Fàidheanta diadhachd (Mystical Divinity)
A/N: This one deserves an introduction. I have worked on it for a while now, and it's been begging to be posted, so I've decided to go ahead and post it (now that it finally has a title). There are eight chapters written, and the ninth has been started. It's going to be long, really long. Just to warn you. Also, it is told from three different perspectives, first person from two Jellicles, and third person. I hope it's clear which perspective the story is told from at any given point, but please let me know if it gets confusing. With that said, here are the first two chapters, and any feedback/con-crit/whatever would be appreciated muchly.
Eminems
Disclaimer: I don't own Cats. I will one of these days, but for now, I don't.
Chapter 1 - Leadership
I'll never forget the day he died. I stood before them all, I was the one that had to tell the Jellicles that their leader was dead. Who would have thought it? He always said he would live forever, we were sure that he would. No-one expected him to die like that, judging by the look of shock he still wore in death, neither did he. It turns out that the Napoleon of Crime is just as mortal as the rest of us.
Yes, you heard me correctly, Macavity was the Jellicle leader. His death was a curse disguised as a blessing. You would have thought that Macavity was the worst thing to happen to the tribe, but the nightmare had only just begun back then. However, let's not get ahead of things. Maybe I should start at the beginning, ironically enough with the death of another Jellicle Leader. It all started when Old Deuteronomy finally passed on to the Heaviside Layer.
Macavity didn't do that, it was natural. No cat lives forever, it was his time. We missed him, we grieved for him but we accepted it. Munkustrap took on the role of Jellicle leader, and I was promoted to Jellicle Guardian. The Rum Tum Tugger was next in line for leadership, it's a birthright. It was fine by me, I didn't think I was cut out to be a leader.
Everything was fine for about a month. It was a beautiful warm autumn evening when it all went to hell. I was lounging on the big tyre with Munkustrap, chatting idly, as were many of the others around the Junkyard. A loud, terrified scream startled us, and we looked up. It had come from Demeter, she was staring in the direction of the Junkyard gate. A tall thin ginger cat was walking purposefully, right towards us. He was flanked by an army of henchcats, there were so many of them. Demeter hadn't noticed until she saw him, which was a little odd. We had no time to think about that though, we had a fight on our paws.
There was no contest, we were outnumbered, overpowered and unprepared. It wasn't long before we lost the battle. Surprisingly no Jellicle was killed, many of us were injured and a couple of the henchcats had been killed. Munkustrap was badly injured and Macavity took the opportunity to force him into his den, imprisoning the Jellicle Leader in his own home.
He didn't kill Munkustrap, or me, or any of us. At the time I was confused, but now I think it was intentional, it would have been better if he'd killed us.
I was forced to remain second in command, or face the same fate as Munkustrap. I knew that I wouldn't be able to help if I was locked up, so I had little choice in the matter. It was my job to enforce Macavity's new rules; I had to hurt my friends, my family. Even now, I'm still referred to as 'Alonzo the Traitor'. They don't understand why I did it. I was planning a rebellion, but they didn't see. How could they, when I became as cold and cruel as The Hidden Paw. It hurt me to be like that, more than you can imagine, but I didn't have a choice.
I watched Munkustrap deteriorate. The torture, the confinement and the inability to help; it must have been hell for him. I cringed every time I heard him scream, but there was nothing anyone could do. Eventually the screams stopped. He became unresponsive, I tried talking to him but it was like he wasn't even there. I think something snapped inside him. It was like he'd given up on life, but his body wouldn't let him die. He would just stare straight ahead, that glassy unfocused stare. He never moved, there was no curiosity, no interest in his surroundings. I couldn't tell you what might have been going through his head; I don't think I'd want to know. Bad enough that I'd caused it.
I felt guilty, every time I saw him I knew I had to do something. I planned to, but I couldn't do it on my own and I had no-one in the tribe to help me. It was too difficult to make contact with anyone outside the Junkyard. I would have to wait for an opportunity, or for some sort of help. So I did, hurting my tribe, hating myself, nursing a rebellion in my heart. This went on for many months, perhaps about a year. I'm not sure, because the Jellicle ball didn't happen. Life carried on fairly normally, the Jellicles adjusted to the new regime, although life was difficult for us.
It all changed when Mistoffelees vanished. Yes, I know he can do that with his magic, but Macavity had found a way to prevent the tux from using his magic so it wasn't that. If he had been able to use his magic to escape, why did he wait a year before doing it? He just disappeared; he was nowhere to be found. At first we feared the worst, that Macavity had had him killed, perhaps saw him as a threat. Macavity was just as baffled and upset by it as we were, although he was angry rather than worried. That proved to me that Macavity didn't cause him to disappear. But I suppose, as the Rum Tum Tugger said, better out there than stuck here.
It was only a few days later, that I found Macavity dead. It was just a normal day. I arrived at his den to pick up my orders for the day. He didn't answer, there was no sound. All I could hear was the eerie silence that was present every morning at this time, when everyone was asleep. I walked in, because he'd be worse if I didn't turn up at all. Upon entering the den, I spotted him lying there for all the world as if he was asleep. Immediately I was alert, I knew something was wrong. Macavity could never be caught asleep, and I could smell the faint smell of death on the air. I had to check, to make sure but I knew he was dead. I didn't see the blood until I got closer.
I was torn between panic and relief. I'll admit that I was glad he was dead because he'd made our lives hell. On the other paw, whoever was strong enough to murder the Hidden Paw must be very dangerous. I sat there staring at the body, unable to tear my eyes away. I didn't know what to do. How would the tribe take this? Who snuck in here and killed Macavity? How was Tugger going to react to the news that he was now Jellicle Leader. He would be, Munkustrap was still out of action.
I eventually left the den, and managed to get the tribe assembled. There was no distinguishing the henchcats now; they had eventually mixed in with the Jellicles. New friendships, new relationships had been formed, many old ones had fallen apart. The Jellicle tribe had been torn apart and haphazardly thrown back together by Macavity. I stood before them, and made the announcement that Macavity was dead. I caught Tugger's eye, he looked back at me. He knew what this meant for him. He shook his head, but he had to do it. There was no-one else to lead us.
