Demeter! The ginger tom sat bolt-upright mid-scream. No…not scream, he realized gradually. There at the end of his dream he'd seemed to call her name aloud… But in reality, just as he awoke, it only came out as a hoarse whisper. Which was just as well, he reflected, glancing around and taking stock of his surroundings, recalling where he was and why. There was no need to fret over Demeter any longer—or Bombalurina, Munkustrap, the twins, his parents… Anyone else he cared about. They were quite safe—at least for the time being. And MacVitie remained far away from them, whereabouts unknown—also for the best.

Suddenly, his ears detected a slight rustle outside his hiding place. Mack tensed, then slowly relaxed as he recognized the scent. Well, he thought wryly, whereabouts unknown to most everyone… Someone scratched three times at the scrap of old tin roof he used for a door. Heaving a sigh, Mack stood, moved to the tin scrap, and lifted it aside to admit—

"What's this?" he hissed, as Teazer entered his improvised den, pulling another feline in after her. "I said you were to tell no one!" Quickly he replaced his door, then turned to glare on the pair, waiting for their explanation.

"MacVitie!" Admetus almost screeched, then blushed at the ridiculous sound of his own voice, still in the process of changing. He looked ready to tackle-hug Mack, but the older tom's wrathful glance soon changed his mind and Adme simply stood awkwardly, paws hanging limp at his sides. "I thought…I thought you were dead," he said simply.

MacVitie glanced from Admetus to Rumpelteazer and back again. "Good," he answered after a few moments' pause. "That was the intention." He turned again to the tabby queen. "Why did you bring him here, Teazer? We've been over this. I thought you at least had the good sense to understand—we agreed that the more cats knew, the more danger there'd be! And now here you come waltzing in with…"

"'E foller'd me, the li'l imp," Teazer interrupted, trying to hide her embarrassment that she wasn't as 'invisible' and 'sneaky' as she'd boasted in the past. "An' threat'n'd to tell the 'ole tribe! So 'ow could I help it? Eh?"

"Everyone just stop a few tics," Admetus growled over them both. "Vitie, you disappear—you let the others come back without you—you let everyone think you're dead… Hang it, Vitie, this is the first time I've seen eye or whisker of you in nearly a year—and all you can say in response is 'good'?"

"There was nothing else I could do," said Mack impatiently, though he did have the good grace to look slightly remorseful. "I couldn't return—can't return until I know it's safe: safe for you, safe for my family, safe for everyone…"

"What are you talking about?" Adme interrupted. "What d'you mean, 'safe'? Growltiger's dead!" He looked at Teazer as if for confirmation. "Right? You told us so—you and Jerrie and the others were completely certain…"

MacVitie listened to the younger tom with increasing surprise, and looked questioningly at Teazer, who held up her paws as if to ward off both toms. "Wot's ev'ry'un starin' at?" she demanded. "Yeah, ol' Tiger's gone. O' course that's all Adme knows; it's all any'un in the 'yard knows. I've not told anythin' else—contrary t'what yew might be thinkin', Mackavee, I do keep my word! I said I'd tell no one, an' I—"

"All right, all right," Mack sighed, sitting down on an old moulding mattress. Not knowing what else to do, the other two followed suit.

"So there is more?" Admetus resumed. "You'd best explain quick, the pair of you, or whichever one can explain the best, because if you don't I'm dragging you both back to Munkustrap and telling everyone you've been conspiring together about something. Vitie, so far nothing you've said gives any good reason for you to be out here on your own! You'd better start making sense."

