Sorry about the late update everyone, schoolwork and other pointless but neccesary things got in the way. This isn't one of my best chapters, I realise, but more like one of those 'have to have' chapters. Hopefully next one will be more interesting. Okay, enjoy (I hope).

As Jemima's brain rose from the deep chambers of sleep, the first thing she was aware of was an onslaught of unfamiliar scents. The most identifyable were a mixture of petrol, rainwater, humans and - perhaps most worryingly - pollicles.

Forcing her eyes to open and adjust to the light, she realised that it was now about mid morning, the rain had stopped and she was lying in the shade on a bed of gravel. A light fluttering of panic rose in her chest. Where was she?

Jemima sat up very abruptly, banging her head on the big black thing above her: the underneath of a car. Suddenly, everything came back to her. Running away from the Junkyard, getting caught in the storm, several near car accidents and taking refuge under this silver VW Beetle.

The queenkit's ears twitched at the sound of voices nearby. Humans! Somehow, in her eagerness to escape from the world, she had managed to run right into human territory. Terrific. The thought of humans scared her but she had to get away from here and back home, she couldn't stay here.

Chewing her lip nervously, she was about to slink out of the space between the gravel and the car, when a large hairy muzzle appeared right in front of the exit. It studied Jemima for a milisecond then started barking. Very loudly. Her eyes opened wide in fright, her ears flicked right back and she started backing away hastily, hissing and spitting furiously - right out the other side of the car.

"Look, Jake, it's a kitty!" a young voice cried in delight and Jemima felt a pair of small hands around her middle and, to her horror, found herself being lifted into the air. Her first instinct was to reach around with a paw and scratch at the pale skin that came in contact with it. The child who had picked her up yelped and dropped Jemima, who landed on all fours. As soon as she came in contact with the ground again, the kitten made a hasty retreat back under the car. But the pollicle was still on the other side, barking madly. Trapped, she stayed huddled under the car, trembling with fright.

"Lisa, you can't just go picking up unfamiliar cats. Are you alright?" the second voice was older and obviously belonged to a male.

The little girl, who had obviously recovered from the scratch, replied rather impatiently. "I'm fine, Jake."

Jemima's vision was filled this time with a pair of big green eyes set in pale skin and framed by a mass of auburn curls that dragged along the ground as the little human kitten tilted her head to gaze in facination at Jemima.

In response the small queen just stared back at her with wide eyes, tail swishing back and forth behind her.

"Lisa, what did I tell you? Strays can be dangerous."

"It's just a kitten Jake, she's too little to be dangerous. And she's got pretty eyes."

The boy sighed. "Just 'coz something's pretty doesn't mean it's safe, Lisa." He bent down beside the girl and Jemima was treated to the view of a second face, also pale like his sister but with short black hair. He appeared to be in his late teens.

"Here, kitty, kitty," he said, holding out his hand. Jemima hissed and backed up further.

Lisa looked at her older brother. "I thought you didn't like the kitty, Jake. Why are you doing that?"

"Well, I can't move the car with it underneath, can I?" He turned back to Jemima.

"Come on, kitty, come out now." He made a clicking noise with his tongue, urging her to come out.

Not happening. No way was Jemima going to fall for that.

"I know how to get her to come out!" Lisa exclaimed then got up and ran off somewhere, leaving Jake to continue his unsuccessful atempts at coaxing Jemima to come out.

She returned about two minutes later with a green ribbon in one hand. Placing it on the ground as close to Jemima's paws as she could get, she began trailing the ribbon back an forth along the gravel.

Jemima's eyes widened and she followed the ribbon's movements with her eyes, unable to resist. All that mattered was to catch the long, dangly thing. Bunching her legs up to spring, her pupils dilated and she leapt out of the safety of the car at the ribbon. Before she could realise her mistake, Jake had already picked her up and was holding her at an angle that made sure she couldn't twist around to scratch him.

"Jeez, you're a feisty little thing, aren't you."

Lisa giggled. "I think she's cute."

"She? How do you know it's a she?"

"I can tell. She's too pretty to be a boy."

She reached out and scratched Jemima behind the ear. Jemima was about to reach up and scratch her but found that she enjoyed the petting. She couldn't stop herself from purring, and one can't purr and growl at the same time.

Lisa's face lit up in delight. "Look, Jake, she likes me! I told you she was nice!"

Jemima missed Jake roll his eyes because her own were closed in blissfulness. They opened very quickly again when she felt Lisa lift her out of her brother's arms and into her own. "Shh, Jasmine, it's alright, were're not gonna hurt you." She continued with the petting and Jemima soon relaxed in the little girl's gentle grip.

"Jasmine?" her brother quieried.

"Yeah, that's her name now."

"Lisa, we can't keep her, mother would have a fit! And she probably belongs to someone else."

