Author's Note: So I started this chapter and was really, really hating it. Then all of a sudden, I kinda got into this groove, and I love how it turned out. It's also my longest chapter ever!
Thanks for all of your wonderful words of encouragement, I really, really appreciate them! And we broke 90 reviews, how awesome is that? Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: You know, repeatedly disclaiming my ownership of Cats is not helping my attempt at denial.

LI

Bombalurina and Demeter's song was barely concluded when the junkyard was yet again plunged into an untimely chaos. A crash boomed outside of the clearing, and a scream resounded. In fear, I scurried away from the tribe, moving to stoop beneath an old washer. Remaining mostly hidden, I allowed myself to peek back into the junkyard's center, to watch for the cause of the tumult. I found it in Macavity's figure, which had once more showed itself along the courtyard's border. But this time, something was different- his hand was raised, as if in a sign of peace. And from another corner emerged the familiar figure of Old Deuteronomy, lead by a posse of henchcats.

I smiled at the return of my grandfather, but my thoughts quickly turned (somewhat selfishly) towards my fiancé. "If Grandfather is here, Misto has no reason to be gone. He must have spoken with his father, negotiated something to get Old Deuteronomy back. So where is he now?"

My train of thought was quickly interrupted as Dem flashed across the expanse, her hackles raised. Her eyes were narrowed, her shoulders tense. My brow knit up in confusion. "It's Grandfather, not a monster, what is Dem doi-"

Before I could even complete my thought, Demeter had thrown herself upon "Old Deuteronomy's" back, tore off his disguise, and in a flash of light, revealed Macavity. I screamed as he charged the tribe, clawing at their faces.

"Jemima!" I shrieked, spotting my sister only feet from my hiding place. Quickly, I grasped her arm and tugged her down to crouch beside me.

"Mom!" she cried, watching helplessly as Macavity grabbed hold of Demeter. I gripped her paw tightly, in a miserable attempt to try to comfort her.

"Shhh, shhh, it's okay, 'Lonzo has her," I squeaked, trying to reassure her, though my expression probably mirrored her own look of horror.

My little sister and I clutched each other desperately, trying to contain our sobs as our father battled his own brother. Tears matted my fur, and I wanted nothing more than to be in Misto's warm arms and have my father safe at my side.

A guttural cry of pain emitted deep from my throat as I watched my father fall to the ground in pain, and saw Alonzo run to take his place. At the sight, Jem sprung from where she knelt, in a desperate attempt to run to Alonzo's side.

"Jem- no!" I screamed, seizing my sister's arm to pull her back.

"Tory, let me go!" she cried, thrashing desperately to escape my grasp. "'Lonzo he-he needs me, just let me go! He's going to get hurt, I need to help him."

I tugged her back down to crouch beside me, wrapping my arms around her waist to keep her still. "Jem, I know, I know, but you just can't. Alonzo will be fine, you're the one who'll be hurt and he'll never forgive himself."

I was able to keep her restrained- that is until Alonzo tumbled to the floor. Then Jemima broke loose, hell bent on hurting Macavity herself. But by the time my sister had reached the center of the clearing and the rest of the tribe, Macavity wasn't there.

LII

Rory was right, of course. I had no plan, no course of action plotted out. I had no idea where Old Deuteronomy was, let alone my father. It would have been wiser, more prudent to stay in the clearing and talk everything over with the tribe. But the last thing I was at that moment was prudent. I was hot-headed and impetuous. Maybe it was the whole ordeal with Plato, maybe it was my desire to prove I'm not my father. But either way, I had this insatiable yearning to prove my value to the tribe, to prove my worthiness of Rory.

So I left Rory. I wasn't so stupid that I just bolted; I knew she would follow me, so I made her swear to stay where I knew she would be safe. But all the same, I said goodbye and ran. I had no premeditated destination, no clue what I was running towards, but all the same I ran.

And somewhere in the darkness, we collided.

"Well, look who it is," he sneered.

I took a step back, in sheer shock at the sight of him. But quickly, my shock turned to rage. "You!" I bellowed, narrowing my eyes. Without a single thought, a bolt of lightning flew out of my hands, aimed directly towards his chest.

"Now, now, my own son is trying to kill me?" said Macavity, easily deflecting the bolt. Slyly, he smirked at me. "I've heard of daddy issues, but this seems a little extreme."

Once again I aimed a beam of white-hot light towards him, only to meet the same result. "Look who's talking- I seem to recall a situation with your own father?" I said through gritted teeth.

