yay! new chapter! enjoy:

Confusion settled over Mistoffelees like a fog as he blinked, trying to figure out where he was. He was in some kind of enclosed space, bigger than his box, but not much. There was also too much light for it to be his box. Whatever he was in, it had windows. He was lying down on some kind of cushion, and for some unintelligible reason, he was all wet!

The fog dispersed as he looked up and saw Jennyanydots and Munkustrap standing over him. The former appeared concerned; the latter appeared angry. The sight of Jennyanydots made him realize where he was, and that of Munkustrap made him remember why he was there and why they would need to pour water on him.

"Oops."

"Yes, 'oops'." Munkustrap said, without a hint of humor. "Let's go."

They climbed out of the rusty old car that served as a sort of hospital for the junkyard where Jennyanydots and Jellylorum took care of ailing felines. They called it the "Jellicle Infirmary," but it was really just a car with no front seats. Alonzo was trying to look into the windows when they exited, without success (scratches and dirt had made them cloudy to the point of being opaque). He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Mistoffelees get out, but sucked it back in when he glimpsed Munkustrap. Mistoffelees gave him an I'll-get-you-later look and trudged back toward his domicile with Munkustrap in hot pursuit.

Oh, man, how was he going to get out of this one? He had been caught red-pawed, and he knew it. Right after that big "don't use your powers because I say so" speech, too! Why did he have to be so showy? He just had to show Alonzo, because Alonzo would ooh and awe and give him attention. Well, he had all the attention he could manage, now! Then, a terrible realization swept over Mistoffelees. What had Alonzo said to Munkustrap while he was out cold?! He could have said anything: he probably did, in fact! He would have had to give an explanation to Jennyanydots at the very least, and Munkustrap would have definitely heard that, and probably demanded details! He might even know now that Mistoffelees could fly! Why couldn't Alonzo just keep his big muzzle shut? This was really all Alonzo's fault, anyway. It was Alonzo who made him use up his powers. Then again, how was Alonzo supposed to know that he might faint from the exhaustion of using them too much?

As they reached Mistoffelees' box, Munkustrap motioned for him to step inside. He entered, and sat down on the towel he had stuffed in there; his father sat down across from him. Mistoffelees cringed, ready to take the verbal abuse that he knew was about to ensue. He was surprised when Munkustrap simply sat there, staring at him. It looked like he was just thinking to himself. Probably thinking of how to torture me, Mistoffelees thought.

When Munkustrap finally spoke, he calmly asked, "Mistoffelees, why did you disobey me?"

Mistoffelees, a little shocked at how rational his father was being, responded, "Can you just get it over with? We both know I'm in big trouble here!"

"I need to know why you won't do as I ask."

Mistoffelees thought a moment. He knew very well why he would use his power even though Munkustrap told him not to, but he wasn't sure how to put it in words. It was a combination of lots of little things, like his desire to be the center of attention and other cats cough, Alonzo, cough asking him for favors. Sometimes his magic was not completely under his control, and sometimes he used it in his own self-defense. Quite close to the top of the list of reasons was the feeling of ecstasy that flowed through his veins when he found the power to manipulate forces beyond the comprehension of any mere mortal cat. How could he possibly convey this to Munkustrap? Munkustrap had never had magic. "You couldn't possibly understand." He retorted, softly. "I can't stop using my powers. They're part of me! It's like asking you to cut off your tail!

"That's what I was afraid of."

Whoa. Now Mistoffelees was really confused. A few minutes ago he could have sworn that Munkustrap was ready to throw him into the river and leave him for fish food! Now he seemed benign, even gentle.

Munkustrap continued: "I know it's been hard for you. I've tried to restrict you from using magic ever since I discovered you had it. And you're right. I can't imagine what it must be like to have a wonderful gift and only to be able to use it once a year at the Jellicle Ball. You must think me to be some dictator of a father who never wants his boy to grow up." He tilted his head and sighed. "Really Mistoffelees, I was trying to do it for your own good. I was just trying to protect you-"

"Protect me? From what? How could limiting me possibly protect me?" Mistoffelees questioned. "If anything, wouldn't knowing how to use my powers protect me? Restricting them seems to kind of defeat the point."

"I know it sounds that way. But you don't know what I was trying to protect you from. It's just that-" Munkustrap started to stammer. "I just- you don't- oh, I should have thought this out more."

"What is it?"

"It's just, I don't want you to lose yourself. Okay?"

"That could never happen!"

"Yes, it could. And it will if you use your power too much. I don't want you to get caught up in magic to the point that you don't care about anything else. You need to remember that other things matter."

Other things mattered. That sounded familiar...

"I am telling you now, Mistoffelees: don't use magic. Take my word for it: you won't like what happens. Not what it does to you, and not what I'll be forced to do to you."

As Munkustrap strode away, Mistoffelees frowned to himself. But he was so furious at Munkustrap that he didn't ask himself the one question that should have been staring him in the face: "How could Munkustrap know with such confidence what would happen to Mistoffelees if he let his power run unchecked?"

I know it's a little short, but the next chapter is super long, so bear with me...