Mack couldn't resist cracking a slight grin in spite of himself, at Adme's vehemence. The last clear memory he had of the ginger-and-cream tom was him nearly in tears because of a trick of his and Plato's that'd gone all wrong…

Mack shook his head to clear it of these thoughts and concentrated on the matter at paw: how much to tell Admetus. He glanced again at Teazer, who waved a paw dismissively. "All yers, Mack-a-thing. I'd get fings all muddled." Doubtless she was afraid of inadvertently telling something MacVitie wanted kept secret. And yet if he said too little, Adme wouldn't be satisfied and would march straight back to Munkustrap and… Mack rubbed wearily at his temples, trying to think. How if he simply told everything?...Or, most everything? No matter what, he'd end up having to persuade Admetus against enlisting the Jellicles' help… He'd have to make him understand…

Admetus watched the older tom expectantly. "And no half-truths and concealments," he added, as if reading the other two felines' thoughts.

"Fine," Mack murmured, shrugging his shoulders. "Just remember, Adme, you asked for it."

"You're not scaring me out of hearing it," Admetus rolled his eyes. "So go on. Dish."

MacVitie scrunched his eyes shut, reluctant to relive the memories. Teazer shifted uncomfortably, but what could she do? If she shared, she'd end up telling every single detail she could remember—lying outright was not her strong suit, and she couldn't very well discern what facts to include and what to omit. She had to leave it to MacVitie…only she hoped he wouldn't topple over from the strain… "Mackey…if ya…d'ye want me to…"

"No," Mack interrupted, opening his eyes and commanding himself to 'get a grip.' It was all right now, wasn't it? Everyone was alive, it was all over… Well, not entirely… Still, he should be able to relate a sequence of events without having some kind of a fit! He started in on the story, speaking as quickly as possible to get it over and done with. "You're right, Adme, Growltiger's dead. He was apparently drowned. This…well, group of strange cats appeared, we don't know where they came from. But evidently they all had some sort of vendetta against the Tiger and took it upon themselves to be rid of him once and for all. Mind, this is only hearsay, but it seems they took him out on his own boat and tossed him into the river." He paused.

"So?" Admetus prompted. "What was the matter, then, once he was gone? You could all get away, no problem, couldn't you?"

"We were already in the process of escaping whilst all that was going on," Mack resumed. "Only… We had to save Carbuckety. You know Carbuckety?"

"Sure," Admetus laughed, "funny little tyke, Bucky. Follows Munkustrap around everywhere…well, he follows Tumblebrutus and Tumble follows Munkus. Doesn't seem any the worse for being an orphan and spending the first bit of his kittenhood with a bunch of evil madcats." So, the Jellicles hadn't been told whose kit Carbuckety was. Just as well. Indeed, even Mack, Bomba, Demeter, and the twins hadn't discussed it amongst themselves. But Mack was certain he knew without being told…it was the only logical answer…why else would Demeter have been so insistent on going back for him…

"Yes, him," MacVitie nodded.

"We couldn' leave the pore fing there," Teazer put in, "just 'cos 'is folks was 'enchies…"

"But then…" Admetus frowned as something occurred to him. "Were there anymore kits? Why didn't you get them out?"

"If on'y we could've," Teazer nodded sadly, "bu'…'twas 'ard enough rescuin' one kit…"

MacVitie hurried on, afraid of Teazer's saying too much, "It was no easy matter getting him out… The kits are always left in the charge of a group of queens. Not sweet, motherly queens—tough, look-at-them-wrong-and-they'll-pull-you-to-pieces queens. Bomba, Demeter, and I… Got into…a squabble with them." He gulped, hurrying on, "In the middle of it, Griddlebone returned—she's…" He nodded at Teazer.

"Me an' Jerrie's mum," Teazer supplied, "at least she always led us to believe so. Not a very nice lady, mind. She's more er less in charge o' the queens an' kits."

"And apparently in league with the cats who killed Growltiger," MacVitie went on. "At least, if she wasn't in league with them to begin with, she managed to strike a bargain with them. A few of them, the leaders I imagine, entered the kittens' play area along with her. That gave the queens we were fighting pause, and we managed to escape amidst the confusion. The others made it back to the Junkyard." He shrugged. "Not much more to it than that."

"All right, so what are you still doing away from the 'yard?" Admetus demanded.

