Rumple was already on top of him, snuggling him.
“Whe’d ya come from?” he
asked in surprise.
“Oi’m ‘untin’ somethin’
fo’ Jenny,” Teazer said. She couldn’t manage to keep still; she was so glad
she’d found Mungo!
“Oi got an ‘unch you‘s
‘untin’ somethin’ else too,” Mungo teased. Teazer gave him another hug.
“Cou’se Oi wos!” she
said. “Oi wos ‘untin’ you!”
“Oi though’ so,” Mungo
told her. Rumple giggled and wouldn’t get off of him, which he really didn’t
mind too much. “Jus’ ‘old still a minute. You’s oll ova’ me!”
“Oi can’t ‘elp it!”
Rumple replied joyfully. “Oi’m so ‘appy!”
“Oi knows, an’ Oi am too,
but Oi can’t go back ta the ya’d with ya. ‘Memba?” Jerrie said, not at all
pleased to have to add that sour note to their joyful reunion.
“Yeh, Oi ‘memba,” Teazer
said sadly. “But ya’ll come back soon, roight?”
“Roight,” Jerrie confirmed,
though he really wasn’t sure. “Betta git back ta the junkya’d b’fo’ they sends
ou’ a sea’ch pa’ty.”
Teazer gave Jerrie just
one last cuddle and hurried off. She ran to the junkyard and gave Jenny her
item.
“Thank you,
Rumpleteazer,” said Jenny.
“Where’s Jerrie?” Jemima,
the smallest of the kittens, asked.
“He couldn’t be here
today,” Jenny said, not wanting to tell the small kit of Jerrie’s fate. Jemima
followed Etcetera to play hide-and-seek without further comment.
Rumpleteazer was just
about to whisper to Jenny that she’d met up with Mungo, when all of a sudden
the lights flickered and went out. The only light came from the rising sun.
“Macavity!” Demeter
exclaimed fearfully. The kittens scampered to Jennyanydots and huddled around
her legs.
Rumpleteazer didn’t see
anyone at first. But then she felt a paw on her back, whirled around, and came
face-to-face with one of the largest alley cats she’d ever seen. He was a dark
gray color with one single golden-yellow, zigzagging stripe down his back.
“W-who a’ ya?” Teazer
stammered out. This cat had a particularly intimidating air about him.
“I’m Zeus,” the alley tom
said simply.
“You’s who?” Teazer
asked, dumbfounded. This strange cat named Zeus didn’t answer. Instead, he
grabbed Rumple about the waist and turned her in a circle.
“Yes, I think she’ll do
nicely,” he said. Rumpleteazer didn’t like the sound of that.
“Wot’n the ‘Eavyside Laya
a’ ya tolkin’ ‘bout?” she asked.
“My dear,” Zeus began.
Teazer definitely didn’t like the sound of that. “I have your entire precious
Jellicle tribe under my control right now, under the authorization of
Macavity.”
“Macavi’y!” Teazer
hissed. Then she thought of something. “You’s an agent o’ Macavi’y? Then ya
must know me twin brotha.”
Zeus looked Rumple over
carefully. “Is your twin brother Mungojerrie? If he is, then yes, I’ve seen him
around a few times. He’s the one who betrayed us. Wouldn’t I love to get my
paws on that tom!”
Rumple regretted that
Demeter wasn’t nearby to hear that. But now that she knew a little more about
this Zeus, she wanted to know what he planned to do with her and what he had
against her twin.
“An’ tell me jus’ wot
Oi’ll do noicely fo’,” she demanded.
“You’ll figure that out
with time,” Zeus replied.
“But Oi wonna know now!”
Teazer objected.
“Hush up, dear queen,”
Zeus told her. Rumple smacked him with a paw.
“Stop callin’ me tha’, ya
big dumb‘ead!” she said angrily. “Oi ain’t yer dea’, an’ Oi neva will be! An’
wot do ya got ‘gainst Jerrie any’ow?”
“Mungojerrie…” Zeus
muttered. “The fool!”
“Jerrie ain’t a fool!”
Teazer objected. Zeus led her out into the open center of the yard, where the
entire Jellicle tribe was huddled together, surrounded by big, tough-looking
cats.
“Let ‘em go! Let ‘em go!”
Teazer cried. Zeus shoved her into the group.
“Yeah, let us go!” Jemima
called. “You’re a mean cat! Let us go!”
