Note: I just noticed that this fanfic is now my longest one yet at over 85,000 words! It beat out the last holder of that title - "Choices" - at slightly over 79,000 words! Truthfully, I had no idea that this fanfic would last so long. But, oh well! It's too late to undo what I've done!

"There's just one matter of business we need to see to first," said Grumbuskin, "Then I would like you to take us to see them as soon as possible."

"I shall," Roshedam agreed, "Do whatever you need to do beforehand."

Grumbuskin, Ralpharite, Dominev, Placondgo, and Vearhin returned to the pub's back room. There, they finished the last business of transferring the shipment of goods from Vearhin's custody into Grumbuskin's custody.

Coricopat, Tantomile, Tumblebrutus, and Jemima had stayed with Roshedam. Jemima was still trying her best not to throw up. Tumble held her close to comfort her.

"I'm hoping I'll never have to taste that horrible drink every again," she whispered, looking up at her tomfriend.

"I know how you feel," he told her, "I have no desire to taste another glass of that stuff, either."

Roshedam smiled at them and said "Well, if it makes you feel any better, both of you have yet to have a glass of actual ale."

Jemima and Tumblebrutus looked at him in confusion. The latter asked "What are you talking about?"

"What you drank was not beer or any other type of alcoholic beverage," Roshedam clarified, "It was ale-flavored club soda. It looks, smells, and tastes a lot like real ale, but there was no alcohol in it whatsoever."

(Note: There really are such drinks. I'm not making this up.)

"You mean we drank a beverage composed of artificial alcohol?" Jemima queried.

"No, only you two drank it," Roshedam corrected her, "Everyone else – including your two friends here and myself – consumed genuine ale. Though I greatly prefer the real deal to that synthetic crap. You see, when I was talking to the waiter, I simply gave him specific instructions to bring the two of you a glass of that synthetic ale."

"Why did you do that?" inquired Jemima.

Roshedam scoffed and replied "I may be a little haughty and reckless, but I definitely know better than to give actual alcoholic drinks to adolescent cats."

"Why didn't you tell anyone else that?" asked Tumble.

"My logic is simple," stated Roshedam, "If the others thought you had actual consumed an alcoholic drink, they would feel confident that you had gained my respect and passed my little test. You have indeed done both very well, I might add."

Knowing this seemed to make Jemima and Tumblebrutus feel a little more at ease; the revolting taste of that synthetic alcohol still lingered on their tongues, but they were relieved that they would not be experiencing a hangover any time soon.

"Believe me, if that actual was ale, at least one of you would be throwing up right now," Roshedam smirked as he leaned back in his chair, "That was my initial reaction when I had my first drink of the stuff. And now I've come to like it."

"That's fascinating," said Tumble, though he was not really all that interested.

While they weren't looking, Roshedam smirked. He had actually lied. Tumblebrutus and Jemima had indeed drunken genuine alcohol. But he felt that if they were under the impression that they had consumed artificial alcohol instead that they would feel a little better. After all, he knew he could get into a lot of trouble for giving them real alcohol, but making up that story solved his problem. He deeply respected them for their boldness.

After a few minutes, Ralpharite returned to the pub. He told Tumblebrutus, Jemima, Coricopat, Tantomile, and Roshedam "Grumbuskin wanted me to inform you that we're ready to move out."

"Excellent," Roshedam stood up and pushed his chair into the table. The Jellicles did likewise and followed Ralpharite to the back room. The garage door had been opened and Vearhin's men were pushing the trolley of crates outside with the aid of Dominev and Placondgo.

Grumbuskin was outside talking with Vearhin. The latter told the former "We'll follow you as far as Roshedam's house with the shipment. Then my men and I will return to our vessel at West Molesey."

"Oh? You're docked at West Molesey?" said Grumbuskin, "That's where our Captain will be picking us up. Perhaps you'll run into him."

"That's unlikely," stated Vearhin, "Tomorrow, my crew and I will first be making a stop at East Molesey. That's the only potential place where we'd meet up with him. Right after that, we'll be heading down the river towards Shepperton in the opposite direction."

"Well, if you see him before he arrives at West Molesey, let him know that we've found his children," Grumbuskin requested.

"We certainly will," Vearhin agreed.

Once everybody was back outside, Roshedam told them "My house is at Belgrade Road a little west of here. It should only be about a couple minutes' worth of walking until we get there."

"Alright, then let's move," announced Growltiger.

The cats started making their way down Thames Road. They took many precautions to ensure that they would not encounter many humans along the way. After all, the sight of over a dozen cats gathered around a trolley of crates was not exactly an everyday sight!

