After the Ball

Author's notes: Again a very happy writer here! I am pleased to find that people are reviewing again-whee! Can I call you lovely lot my regulars and reply to your reviews? Ok here goes- lozzypop- It's about to get a whole lot worse I can assure you. I'm pretty sure there's going to be more cliff-hangers too! Mystitat- blushes thank you for your compliments! I tend to find that fight scenes are my specialty, so there should be a few more in here. Chimalmaht- Munkustrap is defiantly not a happy kitty right now, and his guilt is going to grow. Tugger and Misto, well, they too aren't happy kitties either. Mwhahahaha. Krissy4- Well I'm glad you're enjoying the Misto torture. Hope you enjoy the next chapter! Jemima-luvah- trumpets sound congratulations you won my 'best review' award! Thank you for your praise and I will try and make Macavity super evil for you, though to be honest I haven't even considered his character yet! That Furrowcat/Furrocat has really got me confused I think it's actually Furrowcat (I think I've been using that one more :S) Oh well enjoy and hopefully I wont be plagued with writers block.

Oh and one more thing, sorry folks for the slight delay, you know what its like when you get out of the swing of writing for a few days, then it all goes down hill from there!

xxx

Mistoffelees dared not move a muscle, or rather could not move from fear in the awkward posture he was holding. He had witnessed Macavity at the Jellicle Ball however then he had been protected, and examined him from a distance. He had not been targeted then, but now, well now it was a different story. Macavity stood a few meters away from him and he was the centre of attention. Up close the fearsome cat did himself justice. The tales told about him were merely estimations of his true appearance. The red fur stood out and his underbelly had the famous markings. The strong claws clunked on the wooden flooring, the very sound chilled Mistoffelees to the bone.

The red feline stopped halfway across the room and in front of the door, effectively stopping the only line of escape. The magical cat eyed his suspiciously.

When Macavity spoke it was like someone had Mistoffelees by the throat and would not let go- he found it hard to breathe as the napoleon of crime's voice echoed coolly around the room.

"I see my brother has decided to tag along. He can never keep out of trouble, I just don't know where he gets it from," Macavity drawled sarcastically as he swiftly closed the gap between himself and the two hostages. As he said it he gave The Rum Tum Tugger a harsh kick to his already broken side, the hurt cat moaned- a sure sign that he was waking up. Macavity smiled. Mistoffelees' eyes widened slightly, he had no idea that his best friend was related to such an evil being. And if Tugger was Macavity's brother then that meant so was Munkustrap… Mistoffelees guessed that the proud brothers would not want the tribe to know about their 'off the rails' sibling, but he felt somewhat put off; surely their tribe should know something this important. Then the guilty thought that he had informed no one of his magical troubles swept over him and he suddenly forgave them. Still, the idea that Macavity was actually related to a Jellicle was preposterous. Maybe, just maybe, that meant he was a Jellicle too…

Macavity had seemed to pick up on the small tom's surprise. He laughed callously, kneeled and placed a paw on The Rum Tum Tugger's mane in mock affection.

"He didn't tell you about me?" Macavity asked faking surprise, then his face grew more serious with a hint of bitterness in those sunken eyes of his, "No I guess not. Dearest Munkustrap would have none of it. He wouldn't want a mark on that clear record of his," his claw twisted angrily in the knotted fur and he pulled up the weight of his brother so their faces were level. "It seems that my other brother has scarred that pretty face of his," he let him go and The Rum Tum Tugger fell to the floor with a soft 'clunk', "Shame."

Finally finding his voice, Mistoffelees spoke up. "Leave him alone Macavity, he's done nothing to you." The two conscious cats were very close to each other and Macavity stepped closer so he stood higher than the black and white tom. He looked down and sneered, "But you have." Mistoffelees took a wobbly step backward as the other cat advanced, a dangerous glint in his eyes. In truth, Mistoffelees was terrified of what would happen to him and The Rum Tum Tugger. He thought what would happen if he were to use magic, whether he would faint from the pressure or if indeed it would work against such a powerful cat (who was also said to possess enchantments of some form). Macavity seemed to guess what was running through his mind and within the next second Mistoffelees found himself pinned against the wall by the neck, so he was barely touching the floor with his paws. He scrambled hopelessly for a moment panicking at the lack of air reaching his lungs.

"You think you can use magic against me?" there was a booming bark of laughter as the grip on Mistoffelees' throat tightened, "if you so much as think of performing your tricks on me or my cats then you will be the cause of my brother's slow and painful demise." He let go and Mistoffelees slid to the floor gasping for air but holding himself together defiantly. Looking swiftly at The Rum Tum Tugger and his mind was made up on the spot; he would never do anything which would place his friends in direct danger like that, even if it meant that putting himself there instead. Mistoffelees brought himself up to his full height (which wasn't much compared to the looming Macavity) and stuck his chest out as proudly as he could manage.

"If you will release The Rum Tum Tugger then I will submit to your demands, whatever they may be," he spoke the last part very softly as he let his head droop slightly in despair.

