The moon shone across the Jellice Junkyard, where no cat was yet seen. The spot in which Old Deuteronomy sat was empty, and the Jellices were sleeping comfortably in their chosen spots. All was silent as the ghostly, lithe figure of the white kitten tiptoed into the junkyard. Any Human would be shocked to believe that such a beautiful cat would linger here, but they could never understand her fascination with the moonlight.
She stood only on her left foot, and lifted her right leg up to the sky. Her eyes opened to view the moonlight, and her right paw drifted up as well. She held that stance for a few minutes before she brought her leg and arm down, scenting the air. Her ears twitched, and she turned her head towards the boarder of the junkyard. However, before she could speak, a wild-furred, red tom jumped in front of her, wrapping himself around her and therefore capturing her. She let out a single wail as she was dragged away from the junkyard, and into the darkness of the night.
Up above the clearing, resting in the old, rusted automobile, laid Munkustrap, the Second-In-Command to Old Deuteronomy. He heard the yowl and his eyes blinked open. He hissed, and realized that he had fallen asleep, when he was supposed to be keeping watch at his post. He leapt from seat of the vehicle, crawled out of the back, and nodded to and fro. He saw sighs of a struggle in the clearing of the junkyard, and leapt down to the spot were Victoria was taken.
He could smell her scent, along with another, musty scent. "Macavity," he mumbled, unaware of a new presence nearby. He turned to see Mr. Mistoffelees staring at him silently, as if he wasn't too sure about what had happened.
"Did you see him?" Munkustrap asked.
It was as if the tuxedo cat immediately knew what 'him' meant. "No, I heard a yowl and came to check it out. It sounded like..." His voice broke as he realized what happened.
"Do you think-"
"Macavity took her, didn't he?
"I- I'm afraid so," Munkustrap sighed, then, his ears perked up, "We mustn't assume the worst. I'll find Jenny and Jelly and see if they might've heard anything. If Macavity hasn't taken her, she would be with them." At that, the skinny, silver-and-black cat ran towards the Bathtub-Nursery, and poked his head through the entrance. Jellylorum greeted with a nod, and Munkus beckoned her to follow him.
"Have you seen Victoria?" He asked hurriedly. Jellylorum shook her head.
"Why, no, I haven't caught eye of her. Is something wrong?"
"I heard a yowl in the clearing, and there's obvious signs of a struggle. I can smell Macavity and Victoria's scent all over it."
Jellylorum's eyes widened. "You must find her. Go, take the Tugger with you. I'll keep watch with Jenny in case she returns, and we'll let Deuteronomy know where you've gone."
Munkus nodded and sprang from his spot towards where Mistoffelees was standing.
"I know Victoria well. I could return her to us," he explained. "I at least have to try."
As if her name was called, Cassandra sprang down, willing and ready to be Mistoffelees assistant. Munkus gave a nod of approval, and as the black-and-white cat began, other cats moved in to watch him preform the same trick he used to return their missing leader to them.
Cassandra curled up in a ball over the spot where Victoria had been taken, and the growing crowd watched as Mistoffelees pulled a great, long sheet from a Ritz crackers box that was laying in the middle of the junkyard. He spread it across Cassandra and waved his hands over her in a zigzag motion. Then, when he tried to distribute his magical dust to the sheet, nothing happened. He glanced at Munkustrap, who urged him to try again. He shook his hands once more, but still, there was no obvious change. The cats watched in awe and confusion as he tried and tried, until lightning erupted from his fingers. He gasped and jerked his hands back from the blanket.
Cassandra had stopped moving.
Mistoffelees gingerly stepped forward and carefully lifted the blanket from his trusted assistant, however, when he did so, he found that she wasn't there. He dropped blanket of red and brought a paw to his face.
The crowd gasped, and Munkustrap's eyes widened.
It was then that Old Deuteronomy stepped up to view the spot where the cats had been taken. Mistoffelees was too embarrassed to look at the great Jellice leader. However, Old Deuteronomy simply took the tuxedo cat's hand and dipped his head. Slowly, the crowd of Jellice cats began to disperse. Mistoffelees' head was low as he pulled the sheet away and placed it where no cat would trip. If his magic had been working, he could've made it disappear, but he figured that even that wouldn't work.
