Disclaimer: Guess what? I still don't own Cats. Yep.

A/N: I'm trying to keep my updates kind of regular. If anybody's curious, the character Cephas is actually based off of one of the original Broadway versions of a cat. I think it's Tumblebrutus, but I'm not certain, all I know is the grin on his face in the pictures in my piano book is infectious. Please R&R, I really love hearing from people.

Part 6

Macavity's Lair

Jemima tried to smile reassuringly at Ketty, but he just shivered. As the fright from Shrin and the fight died down, it was being replaced by a new fear. They were with Macavity! And Growltiger! What was going to happen to them?

It was all too much for little Ketty's kitten mind to wrap around. Jemima trusted them? Should he? Oh... Ketty burst into tears, and shrugged away from Jemima when she tried to comfort him.

Griddlebone looked up and sighed. "Kits..." She motioned lazily. "Tumblebrutus, go see what's wrong with the mite."

Tumblebrutus stood and stalked over there, trying to ignore Jemima's piercing stare. "I ain't gonna hurt the kit." He hissed at her as he passed. "Y'all righ' kit?"

Ketty stared up at him, eyes wide, and tried not to sob to obviously. His tiny stripey body shook with contained tears.

"He's one o' Shrin's brood, mark me words!" Grimbuskin exclaimed, pointing accusingly at the tiny kit.

Growltiger growled as he stalked in. "Can't 'ave that, can we? Macavity?"

"He's my daughter's friend." Macavity said.

"Getting soft for your chillun?" Shadow Boots taunted, tail lashing in evil anticipation.

"I'm not going to let him go." Macavity added, glaring at Shad.

"There's someone outside," Cavalry's voice called from outside. The cats looked at each other, and Macavity motioned for all of them to follow him out, except Tumblebrutus.

"Why'm I the guard?" Tumble complained.

"Please, Tumble, you have to help us..." Jemima whispered. "I have to get out..."

"Aw, honey, ya know I can't do that." Tumble told her. Ketty stared at them both, eyes huge.

"Bu' Oi can!" A voice exclaimed, and was followed by a girl's giggle. "Shh!"

"Who's there?" Tumble exclaimed, sitting up stock still, ears searching.

Two tabby calico's appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "Et was... Mungojerrie!" Said the first, a young tom whom Ketty and Jemima knew quite well.

"Ah-and, Rumpleteazer!" Exclaimed their dainty queen friend, flashing her pearls. "Ah-and we got a nephew ta rescue, ef ya know wot Oi mean."

"I can't let ya do that." Tumble said.

"Please!" Exclaimed Jemima. "You could just let 'em take Ketty!"

"Oh god oh god ohgodohgodoh..." Tumble covered his face with one paw. "You cannot do this to me Little One! I don't even work for yer pap! The Cap'n would skin me alive."

"Tumble?" A voice echoed back through the darkened warehouse.

"There's Brad now, coming back to help out." Hissed Jemima. "Please, its now or never. You can blame it on me!! Just let him go..."

Mungojerrie inched towards Ketty, but froze when Tumble hissed at him loudly.

"Go back outside Bradford," the bosun called over one shoulder. "Cap'n 'ill be unhappy iffen we swap jobs without permission." He listened carefully as the quiet footfalls faded back into the darkness. "Girl-kits." He muttered. "God. What I do for you."

Beginning to bounce up and down, Jemima squealed. "Oh, thank you, thankyouthankyouthank..."

"Hush!" Tumble bent over and picked up Ketty by the scruff his neck. "Urrmph-ma-grmph..." With a flick of his long brown tail, he stalked off into the darkness.

"C'mon!" Jemima said to Teazer and Jerrie. Jerrie shrugged, and Teazer giggled, but they followed anyway.

Tumble set Ketty down next to a loose vent cover. "This is a better way out than the window. Less open, less expected. Quit crying, mite."

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou..." Jemima flung her arms around Tumble's neck and licked his face.

"Gahh, kits." He muttered, looking away. "Well, what are ya waitin' for? Growltiger's last stand? Git moving!"

Teazer and Jerrie disappeared into the air duct quickly with Ketty, but Jemima lingered. "What are you gonna say to Growltiger and my dad?"

"Feminine wiles, Jemima. Feminine wiles." He grinned cockily at her. "I couldn't resist. Between the kit cuteness and the feminine wiles, I was doomed. They should know me better than that."

"Tumble," she laughed, "I'll never understand you..."

"Git!" He ordered, in his no-nonsense bosun voice, and she fled down the dark air duct. Carefully, he pushed the cover back up and sighed deeply. "Feminine wiles," he muttered to himself, "I couldn't help myself. Really, I..."