"Do you think I would believe that! You would magic yourself out of here as soon as he leaves the building."

"You have my promise. As a Jellicle," Mistoffelees countered, knowing full well that it was widely known that a Jellicle's promise was never broken. Macavity nodded in agreement and replied, "it is done conjurer. I will release The Rum Tum Tugger to tell of your dire fate tomorrow at dawn." He then unexpectedly left the room leaving Mistoffelees to run the words over in his mind –'your dire fate, your dire fate, your dire fate…' He fell asleep from exhaustion, being plagued by terrible nightmares throughout the night.

xx

It did not take long for Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer to pick up the track of the missing cats. Although the scent of them had been washed away by the pervious night's rain, Mungojerrie had visited a reliable old contact of his and word on the street was that a fight had taken place near the junkyard late last night. The two calicos rushed to the destination and found with a heavy heart evidence of a scrap that went against the Jellicle's favour. To the untrained eye there would be no sign of any brawl, however these two cat burglars could easily identify the ripped out fur that scattered randomly across the pavement and the flecks on blood staining the floor. Of course they couldn't tell whose blood it was, but Rumpleteazer gravely pointed out that the fur was that of The Rum Tum Tugger's. Taking the evidence, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer raced back to the junkyard to present it to Munkustrap.

"Ya can jus' tell he aint gonna be happy with this," Rumpleteazer muttered to Mungojerrie

"Thanks for statin' the obvious Teazer," he replied glumly.

xx

Munkustrap was conversing with Plato and Ademetus on the trunk of the car again. Around them the kittens frolicked playfully- with the short absence of The Rum Tum Tugger, the young toms Pouncival and Tumblebrutus had been receiving far more attention from the likes of Electra and Etcetera . Needless to say they enjoyed it immensely, being the centre of attention for once. Meanwhile Bombalurina was wandering the yard seemingly with nothing to do, however she was looking for Tugger and pouted sulkily when he was nowhere to be seen.

"He can't just keep taking off like that! Doesn't he know how annoying it gets," she moaned consistently while being consoled by her close friend Demeter. Cassandra passed by with Alonzo who stopped at the mention of his brother's name.

"Bombalurina, I saw him last night in the rain, seemed to be going somewhere important," Alonzo added. The red queen narrowed her eyes, "in the rain?" Alonzo nodded, "that's all I know, Munkustrap spoke to him for a while, go ask him." Bombalurina winked and said, "Thanks" before sauntering off with Demeter to find Munkustrap.

As the two felines leapt up onto the car bonnet to speak with Munkustrap, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were jumping from the other side. With Plato, Ademetus, Demeter, Munkustrap, Bombalurina, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer all on the car, it turned out to be quite cramped and so they were all very close together, looking rather suspicious to anyone passing by.

"We got some information for ya," Rumpleteazer informed still panting heavily from the previous running. From the grave faces of the two, Munkustrap could tell it was bad news. Demeter, who possessed a great sense of instinct, approached Munkustrap and rubbed her head against his neck in a sign of affection and comfort; he returned the action quickly and then pulled himself to his usual stiff posture.

"We found signs of a fight not too far away from 'ere. There was a lot of blood… and this," Mungojerrie nudged Rumpleteazer and she came forward to place the fur in front of the Jellicle protector. Bombalurina gasped and rushed to grab at the small patch of brown fur. Out of all the female cats in the tribe, she was the fondest of The Rum Tum Tugger and it seemed that he also held a soft spot for her. Ademetus then asked the obvious question that secretly everyone was dying to ask, "Is that The Rum Tum Tugger's? Where is he?"

"Macavity," whispered Demeter and there was a great murmur among them all. Now other cats had assembled below, the kittens excited at the mention of Macavity.

"What's this nonsense about Macavity now," Jellyorum called pulling her kittens close in a motherly fashion. Munkustrap sighed; he had hoped that the distressing news would be kept quiet until he could devise a plan. Adding to that the sick feeling of guilt that stabbed him annoyingly in the gut, screaming at him- he should've paid more attention to The Rum Tum Tugger, he should've been playing his role in the tribe properly, he should've realised Macavity wanted Mistoffelees after the ball. Instead of voicing these thoughts, he chose to keep them locked up, as he usually did.

"We have reason to believe that last night during the storm Macavity has fought and captured The Rum Tum Tugger and due to the absence of Mistoffelees, it is likely that he too is in the clutches of Macavity." This statement caused a great uproar among the female kittens. The news of their favourite Tom Tugger sent them into shrieks of worry, though almost no one was mentioning the news of Mistoffelees.

"What are we going to do Munkustrap?" "Will The Rum Tum Tugger be ok?" "Is Mistoffelees there too?" Many questions were fired at Munkustrap all at once and he had to stand in his 'story telling' stance so everyone would quieten down and listen.

