NOTE: I do not own CATS or the song DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS by Disturbed
They belong to their receptive copyrights.
The song is separated from the story-line by stars, but later I have worked the song into the dialogue, so the stars will mark that too.
END NOTE
Can you feel that?
Oh shit
* * *
"Stop! Don't! That hurts mommy! Stop!"
Plato's eyes flew open. He sat bolt upright, panting, sweat drenching his fur. It was that dream again. The one he had had ever since he had escaped his home and his old life. He pressed his paw against his brow. It had never been so vivid, the dream about his past life. Every night the same thing and it gave him a throbbing headache.
Moaning, Plato reached into the corner of his den and pulled out a bag of catnip. He knew the stuff was rotting his body, but he didn't give a shit anymore.
Inhaling deeply, he rubbed the fragrant plant fragments all over his face. The green leaves papered his face as he flopped down onto his back. He never could remember how he had survived without it.
His headache faded, but his grip on reality did as well. He shook pathetically as he lay on his back, watching colors blur and dance before his eyes. Usually that was enough to put him back to sleep, but tonight the image of his mother's face tormented him worse than ever. Her claws extended, teeth bared, ready to strike him down. Plato let out a moan and tried not to cry.
* * *
Drowning deep in my sea of loathing
Broken your servant, I kneel
(Will you give in to me?)
* * *
After her mate (his father) had left her, Hazela took her rage out on her son. Plato had suffered serious injuries from his mother's paws, until he had escaped and been taken in by the Jellicles.
He should have been happy, being a Jellicle was the best thing to happen to a cat. But Plato couldn't be happy, not a long as these nightmares plagued his life.
"No one deserves a life like mine," he thought, inhaling more catnip, willing the memories to leave.
* * *
It seems what's left of my human side
Is slowly changing in me
(Will you give in to me?)
* * *
He suddenly heard a happy purr. Looking out of his den, he saw Jemima, playing in the moonlight. She had found a ball of yarn and was wrestling with it, giggling as happy as ever.
Plato scowled at the angelic kitten. How could she be so happy all the time? Didn't she know that the future could turn on her at any moment to bite her on the ass? Why wasn't he in her place?
"I don't deserve to be," he growled to himself, speech slurred as he tried to get to his feet, "I am a piece of pollicle shit and always will be. That's just the way this wretched life is."
"You could show her," a voice whispered in his ear, "Teach her that life is all about pain. If you can't be happy, why should anyone else?"
Plato stared at Jemima, turning summersaults and yanking at the yarn. The voice made sense. He didn't get to have a happy moment in the moonlight like her. She shouldn't either.
* * *
Looking at my own reflection
When suddenly, it changes
Violently it changes
* * *
"Jemima!"
Jemima turned as Plato staggered out of his den.
"What do you want Plato?" she asked, suspiciously.
"Can I play too?" he simpered, nearly falling over as her touched her lightly on the shoulder.
Jemima nudged him off.
"I don't think so," she told him, "I want to play alone."
"Come on," Plato fell flat on his face as he lurched towards her, "Come play with Plato."
Jemima scooted away in fear.
"Something's wrong with you Plato," she stammered, "You're a creep!"
She managed to swipe him across the nose. Plato reached up to touch his face and saw a light smear of blood on his paw. Then he saw red.
* * *
There's no turning back now
You've woken up the demon in me
* * *
"You bitch!" he snarled. He launched himself at her and ripped at her face with his claws. Blood spattered his face as he ferociously tore at the tiny kitten. She screamed and tried to defend herself
"No one touches me!" he yelled.
"I'm sorry!" she screamed.
"Shut up bitch!" Plato roared, biting her side and ripping her dark fur. Blood covered his lips and he spat it back in Jemima's face.