After walking for a few blocks, they came to Belgrade Road. They turned into that road and went down to a tall building on the left side of the street.

"Well, here we are," Roshedam announced to the others, "Here, I'll show you where you can hide the trolley."

There were two dumpsters in the alley next to the building. The trolley fit nicely in-between them and the cats used a large, black tarp to cover it up. As a result, the crates were kept nicely hidden.

"Now that that's taken care of, I'll take you all inside," said Roshedam.

He climbed on top of the dumpster and turned his attention to the fire escape ladder. Once he was properly focused, he ran toward the ladder and jumped. He grabbed onto it with both paws and started climbing up. Once he was on the first platform, he looked down towards the others and told them "Come on up!"

Dominev went next. He took his equipment pack and handed it to Placondgo. Then he focused his attention on the fire escape ladder, ran towards it, jumped, and grabbed on. Then he started climbing up. When he made it to the top, he turned around and Placondgo tossed him his equipment pack. Placondgo also tossed his own equipment pack; Dominev caught both of them. Free from his burden, Placondgo allowed himself to focus on the ladder, he ran and lunged towards it, and grabbed onto it in midair.

As Ralpharite, Tumblebrutus, Jemima, Coricopat, and Tantomile prepared to follow thereafter, Grumbuskin told Vearhin "I guess our work here is done. I'll see you again in about two months."

"Very well," agreed Vearhin, smiling mischievously, "And I suggest that you be prepared for our next meeting; I just may decide to try out a new practical joke."

Grumbuskin chuckled and told his former Captain "I will be prepared for anything, sir. Make no mistake of that."

By the time Vearhin and his men had left the alley, everyone except Grumbuskin had made it onto the fire escape platform.

"We're ready when you are, sir!" Tumblebrutus called down to the black and grey striped tom.

Grumbuskin nodded and climbed onto the dumpster. He gazed on the ladder hanging in front of him. It was only a short way away, but it would not be hard for him to miscalculate the distance to jump.

Before he tossed over his equipment pack, he took out his stash of catnip and inhaled a few small leaves to calm his mind. After that, he put away the catnip and tossed his equipment pack towards Ralpharite, who caught it with both of his front paws. Once that was taken care of, Grumbuskin focused his attention on the ladder, ran forward, and lunged towards it. He grabbed onto the bar with both of his front paws, but one of them was sweaty and slipped.

However, the other paw remained holding onto the ladder very tightly. Grumbuskin wiped his sweaty paw off on his coat and started climbing up the ladder. When he made his way to the platform, Jemima and Tumblebrutus helped him up.

"Thanks," he told them as Ralpharite handed him his equipment pack. He turned to Roshedam and asked him "Where to, now?"

"The third floor," answered Roshedam, "Follow me."

He lead the eight cats up two short flights of stairs. When they reached the top of the fire escape, they came to a closed window. Roshedam had the others step back as he approached the window. He tapped on the glass five times, each in a different spot.

A few moments later, the window was opened up vertically by a young queen. She was white with patches of red and gold along her body. Tumblebrutus, Grumbuskin, and the others recognized her from Griddlebone's drawings; she was Scurtena.

She smiled up at Roshedam and told him "I'm glad that you're home, Rosh." She spoke in a firm yet sweet voice, much like her mother.

"Good evening to you, too, Scurt," he told her, "Listen, I need you to go get your brother and sister. There're some cats here who would like to meet you."

"Sure," she nodded, turned around, and went into a different room. Roshedam and the others climbed inside the building. Once everyone was in, he closed and locked the window.

"While we're on this subject, how long have you been looking after them?" inquired Grumbuskin.

"A little over two months," the yellow and brown striped tom replied, "Vearhin sought me out to take part in the network that had been created to locate them."

"Why'd you bring them here?" asked Tumblebrutus.

"Because this was already my home beforehand," explained Roshedam, "I moved in here about three months ago. You see, long before that, this building was declared 'condemned.' But fortunately, only the first floor has actually been deemed unsafe. The other two are suitable for living."

"How fortunate," remarked Jemima.

"Fortunate indeed," agreed Roshedam, "The utilities still work, and a lot of furniture was left behind. We just have to keep the place clean and it's a regular 'home, sweet home.'"

"Does anyone else live here?" asked Ralpharite.

"No, just me and them," responded Roshedam, "They do not seem to have any problem with that. I'm not quite sure why, though; I guess they just feel comfortable around me."

"I guess they trust in you," stated Ralpharite.

Roshedam shrugged and remarked "It would seem that way."

