The Story about ZigZag

by ChesireCat17

That tale about a kitten brought uneasy into this world. Mocked because he is diffrent he one day meets the Jellicles and a new life begins for him...

Chapter 1: Birth and the new world

It was a stormy night on September the 13th. Funny enough it was Friday too, and lightning arched across the sky. A gray cat strolled through a hole in the large bushes that made up the fence of the large mansion, where she grew up. An open basement window caught her eye and she walked silently towards it. She glared nervous and full of hatred at the sky. She had always hated storms. Her was belly big and swollen, revealing that she was pregnant. It began to rain, but she didn't care about it. She had more important tasks at hand. She ran through the garden, the newly wet grass making her fur heavy. She finally reached the basement window, which was on hatch. She walked in and shook the water of her fur coat. She sighed with relief and looked around in the basement she knew so well. It was fairly large with all sorts of junk and rubbish. It had a couple a windows spread out across the eastern wall, where the flashes of distant lightning shone through. She chose an old, but still nice looking Persian carpet to rest her self on. She lay there for what might seem like and eternity. She started to drift away from the real world. Her head was full of thoughts. One or more of the kittens might be deformed or ill. Maybe they were dead. She hadn't felt them kick for a day now, but she had only pushed it aside taking it for normal behavior. But the knacking sense that something was wrong, or different still resided in the back of her head. A sound brought her back to reality. She fixed her eyes on the basement window from which she had entered. It was her mate. He was a proud cat that appeared to have seen many fights, but always walked away with his head up high. Many cuts and bruises, some newer then others, had over time turned into scars that made him look tough. He jumped down and in a few seconds he had reached her resting place and had placed himself down by her side. His white and dark gray stripes, and her gray color matched so great, that a human would barely be able to tell them apart in the darkness of the room. "How are you holding out Eluna?" the tomcat said with a surprisingly soft voice. "I'm.*moan.doing just fine honey" she smiled. She lifted her head and looked at the storm outside the window. "You don't mind going outside to look for our friends do you, Quaxo?" Quaxo smiled. He would go through fire and water for Eluna. They had met each other many moons ago at the annual Jellicle Ball. Girl meets boy, boy meets girl. He winked to her, got to his feet and strolled outside. A lightning cleaved the sky, and Eluna twitched in pain. They where on they're way. Moments after stood Quaxo along with a few cats from the neighborhood around the mansion, with whom Eluna had grown up with "They will be here any minute now. Goddess, it hurts." Eluna said amidst the cramps. Quaxo ran over to her and toke her hand. "I'm right here love." He said trying to comfort her. A small kitten named Orion, who was Eluna's sister Petunia's kitten, came over to see what was happening. "Why is she doing that?" he curiously asked his mother. Petunia had never really liked her sister or Quaxo for that matter, but giving the current situation she forgot the matter and said, "She is giving birth, Orion. Now run along and leave her alone." Orion ran deeper into the basement mumbling something about kittens. Seconds became minutes. Minutes became hours. And then, with a scream that woke the entire house, Eluna gave birth to 5 kittens. It was 3 queens, and 2 tomcats. They all looked the same except one of the tomcats. They where all gray with some black and white stripes along the back, but the last was totally different. He was black with a white face. His right eye was covered with a black stripe. Along his front paws was a zigzag pattern of white stripes, and therefore he was named ZigZag. His brother and sisters were named Alanzo, Julima, Vendatiopat, and Pantomine. As the newborn kittens found they're way to nourishment, the sound of human feet down stairs broke the silence of the basement, and sent the visiting cats almost flying out of the window. When the family saw who lay on the rug, they slowly walked down and just watched the new little family getting acquainted with each other. The first couple of weeks the kittens crept around aimlessly. ZigZag could feel things around him. He just couldn't tell what it was. " I wonder what this is?" he said while butting his head into his brother Alanzo. They both began to cry, even though they had hardly hit each other. Eluna came over and picked them. "Hush now kittens, it'll be easier when you get eyes. A whole new world is awaiting you out here. I remember when I couldn't see." She smiled, and placed them with they're siblings, and told them a story from when she was a kitten and couldn't see. The kittens got tired and they went to sleep and dreamt of the new world that awaited them. One by one the kittens could observe the world through their eyes. This was a new and exiting thing for them and they all were left in awe of they surroundings. ZigZag was the last to get eyes. When he slowly opened them, he saw his mother and father staring in disbelief at him. All of they're progeny had been given the same sky blue eyes, which are common amongst kittens, but the proud parents didn't anticipate what they saw. ZigZag looked behind him to see what his mommy and daddy was looking at, but there was nothing there but rubbish. His parents weren't looking behind him, but his eyes. They were the same color you only find in the purple specter of newly broken amethyst. The very dark purple didn't reveal anything unusual, and everyone meant it turn grayish yellow over time just as any other kittens eyes. ZigZag thought saw things a little different then the rest of his family. When he first set eyes on his parents, he saw that they were surrounded by light. Like a halo it surrounded they're beings. He quickly learned that the lights changed color with the mood or behavior. At that point the lights looked the same on everyone around him, but still looked different from one another. Still, it was difficult to tell them apart. Time went by and ZigZag toke his first uneasy steps into the new world. "Don't wander too far off ZigZag, dinner is ready soon." He turned his head and lost his balance, therefore dropping on his stomach with a little bump. "I won't." he smiled. His little legs were still very insecure, but he tried to stumble forward. He stumbled down from the rolled-up rug where he had been born, and continued across this new landscape. His purple eyes looked at the windows, where the soft sunshine broke through the clouds, still a bit heavy with rain from last night's shower. He attempted to catch the small corns of dust that revealed them selves in the sunbeam. It quickly became boring because he couldn't catch any of them. Then his eyes caught a glimpse of light somewhat to his left. He jumped onto a large basket full of old yarn, which lay only a few meters from his birth spot along with his family. There it was again. It was a fine wine glass, which had been left in the basement for some reason, but it appeared not to have been used. It was dusty and a spider had probably been both born and buried in it. He curled up and sneaked closer. His little body was full of with excitement. He didn't know what it was or what to do with it. So he jumped it. With his little claws spread out he hit the glass, and it fell to the ground and broke into a million small pieces. They landed in the sunshine reflecting the light. The fall had blown the dust of the wine glass all the walls and all furniture in the reach of the light was bathed with little dots of white light. He frightened jumped back, but after a while, when he realized that it wasn't dangerous, he grew bolder and sat down in front of the shattered glass to play with it. He figured out on how to move the pieces so that they made new and shapes. "This will be great fun to play with." He thought to him self, covered the pieces with a blanket and began the stroll back, but after a few paces he stopped. He looked around but couldn't recognize anything familiar. He then realized that he was lost in the basement. At first he started to walk around "to and fro" to see if he could recognize anything, but after a while he panicked. He sat down flat on his tail and meowed so the whole basement was aware of his situation. A few seconds later, his father Quaxo stood on top of a trunk looking down on little ZigZag. Quaxo didn't notice the blanked and picked up ZigZag with his jaws. " Come here kid. And another time listen to your mother. And by the way, your aunt Petunia is here with her kittens." Quaxo smiled. ZigZag nodded enthusiastic. He was let go on top of the rug, and was glad to be back with his mother, father, and brother and sisters. Along with them was Petunias family. She had brought her 3 kittens; Zeus, Beladona, and Orion with her. The kittens were playing when ZigZag and Quaxo arrived on the carpet. Beladona and Zeus came over to look at the new kitten. "Hi, are you ZigZag?" Beladona asked. She was a red queen, her blue eyes almost observing everything around her. ZigZag nodded at the queen. He could see that she must be at least a year older then him. "You look weird." Zeus said. ZigZag questioningly looked at him. "What do you mean?" "Your eyes. You are different! Lets play something, and he can't play along, because he is weird." The voice belonged to Orion. He was the oldest of Petunia's kittens, and he was hard and controlling with his siblings. "Come on let's play catch." He looked at ZigZag with a evil grin. ZigZag attempted to play along, but he was shoved by Orion, who then said "You can't play along, your." Quaxo broke into the conversation. "Sure he can. You play nice Orion, or ill have you sit next to your mother until you are going home." Orion knew that Quaxo meant it, so he pretended to let ZigZag play along. But he didn't pretend doing so for long. As they were playing "catch", Orion used every trick he knew, to either trip ZigZag over, or cause something to fall down and hit him. He evaded most of the debris Orion threw at him, but when it was ZigZag's turn to catch, he ran after Orion they ran far off into the basement, the other kittens following them. ZigZag had almost caught Orion, and now had made a jump onto another rolled up carpet and from there onto Orion. The caught him and they tumbled around until the force of the jump had dissipated. Orion slowly said "Ok, you've caught me. Your good. but not good enough!" Orion, being that much stronger then ZigZag, flipped him around so he was lying on his back, and then placed himself on top of him. "You are different, you know that? Your eyes are weird, and I don't like you!" Orion was holding his arms so ZigZag couldn't move. His grip hurt ZigZag, and he was attempting to get up, but Orion just kept holding him in place and mocking him for his eyes and the fact that he was different from his brother and sisters. "I don't like you because you are different. But then again, that is not a thing I have to live with." Orion stepped down from ZigZag and turned around. ZigZag got to his feet and felt on the bruises, that was starting to form on his arms. "Please relax Orion, it's just a game. No need to." ZigZag didn't finish the sentence, because suddenly Orion turned around with his leg stretched out in backwards kick, which hit ZigZag in his face. He grimaced with pain. Orion walked slowly over to the, now lying ZigZag. "Like I said. Your presence is not a thing I have to live with." Orion descended upon ZigZag's body with ferocious vigor. Punch after punch impacted on ZigZag's face. He attempted to scream but couldn't. His siblings could only watch as they're baby brother got beaten up. They all knew that I would be suicide to try and get him out of it. Orion was much too strong. Orion picked ZigZag up and dragged him to a small cardboard tube that could barely hold a kitten, and forced him inside. He laughed a coldly and closed the tube with a few books. "Now you can stay there until somebody finds you. If they ever do!" He began to walk away. The confined space was pressing on ZigZag. He could feel blood flowing into his mouth, and attempted to spit it out but couldn't. He quickly got claustrophobic, and the feeling that he was trapped enveloped him in very short time. He wanted to get free. He wanted it more then anything else. He began to push to get out, but was trapped. The books were too heavy and he couldn't move in the small tube. Then, through the blood in his throat, and the pain in his body, he screamed. It echoed through the entire basement, and the force almost made the tube explode. Instead, it cracked and shattered like glass around him. ZigZag was lying on the floor with small shards of the cardboard tube all over him. Orion turned around, unaffected by the destroyed cardboard tube. Everyone could see that the lesser kitten's disobedience was aggravating him, and they knew to keep clear. Orion said with an increasingly angry voice, "I thought I told you to stay in that tube!" He lifted his paw to strike at the kitten once more, but as his paw came down on ZigZag with starteling speed, ZigZag lifted his head and reacted to the punch. With infeline speed he retracted his head and made a back-flip and now stood facing Orion. Orion quickly turned with his other paw to strike again. ZigZag reached out for the paw but never touched it. Orion's paw was stopped in mid-flight. Orion was now furious and attempted to pull back his paw but couldn't. His paw was being hold by an unseen force. ZigZag himself didn't understand how he did it, but at that point, he didn't care any longer. He then reached out and grapped Orion's body the same way as he had gripped his paw and then, with all his power threw him across the basement. Orion flew squealing through the room and landed almost softly on a carpet, and then fell to the ground. ZigZag walked over to him slowly and steadily. He was still spitting some blood, and his body was eminating static. Small arcs of lightning were rioting inside his eyes. Seeing this, none of the kittens attempted to stop him. He got over to Orion who was still trying to pick himself up. ZigZag hissed and jumped him. Now it was Orion who was lying down receiving punch after punch. Orion threw him off, and stood up. "You little." Before Orion could react ZigZag had pulled his arm back for one last blow. He gathered all his strength and his little paw flew at Orion's face. It hit him square in his left eye. Orion stumbled backwards. His eye began to hurt a lot, and it was already swollen. "Now who has weird eyes?" The remark came from Alanzo. Quaxo, Eluna, and Petunia had run towards Orion's crash site to see what had thrown him. They then saw the wounded ZigZag walking away from the astounded Orion, who was still sitting and holding his left eye. Quaxo walked down to ZigZag who still spat blood once in a while. "Hey kitten. What happen't?" ZigZag looked at him. He didn't want to tell his parents that he had been in a fight. He felt undignified by that fact. "No daddy. Nothing happen't." Quaxo could see in ZigZag's eyes that it wasn't healthy to drill further into the matter and he left him alone. Eluna started to clean up his wounds, and told her sister that it was better they left. Petunia picked up Orion, who was still sitting dumb stuck, because a kitten small then him actually threw him half across the basement and gave him a black eye.

