Rumpelteazer made her way back to the Junkyard, holding Admetus firmly by the paw. MacVitie walked with them, sometimes at Teazer's side, sometimes lagging behind. He was meant to be returning them to safety, but it seemed to Teazer she was the one having to take the lead, meanwhile dragging two dazed and clueless toms along. She'd refused to return to the 'yard unless MacVitie went with them, so he'd had to agree. He was evidently lost in thought and scarcely knew where they were going. As for Admetus…he'd not spoken a word since they'd been dragged off by Griddlebone. He'd gone suddenly from being a petted and coddled darling in the Junkyard to being thrown about and treated like a bit of rubbish. Teazer was used to this sort of treatment; Adme was not. She hoped one day he would be all right—or as nearly so as possible.
As for the tabby queen, she refused to think too deeply of the past few days. Mack had got them back. Griddle had kept her word; perhaps now she would leave them alone. That was all that mattered. Now they could go on with their lives…couldn't they?
She peered up at MacVitie. What was he thinking of now? Surely he didn't still intend to live like some rogue and go on spying on Griddlebone and her gang. There was no point now, was there? And anyway, he hadn't done a very good job the first time. Catching her eye, MacVitie tried to smile—failing miserably, he produced something more akin to a grimace.
Neither of these toms had much experience of unhappiness, Teazer reflected. Despite her young age, her life up until now had turned her mind old before its time—though in behavior she was still very much the silly kitten. How else could one forget misery except by making up for it in as much fun and mischief as possible? They think they're miserable now…I've seen worse.
Since MacVitie couldn't manage a smile, she managed one for him and gave what she hoped was an encouraging nod. He was worried, she knew, that his family wouldn't forgive him for all the things he felt were his fault. She was convinced they would. The question was, would he ever forgive himself?
The three young felines walked along so slowly, none of them overly anxious to reach the Junkyard and face the inevitable questioning of their fellow Jellicles, that the half-hour or hour journey seemed instead to take years. As they finally trudged through the front gates, Teazer's ears flitted back and forth as she glanced around apprehensively. Almost immediately she'd got the sense that something was very wrong here. She looked up at MacVitie to see if he'd noticed as well, but he still seemed very much in his own world. She'd had just about enough of that. Irritably, she tugged at his paw. "Macavee! Sommat's amiss!"
Snapped out of his reverie, Mack stared at her uncomprehendingly for a moment before finally realizing what she'd said. Following her example, he looked around. "Where…where is everyone?"
"Hiding, no doubt," muttered Admetus, making the other two jump.
"So ye've not gone mute," Teazer feebly tried to joke. Admetus didn't smile.
"What d'you mean, hiding?" MacVitie asked.
"They're hiding," Adme repeated, speaking only to Teazer as if Mack were not even there, "because what else can you do when one of your own tribe has consorted with the enemy and you no longer know if you can trust him?"
"Yew don't mean Mackee?" Rumpelteazer glared. "'E didn't consort…"
"Cooperate, then, if you like," Admetus snapped. "He did just what she wanted. He didn't even try to stop it."
"'E saved our lives is wot 'e did," Rumpel growled, almost ready to knock Adme's lights out though just a little while ago she'd wanted to hug and comfort him.
"And how about the lives of whoever lived in that house?" Adme challenged.
"There wos no choice in the mattah," Teazer repeated. "Maybe yew are some noble type wot'd rather die than live, but I ain't that…"
"Stop," interrupted MacVitie, who until now had only stood, stunned and silent, listening to the two younger cats argue. Both stopped talking, and Teazer turned towards Mack, but Adme still refused to acknowledge his presence. "Admetus is right. D'you think I don't know this is all my doing? I couldn't let anything happen to you two, but you wouldn't have been in that situation to begin with if it weren't for me. I'm to blame. Hate me all you like, Adme—you can't possibly hate me more than I hate myself. Tell the others what I've done. Get me banished from the Tribe." Just like Growltiger. Your father. My mum's one-time mate. "I don't care two straws what happens to me. But for now we've got to find out what's happening here." His heart pounded as he looked all round. Had Griddlebone fooled him once again? Whilst he was retrieving Admetus and Rumpelteazer, had Griddlebone's henchmen come here and…? He thought of what his mother had said and tried to remember the exact wording of his "bargain" with Griddlebone, but it was all so blurred and jumbled…
Teazer tugged on his paw again. "Don' go all glazy-eyed again, Mac-thing. 'Ere's som'un comin'!" Fearing neither MacVitie nor Admetus would take the initiative, she bounded towards the other cat she'd spotted. "Tuggah!" she exclaimed, "wot's to do?"
