Chapter 2

Mistoffelees drifted in and out of consciousness. He recalled hearing a gentle, familiar voice, lulling him to relax despite the pain he was in. But now, the voice was gone. The pain remained, but they were not as sharp as before. Deep in the back of his mind, he knew he still had to run to the junkyard to warn the tribe. Macavity was on the move again. The Jellicles would have to remain vigilant now.

Mistoffelees forced himself to wake up. He groaned. He was sleeping on the floor again. Wait… floor? He was… inside?

He blinked and looked around him. He was back at his human's house. How did he get here? Did she carry him here?

He heard the unmistakable sound of human footsteps. He glanced up and saw his human walking slowly towards him. She stopped a few feet away from him, as if she was hesitant to approach him.

Mistoffelees frowned. What's wrong with her? She had never been this fearful around him before. Unsure of what's going on, he decided to wait and see what she would do before moving towards her.

She crouched in front of him, but did not touch him like she usually would. Seeing her so close, Mistoffelees finally realized something. She wasn't as big as she usually was. In fact, everything in this house seemed somewhat… smaller.

"Wh-what are you?" She asked hesitantly.

"Mew?" Mistoffelees frowned. What did she mean, 'What are you'? He was a cat. She knew he was a cat. Hadn't she just said so a few hours ago, when she was threatening to change his name to Lassie?

"Can you… talk?" She asked.

Mistoffelees blinked. Now he was really confused. Since when do humans ask cats if they could talk? Cats do not talk to humans. Period. That was almost an unspoken rule among Jellicles. So why would she ask him if he could talk?

Unless…

A suspicion nagged in the back of his mind. Slowly, all the clues began to pile up in his mind: the seemingly smaller size of the room, how much smaller his human appeared to him now, her hesitation, her questions…

Mistoffelees raised his paw in front of him— except, instead of a normal cat's paw, he saw a furry hand.

Mistoffelees' eyes widened. His ears flattened against his head as it finally dawned upon him.

He had transformed in front of his human!

A million curses ran through his mind. What should he do? What would she do? Would she scream? Hand him over to the animal shelter? What would Old Deuteronomy say? What would Munkustrap say?

I am in serious trouble, thought Mistoffelees.

He wondered if disappearing right now would be an option. He sat up— then hissed when pain shot up throughout his body. Damn, thought Mistoffelees. So much for escaping. He could barely even move.

"I'd give you something for the pain, but I don't know if cats— or whatever it is you are —can take pain-killers," she said.

Mistoffelees looked at her hesitantly. It was clear that she was still afraid of him. He needed to diffuse her fear, lest she do something that could threaten his life and his tribe.

"You… you're a… what are you?" She asked.

"I'm a Jellicle cat," he finally answered.

The moment he spoke, she gasped in surprise and drew back slightly.

"You… you can talk?!?" She looked at him in shock.

"Uh… yes?" Mistoffelees replied hesitantly. Had he made a bad move? Perhaps he shouldn't have talked at all? He looked at her, unsure of what she would do now that she knew he could talk.

She still wouldn't approach him, though she was starting to lean forward to look at him with curious eyes.

"You look like Mistoffelees… I mean, you have the same tuxedo pattern as he does…. but you're a… and he's a…" She trailed off and frowned in confusion and suspicion.

"I am Mistoffelees. P-please… don't… don't send me away?" He pleaded. He gave her his best, lost-kitten look— the one he knew she always fell for (well, usually, anyway).

To his relief, her expression softened.

"Heck, you even have his lost-kitten look," she said. She frowned, then hesitantly crawled over to him. "So… you're really Mr. Mistoffelees?"

"Yes," he said, somewhat relieved that she seemed to believe him.

"Prove it," she said.

Mistoffelees sighed. What could he do to prove to her that he really was the same cat who had lived with her for the last two years?

Lassie! Mistoffelees thought. No one knew about that conversation besides the two of them!

"Uh… Lassie! You said you'd change my name to Lassie if I don't return your spoon!" Mistoffelees said, hoping it would jog her memory.

She froze.

"How'd you know about—" she frowned. Then, as realization dawned upon her, her eyes widened. "Mistoffelees? Is that really you?"

"Yes," Mistoffelees said.

Her jaws dropped in surprise. She crawled over to him, then touched his face, his ears, and his hands (though she was careful not to touch his wounds). It felt odd to him, being touched in such a curious way, but he said nothing. Instead, he let her do as she pleased, in hopes it would help her believe that he really was her cat. Besides, he didn't want to scare her again.

"You look so… human— in a feline sort of way," she said in absolute shock and awe. "And you can talk! You can talk this whole time and you never said a thing beyond meow?!?"