"She does not, look, she doesn't have a collar! And she likes it here. She's staying," the little girl said in a tone that ended the conversation.

Jemima opened her eyes wide at this. She couldn't stay here! She needed to get back to the Junkyard and her parents and Misto and...

And Exotica. What was she thinking? They hated her! They didn't believe her claims about Exotica and didn't want her around. But she couldn't just forget about them, even if that was true.

Jake was still protesting. "Lisa, please listen. Mother hates animals, you know that. If she caught you holding one she would probably take it to the animal shelter or something."

"Well, we'll just have to make sure she doesn't see her then, won't we," Lisa responded with an annoying calm.

"Lisa, please..."

"What are you doing? I thought I told you to go down to the shop!"

The new voice was sharp, female and unfamiliar. Jemima didn't like it. Nor, apparantly, did the human kittens.

"Yes, mother, I'm just going," Jake called out to the woman sticking her head out the door. Then, with a half pleading, half warning frown at his sister, he got in the car and pulled out of the driveway.

His mother was about to go back inside, then she caught sight of the kitten in Lisa's arms.

"What is that, Lisa?" she asked sharply.

Lisa looked up, her green eyes wide. "It's a kitten, Mummy. Isn't she adorable?" She cuddled Jemima to her face in emphasis. Jemima was sure they made a very cute picture. But the mother didn't seem to think so.

"Lisa put that thing down right now. It probably has fleas."

Jemima was very affronted. She was not a thing, and she did NOT have fleas.

"Can I keep her, Mummy? Please?" Lisa asked.

The woman looked downright outraged. "Keep it? I think not! Put it down and come inside this instant!"

"What's all this fuss about, Edith?" A man came out to stand next to her. He was large and beefy in contrast to the his skinny wife, with blue eyes that he had obviously passed on to Jake.

Lisa immediately turned to her father. "I found a kitty, Daddy. Can I keep her, please? I'll take care of her and feed her and won't let her knock anything over or make a mess or anything!" She looked at the man imploringly.

His brow furrowed. "Lisa, pets are a lot of responsibility. Are you sure you can manage one?"

She nodded so fast it appeared her head might fall off. "Yes, yes, I promise!"

Her father sighed and turned back to his wife. "If Lisa takes care of the cat I can't see any reason why we can't keep her."

Edith opened her mouth to protest but Lisa was already hugging her father happily. "Thankyou, Daddy! I promise I'll take care of her real good!" And with that she ran inside, Jemima in her arms.

Orico yawned and opened his eyes to find himself facing a mass of black and red fur. He looked down at Sillabub's small figure and smiled.

Being an Empire tom, albeit a young one, Rico wasn't a stranger to queens, but he'd never considered getting a mate before. He enjoyed living solitarily and besides, most of the queens up for grabs in the Empire were at least twice his age, all the more popular younger ones usually taken. He would never admit it but older queens made him nervous.

Sillabub, however, was a different matter. He felt that, besides being young and pretty, she made him feel relaxed. Over the past three days since her arrival, they had argued a lot, played a lot, talked a lot. All in all, she made him feel like a kitten again. Not that he was much older than a kitten now but that wasn't the point. One grows up very quickly in the Empire.

Thinking he'd better get up, Rico gently untangled himself from Silla so as not to wake her up and wandered over to the edge of the rubbish bin. He was just approaching the entrance with the vague thought of breakfast in his mind when a dirty grey tom suddenly steppen into his line of vision.

Rico stopped short, startled. His surprised look soon gave way to a scowl as he looked up at Macavity's messeger cat.

"What do you want Taiku?" he sighed, not in the best of moods to converse with this particular cat.

Taiku grinned, showing multitudes of yellowing teeth. "Hmm, someone got up on the wrong side of the queen this morning, eh?"

Rico growled. "What do you want?" he repeated in a dangerous tone. Taiku wasn't fazed in the least.

"Oh, don't worry, kitten, I'm not here for you. I was hoping to speak to your Missus."

It took Rico a moment for him to figure out what the older tom was talking about. "What, you mean Sillabub?" he said finally. Taiku grinned even wider.

"That'd be who I'm talking about, yeah."

Rico's eyes narrowed. "How did you know where to find her?"

"You just told me."

Damn.

"Rico? Who are you talking to?" Rico looked behind him to see Silla approaching. When she saw their guest she immediately bristled up. "What do you want?"

Taiku rolled his eyes in a mock despairing sort of way. "Why is it that you two have such lousy manners this morning?"

"As if you'd know the first thing about manners. Now what do you want?" Silla asked again.

Taiku grinned again. "The most honourable Napoleon of Crime wants to see you, young Sillabub."

Rico watched as Silla stiffened, a strange look in her eye. Was it fear?

"When?" she asked quietly.

"As soon as you've made yourself presentable. And you're to go alone," he replied, turning to Rico.

