The evening was quiet. It was peaceful. The sun was warm and soft. Jellicle Cats were sleeping soundly in the dens, waiting for the moon to rise. Everything was so peaceful, and then-

SLAM. CRASH.

"What the fuck!?" Plato sat bolt upright and fell out of his nest.

"Heyyooo, little brother!" Alonzo called as he barged into the den, grabbing one of Plato's arms and hauling him up. "Time for training!"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Danger waits for no one."

Alonzo dragged Plato outside, where they were met by Munkustrap and a very groggy Electra.

Electra snorted, when she saw the state her uncle was in. His fiery headfur was sticking up in every direction. The dark markings on his face were all mashed together like smudged eyeliner. He looked awful, but hysterical, and Electra's still very kittenish personality got the best of her.

Plato glared at his niece. It's not that she looked so great, either, it's just that her small stature and huge eyes made bedhead look a little more adorable and less Frankenstein's monster on her.

"Are you two ready to get your 'protector' on?" Munkustrap asked, a frustratingly sunny grin plastered on his face.

"Daddy, it's, like, 4:20 in the afternoon," Electra yawned.

"Perfect time for a run around the perimeter of the junkyard." He clapped his paws together, laughing at the horrified expressions on his trainee's faces. "Now, when you two are protectors, and you hear a scream in the middle of the day from across the junkyard, what are you going to do? Sit in your dens and let a Jellicle be in distress, injured, or possibly even killed? Nah. You're gonna run for it."

"I'll let them die," Plato mumbled. Only Electra heard, and she burst out laughing. The noise seemed to brighten up the hazy afternoon, making her father and uncles smile – even Plato, in spite of his sleepy and sour mood.

"What's so funny?" Munkustrap asked, smiling sweetly at his daughter.

"Nothing," she giggled, stealing a sideways glance at her uncle.

"The tribe's safety is no laughing matter," Alonzo told them, melodramatically placing his hand over his heart. "And now…" He and Munkustrap looked at each other with a mischievous, almost kittenish gleam in their eyes.

"Run!"

The two older toms took off like shots, leaving their pupils in their dust. Plato momentarily contemplated staying behind, but some kind of primitive survival instinct kicked in in Electra and she sped off after her father and uncle. Plato groaned and reluctantly followed.

Electra's head start had nothing on Plato's height advantage, and he quickly passed her. He wasn't really thinking about it; he just ran, and he passed her. Electra, on the other hand, gave it a lot of thought. She was short – much shorter than any of the guys, and quite a few of the other queens. She was a "late bloomer," and she wasn't really sure what that meant, just that she'd heard several of the older cats, including her parents, call her that. She was just small, all around. She had a small body, small voice, small presence, all bursting with a huge personality that everyone knew so well. She was just Electra. She was never meant to be in the spotlight, she was just meant to be. That was the order of things, and she didn't complain. She didn't even dislike it, but now, things were different. She'd been placed on a different level. She had been placed on a level with her overachieving father. She was going to be a protector. The thought still made her heart race. It's what she had wanted since she was a kitten, but it was never supposed to happen. It was like some sort of dream. It was like some sort of joke.

She couldn't keep up. Quite literally, she could not keep up with the others. Her father and her uncles were way ahead of her, and she was tired. She was winded. She started to slow down, and she kicked herself. She wanted this. All of a sudden, she wanted so badly to prove to the entire tribe that she was worthy of her new role. She would show them all.

It wasn't often that Electra thought about that night. The night…well, she pushed it out of her mind, again. And again. And again. And again. This time, the memory kept coming back.

Even after all that time, no matter how hard she tried, Electra couldn't get two words out of her head. Two words she heard when she was just a young kitten: Multiple paternity. How could she expect the tribe to trust her if they ever found out that she might be… She couldn't even think of it. It was too horrible.

At least, the thoughts and memories distracted her for a minute from her dry lungs and burning leg muscles. She was still running. That is, until she snapped out of her thoughts, and she tripped and tumbled down a pile of old boxes, bumping her head on the leg of a table at the bottom. "Ow," she murmured to herself, rubbing the new bruise behind her right ear. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the ringing in her ears, which was quickly replaced by a low rumbling. It took her too long to realize that she wasn't just hearing things. By the time she realized what she was really hearing, it was far too late for her to get away. That noise haunts the nightmares of many a kitten, and even a number of full grown, street-hardened, alley cats. That noise was a deep, guttural growl. The unmistakable snarl of a junkyard dog.