Munku stared up at the imposing figure of Shadow Boots, accompanied by the no-less-imposing figures of Growltiger and his crew, and the very infamous Napolean of Crime. "Crap..." He muttered.

Tugger was doing his best to act completely unphased. "Hey, dad! How's it going? You wouldn't happen to have seen this wee little fuzz ball with a..."

"Oh shut up." Boots spat contemptuously. "Fraternizing with Jellicles? That is just tooo much."

"Nyah, nyah." Tugger rolled his eyes. "Who else am I supposed to fraternize with? The Munchkins from Munchkin Land? Or maybe the Winkies?" He shook his head and smoothed his tiny fluff of a mane. "Munku here is much better company than talking to oh, say, your invisible father. Even if he is a Jellicle."

Tossing his head contemptuously, Macavity snorted. "Enough of this. We have the kit, one of Shrin's brood he is, and we're keeping him."

"The mite's perfectly safe. We got the bosun watching him. Maybe he'll teach 'im how to sail."

Cavalry laughed. "Et'd be fun to have a playmate!"

"You are not taking him..." Munku hissed.

"You gonna stop us, kit?" Grimbuskin challenged.

"Give it up, Munku..." Tugger said in a bored voice. "It's not worth it." He turned and stalked away, with Munku following reluctantly, head and tail down in a gesture of defeat.

As soon as they were around the corner, Munku turned on Tugger. "What was that about? We have to get them out!"

"Just us two, against all of them? Delusions of grandeur, buddy. Munku, you aren't that strong. And..." he brushed his mane vainly, "...sadly, neither am I. We'll come back with the others later."

Munku nodded. "And with a plan."

"We shouldn't have left those queens alone with their kits..." Micah complained as Alonzo peered up into the window above. "You're stepping in my eye."

"Sorry..." Alonzo hissed, looking down at his two brothers. With their front paws rested on the wall of the warehouse, and their back paws resting on the ground or their brothers head, they formed a precarious sort of cat-tower. "This isn't working, all I can see is some brown and white tom..."

"Shhh!!" Cephas ordered. "He'll hear you."

Alonzo's flattened his ears at the rebuttal, but kept quiet.

"Tumblebrutus, sir?" That was a small white cat with brown splotches. "Where're the kits?"

"They slipped out while I was lookin away, Brad." The first brown and white tom said, not all that convincingly. Alonzo's ears perked up, the kits were gone? They were safe?

"Right, uh-huh. You let them go." Brad sighed. "That means low rations for all of us under you, you know."

"I know, I'm sorry. Kit cuteness? Come on." Tumblebrutus gave Brad an apologetic look.

"Right. I know you Tumble. You don't mind kits, but they don't wrap you around their paws like they do to some cats."

"Yah, yah." Tumble lowered his voice. "Don't tell Maccy, but his daughter's getting to be a real la-dy. Feminine wiles, Bradford. Feminine wiles. I canno' resist."

Alonzo slipped. "Ohhh, my eye..." Micah muttered.

"You just stuck your foot in my mouth!" Spat Cephas.

"Shhhh..." Alonzo hissed. Maybe they hadn't heard, maybe they... A brown and white patched face appeared in front of him. "Woah!!"

As the three brothers scattered, he thought he heard the one called Tumblebrutus say, "There. Those three, they took the kits. We couldn't stop 'em. Scratch me up some, an' I'll do you. It'll be real convincing."

"More convincing then kit cuteness and feminine wiles," Bradford muttered. "Ow!!"

Munku was so deep in thought when they reached the junkyard that he didn't notice the happy laughter and voices of kittens that had been so distinctly absent earlier that day. It took a swift kick in the ribs from Tugger for him to realize that all his plans for sneaking into Macavity's hideout were unnecessary.

"Look who's hee-yer!" Tugger exclaimed in a sing-song voice. "Jemima ah-hand Carbucketty!"

All Munku could do was stare at them. "How'd you get out?"

"It was: Mungojerrie!" Jerrie laughed.

"Ah-hand, Rumpelteazer!" Teazer tried not to giggle too hard.

"How...?"

"We're Shrin's brood, remember? Trained thieves we are, and part of the only crew that Macavity might be reluctant to take on." Jerrie shoved Teazer playfully.

"Well, this is great!" Grinning an overly exaggerated smile, Tugger strode forward to pull the two kittens into a hug. Both kits protested and struggled to escape, but everyone just laughed at them. And the one who laughed the hardest was Pouncival.