Pairing: Munkustrap / Demeter, Macavity / Demeter

Cliché theme: "I'll save you from Macavity!"

It was a Tuesday when the first note came. The envelope was crumpled and wet, stained with mud and large splashes of ink, as if whoever had addressed it was not used to holding a pen. It was almost impossible to make out the name scrawled in angular, spidery writing across the front of the letter, but holding it up to the light the word 'Macavity' was just legible. Inside, the writing of the note itself was no better, almost impossible to read. The spelling was atrocious, the punctuation worse.

The Napoleon of Crime was sat at his desk in an old, disused warehouse in one of London's seedier areas. His office was on the top floor, only reachable by a winding, rickety, metal staircase with only one door and one large window, overlooking the rooftops of London. The door was guarded twenty-four hours a day, seven day a week, the window was barred and locked from the inside. There was no possible way into the office without Macavity's express permission. And yet somehow this note had made it onto his desk.

Studying the envelope carefully the large ginger tom decided to punish whoever had been on guard that day. It was not acceptable to let things such as this happen. It had already taken him several hours to go through all his papers and make sure none were missing or had been riffled. That was at least two hours gone out of his busy schedule. Two hours he couldn't afford to waste.

Not even bothering to read the offending note, Macavity pulled a sheet of paper towards him and began to scribble, the sound of pen scratching on paper filling the room. After several minutes he finished writing and looked up. The room was empty and still, warm sunlight streaming in through the barred window throwing long shadows onto the scratched wooden floorboards and giving the room a prison-like appearance.

He smiled, a cold smile that never reached his eyes, then the ginger tom raised his paw and banged it down on the desk, sending pens, paper, maps and other odds and ends flying everywhere. The resulting crash reverberated round the office and down the stairs, making several pigeons perched outside on the window ledge take flight in terror. His golden eyes glittering with malice, the Hidden Paw waited.

It took nearly ten seconds for the door to fly open, bouncing off the wall as it did so, and two of his henchcats to sprint into the room, claws out, teeth bared, ready for action. Too slow, Macavity thought lazily to himself as he eyed the two cats, too slow. Valentin was a large Burmese tom and while not actually a guard, he was in fact Macavity's top assassin, he should have done better and his reactions were nowhere near good enough. As for the other henchcat, her slowness to react and her failure to prevent someone from getting into the office to deliver the note were inexcusable. Lyssa was in charge of security. The rather average, slightly insane tabby queen was supposed to prevent exactly these situations from occurring and yet she had failed.

Macavity's lips curled back from his long, glittering fangs in a disgusted snarl and his eyes blazed with fury and yet he said nothing, merely handed the paper he had been writing on to the small queen and motioned with a furious swipe of his paw for them to get out. Without a word or a backwards glance the pair left the room, not even daring to look at each other or the note in Lyssa's paws.

Little did they know, their boss thought to himself, that that piece of paper was addressed to their colleague Deimos, who was feared throughout London for his skills as a torturer, and instructed him to punish the pair of them for their failure. Well, Macavity reflected, leaning back in his chair and watching the sunlight play on his desk, it was the only fair thing to be done. They had failed and must pay the price. Those were the terms for working for him. They had known that when they signed up.

This chain of thought brought him back to the reason this course of action was necessary. The note. Without particular hurry, Macavity shifted through the papers that had fallen to the floor until he found the right one. The general condition of this peculiar letter made him wrinkle his nose in disgust as he turned it over and tore open the envelope. The note was poorly written but the meaning was clear and it made the Hidden Paw suddenly jerk upright in his chair and stare aghast at the sheet in his hand.

To Macavity, the Hidden Paw, the Napoleon of Crime, Greetings,

Far be it from me to insult you, but in recent years I have been watching you

with interest and am afraid to say I was far from impressed. Particularly your

criminal activities and your enmity towards the Jellicle tribe have been fascinating

to me and I am sad to say you have let me down badly in your dealings with

those cats.

Now what I propose is a little game, to see if you really are as good as they say

you are; if you really deserve the title 'The Napoleon of Crime' or if you are what

I suspect, a nobody playing at being a master criminal.

