Hi, everyone, long time no see! Sorry for updating now... but the exam has ended two days ago and I can't be happier! Of course, I was horrible in Korean(duh!) and English... but I know I can wish for better and try harder! And thank you all for reviewing for the last chapter and waiting for this chapter!
I'm telling you over and over again. This story is not happy. If you don't like this kind of story, I don't advise you to read. But if you want to, you're always welcome! :P

Spelling or grammatical errors, please let me know! It will help me writing a better chapter, I guess.

Special thanks goes to Jackie is Grey, Kksaiyancat, and Jellicle Tribe! Thank you for your reviews!

Chapter 10

It's All Over

Munkustrap panted hard and leaned against the wall for support, grabbing hold onto his left arm that was bleeding from a wound. The wound itself was not serious, but he wasn't sure if he could move his injured arm freely. He cautiously let go of the wound but the blood continued to seep from his left arm. He sighed. He had no choice but to wrap his paw around it again. He looked around to see cats lying around, moaning in pain or lifeless. Admetus and some other cats were leading them away with handcuffs on them but most of the police officers were still alert, with guns in their paws.

"Are we clear?" someone called from the hidden room across the floor. From there, some bleeding henchcats were stumbling out with handcuffs.

"Yes, sir!"

Blood was everywhere and there were bullet holes in the opposing wall. Macavity's henchcats were all arrested or killed, thanks to Munkustrap and his well-trained police friends. But the Hidden Paw himself was nowhere to be seen. It was known that Macavity's office was on the top stairs. Now with the bottom cleared up a bit, they could go up. Seeing Asparagus leading the rest of the henchcats away, Munkus turned around to face Gilbert, Macavity's second-in-command, who was still panting from sheer exhaustion with handcuffs in his paws. Blood was oozing out from a nasty-looking wound on his side.

"Gilbert, do you hear me?" he inquired. The muscled tom nodded weakly.

"Yes."

"Now listen close to me." Munkustrap growled. "now we're going up there. And you're coming with us." Gilbert's eyes widened in fear and rage. "No! I'm not going-" but Munkustrap caught him off. "if you're not going to do that, we have no choice but to let you go with them." he nodded towards the rest of the henchcats, who were still hissing, biting and trying to get away from the firm grasp. "but if you help us, then we could help you a little bit in return."

Gilbert looked thoughtful. He hesitated before sighing. "I've committed enough crimes. And I don't want to-" but even before he could say more, he felt something cold being pressed against his temple. Cold sweat rolled down his cheek as his heart thumped painfully. Being the Hidden Paw's second-in-command, he had faced many dangerous times and even had to overcome death. But this was different. He could choose this time.

"Now think carefully." Munkustrap whispered harshly. "we don't have time and so do you. Think again. I'll give you ten seconds."

"Ten... nine..."

Gilbert gulped. The gun shifted on this temple. The cold metal clicking sound made his heart even madder by the seconds.

"three... two..."

"OKAY!" Gilbert snarled and jerked to break free. "Alright! Alright... so please, put that thing away."

"Good." Munkustrap breathed. "now, come here." he grabbed his handcuffs and turned him around, still pointing the gun in his head. Other officers, though looking uneasy, followed him. As Munkustrap nodded, Asparagus called Admetus to come along. Checking the room empty for the last time, they began to go up. Three officers were still remaining in the room, in case of a sudden unexpected situation. He nodded them good luck before taking a first step on the wooden staircase.

"Now, guide us." he ordered. "don't try anything stupid. If you do, then you'll get a bullet inside your head." he growled.

"Okay, okay... take it easy, man." Gilbert breathed. "hey, you look horrible by the way. Are you okay?" he sneered, looking at Munkustrap. For a split second, the silver tabby felt his heart stop before recovering his senses. "None of your business." he growled.

"Just shut up and go up." Asparagus snapped.