Rumpleteazer knew that
Mungojerrie was the last hope for the tribe now. He was the only member still
free. But how could she get word to him?
Mungojerrie ran silently
through the ally towards the Jellicle junkyard. He’d expected to see
Rumpleteazer downtown again, but she hadn’t shown up. So, he’d decided to take
a peek into the yard. He’d at least get to look at her, if she was there.
He jumped up on a pile of
junk that was hidden behind the junkyard gate. He looked into the yard and was
shocked to see that the entire tribe was imprisoned. He managed to catch a
brief glimpse of their captor. He recognized him as the alley tom Zeus, one of
Macavity’s most infamous agents.
Mungo ran lightly from
one junk pile to the next, circling the yard and trying to figure out how to
rescue the tribe. It seemed that everyone except him had been captured; even
Teazer. So much for her being safe, he thought. She would’ve been better off
with him after all.
He picked a well-hidden
spot and listened in on what Zeus’ hench-cats were saying.
“Looks like they’re all
here,” one said.
“No, there’s one
missing,” said another. “I don’t know which one it is, though…”
“I know which one it is,”
still another interrupted. “It’s that blasted Mungojerrie! The tabby tom that
quit on Macavity awhile back; you know, the Cockney? The one that had it coming
from Dusty, the one who really got it from Griddlebone…”
“Oh yeah, Mungojerrie,”
the first cat said, musing over the comment about Griddlebone. “I heard they
banished him for stealing those jewels from the jewel shop. Too bad they don’t
know Zeus did it!”
“They banished
Mungojerrie?” the largest of the hench-cats asked. He definitely sounded
interested. Mungo remembered him as Dusty, a large cat that was about twice his
size who held him in extremely bitter contempt. Mungo wasn’t quite sure of the
reason, but he was smart enough to know to stay well out of Dusty’s way if it
was possible.
“Yeah, I heard a couple
of the kittens talking about it,” the first cat said.
“Macavity will want that
information. He’ll want Mungojerrie back,” Dusty said. “I’ll run and tell him.”
“I thought you didn’t
like Mungojerrie,” one of the hench-cats reminded him. “He’s the one who got on
Macavity’s good side, and worked his way up to the top. Remember?”
“I remember, and I don’t like him, but maybe if it’s me who
tells him that Mungojerrie’s been banished, he’ll favor me for telling him. In
any case, he’ll never favor Mungojerrie as much as he used to, reason one being
that now he looks at Mungojerrie like the traitor that he is.”
“So you hope you can get
back on top now that Mungojerrie’s got it coming to him from the boss?” the
other cat asked.
“Yes, but I still
have my own fight to pick with that Cockney,” Dusty replied. “Now, I have to
run. See you later.”
Mungojerrie’s mind worked
quickly. He’d have to pick the fight Dusty wanted before Dusty got to Macavity.
If he could prevent Dusty from reaching Macavity, perhaps Macavity would forget
about him soon. There was a large catch though. In order for his plan to work,
he’d have to win the fight. Though he didn’t see how he could do it, given that
Dusty was twice his own size, he decided to have a go at it. He followed Dusty
into a deserted, dark ally, where no one would see or hear them.
“Stop whe’ ya a’,” he
ordered. Too late, he realized that he should’ve at least tried to disguise his
thick Cockney accent. He saw a sneer form on Dusty’s face.
“Why, if it isn’t
Mungojerrie, the very notorious Cockney traitor,” Dusty laughed
wickedly.
“Oi shoulda known ya’d
throw an insult a’ me fi’st thing, Dusty,” Mungo countered. “Tha’ was olways
the way with ya. Ya loiked ta show me up, an’ it neva wo’ked, did it now? Only
made ya’self look loike a bloomin’ fool.”
“But those days are
over,” Dusty said. “You left. That makes me one of the top cats.”
“Yeh, it does, an’ Oi
gladly give the ‘onor wot ain’t an ‘onor ova’ ta ya,” Mungo said.
“And
where’s that unintelligent, giggling twin sister of yours?” Dusty asked, a
cruel grin forming on his face. He knew Mungojerrie himself could stand a
taunt, but he wouldn’t tolerate anything bad said of his twin.
“She ain’t unintelligent!
She’s eve’y bit as cleva’ as you ‘ave the moind ta be, Dusty,” Mungo
growled. “Take it back!”