After this unpleasant experience, he was more careful on just about everything. Now he never strayed so that he couldn't see his mother. One day when him and Alanzo were playing "Catch the others tail", a game of which they both agreed was they're invention. They had been at it for about an hour and Alanzo had won almost every time, but then ZigZag made a clever move and got behind Alanzo, but missed his tail. ZigZag cursed inside him self. A burning wish to catch his brother's tail grew, and with out anybody knowing it, the wish extended from him carrying it out into the world, giving it form and shape. Instead of hitting Alanzo's tail with his paw, a small purple spark fired from his little paw. Alanzo gave a frightened scream, and ran to his mother. "ZigZag hurt me!" he complained. "ZigZag, what have you done to your brother?" she said, almost sounding forgiving. Alanzo gave a greatly overestimated story of the incident. "He started to floated and he throw a gigantic bolt of lightning at my tail!" he said while mimicking his story and adding sound effects, in an attempt to make it more convincing. Quaxo laughed slowly from a corner. He then looked hard at Alanzo and said.

"Don't lie to your mother. She's even harder to convince then I am anyway." He smiled at Eluna. She returned it with an overbearing look. Then she smiled, and turned her head at ZigZag. "Now what have you to say ZigZag?" He sat down. His little tail making small turns in the air. "I just tried to get his tail. That's all, I swear! I really didn't mean to hurt him, honest!" Eluna looked at him. Being her children, she knew them well enough to see if they were telling lies. She looked shortly at both of them and proclaimed. "This court finds ZigZag, not guilty." They both looked at they're mother, and said with almost a single voice. "What's a court mommy?" She started to laugh. "You will know when you get older. Now make up, and then run along." They went to they're separate areas near they're mother, but soon they were fighting for fun again. Later on the afternoon the family went out to eat, and Eluna and Quaxo saw a chance to give they're kittens an experience. She rounded them up and carried them in her mouth up the stairs. ZigZag was carried backwards and couldn't see where his mother was taking him. "Daddy, where are we going?" He asked with his voice bumping with each step. His father looked at him with a mysterious expression on his face. "It is a surprise" When they finally reached the end of the stairs, Eluna dropped her kittens with pinpoint precision on the carpet. Pantomine didn't expect to be dropped and immediately fell to her behind. "Ouch! That hurt mommy." Her clear voice pleaded for compassion. Eluna picked her up and putted her down gently. Pantomine brushed her coat and took position beside her mother. They were standing in a hallway that led to the front door. A beautiful carpet was under they're paws, and the walls were painted in a bright sand colored paint. There were photos on the walls picturing the family who lived there. There was also a couple a stairs leading upstairs, but both Quaxo and Eluna forbid they're kittens to go up there without them. Quaxo prodded Alanzo with his nose. "Go on, have a look around. The kittens stood they're ground. They where all pushed further into the entrance to the living room Eluna and Quaxo smiled at each other and walked slowly into the living room. The kittens curiosity toke over and lead them into the unknown. The room was filled with stylish furniture and weird knickknacks the family had brought home from they're travels. Alanzo was instantly stopped from putting claw marks in the chairs and the sofa, and Julima was asked not to sing to loudly, as it could irritated they're humans. Vendatiopat, ZigZag, and Pantomine gathered all the courage they could muster and went exploring in the kitchen. The last words they heard there mother say was strict and clear. "Don't break anything!" They nodded and entered the kitchen. They stood in awe of the room. The counters had an ugly green color, but the refrigerator was new and made in steel. The counters were filled with forks, cups, and other kitchen appliances. Pantomine, who always had a flair for poetry said "So many things, so little time" and jumped onto a trashcan and further to the ironing board in the middle of the kitchen. It swayed a bit from side to side, and then stabilized. She jumped further to the kitchen counter, nearly smashing into a food processor. Both ZigZag and Vendatiopat mumbled something about being a show-off. Pantomine looked at all the shiny stuff lying about and didn't see the frying pan that was behind her before she had pushed it out over the counter. It now fell towards ZigZag's head with deadly precision. He saw it falling but couldn't move. He froze in fear. Then, with the feeling that something changed time or reality for that matter, ZigZag turned his head and saw a black cat flying towards him at lightning speed. The cat grapped him and pulled him away from the frying pans collision course. The cat dropped him on the ground while still being in midair and sent him skidding across the floor. When ZigZag got to himself and looked up on the counter he saw the cat standing with a tilted smile. ZigZag was almost blinded by his lights. They were strong and true. He then heard him speak, with a voice that would send girls hearts crashing and burning, "Its too soon for you to get into trouble." The cat jumped out of the window which moments ago had seemed closed, and dissapered. A few seconds after, Quaxo and Eluna came running with Alanzo and Julima. "Is everyone okay?!?" Eluna said quickly. She saw ZigZag on the floor and ran over to him. "Are you alright dear?" ZigZag looked up and said quietly "a black cat saved me from the pan mommy" then he dosed off, sleeping the innocents sleep. A sleep that is so heavy with dreams that half of it could be enough, but at the same time it was for the kittens, regenerating and relaxing. The kittens was carried downstairs again and tugged in. When they all lay sleeping, Eluna asked Quaxo quietly "Should we take them outside already?" Quaxo was sent into an enormous stream of thoughts, but soon arose from it with an answer. "We have no choice. The Jellicle ball is in a few days, and they have to be ready." The agreed and went to sleep.

The time was about 3:45 in the middle of the night, when ZigZag woke up. He flicked with his eyes and looked around. The basement was still dark, just like the rest of the house at that time of the night. The rest of the family laid sleeping, dreaming unknown dreams. He got to his feet. He didn't recall why he had awoken, but something drew him to the spot where he had played with the broken glass. It called to him. Its silent voice was seductive and persuasive. He stepped carefully out of the bundle of his sleeping family, making sure that each step made as little noise as possible and also that he didn't touch any one. He knew how easily his father could wake up and stop his little expedition. He got out without wake anyone and jumped down, landing without a sound. He strode towards the little corner. The moon was shining softly through the window and bathed the spot in a supernatural light. The pieces still lay where he had left them, the light from the moon reflecting in them creating the small dots on everything he had been so fascinated by the first time. He sat down and looked at the pieces. His purple eyes went out of focus, and his body relaxed as if he was asleep. His mind slipped away from this plane of existence and into a place fare away in his head. Time and space ceased to exist. The pieces, as if move by a thousand small paws, arranged them selves in front of him. A voice brought him back to reality. At first he looked disorientated around. He couldn't focus, and was unable to fully move. It was like he was only half inside his body. He then regained control of his body and looked around. He briefly noticed the glass pieces, which had been move into the shape of an ice crystal. He didn't believe his eyes, but his ears reassured him that he was still in the real world. "What are you doing little brother?" Julima's voice whispered softly in his ear. He turned his head. He didn't know how to explain the situation, but tried nonetheless. " I was just playing with these shiny things, making new shapes and such. Its pretty ain't it?" Julima nodded. Attempting to draw Julima's attention away from the glass pieces, ZigZag quickly changed the subject. "Why are you awake sis? I was sure that nobody felt or heard me when I got up." Julima giggled. "You weren't clever enough to see that my feet lay under your belly and that it was warming me. So when you got up, my feet got cold and I woke up. Simple as it is, we have to get back before dawn breaks." ZigZag agreed and they both silently moved back to they're brothers and sisters, and went to sleep. Well that is to say that ZigZag was thinking. How had he moved the pieces into so complicated a form? Or was it even him who had moved it. He soon dosed of into the night, which was as always filled, with dreams of great adventures.