"Kidnapping, of course, but not murder. Hardly the same thing."

"It's not murder when it's justified."

"Justified?"

"My mother, along with god-only-knows how many others, all dead at your hands."

Macavity shrugged, seeming utterly unaffected. This only served to increase my anger.

"What the hell do you want with me?" I spat at him. "You took away my mother, you practically left Alonzo and I to die-"

"As my memory serves, you ran away."

"Before you killed us, or worse."

"Worse than death?" he questioned.

"Before you could make us like you."

Again he shrugged. "Matter of opinion. How is your big brother, by the way?"

I ignored him, continuing on my earlier tangent. "You continuously terrorize my tribe, and you kidnapped our leader."

"I'm not denying anything," he stated impassively. "I'm assuming you missed my most recent visit?"

I raised my head in alarm. "Most recent?" I questioned uneasily.

"Oh yeah, a nice family get together, it's a shame you missed it. Exchanged a few words with my little brother, caught up with my eldest son. I even spotted the sweetest little white queen."

Completely incensed, I again shot a bolt of lightning out of my paw, this one aimed towards his head. Once more he casually averted it with a wave of his wrist.

"What did you do?" I roared. "If you touched her, if you came within an inch of her-"

"Someone has a soft spot for Snowball, doesn't he?" Macavity snickered. "Relax, I didn't touch your precious little bundle of fur. She's quite the screamer, isn't she? 'Misto, oh where's Misto?'" he imitated mockingly.

"What did you do?" I again growled.

"Relax, none of your precious Jellicles are dead. Wouldn't work into my master plan. But my baby brother and little Lonzy will be quite bruised, won't they?"

"What exactly is this master plan of yours anyway?" I asked, snarling.

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there," he said with a dismissive wave of his paw, seating himself on a nearby crate. "I actually have quite the dramatic retelling all planned out, special made just for my little boy."

I narrowed my eyes at him, furrowing my brow.

"Anyways, where to start? Oh yes, a long, long time ago, in a magical world, far, far away lived a beautiful princess named-"

"The truth," I cut in.

"You didn't like my story? Oh well, I guess I'll start over, at the beginning. Here, I'll even paint a little picture in your head. Picture growing up, spending your whole life knowing that when you grow up, there's this thing that you really, really want, that you deserve, that has been promised to you. And when you're big enough, that thing will be yours. Now imagine planning your hopes, your future around that thing. Your whole life- or at least what you think your life will be- revolves around that thing.

"Now imagine that thing being ripped away from you. What happens? Your world, and every particle floating about in that world, is gone.

"Now imagine that happening to you twice."

Bitterly Macavity shook his head. "You can't can you? Well, let me explain what it was like for me.

"My whole life, I was the oldest son. The strongest, the smartest. Munkustrap was ambitious, sure, but who cares about ambition in a role you inherit? And Tugger- Tugger was the baby of the family, a spoiled little brat. He never wanted to be protector, he was never a concern to me.

"And while I was growing up, there was one queen. There was only ever her. She was perfect, and the only thing I ever wanted, besides to follow my dear old dad's footsteps and be protector.

"Well, I loved her with my whole heart- cause I actually had a whole heart back then. But she didn't return my affections. Mirany preferred my little brother. So I sat silent, and suffered as I watched them grow closer and closer. And I grew angrier and angrier.

"Well, apparently that anger apparently became obvious to my precious father, because when it came time to pick his successor, he picked Munkustrap, the golden boy.

"That's when I snapped. That was mine, knowing I would be protector was all I had left. And when that was taken away, I let my powers overwhelm me.

"I tried to rape her- Mirany. If she didn't chose me, it didn't matter, she would feel whatever I felt, God damn it. Munkustrap stopped it though, he 'saved' her. And from there on out, my fate was sealed. My father banished me and the tribe in its entirety turned its back on me. Excluding one cat.

"Your mother? She was nothing. Beautiful, sure. A good queen? Probably. Not that I know. She was just a prisoner I chose. All I cared about was her womb. I wanted sons, if only to succeed me. I never loved her. She tried to make good of the hell I put her through, though. She tried to change me, find a speck of good in me. A hopeless task really. There's none left. And she loved you boys, God know why. But at the end of the day, she was just a neck to snap when my temper exploded.

"And Demeter? Scorned lover, left me for Munkustrap, all that is crap. She was my prisoner , sure, but that's just a coincidence. I don't give a damn about her, I'm in it for the justice, the revenge. I want my brother to feel what it's like to have everything that matters to you taken away. He lost Mirany already, but that was just karma. I want the satisfaction of killing his mate myself.