Dusty just stared, daring
Mungo to pick a fight. Mungo raised a threatening paw.
“You draw the line at
murder, remember that, Mungojerrie,” Dusty said. “Although, I’m saying this as
though you could actually even hurt me. You always were so much weaker than I
am.”
“An’ ya say it as if Oi
would stoop ta the murderin’ level,” Mungo said. “Now take back wot ya said
‘bout me sista, o’ ya’ll git wot’s been comin’ ta ya!”
He never had, and never,
ever would, lower himself to murder. He had more dignity than that. Even when
he had been working for Macavity, he’d never even thought to murder anyone.
Even though Macavity often had asked him to, he’d always said no, it was simply
too awful to stoop to.
Again, Dusty just stared,
this time silently. Mungo could see it in his black eyes that he wanted to
fight. This was the moment he’d been waiting for, this moment when he could
fight with Mungojerrie with no one to stop him or limit him in any way. It made
Mungo just a little nervous. It was clear that Dusty was perfectly ready to
fight to the death, but he also knew that he wouldn’t, just for sport. Dusty
would injure him, yes, maybe even bring him dangerously close to death. But
kill him, no. For Dusty, this was a simple game, and Jerrie was the toy.
Mungo’s
rage at Dusty’s taunts overcame his anxiety, though, and with a growl, he
pounced on Dusty. Dusty took a swipe at Mungo’s face that almost broke his jaw.
But Mungojerrie wasn’t beaten that easily. He took a flying leap off a garbage
can, landing on Dusty’s back and digging his claws into the larger cat’s fur
and skin. Dusty bucked wildly, throwing Mungo off and into a pile of junk.
Mungo jumped up and swiped at Dusty’s face, leaving a thin scratch mark down
his opponent’s cheek. Dusty, furious that Mungo had actually hit him, struck
Mungo with all the force he had. Mungo stumbled backwards and fell, but
recovered as Dusty turned around. He grabbed Dusty’s tail and bit it hard.
Yelping, Dusty angrily whirled around, swinging his fist around and giving
Mungo another full force punch square in the face. Mungo let out a scream and
fell back. Dusty whirled and stalked away, leaving Mungo with a bloody nose and
mouth.
“Ow,” Mungo muttered to
himself, putting a hand to his face. His paw came away bloody. He dragged
himself to the river and lay down beside it. He stuck his blood-spattered paw
in the water, and surprisingly it felt good in the blistering summer heat.
Though he fought it, he fell into a fitful sleep, tired out from the fight.
When he awoke, the sun
shone brightly, it’s blazing heat pounding down on Mungo. About noon, he
estimated. He washed the blood off his face and took a long drink as he
pondered what to do next. He’d lost the fight that he’d foolishly picked with
Dusty, and now it was almost certain that Macavity was after him. But that
unlucky obstacle wouldn’t stop him from rescuing Rumpleteazer and the other
Jellicles. He raced back to the junkyard, and staying hidden, silently watched.
Zeus, he noticed, was openly flirting with Rumpleteazer, trying to persuade her
to be his mate. But Rumple just swatted at him and turned her back stubbornly.
Mungojerrie’s face grew
hot. No agent of Macavity’s could woo his twin so long as he had one
breath of life still in him! Without thinking, he leaped angrily into the
center of the junkyard. “Keep ya paws off me sis!”
His fur stood on end and
he hissed menacingly at Zeus, showing his teeth and claws. His hazel eyes
glinted wrathfully, and he looked more dangerous than the kittens were
comfortable with. This was not the Mungojerrie they knew. The Mungojerrie they
knew was funny and friendly. This Mungojerrie was dangerous-looking. They
scampered to the older queens and huddled close to them.
“Mungojerrie!” came the
cry of several younger females, including Teazer.
“What’s this? A mouse?”
Zeus asked. “Oh no, it’s only Mungojerrie. I’m glad you could join us.”
“Ya’ll be sorry Oi joined
ya when Oi’m through with ya! Teaza’ll neva give in ta ya! Not whoile Oi’m
‘round!” Mungo growled.
“Hmmm, then we’ll just
have to eliminate you then, won’t we?” Zeus said viciously. He waved
dismissively at his hench-cats. “I’m preoccupied with important matters.
Therefore, I’ll leave the pleasure of killing this mouse entirely to you.”
