Skyline Part 6
By JestaAriadne (jesta_ariadne@mail.com)

~~~

Chapter 5. finale

I woke up.

Sleep's a funny thing. I'd drifted into it that day/night with the vague expectation that this was It. The point of no return. The End. But that would have been way too convenient. If Death is a smartie-pants practical joker, it's unlikely I was gonna go any time when I was that ready and calm.

It looked like late morning, and the clouds had gone. Rained themselves out.

And so life went on. Technically, at any rate. It was slow and sort of sunny that day, not that I could taste the sunbeams anymore. I was still lying in the basket by the window and Mungo was still there, paw on my shoulder, fast asleep. I didn't wake him up. And there was another example of my selfishness staring me in the face: I hadn't really stopped to wonder when he got his sleep.

If and when I get better, Mungo, I promised him, you get my cream ration for two weeks. Three. Four. - Well, however long you like. And take all the nice bits of the cat food. I'd offer you my special pearls if I thought you'd ever want to wear them. Hey, I'll even let you win a running race a couple times!

But... Certainly made me think. I had nothing of any value to offer him, not even in this vague if and when. With a strong emphasis on the if. But why not keep planning? Made as much sense as the whole "High Queen" thing, and that had been a lot of fun. So... I could go and steal him... a... what? Something really special, like... And that's where it all broke down, of course. With me, it's simple: something sparkly and bright, or something sweet and light and edible, or anything - you know me, I just love presents. Just about anything will get me hyper and up and ohthankyouIloveyouforever!!!! He's not so excitable like that, less passionate - or maybe more. Maybe it's just that he pays more attention to what counts.

But I was a shallow and petty queen, pretty in a cheap way, and ordinarily easily happy and hyper. Take that away, and what are you left with? Just me, and whatever I thought behind all that, which was shaping up to be nothing at all worth remembering. Smashed pieces of a cheap and chirpy fairy doll.

You have my heart already, you know that...? "Undying love" and all just seemed shallow too now, no payment for what he'd given me. Besides "undying" was just a contradiction of pretty much everything at the moment.

But for now, I was living, because there wasn't much I could do about it either way.

Mungo woke up, and I didn't know what to do, so I shut my eyes again, just for the previously-giggle-making and still touching experience of him ever so lightly stroking my fur, soft like the morning rain on rooftops, like dawn on the skyline.

Maybe my love was shallow, but it was everything I had.

~~~

"Ta..." I said. Heartfelt, but brief; let's keep the sentences short here, people. Saves breath.

Mungojerrie had just looped a string of pearls around my neck. I didn't care that I'd probably sick up all over them, I was not not not going down without my trademark. To most cats, after all, it was what defined me as me.

"Pretty..." he told me, smiling gently. "Ya always look good in pearls. Always look good, in fact."

"Fibber," I wheezed affectionately. Seriously, if you'd shown me a mirror I'd've shown you seven years' bad luck, right off.

"Nah. Pearls suit yer fur, too."

"Yeah. Roight colour, Oi guess." I continued - so much for saving breath. "Ey, wot's my favourite colour, Mungo?"

"Yer favourite? This some koinda test?"

"Nah... Oi'm jus' not sure I got one. Seems loike sumfin you oughta ave at some point."

"There's lotsa toime..." he said weakly, - second lie in as many minutes - before adding. "An' whoi jus' choose one? Yer a rainbow gal, Oi think."