Again, MacVitie glanced at Rumpelteazer, rather uneasily this time. Teazer let out a small, irritated hiss. Mack was not much better at lying, or even omitting events, than she was, the queen reflected. And his "shifty-eyed" manner of continually shooting her strange glances would only serve to make Admetus more suspicious. "Mackee," she said aloud, "if'n you'd rather I finish the story fer ya, jus' say so! I don' mind—but I can't understan' wot ya wants jus' by those odd faces yer pullin'. There's no shame in 'avin' trouble sharin' upsetting stories, so y've no need t'keep tryin' t'give me 'ints. An' besides we've nothin' to 'ide fr'm Adme er any'un else, righ'?"

"Sure," Adme snorted in disbelief. "You two must think I'm thicker and slower than an old tub of molasses. 'You were to tell no one!' Nothing to hide, my eye!"

"Yes, I wanted to hide my location," Mack said cautiously, "but only temporarily…until…"

"Until it was safe?" Admetus shook his head impatiently. "You keep saying that! But you've not said what you mean! How can we be unsafe now our worst enemy's gone?"

"B'cause," Teazer answered, "just so soon's we got ridda one enemy, another rose in's place."

"You can't mean that… that Griddle cat you mentioned a moment ago?" Admetus let out a derisive laugh. "What in Heaviside should we have to worry about from her?"

"Mind yerself," murmured Teazer, "she's clever, sly, an' a mighty gargantuan of a queen—not very much smaller than our Ole D. An' younger'n him. An', worst for us, vengeful. She don't ferget wrongs done 'er—ever."

"Fine, suppose she is as bad as you say," Admetus shrugged, "what's that got to do with us? True, perhaps the cats around the city should be warned not to cross her—Skimble will want to be cautious when going out to work on his trains and whatnot—but what sort of a worry is she to the Jellicles on the whole? We've not done anything to upset her. Right?"

"She…" Teazer gulped. "Well, she cert'nly ain'… ain' too 'appy 'bout me an' Jerrie flyin' the coop… Not t'mention carryin' off kits as she consider'd rightfully hers… An' beatin' up on the troops a bit…"

"And that's enough to set her on a vendetta against the Jellicles?" Admetus cocked an eyebrow skeptically.

"Toldya she was vengeful," Teazer shrugged.

"So why's that mean Vitie needs to live out here on his own like some sort of exile?" Admetus demanded. "That still makes no sense!"

"T'keep watch, nat'rally," Teazer said, a little too quickly.

"I'm trying to find out their plan," added MacVitie. "They're a bit disorganized at the moment, what with figuring out who's in charge and adapting a whole slew of new cats at once into the routine of their gang…but once they settle down, I know Griddle will carry on—first with whatever Growltiger had planned for the humans, perhaps in an even worse form, but some time or other the Jellicles will become a priority again. And I don't believe for a minute she'll simply retrieve Jerrie and Teazer and kill Pounce and leave the rest of us alone…"

"Nah, yew c'n bet she'll try an' turn other Jellicles to 'er side…an' those as refuse…well… Not t'speak ill o' the dead, but Lady Mother allus was the more clevah one… Often enough she wos th' brains be'ind the Tiger's operations… Can't say's I like it so much meself," concluded Teazer, "but Mack volunteer'd t' keep watch an' he's rather a stubborn one, yer friend is." She glanced sideways at Mack as if shooting him a hint.

Admetus looked from one to the other, shaking his head incredulously. "You two are either keeping something back…or are a couple of imbeciles. I rather think it's the former: I know MacVitie, at any rate, has more sense." He glared in MacVitie's direction. "At least you used to."

"Oh? And what's your brilliant plan that's so much better?" Mack challenged.

"Enough with the ridiculous secrecy, for starters!" Admetus responded without missing a beat. "If there's potential danger to the Jellicles, the rest of us deserve to know! We need to be prepared for…"

"Fer a fight?" Teazer interrupted. "But, see, Adme, if'n Mackievee c'n learn their plan an' we stop it b'fore it starts, there won't be no need fer fightin'."

