A/N: Merry Christmas! Here's your present: a nice long chapter! Enjoy.

As Mistoffelees got closer and closer to the location that Macavity had described to him, he became more and more confident that this was the right way to go. He could feel it, in the air. There was magic all over the alley, sprinkled around, the remnants of old spells that no one had bothered to clean up. Not that there was much reason to, Mistoffelees thought as he shrugged. No one but another magical cat would notice it.

When he turned the corner, the pile of crates was just as Macavity had described it. Positive that he was in the right place, Mistoffelees moved one aside, lifted up another, and climbed into the hole that was strategically placed so that no one who didn't know it was there would notice it. It went straight down a couple feet, then turned, so as to be parallel to the ground above: a tunnel of sorts. Mistoffelees crawled through until he found the door that Macavity had told him about. He muttered the word that he'd said would open it, "Retemed." (What retemed was, Mistoffelees had no idea.) For a moment, nothing happened, but then gears clicked into place and the door silently swung open.

Misto gingerly stepped inside, and was surprised to find a startlingly warm and dry room of sorts, lit by a glowing orb hanging from the ceiling. The walls were constructed from bricks, stacked together with no mortar, and the floor was pressed dirt. It was not very large: only four by four feet at most, and Mistoffelees was astonished that this was the den of the Hidden Paw.

Seemingly just to prove him wrong, there was the Hidden Paw himself, causually lying on a pillow in the corner, looking very serene. He was not surprised to see Misto; on the contrary, he was expecting him, and told him as much: "I'm so glad you're here, Mistoffelees!" he said as he stood up. "I thought I felt you coming, and I'm happy to see that I wasn't off!"

Mistoffelees stared. This was actually his first time meeting Macavity in person (the other times had been in his dreams, and fleeting moments at the Ball didn't count). Up close, in the light, he seemed much less scary than he ever did at night. Actually, he didn't seem scary at all. He seemed genuinely pleasant! Almost fatherly...

He was so engrossed in sizing up Macavity in a new light that he didn't notice that he was trying to talk to him. "I'm quite pleased that you decided to take me up on my offer. It's like I said, anytime you need a place to go and stay for a while, or even just to get away from the junkyard for a bit, my home is your home. You're welcome to stay here as long as you like, and –" Macavity noticed that Mistoffelees was staring off into space, deep in his own thoughts. He chuckled a bit, then continued, "Don't worry, you'll grow out of that."

"Hmm?" Misto muttered, jolted out of his thinking.

Macavity chuckled a bit again, and reiterated, "I said, you'll grow out of that."

"Grow out of what?"

"That."

"What?"

"Zoning out."

"I zone out?"

Covering his eyes with one paw, Macavity shook his head in exasperation, chuckled yet again, and said, "Yes, you zone out. Quite often, if I'm not mistaken." Seeing Misto's worried expression, he added, "Don't worry, I did too! For a very long time, while I was about your age. It's the magic: it likes to take up all the room in your mind for concentrating and make you concentrate on it. Like I said, don't worry, you'll grow out of it."

Utterly confused, and trying to change the subject, Mistoffelees looked around the tiny quarters and muttered, "So, this is it then?"

"This is what?"

"This is your lair?"

Out of nowhere Macavity burst out laughing. Very hard. He fell to his knees, he was laughing so hard. Misto put his paws on his hips and looked at him crossly. Finally, Macavity stood up, wiped away a tear, and said, "No, oh no! This isn't my lair! I'm sorry, what are we standing around in here for? Let's go!" Even more confused now, Mistoffelees watched as Macavity advanced on the rear wall of the room and pressed a paw to the brick. Astonishingly, the brick rippled around it, as though it were made of something more liquid than ... whatever bricks are made from. Macavity pressed harder, and his paw actually passed right through the wall! Mistoffelees raised his eyebrows: he was impressed. Macavity smirked and said, "Let's go." He then let the rest of his body follow the paw and disappeared through the brick.

Mistoffelees followed suit, and when he emerged on the other side, he found a den more fitting for a notorious cat like Macavity. This room was much larger, and decorated to look like a perfect Indian cazbaa. The floor was covered with richly embroidered cushions, with dazzling silks strewn about here and there for a haphazard look. There were more silks hanging from and veiling the ceiling, some encrusted with beads or tiny mirrors. A few even sparkled with diamonds. The whole scene was painted with deep blues, indigos, and crimsons, and looked very exotic. There was even incense burning somewhere, giving the room a smoky-sweet scent. At the center of it all, Macavity reclined on pillows like a king on his throne (his jagged ginger stripes did clash with the décor a bit; he didn't seem to care, though).