Dawn broke while the little family still lay sleeping. A fine and very expensive crash from the living room above woke them from they're slumber. "Oh no, not the Ming vase! No, No get out of here! GET OOUT!" The voice came from the lady of the house, who apparently, had just lost a fortune. "You kids stay he." Eluna never finished the sentence, but was interrupted by two orange and black striped cats that came tumbling down the stairs. They landed in pile of fur and limbs. One of them, a female cat, giggled and the other, a tomcat, hushed her to silence. Quaxo began to laugh. "Well if it isn't the infamous Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, the burglar cats of Victoria Grove." The cats got to they're feet and looked at Quaxo. Mungojerrie grinned and said "Oi! Ai' Quaxoi! Aw are ya doin'?" he then turned to his female counterpart "Oi, Teazer!" The female just stared onto the stair from which they had just fallen from, her eyes looking blank as if her head didn't focus on anything. Mungojerrie clipped her ear. "Wha?!?" she looked disorientated for a second or so, but then lit up in a smile. "Ai' Eluina!" The two female cats embraced each other, but were interrupted by the sound of human feet running towards the basement door. The two nutorius burglar cats looked at each other and giggled. "Weov tha's our qui. Oi's 'spose weov see eachotha a' the Jelliclew Ball, roight?" Rumpleteazer looked at the kittens and winked at ZigZag. "See ya kiddens!" she said, and then the burglar cats ran for the window and were out faster than you can say Ming! The humans ran down into the basement and looked for the cats who had destroyed they're precious vase. One of the human children saw the ice crystal shape formed by ZigZag's small pieces of glass. The father was about to brush it all up, but ZigZag ran towards it and bit his hand. ZigZag now stood protective over the shattered glass. He could barely hiss, but tried nonetheless to seem at least a bit scary. The humans just scratched they're heads and moved upstairs again. "What was that about kiddo?" Eluna looked at her kitten with a tilted head. ZigZag sighed, he knew he couldn't tell his mother lies, and told his mother what had happened the last night. After ZigZag had finished his story they all went back to what they usually did. They were playing, fighting, singing, dancing, and alot of other things that Jellicles can, and Jellicles do. Quaxo and Eluna looked at each other. "How could our little ZigZag move those shards into so complex a figure? I don't think he has ever seen an ice crystal. And that story Alanzo told a couple a days ago, along with the incident in the kitchen. Do you think our kitten is blessed with some form of magic?" Quaxo remained silent for a second or so but then answered his life mate's question. "I was thinking the same Eluna. Maybe we had better tell it to old Deuteronomy, or Mistofelees for that matter. That would explain the incidents and ZigZag's eyes." Eluna nodded. Lets have breakfast and then we take them outside. They will need to learn just a bit more before the Jellicle Ball." She turned her head towards her children and said loud enough for them all to hear. "Children breakfast is ready!" The kittens gathered around and lay calm and relaxed as they got the best nourishment a kitten could possibly get, the milk given by a loving mother.

Chapter 2: The garden and beyond

After dinner the little family went upstairs again. The kittens were even more relaxed then the first time they had ventured upstairs, and they strolled through the living room. The lady of the house were still collecting the pieces of her prized ming vase, and didn't see Eluna, Quaxo or they're kittens, until Alanzo jumped onto the back of the crouched woman. "HA HA! Ihave you now!" he yelled in triumph. The lady gave a scream and got to her feet dropping the rest of her vase, demolishing it even further. Everyone was laughing except Eluna. She put her paw down so hard that even Quaxo stopped laughing, and yelled "ALANZO! Take your claws out of her sweater and come back here this instant!" Alanzo heard his mother through the noise and retracted his claws and was sent flying a meter or so, and landed in a lounge chair. He quickly jumped down and ran to his mother. He was hoping for protection from the, now very mad, human who stood before them. She had picked up a newspaper and was now rolling it up into a small club. Her sweater had not suffert to much damage but it was the shear shock that brought her anger down on Alanzo. Eluna first looked intensely at her house- lady for a second or two, which seemed to stop her for a second or two, but then Eluna turned quickly towards Alanzo. And in the same movement she brought her paw out for a hard clip round the left ear of Alanzo. He was sent crying to the floor, even though Eluna's paw almost didn't touch his ear. The human, seeing this punishment, didn't exercise her power (or what she thought was power) to harm the kitten in any way. Justice had come to pass. The little family recovering from the shock, returned to they're goal and wandered into the kitchen. Quaxo went over to the kitchen door and scratched the glass and wooden frame gently, not damaging it too much, and one of the kids came and opened the door. The kittens stood in awe of the vast amount of space that lay before them. They went out on the porch and down onto the grass. It was midsummer and it was warm. Everything was green, and butterflyes played in the morning sun. Julima examined the grass more closely. It looked so interesting that she tried to chew on it, but she didn't like it and spat it out. Unfortunately Alanzo stood next to her and got a mixture of spit, grass, and dinner leftovers onto his fur. He growled and without thought for himself or Julima, he jumped her and they played "Who's the strongest". ZigZag, Vendatiopat, and Pantomine went exploring in the nearby bushes. Some had thorns that seemed to bother everyone, except ZigZag. It was like they never even touched him, or if they did they went right through him without hurting him. They played hide and seek for and hour or so, but then Pantomine saw an opening in the large wooden fence that surrounded the back of the garden. She called over ZigZag and Vendatiopat. They all looked at they're parents. Quaxo and Eluna where lying in the sun enjoying each other's company, not seeing anything else but each other. The kittens looked at one another and giggled. They went closer to the fence. But suddenly Vendatiopat stopped. She looked at her sister and said, "I'm not sure this is such a good idea." ZigZag nodded. "Stop being such a scardy cat!" Pantomine had already from the early days after they're birth, stamped her authority as one of the second oldest sister. Even though she was only born 30 seconds after Julima, she was still the second in line and she was proud of it. "Come on you two. It'll be fun!" ZigZag looked back at his parents who still didn't see anyone else but each other, and then followed his big sister into the large hole in the fence. They found they're way through the bushes on the other side, and then looked at the new unexplored terrain. It was an abandoned garden. which appeared to be eternally captured in blissful summer. Everywhere flowers, trees, weeds, and other plants where growing out of they're places, making it a great jungle. Butterflies and mosquitoes the size of small birds constantly hummed in they're ears. Everything was blossoming giving the garden an enchanting smell. The kittens wandered into the wilderness following something that may once apon a time, been a cobbled path. They came to a small area with prettier flowers and in the middle a large fountain. A sudden rush of winds lifted a shroud of butterflies' from the flowers giving the small circle with the fountain an unnatural beauty. ZigZag's mind was pulled from time, and saw a two cats near the fountain. It looked like his mother and father, but younger. Maybe they were a bit older then the kittens themselves. Even though ZigZag had never been in love, he could tell that they were. Deeply.

