The Junkyard

"Has anyone seen Alex?" Quaxo asked Jenny, "I've looked for her everywhere!"

"No, I haven't seen her, dear, not for a few hours. She said that was going to hang out with her friends when she left. Maybe you can go check with them?"

"I will, thanks!" Quaxo said on his way out of her den. Dad's going to freak out if she went somewhere without telling him, he thought, as he walked to Mungo's and Teazer's den. He expected to see his sister when he walked in, but, of course, she wasn't there.

"We waited forever for Alex to get here, but she never came!" Mungo said.

"We thought that Jenny had stolen her, so we went over to steal her a few hours ago, but she told us that she left already. We came back, but she wasn't here. I guess that she left because we weren't here."

Quaxo walked towards Munkustrap's and Demeter's den, thinking it was the only other place she could be. But while talking to Jemima, he realized she wasn't there either.

He started to get worried. Alex had other friends, but their dens were farther away, and she wasn't supposed to go that far without asking permission. And even through she would break rules and annoy people all the way to the Heavyside Layer, she never broke the rules that Dad made to protect her. He hurried home, hoping to grab his dad and talk to him before he left on patrol.

"Dad!" Quaxo cried, as he walked into his den.

"What did Alex do this time?" Alonzo responded, clearly thinking his children started arguing… again."

"Nothing! I can't find her anywhere!"

"She couldn't just have disappeared. She's probably just at Jemima's or Mungo's."

"No Dad, she isn't. Alex doesn't do that. Something has happened to her. I can just feel it."

Elsewhere...

When I opened my eyes, I quickly closed them. Why was the light so bright? And why does my head hurt so much? Then I remembered; the black cat, my head getting hit, those dumb psychics.

Where did they take me? I suspected where, but I was hoping I was wrong. I really didn't want to be there. But, as Quaxo pointed out, I have no luck what so ever. What I'm guessing was an hour after I woke up (there was no way to be sure) my host decided to come and pay me a visit.

I heard voices outside my door, and then it opened, letting in a ginger cat. Just in case you didn't know, cats generally don't have ginger fur. When there is one, most likely you can identify them. And the Ginger of the Year just happens to be Macavity. The tall, snake-like archenemy of the Jellicles. Oh, why does my life stink this much?

"Hello, young one. I take that you know who I am?" I was almost surprised that he didn't start hissing.

"Ummm, yes. Am I allowed to ask why I'm here?" I responded, trying to act like I wasn't freaking out about the fact that I was Macavity's prisoner.

"No! You answer questions, not ask them! But since you asked, you are here to assist me. I need your magic."

"Yeah...I don't have any to give you, so can I go home now?" I then yelped, because I was smacked in the face.

"You will work with me, or you will be in a world of pain, Quaxo!"

That's when I realized that Macavity made a mistake. He thought I was my brother! I probably would have figured it out before, but my head wasn't working correctly. I was happy for a second, because I could get out of this! I could just point out the fact that I wasn't Quaxo, and I could leave! Then the smarter side of my brain came in.

If I left, Macavity wouldn't repeat his mistake a second time. My twin would be taken, and he would be forced to do whatever Macavity wanted. I couldn't do that, not to Quaxo. Even if he annoys me to death, if I had a chance to protect him, I needed to do it. Sooner or later, people will figure out that I wasn't who they thought I was, but if I could get them to grasp the fact later, my brother might have a chance to get somewhere safe. People see what they want to see; if I played along as long as I could, it might work. I just had to hope Munkustrap was smart to figure all this out without all of the evidence I had.

So I said nothing. I looked up at Macavity, resisted the urge to hold my paw on my face (that cat has a mean smack), and asked

"What do I have to do?'