"Have they ever mentioned Growltiger?" Tumblebrutus cut in.

Roshedam did not answer that question immediately. He chose his words carefully before answering: "I have tried bringing him and Griddlebone up on multiple occasions, but they all seem determined not to mention anything about either of their parents. I'm guessing they are still very angry at them."

"Hopefully, we can convince them to come home," stated the black and grey striped tom, "But I think we should first get on their good side; so we'll wait until tomorrow to tell them why we are here. For now, all they need to know is that we work for their father."

"That seems reasonable," the yellow and brown tom agreed.

Just then, Scurtena returned with a gold and red striped tom with a white chest and a patched red, gold, and white queen. Everyone recognized them from Griddlebone's drawings as Dawlimer and Bellazni respectively.

All three of them were on the cusp of reaching adulthood. Just by looking at them, Tumblebrutus could determine that they were healthy and in fine shape.

"Grumbuskin, I would like you and your colleagues to meet Bellazni, Scurtena, and Dawlimer," Roshedam introduced the three young adults to the others.

"This is a great pleasure," said Dawlimer, the eldest and only tom.

"You are all welcome here," said Scurtena, the middle one.

"Any friends of Rosh's are friends of ours," said Bellazni, the youngest one.

Grumbuskin stepped forward and saluted them. He introduced himself "I am Grumbuskin. I am honored to meet my Captain's children."

The three white, red, and gold adults were a little confused at first.

"You know our father?" said Bellazni.

"Yes, I serve as his First Officer on board his ship, the Demagogue," Grumbuskin clarified.

Dawlimer looked over at the other seven cats and asked Grumbuskin "Are they crewmembers, as well?"

"Only those four are," replied the black and grey striped tom, pointing out Tumblebrutus, Placondgo, Dominev, and Ralpharite, "The other three are also here on his orders, but they do not officially work for him."

Grumbuskin gestured to the others to come closer, and he introduced them one at a time: "This is Ralpharite, our Intelligence Officer. This is Dominev, our Strategic Operations Officer. This is Placondgo, our Tactical Officer. This is Tumblebrutus, our Boatswain. This is Jemima, our Tracker. And these are Coricopat and Tantomile."

"What do they do?" inquired Dawlimer.

"We can read the minds of others," Tantomile replied, "By that, we are able to sense emotions of others."

"And right now, we sense that all three of you are somewhat confused and frustrated," Coricopat declared.

"That is correct," remarked Bellazni, "We would like to know something; why would our father – who lives in the Westminster district of London – send out eight cats that work for him to his city, which is several miles away?"

"We're here to handle a business transaction," answered Grumbuskin, "We just finished it, but we're not due back for another few days. So we thought we would drop in and pay our Boss's children a visit."

"That's lovely," Scurtena drily stated, "We're thrilled to meet you all."

No one spoke for about a minute after that. Awkward silence filled the air.

Finally, Roshedam broke the silence. He asked Grumbuskin and his company "By the way, do you all have shelter planned for tonight?"

"Well, no, not exactly" answered Grumbuskin, "We were just planning to find some place in the city to camp out for the night."

"Nonsense," Roshedam sternly shook his head, "This city can become very cold, dark, and unfriendly at night. You will stay here as my guests."

"Really?" said Grumbuskin, obviously grateful for the offer.

"Of course," replied Roshedam, "I have plenty of room."

"Rosh, would you like us to designate some places for them to sleep?" offered Dawlimer.

"Yes, that would be lovely, Dawl," nodded Roshedam.

Dawlimer and Scurtena turned around and went into the hallway outside that room. Bellazni remained behind and asked their caretaker "Would you like me to take inventory of our supplies, Rosh?"

"Just a moment," he told her. He turned back to Grumbuskin and asked him "Are you and your associates in need of food?"

"No, we have enough rationed food on us to last for at least week," replied Grumbuskin, "But thank you for offering."

"Very well, then," Roshedam turned back to Bellazni and told her "That won't be necessary, Bella."

She smiled up at him and nodded. "Alright." She turned around and went to meet up with her siblings.

Roshedam turned back to Grumbuskin and commented "One admirable thing about them is that they are so organized. They probably learned that from me, though."

"Are you certain we will not be imposing?" Grumbuskin asked.

"Absolutely," said the yellow and brown tom, "I want you to feel welcome here. Besides, I rarely get guests."

"Why?" asked Ralpharite, "Are Growltiger's children typically uncomfortable around strangers?"

"No, it's nothing like that," stated Roshedam, "I don't have a lot of houseguests here because I want to keep the children safe."