If you hate the Jellicles as much as you say you do, be warned. They may not

be around for much longer. One by one, I will get rid of them. So if you want

the privilege of killing them, I suggest you hurry. Or see if you can find me and

stop me.

Catch me if you can, Macavity.

Regards.

Who on earth...? How dare they? He was so shocked that Macavity even forgot his usual self-controlled, emotionless façade and almost leapt out of his chair in horror. Who would dare challenge him? He had made sure all of his main rivals were in no position to oppose him. It had been one of the first things he'd done on establishing his reputation as a master of crime. His enemies were all six feet under, so who on earth would have the gall and the nerve to challenge and to criticise him?! How was this even possible?

Without further ado, the criminal jumped to his feet and almost ran to the door, pulling it open so violently the old hinges creaked ominously and the door frame rattled in the wall. The Hidden Paw was badly shaken. He didn't understand what was going on. He needed to get to the Jellicle's Junkyard as quickly as possible. He had to find out what was going on.

The new guards at the bottom of the stairs, whipped round when they heard him approaching and stared dumbfounded as their employer bounded past them, fur untidy, eyes wide, and out into the bright sunlight.

It was Tumblebrutus who found her. She was lying at the bottom of a pile of rubbish, half leaning against it in a bizarre slouched position, her eyes wide and staring, horror and shock written all over her face. Three deep slashes criss-crossed her chest, leaving ugly, gaping wounds still with trails of dried blood running down her fur onto the floor.

For a moment the young tom was frozen, unable to move or even think. Eventually he found his voice again. "Help! Someone, help!", Tumblebrutus croaked, his voice was hoarse and cracked. No one heard him.

It took three attempts. Third time of calling Munkustrap heard him. "Tumble? What is it?", the older Jellicle made his way towards the younger, a worried frown on his face. "Are you alright?"

Shakily Tumblebrutus pointed down at the rubbish and the blood pooling at his feet. The silver tabby reached him and stopped dead in his tracks, his mouth falling open, eyes widening. "Rumpleteazer?", he whispered and crouched down next to the still figure at their feet, "Can you hear me?" He reached out and gently touched her shoulder. She was stone cold.

With a sombre gaze, Munkustrap turned to look at Tumblebrutus. "There's nothing we can do. Can you fetch help, please, Tumble? We can't just leave her here."

As the young tom rushed off he turned back to the still figure of Rumpleteazer. "I'm sorry," the tabby whispered quietly, "I'm so sorry." Gently he closed her eyes.

Behind him a crowd had formed. Jellylorum was holding a sobbing Jennyanydots, who was beside herself and hysterical. Skimbleshanks stood beside her, eyes dry as if unable to grasp what had happened. The kittens were grouped around Plato and Tumblebrutus, all the little queens were in tears, the three toms didn't seem to know what to do and were stood in a shocked silence. Mistoffelees, Admetus and Alonzo were stood together a little further back. Bombalurina and Demeter were clutching at each other, terror in their eyes. Coricopat and Tantomile had their heads bowed and were standing in silence, agonized expressions on their faces.

A sudden voice cut through the silence. "Woss 'appenin'? Why are you lot stood 'ere?" Mungojerrie had come bounding over from where he had been lounging on an old cardboard box. " 'ave any of yer seen Teaz?", the calico tom demanded as he pushed through the crowd. The other Jellicles seemed too shocked to stop him and just watched as he made his way to the front of the group. "Wot...", the words died on his lips as he caught sight of his mate lying sprawled at his feet.

Quickly Munkustrap got to his feet. "Jerrie, don't touch her. This is a crime scene, we may need to collect evidence to find out what happened." He placed himself between the pile of rubbish and the smaller tom and reached out towards him placing a paw on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Wot d'yer mean? Why ain't nobody 'elpin' 'er?" The calico tried to push past Munkustrap. "Teaz! Wake up!"

The silver tabby barring his way refused to move. "I'm sorry, Jerrie. There isn't anything we can do." Pity welled up inside him as he looked at Mungojerrie. The younger tom looked utterly crushed and completely devastated.

