Here we go again! Sorry for the delay, I'm a very slow writer (chained to the Spanish-English dictionary, remember?), but I tend to make long chapters, so... one thing excuses the other (I hope).

My most effusive thanks to all the reviewers! You're wonderful, people.

Disclaimer: ALW and RUG own all the marbles. I just play with them.

Warning: Sex - yes, again; those two go at it like bunnies every time I lose sight of them /sigh/. Also rated for the dirty mouth of some characters.

RAY OF GOLD 8 – ARE WE SOMETHING?

Demeter was sitting on the porch of a human house when she heard a whistle. She looked up to see a familiar shape on the roof that was making signs to her.

"Thank Heaviside! Are you all right, my little one?"

"Yes, mom. But you'd better climb up here so nobody can see us."

The golden calico queen jumped up to the railing and then to the roof. "What have you been doing these days, dear?"

"I've found a new place for us. It's a garage, with even an abandoned car inside. I've still to check the surroundings, but I think we'll be able to move there in a few days. And I have paid a little visit to the Jellicle junkyard yesterday morning."

"I thought you didn't want to see the junkyard again."

"I had a deal with Griddlebone. She's been following me... and I following her, until I became tired of playing cat and mouse. But that's already solved. The good news is that now I can concentrate all my efforts on Macavity."

"What are you going to do?"

"I've been thinking. Last time I exposed myself too much. But now, he won't expect me to attack him in his own hideout. A quick and clean strike is my best bet. I don't want to make another scene like the one in the junkyard, there were too many cats around and somebody could have been injured."

"Well, if my memory's not failing, somebody was injured", said Demeter in a serious tone.

"Yeah, whatever. What I mean is just me, Macavity and a quiet place to fight. I have a few details to set up and then I'll go for him."

"Please be careful... You shouldn't go into his hideout alone. Maybe you should..."

"No way, mom. I'm not asking your former mate to help me with this. You've described me the place many times, I know it as if it was my own den. This time I won't fail. By next week it all will be over and I'll come back for you."

"I'll see you next week then, dear", Demeter sighed, still unsure.

"There's something else I have to tell you." The golden tabby queen uttered the words in a hesitant voice. "Mom, I don't know how you're going to take this. But you've always been very understanding, and I hope..."

Demeter raised her head. "If you have a secret you want to keep, you're not under an obligation to tell me. But you know I'll always support you, my little one. You can tell me anything."

"I know, but..." Pandora gave a sigh before staring fixedly at her mother. "Mom, I have a... a friend. A tom. From the Jellicle junkyard."

"A friend, you mean a...? Oh, dear! I'm so glad for you", said Demeter hugging her daughter. "I guess it's very recent, or you'd have told me before we parted the other day."

"Well, yes, we've only been together for three days in fact."

"And which one of the junkyard young toms is your friend?" asked Demeter, smiling. "Victoria's son?"

"No."

"It's that new tom I've heard from? What was his name... Danfred?"

"Mmm, no, he's not the one either."

Demeter raised a brow, suspicious. "Pandora, please don't tell me it's your cousin. Tugger's son is the last one I'd have supposed you to..."

"Mom, it's Mungojerrie", Pandora stated abruptly.

Demeter just blinked.

"Mom?"

/chirp chirp/

"Mom, please say something. Yell, scream, get mad at me if you want to, but don't look at me like that."

"I'm not mad at you, little one. I'm just worried. Does your father know about this?"

Pandora frowned. "He tried to strangle Jerrie when he found out."

"That's not his normal way to act", said Demeter looking at the ceiling in disbelief. "I suppose it's been too much for him."

The tabby queen's eyes flashed. "Are you excusing him for trying to kill my... to kill Jerrie?"

"I'm only saying that's not normal. And I doubt he really intended to harm him." She gave Pandora a concerned look. "Dear, I've always respected your decisions, but are you sure you can trust that tom?"

"Oh, don't worry about him; he'll do as I say."

"What?"

"Come on, mom. There are many ways to keep somebody under control", said Pandora, blushing a little.

"Did you and him...?"

"Yes."

Demeter blinked again, suddenly realizing what she meant. "I don't think bringing somebody to a state of, er... physical dependence on you is a good idea. That's manipulation, dear."

"He came to me. It's not manipulation if both sides are getting something they want."

"Are you two in love?"

"Everybody asks the same question these days", sighed the tabby queen. "I like him, and he... well, he keeps calling me 'love' all the time, but it's just a way of speaking."