* * *
Get up; come on get down with the sickness
Get up; come on get down with the sickness
Get up; come on get down with the sickness
Open up your hate and let it flow into me
* * *
Plato was in a state of madness. He had never so in control. He dug his claws into Jemima's fur and she squealed as he tugged down, fresh warm blood flowing freely. He struck her across the face and her nose began bleeding, dripping into her pure white whiskers. He seized her tail and pulled it so hard it became dislocated with a crack that sent the sleeping pigeons fluttering up in a panic.
"Why are you doing this?" Jemima choked.
"Shut the fuck up!" Plato struck her across the face again and one of her fangs skittered across the ground. He kicked her in the gut and she gagged, more blood added to the growing pool. He grabbed hold of her ear and yanked, hunk of it coming off all together.
"Stop . . ." she moaned, only to bite into her tongue as another blow came down on her chin. She spat out a mouthful of blood, to be rewarded nothing but a scratch across the face and fell unconscious.
* * *
Get up; come on get down with the sickness
You mother get up, come on get down with the sickness
You fucker get up, come on get down with the sickness
Madness is the gift that has been given to me
* * *
Suddenly, Plato realized what he was doing. He dropped Jemima to the ground and she splashed in a puddle of her own blood. He staggered back, staring at his paws, covered in blood. He shook, before turning and throwing up.
"Everlasting Cat, what's happening to me?" he thought. He stooped down and picked Jemima up. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared at him in confusion. That rekindled some anger.
"Say one word," he whispered, menacingly, "And I'll kill you."
Jemima fainted. Plato carried her towards jennyanydots's den. Smearing the blood so as to coat himself more, he scratched at the door.
The tubby queen opened the door and screamed.
"Everlasting cat! Plato! Jemima! What happened to you two?"
"Pollicles," Plato whimpered, "They were attacking Jemima. I tried to fight them off, but I think I might have been too late!"
"Oh lord," Jennyanydots scooped Jemima up and listened to her chest, "Thank Heavyside, she's still breathing. Thank you so much for looking out for her, Plato. Are you hurt?"
"I don't think so," Plato pretended to check himself over.
"Well, get home and wash up. I'll take care of Jemima. May the Everlasting Cat smile on you Plato," Jennyanydots shut the door and Plato chuckled, throatily.
"May he smile on you too, you fat bitch," he sneered. The tiny shred of mercy he had felt earlier had long since vanished and he wished he'd killed Jemima. It would've felt wonderful, the ultimate demonstration of control. The runt really didn't deserve to live anyway.
"Stop thinking like that!" he mentally yelled at himself, "She was completely innocent."
"No one is completely innocent," the darker voice whispered, "You know she deserved it. And you know you loved feeling the warm blood drip onto your paws."
"I didn't . . ." Plato started to say out loud, but he stopped, because the voice was right. That small part of him really did like that feeling of domination over her, the way nothing could stop him, the way she . . .
"Shut up!" his brain yelled at him, "You are not evil!"
"But what if I am?" he asked himself.
Shaking his head, he wandered back into his den. Lying down on his back, he inhaled the remainder of his catnip, only to fall into an uneasy dream involving his mother and Jemima.
Several weeks later
Plato crunched up the remainder of a rat and swallowed with a burp. He looked frightfully different then he had a few weeks ago. He did not wash the blood off his coat, so it stayed and dried, forming crusty orange zigzags on his mostly white body. His mane coon heritage was starting to shine through, as the fur on his head grew long, tangled and matted. He had been hunting so often, he was becoming slightly muscular and thick. He hunted even when he was not hungry, for the rush of adrenaline he felt destroying something weaker than himself was even better than catnip.
He longed to attack again, but the small part of his brain always managed, with difficulty to hold him back.
* * *
I can see inside you, the sickness is rising
Don't try to deny what you feel
(Will you give in to me?)
* * *
"Plato!"
Plato jumped and swiveled around. Demeter was at the mouth of his den, her black and gold coat glistening in the afternoon sunlight. A smile twitched his mouth.
"Good afternoon Demeter," he drawled.
"Don't play innocent Plato, I know what you did to my daughter!" Demeter growled.
