Mistoffelees looked down dejectedly, and muttered, "I'll go now." And in a puff of smoke, he was gone.
Just in time to miss Victoria call, "No! I want him to stay!"
It had been a week, an entire week, and there had been no sign of Mistoffelees. Most cats were quite pleased; after all, they didn't want a magical cat in their junkyard. A few did miss him, though they tried not to show it. The Rum Tum Tugger continued as he always had done: smiling, flirting, and being ever the ladies' tom. But though he wouldn't admit it, he cried inside. He missed the little rascal. Mistoffelees had been the closest thing he had been able to call his kitten, even though he had long since reached maturity. Alonzo, too, missed Mistoffelees. Alonzo had been a wild alley cat for the longest time, and while the junkyard had been a good influence on him, Mistoffelees was a better one. Misto's good, calm presence acted on Alonzo's ferocity more than any of the well-intentioned counseling sessions from the elder toms had. Damn it, he missed Mistoffelees!
The was only one other cat who felt Misto's absence as much: the little white queen who had unintentionally started the whole mess. She felt guilt pressing down on her. If only she'd piped up a bit sooner, Mistoffelees might have been able to stay. Well, he might have been forever shunned by the other cats, but at least he wouldn't be lost and lonely, wherever we was ... where was he, anyway? After he'd simply poofed out of the junkyard, he'd given no indication of where he was going ... or at least he hadn't to Victoria.
Victoria waited until Tugger had shooed away his fankits before approaching him. While she had for the longest time been a big fan of The Rum Tum Tugger, her fankit days were over. She actually felt nervous about approaching him. Something told her that the topic she was about to breach was not one he'd want to talk about.
"Tugger?" Victoria asked cautiously as she stepped up to him.
Tugger moaned and opened his eyes. He had been on the verge of taking a nice nap. He groggily started, "Victoria, go play or something. I'm done with you guys for - "
"No," she interrupted. "I'm not - I mean, that's not what I came to talk about. It's about ... Mistoffelees."
Tugger opened his eyes all the way and sat up, actually listening this time. What did Victoria want to know about Mistoffelees? Tugger had long known of the object of his young ward's affection, though he had never encouraged it, mostly because Plato and Victoria were inseparable. But now that Plato was dead ... well, Tugger didn't really know enough to say. "What about Mistoffelees?" he asked.
"Do ... do you know where he is?" Victoria asked softly.
Tugger hesitated. He was treading on thin ice here. "Is there any particular reason you want to know?" he asked.
"No, no reason," she tried to say. "It's - it's just -" She sighed, took a breath, and went on, "It's just that Mistoffelees told me he loved me."
Tugger raised his eyebrows, but Victoria went on: "He told me he loved me ... and ... he showed me what he really is. He really scared me, but he trusted that I wouldn't tell Munkustrap or anything. But I - I couldn't tell him what he wanted to hear. I love - " she cleared her throat " - I loved Plato. But Mistoffelees took his life into his paws challenging Plato, all because he loved me. And now, Plato's dead, and Mistoffelees is gone. I could have been the one to let him stay, but he left before I could say anything." She paused, then said concretely, "I feel like it's all my fault, Tugger. He risked so much to love me, and the tribe let him down. And I wanted to know where he is so I can tell him ... I'm sorry.'
Many minutes passed before Tugger asked hesitantly, "Victoria, do you love Mistoffelees?"
She paused, then said curtly, "No. Mistoffelees killed my only love."
More minutes. Then Victoria finally asked, "Tugger, do you know where he is?"
Tugger's breath hitched in his throat. He did know where Mistoffelees was, but he was not so sure that Victoria really wanted to know. "Victoria," he started warily, "I'm not sure that's what you really - "
"Tugger," she interrupted, "If you know where he is, please tell me!"
Tugger looked down dejectedly, and gave up. "He's gone back to his father."
Victoria was confused for a moment, then remarked, "Wait, I thought you were his father."
He deliberately avoided her gaze as he said, "No I'm not."
"Then who is?"
"I knew you would come to your senses."