Grin. It hurt, but it was worth it. Wow, we could come up with some sappy stuff... Gotta love those ridiculous (romantic...?) moments. Rainbows. How clichéd and how cute could you get?? I imagined cuddling up against him and staying there, warm and comfortable, until my mind slipped out again and I slept.


~~~

It was beginning to feel in some way like it had those first few days. I was guessing, or maybe just hoping, that they'd upped my dosage of sleepy-drugs and pain-killers AGAIN - at least that would explain my inability to stay awake for more than about an hour at a time, max. It was getting so hard to keep my concentration, too, which I hated more than anything. If my body was a wreck, at least let my mind keep working!

The vague waking thoughts I was getting tended to run on a cycle - Death/love/me/it hurts/Mungo/what now? - and only half way through would I'd realise that I'd been on this train of thought before.

The more I thought about it, the more I became really convinced that no death would be in any way satisfactory for me; well, certainly not anytime soon. "Death in the heat of battle" rather loses its appeal when you think of the realities of the street brawls which were the closest we had to those noble charges of yore - just as much pride; just as much, all things relative, at stake. Just more bloody and pointless. These hazy times, I was getting weird memories and even dreams of back-log days - Macavity against some pollicle, Macavity against the latest challenger, Macavity against anyone brave or stupid enough to rub him the wrong way. Or Macavity's minions, more like. Trust his Highness never to risk his pretty face on us small fry. You were lucky to get a quick death in a fight like that, and no one had much in the way of medical help on hand. Bodies behind dustbins, waiting for the humans to shoo the rats away. I don't remember a whole lot from those early days.

Illness, infection, slow death by poisoning - none of those had ever exactly ranked high on my "Ten Best Ways to Die" list. Hmmm. How typical that it seemed that was the way I was gonna go. And how ironic that flippancy was just about my only defence.

Dying in my sleep had always sounded alright, but as I'd just realised, I was never going to be ready at just the right moment. I wanted enough time to my things straightened out, all my loose ends tied up - but once I had, it was pretty darn certain that I'd just have wait some more in this limbo half-life.

Death was never convenient. Like love, I guessed. Never just at the right time, never as you'd imagined it, always final, and always irreversible.

Missing you already, Mungojerrie...

How had all this affected him? It was a bit of a dead and sterile question, but I was a little sick and muddled to be getting my head around serious rhetoric. I just started to wonder if there was any way in the world that he actually felt as strong as he'd been lately. Or as optimistic; taking over from my parade there. I somehow didn't think so. "Oi don' understand..." he'd said. Like it was something strange and alien and something to be ashamed of. He didn't like this happening to me, to us. "Oi don' understand..." Yeah, well, neither did I. It would have maybe been nice, but I wasn't expecting it anymore.

The future was a dream-plain in moonlit tomorrow, and running home from the park and shimmering in the sunshine was just such a strange, blessed memory. Today I was lying still, still breathing, still awake, and dreaming such strange things... Nothing makes sense if you think about it that way. Life as a ridiculous whole is even kinda funny put like that. Nothing to lose anymore, at any rate.

~~~

Oddly enough, Mungo must have been thinking along the weird quasi-optimistic route of "nothing to lose" too.

I had the shock of my life waking up that morning.

The shock could have killed me. Hehe, I would have laughed if it had. Well, I probably wouldn't actually, but anyway...

Macavity.

Oh, man, someone call Demeter so we can have the proper introduction ceremony...

It was one of the most surreal visions I've ever experienced - even more so than the flying chocolate - and this was actually real. Macavity, standing in all his fire-furred glory and clashing horribly with the pink-themed decor of the living room, looking distastefully - and not a bit bemusedly - at the remnants of my royal court; a couple strings of pearls and the chocolate packet, kept for sentimental value. Mungojerrie was standing next to him, and seemed to be keeping the Fiend In Feline Shape in place by his sheer will- and glare- power.

"s a surprise ta see you ere," I said, grinning in my head even if it wouldn't show on my face. There was little cool-cat Teazer; hey, I'd missed her in all this introspection.

"Maybe I should be surprised at your condition, Rumpelteazer," he said, casting a simply disdainful eye over me. I hated that. I know I'm hard to please, but - I was junk to him. Another scrap dragged out of the gutter that by some ridiculous accident got blown against her will to better times and then back again. "I'm not, though. I guessed your attitude would get you something like this someday."

My attitude?? Why I oughta.... What, that attitude, Cav? The eye-for-an-eye, pay-back-insults, violence-is-the-answer nonsense I learnt from you? Or did he mean my own brand of never-give-in, always-talk-back, don't-ever-ever-let-it-get-you-down. Didn't really sound like the sort of thing that should get you in a position where everything is pushing you down, talking at all isn't easy, and giving in is the only logical course. Still, I hated logic.

So it's all my fault, Macavity?

Mungojerrie firmly acquainted us both with his decision of what the facts were. "Teazer, Macavity's here so he can use his magic to make you better."

I admit it. Something reacted. Whatever little spark of the crazy hope light-shows left inside me jumped.

My eyes moved very slowly.

"What...?" I asked quietly.

Macavity shook his head. "I decided on no such thing. I came here out of - interest, on Mungojerrie's suggestion."

"Tha' was koind of you," I huffed.

Mungojerrie shot me a warning look. I liked that. Liked that I wasn't too pathetically delicate for him to be annoyed at. He was telling me without words that I sure wasn't making this any easier on myself by insulting the Napoleon of Crime.

It felt good though, you know. In a weird kind of way. It was like - I'm either gonna get better or not. Right NOW. This is it, so why not speak my mind?

What's that metaphor? Train of thought', yeah? I remember. Well, I guess mine had jumped the tracks and was currently zooming down the uncharted zone of insane lane. Yes, I realised I wasn't making much sense. Fun fun fun fun.....