"I… uh… I… mew?" Mistoffelees mewled unsurely, but his human was hardly listening. She was in too much of a shock right now.

"And… and… how in the world is it possible that you… well… goodness! Look at you! Can you always change forms like this? Is this your real form? So you're not really a cat at all, but a… a… what was it you said… Jelly… Jellie.."

"Jellicle cat," Mistoffelees offered.

"Yes! That!" Elizabeth said.

"But Jellicles are cats. We just don't show our Jellicle form to humans— well, until you, that is," Mistoffelees said.

Elizabeth frowned. She slowly crept even closer to him until she was sitting right next to where he lay.

"So… are all cats like you? Do all cats have, uh… Jellicle forms like you?" She asked.

"I, uh… I don't know. Maybe. I wouldn't know, since we don't always meet each other in our Jellicle forms." Mistoffelees shrugged.

"And that man who was outside with you and all the cats earlier… he's… a Jellicle cat too?" She asked.

Mistoffelees' eyes widened. "You saw him?!?"

"You know who he is?" Elizabeth frowned.

"He's Macavity. He's a cat— a master criminal. Those cats you saw are his henchcats," Mistoffelees said. "Did he see you?"

"Yes— wait, he's a cat? So he can transform, just like you?" Elizabeth frowned.

"Yes. And he's dangerous. If you see him again, run away. Don't try to fight him," Mistoffelees said.

"Is that why you were hurt? Were you trying to fight him?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.

Mistoffelees cowered. "I was ambushed. I felt something. So I went outside to investigate. That's when I finally smelled him. Macavity. Then his henchcats ambushed me. I was in my Jellicle form and so were they. I fought, but eventually they managed to pin me down. I reverted back to my cat form to get away, but so did they. And then he appeared."

"Macavity."

"Yes. And… I don't remember what happened next. I think he left before he could say anything," Mistoffelees said with a thoughtful frown.

"So, that's probably when I saw him and yelled at him. They all ran as soon as they saw me," Elizabeth muttered. She paused, then looked at Mistoffelees curiously. "So you really are Mistoffelees?"

Mistoffelees' tail twitched in annoyance. How many times would he have to tell her he's Mistoffelees before she would believe him?

"Yes," He replied.

Elizabeth sat back. Her face still looked somewhat stunned at the revelation.

"This is so weird. Do you realize how incredibly weird this is? I am talking to a cat," Elizabeth said.

"You talk to me everyday," Mistoffelees said, slightly affronted.

"Yeah, but you never talk back."

"Yes I do."

"Meow doesn't count."

"It does too. It's cat-talk. You speak human. I speak cat."

Elizabeth was speechless. Well, he did have a point… sort of.

Mistoffelees glanced at her. He needed desperately to ask her to keep the existence of Jellicle cats a secret. But he could sense that she still didn't fully believe that he really was the same cat who had lived with her for the last two years. Realizing how precarious her trust in him was at the moment, he decided to let the matter go— for now. He could only hope that she wouldn't tell anyone else before he got a chance to ask her to keep the Jellicles a secret.

Elizabeth kept looking at him curiously, as if she still couldn't get over the fact that her cat suddenly turned humanoid. After awhile, she looked away, apparently lost in thought. Then, she looked up when she remembered something. "You realize… this means I'm never letting you in the shower with me anymore, right?"

Mistoffelees frowned. "Why not?"

"Because!"

"Because….?" Mistoffelees was genuinely confused. What was so wrong about him being in the shower with her? She's never had a problem with it before.

"You're male," Elizabeth said, as if that explained everything.

"So?"

"So… I'm female. It's inappropriate," Elizabeth said.

"Why?"

"What do you mean, 'why'? It just is," Elizabeth said.

"But I've gone into the shower with you before. You never had a problem with it."

"Well, now I do," Elizabeth crossed her arms.

"Why?" Mistoffelees frowned. It's not that he enjoyed going into the shower with her. He simply liked to get in her way, that's all. And what better way to do that than to wound between her feet while she's trying to get into the shower in the morning?

"Mistoffelees…" Elizabeth started, then sighed and gave up. "Humans bathe alone. That's all."

"But… you don't always bathe alone. Sometimes I'm in there with you," Mistoffelees insisted.

"Yeah, well, that's before I found out you're… you're… well…"

"What?"

"Not just a… you know… a cat," Elizabeth finished lamely.

Mistoffelees wasn't sure whether to be offended or flattered by this. All he knew was that he was even more confused than before.

"But I've always been a cat. I still am," Mistoffelees said in confusion.

Elizabeth took a deep breath, as if trying to gather patience. Then, she looked at him and said, "Look, Mistoffelees… humans only bathe with other humans if they are the same gender, or they're parent and child, or if they're, ah… mates."