"You're old enough to decide what kind of relationship you want to have, my little one. But I know you, and being that indifferent is not yourself. As for Mungojerrie, if I know him right he may be more interested than you think."

"You never did it, did you? Use your... influence, on toms?"

"I never wanted to use that kind of influence. There's no need to do that with the one you love."

"Oh, back into the love topic again! That reminds me Munkustrap asked me to... to tell you he loves you, whatever he understands for that. He wanted me to lead you back to the junkyard."

"You know I'd never return without my daughter."

"And if I went to live there I'd be putting your tribe in danger. Anyway, I told him to look for you if he really wanted to fix up things. So don't be surprised if he appears in any moment to beg you for... I mean to talk."

"To hold the conversation we couldn't have a year and a half ago. He must have been as lonely as me all this time."

"Not as lonely as you think", said Pandora cautiously. "He mated a queen named Cassandra a few months after you left. They split up shortly afterwards."

Demeter sat down again, trying to accept all the shocking news. "I should have imagined that... Well, it's no use removing the past. I'll deal with it when we have the chance to talk." With these words she began to climb down from the roof.

Pandora stayed there for a while, observing how her mother regained her place at the porch. "That night, while I was with him, time simply seemed to stop", she said in a sad voice, more to herself than to anyone else.

Demeter didn't turn her head. She hadn't heard her.


Pandora crawled soundlessly under the fence of the junkyard, keeping an eye on the tom who was standing guard - Pouncival. 'Mental note: tell Munkustrap that somebody needs a little more training in vigilance', she thought as she hid behind the oven before running across the clearing. The queen headed for the entrance of a small den, somewhat retired from the rest of the Jellicle homes, and carefully lifted the curtain that served as a door.

"Anybody home?" she whispered.

"What are you doing here?" A very surprised calico tom came near her. At first he extended his paw towards the queen, then changed his mind and leaned to her as if he wanted to embrace her, and finally placed a quick kiss on her cheek.

"I'm glad to see you too", she smirked.

"I... didn't expect your visit."

"Just came to see a friend, there's nothing wrong with that. Besides, I think I'm beginning to like this junkyard". She brushed the bruise in his neck with the tips of her fingers. "Still hurts?"

"I've been through worse things."

"I hope Munkustrap hasn't been pestering you too much."

"One or two murderous looks, nothing else. I'm trying to stay out of his sight for a few days. Just in case." He looked around him, suddenly realizing his den was in a terribly disarrayed condition. "Take a seat... if you can find one."

She sat down on an empty paint can after dusting it off a little. "Nice place. Who does the cleaning?"

"Like... Nobody?"

"I figured it."

"You can say it. It looks like a pigsty."

"Well, at least you have a den of your own." Pandora looked around her, and suddenly looked at Mungojerrie again: "Tiger, I don't want to mess with your life, but... shouldn't you have a door?", she said , gazing suspiciously at the tattered curtain that hanged loosely from the ceiling. "I mean, a real door that you could lock. Anybody could enter here when you're asleep and attack you."

"The junkyard has a fence to prevent that. And all the dens around here are this way. I mean, if any Jellicle wants to visit, why lock the entrance?"

"Because it's not safe! It could be an enemy instead of a neighbour."

"Maybe you're too concerned with security. Just a little bit", he added when he saw her frowning.

"Some would call it persecution mania", she said, resting her chin on her paw with a look of annoyance.

"I haven't called it that. I just..."

"You think I see enemies everywhere. And maybe you're right, but... Try living with a mother who wakes up in the middle of the night screaming her head off one day after another. It's a hard test for anyone's nerves", she said sharply.

"It must be... Is Demeter still like that?"

"Oh, no, she's been a lot calmer lately. As for me, yes, you're completely right: I'm jumpy, suspicious, and always on the defensive. But being like that is what keeps me alive, whether you like it or not." She had that fiery look again, the one saying 'the world is against me and I don't care a damn'. Mungojerrie stood behind her and tried to calm her down by stroking her shoulders comfortingly. Her muscles were stretched as springs; when he touched her she jumped a little.

"You're too tense."

"I'm not tense, I'm just on the alert", she spat, still frowning.

"On the alert? The first thing you did when you arrived here a moment ago was checking all the usable exits in my den. Did you think I hadn't noticed? You'll end up having a heart attack... Just try to relax a little now and then."

"How do you do it? You seem perfectly relaxed and unconcerned all the time."