Zeus’ hench-cats advanced
on Jerrie, but he knew the layout of the yard far better than they did. Using
this to his advantage, he jumped up on top of a pile of junk and jumped over
the gate. The junk pile toppled over onto the hench-cats.
Chapter 2 ~ The Jellicle’s First Conquest
Mungojerrie ran as fast
as his tired legs would carry him, all they way back to Victoria Grove. The
cook shouted at him as he streaked through the kitchen.
“No! No! You get away
from here you naughty cat! Shoo! Scat! You horrible cat!”
He ran into the parlor,
where the master and mistress were sitting. He stumbled over the mistress’ feet
in his hurry, causing her to shriek.
“It’s that horrible cat!
It’s Mungojerrie! Or Rumpleteazer!” she screeched perplexedly. The master
jumped out of his chair and chased Mungo into the backyard, then returned to
the parlor.
Mungojerrie headed for
Macavity’s lair, not knowing what else to do. There was nowhere else to take
this but to open confrontation with the Hidden Paw, who was more dangerous and
deceitful than anyone Mungo had ever encountered. It was something he wouldn’t
have ever thought of doing in any other circumstance, but right now he was
desperate.
As he sprinted down a
side street, he felt something hard strike the back of his head. He groped
dizzily for the wall and fell. The last thing he remembered was paws and faces
coming from every direction.
Back
at the currently captive junkyard…
“No! Get ‘way from me!
Keep ya bloody paws ta ya’self!!!” Rumpleteazer screamed at Zeus, swiping at
him furiously. The large alley tom simply dodged the swipe with a conniving
smirk and continued trying to win her affections.
But Rumpleteazer, of
course, would have none of it.
“Bloody are they?” Zeus
asked.
“Bloody they a’, an’ ya
neva will get me!” Rumple said stubbornly. “Moi Jerrie’ll come fo’ me an’ the
rest, ‘e will. ‘E double promised. Jerrie don’ go back on a promise, ‘specially
a double one.”
“So I’ve heard,” Zeus
replied. “However, I’ve personally seen to it that your precious Mungojerrie is
taken to Macavity. He’s probably there now.”
“Mungo’ll neva give in ta
Macavi’y! Neva in ‘is loife! ‘E’s too sma’t fo’ tha’, ‘e is,” Teazer objected.
“I can assure you that if
Mungojerrie resists Macavity he’ll be dead before sunup,” Zeus said.
Teazer tried to hide her
horror at the thought.
Let’s
see what happened to Mungo after he got hit in the head…
When Mungojerrie came
around, he wasn’t all that surprised to find himself in Macavity’s cave.
“It’s about time you woke
up,” a deep voice said behind him. Mungo jumped to his paws.
“Le’s keep this sho’t,” he
said irately. “If ya don’ wont a whack in the face from this ‘ere paw roigh’
‘ere, then stay outta me way, Macavi’y.”
“I was hoping you’d stay
awhile.” Macavity held up a large, sharp-clawed paw. “I thought we’d do
something a little different. I’ve always so enjoyed your company.”
Mungo swallowed his fear
and held up a paw. He was no match for Macavity, and he knew it. But that
didn’t mean he’d surrender easily.
“I don’t want to fight,”
Macavity said, lowering his paw. “I don’t want to have to beat you to death.”
“An’ Oi don’ wont ta’ be
beat ta’ death, but it looks loike Oi’ll ‘ave ta’ foight if Oi wont ta’ save me
neck,” Mungo replied coldly. Macavity chuckled.
“Hard as rock, I see,” he
said, settling back into his throne, which was a hewn-out boulder. “To get to
business, I was hoping to get a tabby agent…”
“Oi kin tell ya’ roight
now it ain’t gonna be me,” Mungo interrupted. “This ‘ere tabby’s ‘eadin’ out.”
“No, I think this one
will do quite nicely,” Macavity said. “You were good, Jerrie. Intelligent,
quick, very useful and nice to have around… You were my favorite. You know
that.”
“Do wot ya loike ta me,”
Jerrie replied. “Oi ain’t neva wo’kin’ fo’ you ‘gain. Oi’ve lea’ned me lesson.
Oi’m too sma’t ta wo’k fo’ ya now’days. Ya only wonted me ‘round so’s ya could
‘chieve you’a own evil aims. Oi ain’t settlin’ fo’ tha’ no mo’.”