Plato was tall. That was about all he had going for him. He could cover a lot of ground in one stride. Munkustrap and Alonzo were in much better shape. He had no hope of catching up with them.

That thought made him scoff to himself. He would never catch up to his brothers in anything. He was born last, and it seemed he was destined to always come in last.

As usual, when he got to thinking in this way, he forced the thoughts from his mind. Pitying himself wouldn't do any good. All he could do what his best, and that's what he would do. The tribe needed a protector? Great. He would be the best damn protector the tribe had ever seen.

He couldn't help but smile and run faster. He could do this. Munkustrap and Alonzo had years of training. Once he's been training as long as they had, he would be as good as them. No, he would be better.

Plato thought about the things Munkustrap had said, the night of the ball. He thought about the way the tribe reacted to him being named the next protector. Everyone seemed happy. Everyone seemed proud. Maybe, there was a part of him that he didn't see, but everyone else did. Maybe, he was better than he thought. He was a grown tom, perfectly capable of protecting other cats. Sure, an entire tribe would be difficult to look after, but he could do it. He would do it. He had to do it.

A blood-curdling scream stopped his thoughts, as well as his feet, dead in their tracks. The scream sounded like it had come from behind him. Electra? He had passed her, hadn't he?

He spun on his heel and ran back in the opposite direction. In spite of everything, he smiled to himself. He was a protector, on his way to protect. He had this under control. His thoughts were selfish, perhaps, but he wasn't worried. That all changed, however, when another scream pierced the air. "Electra!?" he called, receiving no response. He kicked himself for even wasting the energy and kept running as fast as his feet could carry him.

When he finally came across his niece, his blood ran cold. She was trying desperately to fend off a large pollicle, and by the looks of things, she was losing. Plato hesitated for a moment, nearly frozen as the pollicle pounced and pinned Electra to the ground. Then, he kept running, heading straight for the beast that was attacking his second-in-command, but he knew he had no chance of making it to them in time.

Right as the pollicle was going in for the kill, Munkustrap and Alonzo came out of nowhere, knocking it off Electra and pulling her to safety. Alonzo left a pretty nasty scratch across the pollicle's snout, while Plato stood, suddenly stuck in place. Where did his brothers just come from? They were ahead of him; How in the name of Heaviside did they beat him there?

The pollicle lunged at Alonzo, only to be attacked from the rear by Munkustrap, who had just haphazardly tossed his daughter out of the fray. The pollicle bit and scratch and kicked, whirling around like a tornado, trying to fend off the two dangerous tomcats who were on his case. Finally, after receiving a second blow straight to the face, it took off.

In mere moments, Munkustrap and Alonzo were at Electra's side. "Are you okay?" Munkustrap asked. "Electra, answer me!"

Electra was shaking and crying, clearly traumatized from her ordeal. She had sustained a pretty deep cut to the cheek, which was seeping blood down her chin and neck. She didn't even seem to notice. She threw her arms around her father and sobbed into his chest.

"Oh, Everlasting Cat, my baby," he sighed. "My poor baby."

Plato slowly approached the scene, and Alonzo addressed him, "You okay, Plato?"

Plato nodded silently, staring at his wounded niece. If his brothers had arrived any later, he would have just watched her die. It was sickening. It was horrifying.

"Come on, let's head back," Munkustrap instructed, carefully lifting his daughter into his arms.

The four protectors returned to the clearing silently.

Electra winced, as Jellylorum cleaned the wound on her face. She would need stitches, for sure. Munkustrap sat off to the side, trying not to go into total Dad Mode over his daughter's ordeal. She was a protector, now. He wouldn't always be around to help her. He shuddered at the thought. He just hoped Electra didn't notice.

"You poor thing," Jellylorum cooed. "On your first day of training. You're so tough, you know that? I just know you'll make a wonderful protector."

Electra growled, "I'm not a kitten, Jellylorum." Though she fended off that pollicle about as well as a kitten.