"Oh you do, do you?" Plato asked, not really caring. He was eyeing Demeter up and down, from her curved whiskers to her fluffy tail. Ever since he had arrived at the junkyard, he had always thought she was beautiful.
"Yes Plato, did you honestly think you could get away with it?" she hissed, pacing agitatedly, swishing her tail, "Those scratches could never have come from a pollicle and what Jem just told me proves it!"
"I see," Plato licked his lips. Demeter's fur was glistening and her paws were delicately kneading the ground. Her golden eyes were filled with anger, but he didn't care. She was so bold and full of life, just like her best friend Bombalurina. But Demeter was still different, she was so petite and yet she was so brave and confident. Not to mention she had a great ass.
"Stop thinking like that," he mentally scolded himself, "She's Munkustrap's mate!"
"Leave me the hell alone!" he yelled back, and he ground his paws into the dirt, imagining them on Demeter's coat.
* * *
It seems that all that was good has died
And is decaying in me
(Will you give in to me?)
* * *
"Well?" Demeter demanded, pacing in agitation, "What the hell were you doing? You could've killed her! I used to feel sorry for you Plato, but now I see you are just a coward. She's barely five months old!"
Plato watched Demeter pace and when her back was to him, he caught a whiff from under her tail. He growled softly, mouth starting to water; he might have been able to restrain himself, but not now. Not now that he knew she was in heat.
"I truly am sorry Demeter," he smiled, getting to his feet, "I know I must really have been a nuisance."
Demeter whirled to face him, eyes blazing.
"A NUSIANCE!?" she yelled, "You beat my kitten half to death and you say you were a nuisance? You are a soulless, son of a-"
"Oh no," Plato interrupted, slinking over closer to Demeter, "I mean, I know you must be annoyed at having to leave Munkustrap to come and talk to me."
"Are you on catnip?" Demeter asked, "What the hell are you talking about?"
"I mean, Jem must have run in and interrupted you and Munkustrap to tell you this," Plato gently nuzzled the fur on her shoulder, "And you had to leave your husband, as randy as you were, to come and see me. Pity, since now he has to go on lookout duty for the next six moons."
"Wha-"
"I know what you need Demeter," Plato practically drooled, "You need a tom who can tend to your every need and I can be that tom."
* * *
It seems you're having some trouble
In dealing with these changes
Living with these changes
* * *
"What in the name of Heavyside are you doing?" his brain yelled at him and Demeter echoed it.
"Just be quiet," Plato growled to both Demeter and his mind. He began tenderly licking her neck, his paws running down to her chest. His claws tentatively scratched the top of her breasts and he moaned with longing. He ran his face down her back, towards her heat and inhaled deeply, shuddering.
"Get the fuck off me!" Demeter clawed at his face, but her claws got stuck. They dug in deeper and deeper; Plato howled in pain and shook his head, which only made her claws go across his face, creating deep cuts. They finally came out and Plato put his paw to his face. He felt dampness and pulled back, his paw covered in blood.
Plato growled again, this time by a combination of lust and anger.
"What have you done to my face?" he snarled.
"Nothing you didn't deserve," she retorted.
That was all the motivation he needed.
* * *
Oh no. The world is a scary place
Now that you've woken up the demon in me
* * *
"Come here you bitch!" he roared, springing on top of her. She cried out in alarm and began tearing at his fur, but Plato held his claws to her throat.
"Utter a single syllable," he hissed, "And I swear I will kill you and your family!"
Demeter let out a squeak of fear and shut her mouth.
* * *
Get up; come on get down with the sickness
Get up; come on get down with the sickness
Get up; come on get down with the sickness
Open up you hate and let it flow into me
* * *
Plato began biting her breasts, tugging at them in ecstasy. Demeter whimpered, but didn't move. One claw dropped towards her heat and circled it, making a small trail of blood. Demeter whimpered again, tears starting to stain her eyes.
"Crying won't make this go any faster," he purred roughly, "If you want your beloved Jemima breathing tonight, you'll just lie hear and enjoy this."