"Teaz...", he whispered under his breath, "...please." Shakily Mungojerrie reached out a paw towards his mate but she didn't move. Tears sprang to his eyes but he angrily blinked them away. "She'll be foine. She 'as ter be."

Mechanically, Munkustrap repeated: "I'm sorry, Jerrie." He couldn't believe this was happening to them. Who would want to kill Rumpleteazer? Why would anyone do a thing like that? Sadly, he looked down at the body at his feet. Who would do that to a young queen with her whole life ahead of her? Who could be that evil? The more he thought, the more one name kept reoccurring in Munkustrap's mind. It could only have been Macavity. It had to be. Who else could...? The silver tabby stopped himself short. This wasn't helping anybody. He was in charge here, he had to take responsibility, not just fall apart like a frightened child.

"Alonzo, Admetus, could you move Rumpleteazer, please," his voice came out sounding harsh and wrong in his own ears, like he had a sore throat or had been crying, "Misto can you make sure everyone gets back to their dens safely." He glanced pointedly at Rumpleteazer's parents, making it clear that it was them he wanted Mistoffelees to keep an eye on. "Jelly, can you look after Jenny and Skimble. Is it alright if they stay with you?" The pale queen nodded her head slightly and Munkustrap continued. "Can you take Jerrie with you as well. It'd be better if he wasn't alone. And everyone please clear the area."

Mungojerrie looked like he was about to protest. Tears were running silently down his cheeks and his eyes were fixed on Rumpleteazer's face, as if willing her to get up and say this was all some horrible, twisted joke. She didn't and he let himself be gently pulled away by Asparagus, back towards the main clearing, staring over his shoulder as he went.

When the area was clear and Rumpleteazer's body had been moved to an empty den, Munkustrap began to search the area for clues. He found nothing. No fur, no scent, nothing. With a disappointed sigh, the Jellicle protector rocked back on his heels. So there wasn't even a trace of who had done this. He couldn't even get justice for the little queen's family. He screwed his eyes shut as tears began to sting them. He had failed them. He...

"It was Macavity, wasn't it?", a voice suddenly spoke behind him.

Munkustrap started and whirled round. "Deme, what are you still doing here? I thought Bomba was taking you back to her den with her?" He looked Demeter up and down. The small black and gold queen was trembling from head to foot, her eyes were wide and she had the look of a cornered beast. Sobs were racking her small fame but she seemed to be beyond tears. Horrified, Munkustrap crossed the small distance between them and pulled her into an embrace. "It's alright, Dem."

Her voice was shrill an piercing when she spoke. "It's not alright, though, is it? You know it isn't. It's him. It's Macavity. I can feel it. He did this." She laughed hysterically, hiccuping several times. "He's finally got bored of watching us. He wants revenge. He'll come after all of us. He's going to murder us all. None of us are safe. We..."

Her mate quickly silence her by gently kissing her. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you." Demeter gestured wildly and let out a helpless squeaking noise, as if to say there was nothing he could do to protect her. Quickly, the tom continued: "I'll protect you from him, I swear. He won't get to you. I won't let him hurt you." He took her paws in his and pulled her round to look at him. "I'll keep you safe, Demeter."

"You can't, no one can!", the terrified queen choked out, "he's always been obsessed with me. You know he has. He'll be after me next. He will!" She crumpled to the floor sobbing and trembling, only Munkustrap's grip on her wrist prevented her from falling and hurting herself.

"Maybe not. Maybe because he's obsessed with you he won't hurt you. He could have done it by now if he'd wanted to." Even in his own ears it sounded like a feeble argument and from the look on his mate's face he could tell she didn't believe him either. "We should get home", the tom suggested wearily, "you might feel safer there."

Frantically, Demeter shook her head and pulled out of his grip, backing away, eyes darting madly from side to side. "Don't take me back there!" She held out her paws in front of her to stop him getting any closer as she backed into a stack of junk and flattened herself against it.