“Too good for me, is that
it? Well, we’ll soon see how long you stick to that, Mungojerrie!” Macavity
stormed. “Take him away!”
Two hench-cats roughly
pushed Jerrie to a cell, chained him there, and locked the door.
Meanwhile,
back at the Jellicle junkyard…
“Zeus! You leave Teazer
alone!” Bombalurina shouted. Zeus ignored her. His primary focus was the
beautiful tabby female who would have absolutely nothing to do with him at all.
“Ya’ll be sorry when
Jerrie comes an’ gets ya!” Rumpleteazer called over her shoulder as she
streaked to the opposite corner of the junkyard. Zeus smiled pitilessly and
followed her.
“Mungojerrie is certainly
dead by now,” he said. “One less troublesome cat to deal with. And there’s no
cat more convenient to eliminate.”
“ ‘E ain’t dead! ‘E can’t
be dead!” Teazer shrieked.
“Of course he can. He’s
certainly not invincible. Almost as far from it as you can get, actually,” Zeus
reasoned. Rumpleteazer made a face at him.
“Ya don’ know ana’thin’
‘bout moi Mungojerrie, you…you…stupid imb’coile!”
“Now, Rumpleteazer, let’s
not call names. We are not kittens…at least I’m not. In any case, you know it’s
possible that he’s dead or at least hurt, and it’s probably true,” Zeus said.
At his comment about kittens, Victoria, Etcetera, Electra, and Jemima all
bristled.
“You’s nothin’ but a
bully an’ a stupid ign’ramus who don’t know ana’thin’, so you’s betta be quiet
‘bout Jerrie! ‘E ain’t dead an’ you know it! So the’! Ha!” Teazer said
indignantly.
But inside, she wasn’t so
sure anymore. Macavity was so cruel, and Teazer didn’t want to think of what he
just might do to her brother.
“Mungo kin outsma’t
Macavi’y,” she said. Not only was she trying to show up Zeus, but now she was
also trying to assure herself. Zeus chuckled, and it sent a chill down Teazer’s
spine.
“Don’t be ridiculous.
Macavity’s a great deal bigger and stronger and smarter than your brother, and
if I could give Mungojerrie a serious beating, which I certainly can, Macavity
could give him a much more serious one,” he said. “So, if I were you, I
wouldn’t count on him ever being seen again.”
“Well, size doesn’t
matter!” a tortoiseshell queen named Electra called out. “You really don’t know
anything!”
“Stay out of it!” Zeus
snapped at her.
“Make us stay out of it!”
a tom called Rum Tum Tugger joined in.
“Yeah! Make us!” a
white-and-brown-striped tom named Pouncival chimed in.
“You’re nothing but a big
bully!” Victoria added.
“Quiet!” Zeus shouted.
“We’ll never give in to
you!” the black and white tom Alonzo replied. Soon almost everyone was shouting
at Zeus and Zeus was shouting back. But when they all quieted, one lone voice
could be heard.
“You’re just a big stupid
bozo!” the striped kitten Etcetera cried.
“Be quiet!” Zeus told
her.
“Who works for Macavity!”
Etcetera continued, louder than before.
“Shut up!” Zeus rebuked.
“AND YOU’VE GOT A BIG
UGLY FISH FACE!” Etcetera concluded. Her voice had risen to a loud scream. The
younger Jellicles laughed and started taunting Zeus, repeating what Etcetera
had said over and over. Zeus yelled at them, but they just chanted louder. But
when they all got more or less quieted down, the smallest kitten, Jemima,
couldn’t restrain herself any longer.
“YOU’RE A BIG STUPID
BOZO WHO WORKS FOR MACAVITY AND YOU’VE GOT A BIG UGLY FISH FACE!!!!”
She shrieked it so loud
and so high-pitched that everyone was sure that the cats in the Heaviside Layer
had heard. But they were wrong.
The high-pitched,
deafening shriek hadn’t reached quite to the Heaviside. But it did reach to
Macavity’s lair, where Mungojerrie was standing before Macavity’s boulder
throne, looking bruised, beaten, and rather weak.
All was silent when,
without warning, out of nowhere came shrill yelling that sounded exactly like
Jemima.
Jerrie tried his utmost
not to laugh, but eventually he broke down and started laughing hysterically.