"Mates?" Mistoffelees raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah. You know, uh…"

"I know what 'mates' are. But… that doesn't explain why I can't go in the shower with you. I'm not even human," Mistoffelees frowned in confusion.

"Mistoffelees…" Elizabeth started to open her mouth, then changed her mind and said, "Look, just… don't go in the shower with me."

Mistoffelees wanted to protest, but at the warning look in her eyes, he sighed and said, "Fine."

After that, she helped Mistoffelees get up and lie down on the sofa.

That night was the strangest night in Elizabeth's life. Part of her was still horribly paranoid. There was a strange cat-man sleeping in her living room. The fact that he seems to be her pet cat, Mistoffelees, did nothing to ease her fears. She couldn't help but conjure up a million worst-case-scenarios. What if he wasn't really her Mistoffelees? What if he was actually a rapist, or a murderer, or a robber in disguise? What if his pained cries was all fake, designed to lull her into a false sense of security?

Still, there was that tiny voice in her heart that said, what if he really was Mistoffelees?

What if the adorable little tuxedo cat, whom she had rescued from the streets a couple of years ago, really was this odd, cat-man currently sleeping in her living room? If he was, then technically, he would still be her pet cat. Hence, his well-being was still her responsibility, cat-man or no cat-man.

Several times in the middle of the night, she would be tempted to go into the living room and check whether the real Mr. Mistoffelees would turn up. But then... what if he was awake? What excuse could she say to him? She didn't want him to be aware of her suspicion, should it turn out to be true.

She tossed and turn in her bed before finally giving up and deciding that she was just going to check in the morning.

oOo

Elizabeth spent the night in a restless sleep. She would literally jump awake at the slightest noise, only to realize that it was just the trees outside the window, or the refrigerator in the kitchen humming, or some other common, household noises.

When morning came, Elizabeth groggily got out of bed. She called in sick from work. She didn't want to leave Mistoffelees alone, anyway, not in his condition. Besides, what if he really wasn't Mistoffelees? Could she really leave an unknown cat-man alone in her house to do who-knows-what?

She went out into the living room to find Mistoffelees still in his humanoid form, asleep on the sofa. She sighed and decided to leave him be for now. She went into the kitchen and decided to grab a bowl of cereal and some milk for breakfast.

The minute she laid the spoon on the bowl, she smiled. She glanced towards the living room, where she knew Mistoffelees was still sleeping. If anything, there was at least one perk to having a cat-turned-humanoid: he'd be a lot easier to track down. Who knows, maybe she wouldn't lose as many spoons this year.

"What does he do with those spoons, anyway?" Elizabeth mused out loud, then shook her head and sighed. As she sat down to eat at the dining table, she wondered what she ought to feed him, now that he's no longer just an ordinary house cat. Should she still feed him cat food? Should he still use his bowl?

Everything seemed so awkward. She wasn't even sure how to act around him anymore. Before, she could simply pick him up and pet him— even snuggle with him without so much as a by-your-leave. Now, she couldn't even do that without feeling as if she was molesting someone.

She heard a shuffling noise, followed by a displeased yowl coming from the living room.

Mistoffelees was finally awake.

She went to the living room to check. Sure enough, Mistoffelees was awake… and was in his cat form. Which meant, his bandages were off because they were now too large for his tiny, cat form.

"Mistoffelees!" Elizabeth said in exasperation. Mistoffelees was lying on his side on the sofa and was yowling and hissing in annoyance— not at her, but at his wounds. His wounds were still bleeding, though not as much as they did last night.

Mistoffelees transformed back into his Jellicle form. He had a displeased scowl on his feline face as he looked over his bleeding wounds. He started licking one of the scars in his hands.

"Now I'm going to have to re-bandage you," Elizabeth sighed.

"Ban-dage?" Mistoffelees frowned. "Those annoying white stuff you wrapped around me?"

"Those 'annoying' white stuff is the only thing stopping you from bleeding."

"Oh." Mistoffelees looked at the discarded bandages with a bemused frown.

Elizabeth got up to get the first aid kit. When she returned, she took out the bandages, then stopped. "You know what, I think you'd better change back into your cat fo— your smaller form. I'm going to have to take you to the vet."

"What?!? No! No vet!" Mistoffelees hissed and scooted away from her.

"Oh, don't be such a wuss. Do you want to get well or not? Besides, I need to make sure you didn't get any infections. You don't want those wounds to get worse, do you?"

"But…. but you cleaned my wounds!" Mistoffelees protested.