"I'm supposed to be unconcerned... I'm the clown of the tribe, remember?" he said, somewhat bitterly. "They only expect me to play jokes, to do some acrobatics at the Ball and to stay out of the serious business."

"Well, that's what you are. I mean, you're supposed to like it", she said leaning her head back to peer at him. "Don't you?"

"Time goes by, and I can't be a clown all my life. Besides, without Teazer it's not so funny."

"The notorious Mungojerrie renouncing to himself? That's new", she giggled.

"Now you're a bit too relaxed. And laughing at me and my shameful secrets."

"What are you going to do at the next Ball instead of the cartwheels? Sing a nursery rhyme to your nephews? Three little kittens, they lost their mittens..." Pandora singsonged teasingly.

He tried to look offended between laughters. "Somebody needs a lesson on how not to annoy a cat in his own den."

"...and they began to cry..." She stood up and walked around the room, making fun of him.

"I'm reaching my limit..."

"Oh mother dear, we sadly fear...!"

"And as I casually happen to know your weak point..."

"No!" the queen stopped singing and hurried to the exit, but he blocked her way out.

"Too late, luv", he said as he began to tickle her mercilessly. "I'll give you a reason for laughing so hard."

"I knew you were still a joker in disguise!"

"Did you really believe all that rambling about becoming serious? You didn't seem so naïve, luv."

"I hate you! Very very deeply."

The tom stopped for a moment, panting, and looked closely at her. "You're not talking literally, I hope", he whispered.

"Try me."

"As you wish", he grinned, resuming the tickling game.

"Enough with that, tiger!" she laughed. "Don't tickle me again, or else..."

"Or else...?" unexpectedly, he held her waist from behind and softly nibbled at the place where her neck became her shoulder.

The golden queen stopped struggling. "Well, maybe I don't hate you... that much."

Playful at first, his kiss began to deepen and grow in intensity. Sighing, she tilted her head to allow him better access, which he took willingly, biting gently at her neck, caressing the sides of her arms with a feather lightness that made her flesh tingle.

"Stay with me, luv. I need you... please, luv...", he whispered between kisses.

She gasped, whimpering against him. That was it! Having him begging for her attention made her feel so... powerful. "Oh, Heaviside..."

The tom swept her into his arms, delving into her mouth with increasing passion. He pulled her down to his basket, and the queen felt him hardening under her touch as she ventured down his body.

"Hmm, first time I was in this junkyard you weren't so enthusiastic", she giggled, her eyes filled with wicked laughter.

"The first time you were here I couldn't use my paws...", he said while giving her a very imaginative proof of how he could use them.

"Believe me, if I knew what I was missing I'd have released you before", she whispered.

She had cut his ties on that occasion, but now he was her prisoner again... her very willing prisoner.


Still panting from the previous intercourse, the queen lay with her back against her lover's chest, his arm tightly draped over her waist. He was nuzzling her neck, but she didn't move, seeming distracted or half-asleep.

"Are you all right, luv?"

"Just a little breathless", she said stroking the fur of his arm absent-mindedly. "Don't hold me so tight, tiger... I'm not going anywhere."

"Pandora, luv, may I ask you...?" the tom hesitated.

"Yes?"

"Do we actually have something? Between us? I mean... are we something?" he said, giving her a worried look.

She rolled over to look at him with sleepy eyes, and after a moment of thought she spoke: "Once is nothing. Twice is just a casual thing. Three times, that would be something."

"Where the heck did you get that from?"

"I heard it somewhere... but it makes sense to me."

"Is this just casual, then?"

"Yes.... by now."

Mungojerrie smiled mischievously and lifted her chin in his paw. "And how could we put a remedy to that?"

She held the tom's wrist with a swift movement, retaining his paw to bite slightly at his thumb. "I'm sure you can think of something, tiger."

"You can bet on it, luv..."


A rather small black and brown tom stood in the middle of the dark warehouse. His eyes followed the figure of his employer, who was pacing up and down the place, occasionally giving him a doubtful look. At last the taller tom stopped in front of his agent:

"Refresh my memory, Reg. How long have you been working for me?"

"I've been a part of your organization for almost three years, Macavity, sir."

"And what have been your duties lately?" He knew the answer to these questions, of course. It was just the last formality before assigning a mission; the occasion to remind his minions how much they owned him.

"For more than a year I've been in charge of the operations concerning the disposal of some annoying cats who could represent a danger for your organization, sir."