"But we have to go home. We can't stay out here all night." Munkustrap was completely bewildered. Why didn't she want to go home? Surely that was safer than standing outside...

"He'll find me! I can't escape from him! He'll kill me!" She was in a hysterical panic by now and nothing Munkustrap said seemed to calm her down. The black and gold queen continued to back away from him as if in fear, cowering against the rubbish behind her. "He'll kill again. What if next time it's me? What if it's Jemmie? What if it's you?" Terror was making her voice shrill and broken, she barely even sounded like herself any more.

The poor tom was overwhelmed. He had no idea what to do or what to say. It was killing him to see Demeter backing away from him in fear. Through everything that had happened they had always stood together and been there for each other and now she was looking at him as if he was her enemy. For the first time in many years Munkustrap was at a loss for what to do. Pitifully he reached out his arms to her and took a step closer.

Demeter cringed away with a whimper. "I won't go back! He knows where to find me. I'm not safe at home. You can't make me!"

"I won't let him hurt you, Demeter. I promise."

"No, no,"she wailed, "I can't. He'll... I'm... Munkustrap..." And with that she collapsed in a dead faint, her eyelids flickering closed.

Her mate rushed immediately to her side. "Demeter?" He knelt down beside her in the mud and dirt and felt for her pulse. It was fine and her breathing was regular and even. Ever so carefully, Munkustrap picked her up, as if she weighed no more than a kitten, and carried her back towards their den. Whatever Demeter said, they needed to get home. Jemima was alone and unguarded in their den, they couldn't just leave her by herself.

Quickening his pace, the silver tabby made it inside and shut the door quietly behind him. He laid Demeter on the pile of blankets that served them as a bed and went to look for Jemima. She was nowhere to be found but he did discover a note in Jellylorum's handwriting. "Munkustrap. Jemima is with us. I thought it better she wasn't alone and you were busy and Demeter wasn't there. She's safe and we're looking after her. Jellylorum."

A sigh of relief escaped him. His daughter at least was safe.

Behind him Demeter let out a feeble groan and sat up. Her eyes were still red-rimmed, her fur was still messy, but she had lost the panicked expression. Gingerly the queen ran her paws through her fur in a vague attempt to tidy it up and rubbed her eyes. Then she turned to her mate, a look of anguish on her face. "Munkustrap, I'm sorry."

"No, it's alright," he answered quickly, hurrying over to sit on the bed beside her, "you were upset and it was a shock. It's perfectly natural." The silver tom wrapped his arms round her and was glad to feel his mate lean into the hug and rest her head on his shoulder. "There's nothing to be sorry for."

"It was just too much. I got scared and then I overreacted," she mumbled into his fur, "I didn't mean to push you away." As if to prove this she wrapped her arms tighter around his waist.

"I know, I know."

They spent another few minutes just sat in silence in each other's arms before Demeter leant away from him slightly to look up at his face. "Was it him?" Her eyes were full of fear but there was no sign of hysterics. She seemed to have managed to get herself back under control. "He has decided he wants revenge, hasn't he." It was more a statement than a question.

Munkustrap didn't even bother to deny that it was probably Macavity who had murdered the calico thief. They both knew it was. Instead he responded to her other statement. "We don't know that. Everyone knows Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer worked for him. It might have nothing to do with revenge. It might be to do with that. If she upset him in some way, if she disobeyed him..."

"It makes sense, I suppose." The small queen was picking at the blanket, fraying the edges and pulling threads out of it to line up in front of her. Lines of worry were etched into her normally calm face and a vein in her temple was throbbing slightly. "I'm still afraid," she breathed not looking up from the blanket, "I don't know why but I am."

A sense of calm spread over Munkustrap. They'd been through this before when Demeter had first escaped from Macavity. They'd got through it then and they'd get through it again now. This was something he knew how to deal with. This was something he could sort out. Softly, he whispered in her ear, so his breath tickled the side of her face: "I'll protect you from him, Dem. I won't let him hurt you."

Her large, brown eyes turned to gaze into his blue ones and she smiled. A genuine, loving, happy smile. "I know you will", she whispered back.