Tugger, for it was he (Teazer may not have learnt everyone's names perfectly yet, but his was one impossible to forget), looked up with a start, as if she'd interrupted him in the midst of some deep thought. (If she'd known him better, she would have realized what a strange thing it was to find Tugger deep in thought.) For the moment, her irritation only increased. "Anothah glazy-eyed tom!" she exclaimed, unable to refrain from speaking her frustrations aloud. "Wot's wif all yew useless glazy-eyed toms? Can't yew'uns do anyfin' but mope about feelin' sorry for yerselves?"
"Who're you?" was Tugger's only response, as he continued to stare blankly at Teazer. This only served to stoke the fire.
"An' yew might just bothah learnin' yer fella Tribe-membahs' names oncet in awhile!" she fairly screeched.
By this time, MacVitie and Admetus had caught up to her. "What is it?" Mack demanded. He looked toward his brother. "Tugger, what's been—" Completely caught off-guard, within a matter of seconds MacVitie found himself on his back, doing his best to ward off the blows of his brother, who sat on top of him and seemed to be more or less attempting to claw Mack's face off.
Teazer had seen the look of Tugger's countenance change the instant he saw MacVitie, but she'd not been able to move quickly enough to prevent him knocking the younger tom down—nor was it likely she could have overpowered the much-larger feline even if she had moved quickly enough. Now she pulled and yanked at any bit of Tugger's limbs she could reach, though it was mostly useless. "Tuggah! Tuggah, stoppit, yew wanna kill'im er wot?" she exclaimed. "Don' jus' stan' there, Adme, 'elp me!" At first, Admetus merely stared contemptuously at the three scuffling cats. Finally—only after allowing Tugger to get in several good scratches—he joined Teazer in her efforts to separate the brothers, and between the two of them they somehow managed to drag Tugger off of MacVitie. Probably more because Tugger had worn out his rage than because the two of them combined were any match for him.
Gingerly, Mack got to his feet, wiping blood from his cheek. He stared at the splash of red on his paw, as if unable to comprehend where it had come from.
Having ensured that Tugger wasn't about to attack again, Teazer darted to Mack's side. "Yew a'right?" Uncertainly, she reached a paw up toward his face. "Yew, er, gotta li'l somefin there…migh' oughtta go an' see Miz Jenny er Jelly…"
"I'm fine. Get off," MacVitie mumbled, stepping away from the tabby queen. He bent his concentration on letting none of the other three see how much the attack had shaken him. He and his eldest brother had never got on so well, of course, and had always taken opportunities—when Munkustrap happened to be out of sight—to rough one another up a bit. But never like this. This time, it seemed as if Tugger had meant to maim, seriously injure, or even… And the only thing keeping Mack from jumping on him in return was the knowledge that he, Mack, deserved all of this and far worse. Still, that didn't explain Tugger's behavior…unless he knew…
"Jenny? Jelly?" Tugger barked a humorless laugh. "They'll have their paws full for the foreseeable future. As for where he ought to go…" His paw clenched into a fist at his side. Admetus was gazing intently up at the older tom.
"You know, then?" the cream-and-ginger tomkit demanded. "You know what he—?"
"Know?" Tugger mimicked. "If you mean do I know that that worthless piece of dung just missed murdering us…"
"What?" MacVitie gaped at his brother in disbelief, too shocked to move.
"Yer gonna stan' there an' let yer own brovvah say such a fing?" Teazer hissed, walking straight up to Tugger and seizing him by the shoulder fur—which, granted, she had to stand on tip-paw to reach, and so looked more comical than intimidating. Still, Tugger was unused to such violent treatment from queens, and was rather taken aback by it. "Look'ere, yew! Wotevah yew fink yew saw, er wotevah some lowlife toldja, alls Mackee did was necessary to save me'n Adme's lives. Grid—the Lady had us an' if Mack 'adn't done wot she said, we'd be dead!" She thrust one of her paws under his nose, holding up one of Admetus's as well—until the younger kit jerked his paw away angrily. "Look! She stahted by lettin' 'er 'enchcats yank our claws out one by one." It hadn't been the first time Teazer had experienced this punishment. Her left paw now had only one claw remaining. "Yew ever 'ad some'un do that t'yew? No, I daresay not. Yew look to've been mollycoddled by 'umans yer'ole life." She glanced at Admetus, who had now sunk down to the floor, his paws over his head as if hiding from the remembrances of what had happened. "It ain't pleasant—is it, Adme?"