"Let's play hide and seek!" Vendatiopat's voice broke the enchanting silence, and the two cats from ZigZag's vision disappeared. Pantomine and ZigZag looked at her and smiled. They looked at each other and said while poking Vendatiopat, almost knocking her over. "Your it!" They ran off before she could say anything. ZigZag ran next to Pantomine, but then she splitted and jumped onto a small tree and hid herself in the leaves. ZigZag ran further, and out of sight. He jumped into a small cluster of tulips and waited. He didn't have to wait for long. Somewhere behind him a growl penetrated the silence. ZigZag turned slowly. He first didn't understand what he was looking at. It appeared as two large tree trunks, but they had fur. ZigZag lifted his gaze to see where those trunks ended, but then he stared into another's gaze that was so frightening and angry, that it froze ZigZag's body, locking him in fear. He had accidentally disturbed a bulldog's sleep, and now it felt that he had to pay the price. The Pollicle lifted his right paw for attack. ZigZag could do nothing but stared at the giant creature that stood before him. "Oh no!" he thought, " This is the end. I'll never see mommy or daddy again, or my sisters, and Alanzo. I'm so scared!" he began to cry and curled up in and attempted to become a small as possible, hoping to avoid at least some of the blows that would surely come. The Pollicle's raised paw now came pounding towards ZigZag's little body, which shook with fear. But where the paw should have impacted, it just went through ZigZag like he was thin air. The dog, not giving up so easily, resumed his attack, but no matter how hard he hit or where he placed the beatings, none of them succeeded in doing any harm. He attempted to bit ZigZag's head oof, but to no avail. The dog was panicking. How could something that small survive a pounding of that sort? Its thoughts brought it to the conclusion that the kitten wasn't worth the effort of beating and the dog slowly turned and ran through a hole in a wire fence on the other side of the garden. ZigZag looked up and saw that the dog was gone. He had heard the pounding but never felt the blows. Still thinking about this weird incident, he returned to the game of "hide and seek" not knowing that he all the time had been under the watchful sight of 4 eyes. "Very interesting, this new kitten of Eluna certainly has potential." The voice belonged to a tomcat, whose fur coat matched his mates to perfection. "Indeed my love. Indeed." The two cats looked at each other and then dissapered from the garden. ZigZag found his sisters, who had already finished finding each other, and he told them about his unusual experience. They just laughed at him, shaking they're heads in disbelief. It simple sounded to surreal to them. They all agreed not to tell they're parents of this place. They wanted it to be they're own. The kittens wander farther into the garden. Following the cobbled path they came to a house. They had often seen the small towers just over the fence, and now saw it in all it's. yes well one could hardly call it glory. Most of the roof had collapsed, and wild plants and vines grew in and out of missing windows, tightening they're hold on the old house, thus degrading it even more. The front door was long ago fallen to the ground, and left the house wide open to friend or foe. The kittens stalked closer. The sky had turned dark and gray in just a few hours, and the rain now slowly fell to the ground. The kittens, which hated water like any other cat, ran to the entrance of the house. A small arch of lightning raced across the sky just a few miles away. A storm was on its way. "Well hello my dears." A sleek and scary voice slowly proclaimed behind them. The kittens screamed and scattered to the nearest hiding spots in the debris of fallen pillars and planks. Vendatiopat was the first to look. She looked slowly up over a fallen pillar, but saw nothing. "You are looking in the wrong direction little one." She looked up in the nearby window. It was an Egyptian shorthair. Or no hair for that matter, Instead of fur, his body was covered in black tattoos, that elegantly twisted and turned in and out of each other making the bearers body a work of art all by itself. And the body itself was little more then bones. The cat was skinny and the bones were visible under the gray skin. Vendatiopat swallowed something, and then attempted to sound tough. "Who.who are you!" The tattooed cat smiled widely at her showing all his teeth. Somehow the smile made every little hair on Vendatiopat's back stand on end. "A bold one, are we not?" His voice was now a bit twisted and scary. "Why do you ask so impolite questions? One should hardly ask about another's identity without first introducing one self, no?" Vendatiopat thought for a short while about the sentence. But before she could finish the thought, Pantomine interrupted. "Her name is Vendatiopat. Iam Pantomine, and this is our kid brother ZigZag." The tattooed cat looked at the kittens that had just come out of hiding. "Your little brother needs hardly an introduction, for his being is already know far about in the city. Everyone knows about ZigZag Eluna's son. Well, maybe not anybody, but if Iam not mistaken, most do." He jumped down from the window and sat majestically before them. He now appeared even thinner and scary. Some of his bones became even more visible underneath the gray skin. "I am Shasha, chesire cat and the master of this house." He continued to smile his uninvitingly scary smile. ZigZag just sat down on the porch. He was only a month old and already almost everybody knew who he was. "How do you know me sir?" The chesire cat turned against him slowly. ZigZag felt his courage leaving him faster then rats fleeing a sinking ship, and heard the chilling voice of the Egyptian cat. "I have seen you "playing" with your glass shards for weeks now. And your most impressive stunt with the dog just a few minutes ago, Ihave also seen. One would certainly not call these events normal, no?" ZigZag tried to remember. He had, one night, seen a pair of yellow eyes in the bush outside the basement window. He guessed that, it was the chesire cat. He attempted to gather some courage, and said. "Could we perhaps go with you inside? None of us likes being wet." The smile on the chesire cat became just a few millimeters wider. "You are most welcome my dears." The kittens hesitated for a second or so, but then they all jumped through the broken window and from there, down onto the old floor. The dust whirled up and then settled in the kittens' fur. A lightning ran across the sky and lit the room for a brief moment. The three kittens stood close, and frightfully looked around them selves. The room had one stairwell that spiraled upwards and dissapered in the ceiling, but also vanished downstairs into an unknown darkness. "Shall we?" The chesire cat's chilling voice scared the kittens, diminishing they're courage even more. They walked into the living room. The kittens scared looked around the almost extremely large room. Most of the furniture had sheets covering them, and cardboard boxes full of weird objects and artifacts were stacked in a corner. ZigZag could see light emanating from one of the boxes. He was to afraid to ask, and so just followed, and hoped that he could return once more to examine it further. Dust lay inch thick everywhere, and most of the walls where eaten up or broken. The wind and rain came rushing through holes in the windows, making the advantage of being inside, reduced to not having rain falling on your head. "This was my masters living-room. The crates over there are all that is left of his work. He was somewhat of a, scientist, in occult legend and myth. I woke up one day and I found him hanging from that lamp over there. He had an awful smell about him. I never really found out what happened to him. Some humans in white clothing carried him away, and I never saw him again. His work and everything in this house will become a mystery. No one will ever know what great things my master.ehm. "exercised". And that isn't that bad actually. For what is a world without mystery and enigma?" The kittens remained silent. Then ZigZag said to him self, nearly whispering "Without challenge." Shasha turned his head and stared at him. The smile dissapered in an instant. "What did you say ZigZag Eluna's son?" ZigZag, who appeared to have been starring into thin air, focused on Shasha, and said louder. "A life without mystery is a life without challenge." Shasha laughed a cold laughter. "And a life without challenges, is a life without meaning, yes?" ZigZag nodded now seeing that he had learnt something valuable. Shasha looked at the kittens. His face now wasn't so scary to look at. "I see that our little friend has learnt something, yes? Treasure this experience my dears. And remember what I has taught you. The storm is settling, and we can't have your parents being worried can we?" The kittens looked outside. By a strange twist of fate, the storm had almost past, and the sun now shone through the heavy clouds. They walked to the broken window from which they had entered the house and then turned to Shasha, and said almost with one voice. "Goodbye Shasha." The chesire cat's smile became wider. "This is not farewell my dears. I will see you all sooner then you think." The kittens smiled and jumped through the window and ran along the cobbled path until they reached the circle with the fountain. Quaxo was waiting for them. "Where have you kittens been?!?" His worried face made them all run faster towards him. "Your mother and I have been worried sick for you all! When we heard that dog bark, we ran to this garden. Never mind. All that is important is that you are safe. You know, we used to come here, your mother and me. It is the place to fall in love. Bear that in mind ZigZag and Alanzo. Trust me when I say that this place will come in handy someday. Now come on, its time for supper." They walked through the broken fence, and then ZigZag got a feeling that something was about to habben. He an image of Julima pouncing him from his right side, and as they got through the fence they almost immediately where jumped by Alanzo and Julima. Alanzo jumped to his father, attempting to catch him by surprise, but nonetheless didn't. His father caught him with a quick paw and threw him to the ground, sending him spinning through the bushes. Julima wanted to hit ZigZag, but she failed her pounce. ZigZag had with infeline speed moved and evaded her attack. His big sister flew in a low arch over his head. He just saw her surprised face when she hit the fence, breaking off some branches of the nearby bush, in which Alanzo still lay in. Quaxo began to laugh. "Nice one Alanzo. You'll surely become a great hunter. But what was that Julima?" He moved closer to her and picked her up from the bush. She was still a bit disorientated. "He must have seen me before I left the ground. I got distracted by this sudden turn of events, and forgot to land on my feet." She was clearly disappointed. "Don't worry about that my little hunter. It happens to the best. You are still young, and still have much to learn." Quaxo told his kitten and she nodded. "Now run inside kittens. Your mother is in the basement waiting with your supper. And tonight it's a surprise." The kittens kept begging they're father to tell them what it was, but he just smiled and walked into the house. The rain was beginning to drop once again, and the kittens ran after they're father. It was getting dark outside, as they went through the living room, which was now lit up with electric light. ZigZag stopped and observed a lamp that had been carelessly placed on a small table near a chair. He first attempted to look straight at it, but the light hurt his eyes and he was forced to look away. He strolled around the chair crouching down behind it. The kids of the human family looked at him in amusement. He jumped onto the chair and hid behind a pillow. The light bulb shone with a cold white light that attracted a small insect. The insect, though it had caught ZigZag's eye, didn't distract him from his real mission. He slowly climbed onto the small coffee table. Quaxo, having noticed that ZigZag was gone, had run back upstairs and into the living room. He looked around for his kitten and saw him trying to reach the lamp. "Don't touch it ZigZag! It's very hot!" His shouting was of no use to him. ZigZag didn't hear his father's voice before it was too late. He had now gotten himself all they way onto the little table and was just a few inches from the light bulb. He sat down, and reached out with a small white paw. Closer and closer. He made contact with the light bulb. The heat scorched his paw. He gave a cry of pain. The sound waves seemed to take shape around ZigZag looking like the heat near the pavement in summer. The tentacles, nearly invisible to the naked eye, lashed out from his tiny body and smashed each and every light bulb in the living room. The humans attempted to find they're way out into the kitchen. They all agreed that it must have been a lightning that had struck near the house and thus overloaded the electricity, but Quaxo knew what it was and jumped onto the small table and carried his kitten downstairs. The family had they're supper in silence except from the random thunder. The big surprise for the kittens was that they now had grown big enough to eat solid food. It toke the kittens 2 hours to eat the mouse they're mother had brought home, because they first had to find out what this weird dead thing was. Then they played with it until they're mother ripped the mouse into smaller pieces and asked them not to play with they're food and eat it instead. They aet, got sleepy, and fell asleep. They where all dreaming about the days adventures, but none of them expected what would happen the following night.