Mistoffelees deliberately avoided his father's hateful gaze. Once he had come of age, his father had sought him out, but he had refused to come and live with him. He had thought himself to be above it; but now, it seemed that this was his destiny. No other cats would care about him now. This was the only place for him.
He looked up at his father. Macavity.
Macavity glared as he paced around his son kneeling on the ground. "So what was it?" he asked through his evil grin. "What was it that made you come back to me, hmm?"
Mistoffelees hesitated, then answered, "I killed a cat."
Macavity clapped his paws with fake joy. "Oh! Wonderful, your first kill! How did it happen?"
"I challenged him to the right for his mate, and I won."
"Then why are you here?"
"I used magic. The other cats thought I cheated, and they kicked me out."
Macavity stopped pacing and looked about him thoughtfully. "Well," he said when he finally spoke, "I told you this would happen. I told you those Jellicles " - and he said it with a sneer - "would never tolerate a magical cat in their junkyard." He paused, then abruptly smacked Mistoffelees upside the head. He keeled over from the unexpected blow. Macavity went on, far more harshly: "I told you what would happen, but you didn't listen! You are a MAGICAL CAT! You have one path ahead of you! Think about that."
Macavity turned around and left Mistoffelees alone in the tiny room.
Mistoffelees endured a week of his father's mental torture. He tried to resign himself to the fact that this was going to be his existence forever more. Besides, he tried to tell himself, if he were allowed back into the junkyard by Old Deuteronomy, the other cats still wouldn't accept him. Life back there would probably be torture, as well.
Life with Macavity was hell at first to Mistoffelees, but it could have been worse. He had a bed to sleep in, and food to eat, and he wasn't a prisoner, but he had to endure the "normal" life of Macavity's operation (which was centered in an old abandoned office building - clichés were Macavity's one weakness). Dead bodies being transported through the halls to be dumped into the river was a daily occurrence. His days included sitting in on meetings with his father (trying to hold in his gags and vomit as the top-ranking henchcats spoke of their activities) and lessons in criminal magic. Macavity had been shocked when he found how little of his craft his son actually knew. Lessons included things like killing rats while showing no outward appearance of strain, and divining the location of valuables. And though he hated it, Mistoffelees could not help but admit that something about stretching his power in this way felt tantalizingly good. It tickled something in his soul he didn't even know he had. It just felt right. And while Macavity was still the evil master of crime he had been since his youth, he did at least make some effort to treat Mistoffelees with some shadow of respect. Whether out of pity, his desire for an heir, or some infinitesimal speck of kindness, Mistoffelees could not tell, but, he finally decided, it was better than living in the streets.
In fact, he found himself even becoming accustomed to life at Macavity's operation. As the son of the highest-ranking cat in criminal history, he was afforded a certain amount of respect from his father's henchcats. At least, he was while Macavity was present. Once in a while, annoyed henchcats who didn't approve of Mistoffelees' instant acceptance from the boss would gang up on him, teasing him about his small, gentle appearance, or threatening to "rub him out." A few had been candidates for the head position after Macavity would have died, but now that Macavity had an heir, the top henchcats were naturally resentful.
Mistoffelees put up with it a couple times, until he became fed up with it. The next time he found himself surrounded in the hall, he took the opportunity to test out what Macavity always did when a henchcat disobeyed him. Looking the ringleader in the eye, he reached out with his power. The cat began to cough then sputter, then he grabbed at his throat with is paws, gasping for air. The others started backing away, in horror that this tiny tuxedo wielded the same power as the boss. Mistoffelees took the opportunity to levitate himself up to the level of the ringleader's eyes and whisper menacingly, "Had enough?" The cat, on the verge of asphyxiation, nodded, and Mistoffelees let go of the hold he had on his throat. The henchcat started breathing, and Mistoffelees returned to the floor. But he reached up, grabbed the cat by the thick fur on his chest, brought him down to his eye level, and whispered, "Don't you ever do that to me again, you lowlife." That cat ran off as fast as he could, minus a bit of his chest fur.
Mistoffelees stalked off chuckling, but still, a tiny voice in his heart told him that what he did was wrong.