Gilbert was somehow slow, maybe because of his injuries. Munkustrap strained his ears and tried to catch any sounds that were coming from everywhere. The other cats were also looking around carefully, controlling their breaths. The wooden staircase made creaking sounds each time they stepped on them. The noise was getting bigger as they climbed up. Up ahead, he could see a thick wooden door, which looked locked.

That must be Mac's personal office. He thought. But his thoughts were stopped by a sudden sharp creaking noise. He looked down, growled in annoyance as the stairs creaked beneath his feet. Just as he moved his right foot to take another step-

"Look out!" Asparagus screamed. Munkus whipped his head around to see a blur of crimson red fur disappearing from his sight. And as he blinked, he could see the door opened. But when...?

But he was too late. A gunshot was heard and Gilbert collapsed, blood pumping out from a black hole in his forehead. His huge body fell to the floor with a big thump. But even before the Jellicles could even think clearly about what had just happened before their eyes, another gunshot was heard and Asparagus fell, groaning.

"ASP!" Admetus cried. Macavity was racing to the door. But Munkustrap didn't hesitate this time. Just as Asparagus was falling behind him and Macavity disappeared behind the wooden door, he flung himself to the top staircase and grabbed onto the metal doorknob, roughly flinging the door open. He jumped inside.

It was pitch-black inside the room and the crimson tom was nowhere to be seen. He just stood there, panting, before he heard Admetus calling; "Munkus, come back! It's dangerous!"

"Munkus, don't!" another cat screamed. This time, it was female. "come back!" with that, she and some other cats began to climb up to assist him. "WAIT!" she screamed again.

That was the last thing he heard before the wooden door was locked behind him with a click.

Munkustrap could do nothing, standing alone in the darkness. All he could hear was his panting breaths and pulsing heartbeats. His right paw that was holding the gun was shaking madly as he was hit with the harsh reality that he was afraid. The fear, the icy feeling was like nothing he had ever experienced before. His life was in jeopardy. He had to save himself and he had no one to help him with that. Now this was different.

He was afraid. And for the first time in his life, he was overwhelmed with instinctive fear and terror. Munkustrap breathed in, slowly, trying to think clearly.

I must stay alert. He thought over and over again. I just can't give up. He has to be here around somewhere. And I can't miss him.

Just as he moved his left foot, he felt a rustle of fur right behind him. He whipped around, pointing his gun, but all he could see was pitch-black darkness that was still covering him. He let out a soft growl of frustration, feeling his heartbeats. He cautiously reached out to touch the wall. He breathed out a sigh of relief as he began to take cautious step, feeling the cold wall with his left paw. The wall was cement. The rough surface scratched Munkustrap's pads as he walked slowly. Strange, he thought. The wall was... wet. But he had neither time nor attention to think of what it was.

He gasped out in surprise as he felt his right foot connecting with something like water. A soft splash was heard through the darkness as he stood there, panting. Still Macavity was nowhere. Bracing himself, Munkustrap bent down to tough the liquid. It was almost like water, but was slightly different. The smell was weird, yet strangely familiar.

"Gasoline...?" he whispered. His eyes widened as he struggled to get up. He finally realized what Macavity had intended in the first place. His reason for why he led all of them here to his warehouse. He had no time. He had to get away before everything caught on fire.

"Correct." a soft purr was heard through the darkness. Munkustrap stood frozen. It was him. Even before he could point his gun, it was kicked away from his paw. The silver tabby heard a crack as the gun dropped to the ground. But he couldn't see anything.

"Always smart, Munkustrap. But not smart enough to catch me alive." He felt the Hidden Paw gripping onto his injured left arm, his claws digging into his skin. He snarled and scratched him across the face. But all he felt through his paw was emptiness.

"You can't do anything. Just like old times..." The Hidden Paw's fist suddenly connected with his chest and he stumbled onto the wooden floor, groaning. Luckily the floor was not wet where he fell. "and here was I just waiting for you and-" But he was grabbing the crimson tom with his paw as he went down. Both toms tumbled to the floor, hissing and biting to get a firm hold of each other.