Chapter 3: The journey to the Jellicle Ball

The sun rose slowly over the mansion. The air was crisp and a bit chilly. The first rays of sunlight slowly crawled into the basement hitting ZigZag's body warming him. At first only a small scuffling around was visible in the heap of kittens and they're parents, but soon the entire family where moving to get into a more comforting position, thus resulting in Vendatiopat kicking Alanzo down from the rug. Alanzo had only just open his eyes before his sisters right paw came crashing into him and ZigZag woke by his brothers scream, only to see him disappear behind the rug. ZigZag stretched and smiled. Today was going to be special. He could feel it. He sat up and looked at Vendatiopat. She looked a little groggy at first, but then they both laughed. A sleepy voice sounded from the basement floor. "Not funny!" This not so convincing remark from Alanzo only helped the giggle fit to spread to Julima and Pantomine who now where awaken by the noise. ZigZag stood up and walked slowly towards the edge of the rug where his brother had fallen off. Alanzo was lying on his back and, while seeing ZigZags suppressed laughter, was trying to withhold a giggle fit of his own. He couldn't hold it any longer and burst into laughed. ZigZag laughed back and pounce his brother. They fought for about 5 min then clawed they're way up the carpet to they're mother who was waiting with breakfast. "Why do we have to eat the mouse mommy?" Alanzo said still chewing on the mouse. His mother smiled and said, "You will know when you have kittens of your own." Alanzo starred into the thin air for a second, and then resumed his chewing. ZigZag turned towards his father. He knew that something big was up but he couldn't determine what. He somehow was able to see what his father was thinking. It sounded like a small voice inside his head. "I hope they are ready for tonight." ZigZag thought for himself. "Id better not tell daddy or anyone else about this. If they don't know this, I can use this to tell if they are lying. "Where are we going today daddy?" he asked. Quaxo looked at him in surprise. He tried to hid it but to no avail. "We are going to a special place this evening. To a great ball, where all the Jellicles from the city will be." The kittens quickly chewed they're mouse and sat down before they're father to hear more. "Will Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer be there?" asked Pantomine and Vendatiopat almost with one voice. "I'm questioning they will, but you can never be to certain." He smiled. ZigZag sat up and asked almost pleading. "Will Shasha be there?" His father looked a bit distant as if he was judging the question. Then replied, "Maybe, I don't know. He's a weird cat. I can guaranty anything ZigZag." ZigZag looked down. Though he didn't know the aging cat well, he somehow wanted him to be there. What ever was going to happen that night was big and ZigZag knew. The kittens now feeling more comfortable with more then the basement wandered upstairs to find adventure. They stood in the hallway and looked around. "I wanna go into the kitchen again. I never found out what was in that big round shinny can." Said Pantomine, but her brothers and sisters rejected the suggestion, and Alanzo even tried to persuade them into going into the garden again, but that to was rejected. Then Julima pointed up on the stairs saying. "Why don't we go further up stairs? Let's finish exploring the rest of the house before we continue outside." The others nodded. She was somehow able to make almost everything sound very logical. They climbed the stairs and got to the 2end floor. It had a different tapestry then downstairs. Here and there someone had cut it out and replaced it with fresh bits. There where 4 doors. 3 where open and looked brand new, but the last one seemed more deteriorated then the others and had a strange smell around it. The kittens went into the nearest door which where on the right side of the hallway. It appeared to be the children's room. Toys of all shapes and sizes inhabited the room. Two beds near the walls, and a small triangular table in the middle. Vendatiopat yawned and jumped onto the table and from there onto the soft bed. "Mmmmm. This is even better then the rug in the basement." She yawned and went to sleep. Or at least tried to, because moments after she had fallen a sleep, Alanzo jumped her and they started fighting. The others where looking at all the strange toys, that sometimes moved when you touched them. At first they were all scared when a large red ball suddenly started to move all by itself. But they soon grew bolder and after some time the ball was just fun to catch. When they were finished roaming through that room, they went across the hall to the parent's bedroom. This room was somewhat large then the children's bedroom, because the parents didn't fill they're room with toys. On the walls a lot of weird stuff and small trinkets and other knick-knacks had been collected over the years. Exotic masks from Africa, small statues of gods from Egypt. Weapons from Japan and China. ZigZag and Julima went over to the small statues to study them, while the others played in the cloths basket. Julima and ZigZag jumped onto a small table near the parent's bed. A small line of statues made of ivory and with gold and black ornaments decorated the table. ZigZag noticed that the head of one of the statues where missing. He thought to himself "That's sad. All the other statues have heads, why not this one? I wish there was something I could do." He sat down, but suddenly jumped up. A voice seeming to come from every angel appeared from nowhere. It sounded like the echo of a thousand violins. "You can my child." ZigZag looked frighten around himself but to no avail. "Is something wrong brother" Julima worried asked. He focused on his sister. The voice was gone. He had been frightened of the voice at first, but as he thought the situation over, he rather liked the voice. It had been friendly not nasty at all. Julima went over to him and gave him a little poke. "Hey ZigZag! Are you sure you're alright?" She was now more persistent. ZigZag snapped out of his deep thought about the statue and said, "Yes I guess so sis. I just heard a voice from somewhere and.." He stopped and slipped again into deep thoughts. "And what, brother?" she asked. "Nothing, I guess. Nothing. I'm just tired. I think ill be going back down to mommy and daddy downstairs." She smiled and nodded. "Tell them that I will be watching Alanzo and the others. Just to reassure them. You know how they are." ZigZag smiled and said. "Sure I do. It's my mom and dad too you know." They licked each other's noses and ZigZag jumped down from the table and went out into the hallway. As he stepped out and headed for the stairs he heard a noise from behind him. It sounded like a pair of paws running up a couple of stairs. Actually it sounded more like two pairs of paws. It came from the old door at the end of the hallway. Zigzag got curious and snug up to the door and listened. He heard two faint voices that constantly finished each other's sentences. He couldn't make out the words, and his curiosity grew even bigger, so he attempted to open the door. It was closed shut. He couldn't jump high enough to reach the handle so he just sat down. "If only I could grab that handle." he thought to himself. He then got a strange feeling. A feeling that he could reach the handle from where he sat enriched him. This was new and somewhat scary for him, but nonetheless he reached up with a small black paw and got the feeling that he actually got a paw on the handle, even though it was far away from him. He pulled down, and the handle miraculously went down and opened the door. "How did I do that!?!" he thought to himself. He thought that the answer was somewhere up the moldy staircase that lay before him, so he carefully climbed the stairs, trying to make as little noise as possible. The air was moldy and old, and didn't smell pleasant. The voices were now closer. The draft from downstairs knocked some dust off one of the supports in the ceiling, and it hit ZigZags nose. He quickly wiped it off, but it was too late. He could feel the sneeze coming but couldn't prevent it. He sat down on the step and the sneeze knocked him down to the previous step. The voice's disappeared. ZigZag felt angry and disappointed, but nonetheless continued up the stairs. He went into a dark room only lit by a window in front of him. It was filled with stuff, much like that in the basement, even though this seemed to have been standing here for a lot more years then the basements stuff. It was all covered in dust and some of it was a bit moldy. He wandered into the middle of the room, all his muscles anticipating an attack every second. It never came. After he had been all over the addict he turned around disappointed not to find anything. He was about to go down the stairs again when they came. Two cats almost identical jumped out of nowhere to attack the kitten. ZigZag turned around and in the panic of fear struck out with his right paw. Somehow the tomcat was thrown from where he had been hanging in the air. He was thrown clear of all objects and landed safely on his paws a couple of meters away. The queen jumped onto a small pedestal. Her gaze penetrated ZigZag and looked at a small pair of scissors behind him. They flew off the counter like someone had thrown them at him. ZigZag saw this like he had seen Julima laying in ambush outside the garden. He somehow had already seen the scissors fly and was able to jump clear with a small toss to the side. The scissors flew into a circle and return towards its original target. ZigZag gathered all his strength and just yelled at it with his front paws extended towards it. "NOOOOOO!" From his paws two identical arcs of lightning, both of them purple, sought out the scissors and hit them with frightening precision. They where tossed into a wall where they got stuck. While this was going on the tom had made his way towards ZigZag once again. He pounced from a nearby chest and hit ZigZag with his paws. ZigZag was sent screaming across the floor, and before he could get to his feet, the tom was over him again. ZigZag was unprepared for this, and just before the tom hit ZigZag he was halted in the air. He first looked at his twin, the queen, but she was a dumbstruck as him. ZigZag was lying on the floor curled up and waiting for the attack that never came. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the tom hanging in the air. He somehow felt that he was connected to this, but couldn't determine how. It was like the handle. He could feel the tom as if he was holding him on that spot. As he thought, and moved focus from the tom, he was let down on the floor very gently. The tom then spoke to him. "Quiet impressive." the queen on the chest finished the sentence ".little one. We have been watching your progress. And we have determined.that you are fit for what is coming.for you this evening." ZigZag constantly looked in confusion from one cat to the other. How can they finish each other's sentences? Do they think as one or are they one? He thought to himself. The queen jumped down and joined her twin on the floor in front of ZigZag. "Excuse us for not introducing ourselves. We are Tantomile.and Coricopat." A familiar voice penetrated the dense atmosphere. "And you should have talked to Eluna or me first!" It was Quaxo. He was standing in on the doorstep looking a bit angry. ZigZag got to his feet and ran to his father. "They attacked me daddy!" he said hiding behind him. Quaxo looked intensively at the twin cats and said quiet and calmly. "Now. one of you will explain why you assaulted my child. And it had better be good." The two cats approached them silently and still moving identically. "We had to test him. to see if he was ready for the. upcoming event." Quaxo moved closer, the dust on the floor getting whirled up by his angry footsteps. "You should have said it to Eluna and I so that we didn't have to worry. Our other children heard all the commotion and got us to come up here. Eluna is waiting downstairs with the rest of our kids. Next time you well tell us before you pull a stunt like this. Clear?" the two cats looked at each other with the same slow and controlled manner as always. Then they focused at Quaxo and just nodded. "Then we will see you. and your wife tonight we suppose." Quaxo cooled of a bit. "Yes and we are bringing the kids along too. See you tonight then." They both went they're separate ways. Quaxo and ZigZag down the stairs. Tantomile and Coricopat went through the window in the addict. "Who were they daddy?" ZigZag asked now more curious then frightened. "They are the twin psychic cats, Tantomile and Coricopat. They always know what each other is thinking, along with everyone around them." Quaxo seemed to remember something. "Why did they attack me?" ZigZag asked after a while. Quaxo smiled. "You can ask them that yourself when you meet them in a few days. So they where coming to ball to, ZigZag thought to himself. "When will we be going daddy?" he curiously asked. He hoped it to be soon. "We just have to get your mommy and your siblings and we will be on our way. Where we are going is far away and we have to go see your aunt first. She knows the way." Quaxo said with a smile. "And ill make sure that Orion doesn't tease you again. Even though I don't think that he will after the way you threw him about the room." They jumped down the last steps and were rejoined with the rest of the family. Eluna checked to see if ZigZag was all right. She looked all over him and licked him. ZigZag looked at his mother. "Mommy stop that, I'm all right". Eluna stopped and smiled at him. "Just checking honey." ZigZag walked over to his siblings and told them all about what had happend in the addict. "No time for chit chat kids we have to go now or we will be late. We have to pick up your aunt on the way, so lets move it kids!" Eluna said loudly over the noise of kittens. They jumped down the stairs and instead of walking through the front door or the kitchen-door, they went out of the back door through a cat-door, which Eluna and Quaxo had done they're best to hide from they're kittens. There was no need for them to get into more trouble then they could handle. The room behind the stairs was a small one, where the family kept cloths in for drying, and in the corner was placed a refrigerator, a washing machine, and a tumbler. Alanzo sat down in front of the washing machine and followed a red sock as it moved in circles past the little window. Pantomine snug up and whispered with a seductive in his ear. "You are getting sleepy, very sleepy." Alanzo didn't react at first, but then he let himself fall to the ground gently, as if he had fallen a sleep. ZigZag jumped over to his brother and looked at him. He felt like he was inside his head and could hear every thought passing through. All he could hear was laughter. He smiled and said out loud. "At least he is not really asleep." Then he poked Alanzo with his paw, and Alanzo turned around and tried to stand up, but could barely stand because he was laughing himself silly. They went through the cat door and out into garden. It was on the left side of the house and it didn't look like the rest of the garden. This was where the woman in the house had her little kitchen garden, which was filled with everything from tomatoes to carrots. "This way kittens." Eluna said, and they walked out of the garden and onto the street. "Don't step onto the street unless told to okay kids?" Quaxo said to his progeny. They nodded, and stayed on the pavement. They were now entering the middle of London. The houses became more luxurious and great, and the people seemed to have very important business to attend to, because they all ran like something was after them. ZigZag looked up at one of them and said, "Where are you going? Hey I am talking to you! That is very impolite." The human just looked at him for a second or so and then looked at his watch and suddenly ran away. ZigZag walked up to his father and asked. " These humans are very impolite daddy. They just stare at you when you speak to them." Quaxo began to laugh. "Don't waste your time talking to humans. You know they can't speak." He smiled. "We are near Blimp's, and I just have to go talk to Bustopher about a thing and two, and then we will be off to your aunt Petunia, and from there, to the Jellicle ball. Ah, here we are." They stood outside a fine restaurant. It was highly decorated, and very nice to the eye. It had a sense of high-class around it, and ZigZag liked it. "I'll just go round the back. You can either stay here with your mother, or go explore the surroundings. If you do, don't go to far away. You can easily get lost here." Quaxo turned away from his kittens and jumped into the alley behind the restaurant. Alanzo, Pantomine, Julima, and Vendatiopat settled themselves near they're mother and tried to get some sleep. It was going to be a long day. Eluna had precausesly hidden her kittens away in the alley, so that no humans could interrupt they're sleep. ZigZag went further into the alley. It forked into three alleys in front of him. The one on the left was the one his father had taken. The one on the right was blocked by loads of crates that smelled awfully, so ZigZag continued his steady pace into the alley in the middle. As he walked there he got a feeling like he was being watched. It was like someone was there, but at the same time wasn't. "This is strange. Id better tell mom." He thought to himself. But just as he turned around he heard a scary and sarcastic voice behind him. "Now what is a little kitten like yourself doing out here all alone?" ZigZag twisted around and looked into the red eyes of a large, but skinny, tomcat. He was colored red with white markings zigzagging all the way from his head to his feet. ZigZag could see the lights around his body. They were like black fire, evil and sadistic. Before ZigZag could react the tom launched himself at him. ZigZag began to scream and from his paws shot two small lightning bolts. They hit the tom in his side sending him screaming for cover. He put a paw where his fur and some skin had once been, and launched himself at ZigZag again. "You will know endless torment! Nobody messes with Ma." He attempted to finish the sentence, but another overruled his voice. "Presto!" It wasn't an evil voice, it sounded nice but still sort of commanding. ZigZag was enveloped in light. He couldn't see where he was the light was too strong. Then suddenly it all ended. The light disappeared, and ZigZag found himself hanging half a meter over the ground in a junkyard. He only catched glimts of what was below him before he fell. It was other cats. "Catch me!" was all he could say before he slammed down on his back, right in the middle of the other cats. The air was knocked out of his lungs and he rolled over so he lay on his stomach. A gray cat walked over to ZigZag, who had curled up in a defensive position. Very small charges of static shot from ZigZag's fur and onto the ground. "And who do we have here? Are you alright kitten?" the voice was comforting and had a nice accent to it. ZigZag looked away from him before answering. Having learned his lesson from Petunia's kittens he didn't want the same thing to happen again. "Tell me your identity and I will reveal mine, sir" ZigZag said quiet. Being outside and faraway from home, he by reflex used his good manners. The gray cat laughed, and introduced himself. "My name is Munkustrap, and I am the head of this territory when our Elder is not around." ZigZag stayed down and sucked up all the new information. "Very well then. My name is ZigZag. Would you be so kind as to tell me where I am sir?" ZigZag got up, but still had his focus on the ground, as if he was expecting it to hide his eyes. Munkustrap looked at him curiously. "I thought it was impolite to not look at someone when you're talking to them." He was refined enough to evade saying anything directly about ZigZag's eyes. ZigZag attempted to evade the question. "I don't know what you are talking about sir." ZigZag sunk deeper into his position. "Don't worry we wont harm you. I want to help you." Munkustrap said with a smile. To ZigZag, this new cat didn't seem to have evil intentions, but still how could he know for sure? Didn't Orion seem nice? At least he wouldn't try to tease ZigZag again, after he threw him into that rug. How he did it he still pondered from time to time, but couldn't find out how no matter how hard he tried. "Don't be shy, I won't hurt you, I promise. Now, do you mind looking at me?" Munkustrap said still smiling. ZigZag's thoughts raced through his head. Some said, "Grow up and look him in the eyes!" others inclined him to run away and disappear, but somehow they got drowned and didn't affect him much. His curiosity overcame his fear, and he closed his eyes and lifted his head. Then, with the thought that this could be the end, he opened his eyes wide. He could now see the tom in person, along with the cats around him. One of them, a queen, how could well enough be ZigZag's age stared at him in curiosity. He resented this. Staring was rude, and especially when she just stared him into his eyes like that. Static emitted from his body, and he stared back ad her. "What are you looking at?!?" ZigZag said hard and clearly annoyed. Munkustrap walked in between ZigZag and the small queen. "Relax, she didn't mean to offend you, she was just curious. And Jolina, please. To much at once will only frighten him." He stepped away and ZigZag saw the queen walking towards a nearby alley. Her lights were flickering a bit sad. ZigZag thought to himself. "Did I really mean to do that? I shouldn't have, that was rude. And she didn't even seem intent on teasing me." He got up from where he had been sitting and ran over to her before she could disappear. "I'm sorry, my lady. It was rude of me to do so. My name is ZigZag, do you have a name?" She turned towards him, now being more careful then before. "I'm Jolina." "What a nice name." He thought to himself. "Please don't leave. I. I didn't mean to bite your head off, again sorry. Friends?" She first looked at him in mistrust, but she then gave him a head butt and said with a small smile. "Friends." They walked back to the gathering, which still seemed a bit shaken by this new event. Munkustrap, who had been talking to a rather moldy looking queen, now turned towards the two kittens. "Now, ZigZag, can tell me how you got here." ZigZag sat down and explained his story with fine and elegant words. How a red tom had scared him, and how he had been mysteriously transported to this place. When Munkustrap heard about the red tom, he got uneasy. "Was it the red tom who said "Presto!"? ZigZag wasn't in doubt. "No. The one who said "presto" had a nice voice. The other was seductive, commanding, evil."