"Stop. Stop it," sobbed the young tom. Good. This reaction was better than the anger and bitterness. He might yet recover.
"She didn't leave off until Mack did as she said," Teazer went on, turning back to Tugger. "It's regrettable an' no mistake, but we c'n 'ope the 'umans escaped in time. They're smaht creatures. An'…"
"Humans?" Tugger interrupted. "Then you don't really know what he's done!"
MacVitie's heartrate increased. "Wh-what do you mean? What are you talking about? It was a humans' flat, and—"
"Don't play the fool!" Tugger snarled. "You know perfectly well whose flat it was! You'd been there before!"
"But I've never—" Blinking, for the first time since arriving back at the Junkyard Mack took a closer look at his brother. Tugger, for once, wasn't wearing his pretend mane—though, in truth, he scarcely needed it now, as his shoulder fur had grown almost as long as he could have wished. His face and paws were blackened as if with soot, and there was the unmistakable odor of smoke emanating from his fur. "Yours?" Mack gasped. "But I didn't know! I've never been to your humans' flat, you know that! You always said they wouldn't allow any other…"
"Not mine, you moron! If it had been mine, no doubt you'd have stayed to enjoy your handiwork."
"Then whose?" Mack almost wailed, ready to weep with confusion, frustration, and suspense. "Where is everyone? What's happened?"
Before Tugger could make a still angrier reply, MacVitie spotted Alonzo and made a beeline for him. Tugger and Teazer followed, but desperation made MacVitie quicker. "Alonzo! What's happened?" Alonzo stared at him in shocked silence, reminding Mack just how long he'd been gone. He seized Alonzo by the shoulders. "Never mind where I've been, just please tell me what's happened here! Tugger's been saying that—but he won't explain—"
At that moment, Tugger and Teazer caught up with them.
"He—" Tugger began to interject. Teazer yanked on his shoulder fur with all her might, and gave him a tiny pinch for good measure.
"You keep quiet!" she commanded. "Let Mackee get some answers b'fore yew go killin' 'im wif yer non-answers!"
Tugger scowled, but kept quiet. "I can wait," he muttered. "It'll change nothing."
"Alonzo," Mack repeated pleadingly, "what is it? What's this about Jenny and Jelly having their paws full? Who's been injured?"
"You, by the looks of it," Alonzo feebly attempted a playful jab. Mack shook his head impatiently.
"It's nothing. Quit stalling and tell me." To his surprise, Alonzo pressed on his shoulders to make him sit down, then sank down next to him. The Harlequin tom took a deep, shuddering breath, as if to steady himself.
"I don't want you to panic," he said firmly, "because Jenny says he'll be fine."
"Who?" But by now Mack was fairly certain he knew.
"Munkustrap. Don't panic, I said!" Alonzo snapped, seizing Mack's arm as he tried to jump up and (no doubt) rush to Jenny's 'infirmary' den. "I've said he'll be fine, haven't I? He's only somewhat singed and breathed in rather more smoke than was good for him, so now he's got to rest. Rest, not be smothered with visitors. I know you want to rush to his side and see for yourself and fawn over him like some worrisome mother queen, but you'll have to wait your turn. Between him and the kits and all the other not-so-helpful 'helpers,' it's too crowded in there as it is. Jenny's ready to lose her mind. I'd still be there myself if I hadn't been informed I was useless and sent out to 'patrol the area.'" Alonzo tried to speak lightly, but was clearly more upset and anxious than he wished to let on.
"Kits?" Mack repeated. "D'you mean… Tumble, Sillabub, Victoria…?"
"The ones you tried to murder," cut in Tugger.