Mungojerrie's face was deadly serious. "You can make er better, Macavity. I know you can. Wha' - wha' do Oi ave to do to make you do it?"

Macavity smiled. Patronising, at both of us. Humble, self-sacrificing Mungojerrie making a serious offer for the life of stupid, selfish Rumpelteazer. What a pair of clowns, what stupid little pathetic dreamers. Stupid kits.

No.

"Ain't makin' no bargains, Cavity," I said, before he could get a word in. I was still good at that. "Mungo, don' you dare promise a loife of eternal servitude, ya daft..." I had to stop and cough and cough and cough. There? See how pitiful I am, Macavity? "You gonna magic me better or wha'?"

"Why should I?"

"Oi'll love ya forever?" I offered cheekily, though it didn't quite sound right in the new voice of mine. "Mungo ain't gonna hate ya forever? Jus' cos Oi'm askin' you and it's a kinda friendly gesture to save the loife of a long-known comrade?? But no bargains."

He shook his head slowly. "Then what do I gain in this?"

I inflicted all the glare power of two swollen eyes. "You really wanna act like a eartless bastard, don't you?"

Mungojerrie was standing just in front of me, and I knew he was trying to protect me.

"What about that pet magician of yours?" Macavity asked, idly. He didn't even seem to react to my last comment.

"Ya mean Mistoffelees?" Mungo growled.

"Yes... he seemed adept enough when he so kindly returned Old Deuteronomy to you."

I checked his eyes for resentment. Anger. Something. Maybe it was just my vision giving out, but - nothing. He just looked bored.

Mungojerrie fumed. "An' consequently e's now takin' time out in rest an' recuperation and stickin' to li'l party tricks." Nice, Mungo. When he put his mind to it, he could glare better than me. "Tha's big magic, y'know!"

"So is this," Macavity said so smoothly. "I don't relish draining my magic for the next week."

"This is her loife we're talkin' about!! You can wait a bloody week!"

It may have been a bit of critical life decision for me, but I was still having to blink and slightly shake myself to stay properly awake and aware

"So can she," he countered calmly. "Wait for Mistoffelees."

"No, she can't."

He looked quizzical. "How so?"

"Oi'll be dead," I told him.

Well. Yeah. That was that out in the open, then. Yeah, Mungo, I know. Stop it. Don't look at me like that. I know. Yes, I overheard the humans that day too.

"You won't be dead, Teazer." It was Macavity, speaking so gently I wondered if I was going delusional. This was weird. I mean; Demeter smiling, Munkustrap saying "What's up?", Jennyanydots and Tugger ...eugh... that happened, didn't it? - that weird. Macavity looking at me. Pity. Pity. It was always pity, but I hadn't expected it from him. "Infection takes longer than that to kill you," he said, soft, "It's always so slow. Believe me."

"I's not tha'." Mungo didn't seem to want to say anymore. I'll fill him in on the details, Mungo, don't you worry.

"The umans wanna kill me soon as Oi'm not gettin' better."

To save me the pain. Because my life was not worth living like this'. That's what they'd decided. Because I was simply becoming too expensive to support on this diet of drugs every single day into a limited infinity.

"Teaz..."

"Mungo?" I asked bleakly in return. "Wha'?"

His eyes. Breaking my heart. Just like I must have been breaking him. Eyes. Windows to the soul. His always were so hopelessly open and honest. No defenses. Oh... Mungojerrie... I - I dunno what to say either. Perfect time to exchange a wordless, meaningful embrace, but that had the obvious drawback of moving.

Macavity had still more reassuring words for me: "It would be quick, you know, that way. No more pain. Don't you hurt now?"

"Sometimes," I said through gritted teeth. Then: "Loike hell. Top marks fer observation there, Cavity."

"If you let them, there would be no more pain... They make it painless... It's just like going to sleep, they say."

"If Oi let them, Oi'll be dead. Think tha's the important issue ere. Oi don' wanna die!"

There. That was the whole point. I didn't want to go. I didn't want to leave. Screw the pain. I could have almost coped with it if I could just stick around here a bit longer...

"Rumpelteazer..." he said slowly, softly, like all those drugs to dull the pain....they'd stopped working... "why should I?" His ultimatum.

"Fer cryin' out loud!" I yelled, pretty pathetically really, because I almost was. "WHOI NOT?" And mine.

He exhaled slowly. "Let me tell you a story, Rumpelteazer."

Blink.

What the -??

But, hey, sure, go ahead. At least my ears were working OK.

