"Mistoffelees!"
-.-
It was dusk when Mistoffelees rematerialized in the junkyard and began looking around frantically for Alonzo. How could he?! Really, how could he?! Alonzo knew how it usually worked; he should have realized that Mistoffelees was supposed to be the next Jellicle Protector! I mean, come on! It was obvious! But for him to totally disregard whatever Misto might think on the matter and accept the position without qualm? Come on!! He could have at least asked him if it would be all right! He really should have known Mistoffelees was supposed to be the next Jellicle Protector!
And that wasn't even the worst of it! Not only had Alonzo taken Mistoffelees rightful postion as Jellicle Protector, not only had he taken the respect of Munkustrap that he should have given to him, but he taken taken his one and only true love!! Victoria! When Mistoffelees saw them together, arms wrapped around each other, his heart almost stopped. He loved her. He thought they had something special. She belonged to him.
And he would have her back, one way or another...
Upper lip curled and teeth bared, Misto scanned the clearing he had teleported into. It was deserted. He hurriedly tapped his power and teleported into another clearing. It, too, was deserted. So was the next. He cried out in frustration; all of the cats seemed to have gone home for the night. Actually (though he wouldn't have admitted it then), he didn't blame them: it looked like a storm was coming on. Big thunderheads loomed in the distance. They'd hit the junkyard any minute. Still, Alonzo was a stray. He didn't have a home to go to. He had to be in the junkyard somewhere...
More and more areas of the junkyard he teleported to turned up nothing. Mistoffelees was getting really mad now. In desparation, he let go of his mind and fell back on his Power, willing it to take him to wherever Alonzo might be. It understood what he wanted of it, and transported him to his ex-friend's side. When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing on the ceremonial tire in the central clearing. Alonzo (who took no notice of the appearance of the tuxedo behind him) was sitting on the other side of it, with his back turned to Misto, talking to the cats assembled in front of him.
"Listen, guys," he said, "I'm not sure what we should do about this. He's been acting really weird lately, and now he just up and disappeared. No one's seen him all afternoon. I don't know where he might have gone, and I'm worried. I think we should start a search party. Who'll come?" He looked expectantly at the cats in front of him, but none of them were looking back. They were all staring wide-eyed at the thing standing behind him. Alonzo, confused, turned around, and was startled to see the figure of Mistoffelees. He seethed with rage, his eyes were bloodshot, and most of his fur was standing on end. He really looked scary now.
"Misto!" Alonzo shrieked, partially from surprise, partially from terror. "What is it? What's wrong?" (The rest of the cats fled.)
"What's wrong?!" Misto exclaimed, moving closer toward Alonzo. Alonzo started backing away, but Misto followed. "You take the respect of my father, you accept the position as Jellicle Protector, you want it to be a surprise, you take away my mate, and you want to know what's wrong?!" They stopped moving. Misto put a claw on Alonzo's chest accusatorily and whispered, "Alonzo, you took away my life! You're gonna pay!"
Alonzo's eyes flew open wide and he ran back to the center of the clearing to get away from Misto, crying, "Whoa! Wait! I can explain!"
He can't explain! There's no way he can explain away all the things he did. Kill him, Misto! There's nothing to stop you from killing him!
Thunder rolled in the junkyard as a groggy Munkustrap poked his head out of the boot of the car, awakened by all the noise. When he saw the commotion in the clearing, he leapt out of the car and tried to yell at his son to stop, but he went unheard under all of the thunder and screaming.
"No, Alonzo!" Misto boomed. "You cannot explain! There's nothing you can say. You should have known I wanted to be the next Protector! You should have known!!" A tear fell from his eye, and sparks gathered around his paws as he advanced on the patched tom. "You cannot possibly be Protector! It's going to be ME!!" With that, Misto shot a bolt of lightning at Alonzo, nearly scorching his ears.
