Mungojerrie drifted in and out of consciousness, he knew not for how long. He dimly perceived dark shapes surrounding him, which he tried to swat away as a kitten might a woollen string. His periods of sleep were filled with horrifying nightmares. He saw Rumpleteazer die hundreds of times at Macavity's hands, saw the Jellicles butchered just as many times – all the while unable to move or cry out.
Mungojerrie had no idea of the time when he awoke. Rumpleteazer was asleep at the foot of the bed he had been placed on. He tapped her gently, waking the pretty queen up. She took one look at her mate and flung her arms around him. "That is quite enough of that," she growled into his ear. "You've ended up here too much recently," she pouted. "What happened?" her mate asked. "Major panic attack, combined with oxygen deprivation," Jennyanydots fussed as she entered the room. "I mean … Macavity was there, and then I passed out. Why didn't he kill me?" "Erik and Plato chased him off," Rumpleteazer explained. "You have some true friends there," Jenny smiled. "Make sure you don't let them go." "How long was I out for?" Mungojerrie asked, shakily standing up. "Four days," Rumpleteazer replied. "Bloody hell," the tabby tom exclaimed.
Jennyanydots gave her son in law a concoction of her own creation to help him calm down. The gumbie cat was concerned about the tabby, particularly when her daughter revealed that the sleep medication she had been preparing had not been for Rumpleteazer, but had been for her mate. "How long have you been having nightmares and struggling to sleep?" she asked him kindly. He swallowed nervously. "Since the Jellicle Ball," he replied hoarsely. Jenny tutted. "You should have come to see me," she frowned. "Didn't want to be a bother," Mungojerrie smiled weakly. The gumbie cat scowled. "Well it was dammed foolish of you," she muttered. At that moment there was a knock on the door. Rumpleteazer opened it to reveal Erik and Jemima standing there.
The red and black cats slunk in, concern etched across their faces. "Are you ok?" Jemima asked, her eyes wide and scared. "Yes, I'm fine," her friend replied with a smile, standing up. Jemima jumped for joy, throwing her arms around Erik. The black cat looked startled, but made no effort to dislodge her. "How's Plato?" Mungojerrie asked as they left, Jemima holding onto Erik's paw in the manner of a prospector who has found the treasure of a life time. "He's good," Erik responded. "Munkustrap and Alonzo having been talking to him." At that moment the grey cat in question came tearing around the corner, skidding to a halt. A bright smile split his face.
"They want to train me," he exclaimed excitedly. Rumpleteazer and Erik looked blank, but Jemima and Mungojerrie joyfully congratulated their friend. "Um … who wants to train you to do what?" Erik asked. "Munkustrap and Alonzo," Plato exclaimed. "They want to train me as a protector." Rumpleteazer and Erik, now that they understood, were delighted for their friend. Plato had wanted to be a protector since he was a small kitten, and none of the friends could think of any cat better suited to the task. Even when they were kittens, Plato had been a natural born leader, organising the other kittens and concocting many of their childish schemes. When the other kittens had obsessed over Rum Tum Tugger, a phase only some of them had outgrown, Plato had idolised the protector Munkustrap.