A/N: Here is chapter 2 of Mirror, Mirror. As I promised last chapter, this is going to be where things pick up, as compared to the first chapter. T.C. won't be coming back until near the end of the chapter; in fact, there was a scene that I had left as a preview for you people, but I decided to axe it because it would spoil the surprise. And yes, there are other H-B characters and cameos in this story, but they won't play much of a role other than a supporting cast.

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters that are in this story (except the original ones), or make cameos in this chapter.


Mirror, Mirror

Part 2: A Glimmer of Hope

Global Weekly

When Trixie walked into the office that morning, she found herself coming upon an amusing scene. One of her fellow journalists, a bespectacled man named Sherman, was talking excitedly to Snagglepuss, who seemed much more interested in the celebrity magazine than what Sherman was saying.

Trixie found the reason why soon enough. "And you see, they got the whole story wrong!" Sherman was explaining. "Everyone knows that the cat that was trapped in the mirror was sealed away because he ruined someone else's plans, not because he was saving somebody."

"Heavens to annoyances, you're distracting me from this story!" Snagglepuss finally looked up to face Sherman, looking somewhat irritated.

"S-Sorry, Snag," Sherman said. "It's just...nobody listens to me when I talk about things like this. Nobody really cares."

"Well, when you're obsessed with a fairy tale from over four hundred years ago, you can't blame them," another journalist said. "It's a bunch of nonsense, if you ask me."

"It's not nonsense!" Sherman said, getting defensive. "You're just bitter because I discovered it before you did."

"Yeah, right."

Trixie sighed as she stepped into the room. "Alright, break it up, boys," she chided. "No need to get too fussy first thing in the morning."

"Sorry, Boss," Sherman said, smiling lopsidedly.

Trixie rolled her eyes, but only in jest. "Boss" was the nickname that the staff (most of which she had known through high school) had coined for her; even though she wasn't really their boss, she tended to be quite commanding when it came to getting a story or any other sort of news. In some ways, she was a lot more effective in getting the staff to do their job than their actual boss.

"So, what do we have?" Trixie asked.

Sherman pushed up his glasses. "Well, to be honest, it would be the same old, same old," he said. "There's been another murder."

"That's nothing new," someone scoffed. "People get murdered all the time."

"But this murder is different," Sherman said. "It's brutal, from what a lot of witnesses were saying. The guy was completely mutilated."

Trixie grimaced. "That's horrible," she said. "have the police released any details yet?"

"They're still investigating," Sherman said. "But the murderer left something very interesting at the crime scene. Written on the wall in blood was a name: the 'Wicked Eye', or something like that. It doesn't sound like someone's actual name."

"It could be a secret identity," Snagglepuss suggested. "An alter ego, even!"

"Even so, that's just bizarre for a murderer to name himself that," Trixie said.

"You know what I think? I think he named himself after the villains in that story," Sherman said. "The Wicked Eye is actually a group of men who called themselves wizards. They brutally kill anybody who gets in their way."

"Let me guess; they're the main villains in The Cat in the Mirror, right?" Trixie asked.

Sherman paused, right before sheepishly admitting, "Yeah..."

"Everything in this world doesn't come from that story, Sherm." One of the employees, a fair skinned blond man who looked to be in his twenties, turned towards his co-worker with a smirk. "I think this story is just what we need to get your head out of the clouds."

Sherman's features curled downwards into a frown at this. "Even if that's the case...you can't say that it's a coincidence that this guy named himself after the group of villains in The Cat in the Mirror, Freddy," he said.

"The guy could've been too obsessed with that story," Trixie said, "and he took his obsession too far. There are murderers who have done that."

"What are we, a detective organization?" Freddy asked.

"Well, you used to be a teenaged super sleuth, Freddy," Trixie said.

"Yeah, well, solving mysteries doesn't keep the bills off the table," Fred said. "My dad told me to find something that works out or I'm moving out. Hence why I'm here."

Trixie was about to say more, but that was when the doors opened and their diminutive boss walked in. With a cigar in his mouth and a disapproving frown on his face, Mr. Spacely surveyed his employees, who were all scrambling about and trying to look busy.

"Alright, you all! Get back to work! I want this murder story all over 5th Avenue by this afternoon!" he said. "Trixie, I'm putting you in charge of making sure everyone stays on task!"

