*I don't own CATS or any of the characters.

###

"Mr. Munkustrap, sir-."

"Okay, enough with the pretenses." Munku sighed. "This is serious stuff we're dealing with, Mungojerrie."

As Mungojerrie and Munku engaged in a quiet back-and-forth, Rumpleteazer smiled at me nervously. I wanted to smile back but I just turned my face away timidly.

"We're looking for a Queen who's gone missing." Munkustrap was explaining. "And we have reason to think that she's gone looking for a certain cat named Macavity."

The siblings tensed a little and glanced at each other.

"And you think we might know about where Macavity might be?" Rumpleteazer laughed. "We just engage in petty crime-."

"Even so, we have reason to believe that you might know or have some sort of clue-." I blurted out.

Mungojerrie raised a careful eyebrow. "And even so, you're trusting us?"

"We don't have any other clues as to where we should start." Munkustrap explained. "And… well… any information you think you might have-."

"Wait, wait, wait." Mungojerrie said, shaking his head. "Why do you think we might know anything? If it's because-."

Munkustrap sighed. "You're not denying that you have a knack for getting into trouble, are you? Because I could very easily pull up my list-."

"You don't have a list." Rumpleteazer smirked.

"And besides, not every cat who 'has a knack for getting into trouble' is associated with Macavity." Mungojerrie snorted. "I don't see Tugger here." He said, proving his point.

"W-w-w-well, beyond just your run-ins with the law, you've seen more of the world outside of the junkyard than any other cats we can think of!" I exclaimed in desperation. "Please. We need your help. Anything that you've got."

"Who's gone missing?" Mungojerrie sighed.

"Bombalurina." Munkustrap said hurriedly, pouncing on the opportunity, not willing to risk the siblings changing their minds about helping us.

Rumpleteazer's eyes softened. "She's your sister, isn't she?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Well, Jerrie?" Rumpleteazer sighed. "If I went missing, you'd look for me, wouldn't you?"

###

Munkustrap and I followed quietly after Mugojerrie and Rumpleteazer. We ran through streets I'd never seen in my life. We passed by people who looked as if they might want to hurt us—as if we were disrupting the peace.

On a normal day, if I were chasing after Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, two cats who were notorious for the trouble that always seemed to be nipping at their tails, I'd think that the world had gone completely mad. But I didn't have time to give it a second thought.

"Where exactly are we going?" Munkustrap asked, after a while, sounding slightly frustrated.

The siblings hadn't told us where we were going. They'd merely told us to follow them. And as much as I knew that they were supposed to be helping us, I couldn't help but feel that they were leading us to our deaths and we just didn't know it. Whether they were leading us to Macavity's front door or to the next link in the chain towards finding Macavity was altogether unclear. But I shuddered at the thought that Macavity could live anywhere in the city, in such close proximity to the junkyard.

"So, how do you think that that sister of yours would know where to find Macavity?" Rumpleteazer asked, ignoring Munku's question. The lack of an answer made my stomach lurch and I felt more uneasy than I had before.

"I don't know." I admitted. "They were friends as kits. She might have had some clues." I shrugged.

"It wouldn't be unlike Macavity to leave clues around the junkyard." Munkustrap admitted.

"Your own brother, huh. And even you don't know where to find him?" Mungojerrie asked, laughing a little.

"Half-brother." Munku corrected, his eyes narrowing a little.

Mungojerrie shrugged. "He's quite the figure though, isn't he? Holds such sway over the junkyard."

"He doesn't hold sway over the junkyard!" Munku snarled a little, frightening even me.

"But he does, doesn't he?" Mungojerrie asked, seemingly unfazed by Munkustrap's sudden change in demeanor. "No one ever speaks his name unless it's under soft whispers. He's something of a legend to the kits. There are stories that their parents tell them about him, you know? Sure, he's a villain. But he's left his mark on the junkyard, that's for sure."

"He's not a bedtime story." Munkustrap hissed, but his eyes were noticeably calmer. "He really killed all of those kits. He really-."

"And no one's saying that he didn't, Mr. Munkustrap, sir." Mungojerrie murmured, shaking his head.

"Drop it." I whispered, looking away. "Just… just stop talking about it."

An uncomfortable silence fell upon us as we continued through the city but as we continued down the street, past buildings that towered over our heads, Munkustrap smiled at me in thanks.

###

When we finally came to a stop, we found ourselves staring up at a large old house that looked as if it might collapse in on itself at any moment. Once, perhaps, it had been beautiful. But now, it looked more like a shadow than anything else.

"Where is this place?" I asked.

"This, is where Lady Griddlebone resides." Rumpleteazer grinned. "Wait for her to come outside—she will eventually—and ask her your questions."

"She knows more than we do." Mungojerrie agreed.

"But we-." I started as they raced away. I started after them, but stopped when I noticed that Munkustrap hadn't moved.

"Munku?"

"Let them go." He whispered. "They did what we asked. Besides, we can't let those kits be disappointed now, can we?" he asked, smiling a little.

I nodded. "I… I guess. So… we just wait now?"

"It seems that that's the only thing that we can do."

I'd never seen Munkustrap look so hopeless in my life. And although I knew that I should probably talk to him and tell him that it was all going to be alright—that Macavity didn't hold as much sway over the junkyard as Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer seemed to think—I curled up on the sidewalk and rested my head on my paws, letting the sleep take me.