When I got there, however, the entire area was pitch black, and I suddenly remembered Macavity and what he had done. I was worried about what had happened in my absence, but as I wondered, I heard the whispering of Jellicle voices all around me.

"We have to find Old Deuteronomy…"

Terror gripped my heart and I could barely breathe. Deuteronomy? Gone? No, this couldn't be! He was my father, or at least the closest thing to a father I had ever had. And now he was gone, stolen away by the same fiend who had stolen away my mother and Cassie, and had nearly killed me, my compatriots, and the two best friends I had ever had, Munkustrap and Rum Tum Tugger. Upon thinking about this, I realized that alongside the terror, there was rage, and determination. I was furious at Macavity for what he had done, and I was damned sure determined that I was going to do whatever it took to find Deuteronomy, and then to find Macavity and make him pay dearly for what he had done.

I faded back into the shadows to think about exactly how I was going to go about dealing with Macavity, and how I was going to get Deuteronomy back when I heard Tugger's voice ringing out over the amphitheater. "You want to ask the Magical Mister Mistoffelees, the original conjuring cat." And as everyone in the theater turned away, shaking their heads at his foolishness for even mentioning a 'magical' cat, he sat up and reiterated his point, more forcefully than before. "Please, listen to me, and don't scoff." He went on to explain exactly what the Magical Mister Mistoffelees could do, and I realized suddenly that he thought that the Mister Mistoffelees could get Deuteronomy back. I was not at all sure that this was possible, but if Tugger thought I could do it, then I was sure going to try.

Sliding around to a good spot, I found a piece of rope and prepared to make my entrance, remembering at almost the last second to turn myself into Mister Mistoffelees before doing so. Finally, at Tugger's desperate introduction, I magicked myself to the air above the amphitheater and lowered myself into the area. After I burned the rope into nothingness, I performed my first trick of the night, restoring all the lights to the amphitheater with a blinding flash and a "Presto!" The gasps and cries of surprise and delight around me were enough to convince me that I could do just about anything if I wanted to.

With that in mind, I grinned and continued to work, showing my skills off not only in magic, but also in dancing as I bounced around the theater, drinking in all the cheers and shouts of encouragement I was attracting. As I worked, I saw Victoria's beautiful white face in the crowd and smiled at her with a wink, and I thought that I saw her smile back as well. I suddenly felt my magic powers ignite again and burn furiously, and I knew it was time.

Concentrating hard, I pulled a red sheet out of thin air and raised my paw for a volunteer. I did not choose the volunteer myself, but felt my powers drawing me to a certain cat, and when I looked, I was slightly surprised to see that I had chosen Cassandra, the only Siamese in the tribe. Fully willing and ready, she ducked beneath the sheet and I began to focus all my magic and all my powers on one all-consuming notion of bringing Deuteronomy back, of bringing my father back to us. The sheet began to glow and rise, the lump that had been Cassandra now growing and starting to struggle to escape. With one final wave of my paws and an almost painful surge of magical energy that left me feeling exhausted and powerless, I lifted the sheet and revealed-

Old Deuteronomy, standing up and stumbling slightly with a dazed look on his face, followed swiftly by an expression of happy surprise.

Wasted, I turned away, trying to catch my breath. The trick I had just pulled off had taken every ounce of energy I had, and I needed a moment to myself. But suddenly, I realized what I had done, and who was standing behind me, safe and sound, and I turned around and threw myself into his arms, happier than I had ever been. He didn't say anything, but I understood him perfectly. I had done it. I had used magic for the exact single purpose that it had been intended. The smile on his face was all it took.

Then, he put me down and I was suddenly surrounded by a multitude of Jellicles, all praising and thanking me for bringing back their leader, and they did not even know who I really was. Cassandra came back into the theater, as happy and grateful as any of them, and Victoria herself came running up to me and planted a kiss on my cheek hugging me tightly. I looked down at her, slightly surprised, and smiled. She looked at me for a moment, then suddenly looked down at my chest, her voice wavering slightly. "Quaxo, I…I'm so sorry…I don't know what came over me…I just, Plato was there, and I suddenly felt like I should go to him, and before I knew it, he had me on the ground, and I didn't really know what had happened, I just felt like it was right, and I had made it all right and done nothing wrong and-"

I cut her off with a kiss, right on her lips and in front of everyone. As I kissed her, I magicked my disguise away, and when we parted, I was just Quaxo again. There were assorted gasps and sounds of indignation, but at the moment, all that was important was the look on Victoria's face as she looked back up at me, her mouth open slightly in surprise. "It's okay, Vicky. I understand. Mungo explained everything and trust me, everything is absolutely wonderful." She smiled and hugged me tightly, laying her head on my chest as I looked out at everyone and spoke to them. "Well, as you can see…it's me, Quaxo. I am still a magical cat, and I'm sorry I lied to you all."

Demeter smiled and shrugged, touching my shoulder in a friendly way. "It's okay, Quaxo. I forgive you. After all," she grinned, "you did bring Deuteronomy back." Old Deuteronomy smiled and nodded, putting both his paws on my shoulders. "Yes, he did, and we should all forgive him and put this behind us. For it is not the cat on the outside that matters, but the one on the inside, and as we have all seen today, Quaxo is a wonderful Jellicle, inside and out." He smiled down at me, and every other cat around us, even Alonzo and Pouncival, nodded, and most of them smiled as well, offering accepting paws to me. I touched them all, and with Victoria clutching me tightly around my waist, Deuteronomy's paws on my shoulders, Munkustrap's silent smile of approval, and Tugger poking me in the small of my back, I finally felt like I truly belonged.