"You've got it, sir," Trixie said. "Nobody's going to slack off on my watch."

The rest of the day went as normal, with everyone busy and bustling about. Nobody brought up the connection to The Cat in the Mirror again.


"I'm glad we got that story finished," Snagglepuss said. He and the rest of the employees were in the break room, eating lunch. "I hate it. Whoever is responsible deserves to be locked behind bars! For life, even!"

"With a crime like this, he will be," Trixie said. "The thing is, this guy vanished without a trace. We don't know where he could be, or if he's killed more people, or if he really is a fairy tale fanatic like Sherman suggested."

"I think you mean 'like Sherman is'," Freddy teased.

The man in question was reading a copy of The Tales of the Funky Phantom while eating a candy bar. He gave a mock scowl to Fred. "Look at me, I'm practically dying of laughter," he said.

"Okay, enough about work," Snag said. "What plans do you all have this weekend?"

"I'm going to a party with some of my high school friends," Fred said. "Last time I've talked to them was six months before I got this job."

"Is your girlfriend Daphne gonna be there?" Sherman asked, a teasing smirk on his face.

"Yes, Sherman, she is," Fred said, rolling his eyes. "I don't know why you like to tease me about her."

"Well, Fred, you two are just as subtle as a flying hammer," Trixie replied. "We should know. We saw you two after work."

Fred's face went slightly red at this an everyone laughed. He then coughed and said, "You guys weren't supposed to see that! That's intruding on privacy!"

"You intrude on everyone else's, Fred," Snag said.

"Says the person who always asks for details on everyone's love life," Fred said. "Speaking of which, are you seeing anybody?"

"I am," Snagglepuss said.

This got a gasp of surprise from everybody. Despite prodding others about the subject, Snagglepuss was known for being intensely private about his love life. The only thing they had wrestled out of him was that he had dated a girl in high school, a pink lioness named Lila, but their relationship had ended badly.

"Who is it?" Trixie asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Snagglepuss said, getting groans out of everybody. They should've known that he wouldn't spill secrets that easily. He turned towards Trixie. "So, Trixie, that leaves you. Are you currently seeing anybody?"

"I notice nobody bothered to ask me!" Sherman said.

"We all know you have a girlfriend, Sherman," Trixie said. "And to be honest, I'm actually not seeing anybody."

"What about that guy that you told us about in high school?" Fred asked.

Trixie sighed. "He doesn't like me in that way..."

"Heavens to heartbreaking, that's horrible! Tragic, even!" Snagglepuss cried.

"Well, to be honest, I knew Josh back in high school," Fred said. "He's not the kind of person you'd want to go out with anyway, Trixie."

"How do you know this, Fred?" Sherman asked.

"Daph dated him in high school," Fred said, frowning.

"Oh..." Sherman decided not to press on the subject.

Snagglepuss turned to face Trixie, who looked disappointed "Hey, Trixie, if there's anything we can do-"

"No, it's okay, boys, really," she said. "I just happen to have a bad habit of looking for love in all the wrong places."

Nobody looked convinced by her explanation, but Sherman said, "Well, if you say so, Trixie. We just want to make sure you're happy, you know?"

"Thanks, guys. I really do appreciate it," Trixie said. "There's always a next time, I guess..."

The doors to the break room opened and a blue-furred coonhound with a blue hat walked in. "'Scuse me, guys," he started, "but I reckon that lunch has been over for ten minutes now."

"Indeed, it has!" Snagglepuss said looking up at the clock.

"Man, Spacely's gonna kills if we don't get back to work," Sherman said.

With that, the four of them made their way back to the break room. While everyone was chatting it up about their social lives and what not, Trixie was left to her own thoughts. She pondered mostly on what had happened with Josh, and her words when she'd tried to convince her friends that they didn't need to worry about her.

"There's always a next time, I guess."

But as she made her way into the work room, she couldn't help but feel as though she'd lied. There probably wouldn't be a next time, given that she'd turned down a lot of people in high school, and she was too busy with her career to focus on love anyway.

"Trixie?" Fred's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Did you hear anything I just said?"

Trixie shook her head and groaned. "Sorry, Freddy," she replied. "I'm really out of it today."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Fred asked.

