Er, erm, uh...ok...Oh, yeah, this is a story about how Etcy, Demi & Bomba came into existence. Yes, they are related! Oh, the hell, just read the damn story. I'm sure you'll get the jist!

The moon was bright in the sky, but in the alleyways, all was cast in shadow. There was a tense, threatening stillness in the air, as if the world of the alleyways, and all the lowly inhabitants were holding their breath, waiting for something.

A few minutes passed in this unnatural silence, and then, a small, lean cat slunk into view, a tiny bundle in her mouth, and two more trudging dejectedly behind her. To a human, and even to another cat, this young queen would've seemed strange, for at least two reasons. Firstly, she was wandering around these alleyways at night, with three very young, vulnerable kits, and secondly, her coat markings would have a passer-by baffled.

As far as her body and head were concerned, they were jet black, with very small splashes of white here and there. But as soon as you looked at her tail, you'd think something was wrong, for it wasn't black, or even white, but bright red; or at least, as red as is possible in a cat!

The queen's name was Aevinnietta, but as of yet, her kittens didn't have names. All three were also queens; the one Aevi (as she had often been called) was carrying was a little cream tabby, the youngest of the three. She was the blood-sister of the other two, but while they were 2 months old, she was only 3 weeks. The oldest, a ginger with a slight tinge of red, and some white on her, trudged behind Aevi on her left, and the middle kitten, a gold, black and white calico, stumbled behind on Aevi's right.

Now, the young queen wasn't just wandering around aimlessly; she and her 3-week-old and 2-month-old kits had just that night been forced to leave the old warehouse where they had been living with a fairly large group of cats, after it had been raided by humans. A lot of the other cats had been caught, but thanks to a young tom called Relecanure, she and her kits had managed to escape. Unfortunately, it had been at the expense of Rele's life.

Aevi had been pretty upset, as she had gotten quite close to the tom, and he had always helped her with her kits. But for their sake, and for the sake of all of their survival, she'd had to put aside her pain, and focus on getting her small family away from there.

Suddenly, the calico kitten's strength gave way, and she collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted. The ginger/red, and white immediately jarred, turned and ran back to her sister, lying down beside her, and mewing to their mother. Aevi immediately doubled back…

…and ran into something very furry and solid! For a moment, she was frozen in sheer terror, thinking she might've run into a Pollicle. Then, she backed up, and her fears were tripled. For standing in front of her, a menacingly evil smile on his scarred face, was Growltiger, a scruffy, tiger-like calico tom, hated by cats and humans alike. He was the most feared feline in the whole of Britain, and he sure knew it.

Without a single thought to her own safety, Aevi tried to dodge around him to get to her other kits, but Growltiger brushed her aside as easily as though she was a piece of dust, or a fly in his way.

As the queen hit the ground, the squealing kitten flew out of her mouth, hit the cold, hard ground, and mewled even louder. Growltiger began to advance on the tiny queen, and suddenly, all thoughts left Aevi's mind, as she flew, jaws and claws ready, at the beast who threatened her youngest. And now, her madness, and loss of control helped her. Hissing and spitting, she dug her claws into the fiend's face, bit his arm, and wrestled violently with him until, finally, he was forced back, away from the still-mewling cream kitten.

Determined not to be beaten, he turned towards the other kits, only to find Aevi there, cream tabby in mouth, standing protectively in front of the other two. Her breathing was laboured, her strength waning, and Growltiger knew it. Figuring that he just had to buy his time, he laughed evilly, then moved a little closer, and said, in a roguish, grating voice, "So! You actually tried to defeat me, master of all evil. Well, I must admit, you put up a brave fight. Unfortunately for you, even a ferocious mother cat isn't a match for me. If I can't fight you head on, I'll just have to buy my time, wait a little, or even trick you if I have to."

Aevi gently dropped the kitten between her paws, and hissed at him, warning him off, but Growltiger just continued, in an even rougher voice than before "But you know, you could make life so much easier for me, and for yourself, by just handin' over those two lovely little queens behind you, and-"

"Never!" spat Aevi, crouching even further back, as if to protect her kits even more. Seeing this move, Growltiger laughed. "Foolish girl! Very well, if you choose death over life, so be it!"

He crouched, in an attack position, but before he could leap forward and strike, the little ginger and white queen crept around her mother. Dodging Aevi's flailing paws, she walked boldly up to Growltiger, and said, in a voice that sounded far too mature for such a young queen, "Take me! I'm not two of us, but please, take me anyway! Spare my mother and sisters, and take me. I'll do whatever you want, I swear."

Knowing what awaited her oldest kitten, Aevi, sobbing, flung herself forward, but Growltiger, The Terror Of The Thames, had already disappeared in a thick, black cloud of smoke, taking the little ginger queen with him!

Ok, did you get it? Well, you're all pretty smart out there (with a few exceptions coughcough>) so you should've got it, right? Right? Is anyone actually listening? Hello. HELLO! Anyone out there? Or have I just been wallowing here in my own selfpity? What do you think, Sphinxaire? Sphinxaire? Where is everyone? Why am I alone? AndWHY is this planetred? Hang on...how did I get here? Is anyone going to rescue me from myself? Insert eerieWestern Music, and tumbleweed>!

Please R&R! No flames...though I know they're not really needed of course, cos...oh, just go! Leave mebe, in my catacombs of self-pity, the depthsof depression, the...ohI'll just shut up, shall I?

CHORUS: YES!