“Do you take that as
a…compliment, Mungojerrie?” Macavity asked curiously. Mungo reduced his laugh
to a quiet giggle and replied, “Oi don’ wo’k fo’ you, Macavi’y. Bu’ obv’ously a
big stupid bozo with an ugly fish face do. Mus’ look an awful lot loike ‘is
employa!”
Macavity, angry at being
insulted, jumped off his throne with a roar. He raced at Jerrie in full rage.
Mungo finally stopped
laughing and jumped out of the way. He pushed off a wall and flung his whole
body against Macavity.
“Get him! Take him back
to his cell! NOW! I’ll see what kind of death this master thief is suited for!”
Macavity shouted at his hench-cats. With Jerrie bouncing off the walls in such
a fashion, it took the hench-cats awhile to catch him. But they finally
succeeded in dragging him back to the cell and locking him in.
Back
at the junkyard…
Zeus had scared the tiny
Jemima into silence, and now everyone was asleep.
Rumpleteazer dreamed that
she found Mungojerrie in Macavity’s lair, but the dream quickly changed to a
nightmare as she was forced to watch Mungojerrie die by torture.
“Oh! Oh! No! No!” she
cried in her sleep. Electra, Coricopat, and Tantomile sat up, awakened by her
shouts.
“No! No! Don’ kill ‘im!
Don’ doie Jerrie! Don’ doie!” Teazer continued. Since she was asleep, she had
no idea that she was waking everyone up. Now just about all of the Jellicles
were awake. Finally, Skimbleshanks woke Rumpleteazer up.
“What’re you yelling
about?” Tumblebrutus asked sleepily as Jenny tried to calm a somewhat upset
Teazer.
“ ‘E wos dead! Oi saw
‘im!” Teazer said.
“Who was dead?” another
tom named Pouncival asked.
“Mungojerrie!” Teazer
said.
“Jerrie’s dead?” Etcetera,
who hadn’t heard the first part of the conversation, asked fearfully.
“No, silly, she dreamed
it,” Pounce explained.
“Let’s go back to sleep,”
Tumblebrutus suggested, yawning. The Jellicles all followed his suggestion and
drifted back to sleep, with the exception of Rumpleteazer. She couldn’t help
but fear that her dream was coming true, that perhaps Mungo was dead even now.
Well,
Rumpleteazer, Jerrie’s still hanging in there. Let’s see what he’s up to now…
Mungojerrie tried to claw
and bite his way out of his cell, but he only succeeded in hurting himself.
While he pondered the situation and tried to stop the blood that now flowed
freely from his mouth, he noticed that the two guard cats had fallen asleep. He
grinned to himself as he reached out and grabbed the cell keys from the hand of
the sleeping guard, reflecting that Macavity wouldn’t get anywhere with guard
cats like these. He tiptoed out of the cell and to the mouth of the cave, and
luckily, no one saw him. He let out a quiet sigh and took off towards the
junkyard. If Macavity’s guard cats were so vulnerable this time of night, then
Zeus’s probably would be too.
When he reached the yard,
most of the Jellicles were awake. This came as a surprise. There seemed to be
something big going on.
He saw Zeus up close to
Teazer, and Teazer was struggling to get away. Mungo instantly realized that
Zeus was making his final and strongest effort to mate with her. He bounded
into the yard with a growl and stepped between Zeus and Rumple. His entire body
was tensed to spring and positioned to fight if he had to.
“ ‘Ow many toimes do Oi
gotta tell ya ta keep ya paws off me sis?” he hissed. Zeus didn’t even take the
time to reply. Instead, he simply growled angrily and lunged at Jerrie, eager
to be forever rid of the young tom.
“Stop!” Teazer and Jemima
shrieked at the same time. Mungojerrie let out a moan as Zeus landed a swipe
square in his face so hard that it sent poor Jerrie twirling in a circle. But
Mungo swung his paw around and swiped Zeus right back.
“Take Rumpleteazer to my
lair and keep her there!” Zeus ordered his hench-cats.
“No ya don’!” Mungo said,
more to himself than to Zeus. He jumped on top of the nearest hench-cat and
soon all of them were surrounding him. Jerrie swung his paws every which way,
trying to fend off the attacking hench-cats. But there were too many of them
and only one of him, and they started to drag him down, but suddenly they
backed off, and Zeus stood alone over a greatly weakened Mungojerrie.
“Take her!” Zeus ordered
again.