Rico bristled. "Whay can't I go with her?" he asked protectively.

Taiku laughed. "Aw, how sweet. Hey, I don't make the rules I just work here. Now hurry up and get along, dear kitties," he said before bounding off.

Rico looked at Sillabub. She was suddenly very white under her fur.

"Silla? Are you okay?" he asked tentatively.

Abruptly, she turned around and headed further into the rubbish bin before sitting down and grooming herself furiously.

He watched her for a moment before walking over and putting a paw on her shoulder. "Silla, slow down or you'll get a hairball so big you'll choke. It's not going to be that bad, he probably just has another job for you."

She looked up at him, no expression crossing her face. "I have something I need to do first and I don't want to be late," was all she said before going back to her grooming.. Once finished she started to head out the bin.

"Hey, don't you want breakfast? I could get something for you," Rico asked.

She turned back to him. "No, but thanks. I'll probably just spew it up anyway."

He cocked his head at her, then came up and put his arm around her. "Hey, it's gonna be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

She sighed. "Thanks, Rico," she said and hugged him back. "I'll see you later," she said then bounded off.

Rico watched her retreating tail until it was out of sight, then went off to find something for himself to eat.

Sillabub ran through the Empire's dark streets, feeling a peculiar sense of Deja vu. This was the first time she'd been to see Macavity since their last not-so-pleasant (and in another way almost to pleasant to handle) and, though it was obvious that it would happen sooner or later, she still didn't have any idea what to think or what would happen.

As soon as Taiku had told her that the Hidden Paw was expecting her, the rush of fear and confusion that had left her alone since coming to live with Rico returned in full measure. What did he want her for? Was it just to give her a job, like Rico said, or to do what he did last time? If it was going to be a repeat of last time, would she be able to resist him? Would she even want to?

Silla shook her head in frustration. She would find out soon enough. But before she went to find out whatever fate held for her in her father's domain, there was one little detour she had to make first.

For the past two weeks she had been living with the feeling of her mind being in a blender, the rush of thoughts and unanswered questions running through her head like a whirlwind and frankly, she was sick of it. Silla didn't know who her mother was and if she went to this meeting without some ideas of her past, it was likely she would never know. And there was only one who could give her those ideas.

Picking up speed, Sillabub headed towards the box where she had once called home. Hopefully, it was to early for Fanika to be out yet.

Jemima stared outside the window at the crescent moon, fingering her brand new spiked collar absentmindedly. Behind her, Lisa was sleeping gently in her bed, as was the rest of the household.

When Jake had come home from the shop accompanied by several heavy bags of groceries, he had been quite astounded when Lisa had run up to him, demanding that they go into town to shop for kitty toys. After making sure that his parents had agreed to keep a cat in the house of all things, he and Lisa had gone back out in the silver beetle and came back laden with multitudes of all the pet cat neccesities. Jemima was glad that Jake had put his foot down on the spiked collar rather than Lisa's choice of a ridiculously large pink ribbon.

She smiled. The collar was actually quite lethal looking compared to a lot of other collars owned by cats in the tribe. Namely, Munkustrap's. It gave Jemima a strange feeling of vindictive pleasure knowing that her collar was more dangerous looking than her father's-the Jellicle Protector. Her smile faded as she thought of them however. No matter how angry she was with them, there was no denying the fact that she missed them. But she would just have to be patient about that.

After hours of debating, she finally resolved that she would keep her new human family and not try to get back to the tribe for a few days - she didn't even know how to get there from Lisa and Jake's house. Besides, one of the main conerns of the tribe was finding homes for all the kittens, as it was a dangerous life as a stray, even with all the older cats' care. So far they had only managed to secure Victoria a proper home. The rich family had taken one look at the beautiful white cat and the tribe didn't see her again for three weeks. And she was a completely different queen, her snowy coat combed to perfection, and topped off with a diamond collar. Which now hung around Exotica's neck. Jemima scowled. Nope, she wouldn't be returning to the tribe for at least a week, long enough to see if they worried about her at all. And if they didn't, Jemima reasoned as she climbed back into bed with Lisa and curled up, this place was comfy enough.

Hee! I love silver VW Beetles!

Reviewers:

Ekwy: Thanks a lot! I'm glad you think I did all right with Exotica, it was hard trying to get the point across that she is a villain, not a Sue - although I guess all Sues are villains anyway, right? Yeah, I know there are a few spelling mistakes, the program I use to right most of the time doesn't have spell check. I guess I'll just have to be extra careful. Please update OFUC soon!

Desert Thief: Yeah, this fic is turning out a lot darker than I thought it would be. When I first started I was thinking of a cute little, harmless kitten fic! Huh, so much for that. Please update Raiders from Rhun as soon as possible. Until you do, don't demand that I update soon! Cya tomorrow! (P.S. yesterday was fun. Thanx for seeing the movie twice for me!)