"Really, I'll be fine," Trixie said, putting on her best 'don't worry about me' smile. "Now, back to work, or else we face the wrath of Spacely again."


Chloe was already there when Trixie arrived from work later that afternoon, tired and beat. She came into the foyer, where Trixie was hanging her coat on the coat rack. "Wow, you look drained," she said. "Tough day, huh?"

"You have no idea," Trixie said. "The story we worked on today got a whole bunch of leads as soon as we came back from lunch. Trying to write up the story and organize the details took a lot of our time."

"Sheesh, sounds bad. I think they mentioned it on the news, though," Chloe said. "Somethin' about a group called the 'Wicked Eye'." She snorted. "Pretty ridiculous name, if you ask me."

"Yeah. Everyone on the staff was trying to come up with all sorts of theories," Trixie said. "Sherman's was by far the craziest."

"When is that breaking news?" Chloe asked. "You've told me before that you've had to keep your eye on Sherman."

"Well, he said something about this group named the Wicked Eye reminds him of that old fairytale he's obsessed with," Trixie said. "He believes that they're actually wizards."

"Wizards? Ha!" Chloe couldn't help but snort. "That's definitely a new one! Everyone knows wizards don't exist."

"That's what we keep trying to tell him," Trixie said. "But trying to explain that to him is like talking to a brick wall."

"Yeah, you've told me that before," Chloe said. "Which reminds me, I'm going to be heading out on a date tonight."

"Let's hope this goes better than the last online date," Trixie giggled.

Chloe put on a mock frown. "We swore to never speak of that again," she warned.

"Alright, alright, I got the message. Well, I'll be upstairs taking a shower," Trixie said. "After that, it's Chinese takeout for me."

"Alright. Enjoy your night at home, Trix."

"I sure will," Trixie said as she climbed up the stairs. Even though it was only Monday, she still felt like she had worked all week long. She hadn't wanted to tell Chloe about her conversation with the rest of the men at work; that would only bring on another "don't worry, there's always a next time" speech. And she was really, really not in the mood to hear that right now. She decided that she'd have to wear a shirt that announced that she'd been rejected in order to avoid having to explain everything again.

As she entered her bathroom, she thought about her other doomed romances. One cat, a smooth-talking hipster named Jazz, had left her for another cat. There was another cat by the name of Fancy-Fancy, but he was a womanizer who hit on just about any girl that came within five feet of him. And then there was A.T., short for "All That". Their relationship had been the most rocky one yet; he had been too concerned with his image, and she wasn't fond of his lifestyle.

I was right. I really do have a bad habit of looking for love in all the wrong places, she thought as she stepped in the shower.


This is startin' to drive me insane, Top Cat thought. The constant waiting for anything to happen was starting to drive him nuts. He'd slept for half of the day and awoke to find that nothing had changed. He crossed his arms, feeling both impatient and annoyed. If this girl turned out to be just like Strickland, he was going to rip his fur out of his skull.

The closet doors opened and Trixie walked in, her modesty covered by a blue bath towel. Top Cat sighed at this reminder of how bad this situation was; every once in a while there would be a drop-dead gorgeous girl who would take the mirror, and he would have to sit and watch while she posed in front of the mirror. It would take all of his willpower not to drool like an idiot at such things. And while Trixie wasn't nearly as gorgeous as some of the girls he'd seen, she wasn't too bad to look at, either.

Right now, though, she looked spent from her day at work, and as she picked out a set of casual clothes from the hangar, she turned around to face the mirror directly. It was then that Top Cat noticed that her eyes were slightly redder than they had been earlier that day.

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall," she said, "who's the most tired of them all?" A wry smile played across her lips as she said that, and she laughed at herself. "I'm pretty sure I would be the most tired of them all."

Top Cat was also surprised by this as well. Just from looking at her, he couldn't believe that she was the type of person who would ask a question like that. However, he wasn't about to pass up on this opportunity to be free from boredom. So, without thinking, he smugly replied, "I'd have to agree. You would be the uncontested winner."

The clothes Trixie had been holding hit the floor. Looking startled, she looked around her closet space, as if looking for something or someone.

"Chloe, if you're doing an impersonation of that cat down the street, it's not funny!" she said, turning towards her bedroom.

This reaction gave Top Cat pause. He'd figured as soon as she had purchased this mirror that she was just an ordinary she-cat who was grounded in reality like everyone else. But seeing her react the way she did was giving him an idea.