"Now we can't do anything unless you all calm down," Munkustrap said in a strained voice. The hyper youngsters were not making his job any easier. He waited for silence and then continued, "I suggest we plan this out carefully. We all know what Macavity is capable of and how not to underestimate him. If it is true that he has The Rum Tum Tugger and Mistoffelees then he must have a reason for it. We need to find out what exactly." That was the end of his speech, Munkustrap felt like he had no energy to go on so he stopped, gave a quick dismissal and then asked for a selection of cats in the tribe to a small meeting later on in the day. The sick feeling was still there…

xx

A thin stream of sunlight filtered through the window and into the dim room. It strategically hit the face of a sleeping tom and continued to glare until the tom in question scrunched his eyes and finally opened them, only to close them quickly and move out of the way. A few seconds passed and then he rolled to his feet as if he had just been shocked, he had just realised where he was. AT first he thought it just a dream, a bad nightmare, like the ones he had been having all through the night, however it was not and he cursed himself for sleeping when his friend was still unconscious…or was he? Now as the small tom Mistoffelees approached he could see shivers running up and down the almost lifeless body on the floor. Taking another step and the floorboard creaked; the lifeless figure jumped, yelped, and then lay still again. Mistoffelees rushed to his side.

"Tugger! Are you ok?" The Rum Tum Tugger's labouring breath stopped for a moment before a croaked answer was said, "M-m-Mistoffelees?"

"Yes it's me, Mistoffelees. Are you ok?"

"I've had better days," The Rum Tum Tugger replied. Mistoffelees smiled despite the situation; only Tugger could make light of such seriousness. He manoeuvred himself so they could both see each others faces. He nearly gasped out loud when he saw the numerous cuts and bruises on The Rum Tum Tugger's face; one of his eyes was shut due to a painful looking black eye, not to mention the deep gashes marring his handsome visage. However it was not Mistoffelees who commented on the state of Tugger.

"You have a bruise on your face!" The Rum Tum Tugger pointed out, his voice sounded angry, "did Macavity do this?" He attempted to get up but only managed to get half way before having to give up and lean on the wall for support.

"You have to calm down Tugger, you are far worse off than me, you need to save your strength."

"Why are you not answering my question Mistoffelees? Did Macavity do that to you?" Mistoffelees looked almost ashamed and nodded, "how did you know that it was Macavity that has us here?"

The Rum Tum Tugger replied quietly, "I can smell him, and let's be honest. Who else would it be?"

Mistoffelees appeared thoughtful for a while and then set his piercing gaze to his friend, "I think he is coming."

xx

Macavity entered and spotted at once the bent over Rum Tum Tugger scowling as fiercely as he could. He had to admit, if he was in better shape, Macavity would've acted more wary around him, a healthy and angry Rum Tum Tugger was never one to cross lightly. Instead he looked to Mistoffelees who was staring at him directly, appeared wearied but had hauntingly placid eyes, 'he would soon change that,' Macavity thought to himself before advancing on the two.

"You have missed much brother, whilst you slept. Mistoffelees and I had quite an interesting chat," the ginger cat laughed as his younger sibling winced at the term 'brother', he obviously didn't approve of it. "Don't worry 'brother'. Your friend already knows about our loving family." Mistoffelees gave The Rum Tum Tugger an apologetic look and bowed his head downwards, not liking where the conversation was going. Macavity then went on, "he also has made me a promise. Sparing your pathetic life for his cooperation with my specific terms." At this The Rum Tum Tugger yelled out loud.

"No! Don't you dare lay one claw on him, I sware Macavity I'll…"

"You'll do what, kill me?" interrupted the cat in question. The curious cat fell silent but was outwardly seething with rage. After a few moments he tried another tactic.

"Mistoffelees, you are making a big mistake. He is not trustworthy, he will come for us all in the end anyway, use your magic and -"

A sharp claw smacked him across the face and he gasped at the stinging pain. It caused red blood to ooze out from a gash on his forehead and seep into his eyes. Mistoffelees leapt forward in front of the next oncoming blow. Macavity rose hi paw for a second strike and let it come down at his brother's closed eyes, however at the last moment a blur of black and white came in the way and was hit instead.

Falling to the floor with a soft gasp and Mistoffelees found that he was looking up at the menacing Macavity. He noticed that he was snarling, probably with rage at getting in the way of his wrath. The ginger cat bent down and lifted him up by the neck (it was in a similar fashion to the previous night) and threw. Mistoffelees felt his body impact with the wall and then continue to slide down until he reached the floor. Breathing heavily he tried to get up, Macavity had turned his back and was paying more attention to The Rum Tum Tugger who was now sporting yet another gash on his shoulder. Again the anger sparked off the magic within him. He knew he had promised Macavity that he would not use his magic, but this was only on the condition that his friend was released, so, without thinking much more Mistoffelees had gained his footing and was sending a powerful wave directly at his foe. It took a lot out of him as he had never used such a different type of magic, this time it was more centred, more pure and harder to conjure.

"Leave, him, alone," Mistoffelees managed to shout, looking at the quickly recovering cat before he dropped to his knees, feeling dizzy and weak. He could just about hear the worried cry of The Rum Tum Tugger and see a blur before his eyes before he knew no more.