Munkustrap thought for a moment. "It could have been our young conjuror Mistofelees." ZigZag looked at him in disbelief. "A conjuror? Pray tell about this Mistofelees." ZigZag said, and sat down. The static from his body had dissipated, and Jolina wasn't far away. "He is all black, and has magical powers, which he uses to amaze and entertain. Both himself and others, for that matter." ZigZag remembered something about a black tom that had saved him from the frying pan Pantomime carelessly had pushed over the kitchen counter. He looked up at Munkustrap, and said thoughtfully. "Yes, I remember him. He once saved me from getting hit by a large frying pan. He said something about, that it was too late for me to get into trouble." ZigZag could see that Munkustrap was thinking. He tilted his head and looked curiously at him. "What are you thinking sir?" "That does sound like our young conjurer. He has done that kind of things before." Munkustrap said slowly and thoughtfully. "But I still can't figure out why he did it. It's not like him to bring a kitten to the junkyard. Anyway, tell me more about this red tom." Behind ZigZag, a white kitten snuck up on him. She was small and delicate in her appearance. She was white with golden paws. "Do you want to hear a secret?" she whispered energetic in his ear. ZigZag got frightened and turned around with almost infeline speed. He reached out with a scared paw and a force, looking like heat on a pavement on a hot summer day, pushed the small white kitten away and pinned her to the ground. ZigZag realized what he had done, and quickly tugged his paw in. "Oh, I'm so sorry my lady, I really didn't mean to." He ran over and picked her up. She was smiling as he picked her up. "Neat trick." She said and stood up rubbing her arm where a bruise was starting to form. "You're a mystic too?!? I'm Reseda." ZigZag looked at her in disbelief, but nonetheless toke her hand and kissed it like a real gentleman. "I'm ZigZag, my lady."