Munkustrap sighed, "Be nice, Electra. Just because you're a grown queen, now – Everlasting Cat help me – doesn't mean you don't have to respect your elders."

Electra pouted. "Sorry, Jelly."

"That's quite alright dear." Jellylorum gently patted her unblemished cheek. "You've been through quite to ordeal tonight, and the sun hasn't even set. Now, let's see about stitching this scratch up, yeah?" She began rifling through a drawer, choosing a needle and some fine, clean thread. "I'm no vet. It isn't fancy, but it will have to do."

Electra took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She was not looking forward to having her face sewn shut, that was for sure. Just when the side of Jelly's hand brushed her bruised face, she caved.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, baby?"

"Will you hold my paw?"

With a regretful smile, Munkustrap reached out and took his daughter's paw in his. "Of course I will. So long as I can be, I will always be here to hold your paw."

Electra dug her claws into her father's palm as the needle pierced her cheek, and she held back a cry. Still, it hurt badly. She whimpered and tears sprang into her eyes.

Seeing her discomfort, Jellylorum stayed calm. This wasn't the first and would not be the last time she had to do stitches on another cat. She simply tried to distract her as best she could.

"You know, I remember when your father became a protector. In fact, I seem to remember treating several of his and Alonzo's injuries."

Munkustrap laughed, "That's right. Your uncle Al once ran himself nearly to death. He was dehydrated and exhausted from the heat, throwing up everywhere. At least you have a cool story to tell about your accident."

"And your father sprained his ankle in an old toaster. We had to cut it off his paw. Wasn't that on your first day, as well, Munkus?"

"Second, thank you very much."

There was a knock at the entrance to the den, and the three were soon greeted by Alonzo and a very melancholy looking Plato.

"Hey. How's our little warrior princess doing?" Alonzo smiled at Electra, as Jellylorum was tying off the stitches.

"Unable to talk, while I'm putting stitches in her cheek, dear," Jellylorum answered for her.

"Well, at least, I can promise her that training is all uphill from here."

"If she still wants to do it," Plato mumbled.

Electra looked at Jellylorum, who nodded her permission for Electra to speak. "I still want to do it, I think," Electra said quietly. She spoke up a little. "I mean, I agreed to. It's my duty. I can't let one ugly pollicle scare me off."

Her father squeezed her hand and told her, "You can back out, if you want to, Ellie. This is completely your decision. We all believe in you, though."

Plato sighed. This was all his fault. If he had just been faster, if he hadn't hesitated, he could have stopped the dog sooner, and his niece wouldn't have gotten hurt. Of course, if he hadn't called on her to become his second-in-command in the first place, none of this would have happened. He didn't regret his decision, really, but now there was this nagging thought in his mind that if he had chosen a tom, or at least someone bigger or taller, they would have been able to outrun that pollicle.

"Sorry," he blurted, before he could stop himself. Much to his horror, everyone turned to look at him. The one time he actually wanted to be invisible.

"Sorry for what?" Munkustrap asked.

"I- I should have done better. I should have run faster or reacted faster or something. I should have been there to protect her."

"Plato, this is not your fault."

"But if I'm a protector, it's job to protect!"

"You're right. It is your job to protect her." Munkustrap turned to Electra. "And it's your job to protect him, just like it's my job to protect Alonzo and his job to protect me, and our job – all of our job – to protect the rest of the tribe. Do you two understand?"

Plato and Electra nodded silently

Electra asked, "Can I talk to Plato, for just a minute? Just us?"

The others nodded and murmured their agreement, quickly shuffling out of the den, leaving the tribe's two newest protectors alone in heavy silence.

Electra finally took a deep breath and spoke. "If you've changed your mind…if you don't want me as your second-in-command, anymore…that's okay. I won't blame you."

Plato sighed. Part of him just wanted to explain how he felt and let her off the hook, but he just couldn't. There was something about her, some fire inside of her that everyone could see, that made him choose her. He'd just let her get injured and nearly killed. He couldn't abandon her, now. "No, I haven't changed my mind."

"But I'm too small, and I'm a queen. I'll never be able to protect you."

"You don't need to protect me," Plato said. "It'll be alright. We're a team, now. We can do this."

He left without another word, both of them wondering if that was really true.