The next night Mungojerrie was back on patrol. He had escaped without any serious injuries this time. The young cat could hear a snuffling noise in the darkness. The faint scent of cat, mixed with dirt and obscured by water, assailed his nose. Crouching low, Mungojerrie signalled to his fellow guard. Munkustrap trotted over. A mewing sound could be heard nearby. A pair of bright golden eyes stared out of the darkness. Mungojerrie and Munkustrap, crouched low and approached. A little way away a trio of young cats were lying on the ground. One was a tom slightly younger than Mungojerrie, with deep black fur and golden eyes. The black tom's companions were a small calico queen kitten and a coppery tom kitten. Both were filthy and their ribs were visible under their fur. The kittens could barely speak, much less stand. They were evidently exhausted and weak with exposure.
Their companion recoiled from the guards, standing over his fellows. "Don't come near," he hissed, his eyes golden unblinking. Munkustrap almost laughed. "Are you going to fight us?" he asked. "If you touch my brother or sister, yes," the young cat snarled. "Do you know where you are?" demanded Munkustrap. The black cat remained silent. "We're looking for someone," whimpered the rusty kitten. "And who would that be?" demanded Mungo. "Old Deuteronomy. Our mother said he lived on this side of the river," the newcomer replied. "Please, do you know him?" begged the calico kitten. "We've been looking for so long." Mungo and Munk looked at each other. "How did your mother know where he lived?" asked the silver tom, staring at the black teen. "He's our granddad," the copper cat replied. "But we've never met him." "What was your mother's name?" demanded Munkustrap. "Evita," the kitten sobbed. Munkustrap's eyes widened. "Where is she"? he asked. "She … She's dead," whimpered the young queen. The black hissed. "Be quiet," he whispered to his companions, though in a kind, quiet voice. Munkustrap's face fell. Evita had been one of his younger sisters who had left. "What happened?" he asked softly. "She was killed by another cat," muttered the black tom. "A tall ginger feral with sunken eyes and a high domed head." "Macavity," snarled Munkustrap.
"What do we do?" Mungojerrie whispered to Munkustrap, turning away so that the newcomers could hear them. "Take them to Old Deuteronomy?" "They are my niece and nephews, his grandchildren. We have to look after them," Munkustrap said, tears welling in his eyes. "What is they're not who they say they are?" the younger cat insisted. Munkustrap shook his head. "I believe they are. The calico kitten looks just like her mother, and there is something of her in the copper one as well. Coricopat and Tamoline can tell us either way." He trotted up to the three young cats. The black one's fur stood up along his back as he bared his claws, snarled and took up a fighting position. "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you," Munkustrap said. "I'm going to take you to Old Deuteronomy. You may not have heard of us, but you have strayed into Jellicle Cat Territory. You will be safe here." The kittens tried to crawl towards the guards, but their brother seized hold of them, staying put. "I you're part of the Jellicles, you're Old Deuteronomy's son. What's your name?" he asked. "You are smart, young man. My name is Munkustrap, and I am your uncle." The black cat's face split into a wide grin. "Thank the Everlasting Cat. My name is Erik. This is Rusty and Syrie."
The three cats were led back into the settlement, Munkustrap and Mungojerrie carrying one of the kittens each. They were so thin that they weighed almost nothing. The black tom trudged behind them, his eyes shining in the dark. With his black coat, golden eyes, haggard figure and scars that were now visible under the moonlight, he looked like a miniature panther. They were taken to the den that Coricopat, Tamoline and Exotica shared. The mystical siblings home was filled with strange smelling smoke from the herbs that they burnt to help aid their powers. The trio bowed low as Munkustrap entered, as did their sister Cassandra who was with them. "You want us to examine the newcomers you discovered on the edge of the junkyard?" Tamoline asked before Munkustrap could even open his mouth. Mungojerrie nodded. Erik hissed. "How did she do that?" he snarled. "Don't worry Erik," Coricopat said. "We are psychics. Mystical cats with powers even we do not understand." Rusty and Syrie bounced up and down, eager to explore this new experience. Erik however laid a paw on each of their shoulders, pushing them down. "You do me first, before I let you lay a finger on them," he scowled. Coricopat smiled, taking the young tom's paws in his own. Erik shuddered as Coricopat recoiled. "What is it?" demanded Munkustrap, worried that the young cat was not who he said he was. "He is Evita's son Munkustrap, and he means us no harm," the mystical tom stammered. "But … oh Everlasting Cat. You poor young kit." Munkustrap frowned. "What did you see?" Erik shifted uneasily. "So many fights. So much blood." Erik shook his head. Rusty and Syrie looked questioningly at their brother. "Why don't we see if we have any food for the poor things?" Cassandra asked Exotica pointedly. The two sisters led the kittens into a back room where the siblings stored some food. As soon as they had left, Munkustrap turned back to Erik and the psychic twins. Mungojerrie frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked. Coricopat and his sister looked pityingly at Erik.
The teen squirmed under the scrutiny. "When Macavity … when he … when we were on our own he took us away. By force. Threatened that he'd kill rusty and do worse than that to Syrie unless I did what he told me to. He used to throw me into this ring with other cats and make us fight. I got the stuffing beaten out of me more time than I care to remember. Macavity let other cats bet on the results." The teen started to break down, his legs shaking. "Eventually I couldn't take it anymore. I knew that one more bad fight could finish me, and then where would the others be? So one night I picked the lock on the cage he put me in. Stole some keys, and let all the prisoners loose. Me, Rusty and Syrie ran like hell until we thought we were far enough away that he couldn't catch us."
Munkustrap shook his head. "I am so sorry. To think that any cat should have to go through that, and one so young. Macavity will be made to pay for this. I promise." The silver and black tom squeezed the teen's paws comfortingly, feeling a multitude of scar tissue. He frowned slightly. "I'm covered in them," Erik muttered. "If I had lighter fur, I'd look like a road map." In the flickering light of the den, Mungojerrie saw for the first time that Erik had a slice missing from his left ear.
For those of you less obsessed with Musicals than me, Erik is the Phantom's real name from "Phantom of the Opera," Rusty is the hero of "Starlight Express," "Evita" is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber about Eva Peron and Syrie is the female lead in his musical "The Like of Us," about Thomas Barnardo. This is not an attempt at cross over or 'other characters as cats.' I just shamelessly stole the names as a reference to my fondness for musicals.