“No!” Jerrie screamed in
a flurry of rage. He jumped at Zeus and sank his teeth into the large gray
alley cat’s wrist. Zeus flung him off, throwing him down hard on the ground.
Painfully, Jerrie got up and jumped at Zeus once more. Zeus caught him in mid-jump
and threw him down on the floor again. Zeus was now weakened somewhat, but
Mungo was still vastly overpowered.
“Leave ‘im ‘lone!” Teazer
screamed at Zeus.
“Stop it!” Jemima added.
Zeus ignored them and gave Mungo a hard kick right in the stomach.
“Agh!” Mungo exclaimed
softly as he doubled over. Tears ran down Teazer’s cheeks.
“Feeling sick?” Zeus
taunted, smiling wickedly. Jerrie stayed bent over and didn’t even look at
Zeus. Obviously, he did feel very sick.
Zeus stood over Mungo for
a moment, and then gave him an especially hard swipe. Jerrie let out a squeak
that was meant to be a scream and fell on his back. Electra had to hold on to
Rumpleteazer to keep her from running right into the middle of the fight.
“You’ve lost your fight
for your Jellicle tribe. I can keep them well under my control with you out of
the way,” Zeus said, giving Mungo another hard kick. Jerrie squeaked again, but
didn’t move.
“Stop! Stop it!” came the
joint cry of Rumpleteazer, Jemima, Electra, Etcetera, and Victoria.
“You were a fool to
challenge me,” Zeus continued, giving Mungo two hard swipes to the face. “Now,
I can give Macavity the pleasure of knowing you are dead.”
Zeus dug his sharp claws
into Jerrie’s body, and Jerrie couldn’t find the strength or breath to even squeak.
He merely squirmed and tried to get away, but his attempts weren’t successful.
He could feel Zeus’ claws going ever deeper, tearing into his fur and skin. He
kept squirming.
Finally, Zeus withdrew,
only to raise his paws for a killing strike. But a flash of multicolored fur
swept past him, and Rumpleteazer stood protectively over her twin brother. Her
brown eyes flashed as she looked up at him furiously.
“We ain’t puttin’ up with
the loikes o’ you any longa!” she said angrily.
“Yeah! Let’s go for it, cats!”
Pouncival shouted. The tribe shared his feelings, and together they all jumped
at Zeus and his hench-cats. Rumpleteazer dragged a half-conscious Mungo to
safety.
Seeing that they were no
match for an entire angry Jellicle tribe, Zeus and his cats fled back to
Macavity’s lair, where they explained the whole story. Macavity immediately
thought of a new plan to overthrow the Jellicle tribe.
While
Macavity’s plotting against them, the tribe is taking care of Mungo, who was
hurt quite badly in his fight with Zeus…
At first all Mungojerrie
could see was blackness, and he thought he was alone. Maybe he was dead, but he
didn’t think the Heaviside would look quite like this. But then, maybe he
wasn’t in the Heaviside. Maybe he was somewhere else. But there wasn’t anywhere
else, was there? Maybe he was on his way to the Heaviside. Yes, that must be
it. He expected to see a glowing light any moment…
Then he felt a rather
small paw stroke his face, and he knew he was alive. As the room grew steadily
brighter, he could see Teazer sitting next to the blanket he was lying on, and
several other members of the tribe standing around him. He reached up and
tapped Rumple’s shoulder. Teazer looked down at him.
“Jerrie!” she cried
happily. She threw herself over him in a tearful hug.
“Wot’s goin’ on?” Mungo
asked, stroking his twin sister’s fur.
“For awhile we thought
we’d lost you,” Jenny told him.
“Los’ me?” Mungo asked.
Just then, Rumple let out a loud giggle, and everyone stared at her.
“But Oi’m so ‘appy!” she
said, embarrassed. “Oi’m so ‘appy Jerrie’s still ‘ere!”
“We’re all thankful,”
Munkustrap said. “And now that Jerrie’s getting better, I…”
“Please don’ send ‘im
‘way ‘gain,” Teazer pleaded. “ ‘E’s jus’ sta’tin’ ta get betta. Wot if ‘e gets
‘u’t? ‘Soides, ‘e didn’ steal the jewels an’ ‘e saved the troibe.”
“Munkustrap,” Bombalurina
put in. “You can’t send Mungojerrie away again. I know it’s true that he didn’t
steal those jewels, because I just found out that Zeus did.”