Demeter shuddered as Plato's tongue brushed across her face. His paws took hold of her breasts, rubbing them and pinching them mercilessly. She could feel his hardness rubbing her belly and couldn't help but tremble. Plato bit down on her neck, just hard enough to let a drop of blood slide to the ground.
"Everlasting cat!" Plato hissed, his body quivering.
"You're pathetic," Demeter had found what remained of her attitude, "Haven't you ever fucked anyone before?"
Plato struck her across the face and her nose started to drip blood.
"You're lucky you're so pretty Demeter," he snarled, "You're going to get less punishment then your daughter did when she dared open her mouth."
He lowered himself down and Demeter shut her eyes. But the pain made them fly open again. Plato was out of control, moving faster and pushing deeper then she had ever experienced before. His claws were anchored into her sides, digging deeper with each movement.
"Stop . . ." she whimpered, but Plato only struck her face again and pushed even deeper. It was like first becoming a queen all over again, but this time the pain was even more severe. And it wasn't Munkustrap looking down at her. It was this monster, blood from the wounds on his face dripping onto her body.
* * *
Get up; come on get down with the sickness
You mother get up, come on get down with the sickness
You fucker get up, come on get down with the sickness
Madness is the gift that has been given to me
* * *
"Damnnnnnnnnnn itttttttttt! Plato moaned, hissing as his body started to tighten. He shoved himself in even faster then before and Demeter cried out in pain. Plato didn't strike her; he was losing control. It felt so good, it was almost painful.
Finally, with a roar that echoed through the den, it was over. Demeter shook as she limped back from him. Her normal spark and energy had gone; she was the ghost of the cat she once was.
"Whh . . . why did you . . . do that to me?" she spluttered, clutching her body, quaking.
"To prove to you," Plato gasped, feeling better than he ever felt in his life, "And the whole junkyard, that I am dominate. No one can stop me or tell me what to do. So go back and tell the whole Junkyard what has happened to you! But you if you speak my name, your darling kitten will receive what you just did!"
Demeter opened the floodgates; tears pouring down her face as she fled. Plato stood there, chest heaving, Demeter's blood staining his claws. He looked at a piece of metal and saw his reflection; the cuts from Demeter created jagged grooves in his face, distorting it.
"I don't even look like myself anymore" he thought, putting a paw up gingerly to touch the cuts and feeling the sticky sensation of drying blood.
"Good," he said aloud, "Plato was weak. I am no longer Plato."
"But then, who am I?" he thought to himself.
"That I don't know," he growled.
He yawned. Suddenly, he was very tired. But he felt happy, happier than he had ever felt in his life. He curled up in a ball and gave his nether regions a few good licks; he was still throbbing slightly. Plato yawned again and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep without catnip for the first time in ages.
* * *
And when I dream
* * *
Plato twitched slightly and smiled, as he dreamed he was tearing out the throat of some faceless tom. The tom struggled, but Plato completely overpowered him. He couldn't move an inch to resist. Plato smiled as he rubbed his face in the crimson fountain.
* * *
And when I dream
* * *
Then the dream changed. Plato groaned as in his dream he inhaled a pile of catnip, before ramming himself into jet-black queen. Plato knew this was his ideal queen. She was completely subordinate and adored being treated like a bitch. If she let out one hiss, he would slap her and she would squeal in delight. She suddenly changed into Demeter, a Demeter who behaved the same way as the black queen. Oh, he had to have this Demeter forever. He moaned aloud in his sleep and his hips thrust instinctively.
* * *
And when I dream
* * *
"You son of a Pollicle!"
Plato shook in his sleep. In his dream Demeter kicked him off her and stood up, swaying.
"You fucking pile of rat shit!" she roared, eyes blood shot and mouth hanging stupidly. She began changing, becoming slightly fatter, colors shifting from black and gold to rust red with black patches and a trickle of drool began sliding out from between her teeth.