The day went with ZigZag talking to Munkustrap about everything in between heaven and earth. Munkustrap had told ZigZag about the Jellicle Ball, and that had given him hope that he would soon see his parents again. ZigZag had been shown around the Junkyard, and even given a small room. All the time Jolina had curiously been around ZigZag any chance she got. When he was not looking, she was looking at him with a mysterious gaze. She observed him with interest, but kept her distance. The night slowly enveloped them in a cloak of darkness. Many of the kittens had already gone to bed, and the grownup cats were sitting quietly talking to each other about the upcoming annual Jellicle ball. ZigZag had stowed himself away in a quiet corner, to get some peace. "It's nice here" he thought to himself "Even though I miss my family, I know they will be here in a matter of days, and nobody is teasing me." He sat and looked at some small pieces of junk. "Maybe I can do the same to these things like I did with the door handle in the addict. He looked intensively at them. He concentrated on a tin can, wishing that it would move. The tin floated for a few seconds, then it flew at him with high speed and hit him in the head. He tipped over and looked up, taking a paw up to his sore head. "Miauch. that hurt. Well at least it worked." He attempted again and now he had more control, and actually stopped the tin from hitting him. After a while he could juggle with 2, then 3 pieces of junk. ZigZag got bold and wanted to try more. "I wish there was somebody else here. Reseda would be helpful since she knows about magic, but then again I would rather see Jolina here. I like her; she's so kind and nice. And if Alanzo was here i'm sure he would agree that she is beautiful. Beautiful as the." His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of feet. It was Jolina. She was standing near the entrance to the small closed-off area. The moonlight hitting her face making her more beautiful the ever. "Good evening my lady. I didn't see you there." He smiled at her, and stood up. She smiled back at him. -Good evening ZigZag. How are you tonight? -I'm fine you? -Just the same, I guess. What are you doing?" She looked at the bumps in his head, and giggled to herself. "Nothing really, i'm just. eh .. No, you would just think it's boring if I told you." She sat down besides him and gestured for him to sit beside her. "No really, tell me." He stood for a second, and then joined her on the ground. "I am attempting to levitate these pieces of junk. After I pushed Reseda to the ground I sort of got an idea on how to do it, without getting scared first." He gave her a wide smile. She laughed, and asked. "So can you read others mind and stuff like that?" ZigZag sad and stared into the thin air for a second. "I don't know. I might have sometimes but it was not intentional my lady." She laughed again. Her laughter was like music to ZigZag's ears, and her face was like that of a goddess when she laughed. He then noticed a scar on her cheek, but decided not to push that button. "I trust that you won't hurt me. You don't seem like that kind of person. And please, call me Jolina. I'm to special to be called my lady." He looked deep into her eyes. "But you are special." He thought to himself. He gave her a sort of tilted smile, and said. "Alright then, ehm. Jolina. If you trust me I will give it a try. If I hurt you I will not be intentional." She nodded. He looked deeply into her eyes once again and then closed his own. He put his paws on either side of her small head. He could feel her presence. It was a warm and comforting feeling. She really did trust him. He toke a deep breath, and reached out of his body. It wasn't that difficult, given that he could feel her and that she was so open minded. He thought of saying something to her in his thoughts, trying to address them to her. "Jolina? Can you hear me?" His heart pounded. Would she, or could she answer? Or would the nagging silence just grow thicker. He waited for what seemed like an eternity, and then it came. "Yes I can." She replied. "This is amazing. I just heard your voice inside my head. All I have to do is think and you can hear me! Incredible." She continued. ZigZag then thought of what might happen if others knew. "Jolina, I would appreciate it if you didn't tell the others. If they where to know that I can read others minds, I would seem untrustworthy, because I can just read they're thoughts without they're permission." She agreed, and they broke the telepathic contact. ZigZag caught glimts of a thought racing through her head. "Should I tell him, or not?" What she was or was not going to tell him about he couldn't tell. Should he ask her or just let time pass and reveal it self. He stood between the choice of truth and silence. He chose the one that appealed the most to him. Truth. "Jolina. I couldn't help catching a thought in your head. It said something about to tell me or not. Not to be probing in you personal business, but tell me what?" She looked away. Her smile had fainted, and she looked embarrassed. Then she looked him straight in his eyes, and said fast and without pause. "I really like you and I hope you like me too but then again I am just being silly and I also wanted to know you better before I got carried away and got myself a broken heart yet again." She looked away, a tear falling down her left cheek. He sat down surprised. "Wow. that was new." He said absently. His feelings were going haywire. How should he react? What should. or could he do? He had too been throwing her eyes when she was not looking, and at the moment she turned towards him again, he would look away. He still sad besides her, not noticing that they were both blushing heavily. He then came to confession. "I have also been watching you Jolina. I think you are very nice and a very beautiful girl. And I would *sigh* I would love to get to know you better." He looked at her. " And I will try not to break you heart." He gave a small smile. She looked at him. From her expression you could tell that she was surprised, and happy. "You really mean it?" she asked, not in disbelief but just to make sure. "Yes." He replied and smiled. She energetically embraced him, but then realized what she was doing, and embarrassed let him go. "Sooo. how do you suggest we do this? Should we just sit here and chat, or do you have something in mind. I don't." she asked anticipatingly looking at him. He was thinking about the garden behind his home, but then he remembered that he didn't know how to get there from where he was. He seemed to recall have spotting a park near the junkyard and saying. "If you meet me near the towers made form tires we'll go on a date, ok?" He smiled at her and she did too. She then walked closer and wanted to know more. "What kind of date?" ZigZag had no idea what to do or tell her, so he tried to evade the question. "You will see. Meet me at the tires tomorrow night and ill have everything set, ok?" She nodded and smiled. "Its getting late, and I'd better get back to my room. Goodnight ZigZag." He made slight bow and kissed her hand. "Good night my lady. Oh sorry. Jolina." They both smiled and departed for they're sleeping chambers, both anticipating the next night's event. Jolina, ZigZag could tell, was exited and happy. He on the contrary had to find a way to set up a date.

Chapter 4: Reseda and the Jellicles

ZigZag woke up with the sun shining gently in through the entrance to his sleeping chamber. He had been given it for, as Munkustrap said, "temporary accommodation" which meant it wasn't a place he would have for good. It was a room that those who only passed through used to sleep in. It was well used. He could tell on the countless claw marks on everything from other cats sharpening they're claws, along with the well-used sheets in the corner where he had slept. He stretched and got up. He yawned and went outside. Birds were singing and the sun warmed his little body. He thought of what he was going to do today. He had to find someone to help him with the date the following night. But who was he to ask? He wandered through the junkyard. Junk was spewed everywhere and ZigZag found it to be comforting and protecting. It was full of hiding spots as he soon found out. Because when he was wandering through the yard, a young kitten, named Etcetera, surprisingly attacked him. She jumped out of nowhere and grappled him, pulling him to the ground. Her energetic voice was so high pitched, that it almost hurt his ears. "Hi, im Etcetera! Who are you?" She had pinned him to the ground. He slowly and tryingly attempted to talk. "Im ZigZag. Ahm... Pleasure to meet you. Now can I stand up?" She nodded energetically and removed herself from him. "Wow, where can I get eyes like that?" ZigZag looked at her. "I don't suppose you can. You wouldn't want them, trust me." She mocked over it for a second or two, but then lit up again. "Are you coming to the Jellicle ball too? I heard that everyone is going!" Etcetera quickly continued. ZigZag nodded. She walked closer. "Soooo. do you have a date to go to the ball with ya?" She nervously asked. "Yes, im sorry." ZigZag lied. He could see that the little queen was disappointed. "..but I think I saw a handsome young tom that way." He smiled at her, well knowing that the chance of her actually finding a tom that way was minimal, but now she at least had the hope to cling on to. "Thanks!" she quickly said and then she ran off. He laughed a bit and then wandered further into the junkyard. He came to a large open area where he could see two cats, a tom and a queen, doing a double cartwheel together. They looked almost exactly like each other. They finished the cartwheel, and as they stood there, ZigZag thought that they looked familiar. He might have seen them somewhere before, and then he realized who it was. "Oi 'elloi kitten!" It was queen. She began to giggle, and the tom hushed her to silence. "'Elloi, your Eluna's kitten roight? Oi's be Mungojerrie, and 'is be moi sista, Rumpleteazer, or jus' Teaza for short." ZigZag walked closer and shook the tom's paw. He then toke the queens paw and kissed it. "Pleasure to meet you my lady." Rumpleteazer attempted not to get into a giggle-fit again. "Weo' Oi think we've got a reol gentleman 'ere, dun we?" She looked at her male counterpart. They both smiled. "Let me teach yoi a trick, ay?" the tom said, and leveled with ZigZag, so he could look him straight in the eyes. "Look a' this 'ere coin, rioght." ZigZag nodded and watched as the tom held a coin between to extended claws. Mungojerrie smiled at him, and then moved his paws so quickly that it was hard for ZigZag to follow. Suddenly the coin was gone, and Mungojerrie held out his paws in fake surprise. "Where di' id' goi?" ZigZag was puzzeling. Where had the coin gone? Mungojerrie then finally said something. "Oi fink oi knoi where it wen'" he reached behind ZigZag's ear and pulled out the same coin. ZigZag was simply amazed. "How did you do that sir?" the tom leaned in and said secretive, "Magic. Is caoud street magic, kitten" The coin disappeared yet again from Mungojerrie's hand. ZigZag then remembered who it was. It was the two cats that had tumbled down the stairs case in his home. He missed home, and his family. A small tear fell from his face onto the ground making a little wet spot. The queen noticed this, and walked over to him. "Hey, wha'sa matta?" She put her arm around him. He could feel her energy. It was a new feeling to him. He had rarely been in close contact with others then his family, and they all appeared the same tom him. This was different. It had a warm and comforting, but also a happy and notorious feel to it. ZigZag liked it. He wiped his eyes and looked into her eyes. "Nothing my lady. I'm fine." ZigZag then got the idea. Why not ask Mungojerrie how to date a girl. "Mungo?" ZigZag asked. "Wha?" the tom said with his thick Cockney accent. ZigZag pulled the tom away from Rumpleteazer, and asked almost whispering, "I need some help. You know, with. ehm.eh girls. You see there is this girl that I really like, and I sorta asked her out on a date, and told her that I would make the arrangements. But I have no idea on how to set up a date." Mungojerrie's smile became wider the more the kitten explained his situation. "Weuv, Oi 'ave never dattet a geovl, so Oi don't knoiw what to do. Why don't you ask one of the other kittens, loike Electra, or Exotica. Or moibe Memoire or Reseda. You remember Reseda, roight?" ZigZag nodded. He remembered clearly the kitten, whom he had thrown to the ground. Mungojerrie continued, "Oi think youi should ask 'er fir advice. She's maiybe a bit olda then youi, but Oi figure tha' she knois a bit abou' dating." Rumpleteazer nodded. ZigZag agreed. I would probably be easier to talk to someone around his own age. He said farewell to the notorious bugluar cats and found his way deeper into the junkyard. He saw cats and kittens of almost every shape and size. They all seemed nice and welcomed him in theyre home. Even though everyone was nice to him, he didn't forget that his family was still out there in the city. He had no idea when they would show up. A little tear fell from his purple eyes and made a little crater in the soft dirt. "Are you ok?" ZigZag spun around. The voice belonged to Reseda. ZigZag quickly wiped away the tear and looked at her with a smile. "Hi Reseda, I was just looking for you." She sat down on the ground, gesturing for him to sit. He placed himself in a descent distance away from her. Her voice was pure and clear. She could only be a great singer, no doubt there. "So ZigZag, what is up." ZigZag slowly began to explain his situation. "You see, there is this girl. and" He was able to think it but couldn't get the words to follow the thought through his mouth. Reseda nodded with a miscaveous smile. "I get it, you want know if she likes you right?" ZigZag quietly answered, "No, I was actually going to ask you on how I can. ask her out on a date. I know it sounds silly, but I have no experience in that field." Reseda looked surprised. "So it's you, Jolina have been going around talking about. She never mentioned your name." Reseda was drawing breath for a new sentence. ZigZag was quick and cut her off. "And I am guessing that there is a reason that she haven't, so please don't mention it to everyone else." She nodded, and continued "I figured. So I guess this has to be a special evening right?." She smiled. "And as I have experienced up close, you too are gifted with magical powers right?" ZigZag looked at her, himself looking like one big question mark, "What do you mean with "too"?" She laughed. "I too have powers, and I am learning to use them. Mistofelees is teaching me, but I think you'll learn more about this in a nearby future. Speaking of which, Misto is going on rooftop run later this week. You are welcome to join in. It's dangerous to those who dosent have magical powers." She paused and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I am straying from the subject. You and Jolina's date. Right, here is what you will do." They spent an hour discussing how ZigZag should behave, and what he should do. Reseda suggested that he tried to impress Jolina with his powers. She ran to a trunk and pulled out a carpet. "Now watch closely. It isn't that hard to do this, but it still requires a large part of your concentration." She fanned the carpet out on the ground and kept a paw on one of the corners. ZigZag could see that her lights was retracting and growing, and her face and eyes revealed that she was focused on what she was doing. She then suddenly pulled the carpet away. "Tadaaa!" She smiled. She had succeded in creating a banquet of food. All her favorit foods were piled in a heap. She toke and apple out of the pile and said, with apple now in her mouth. "Anf is eafable at the schame time." ZigZag laughed. "Amazing, how did you manage to pull that off???" His amusement was hardly disguised. "I was sorta thinking the food into this world. It's a pretty nifty trick when you can't finde anything to eat. But its drawback is that it dissaperes after and hour. Even the food you have already eaten. But it can save you in the long run." ZigZag was amazed beyond anything he had ever seen before. "Is that how our magic works?" he asked. Reseda looked at him, tilting her head from side to side. "I don't know about yours, but mine work that way I guess. I think that you should try this at your date tonight. It will impress her a lot I think." ZigZag silently agreed. He thanked her for the advice. Now, it couldn't go that bad. After Reseda had left he attempted to copy her trick. He didn't succed the first 5 times but then at last the food appeared. ZigZag aet some of it, but after half an hour it disappered and he got hungry again. He still had a few hours before the date so he continued to explore the junkyard. He stumbled upon a great many cats, and they all seemed nice to him. His confidence had arisen, and he was no long as shy as he used to be after the incident with Orion. He still wondered from time to time what had happent to him after Petunia had gotten home with him and his siblings, but he quickly pushed it away. He didn't care much for Orion. Who would after the treatment he gave him.