“Yes, I was just told
about that too,” Munkustrap said. “I was just about to say that I would be glad
to welcome him back with my sincere apologies.”
Mungojerrie grinned at
Rumpleteazer. “Oi readily ‘ccept.”
Rumpleteazer went into a
fit of giggling because she was, to put it into her own words, “so ‘appy”.
Mungo didn’t try to shush her, just this once. He almost felt like giggling
himself.
“You’s gonna git betta!
You’s gonna git betta!” Rumple chanted gleefully.
“I believe it is so,
lass,” Skimble told her. His voice was laden with a Scottish brogue.
“It is so,
Skeembole! Oi know it is!” Teazer said. “Mungo’s gonna git betta!”
Skimble smiled and turned
to Mungojerrie, who was staring up at everyone about the room from his position
lying on a blanket on the floor.
“It was a brave thing you
did for us, lad,” Skimble said. “You saved us all.”
“Rumpleteazer in
particular,” Victoria said.
“Yeah,” Pouncival added.
“That creep would’ve done just about anything to mate with Rumpleteazer.”
“No flippin’ agent o’
Macavi’y’s kin fli’t with me sista an’ get ‘way with it,” Mungo declared.
Rumpleteazer nuzzled him gratefully.
“Zeus is wot Pounce says
‘e is: a creep,” she said.
“Even Demeter would have
to agree that what you did was brave, Jerrie,” Pouncival continued. He gently
elbowed the dark-colored queen. “Right Dem?”
Demeter gave an
exasperated sigh.
“Come on. Admit it,”
Pounce goaded.
“Alright already!
Mungojerrie did something respectable for a change!” Demeter said, and with
that, she stalked away. Pounce looked down at Jerrie, who shrugged.
The
next day…
Mungojerrie was feeling
much better, and the Jellicles decided to celebrate their freedom with a
get-together.
“It’s a great party,”
Alonzo commented to his girlfriend, the Egyptian Mau queen Cassandra.
“Yes,” Cassandra agreed.
“Especially for Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. They seem to be happy just being
together.”
The two looked over to
where Mungo and Teazer were sitting contentedly next to each other. Rumple kept
nuzzling Jerrie affectionately, and then he would nuzzle her back. They hadn’t
been apart since the rescue from Zeus, and most suspected it was because of
their earlier forced separation.
“Oi ‘ope ya neva ‘ave ta
git banished ‘gain,” Teazer said.
“Me too,” Mungo agreed,
licking his bandaged right front paw. It had been sprained in the fight with
Zeus, and it was still sore and swollen.
Mungo cast an eye on the
feline couples dancing in the moonlight. He thought it might be fun to join in
with, like always, Teazer as his partner, but his paw hurt too much. Instead,
he singled out all the toms and their queens.
Demeter and Munkustrap;
Mistoffelees and Victoria; Skimble and Jenny; Tugger and Bomby; Alonzo and
Cassandra; Pounce and Etcetera; Plato and Electra; Coricopat and Jemima; the
younger Asparagus and Tantomile; Tumblebrutus and Exotica; Admetus and
Jellylorum. He wondered if there was someone out there who would love him.
The next morning…
Pouncival and Jemima were
sitting on a pile of junk outside the junkyard talking with Jerrie and Teazer.
“Jerrie, you had some
fight in you,” Pouncival was remarking. “I was pretty impressed; I didn’t know
you were even brave enough to take on a cat that big and that mean.”
“I’ll say he had fight in him, but he’s no
match for me,” they heard a voice say behind them. They whirled around and saw
exactly whom they thought they’d see: Zeus.
“Get away from here now,”
Jemima ordered. “We’re sick of you.”
“I have a different plan,
I’m afraid,” Zeus said. “Rumpleteazer will be coming with me, and I think
Macavity has something in store for the rest of you.”
“Oi’d ratha be dead than
be you’a mate!” Teazer said fiercely.
“I don’t think you mean
that, Rumpleteazer,” Zeus said. “It’s automatic death for your brother if you
refuse. If you cooperate, Macavity just might spare him.”
“One more step and you’ll
get a paw in the face!” Pouncival warned.
“Out of my way!” Zeus
said, shoving Pouncival roughly aside. Before anyone could blink, he’d grabbed
a madly resistant Rumpleteazer and carried her off. Pouncival and Jemima raced
back to the yard.
Continued In Abduction Of The Jellicles: Part 2