"That's very considerate of you," stated Jemima.

Roshedam smiled down at her and said "I'm just doing what's expected of me."

That night, Grumbuskin and the others set up their sleeping bags in the sitting room on the building's third floor. There was enough room on the couches for all of them to get settled there.

It had been a long day; they unanimously agreed to put off any more conversations until the next morning. Everyone soon got settled down to get some rest.

Tumblebrutus and Jemima slept close to each other. Despite the fact that it had been a bit of a crazy night, they were happy to fall asleep at each other's side.

The next morning, the Demagogue had been docked at Twickenham. The ship had travelled more than half the distance to West Molesey in just the past two nights.

The barge was well-hidden in this area. No humans would be able to spot it unless they tried very hard.

Victor was in the navigations room. Typically, at that time of day, Placondgo and Dominev would be at the Tactical and Strategic Operations Stations respectively, and Grumbuskin would be working with Victor on the latest report of activity down the river. But all three of them were off the ship at the time and subsequently, Victor was alone in that room.

He was only now realizing how lonely it could get in the morning without the three of them around. But, at least he had a visit from Growltiger to look forward to.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the Bravo Cat entered the Navigations Room and said "Good morning, Victor!"

Victor turned around and responded "Good morning, Captain. You certainly seem to be in a good mood."

"Yes, and there is a reason for that," said Growltiger, "Within the next few days, I will finally see my children after being away from them for so long."

Victor smirked and remarked "I can only imagine how excited you are to see them, sir."

"I am indeed excited," stated the Bravo Cat, "Excited and anxious. But I'm counting on the effort of Grumbuskin and the others to bring them home willingly."

There was a moment of silence before Growltiger asked "How's the morning report coming along?"

"I'm almost finished, sir," Victor informed his captain, "I just need a few more moments to compile it all together."

"Take as long as you need," Growltiger told his Second Officer, "I know that putting it together by yourself can be a long and complicated process."

With both Grumbuskin and Tumblebrutus gone, that made Victor the only other member of the ship's command staff. He had been working his tail off for the past day and a-half. But he felt it to be very rewarding.

A few minutes later, he put the finishing touches on the report, which came in the form of three clipboards.

"Alright, now what would you like to discuss first, sir?" said Victor.

Growltiger thought a moment before responding "What news on Siamese activity down the river?"

"Surprisingly, sir, no one has seen any sign of a Siamese vessel in the past thirty-six hours," Victor responded as he handed his Captain a clipboard that displayed the latest transmissions from their allies, "It's as if they all just… disappeared."

"That is odd," Growltiger stated, "But the Siamese can be very unpredictable."

"I think they're planning something, sir," said Victor.

Growltiger shrugged and said "Perhaps. That is not an unreasonable theory. Maybe we should take a few precautions. How far is the nearest allied vessel?"

Victor briefly looked over his navigations charts on another of the clipboards and replied "The Aesop and the Odysseus are both docked at Teddington, and the Hark Olufs is docked at Ham. Past that, the Xanthus is docked at Thames Ditton. After that, I do not think we will encounter another allied vessel before we reach West Molesey."

"In that case, I believe it will pretty much be smooth sailing," said Growltiger, "The Siamese would not dare travel to West Molesey."

"I hope you're right, sir," said Victor, a little uneasiness in his voice.

Growltiger noted this uneasiness and asked his Second Officer "Is everything alright, Victor?"

"Well, sir…" the Navigator began tentatively, "There's something else you should know."

"What is that?" asked the Bravo Cat.

Victor showed his Captain the third clipboard. Growltiger looked over it, and realized it was a copy of the ship's communications entries. He asked "Is there some sort of problem with our communications?"

"I'm… I'm not quite sure, sir," answered Victor, "Something about them caught my attention when I was looking over them this morning."

"What might that be?" queried Growltiger.

Victor took back the clipboard and pointed out several different spots on the entries. He explained "As you know, the relay station monitors all types of communication sent to and from this ship. But at several instances, I noticed that there were these long, empty gaps. I was not sure what they were at first, but after doing a little background searching, I've been able to determine that someone crudely erased several entries from the logs at the indicated times."

This really caught Growltiger's attention. He looked up at Victor and asked him "Why would someone try to do such a thing?"

Victor shrugged and said "Your guess is as good as mine, sir. But I have a theory that someone did not want anyone else to know what they were sending off this ship."

"Well, whatever that is, it cannot be a good sign," Growltiger decided, "I want you to keep a close eye on the relay station. If any more entries are erased, I want you to notify me immediately."

"Yes, sir," Victor agreed.