All Misto could say was, "Wow."

Macavity smiled, closed his eyes, leaned back, and said, "I knew you'd like it. Most cats can't resist anything that sparkles."

Smirking, Misto trodded over to where Macavity was lying, and muttered, "I bet you get a lot of action in here."

"You have no idea."

Mistoffelees lied down next to Macavity, put his paws behind his head, and for the first time in a very long time, relaxed. He felt very at peace with himself, like all was right with the world, all was right with him. Nothing could go wrong. He was doing exactly what he should be doing, and it felt right. In fact, he felt so at peace with himself, he took a little catnap right then and there, convinced that he was right where he should be and nothing could go wrong.

When Mistoffelees woke up, he sat up groggily and wondered where he was. Had he fallen asleep and accidentally teleported himself to a gypsy's parlor or something? But then he caught a glance of Macavity, and remembered where he was and how he'd gotten there. Noticing that his fur was a bit rumpled, he took on the task of grooming it. Macavity, who was sitting on a stool looking at something on a low table in front of him, saw that Misto was awake, and said, "Ah, Mistoffelees! You're awake. I had wondered if you were all right. You fell asleep surprisingly quickly." Mistoffelees smiled a little and looked away, slightly embarrassed that he had fallen asleep in his host's den. "It's quite all right of course. I don't mind," Macavity continued. "Now, I know I told you to come if you ever felt like you needed a break from the junkyard, but I'm just curious: what did it for you? What made you want to come?"

Mistoffelees paused for a moment, unsure of what to say. Of course he knew why he had come. The outrageous behavior of Alonzo and Victoria (who were they to try to tell him what to do?!) was enough to make any cat want to get away for a little while. He still couldn't believe that Victoria hadn't thought his joke was funny. And of course, who couldn't resist an invitation from the Napoleon of Crime himself? Still, there was something, something small, that told him he couldn't quite tell this to Macavity, for some reason or another.

This voice was easy to block out.

"It's amazing," Misto began as he went over to sit next to Macavity. "I was doing this really cool trick, making Jennyanydots and Jellylorum see these weird-colored pollicles, and to them it looked like they were chasing them around, but no one else could see them, and it was really funny! Then Victoria came around, and I let her see what was really chasing Jenny and Jelly, and she thought it was mean! I couldn't believe it! I guess that was just the last straw, and I needed to get away from her for a while," he concluded, resting his head on his paws, his face an expression of amazement.

"She thought it was mean?!" Macavity declared.

"Yeah! Can you believe it?" he answered. "I mean, come on! Who's she to tell me what I can or can't do?! Come on! I'm the one with magic powers here!"

"But are you sure leaving was the best thing to do?"

"Why not?"

Macavity shrugged and said, "Well, think about it. While you're gone she could be doing anything! Raiding your den, or spreading rumors about you, or cheating on you with another cat-"

"Hey," Misto interrupted. "Victoria would never cheat on me! I've got magic powers, for crying out loud! Who wouldn't want to be with me?" He thought about the night they had spent together flying, and added, a little more softly, "Besides. We're in love."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

Misto turned abrubtly to stare at Macavity. "What do you mean, 'you wouldn't be so sure'?" he demanded. "Of course she wouldn't cheat on me! Victoria's mine!"

Macavity shook his head in disbelief and muttered, "Mistoffelees, I think there's something I need to show you." He motioned to the crystal ball that still sat on the table before him. "Do you know what this is?"

"Of course! It's a crystal ball! Humans use them to trick other humans into thinking they can see things in it so they'll give them money."

"Oh, no, little Mistoffelees," Macavity retorted. "It's much more real than that. While humans do use them like that (because they have no magic), we can use them to actually see real events, past or present. It's truly quite simple."

"Okay. So?"

"So, look into the crystal ball. There's something I need to show you."