Alonzo ducked behind a convenient mattress and hollered, "Misto, you don't want to do this!" The mattress was soon smoldering. Alonzo yelped and ran for another hiding place. "Misto, think!" he cried. "I'm your friend!"
Friend?! He took everything from you!
"You can't do this, Misto!"
Of course, you can! What's to stop you? What's to stop you from having your revenge?!
Alonzo really had to scamper to avoid being barbecued. Lightning bolts were coming quicker and quicker, now; not only from Mistoffelees, but from the storm as well. It had hit the junkyard with full force, and was now dumping buckets all over anyone foolish enough to be out in it. Misto took no notice, however: his attention was locked on the task at hand: getting rid of Alonzo!
Finally, the voice of Munkustrap penetrated his head: "Mistoffelees!"
Misto whirled around to look at him, eyes flashing. What could he want? He had done nothing but make his life miserable! Now he was even trying to interrupt the one this most important in Misto's mind: his revenge. "Leave!" he bellowed. "Now!"
Munkustrap ignored this command (though he did stay a respectable distance away from his enraged son) and called through the rain, "Mistoffelees! Look at yourself! Don't you see what you're doing?!"
You're doing exactly what you should be! Who is he to argue with you?!
"Mistoffelees, you've let this get out of control! Think! You're letting the magic get out of control!"
Out of control?! Puh-lease!
"Mistoffelees!" Alonzo chimed in from behind a television, "I'm not trying to take your life! Really! Aaah!" -- the television fried -- "Misto! Really! I didn't know you felt so strongly about it!"
Oh, how could he have possibly not known?!
Lightning flashed in Misto's eyes as he screamed, "LIKE YOU DIDN'T KNOW HOW STRONGLY I FEEL ABOUT VICTORIA?! IS THAT IT?!" He made another strike at Alonzo, a near miss. "HOLD STILL SO I CAN KILL YOU!!"
Alonzo hid in a small tire and refused to come out. Mistoffelees, enraged, started toward him so he could get his paws on him once and for all when he heard a familiar voice cry out, "Mistoffelees! He's not the one you want!"
Startled, Mistoffelees spun around to see Macavity perched on a junkpile high overhead. "Think for a moment," he went on. "Who's the cat who restricted your power, who never let you out of his sight, who appointed someone else to lead after him?" Macavity extended a claw toward the gray tabby. "Munkustrap is the one you want!"
He's right! This is all Munkustrap's fault! He's the one you should kill!
Mistoffelees took a menacing step toward Munkustrap, raising his paws in preparation to strike. "No, wait," the Protector cried. "You're my son! I love you!"
Love you?! He never once did anything to show it!
"YOU NEVER LOVED ME!"
"I do! You're my son! I'm your father!"
Mistoffelees snarled viciously. "You are not my father!" he bellowed.
"What?!"
"MACAVITY IS MY FATHER NOW!"
"WHAT?!"
"Macavity is more of a father to me than you've ever been, Munkustrap!!" Mistofelees snarled.
Macavity smirked evilly atop the junkpile. Munkustrap saw this, and saw what had happened. Mistoffelees was coming closer and closer, and his paws were dripping sparks, ready to shoot him down. In desparation, Munkustrap screamed, "THEN WHO'S YOUR MOTHER?!"
Startled, Misto stopped. "What did you say?!" he demanded.
Munkustrap found his ace in the hole. "Mistoffelees, do you know what happened to your mother?" Misto shook his head slowly. "Macavity killed her."
"WHAT?!" Misto bellowed, and glared up at Macavity.
The white was visible around Macavity's eyes, but he still yelled back desparately, "He's lying!!"
Misto stalked toward Macavity, his face a look of horror. "You killed my mother?!"
Macavity paused for a moment, flustered by the accusation, but then he became determined all of a sudden, and called, "What does it matter! Finish what you set out to do! Kill Munkustrap!"
"No! Mistoffelees, you don't want to do this!"
