Magnus the Great
Disclaimer: I do not own Cats the musical. Just this story.
Chapter 1: A Massing of Pollicles
"Let go of me you flea infested freak!"
Oso sighed; this cat had not stopped yapping since he and Rohl caught it sneaking around near the border of Pollicle territory. The larger Bull Mastiff originally wanted to kill the intruding cat then and there but Rohl had said that this squirming, mouthy feline could be a Jellicle cat. And they had strict orders to bring in any Jellicles they found alive.
"Ugghh, don't breathe on me," the cat snarled, "Your breath smells like a litter box left out in the sun!"
"Oh shut up furball," Rohl growled voicing what Oso wished he could say if his mouth wasn't full. He was beginning to agree with his friend; they should've just killed this cat when they found it. But if they did that and it turned out the cat was a Jellicle, Magnus would not be happy with them. Their leader was, normally, a calm and collected dog; rarely angry or upset about anything. They had seen him annoyed plenty of times but he never lost his temper. Unless of course you screwed up something important. Then he really let loose and you did not want to be around Magnus when he was angry. The two Bull Mastiffs had seen their leader's anger once before and the dog he was angry at, well, what happened to him was better left unmentioned.
But all that mattered right now to the two dogs was taking their prisoner to see Magnus; if it was a Jellicle then their leader could move on with the rest of his grand plan. If not, a free meal for them.
The cat continued to squirm but stopped once he saw where the dogs were taking him. He recognized the old warehouse immediately as Macavity's old lair; the ginger cat had been killed two months ago by that…thing…and his hench cats had scattered to the four winds. Well, not all of them; a group of five had rallied together making a vow to find and kill the thing but it found them first; killed them one by one, weakening the group slowly until only two remained alive. He remembered seeing the thing after it had killed the last of the two; tall, lean with silver fur that made it look like a ghost in the moonlight. And those eyes; he shuddered at the memory. How anyone could call that thing a hero for killing Macavity was beyond him.
The two dogs entered the warehouse and began picking their through the group of dogs that were lounging around the main area. Rohl sometimes couldn't believe how quickly the warehouse was filling up. It'd only been a week ago that Magnus had sent them out with a message to all the Pollicles in London. The message had simply been that if they truly wished to be free of the Jellicles, then they should come to Macavity's lair and listen to what their leader had planned. Most dogs they encountered had laughed at them, saying that others had tried to get rid of the Jellicles and they'd all failed. What could their so called leader do? And yet, here they were; Rohl recognized several of the naysayers talking amongst themselves, curious as to what exactly these dogs were going to do. More were trickling in every day; Rohl wondered if the warehouse was large enough to hold them all.
As they made their way through the group, some dogs looked up expectantly, thinking this cat Oso and Rohl had brought in was for them but one glare from either of the Mastiffs made them back off. They wandered down to the end of the room and into a smaller storage room which once served as Macavity's throne room. When the Pollicles had moved in, the first thing Magnus had done was get rid of the ginger's throne; he had no use for it and besides that, the last thing he wanted was to address his potential allies smelling like a cat.
Once inside the doorway, both Mastiffs bowed their heads in respect but the cat huffed irritably at a large Irish Wolfhound lying on a bed of blankets in the center of the room. He was lean and muscular with dark grey shaggy fur; to the cat, he didn't look any different from any of the other mongrels in the place so what made him so important?
"Put him down Oso," the Wolfhound said in a dignified voice adding after a pause, "Gently if you please."
Oso obeyed, gently putting the cat on the floor in front of his leader. The dog looked him over before asking, "Where did you find him?"
"He was sneaking around the east border," Rohl answered, "We didn't know if he was a Jellice or not so we brought him here."
"I am not a Jellicle," the tomcat spat angrily, "I wouldn't waste my time with those losers."
The Wolfhound shook his head. "Such terrible manners," he said, "Don't you know it's rude to speak when you're not spoken to?"
"Eat my tail," the cat sneered, "I'll speak when I want. I don't take orders from some prissy, high end mutt like you."
Oso and Rohl instinctively backed up a step; no one dared to insult their leader like that and judging from the hard look on Magnus's face, this cat had just signed his death warrant. Magnus rose from his bed and walked over to the tomcat who was immediately quieted by the sheer size of the Pollicle leader. He leaned in close so his narrow face was inches away from the cat.
"What did you call me?" he asked in a low and dangerous tone. The cat didn't answer. Magnus looked at him a moment longer, realizing the cat was obviously intimidated and wouldn't give the answers he wanted like this. Taking a breath to calm himself again, Magnus asked, "Are you a Jellicle or not?"
"N-no,"
"In that case," Magnus said rising to his full height and smiling at his bodyguards, "Gentlemen, enjoy your meal. But…make its death quick. You know how I detest their screaming."
Both Mastiffs beamed; Rohl quickly reached down and grabbed the cat by the scruff again then headed for the door.
"Oso," Magnus said stopping the larger Mastiff, "One last thing. Have they all arrived yet?"
"There's still some coming in but they're all pretty much here already."
Magnus nodded and the Mastiff hurried off to catch up with his friend. He would wait for a while longer; allow them to enjoy their meal before he addressed everyone. Lying back down again, Magnus ran through the details of his grand plan once more in his mind smiling to himself. He would succeed where others had failed.