"Shut up," Alonzo snapped, as if Tugger had been mouthing off all day and Alonzo was fed up with it. "We're all upset, but don't keep talking nonsense. No one was even really hurt, let alone killed, and Mack had nothing to do with it. Don't use him as a scapegoat just because he's been away. No doubt he had his reasons. So I gather you've met the kits," Alonzo went on, turning back to MacVitie. "I'll not ask how, not at the moment. They're getting to be old enough to find human families of their own. Well, to get them used to humans' homes, Munk offered to take them—that is, Tumble, Silla, Vicki, Carbuckety—to visit his home whilst the humans were away for the day. Unfortunately, someone had left the stove on, or…well, somehow a fire started. They were in another part of the house and didn't realize until the fire had spread quite a bit… But everyone got out. I don't think the flat will be completely destroyed; the fire brigade arrived quickly. And Tugger's humans live a few doors down, if you remember, and so he happened to be there to help get the kits out…"
"And to see," Tugger interrupted, unable to contain himself a moment longer. "You were back here keeping guard, Lonz', you weren't there to see what happened. I saw him," pointing an accusing claw at MacVitie, "skulking around the rows of flats. Naturally I wondered what he was about, not to mention why he hadn't seen fit to show his face in the 'yard and let someone know he was alive—not that that bothered me, but I'd had just about enough of Munk walking about with that stupid wounded, forlorn look on his face. Well, I was looking out the window, thinking I'd go down and give that lowlife a piece of my mind, when I saw him stop in front of Munk's door acting all funny. I figured, Oh, he knows Munk's there today and wants to beg his forgiveness and give some sob story for where he's been all this time. Sure enough, he pushed his way through the kitty flap. But strangely—because I kept watching, mind, I'm no idiot—he came back out almost right away. Then he disappeared. I figured he'd lost his nerve or Munk had been too busy with the kits to bother with him. So I carried on brushing my—that is, entertaining my human, until I smelt smoke, and you know the rest."
The other felines stared at Tugger in various levels of dismay.
"People think I don't see things, but I do," Tugger added. "He tried to murder Munk!"
Alonzo shook his head in disbelief. "Because he was there, it doesn't follow that he started the fire. Think about what you're saying. MacVitie would never…"
"I didn't know," Mack muttered, holding his head in his paws.
"What?" Alonzo turned back towards MacVitie, mouth agape. "Are you saying…"
"I didn't know it was Munk's humans' flat," MacVitie rushed on. "I've been there before, but only once, long ago, and they all look alike on the outside! I didn't know any cats would be there, and I didn't want to harm humans, but—but she had Teazer, and—"
"'T'was the Lady Mothah, she forced 'im," Rumpelteazer added, showing Alonzo her bloodied, nearly-fully-declawed paw. Alonzo grimaced and looked away, muttering something about 'getting Jenny and Jelly to have a look at it.' Such softies, these Jellicles.
"That's the excuse they keep giving," Tugger sneered, "'Griddlebone made me do it!' Well, let me tell you, no fluffy Persian queen would ever say anything to make me do something like that to my own—"
"She'd've killed me," Teazer snarled, "an'…"
"Say, didn't you use to work for this Griddle dame not too long ago?" Tugger cut her off. "How do we know you're not just…"
"I never worked for 'er by choice! An' she 'ad Adme too!" Teazer shot back.
"Is that who's lying over there like a dishrag—Admetus? We've been looking everywhere for him too." Alonzo shook his head wearily, stood to his footpaws, walked over to Adme and lifted the smaller tom easily in his arms. Admetus gave no response except a slight shudder. "I'm taking him to Jenny. What's one more invalid?" he chuckled bitterly.
"What about him?" Tugger demanded, jerking his head in MacVitie's direction. "You're in charge while Munk's laid up, yeah? Aren't you going to run him out of the Junkyard? Want me to run him off for you?"
"Now just look'ere," Teazer began.
"You'll leave him alone if you know what's good for you," Alonzo replied in a low, dangerous tone. "MacVitie… I know something of Griddle's powers of manipulation. I can't say you're to blame, or that I wouldn't have done the same in your place. But…but my kits were in there, Mack. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't furious with you. By trying to handle the situation on your own, you—but you know all that. I can't lecture you. I've done my share of dumb things. I know you only did what you could, but I—I don't quite actually know that yet, if you follow. Sometime we'll talk it out if you'd like, but not now. I can't…" A shudder passed through his frame, and MacVitie got the distinct impression the Harlequin tom was fighting down the urge to strangle him. "I think being a parent must do something to you. I feel weird all the time and get angry over things that never would have bothered me before. Listen to me, I'm talking about feelings like some sort of a queen, for Heaviside's sake! I'm sorry, but that's how it is. Just steer clear of me for a while and we'll be fine," he finished coldly, before walking off with Admetus toward Jenny's infirmary den.
"The same goes for me too," Tugger growled. "The 'steer clear of me' part, not the 'being-a-parent' part. No thanks." As he headed off towards his own den, he threw over his shoulder as an afterthought, "Make that 'forever.'"