ZigZag now entered the inner sanctum of the junkyard. Here, the activity was overwhelming. Entire groups of cats were practicing dance moves and acrobatics, to prepare for a show they would perform at the upcoming Jellicle ball. "Jellicle cats meet once a year, at the Jellicle ball where they all rejoice. And the Jellicle Leader would soon appear and make what is know, as the Jellicle choice. For waiting up there is the Heavysidelayer, full of wonders one Jellicle only will see." It was Munkustrap who was practicing his speech for the ball. ZigZag went over to him. "Hello sir." The large grey and black cat turned his face to look at the kitten. "Good day ZigZag. Did you sleep well?" ZigZag nodded. "So, ZigZag, I hear that you are going out with Jolina, right?" ZigZag looked surprised at him. "Where did you hear that?" he asked. The grey cat laughed. "Word travels fast here, so if something is a secret, then everyone knows of course." ZigZag thought for a moment. "Does that include that everyone knows who I am?" He looked around. A small group of female kittens quickly turned away giggling, and continued theyre practice. Munkustrap nodded. "They all know, not because they evesdrop, but because I told them. It is just so that you don't get caught for trespassing or anything like that. Oh, and by the way, my daughter Memoire has asked if she could see you. She is such a curios soul." ZigZag couldn't see the harm in that, and walked with Munkustrap to a quiet corner of the junkyard. ZigZag could see the faint aura of two cats through the debris. But he also saw another one. It was different somehow, and it didn't appear like the others. It was more bright and clear. Even through the debris. The entered a small area where a queen and her kitten were playing. Or you could call it playing, because the queen was just lying there while her kitten was playing on her. "Demeter, Memoire." Munkustrap called to them. The little kitten, which seemed younger then ZigZag, saw her father and ran to him smiling and giggling. She threw himself at her father almost knocking him over. Munkustrap laughed and cuddled his kitten. "ZigZag, may I introduce my kitten Memoire." The kitten looked at ZigZag with wide eyes. "Hewow." She said with a small frail voice, which seemed to have problems pronouncing "hello". ZigZag sat down and looked at her. She was a small calico kitten with one green and one purple eye. ZigZag attempted not to pay heed to her eyes, because he knew what it was like being teased about them. "Hello Memoire, I am ZigZag. Pleasure to meet you." The little queen looked at him with great intrest, and with her little voice, she proclaimed, "You are nice." She got shy and pressed herself against her father. "She is adorable isn't she?" Munkustrap asked with a smile on his face. ZigZag nodded, but then his mind was caught sight of something. The aura he had seen through the junkpiles came flying towards him. Before it hit him, his mind brought him back to where Munkustrap had just finished the sentence "She is adorable isn't she?" It was like he had been shot fourth in time just a brief amount of seconds. Then it came again, but now ZigZag knew what was going to happen and threw himself out of the way. Out of a puff of black and white smoke, a cat came into existence. It landed with grace behind ZigZag. ZigZag quickly spun around to confront the new cat. "Precognitions. Impressive, I must say. Munkustrap will you allow me to introduce myself?" Munkustrap nodded with an even wider smile on his face. The new cat, which appeared almost entirely black, bowed at ZigZag and said with a voice that would send girl hearts crashing and burning. "I am Mistofelees, conjure of the Jellicles. And you I presume must be ZigZag." ZigZag nodded. This cat, he could remember too. It was the same cat that had saved him from the frying pan Pantomine had shoved off the kitchen counter. ZigZag almost forgot his maners, and just nodded, with his mouth standing open. How could he know all this? "Yes I am ZigZag. Are you the magical cat they are all talking about?" Mistofelees laughed and said with a smile on his face, "Yes well, I can hardly mask that now can I. I am the magic cat. Reseda told me that you would like to go on a roof top run with us. You are aware of the risk aren't you?" ZigZag got back in his maners, " No sir, I am not. She just told me that it wasa dangerous to those who do not posses magical abilities." Mistofelees nodded and continued, "It is dangerous. The jumps are several meters long and the distance we are landing from is also several meters. It is dangerous. But you seem capable, so feel free to join us. Its on Saturday night, just out side the eastern wall of the junkyard. Now if you will excuse me, I have matters to attend to. I have to practices my magic show. Good day to you all." ZigZag watched as the black cat disappeared in a puff of smoke like the one which he had appeared. Munkustrap looked at the sun which was going down. "ZigZag. I think you should go and talk to Tantomile and Coricopat before you leave. They know a thing or two about the city. They can help you to get to where you need to go unseen, by both humans and Pollicles." ZigZag nodded, and said good bye to Munkustrap and his family. He moved through the junkyard, full of joy and excitement. As he passed the middle of the junkyard, where the all the cats had theyre training sessions in the day, he stopped. He felt like he was being watched. He looked around but couldn't see anybody. Then a voice that seemed to change origin almost constantly sounded around him. "Good evening.. ZigZag Eluna's son. We have been..expecting you." From a shadow strode Tantomile and Coricopat. The moved like mirror image of oneanother, and as always finished each others sentences. "Wee know. why you search for us." ZigZag turned to face them His trust in those two had diminished somewhat after they had attacked him in the addict. He spoke to them in a controlled voice. He was expecting another attack, but the twin terpsegorian cats just walked up and sat down infront of him. They gestured for ZigZag to sit with them, and he slowly, while still having eyecontact, sat down. "Why did you attack me in the addict that day?" that question had been on his mind the past few weeks. It had been sitting in the back of his head like a splinter, gently proding to his curiosity. The two cats looked at each other. "We needed to test you. We had to be sure that you were able to handle the events of the future. But enough of that boring topic. You want advice on the city, yes?" ZigZag nodded in compliment. "Yes please. I would like my date to be a quiet and safe place. And romantical if it is possible." He smiled at them in joke. "Hope I am not asking for to much?" The twin cats looked at him in disapproval. "We do not like your tone. Please do respect that we are trying to help you. Don't forget that fact." ZigZag nodded in apolagi. He wasent to fond of the two cats, but there was no need to be rude. "There is a place not fare from here that will meet your "requirements". It is a park to the south of here, and it is called Kensington park. There you will be alone. And speaking of this date, you are running late." ZiZag looked at the moon which had arisen in just a few minutes. It had the usual bluish tint to it, and the light now fell softly everywhere, only dispersed by distant clouds. He smiled as he ran towards the southern border of the junkyard where Jolina was expecting him. His heart was full of exitment, and his body was shivering just a little bit.