To the Rescue

Shortly after Munkustrap lead the rescue party out of the Junkyard, all of the younger cats huddled together. Etcetera was already sobbing uncontrollably. Just knowing that her sister willing put herself in danger was too much for the little tabby cat to handle. Tumblebrutus was doing the best he could to try and calm her down, but none of his efforts seemed to be doing any good.

"How could she do that?!" Etcetera cried. "How could she?!"

"It'll be okay." Victoria said, trying to sound assuring. "You know Electra's strong. And I'm sure the adults will bring her back safely."

"Oh," Jemima whimpered, "this is all my fault. I should've tried harder to stop her. Now Macavity's going to…"

"Don't say it!" Pouncival suddenly spoke up.

Since the said cat one was one of the quietest in the tribe, it was a bit of a shock to hear him speak so fiercely. The moment he said that statement, the other young cats turned to look at him.

"We have to believe in them." Pouncival continued a little more calmly. "We can't assume the worst until it has happened. That's what Macavity wants us to do: give up hope. But we won't give him the satisfaction of it."

"You're…you're right, Pouncival." Jemima shakily nodded. "Thank you."

While the others huddled together, and the grown-ups came over to shelter their young ones, Victoria looked up the moon. She had to try and be strong for the sake of the others, but the truth was that she was scared, too. Especially knowing the fact that her friends were in trouble.

The thing that made even worse was that she could only wait for the outcome of the whole ordeal. She wanted to go and help her friends, but she would just be in the way. It was moments like this where she cursed herself for having a pure white coat of fur. It may be great for making her stand out and give a sense of life to the Jellicle Ball dances, but it would work horribly against her if she tried to do anything stealthy. She would be noticed in a heartbeat. On top of that, she knew she wasn't much of a fighter. She preferred to dance instead of engaging in conflict.

Victoria would just have to let Munkustrap, Plato, and the others rescue Electra, Quaxo, Mungojerrie, and Rumpleteazer. All that she could really do was keep the faith that they would all return safe and sound.

"Please," she whispered under her breath, "just let everyone come back safely."

The fight between Quaxo and Macavity raged on as fierce as a thunderstorm. The young black and white tomcat mostly evaded the ginger cat's attacks as much as he could. However, he found that is was difficult to stay on his toes because Macavity was very fast. Quaxo even tried to use his lightning powers, but he was having trouble focusing it. He had only practiced using his power in a calm environment and for entertainment purposes.

Right now, he was wishing he had practiced it for combat instead. It would certainly come in handy.

Not to mention, he soon found out what one of Macavity's powers was, and this one was pretty deadly.

Striking from a distance.

Quaxo could be a foot away from Macavity's paw, and he would still feel a sharp sting in his side and look to see a bleeding wound. It was almost like this monster would send out an invisible claw to strike his opponent.

"Give it up, Quaxo!" Macavity maliciously snarled. "You can't win!"

"Never!" Quaxo angrily panted. "I'll never surrender to you!"

"You're wounded and growing weaker!" the ginger cat narrowed his eyes. "Make it easy on yourself and just give in!"

The black and white tomcat replied with a fierce growl and sent out a lightning bolt. Macavity simply leapt over it and swung his paw again. This time, Quaxo really felt a strike across his face and chest. The impact was so strong that it sent him flying for few feet. He landed hard on the ground and groaned in agonizing pain. He twisted and strained to regain concentration.

However, Macavity was already on top of him. The fiend in feline shape slammed his paw down on Quaxo's head, shoving it even more into the ground.

"Foolish," Macavity spat, "just like a Jellicle Cat. Well, one down and a few more to go."

Macavity raised his other paw; his long black claws ready to kill. But before he could strike, a loud shriek pierced through the darkness.

"NO!"

The next thing Macavity knew, something leapt out of the shadows and tackled him off of Quaxo. When he landed on the ground, he tried to kick whatever had attacked him off, but he soon realized it was rather small.

The thing then hastily tumbled away from Macavity. The ginger cat quickly got up and was surprised by what he saw.

A young tortoiseshell queen cat was standing protectively in front of Quaxo.

"What?!" Macavity shouted. "How did you get here?!"

"Electra?!" Quaxo looked up, shocked to see the young queen cat. "What are you doing here?!"

Electra, shaking and scared now that she was face-to-face with Macavity, stood her ground between him and Quaxo.

"Keep your bloody paws off of Quaxo!" she shouted.

Macavity glared at Electra for a moment. His eyes then darted back and forth between the young queen cat and tomcat she was protecting. He then gave a malicious grin and laughed his infamous evil laugh, sending a chilling wave down Electra's back.

"Oh," he sneered, "this little queen thinks she is tough enough to take me on. And all to protect the cat she loves. How very touching."