* * *
And when I dream
* * *
"No . . ." Plato whimpered, his voice suddenly high and squeaky. Looking down at his body, he saw he was a kitten again, trembling like a leaf on a tree in fall.
"You're the reason your father left!" his mother, Hazela, slurred, lurching forward as fragments of catnip dropped off her whiskers. She reached for him and lifted him off the ground by the nape of his neck.
"Please . . . no . . ." Plato stammered, trying to scratch his mother. But it only enraged her.
She smacked her son across the face, her claw making direct contact with his eyelid and yanking it askew. Plato cried and thrashed.
*"No mommy, don't do it again!"*
"Bianco didn't want kittens," Hazela spat, letting her son drop to the floor like a sack of bricks, "And then you came along and ruined everything!"
*"Don't do it again"* Plato cried, trying to run, but Hazela grabbed his tail and yanked him back, *"I'll be a good boy. I'll be a good boy, I promise!"*
"Shut your mouth you pathetic excuse for a tom!" Hazela dug her claws into Plato's rear end, in a cat's version of a spanking. Plato cried and tried again to run, but to no avail. Hazela swung him around to face him and Plato could smell the stale catnip and rotten animals on her breath.
*"No mommy, don't hit me!"*
"You rat's ass!" Hazela swung her open clawed paw into her son's face. Plato blubbered as blood ran down his cheek. She swung again and Plato felt his eye seal itself shut as blood vessels popped to form a royal purple black eye.
*"Why did you have to hit me like that, mommy?"* He wailed.
"Shut the fuck up!" Hazela sunk her teeth into her son's ear and ripped it sideways. Plato screamed as blood ran into his ear canal.
*"Don't do it, you're hurting me!"* Plato begged, but his mother was just as incoherent. Then she reached for her son's throat.
"NO!!!!"
Plato leapt up and smacked himself in the head. He was shaking worse than ever and felt freezing cold from the soaking of sweat. Seizing his bag of catnip, he shoved his entire face in it. He was almost hyperventilating, inhaling rapidly, trying to clear his head. Hazela's glazed-over eyes were still in his mind. Plato shuddered and curled up on his pile of blankets.
"Why me?" he though weakly, as the swirls of colors sang sweet lullabies to him, "Why did my mother have to take her anger out on me? I never did anything except live. Why did it have to be me?"
Suddenly, Plato's eyes widened. She did have no good reason for doing what she did. All Plato did know was that she had to be punished for it. Getting up, he staggered out into the open and inhaled the cool of the evening. He flexed his claws as his lips drew back in a snarl.
"Look out 'mother'," he hissed, "Plato's coming home."
He stumbled out of the junkyard, heading west. He had difficulty seeing and almost got hit by cars twice. His paws were rubbed raw from the glass scattered in the alleys and there were pollicles, skulking about, ready to attack if provoked. One did try to ambush him, but Plato merely raised his fur, snarled, and the pollicle took off running, tail between its legs.
As his head cleared from the catnip, Plato could accurately find his way through the dark streets. Sights and sounds were becoming familiar, but not in a welcoming nostalgic way.
And then he saw it, a dilapidated dumpster with its lid rusted off. The strong odor of his mother was still present, so she was still alive. Plato bared his teeth; it was time to destroy the one thing that still kept him from being completely unstoppable.
He sprung up onto the rim of the dumpster and peered inside. Huddled up in the corner was a mass of rank, matted, parasite-infested fur. Hazela was sleeping, her breath coming out in slow rattling gasps. She was very old now; her bones visible and her dirty fur mostly grey.
Plato leapt into the dumpster with a clunk. Hazela jerked awake and peered around.
"Who's there?" she demanded. She looked towards the noise and Plato saw her eyes were filmed over with white. She was completely blind. Plato smiled, it was pure karma
"Hello mother," he sneered.
Hazela tried to stand up, her body quaking from palsy. She stumbled towards his voice.
"Plato? Is that you?" she asked.