The ginger tom arched a brow, feeling the beginnings of a headache. Now he remembered why he barely talked to this tom in particular. "To sum up, Reg, you're one of the best killers I've ever employed. And you're not dumb at all, so you must be asking yourself why am I sending somebody as skilled as you to do such a simple, almost stupid, task.

"I would never dare to question your motivations, Macavity, sir."

"I'm going to tell you anyway." He stood in front of his henchcat, putting his paws on the smaller tom's shoulders. "In one-syllable words, Reg: You can't fail. I want this to be made today, and you have the skills, the experience, and the... complementary material we talked about a while ago. So, success is assured. Isn't it, Reg?" he asked in an almost sweet voice.

"Absolutely, sir, absolutely."

"Great confidence. I like it. Now, my friend, the door is right behind you. And, Reg..." He added as his agent crawled his way out.

"Sir?"

"Don't disappoint me. It would be a real shame, and, with Griddlebone on 'holidays', I'm short of good agents."

The slim chocolate colored tom didn't answer. He just nodded, grabbed something from the floor, and went out into the street.


"Teazer! May I?" Mungojerrie peeped through the door of Alonzo and Rumpleteazer's den.

"Oh, Mungo! Come in, Alonzo is not at home and I'm too tired to go outside. And you haven't visited your poor sister since yesterday", she said in a severe tone, though her wide smile contradicted her words.

The calico tom hugged Rumpleteazer. "There's somebody else here who wants to see you, Teazer", he said looking at the entrance and waving his paw to invite the tabby queen who was waiting outside. Rumpleteazer's face lit up with excitement, and she hugged Pandora so tightly that she almost choked the younger queen.

"How are you?", asked Pandora politely, noticing the other queen's advanced pregnancy.

"Oh, I'm fine... Longing for my kittens to be born. But you... oh, I wanted so badly to meet you! Well, I had seen you already, of course, the day of Merrick's naming, but it all happened so fast, and everything was so confusing, with the battle, and the kitnapping, and Macavity, and..."

"Teazer, don't forget to breathe now and then", laughed her brother.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Pandora, dear, I'm scaring you with my chatter!" The golden queen opened her mouth to answer, but Rumpleteazer was speaking again: "Come in, take a seat and tell me about yourself! This disaster of a brother I have doesn't tell me anything, and you wouldn't want to believe half of the things that some people in this junkyard have been saying about you, Pan... May I call you Pan? I suppose I can, since we're almost sis... Ouch!" she was 'discreetly' interrupted by Mungojerrie's nudge, and fortunately for him she stopped talking for a moment.

"Do you already know how many kittens will...?" Pandora started.

"Oh, no! Tantomile told me the kittens were all right, but other than that I want it to be a surprise. I would like one of them at least to be a queen, but with these things you never know until... Oh!" the orange and white queen contracted in pain and held Pandora's paw. "Oh, my back is aching terribly... Mungo, go fetch Jenny, soon! They are here, I can feel it! And look for Alonzo, too, please!"

"I'll be back in a minute, Teazer", he said before darting away.

Pandora helped Rumpleteazer to make herself comfortable on a pile of cushions and sat down beside her. "I should be going now. I don't want everybody to find me here."

"Stay a little, please! Until Mungo is back. Well, it seems we won't have time to talk this time... Did you come to the junkyard just to see my brother?"

"Don't tell him this, but... I was a little worried about him", answered the golden queen. "All he does lately is receive beatings because of me."

For one time Rumpleteazer didn't answer. Instead she stared closely at Pandora and smiled. In that moment Mungojerrie entered again. "Jenny and the other queens will be here to help you in no time; Jemima has left Merrick with the twins to come here, and Pouncival is going to the southern fence to tell Alonzo. Meanwhile I'll stay with you, Jenny says that you mustn't be alone."

Rumpleteazer nodded, seized by another contraction. Pandora stood up quickly and walked to the door. "Now is my time to disappear, tiger. I don't want to mess with the affairs of the tribe." She patted the calico queen's paw, kissed Mungojerrie and hurried outside.

"Does she always disappear like that?" giggled Rumpleteazer.

"Without saying when will I see her again? I'm getting used to it", he muttered, staring into space.


The Rum Tum Tugger was standing guard beside the fence, just between Pandora and the exit. She went past him without any intention of stopping.

"Hey, Rummy."

"Child, call me that again and I'll kick your ass out of this junkyard so fast that you'll think you've been knocked down by the Sleeping Car Express itself", he spat, grabbing the queen's arm as she walked beside him.