"I know about infection. I once knew a queen, years ago... your age, maybe a little older... Blood-poisoned, infected from a metal nail. She didn't have the... privileges you do; no humans pampering her. I -" Did he hesitate? Macavity? My eyes flicked up to his. Something different. Unsure. "I couldn't do anything for her. I couldn't even help her die. It took months, Rumpelteazer, months of her wasting away and fading before she was gone."

Gone? I thought vaguely, mentally staggering still. Honestly, Macavity... I don't need euphemism anymore... Which was hardly the issue, but that's just me.

"Tha's it?" Mungojerrie asked with an effort to be scathing; after a pause - for what? Respect??

"That's all," said Macavity.

And.... and... so... Macavity, had he been in love? Was that what he was hiding behind those short sentences and strange hesitation? Macavity? HIM?

"But now.... ya can do it?" Mungojerrie; practical, desperate; cut across him

"I think I can."

"You think?" I asked - Well, not that it mattered, actually. I would happily have jumped to it on odd of a hundred to one against.

"Ya can," Mungo told him fiercely. Oh great, we'd got the point of giving pep talks to Macavity....

"I will do what I can," he said simply.

My mind felt the shift. It was like disbelief - or more - the shaky region approaching hope.... "I will help you," he said.

He wasn't going to admit he was giving in, he was just going to say it just like that, like he'd never meant anything else.... And I wasn't going to rub it in, for a change.

"Rumpelteazer-" he addressed me, seriously, then stopped, and I looked up at him for second. I got it.

"This - is gonna urt, ain't it?" I said.

"More than you can imagine."

"Tha's OK," I said, grinning madly at him, "Ya can't imagine pain, can ya? Ta for the warning, Cav."

"Teaza..." Mungo offered me all the warmth in the world in his frightened eyes.

"Don' worry!" I practically cheered. "Oi'm gonna be better, Mungo!" I turned my head to Macavity. "OK? Wheneva yer ready."

The first thing he did was stick his claws right into my side. For a vivid split second I thought he was just gonna cheat and kill me - Mungo seemed to leap to the same conclusion, judging by the way he tried to leap at Macavity.

After that, I didn't exactly think much at all.

I'd imagined maybe if there was this much pain and nothing to do about it, I'd just relax and fall into the certainty, helpless but hopeful - but... it was fire and stabbing and acid and -

"Ya sick bastard!" I screamed. "Macavi'y, you are SO gonna die!!!"

Ah, so that's where Little Selfish Brat Rumpelteazer went...

It was very sharply and definitely unclear somehow. Wasn't sure what I'd expected - fireworks? Wasn't sure if the lines of crimson flame were real or just in the sky inside my head or what. Fire ran through my veins, doing exactly what my body had been trying unsuccessfully to do for these past weeks - burn the infection right out of me.

Eyes shut and I could see fire lines of blood red through the ruined carpet, along my skin. Far off idea came that there was a point to this, and it didn't make much matter either way....

The fireball swelled, all of me, all the pain, ready to - I'm bursting. Mungo, I'm gonna explode - pour out of my chest leaving the perfect shell-soul -

It was a real blackout, this one. About time too.

-----------

P.S.

I was getting so used to waking up from unexpected lack of consciousness that it was almost getting boring. But, anyway, that's what I did. I opened my eyes again again and found myself staring straight into Mungo's - upon which they did this incredible morphing thing from pure panic/concern/fear to elation/relief/joy and he stood there doing goldfish mouths for a couple seconds before yelling "TEEEAAZZAAAAA!!!" and dancing around the room. Phew.

So, great - in the end, Macavity saved my life. Which is a bit stupid-sounding really. I go through all this pain and love and revelations and near-death experiences and everything.... only to have some mangy, orang-utan-furred wannabe-warlord who I've never really anyway liked just magic me better?? Couldn't this have happened some other way? Apparently not, was the sensible answer to that, and I wasn't exactly in a position to be reasonably ungrateful. So I wasn't. So I gave Macavity a huge hug, told him (and I'm not sure how much of it was just cheek) that his girl would have been proud, told him THANK YOU you stupid but maybe-not-so-heartless bastard, and gave Mungojerrie and even bigger hug.

And so.... Life went on. Again. I've noticed it has a habit of doing that. No matter if you're happy or sad or unconscious or dead or whatever, life as a whole is just going to keep on keeping on and the earth is going to keep spinning. And no matter what's happening to you, no matter how incredible or amazing or awful, there's always gonna be billions of people out there with no more idea or care about you than you have about them.

Whoa, that was deep! Maybe I should go see Old Deuteronomy - I can just see us sitting by the hearth talking philosophy deep into the night...

I ran outside almost straight away. Smelled wet grass, tasted fresh sunlight. I stood out in the rain and let it fall over me. Your classic cleansing, I guess. Then I went a bit crazy and dragged Mungo into the garden pond.

