"I am Macavity! You can't do this- you don't even want to know what is going to happen to you after I get out of here, you fool!"
* * *
"Oh, Tugsy!" Etcetera cried in a high-pitched voice, much like a cat calling for her kittens. "We know you're here somewhere..." She grinned. "Troops, spread out!" She barked- er, yowled- and Electra, Victoria, and Jemima covered the grounds, combing for any sign of the hidden Tugger.
"Hello, Electra." Boezi, a small black and white she-cat greeted the snuffling tabby. Electra brushed by her as if she weren't really there. Boezi sniffed and scented anxt in the air. What was wrong? Then she scented the unmistakable smell of The Rum Tum Tugger- sweet, ocean-like, and slightly... salty. She inhaled deeply. What had she not been called to this meeting of the club? Sure, she wasn't all that crazy about Tugger- but there was no denying that he was friggen awesome, or at least that's how Boe described him. She hunted around for a while, searching out Etcetera. Eventually she found her, sniffing behind a garbage can.
"He's been here!" She said excitedly. Boezi grinned. Of all of the kittens, Boe usually was the one to think things out- especially over Tugger.
"Um, yeah, Etcetera? You're going in circles." While tracking Etcetera, she realized that the tabby had been there three times, so she had sat an waited.
"Oh, my Heaviside!" Etcetera exclaimed, jumping. "Oh, I didn't know you were there. Good, now you are here- search!"
"He's leading you in circles, and if I'm correct... he's right over... there." She scented the air just to be sure. "Try using your nose for once, not your eyes. Just because there's a pile of fur here doesn't mean he was here." Etcetera grinned.
"Thanks- come with?" She asked.
"Well, I am a member- though I am mildly surprised that you didn't wake me..." She tried to sound hurt, but it didn't work.
"Come on- you wouldn't wake up. It's your own fault!" She told her off, and the two of them gathered the rest of the kittens. They didn't realize that they were in Mr. Mistoffelees's pipe until they saw it. The insides were draped with purple, and things bubbled and popped everywhere. Electra shivered and Victoria looked... like Victoria. Sweet, amazed, happy. Boe just looked astonished. She had always deeply admired her step brother, offering to help him with many things.
Of course, rumors floated about here and there... they said he was building a machine that was going to find and capture Macavty, but no one had been able to do it yet- so why not Quaxo? Now that she'd thought of it, he hadn't been needing her help as often as he used to...
She shook the thoughts out of her head and walked out.
"Tugger, we know you're in here." Electra yowled. "If you don't come out we're going to shower to with sparks and other magical assortments." Suddenly, the curtains moved. Tugger stepped from them, laughing up a storm.
"I really had you wound up, there, didn't I?" He grinned at his own joke. All of the fans, excluding Boe, jumped him, wrestling him to the floor.
* * *
That night, while being petted by her human, she gave a great deal of thought to Tugger. Why did the fans love him? Oh, right, because he's dreamy. Honestly, what else was there about him? Was he brave? No. Was he sensitive? Definately not. Was he caring? Uh uh.
She thought that she might want to quit, or back out. She would still be friends with the club, but she just wouldn't be in it. Yeah, that would work. Besides, she always had Misto.
* * *
It was a scarlet moon, perfect time for brooding. It was as if Heaviside had blessed this evening- or cursed it. Boe gave up trying to wriggle away from the heavy blankets and let out a mind-bending caterwaul. Her human- Mia- woke up abruptly and cursed.
"Stupid cat- you're going outside, Angel! Out! Now!" She lifted up the covers. Boe, quite pleased with herself, ran out of the room and through the kitty door and toward the pipe that Misto called his home- or, at least, for that night.
"Misto? You in there?" She called, her voice echoing. She heard someone moving, but no one responded. "Mi-Misto? Didja hear me?" She asked, stuttering. There was more movement. She saw a flash of a shadow, and her curiousity got the better of her as she moved into the den. Things rattled and flashed, and whoever was there wasn't supposed to be there. "Who is it? You're not supposed to be here." She whispered.
"Neither are you, darling..." A deep, scary voice sang before the shadows, the noises, and the voice all faded into the background.
Boe was struck, standing where she was. Little by little, she inched forward. A strange noise met her ears. It was a steady pling, pling, pling, pling... She saw what it was. Misto had been working on a new potion, but she wasn't sure what it was. She came up closer to it and screamed. Inside the dark blue bubbling cauldron was a head. She approached it, wanting to see who it was. But as she drew nearer, she realized that it was not a severed head, but a picture- a moving picture. It was Macavity.