When things finally settled back down again, Jemima had disappeared, and when we saw her again, she was up on top of a tall pile of garbage, singing basically the same song she had sung earlier, speaking of moonlight and sunflowers and memories, and when she had finished, Deuteronomy had seated himself on the edge of the theater, and Munkustrap was in the middle again, explaining what was about to happen.

"Now, Old Deuteronomy, just before dawn, through a silence you feel you could cut with a knife, announces the cat that can now be reborn, and come back to a different Jellicle life."

This was it, the moment we'd all been waiting for. Deuteronomy was about to tell us who was going to be leaving us and going to the Heaviside Layer to start life over again. I was convinced, as I was sure most everyone else was also, that Asparagus, Jellylorum's father, was going to be the one, and we all waited anxiously for Deuteronomy to confirm our hopes. But Deuteronomy said nothing for a number of seconds, simply sitting, silent and troubled-looking, for a long time.

Suddenly, my magical senses pricked, and I turned to see Grizabella venturing out into the theater. Mad at her for interrupting the ceremony, I sneered at her and went to the edge of the theater, facing the wall of garbage and ignoring her. Tugger went up to her and derisively waved her over to Deuteronomy, as if daring her to put in her bid for the trip to the Heaviside Layer. As if Deuteronomy would even consider her as a candidate for resurrection, with all she had done. Or at least, all I supposed she must have done, anyway, to have earned a status so poor that the entire tribe rejected her every time she appeared. Victoria still attempted to reach out to her, but was again thrown aside by a 'protective' female.

Again abandoned and shunned, instead of quietly leaving as she had so many times before, Grizabella stood her ground, singing with a desperate passion. She sang of her past, and of her present, how she spent every night remembering how it had once been, and how much she loved and hated her memories, how she wished for it all to be the way it was again. Her words were profound and stirring, and once again, Jemima stood to sing, this time, joining her voice with Grizabella's as the old, shabby, worn-out female sang with all her might, pleading, begging with us just to touch her, to accept her again, and she promised, swore that she would be happy again. And as the story of her life and her struggles and her hopes, dreams, and above all, her memories, washed over me, I could no longer hide my sympathy for her, and I turned around to see that every other cat, even those who had shunned her since the first time she had appeared, had also turned to face her, pain and understanding radiating from every face in the theater. And as Grizabella began her customary walk back across the theater to leave us behind in our cruelty, I could sense all around me the desire to run out and touch her, to allow her to feel the happiness that she missed so very much. But no one had the confidence or the courage to go out and do it.

No one, that is, except for one small, young, white kitten named Victoria. To everyone's surprise, including, I think, her own, Victoria broke away from the rest of the tribe and tentatively stepped forward, pausing only once to glance back at Deuteronomy, who smiled and waved her on, and she reached out and gently rested her paw in Grizabella's.

It was as if someone had flipped on a switch. Suddenly, the entire amphitheater was alive with movement as cats came slinking out of their hiding spots to join Grizabella and Victoria in the center of the area. The look on Grizabella's face alone was enough to convince me that Victoria had done the right thing. She was no longer the wounded, downtrodden, shade of a former star she had been when I had first seen her, but instead had undergone a full transformation. She was smiling, which I had never seen her do before, and her head was held high as Victoria rubbed her cheek against Grizabella's paw affectionately. And now all the other cats were starting to collect around them, each taking her paws in turn and holding them close or simply touching them. I went forward and joined the circle around her, offering my own paws to take hers, smiling warmly at her before passing them on to the next cat in line. By this time, I had noticed the Tugger standing in the background with Cassandra, a decidedly conflicted look on his face. I was a little confused about this, considering I expected everyone to be ecstatic, because clearly we'd just found our candidate for the Heaviside Layer, but before I could even make a move to go ask him what was wrong, he had disappeared again, and Old Deuteronomy had taken Grizabella's paws and was leading her towards the back of the amphitheater, where a large tire was lying on its side.

As soon as the two cats climbed up on it, it shuddered heavily and slowly started to rise off the ground, a carpet of steam pouring out from underneath it as it floated elegantly upwards. This, of course, was an incredible sight for those of us who had never attended a Jellicle Ball before; Victoria and I clutched each other and watched incredulously as a large thunderhead suddenly collected above the amphitheater, and with lightning and thunder ravaging the night air, a long tendril of clouds slowly descended to the tire, forming an impromptu staircase. She tentatively stepped onto the stairway, and with only one small look back at Deuteronomy, who smiled reassuringly back, Grizabella finally took the last leg of a journey she had been aching to complete for years. When she had finally disappeared into the clouds, we sang one last line,

"The mystical Divinity of unashamed felinity,

'Round the cathedral rang, 'Vivat!'

Life to the everlasting cat…"i

And the ball was over.

i "Journey to the Heaviside Layer" ©Andrew Lloyd Webber