"Yes, but I'm no doctor. A vet would do a much better job than I do. Come on, transform so I can bandage you. After that, you can eat, and then we'll go to the vet," Elizabeth said matter-of-factly.

Mistoffelees made a show of protest, but at the thought of food, he grudgingly complied. Once back in his tiny, cat form, Elizabeth bandaged him. This time, he made much less fuss than he did last night, especially now that he knew what the bandages were for. After that, she decided to give him breakfast. At first, she wondered what she was going to feed him, now that she knew he's not a normal cat. Then again, he was a cat— at the moment, anyway. So, ignoring the awkward feeling nagging at the back of her mind, she decided to make it simple and give him his favorite liver-flavored cat food for now. Thankfully, Mistoffelees didn't protest. In fact, he ate quite happily out of his regular bowl.

Perhaps this won't be so hard after all, Elizabeth thought. He was, after all, still a cat.

After his meal, she took him to the vet. Mistoffelees was oddly quiet in the car while on the way to the vet. A quick glance towards the backseat told her that he was either sleeping or trying not to look at trees and buildings zooming past the window. As usual, she left an open crate in the backseat whenever she travelled with him so that he'd have a safe place to hide in if he wanted to. This time, however, he chose to curl up on the seat next to the crate.

oOo

"Well… everything seems fine, no infections or anything," said the vet after checking Mistoffelees' wounds. Since some of his wounds were rather deep, the vet ended up having to suture the worst ones in order to encourage them to heal. Once done, they tested him for infections. Thankfully, the result came out negative. The vet looked at Elizabeth, then said, "You did a pretty good job bandaging him, actually. I'm surprised he didn't make a fuss."

"Oh, he did. Hissed, yowled— the works. He's such a crybaby," Elizabeth said with a smile. Her grin widened when she saw Mistoffelees' tail twitch in annoyance at her comment.

The vet laughed, which caused Mistoffelees' tail to twitch more.

"Try to keep him from moving around too much, if possible. You could try leaving him in his crate at night and when you go to work, just make sure you leave a litter box inside, and enough food and water. And limit playing with toys to a minimum, at least until the wound closes up. Change the bandages every day or two and everytime it gets wet. I'm giving him some prescription pain killers— but use it only if he's in too much pain. And no more than 3 doses per day, every six to eight hours. If you see any rashes or redness in the skin, or any other sign of infection, I want you to bring him here right away," said the vet.

Elizabeth thanked the vet. After paying the bill outside, she took Mistoffelees home.

oOo

Munkustrap was worried. There were rumors that Macavity was out and about. He had begun terrorizing the cats once more. Just yesterday, Skimbleshanks had come skittering into the junkyard, half out of his breath after running for who knows how long. The infamous railway cat had just had a run-in with Macavity, though he managed to get away, thanks to the coincidentally well-timed appearance of the human train conductor, who had come looking for Skimbles.

Most of the Jellicles now stayed in the junkyard, venturing out only when necessary. Those who had human families stayed in their human homes, venturing out at night only to socialize with the other Jellicles in the junkyard.

But, frightened as they were, most of the Jellicles had been accounted for. All, that is, except one.

Mr. Mistoffelees.

Munkustrap had seen neither whisker nor tail of the famous conjuring cat. Mistoffelees normally came to the junkyard almost on a daily basis. But now, no one's seen him for at least four days or so. Now, Munkustrap was getting seriously worried. Out of all the Jellicles Macavity might target, Mistoffelees would probably be somewhere near the top of that list— just below Old Deuteronomy —for it was Mistoffelees who 'rescued' Old Deuteronomy from Macavity's grasp last time by conjuring him. Munkustrap had a nagging suspicion that Macavity might be out for revenge.

He sincerely hoped not. As skilled as Mistoffelees was in magic, he was still a young, inexperienced tom when it came to battles.

"I'm going to look for Mistoffelees," Munkustrap announced while the cats were gathered around Old Deuteronomy.

"Mew?" Several kittens looked up.

"Meeew… I hope he's okay," Jemima said with a worried frown.

"Of course he is. He's the Mr. Mistoffelees— the original conjuring cat. I'm sure he's fine," said Jellylorum while rubbing her head against Jemima's neck to comfort the young kitten.

Munkustrap looked to Old Deuteronomy for permission.

Old Deuteronomy nodded, but added, "Be careful."

"I will," Munkustrap said. Then, he turned into his cat form and bounded out of the junkyard in search of Mistoffelees.


A/N: Uh-oh. Munkustrap's gone to look for Mitso. Will Misto get in trouble when Munk sees him? Tune in next week! Same time, same chan— er... nevermind. Anyway, I'll try to update once a week, maybe every Friday or so (unless my laptop decides to crash on me... again).