That voice was easy to block out.
When Tugger told Victoria exactly where Mistoffelees was, she was absolutely scared out of her wits. "He's there?" she gasped. "Whyever would he go there!"
Tugger looked around furtively. Victoria was being rather loud, and he didn't exactly want to let the entire junkyard know where Mistoffelees was. "Shh," he whispered, trying to calm her down. "I'm not exactly supposed to tell anyone." But then he saw that Victoria wasn't even looking at him, or even listening to him. She was looking away with a determined glint in her eye. "Vicks?" Tugger asked cautiously, "You're not planning to go see him, are you?"
She didn't respond for a moment, then said, "Tugger, I feel like this whole thing is my fault. Deuteronomy said he could come back, so I have to go get him! Macavity probably has him locked up in a room, or tied to something, or something!"
"Hey, not so loud, Vicks!" Tugger reminded her. "And hey," he continued, "I know you want to go save him from Macavity's clutches or something, but think for a second! This is Macavity! You can't go there by yourself! You'll be killed!"
"Then I'll go with her."
Tugger and Victoria both turned to see Alonzo emerging from the car next to them. "I heard the whole thing," he said. "And Victoria is right. Someone has to go get him. So I'll go with her."
Tugger saw the determined looks on both their faces, and gave up. "You're both going to get yourselves killed," he said, "But I won't stop you."
Mistoffelees had been given his first "errand." He was to rob the local jewelry store all by himself without any help. His father felt he was ready, though something small inside him screamed that he shouldn't.
Something very small.
The heist went off without a hitch. He didn't even have to go inside. Closing his eyes, he spread his awareness out until he saw through his power's eye, and found just what to do. He soundlessly incapacitated the couple of clerks inside the store (there were no customers at the time), and transported all the best valuables into the little sack he was still holding. When he opened his eyes, he peered inside the bag, and was almost blinded by the sheer sparkle contained inside. Smiling a tiny smile, he crept back toward the old office building.
But he was startled to find the black and white forms of Victoria and Alonzo staring at him from across the street. They seemed to be simply standing there in the soft drizzle that had begun to fall, frozen in shock. Mistoffelees looked both ways to be sure that no one was around to see him speaking to Jellicles. When he got to them, he waited for one of them to say something, but they didn't move. So he started off.
"What are you guys doing here?" He queried, with a tiny hint of anger in his voice.
Alonzo just stared at him as he asked, "Mistoffelees ... did you ... just ... rob that store?"
Mistoffelees was a little put off, but answered, "Yeah. But what are you guys doing here? This is Macavity's territory! You'll be killed! You have to go -"
Victoria suddenly found her voice. "Mistoffelees, what are you doing here?" she cried. "You have to come back with us!"
Mistoffelees avoided her gaze. "No, Victoria," he said, "I can't go back. The Jellicles kicked me out, remember?"
Victoria's face soured at that memory, but Alonzo piped up, "Mistoffelees, three cats said you could stay! That's enough! You can come back now!"
Mistoffelees' eyes widened. Three cats? But there had only been two! Who would have ... he saw the shy look on Victoria's face; her eyes deliberately avoided his. "Victoria?" he asked softly, "Were you the third cat?"
Victoria nodded.
Mistoffelees' head filled with scrambled thoughts and emotions. Three cats had vouched for him! He could go home! But the other cats had all shunned him. What kind of a life could he have there? Well, it would have to be better than living with Macavity! He just robbed a store, for goodness sake! Then again, he couldn't forget the feeling of bliss that came from using his powers for crime. It just felt right...
Alonzo saw the confusion in his former friend's mind. "Mistoffelees? What's wrong? You can go home! You should be happy!"
Home?
"Home!" Mistoffelees gasped, "I showed the cats I thought liked me what I truly am, and they turned on me! They banished me with no qualms! Heck, they wanted to kill me! Why should I want to go back there!"
"But Mistoffelees!" Victoria retorted, "This isn't where you belong. Macavity is evil! You're not!"
Mistoffelees rolled his eyes. "You know the stories. All magical cats are evil, remember?"