"Supposing he can find it out," Admetus rolled his eyes. "Is that what we're counting on?—And all this after you've just been explaining how evil and clever this Gridiron queen is? Even supposing we stick to the 'keep watch and find out their plan' scheme, you shouldn't be the only one keeping watch, Vitie! Tell the situation to Munkustrap! We'll all take it in turns to keep watch, meanwhile—"

"First of all," MacVitie cut him off, "there's no we. Second of all, I refuse to risk the others—"

"It's not your decision to make for them," Admetus interrupted in his turn, barely controlling his frustration. "Or for me. And there is so a 'we.' Have you taken a good look at me recently? Do you realize how long you've been away? What d'you think the rest of us have been doing in the meanwhile—twiddling our paws? Yes, I can see that's what you think. Well, I'll enlighten you." He stopped momentarily to catch his breath before proceeding. "First off, we've been growing up. The only babies left in the Tribe are Alonzo's kits and the one you brought us." He paused again, then added thoughtfully, "Even Tumble's not such a baby any more. Anyway—secondly, we've been gearing up for just such an occasion." MacVitie stared at him uncomprehendingly. "Come on," Adme growled, "with several Jellicles held prisoner in a rival gang, what did you think Munkus would spend his time doing? He's been training us for months—anyone of reasonable age and strength. Lately Alonzo's even been giving him pointers based on what he saw among the Tiger's crew. We've not been idle, I assure you."

MacVitie stared agape at the younger tom (who seemed not nearly so 'young' now), and slowly turned towards Teazer as if for confirmation.

"'Tis true, Vitie," shrugged the tabby queen, weary of all the arguing. "Fact is, I've been takin' advantage o' Lonzi's 'elpful fighting 'ints meself. Useful fer everyday self-defense, an' if there were to be any sort o' … Battle… Mind, I'm not sayin' there will be… Knowin' these skills'll come in awful 'andy."

"Right…" MacVitie shook his head. "So perhaps you all have been preparing…of course, Munkus would see to that… That's all well and good, but my aim is to see to it you won't need those skills and preparations."

"And you still say the best way of going about that is sitting out here all by your onesie and 'keeping an eye on things?'" Admetus demanded. "Suppose you miss something—eh? Suppose Griddlebone acts completely opposite to what you expect and goes completely over your head? Then not only will she catch you unprepared, but the rest of the Jellicles as well, because no-one will have been aware of the henches' goings-on but you, and it'll turn out you weren't so aware after all, meaning you'll not have warned anyone in time. Then we'll end up fighting the henches anyway, and maybe even being killed, and it will be on you for trying to handle the entire situation yourself." He folded his arms and glared at MacVitie, who stubbornly returned his gaze. The older tom didn't answer anything—what could he answer, Admetus thought rather triumphantly, to such irrefutable reasoning? And yet the ginger tom still showed no signs of actually yielding. Admetus shifted his gaze from MacVitie to Rumpelteazer and back again. "Look," he resumed, "you two do as you please. I've a mind to tell Munkustrap everything and let him talk some sense into you."

In a trice, MacVitie had jumped up and stood between Admetus and the door. "No!" he practically snarled. "Teazer, you won't let him do any such thing!"

"No, no, don't put me in the middle o' this," the tabby queen squeaked.

"As if she can stop me doing what I want," Admetus snorted. "Anyway, you're already in the middle of it. Don't be ridiculous, Teazer." He shook his head wearily. "Vitie, you know how I've always looked up to you and admired you." He flushed, looking disgusted at himself for letting such sentimental words escape him. "But you're clearly not thinking straight at the moment. There's something else going on here, search me if I've any idea what, but whatever it is, you're letting it skew your thought processes and decision-making. You're on the verge of compromising everyone! I can't let that happen, can't you see that? Or have you gone so crazy that you can't see that?"