As Mistoffelees sat across the little table from him, Macavity waved his paws over the crystal. Though he couldn't see it, Misto could feel the magic streaming from the ginger paws to penetrate the heart of the orb. Out of nowhere, cloudy wisps appeared, which formed shadows, which produced colors, which created pictures. When the image was complete, Mistoffelees gazed upon the distinct image of Alonzo and Victoria. He couldn't quite tell where they were, but that didn't matter: what arrested his attention was the fact that Alonzo's arms were locked around her, gently rocking her back and forth. This was outrageous! Alonzo?! And Victoria?!?! In disbelief, Misto reached out with his mind to the image of the two cats, to try to read their thoughts and find something that would explain away this horrendous scene. Macavity noticed and said, "Sorry, you can't read their minds." Misto looked at him with determination, but he only shrugged. "They're only images! I can't read their minds any more than you can. But you're welcome to try."

However, try as Misto might, he could read no emotion in the minds of the two cats he saw.

"I'm sorry," Macavity uttered as he waved images away. "I know that hurt, but you really needed to see that."

Mistoffelees wouldn't look at him. Instead, he could only mutter, "Alonzo wouldn't...he's....he's my best friend!"

Shaking his head, Macavity muttered, "It looks like he's not your friend anymore."

"He wouldn't..."

"He did."

"But..."

"Mistoffelees, I didn't want you to see this, but maybe there's something else I have to show you, too."

Mistoffelees turned abrubtly to look him in the eye. His expression was one of worry and disbelief, and he was very afraid of what else Macavity might want to show him. Still, if Alonzo was doing things like this to him...maybe he should at least take a look.

"This is something I saw last week when I was scrying," Macavity said as he waved his paws over the crystal again, not even bothering to ask Misto if he wanted to see it. "I remembered the time, so I could show you later. I thought you would want to know about this." With that, he took his paws away from the orb to reveal Alonzo and Munkustrap sitting on the ceremonial tire.

Somehow Misto could hear what they were saying. Munkustrap put his paw on Alonzo's shoulder as he spoke: "Now, I know this is a little unusual, but I think you are the right cat for the job. Can I count on you to do what all this is going to entail?"

Alonzo's eyes were practically falling out of their sockets, he was so wide-eyed, as he responded, "Yeah! I mean, I'd love to! You don't understand, this is a dream come true!"

"What are they talking about?" Misto tried to ask Macavity, but Macavity only put a claw to his lips, a signal for "Shh!"

Munkustrap continued: "I think I do understand. I know what you mean. I felt the same way. But you do realize that it's a little unusual for you to be chosen, don't you?"

"Yeah, I know," Alonzo said. "Usually the current one's son is chosen. But, you know, he's sort of small, and he kinda has a large-ish ego, and he's got all that magic to worry about, I don't think he'd mind, do you?"

"It's not him minding that's the problem. But never mind. I'm glad you'll be able to accept when I announce it to the tribe in a few weeks. Do you want to tell Misto early that you're going to be the next Jellicle Protector?"

"JELLICLE PROTECTOR?!?!?!" Mistoffelees cried aloud.

But Macavity stopped him, muttering, "Shh, this is the worst part."

Alonzo smirked as he answered Munkustrap's question by saying, "Nah, I won't tell him. I want it to be a surprise."

"SURPRISE?!?!" Misto called out. This was outrageous!! Alonzo was going to be the next Protector?! Munkustrap had chosen Alonzo over his own son?! This was outrageous! Mistoffelees had always assumed that he was going to be the next Protector! After all, he was the son of the current one, and he did have magical powers (which would of course make choosing him all the more obvious). There was no way Alonzo would make a better Jellicle Protector than Mistoffelees! This was seriously not fair! And for Alonzo to not tell him?! To intend to shock him with such horrible news as a surprise?! This was seriously not fair! Mistoffelees was supposed to be the next Jellicle Protector!! THIS WAS SERIOUSLY NOT FAIR!!

It stung.

Instantly Mistoffelees disappeared from the lair, leaving the much pleased Macavity behind, smiling at his knowledge of just what Misto would do...

A/N: ::squeee!:: Oh, I loved that chapter! As for review questions, I'll just do the whole thing in one big chunk. Thanx for all the great reviews, guys! (OMG, I'm up to over 60, now!) Krissy: as for the mark, I was using the term figuratively, but now that you mention it, I'm going to have to put more thought into that particular little tidbit...hmm.... Jl: I LOVED your poem/song! I'm so flattered. You'll have to post the whole thing when you're done with it, or I'll just put it up on my site as a companion to "IDFTtY." Chi: I knew you'd guess where she was going. And you know I love it when you call me a genius!! ::squee!::