He laughed harshly. The queen, who had made his life a living hell, was standing paws from him. Plato flexed his claws as he felt his hatred rise.
*"Why did you have to be such a bitch?"* he spat, cringing as the foul odor of neglected fur hit his nose.
"What?" Hazela frowned.
Plato quaked as he shook his head in disbelief.
*"Why don't you . . ."* he stammered, furious with himself. He was still afraid of this putrid mass of hate and neglect.
"What?" Hazela asked again, tottering forward, mere inches from her son.
*"Why don't you just fuck off and die!"* he growled.
"Don't speak to me like that," Hazela coughed, phlegm spewing from her mouth. Some of it hit his face and he shuddered with anger.
*"Can't you just fuck off and die?"* he snarled and gave her a small shove. She tottered onto her side, her legs as useless as a fish out of water. He wanted to just rip out her throat right now, but he also wanted to savor his revenge.
*"Why can't you just leave here and die?"*. Plato sunk his claws into his mothers matted fur. She let out a screeching yowl. He smiled and ripped sideways, warm blood soaking his paws. Hazela thrashed pathetically and her blunt claws managed to tear into his face. Plato winced but didn't loosen his grip on his mothers sides. He was not going to show mercy to this queen.
*"Never stick your hand in my face again bitch!"* Plato struck his mother across the face and clumps of blood soaked fur came off in his claws. He kicked her in the gut, more blood dripping from the fresh gashes by her belly.
"Son . . ." Hazela blubbered, a trickle of blood running from her mouth.
*"FUCK YOU!!"* Plato roared. He tore his claws into every inch of his mothers deteriorating body. Slime and blood coated Plato's body, but he didn't care. A blow to the mouth sent Hazela's last fang falling to the bottom of the dumpster. Most of her left ear was torn out and spat on the ground.
"Stop . . ." Hazela choked, more blood and drool gushing from her mouth.
Plato clawed her across the face once more.
*"I don't need this shit!"* He yelled, spitting in her face before throwing her against the side of the dumpster, *"You stupid sadistic abusive fucking whore!"*
Hazela wretched and vomit spilled down her front. She cowered in the corner as Plato approached her, a manic glint in his eyes.
"I love you . . ." she murmured, stretching her paw out.
"What a fucking joke!" he thought.
*"How would you like to see how it feels mommy?"* Plato growled and placed his paws on her feeble neck.
Hazela blinked weakly, her pale eyes filled with tears.
"Please," she whispered.
Plato didn't even flinch.
*"Here it comes,"* he whispered, before roaring, *"Get ready to die!"*
He dug his claws into her jugular. Blood rushed from under his paws and he laughed as his claws sunk deeper. Hazela yowled, convulsing as her life's blood pooled around her. Plato began to laugh, a deep throaty laugh that echoed in the still night. The blood continued to spout like a fountain as Hazela's body still twitched feebly.
* * *
Get up; come on get down with the sickness
Get up; come on get down with the sickness
Get up; come on get down with the sickness
Open up your hate and let it flow into me
* * *
Plato let his mother fall to the ground with a clunk. He saw her lips move and speak her final words.
"Plato . . ." she gagged, before becoming completely still, floating in a pool of blood.
Plato smiled in triumph; the one thing in his life that held him back was gone. He was completely invincible. And yet . . .
"As long as I still bare the title she gave me, I am still under her control," he thought, scratching the back of his ear, "I need a new title."
He thought for a moment and then grinned.
* * *
Get up; come on get down with the sickness
You mother get up, come on get down with the sickness
You fucker get up, come on get down with the sickness
* * *
"Listen up world!" He yelled, leaping up on the rim of the dumpster, "Guard your dens, for there is a new cat in this city. And he will not stop, until all obey his demands. You will tremble before me and if you dare oppose me, beware. No one will be spared, everyone will fear my name! So, run for your lives, because I will not stop until everyone fears my glorious name. And that name is . . . MACAVITY!!"
* * *
Madness has now come over me!