MacVitie stared mutely at Admetus for a few more moments, before heaving a weary sigh and throwing up his paws in resignation. "Fine. Tell Munk to meet me by the café."

Admetus gaped at him, seeming taken aback that he had actually carried his point. "I—you—What?"

"I'll talk to him," Mack growled, "by the café. He'll know which one I mean. Now get gone and tell him before I change my mind." He added, as an afterthought, "But at least have the good sense to wait until dawn! If he isn't already up and patrolling, that is." Of course he'd be up and patrolling already. He'd probably been patrolling all night.

Admetus backed out of the den, still staring in confusion—and some suspicion—at MacVitie. No doubt he thought the ginger tom planned to make a run for it or some such notion.

Rumpelteazer had not stirred from her spot. "Vitie…?" she asked uncertainly.

"It was the only way to get rid of him," groaned MacVitie. "Heaviside knows what I'll say to Munkustrap, but I'll think of something…"

"An' yet," Teazer ventured, "yew could jus' tell'im the truf. Adme does 'ave a point…"

"That he does, my dear," responded a voice, coming from the door Admetus had just left through. The tabby queen spun around, openmouthed with shock. She had recognized the voice instantly, but still could scarce believe it when she saw who stood there, grasping a struggling Admetus by the arms and the scruff of the neck. The intruder grinned at Teazer, who still stood gaping silently. "Well? Nothing to say, then, dearie?"

"Griddlebone," MacVitie hissed, "he was not part of the…"

"Not my fault he decided to follow her, is it, eh?"

"Mackey," Teazer whispered, forcing the words out despite her deep-seated self-preservative habitual instinct to remain silent in the presence of 'the Lady Mother,' "wot…wot's goin' on?"

"I'll tell you what's going on," snarled Admetus, still fighting uselessly against the gargantuan Persian queen, "he's handing us over to the enemy! Oh, I know," he went on as MacVitie opened his mouth to object, "I'm sure you had no choice, she threatened you and all that. But it's all your own stupid fault! I knew something like this would happen, but I didn't realize it already had happened! You thought you could manage on your own and you miscalculated and now the rest of us will pay for it. I'll never forgive you, MacVitie. Never."

"There, that's enough outta you," Griddlebone snarled, though truthfully she'd been very entertained by the young tom's 'speech.' She made no attempt to put her paw over his mouth or otherwise physically silence him, because among the henches she was an intimidating-enough personage that a mere verbal command would do.

Admetus, being unacquainted with the queen except by hearsay, was not so wise to her ways. Seeing he was on the verge of being kitnapped, he saw no reason why she should harm him just now. Nor did it occur to him that there were ample ways of hurting someone without doing any serious harm. And being unable to move, the only outlet for his growing anger was words. "Oh, bite me, Miz Fluff," he sneered, ignoring the faces and gestures Teazer was pulling to try and give him a hint to be quiet.

"If you say so," shrugged Griddlebone, chomping down hard on Adme's ear and surprising a loud yelp out of him. After that, though, he was silent, concentrating on trying not to show his hurt and humiliation.

"Griddlebone…" MacVitie began again, shaking in fury at being utterly helpless to do anything.

"You know the terms," Griddlebone interrupted in a dangerously-calm tone. "There'll be no re-negotiating. You'll only make matters worse for your little friends by speaking up again. I shall see you in a few days…or then again, perhaps not. That I leave entirely up to you and your…family." She secured her grip on Admetus and turned to go, jerking her head to indicate that Rumpelteazer should follow.

"Vitie…" Teazer mumbled feebly, in a last useless appeal for his help.

MacVitie looked away from her, and with that one gesture all Teazer's hopes dwindled to nothing. After a few happy weeks of freedom and safety and a new family, she was once again slave to the queen who had domineered almost the entirety of her short existence.

And this time she felt certain there would be no escape.