"You dirty piece of shit!" Munkustrap snarled vehemently as he kicked Macavity's stomach. He felt Macavity wheezing and grabbed his head fur. "how could you? You destroyed cats lives and mine- yet you're still trying for more!" For an hour ago, he felt himself completely deprived of strength. But now, with adrenaline pumping and blood roaring in his ears, all he could feel was endless rage and hatred toward the red tom. He surely wasn't feeling strong, but he wasn't weak. At least for now.

But Macavity wasn't weak. He was a formidable enemy. Just as Munkustrap reached out to grab his gun, his vicious claws tore their way through the tabby's chest. He screamed in pain as blood began to ooze out from the claw marks. He could hear Macavity hissing in rage. The crimson tom shakily got to his feet, with holding Munkustrap's collar with his bloodied paws. The tabby coughed, trying to breath as Macavity's paws were wrapped around his throat.

"Why did you have to do it in the first place?" he wheezed, trying to get away from the vice-like grasp. "you could have lived happily... why did you have to kill?" The grip tightened and Munkustrap gagged.

"SHUT UP!" Macavity roared. "SHUT UP! You can never understand. And you don't have any right to teach me anything!" Munkustrap kicked him hard across the stomach and he had to let go of him. Munkustrap got away and tried to look for his gun, but was stopped by Macavity who grabbed him and flung him to the opposing wall. He crumpled onto the floor, groaning in pain. But he knew he had to get up. He attacked Macavity again with his claws until he felt blood flowing from his wounds. "I'm not teaching you anything!" he growled. "you don't deserve such a thing."

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Macavity screamed, striking him hard on the stomach. Munkustrap fell with a cough and blood began to flow between his lips. He suddenly felt dizzy as he felt Macavity towering against him. The crimson tom grabbed Munkustrap's chin and held his face up to face him, although their faces were still buried in the darkness. Both toms were panting hard from both exhaustion and pain. Munkustrap's face was contorted in pain as Macavity's foul breath connected with his face.

"When you first tried to track me down... I could have killed you. But I didn't. And I didn't kill you for all these years, even when I could have! So you should be thankful to me!" he growled. "I knew you were going to catch me, eventually. But I was planning to kill you with that, like right now. You could catch me. But I can kill you while you can never." he laughed in a demented may. "I have the power. I chose the power when I had the chance. And you didn't."

"You don't understand, Macavity." Munkustrap breathed. "you could never... understand what a cat's life is defined by." his winced as pain tore through his stomach. "you can have all the power if you want... but you cannot have the happiness. Not ever." he growled. "you chose to kill the ones that blocked your way. Everyone wants to be powerful... But not everyone is like that. You could have chosen the better way. But you didn't." Though Munkustrap couldn't see, Macavity's eyes were shaking slightly.

The crimson tom laughed. "That was by my own will and volition..." he chuckled darkly. "and I enjoy killing very much, unlike you weak cats."

"You're insane!" Munkustrap cried, enraged. That moment, he felt Macavity's paws grabbing his throat again. He tried to get away but he was much stronger. He couldn't get away. He struggled, but with no avail.

"I'm insane?" Macavity cackled. "then I'd hate to see what comes next for you!" Munkustrap's eyes widened as he felt him searching through his pockets, still grabbing his throat. Though he couldn't see anything, Munkus felt something dreadful was near. And his foreboding proved to be true, as the thing Macavity drew out from his pocket was a single match.

"Goodbye, Munkustrap." he whispered. And he stroke the match and threw the small stick to the floor.

"NO!" Munkustrap screamed. But it was too late. The small fire connected with the gasoline pool on the floor and a flame came to life, burning everything near itself. The dark room suddenly became bright and Macavity darted away, letting to of Munkustrap and pushing him onto the floor. The tabby quickly got up, and looked around in search of his gun. He reached for it and caught it just in time before the flame engulfed it.