When the crowd had calmed and left them alone, Munkus walked over to Mistoffelees and began to speak, "We must send a search party for her," he watched as Mistoffelees raised his head, "Do you want to come?"
Mistoffelees nodded a 'no' and looked down at his hands. Munkus decided to leave him; at the moment he needed to arrange a search party to find the lost Princess.
He looked around for Tugger, and he quickly found the tall, maned cat standing over the other three kittens, Jemima, Electra, and Etcetera. He seemed not to notice that Victoria was missing, but then again, she never gave him near as much attention as the other three. Jemima scuttered away as Munkustrap walked up, but Electra and Etcetera stayed and watched as The Tugger swayed back and forth. When he saw Munkustrap was coming his way, he stopped and grinned. "What's the problem, Munk?"
"I don't know if you've heard, but Victoria is missing. I'm leading a search party and I'll need you, Skimble, and Alonzo to come with me."
The Tugger's eyebrow's raised as he heard the black-and-white tom's name. "Taking the kittens out on a search party, are we?"
"Alonzo is getting older, and he cares about Victoria just as much as anyone else. If I were him, I would want to be searching for her."
The Tugger nodded. "Whatever you say, Munk. I'll go see about Skimble, and you can find Alonzo." Munkustrap nodded, and sprang away to find the young tom.
Skimble and Munkus took the lead, with Tugger and Alonzo following behind. Munkus was to cross the Pollicle's territory, and the rest of the team was to wait at the border. He didn't want Macavity to think that he was coming to fight; although he assumed it would probably come to that.
He walked quietly towards Macavity's lair, which was dubbed 'The Sewers.' The name seemed very obvious, but it also brought with it a sense of discomfort. At the mention of the place, the kittens would squeal and run to hide behind their prized Rum Tum Tugger, and Old Deteronomy had wished to prevent any cat from having to go there. But every once in a while, Macavity would think up some plan that would force the Jellicles to have to enter into this dreadful place. But nothing compared to the feeling one felt in knowing that one of their dearest friends had been taken there.
It was not long before two of Macavity's henchmen greeted him at the entrance to the tunnel-like place. Their names were Demus and Bumbleorum; they were twins, to be exact. Two tall, scrawny siamese twins that were not so friendly. As soon as Munkustrap trotted up to them, Demus hissed, and Bumbleorum snuck away to tell Macavity that he had a visitor.
After a few minutes, Bumbleorum came from the makeshift den and nodded to his brother. Demus pushed Munkustrap forward, and the Second-In-Command trudged through the muck to meet Macavity. Once they had arrived, the two cats both moved to sit on each side of Macavity. Below him lay Victoria.
She was laying in an awkward position with her arm stretched out over her face as if in self-defense. Fur was pulled from her head, there was a nasty slice in her ear, and her eyes were closed. Across her body were multiple scratches, gashes, and bruises, and her other arm looked broken. Her legs looked almost untouched, as if the even Macavity couldn't bear to touch them. Her ballet slippers were missing, however, and Munkustrap didn't see them anywhere.
Munkustrap growled, and glanced up at Macavity. He bore no expression, and remained silent.
"Let her go. Let me take her, and give Mistoffelees his power back!"
The villian's eyes glowed as he heard the latter part of the sentence, and Munkustrap knew he had made a big mistake. Macavity hadn't taken Mistoffelees' power, but now that he knew it was gone, it would be easier for him to wreak havoc on the Jellicles.
The wild-furred cat nodded. "If you want her so badly, then take her."
Munkustrap ran towards the unconscious Princess and scooped her gently in his arms. He was just about make an exit when, suddenly, another cat sprang out of nowhere and landed upon him. He rolled under the cat's weight and hissed, knowing that if he didn't stay alive, Victoria wouldn't either. He received a few scratches to his back, but was able to grab on to the other cat's tail during the scramble. The cat yowled as he threw him off, and as he ran off to the Jellice's territory, he heard Macavity let out a yowl of attack.
The war was on once again.
Munkustrap finally reached the junkyard, but Macavity's cats were catching up to him fast. He gave a warning yowl and every cat stood to alert. Old Deteronomy was suddenly attacked by three cats: One being Demus, another, a cat called Elliroona, the third, Malachite. Bomba and Demeter were cornered by Elimeana, Jacques, and Avanira. Jenny and Jellylorum, who were stationed at the Bathtub-Nursery, were in a tangle with Javamir and Bristlebump.