Suddenly, Macavity moved from his spot and was directly in front of Electra in just a split second. She involuntarily gasped and stepped back. Macavity then shot a paw our and grabbed her chin, pulling her face close to his own.

Electra's heart began to fearfully race as she stared directly into this despicable cat's face. His sunken eyes were so fiery and wicked, giving her a horrible feeling of what he might do to her.

"Let her go, you creep!" Quaxo angrily shouted, struggling to get up.

Macavity ignored the tomcat.

"I like queens who are fiery," he creepily said.

Electra had enough. She wasn't going wait to see he would do next.

"GET YOUR PAWS OFF ME!" she shouted.

The young queen cat slashed Macavity across the face, causing him to release his grip on her and stumble back. He then sharply turned back to Electra with a cut across his face and blood slowly trickling out of it.

"I'm not some play-thing!" Electra scowled. "And neither is Demeter! I know what you did to her! And it's unforgivable! I won't let you hurt anyone else anymore, you heartless freak!"

Macavity scowled at Electra and wiped away the blood coming down his face.

"So that's a challenge!" He narrowed his eyes. "Well, then I accept!"

After hearing the situation, Quaxo immediately got to his feet and ran up to stand protectively in front of Electra. Although his wounds stung and his limbs were tinkling with numbness, he still stood up.

"If you want her," the young tomcat snarled, "you have to go through me!"

"Oh, how romantic." Macavity sneered. "Standing up for the queen you love. But you know, love never lasts forever."

"You're wrong, Macavity!" Electra shot back. "You're wrong about all of us! And we're going to prove it!"

"Do you honestly think you can defeat me?!" Macavity raised his voice. "I, who have defied the very law of gravity?! You two are just signing your own death warrants!"

"We'll see about that!" Quaxo shouted.

The said tomcat then stuck out his paw and released a huge lightning bolt. Macavity jumped to escape the attack, but the bolt managed to strike him in one of his hind paws. He hissed in pain as he landed and turned back at the two young cats. He fixed his stare on Quaxo and lunge forward, swinging his paw in the process. Just like many of the attacks before, Quaxo felt a horrible pain pierce through his side and staggered back, grimacing in agony.

Macavity then collided with Quaxo and tackled him away from Electra. The black and white tomcat was then thrown back into a large rock.

"Quaxo!" Electra cried.

The queen cat then raced over to her friend. Tears began to form in her eyes when she saw the extent of Quaxo injuries. He was covered in scratches and some were bleeding pretty badly.

Macavity, enjoying the sight of two Jellicle Cats suffering, simply stepped back and let the scene unfold.

"Quaxo!" Electra cried, stroking the said tomcat's head with her paws. "Quaxo! Please, stay with me!"

Quaxo looked up at the queen cat with distress. The fight he had before had tired him out and he knew that he wouldn't be able to protect Electra. His vision was already fading and couldn't seem to find the strength to stand up again.

"Electra," he said weakly, "go, save yourself."

"I'm not leaving you!" Electra whimpered. "I didn't come all this way to leave you!"

"Electra, please…just…go."

With those words, Quaxo finally lost consciousness.

Electra, frightened and distraught, let her tears fall from her eyes. She knew that Quaxo wasn't dead, but there was nothing she could do to help him at this point.

"Hmph," Macavity smirked wickedly, "looks like you two failed to prove me wrong. Not even the Magical Mr. Mistofelees could defeat me. And looks like your "true love" isn't as strong as you claim it to be."

Electra clenched, her fear slowly turning into anger.

"Well," Macavity continued, "what else was I to expect from a pathetic pair of cats from a pathetic tribe…"

"Shut up!"

Macavity looked at Electra, surprised that she had spoken so harshly.

Electra gently laid Quaxo's head down and stood up, her gaze still locked on the handsome tomcat

"You know nothing about love!" Electra said to Macavity in a low voice. "All you know is hatred! All because of your lust for power! THAT is what separated you from the rest of us!"

"What are you saying?" Macavity raised an eyebrow, sounding disinterested.

However, that all changed when Electra turned around sharply and scowled at him with pure rage.

"I'M SAYING YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S PATHETIC!" she shouted.

Macavity then fixed Electra with a hateful glare.

"Why you little…!" he spat before the queen cat cut him off.

"Shut up!" Electra snarled. "I've had enough of you! You wanted a challenge; you've got one! Even if it takes my nine lives, I promise on behalf of the Jellicle Cats I will defeat you!"

The ginger tomcat then crouched low to the ground. Electra responded by doing the same thing, preparing herself for an attack.

"Very well then, little queen!" Macavity growled. "Let's see how long you can last!"

In an instant, the fiend and feline shape lunged at the tortoiseshell queen cat, eyes blazing in fury, and claws ready to kill.