The whole room was on fire, and the air around him was already thick with smoke. Munkustrap coughed, wildly looking around, looking for Macavity. Black smoke blurred his vision as he crouched to avoid the smoke. The flame was already getting to the ceiling. The ceiling was mostly out of wood, which made Munkustrap worried even more. Soon, bits of wood began to fall from the ceiling above. He didn't have time.

"Macavity, show yourself!" Munkustrap roared. He had to kill him... he had to see him dead if it meant death for himself too. "Macavity!"

A loud crack was heard as a wooden beam fell toward the floor. Munkustrap flung himself away, just missing the burning wooden beam. He breathed out a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived because a gunshot was heard. He ducked, and the bullet embedded itself deep in the wall. Snarling, Macavity jumped out from out of his hiding place and confronted Munkustrap, who was standing panting on the floor. A demented grin was on his face as he raised his gun. "Now nobody can get out." he cackled, coughing.

"Enough of this, Macavity!" Munkustrap cried. "stop struggling. Nobody will help you if you continue to be like this."

"I don't want any help from anybody!" Macavity shot back, with hatred in his eyes. "especially from you!" with that, he flung himself to Munkustrap. He didn't have enough time to get away and they all fell to the floor, hissing at each other. All the while, the smoke was getting worse. It burned Munkustrap's throat and lungs as he coughed desperately. He was losing strength quickly. Macavity was gaining the upper paw, slowly pinning the thin tom to the floor. He struggled furiously to get away but it was futile. Macavity flung his gun away from Munkustrap's paw and pointed his gun at his forehead, using his legs to pin him down to the floor.

"How many times do I have to kill you?" Macavity roared. "but this time, I won't let you get away with this."

But just as he tried to pull the trigger, a lose spark escaped from the flames and hurtled itself toward the red tom's face. Macavity screamed, covering his face with his paw as the sparks burned his face. Not missing his chance, Munkustrap flung Macavity away, wildly twisted around and grabbed his gun from the floor. Macavity snarled, recovering from the sparks, and soon gained full attention of the situation. Munkustrap was getting to his feet with the gun in his paw.

"YOU!" Macavity screamed, and pulled the trigger as Munkustrap did the same.

With a crack, the bullet tore through Munkustrap's side. The tabby let out a chocked cry of pain as he stumbled backward from the impact. Blood began to pump out from the wound as he slowly crumpled to the floor, his knees buckling. He pressed his paws to the wound, trying to stem the blood but with no avail. He let out a soft cry of pain, feeling trickles of dark red blood trailing down between his fingers and forming a small puddle around him. He struggled to breath, chocked with thick smoke. Tears form in his eyes as his vision grew darker by the moment.

He could see Macavity's body slowly catching on fire. The bullet was now inside his head. The Hidden Paw was no more. Only a bloodied body was in his place.

He blinked, trying to stay focused. But he couldn't. The pain and blood loss was too much. Another drop of tear rolled down his face as he tried to remember his last moments with his family. Demeter, Jemima, Sillabub... and the newborn kitten. Tugger, Bomba... Jenny... Skimble... Admetus... Asp... was he safe? He wasn't sure... he was losing consciousness fast, and he could just faintly hear a noise from the outside. But he didn't care.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered. "I'm so sorry..."

With that, he closed his eyes and fell into the endless darkness.

DON'T KILL ME! Don't forget that Munkus is my favorite character too! I was incredibly sad while writing this chapter... so please cheer me up a bit... :( And I have to go back to the school dorms too... ㅠㅠ And if you have anything to say to me, please PM me or give me a review! I did this in a hurry so I didn't get a chance to rewrite it... sorry for that but I had no choice. I don't like this kind of writing style but I'm incredibly short of time...

Now, how did you like it? Please review! Your feedback feeds me! Hehe :P