Now it was just time for him to test it.

Clearing his throat, he tried again with, "Are you looking for me?"

Trixie jumped, and that confirmed Top Cat's suspicions. He couldn't have hidden the surprise on his face if he tried. She can hear me? I never thought that out of all the people in the world, she'd be able to hear me!

Trixie took a step towards the mirror, looking nervous. Her stomach was doing backflips. "Did...did I just hear a voice from the mirror?" she asked herself.

Top Cat thought for a moment on what he was going to say. If he said anything else, she would probably run away in terror. But if he didn't, he would lose his one chance to get free. What else could he do? If she was the only chance he had at ever getting free, he had to take it.

"Okay, this is starting to worry me," Trixie said, backing out of her closet.

Something desperate took over Top Cat then. With a lunge, he thrust himself towards the edge of the portal, only to rebound slightly against the edge of it. After rubbing his forehead, he said, "Hey, wait! Don't go! I need to talk to ya about-"

Whatever else he'd been about to say was drowned out by Trixie's scream. She scrambled out of the closet, her face as white as a ghost, and slammed the door shut, not even bothering to turn the light off. Even from inside the mirror, he could hear her hyperventilating.

Top Cat cursed. "Great. Now I've gone and sent her into a panic attack," he groaned. "I just had the faintest glimmer of hope that I'd get outta here, and now it's gone..."


Trixie could still hear the voice from outside the closet, which only served to make her heart race even faster. Part of her wanted to erase what had just happened from her mind. Voices didn't come out of nowhere trying to make contact with people, unless one lived in a haunted house and there were spirits roaming it. At that thought, Trixie had to slap herself in the forehead. If anything, her townhouse was definitely not haunted. She and Chloe would've moved out ages ago if it was.

But that still didn't explain what she had just heard...or what she had seen, either. Just as she thought that she had really been hallucinating from a lack of sleep, a cat had hurled himself towards the mirror, appearing to have collided against it. She didn't get a very good look at him; all she got before she'd run out of the closet was that he had bright yellow fur, and a desperate look in his eyes. It was almost as if he was trapped, and that he needed to get out.

But how the heck did he get trapped inside a mirror? How does a person get trapped inside a mirror, anyway? The story The Cat in the Mirror quickly came to mind, but she shook that off. Wizards and spells weren't real. People being trapped in mirrors weren't real. It was all just a fantasy, nothing more.

But if that was the case, then she shouldn't be feeling as though the story were real.

By the time Trixie had risen from the floor, the voice had stopped talking. She had half a mind to walk back inside and demand answers, to find out just what was going on. But remembering the desperation in that cat's eyes made her think twice. For all she knew, he could try to kill her as soon as he got out, or ask her to do something horrible in order to free him.

She sighed as she walked over to her dresser, yanked out a shirt and a pair of sweats, and yanked them on. "Trixie, you need to get some sleep. When you wake up, this'll all be a dream..."

END OF PART 2


Super sorry about this late chapter, people. Moving is annoying-and I'm still moving even as I type this. I didn't think it would take this long. I'll be busy with school projects and stuff, so this update and the third chapter of Have Guitar, Will Travel will probably be the last update I have in a while. As soon as things settle down, I'll get back to my other stuff.

So, as I promised, things do pick up with this chapter. Here we find Trixie learning that not only can she hear T.C., but she can also see him too. I wonder how she'll take this, seeing as she doesn't believe in fantasy. And even though T.C. seemed a little OOC in the end, if I were trapped in a mirror for over four hundred centuries with nobody to hear you, and someone has the ability to hear you, I think I would be desperate to get their attention as well. And the cameos were just as fun to write. And I personally think that Snag would be private about his love life if he were in a modern AU.

And since the big surprise is over with, I'll leave you with a preview for the next chapter!

Trixie sighed as she opened the door to her closet. She hadn't opened it since last night, half worried that the cat in the mirror would try to talk to her again. As worried as she was, there was no stopping her curiosity. The voice had been nagging at her all day, keeping her from concentrating on her work. If she was going to get her answers, she had to do it now.

She sighed. "Here's to hoping my curiosity won't get me killed," she said, stepping inside and turning on the light...

See you around next chapter!

God bless, iheartgod175