As soon as Mistoffelees' head hit the pillow that night, he was sound asleep.

He was in a very dark place. Looking around for a landmark, Mistoffelees spied a light on in a window far above him. It had to be Victoria's! Nothing would be better than to be with Victoria right now. She would be able to sooth his fears and tell him how wonderful he was. He tried to reach out with his power to try to fly up to her, but it still wasn't working! Mistoffelees cursed under his breath. Even in his dreams his power wouldn't respond to him. He would have to try harder. Running to the base of a large rubbish pile, he dashed to the top of it, as he had twice before. When he got to the peak, he felt wind in his fur, but rather than him flying toward Victoria, the ground was flying toward him! He screeched as he hit the ground and fell through a weak spot in the garbage.

When he looked around this time, he was in an underground mine of sorts. The walls were pressed dirt, and the ceiling was held up with crude wooden boards. The only source of light was an old miner's lantern hanging from a hook in the ceiling, gobbling down its last drops of oil. It wouldn't last much longer.

There was one other thing in the room, but it was hidden in shadow. Mistoffelees peered at it, trying to make it out. All he could see was a high dome of fur. Suddenly, it opened its eyes and stepped into the light. MACAVITY! But somehow, the danger of Macavity didn't seem so pressing right now. Figuring how to fix his magic was more important (dream logic, go figure). Mistoffelees sneered at the ginger cat and asked, "What do you want?"

The corners of the evil cat's mouth twisted up and his eyes narrowed. It took Mistoffelees a moment to realize that he was smiling. Odd, how a smile seemed so foreign on Macavity's face. Then again, maybe it wasn't so odd. "Only to help you, Mistoffelees," Macavity answered. "I know you're having problems, and I can help."

"Yeah, right. Like you would know." Mistoffelees rolled his eyes, turned his back on Macavity, and tried to bring sparks to his fingers again. Where did he get off, trying to help Mistoffelees like that? Macavity couldn't possibly know what he was going through. His father was mad at him, his best friend was skeptical of him, and he may never fly with his beloved kitten ever again! If he could just fix his magic, all would be well once more. But as hard as he tried, no sparks came to his fingers. He cursed and pouted to no one but himself.

A furry paw came down on his shoulder. Mistoffelees snarled, but did not pull away. "I know lots about you, Mistoffelees. And I know that you're trying too hard." Mistoffelees turned to face him, raising an eyebrow. He went on: "Magic is simple. You need to let it take its course. Trying too hard only aggravates it. Relax, see?" Mistoffelees stared as a quick flash of light leapt between the fingers of Macavity's open hand, and another, then another! Soon an entire lightning storm surrounded the paw of the evil tom. Macavity smirked. "All you have to do is relax and let the magic let it go where it wants."

Mistoffelees grimaced. He supposed Macavity should know what he was talking about, but he didn't trust the Hidden Paw. However, anything was worth a try if it might bring his power back to him. With Macavity breathing down his neck, he took a deep breath and relaxed. Closing his eyes, he fell into a dreamy state. There was his power, running through him, just waiting to be used. It streamed into his fingers. The lamp in the mine went out, but Mistoffelees didn't notice. His concentration was fixated on the flow of electricity in his paws. When he opened his eyes, he was amazed at the lightning storm that danced between his fingers, enveloping his paws in white light that lit the entire cave as bright as day. The power sizzled through his veins and up his arms to fill him with a glory of white fire until he thought he would faint. His power had never felt this intense before! It excited him, and made him forget the rest of the world! Nothing was as great as being at the center of his Power!

Macavity's soft hiss penetrated his thoughts. "It feels wonderful, doesn't it? That's how it should be. You don't need anything else. Nothing else matters. Not friends, not family. Nothing should keep you keep you from always feeling this way."

The lightning blazed brighter. Of course, Power made him feel ecstatic! Of course nothing else mattered! Why should anything keep him from being in the center of his Power, when it was his to control! Nothing else mattered!

Not even Victoria?

Mistoffelees suddenly sat in the dark; his lightning had vanished. Victoria mattered. Alonzo mattered. Things did matter.

But the Power had felt so good!

No! Other things did matter! The Jellicle Ball mattered. Playing with his friends mattered.

But the Power had felt so good!

As this internal argument raged, Macavity uttered, "I know what it's like, Mistoffelees. I was once as you are. Unsure of myself. But I learned to trust the magic. Don't try to control it. Let it lead you."

Mistoffelees wasn't even listening. He was in an uproar, parts of him telling him one thing, others saying something completely different. Macavity's voice was just one more thing telling him another way. All the different voices made a maelstrom of noise in his harried head. He closed his eyes and held his paws to his ears to try to block out the noise.

"STOP YELLING AT ME!"

When Mistoffelees opened his eyes, he was alone in his little box in the moonlit junkyard. Unsure of whether or not his final cry had actually been audible to the real world, he ventured a peak out of his bed. No one was around, and he couldn't hear anything. Relieved, he started to fall back asleep, when the reality of the dream hit him. Suddenly, everything that had happened was as real as if he had been awake the entire time. His power had come back to him! Or at least, it had in his dream. Could it work in real life?

Hurriedly, he tried to bring lightning to his fingers again, but it was in vain. Nothing happened. He scowled. But wait. If what Macavity said was true, maybe he could still use his power. Closing his eyes, Mistoffelees relaxed, and entered that dreamy state a second time. He felt, rather than saw, the energy in his fingertips. It pooled around them to create small sparks that lasted even when he opened his eyes. Only the thought of waking every Jellicle in the city kept him from caterwauling right then and there.

Magical Mr. Mistoffelees was back!

Mistoffelees was so engrossed in his ecstasy that he didn't notice a swift flash of red and black leaving the junkyard, cackling softly to itself.

A/N: Wow, you guys must be psychic! Seems like everybody guessed that Macavity had something to do with it. Well, you were all kind of right! And don't worry, it gets SO much better as it goes on. As I read over this (and I remind you I wrote it about four months ago), I hated to see how terrible my writing style was back then (only four months ago...yeah, I'm pathetic). But please stick around for the exciting conclusion (even though I'm still not quite sure what it will be yet; oh well, I have a good idea in mind)! (And the quicker you guys put up reviews, the quicker I'll put up more chapters!)