Author's Note: The story Jemima tells in the beginning is taken from my other story, "Forever Yours."
*I don't own Cats.*
"…and as she walked around the corner…BAM! Macavity was right in front of her!" Jemima said, finishing up her scary story. Just then, Macavity jumped out from behind a junk pile, laughing menacingly. The kittens Electra, Etcetera, and Victoria, Pouncival, Plato, and Tumblebrutus all shrieked.
"Macavity!" Electra screamed. They darted away to hide, but noticed that Jemima hadn't moved from her spot. She was rolling around on the ground and laughing. She and Macavity high-fived each other.
"Jemima! Get away from him!" Victoria yelled from her spot.
Macavity laughed. "You should see your faces!" The kittens tilted their heads. That wasn't Macavity's voice. That sounded like…
"Admetus!" Plato yelled. They hesitantly walked closer to see that it wasn't the real Macavity. Admetus had dressed up for the story. Well, the tom kittens certainly felt dumb. They were supposed to be the tough toms, but got all scared from a costume!
The kittens were telling scary stories around a small fire that Mistoffelees had conjured up for them. Some of the older cats glanced at them worriedly but saw that they weren't harmed. Jennyanydots, Pouncival's mother, had a fit when Mistoffelees made the fire, but eventually gave in. She checked on them from time to time.
"Plato, you should see your face!" Jemima cried happily, proud her story and Admetus's costume had scared the toughest of the tom kittens.
"I have every reason to be scared!" He retorted. "Macavity is scary!" Pouncival and Tumblebrutus nodded in agreement. "How come the older cats weren't scared?"
"They knew what Jem and I had planned," Admetus grinned. Pouncival, Plato, and Tumblebrutus jumped on him, tackling him to the ground. They decided that was enough scary stories for today. Besides, they had to go home to get their costumes on! Tonight was Halloween, and this was the first time they could actually go trick – or – treating!
"I'm gonna be the Rumpus Cat!" Admetus said happily as he held up his black costume and red goggles.
"Will you ever be something else?" Etcetera giggled. "I'm going as Tuggy!"
"Go figure," Plato said, rolling his eyes.
"What are you two going to be?" Pouncival asked Jemima and Electra.
"My owners were reading a story to their child," Electra said. "It was called 'The Cat in the Hat'. Jemima and I are going as Thing 1 and Thing 2 from the story. They have blue hair and have a red outfit with a 1 and 2 written on their chest."
"Nice!" Victoria grinned. "I'm a human ballerina." The queen kittens high – pawed each other.
"Hey Admetus, can I borrow your Macavity costume?" Plato asked. "I think that's who I want to be."
"Sure." Admetus handed him his costume.
"I'm going as Pollicle," Pouncival grinned. He held up the makeshift Pollicle costume they made for the Jellicle Ball.
The kittens scurried off to their dens to eat dinner and get ready for a night of their first trick – or – treating. They were excited, and felt like the night was taking forever to come. When it was finally dark out, the kittens slipped into their costumes and eagerly ran out to meet their friends in the middle of the clearing. Each one held a sack that was to collect the small treats they would get from everyone.
Jemima and Electra had dyed the top of their heads a bright blue and dyed the rest of their fur red, except their paws and face, which was dyed white. A white circle was painted on their chests with a black 1 and 2 in the center. Victoria found a discarded child's fake ballerina tutu and wore a pair of pink ballet shoes to match. Etcetera's costume was by far the best. She found a fur coat and cut off the fur to wrap around her shoulders and glued it down to her chest. She found a diamond studded belt that resembled Tugger's, and she dyed her whole body black, except for her wrists, ankles, and chest, which was made to look like leopard prints.
They started at Jemima's parents, Munkustrap and Demeter.
"Trick or Treat!" They all cried together.
"Well, are you a frightful bunch?" Munkustrap smiled as he dropped a small toy in each of their bags. Demeter froze as first when she saw Plato's 'Macavity' costume, but relaxed.
"You spooked me there for a second," Demeter laughed and she ruffled Plato's head fur.
The kittens said their thank you's and ran around the junkyard. The night dragged on as they made their way all the way around. Old Deuteronomy and Bustopher Jones even stopped by that night for Halloween. Old Deuteronomy gave them each a coloring book and crayons, and Bustopher Jones gave them each a container of the rare rice pudding, something that the kittens absolutely loved.
The funniest part was when they got to Rum Tum Tugger's den. When he opened the door, he stared wide – eyed at Etcetera and blinked a few times. She started dancing around and pelvic – thrusting just like him. She jumped into his arms and nuzzled his head.
"Now we're exactly the same!" She cried.
He coughed to stifle a laugh. "Uh…yeah. Here ya go." He dropped a small treat into their bags before dashing back inside. Obviously Etcetera's costume made him a bit scared.
They sat in the center of the clearing and dumped out their goodies. Apart from the coloring books, crayons, and rice pudding, they thought they got a good stash this year. Skimbleshanks had given them each a plastic train whistle; Jennyanydots had given them each a toy mouse; Mistoffelees had given them each a small magic kit; Munkustrap and Demeter had given them each a rattling ball; Rum Tum Tugger had given them each a can of tuna; and loads more.
"Hey, where'd Plato go?" Pouncival asked suddenly. They looked around and found the familiar bright orange tom walking towards them.
"Plato!" Victoria cried as she wrapped her arms around his torso. "Where'd you go?" The tom looked down at her in surprise.
"Uh…Victoria?" A voice called out. They turned to see another Macavity walking towards them. "What are you doing?" Slowly, the kittens turned to look at the other Macavity, who was still in Victoria's hold. She retracted her arms and let him go, realizing that she had just hugged the real Macavity!
"AHH!" They all screamed. "MACAVITY!"
The ruckus brought all the Jellicles outside. This was not their normal screaming – it was the pure terrified kind of screaming. Munkustrap stood protectively in front of the kittens and puffed out his chest.
"What are you doing here?" Munkustrap growled.
"Relax Munkustrap," Macavity said as he held up a paw. "I know it's my niece's first Halloween, just like the rest of the kittens. I just came to give them all something."
They all watched as Macavity conjured up something that each of them had wanted for a while. Admetus got some more Rumpus Cat comic books; Etcetera got a stuffed toy that was made to look like Rum Tum Tugger; Jemima got a book about the moon; and more. Etcetera squealed in delight at her new mini Rum Tum Tugger. Rum Tum Tugger, who was standing next to Munkustrap, face – pawed himself and groaned.
"Happy Halloween," Macavity said.
"Thank you!" They all cried in unison. He gave a nod at his brothers, Munkustrap and Rum Tum Tugger, and to his father, Old Deuteronomy, before walking back out of the junkyard. The Jellicles returned to their dens, leaving the kittens to play with their new toys.
"I can't believe you actually hugged Macavity!" Electra giggled, looking up from her book about flowers that Macavity got her.
"I can't believe you had actually mistaken me for Macavity!" Plato cried, making Victoria blush.
Well, this was certainly an interesting Halloween, especially for the kittens. From Jemima's story to Etcetera's costume to Macavity showing up, they thought the night was really fun. One thing's for sure: this was a Halloween they'd never forget!
Happy Halloween to all my readers! :D