"Ouch. Chill out, uncle dearest. I just came for a short visit, and I'm already leaving."

"You can't fool me with that, child. As far as I'm concerned, you're nothing but a powder keg walking in and out of the junkyard every time you want to lay your sex-enslaved tomfriend."

"I see there's no such thing as a secret around here", the queen mocked.

"And it's more than probable that Macavity invades the junkyard in any moment just because of you", he growled, almost menacingly. "So you'd better get your striped self out of here and solve your problems in any other place instead of putting us all in danger."

"You're all heart. Who named you the new protector of the tribe? I've heard you had quite a reputation of having a carefree existence."

"I have a family to take care of, child. Besides, I've been talking to your father and..."

"Don't say anything more; it seems the shitty mood is infectious in this junkyard."

"You have a real problem with authority. Didn't your mother teach you to respect your elders?"

"I was very busy learning how to stay alive in the streets. And I'd love to stay for a chat, but I'm in a hurry", said the golden queen dodging him nimbly and jumping over the fence. "Give my regards to Syren!" she shouted as she run away.

"Somebody should have given that queen a good spanking when she was a kitten", hissed the maned tom as he resumed his position at the fence.


"Merrick, come here!" shouted Belanor, running after the black kitten and finally carrying him in her arms. "Don't go that way, you bad kitten! You're walking too far from the junkyard limits."

Her twin sister Baline walked towards them. "Don't stand over him so much, Bel. He's a curious kitten, it's normal that he wants to explore."

"We've been asked to take care of him while Teazer is in labor and mom is helping her, and I'm not allowing him to move away." The red and brown queen put the kitten on the floor and watched him as he played with a ball of yarn. "And shouldn't Syren be with us to help us with Merrick?"

"Maybe I should go and look for her", answered Baline. "I think I saw her a moment ago near her parents' den. That is, if you don't mind being alone with the runt for a while."

"We'll be fine", said the young queen smiling. "He doesn't even talk yet. The worse thing that could happen is that I get bored to death."

As Baline walked away, the black kitten looked towards a pile of junk, and then grabbed his older sister's ankle to get her attention.

"What happens, Merrick? What... Oh, look at that!" she exclaimed, running to the place her little brother was pointing to. There was another kitten sitting on the ground, barely older than Merrick, staring at them with wide yellow eyes.

"Oh, he's so cute! Are you lost, kitten?" she asked approaching slowly to him.

"Mom?" the kitten asked, in a thin voice, and Belanor's maternal instinct began to shout in her ear. She bent over to get the kitten in her arms, but he giggled and run away from her, just a few feet.

"Don't be afraid of me, kit. Come here, you can play with my little brother and then we'll look for your mom." The kitten stared at her for a moment, and then crawled away a little more, giggled again, and climbed to a cardboard box with a triumphant expression.

"So, you want to play, don't you?" Belanor walked in front of the box, not noticing that Merrick hadn't followed her. The young queen moved slowly, trying not to scare the foreign kitten. "I got you", she whispered.

"No you don't" said an unknown voice behind her. Belanor turned around, and could only catch a glimpse of a pair of yellow eyes before everything turned black.


A knock at the door made Macavity jump from his seat. "Come in!" he ordered. A brown and black tom entered the room, carrying a sack, and holding paws with a kitten almost identical to him.

"So?" the ginger tom asked. "You left hardly two hours ago, Reg. Why are you back so soon?"

"It's been a good catch. And my little son has proved himself as a very useful assistant", he said patting the kitten's head. "I just had to deal with a young queen."

"Don't be so confident regarding young queens, Reg. The last one I confronted gave me this", he said pointing at three parallel scars on the side of his face, the result of his fight with Pandora. "And I haven't got rid of her yet. But that's another question - now show me what you have for me."

The tom unfolded the sack to reveal a small furry form, who stared at them with his eyes wide open, full of curiosity and only a little fear. Macavity extended a paw towards the kitten in a parody of the Jellicle greeting.

"Welcome to my humble home, Merrick. Do you remember me? I'm your old Uncle Mac."


Dun dun dun...

Sorry for the cliffhanger, but the chapter was long enough already, and Demeter needs some time to recover from the shock (she has reacted pretty well: if I told my mother that I'm dating a burglar, ex-junkie, who to top it off is much older than me... she would have an attack).

Please please review! That's what keeps me alive!