"What are you waiting for?! Kill him!"
"Misto, I'm your father!"
He restricted you all your life! You deserve revenge!
Alonzo piped up, "Wait, Mistoffelees, you can't kill him! He never did anything to you!"
"He tried to take away your gift! He must be punished!"
"Mistoffelees, I was only trying to protect you!"
"Protect him from what?!"
"From this!"
Mistoffelees writhed with his paws over his ears. "STOP YELLING AT ME!"
Don't listen to them. Listen to me. You are the great magical Mr. Mistoffelees. No one can tell you what to do. You have all the power you will ever need. All the magic in the world is yours to control. You don't need anything else. Everyone can die as far as you care. You are the only important thing. Nothing else matters. Just kill them all!
No, I...I can't!
You can! The only thing that matters is you! Nothing can stop you from having what you want! No one may do anything to you! There is nothing to stop you from having your revenge! No one can get in your way! You are the only cat who matters! Nothing else matters!! Nothing else matters!!!
Finally, deafened by all the voices around him, and exhausted by the demands from his Power, Mistoffelees fainted.
-.-
The lightening ended. The thunder calmed. The storm subsided. All that was left in the little clearing in the junkyard was Mistoffelees' beaten body, the shaken up Munkustrap and Alonzo, and Macavity, still perched on the junkpile. All three toms had seen Mistoffelees go down (and all were a little bit grateful that he had before he brought the place down around their ears!). Munkustrap rushed over to his son's side, frantically, while Alonzo followed, a little slower. Macavity did nothing for a while, but soon flew off the junk pile to alight neatly before the other three.
"Well, well, well," he said, smirking. "Doesn't this look familiar, dear brother?" Alonzo looked at Munkustrap confusedly, but Macavity went on: "It reminds me of a quaint little scene that happened, oh, six or seven years ago. Don't you recall?" Munkustrap didn't respond, only snarled. "Oh, I'm sure you remember."
"I remember," Munkustrap snarled. "You were banished. So leave."
"Aww, why so quick to kick me out? I thought you were kinder than Deuteronomy was!"
"Leave."
"Well, you did admit that you remember. So I must assume that you remember what you must do..."
"Leave!"
Macavity pursed his lips, but said, "Fine, I know when I'm not wanted." He started to walk away, but turned back. "Oh, and after you do it, I'll be expecting him. He'll come crawling back to me. You just watch." With that, Macavity vanished into thin air.
Alonzo very much wanted to mutter 'Macavity's not there," but he found that he couldn't. The bruised and beaten body of his cousin was lying on the ground in front of him. Despite what just happened, despite his friend's wanting to kill him, he couldn't help feeling sorry for him. For he finally knew the cause of all the oddness that had been plaguing him: Mistoffelees' magic was driving him insane, just as Macavity's had done to him. With the alarming precedent of the Hidden Paw, it was hard to wonder what would happen to poor Misto if left to himself. Still, he knew there was one large difference between Mistoffelees and Macavity: Mistoffelees had friends who cared about him. He didn't believe that Misto could possibly go on to become an evil, deranged mental case like Macavity. Alonzo knew that, inside, deep inside somewhere, Mistoffelees was good.
"Munkustrap," he muttered. "You're not...you're not going to banish him, are you?"
Munkustrap sighed, and looked away. He still held the paw of his son in his own. Remorsefully, he muttered, "I know what I have to do."
Alonzo gasped.
"But I can't do it."
A/N: Yay! New chapter up! For all of you who wanted to see Misto being meaner, I think you got your wish! And, in all fairness, I must admit I got the idea for the "Then who's your mother?" line from Krissy4 when she said, "I wonder if Misto was ever told about what happened to his mother..." That was the missing link I needed to tie up the chapter, so thankies!! D (and my holidays were great; thanks for all the well-wishes!)
And wow, now I have two poems written for this story! (one from JL, and one from R de la C!) I feel so special!! D