It wasn't THAT deep.

I can tell you the humans weren't to pleased about that though. We arrived back on the doorstep, dripping and looking penitent with pent-up giggles like the adorable lost kittens of over a year ago, and received a similar treatment. They'd just about got over the shock which presumably comes with all miracle recoveries (the vet!! Stammering and s-s-saying how he'd n-n-never seen anything li-like it! M-miracle recovery...?), and they weren't exactly prepared to let us die of pneumonia, so we were both bundled up in blankets and fed oh-so-lovely gold-top cream...

Jem and Pounce have become something of protegees to us – they go around wreaking miniature havoc in all the parks and talk in accents half the time. We all dare each other to do The Endearing Look: "I'm cute, give me food" on the most unlikely people. Jemima, of course, is unbelievably good at this

I still sprint home - I don't see why I should be put off, I'm right back in training - and of course I'm always careful now... and of course I always win. Muahaha. Although I was a little unnerved when Pouncival came within about 10 seconds of me last week...

And I'm even regaining me youthful beauty and stunning good looks; slowly, though I figure not quite as slowly as it would have been without Macavity's paw in the matter. Eh, not that that's exactly bothering me. I wouldn't have cared what looked like - I wouldn't have cared if I looked like Macavity, honestly!

I am actually alive... They always speak of those near-death experiences as something so profound, something that leaves you emotionally scarred and staggering for the rest of your life... Whereas for me... For me it was a mess, really. It was a mess of blood and drugs running down all the cracks in my personality. And now, afterwards, when I'm supposed to reflect on all I've been through, and be still and solemn and careful and avowed to the sanctity of life - well, erm, now I've gone incredibly hyper. Nearly died? Been there, done that, and it's gonna take a lot more'n that to get little ol' Rumpelteazer down! At least in the long run. And at least as long I have someone to hold up my head.

Love ya, Mungo. Forever.

I'm in love with life. I'm high on oxygen and sunshine and moonshine and fluffy clouds and - Oooh, and sparkly things and strawberries and cream (though I've never eaten any, it always sounds nice.) And I don't exactly laugh in the face of Death like in the stories - it's more like we've got a decent relationship, sorta shaking hands and smiling in the street, but nothing too close or personal (though he's a real creepy fellow, so I'll just keep away mostly). Which probably sounds like a shockingly flippant and bad analogy, but that's just me.

Laugh in the dark. Hehe, at least as long as your lungs are working properly.

And that's just me again, spoiling a wonderful inspirational sentence with some practical ironic junk like that.

I told you I was pathetic at beginnings, right? Well, I think you should ditto that comment for endings too. Or maybe I just don't like em. I don't believe in them, I think, that's what it is. Endings are just so.... endy. Like they're ending something. (Give me a prize for coherent thought, why don't you?) Things don't just end, and I'm not about to disappear conveniently as a big metaphorical "THE END" sign sails down from on high. Hehe, no such luck, sorry. I'm sticking around here and living for a bit more, methinks.

Just leave it at: I'm happy. I am madly in love with life and I always want to stay this cheerful and I always want to have Mungo around to bounce off. I'm thankful to be alive.

And just cos I'm jumping up and down hyperly and going "eeeeeeeeeeee!!!!" while I pronounce it to the world doesn't make it any less true.

~THE END~

-----------

A/N: It's finished!!!!!!!!

Erm... I hope not too many people will have too much of an issue with the "miracle recovery" thing... I much prefer it to heart-breaking-everyone-dies stuff, personally.

Whoooooo.... well, I'm proud of finishing my longest story ever (Shut up!! I *KNOW* it's not actually very long, but it's an achievement for mee!) and also the only one I've so far posted in parts.... I knew from the start this whole premise wasn't the most original in the world.... poor Mungo & Teazer, people will keep hitting them with cars! But I hope I made it a little original and interesting nonetheless? Love, life, death, struggle... pretty universal themes, I guess.

Right... OK.... very soon, I honestly will shut up.

Oh, wait, no I won't shut up. No final notes would be complete without a whopping great thanks to the reviewers!

TTTHHAAANNNKKK YYYYOOOUUUU!!!!

Becky - Chibi Teazer - Eunike - Jessica R Vance - The Mean Reviewer - Megera - Mistoaurora - Purple Mango/Trirarien - Norbert for President - - and the anonymous one -

Huge big thanks and hugs and chocolate to all of you! Especially Norbert & Trirarien for reviewing like four times each! As I've said, reviews are food for the soul, and I'm now feeling very soulful thanks to you guys!!!

CATS - NOW AND FOREVER!!!!!