He knew he had to find a place to put Victoria while the enemies were distracted. He tapped the trunk of the automobile and watched as it rose up. He was shocked at what he found; Cassandra was laying here, curled up in a ball, fast asleep. It was as if she felt someone staring at her, however, and she leaned up, blinking. She saw the battle before her and leaped to join it, allowing Munkustrap to lay Victoria in the same spot, at least temporarily.
After he made sure that the little Princess was safe, he made his way over to help Jennyanydots, who was trapped underneath the hold of the orange-and-black tabby, Bristlebump. Jellylorum was cornered by Javamir, and couldn't help the other Queen. He launched himself at Bristlebump, making sure not to claw Jenny as well. He was thrilled to find that he caught the tabby by suprise, and was able to drag him off of Jenny. The Gumbie cat nodded her thanks, and went to help Jellylorum free herself of Javamir's hold.
Munkustrap glanced back at the closed trunk, glad to see that no one had opened it. He looked around for Macavity, and saw him nowhere. He was caught by suprise, however, when Demus jumped at him out of nowhere, and landed upon him hard. Munkustrap was pinned down by the tom, who was scratching at his belly. He pushed him back, hissing, and drove his unsheathed claws across his face. Blood squirted from the siamese cat's nose, landing on Munkustrap's black-and-white fur.
The tom growled, and grabbed Munkustrap's shoulders, banging him against the ground. The Second-In-Command's vision was getting blurry, and he was close to blacking out. He feared the worse, until he caught a flash of brown fur at the corner of his eye. He heard Rum Tum Tugger's growl and thanked the Heavyside that he was alive. The Tugger pulled the siamese body from Munkustrap and threw it across the junkyard.
"Sorry, Munk, we got a little caught up with these two back at the Sewers."
Munkustrap nodded and replied, "Thanks, Tugger."
His mew was drowned out by a fiery orange Queen, who leapt at The Tugger violently. They spun around in a tangle of fur and claws for a few minutes before the Tugger grew tired, and the orange Queen had battered him severely. Munkustrap intercepted the frenzy, throwing the Queen off of his friend, although he was growing tired as well. The Queen launched herself at him with unsheathed claws, raking them over his eyes. Munkustrap yelled as the blood blinded his vision. He knew he couldn't fight like this, and the Tugger was having a hard enough time pulling her from Munkustrap's face.
A loud, almost humorous yowl was heard by all three cats, and Skimbleshanks came running through towards the orange Queen. He dug his claws in her back and dragged her down from Munkustrap. Munkustrap ran for the automobile, thankful for it's shelter. He could barely climb the pile of junk to get to the doors, however, and found himself stumbling before Bombalurina helped him up. She climbed into the vehicle with him, and he laid still to let her lick his wounds.
"Munkustrap...your eyes-"
He interrupted her, "Go find Mistoffelees, now!" She did as he said and disappeared in a flash.
Munkustrap waited. The pain of his wounds were somewhat eased, except for his eyes. They burned like fire, and tears streamed down his face, making it a little more bearable, while disturbing the blood on his face.
Suddenly, he heard the door open, and he took in Mistoffelees' scent. The black-and-white tom waved his hands over his eyes, and although his countenance was doubtful, Munkustrap's eyes slowly began to heal. He continued, and slowly Munkustrap was able to see again.
When he was healed, and was once again able to speak, he told Mistoffelees to find Tugger and Skimble. Although he knew Skimble had taken care of the Queen, he wanted to be sure they were both safe. And, with that, he drifted off into an exhausted sleep.
When he woke, Old Deteronomy was addressing the cats. It had been an hard battle, and after hours of fighting, they had pushed Macavity's cats out of their territory. They had been lucky, that was for sure, and the great Heavyside Cat had been with them.
Mistoffelees got his power back with the return of Victoria, and the little Princess was easily healed, except for the fact that she would have to wait awhile to dance. The leg that was broken was put back in place by the magical cat, but she still had a bit of recovery time.
Soon, though, she would be able to dance, and the other Jellice's would watch as she drank in the moonlight once again.