"But you said yourself that that's not true!"
"Well, I was wrong!"
Alonzo cut in: "Mistoffelees, this isn't you! You know it isn't. Macavity may be your father, but you're nothing like him. Think about it. Do you really like living with Macavity?" Mistoffelees thought about it. Alonzo went on: "There can't be anyone with Macavity who likes you, let alone loves you. Come back to the junkyard! Tugger's there! And me, and Victoria! Come back to the junkyard with us, Mistoffelees!"
Mistoffelees was about to interject, but then his eyes caught sight of Victoria's neckline: she was wearing the collar. She was wearing the diamond collar that he had conjured for her that fateful night that he had told her everything.
It could still all be worth it, that little voice told him. Revealing your nature to her, making the challenge, it could all still be worth it. You had a goal, Mistoffelees. Remember?
Mistoffelees remembered.
"I'll come back with you," he said softly, "On one condition." He grasped her shoulders with his paws, and looked deep into her eyes. "Be my mate."
Her eyes widened. On her face grew a look of fear, horror even. Her lower lip trembled, and she quivered in his hold. She shook her head slightly as she moaned, "No, no, Mistoffelees, I can't!"
"Why not!" he gasped as he shook her in his arms.
It took a long time, with Mistoffelees practically breathing down her neck, but she managed to utter, "I can't love you."
Mistoffelees threw her out of his arms. Anger swelled in him, and he stamped around a couple times before he cried, "You wanted me to come back! You wanted me to come back to a place where everyone would hate me, shun me forever, just because of what I am, and you don't even like me?"
"Mistoffelees, I - "
"How? How could you?" he went on. "I - I showed you what I really am, I risked my life to have you, I killed another tom and got banished by all the cats I thought I ever loved! I love you, Victoria! Can't you see that! I risked everything for you, and I lost. And you can't even love me! Why!" He called up to the sky: the drizzle had thickened, and was threatening thunder. "Why! I risked everything, everything! It was all for nothing!" He looked down at the ground, and his voice softened abruptly. "It was all for nothing. It was all for nothing," he muttered, talking to himself more than to anyone else.
Victoria couldn't stand it anymore. She had said what she came to say, but Mistoffelees didn't want to hear it. She took off running down the street, headed for home. Alonzo considered for a moment. Then he decided it was no use. Mistoffelees wouldn't be coming back. He turned to him and muttered, "I'm sorry, Mistoffelees. I'm so sorry." He turned around to go back to the junkyard, but a voice from behind stopped him.
"Take care of Victoria for me, will you?" the soft voice of Mistoffelees said.
Alonzo, to his surprise, smiled. "I will. And if you're ever in the neighborhood..."
Mistoffelees turned around to look at his old friend. "I'll come visit. Just don't let anyone know. Don't tell anyone where I am, okay?"
"Don't worry. The secret's safe."
Mistoffelees smiled reminiscently, thinking of all the good time he had had with Alonzo in the junkyard. Alonzo saw the smile, and an opportunity. "Mistoffelees, come back with us You know it can't be worse than living with Macavity."
"That's just it, 'Lonzo," Mistoffelees replied, sounded rational for the first time in a while. "Life in the junkyard would be hell for me. They would never be able to accept me as I am. And you know what? The stories are all true. I am a magical cat. And even though it sounds impossible, I really do like it. I enjoy the crime. Bossing the henchcats, doing rounds with Macavity, even this" - he held up the bag full of stolen jewels he still carried - " feels good. It's the magic, 'Lonzo. It feels so good. You can't imagine..." he trailed off.
Alonzo frowned. "All right," he said. "But I'm going to miss you."
Mistoffelees looked away, frowning. Suddenly, he whipped his arm around, and in a flash of blue smoke and light, he was gone. Alonzo was disappointed. That didn't seem like a good note to end on. Then again, nothing about what had happened was good. It made him ache. He was going to have to deal with this for a long time.
But on his way back to the junkyard, Alonzo could have sworn he heard a whisper in his ear.
"Me, too."
A/N: I have a sequel to this story in the works. It's called "His Greatest Revenge." Check it out.