"But that's not what you're here to hear. You want to know why I've kept you around, why I'm bothering to tell you all this.

"My mother- Grizabella- was naïve. Always inclined to believe the best in every cat. Why wouldn't she? She had the perfect life- she was beautiful, loved, with the ideal mate and three 'wonderful' children. And so she tried to defend me. She claimed there was still good in me, that the tribe should give me another chance. That I wasn't evil. Old Deuteronomy refused and she followed me into my exile.

"She was wrong, of course. I am evil- I truly believe I no longer posses a soul, that insignificant little thing you Jellicles value so highly. I feel no regret, no love, no sorrow. And that more than thrills me- it makes my job so much easier. But that doesn't mean I don't value loyalty, and feel some debt towards those who attempt to help me.

"My mother has paid for my 'wrongs'. She believed in me, the poor old fool, and lost the tribe and her family. And I feel some obligation to return her to the life she lost because of me. But I just realized my mistake. In order for my mother to return to the life she loved, she must be accepted by the tribe. And her biggest advocate in the tribe is, in fact, my father. Therefore, I must return the beloved Jellicle Leader in order for her to be accepted."

"And why can't you do that yourself?" I asked, finally breaking my silence.

"He speaks! Oh, yes, that's right; you missed my latest 'visit' to the junkyard. Well, in what I must claim as one of my more clever plots, I entered disguised as Old Deuteronomy himself, before that friendly little tussle with the tribe. But anyways, there's no way on earth they'll let Old Deuteronomy anywhere near the junkyard anytime soon- at least without shredding him apart first to make sure I'm not hidden inside. And that's where you enter.

"I want you to bring Old Deuteronomy back. This isn't a trap, there's no trickery involved. I'm laying it all on the table. I need Old Deuteronomy to be returned in order for Grizabella to get her due. And you fit the bill perfectly."

"How, exactly?" I questioned.

He sighed. "Do I have to explain everything myself? The tribe trusts you. Your powers take after my own, so it should be a cinch to return the decrepit old cat. And you're just itching for a chance to prove your superiority over that Plato guy, because you just can't kill him. God knows why not, but you apparently can't."

"How do you know that?" I snarled.

"Does it matter? Either way, it's a prime opportunity for you. All the heroics, all the fanfare you want. You get your girl-"

"I already got her," I grinned, momentarily forgetting the current situation.

He smirked sarcastically. "Great for you. Back to the subject at hand, you get to be a hero. Not to mention Plato will always know that he lost and you won."

My mind ran over everything my father had said, weighing the options. "I don't trust him. I'm not even close to trusting him. But I truly don't think this is a trap- if it was, why would he have waited this long to kill me? And he's already had a chance to take a shot at the rest of the tribe. And the whole Plato-deal sounds excellent, you have to admit. But if he's doing all the work, and do nothing and get the credit-"

"I can't take the heroics," I said aloud. "Not if they're undeserved, if this is all just your doing with me as a puppet. It wouldn't be right- I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"You Jellicles and your sense of right," Macavity groaned. "Fine. Here's the deal. I will keep Old Deuteronomy exactly where I have him now. I will not tell you, or even give you a hint, as to where in London that may be. It's your job to figure out how to get him back, with magic- which I promise you won't be a simple task. I have quite a few precautions in place to ensure no one's popping in and out without quite a bit of extremely difficult magic. So you have to figure all of that out in order to free your beloved leader. If you manage it, trust me, you'll more than deserve any commendation the Jellicles give you. Does that appease your moral objections?"

I paused, thinking it over.

"And just to clarify, this does not mean I am calling off any and all plots against the Jellicles and/or the city at large. This is merely a tangent, a side note to my plans in the larger scheme of things. And, of course, this is meant to be completely and totally secret."

"We have a deal."

Author's Note: Surprise! I decided to mix it up, and add on to my author's note at the end. I wanted to comment on writing this chapter, but I couldn't do that at the beginning without revealing Macavity's presence, which would be a gigantic spoiler. Anyways, I kinda loved writing Macavity. I thought this snide, sarcastic kind of attitude really fit him, and I had so much fun writing him, this ran way longer than I expected. And as for those of you who thought this chapter would include "Mr. Mistoffelees", you'll have to wait till Chapter Twenty-Seven! Anyways, please review, and keep reading!