Chapter 7

"Bombi? Bombalurina, wake up!"

Demeter's shouts woke up the red queen from her shocked slumber, and she came to, realizing that she had fainted, and she was now in Demeter's and Munku's den. The remembrance of the faint reminded her of the reason she swooned.

"Oh, no, Mackey! He's…he's going to…!" She couldn't contain herself and broke down, sobbing without stop. Demi embraced her sister, letting a few tears of her own fall down. After a while, Bombi calmed down, though the gold queen could tell that the light in her eyes had faded away, "How…is he?"

Demeter gently caressed Bombi's paw with her own, giving her comfort, "He's awake now, and even though he has coughed extensively for awhile, no blood has come out of his mouth yet."

"Meaning the…internal bleeding hasn't gone…to his lungs…yet," Bombalurina finished with a sad tone. With that, she quietly left and went to the infirmary area. Before she got there, Sophline, with Munkustrap accompanying her approached Bombi.

"Mommy! Is…is Daddy going to be all right?" the small red queen asked with a begging look in her eyes, "Please tell me he will be all right!"

The elder red queen knelt to her daughter and gently sighed, "I…wish I could say that, dear…but…I can't…" Sophline didn't need to hear any more to know. She quickly shook her head in denial, and suddenly ran off. Munku quickly said he will get her and ran after his niece. All Bombi could do was just stay still on one knee. Everything was falling apart for her. After a long moment, she was finally able to stand and go to the infirmary. Inside, Jellylorum was rinsing a few bloody rags, and Jennyanydots was fast asleep in one corner. The old Gumbie Cat had earned a good sleep.

Jelly glanced at the red queen and nodded to the white sheet, where behind that, Mackey was, "He's awake, though it isn't looking too good for him."

"Have you told him that…?"

"He's going to die?" the elder queen spoke in a more quiet tone, so he couldn't hear, "No, Jenny thinks it is best if you tell him. I know it's going to be hard for you, but if you want me to be there with you, I can."

"No, that's all right," Bombalurina whispered with a sad tone. Taking a deep breath, she moved the sheet aside just enough for her to enter. She could barely hold back tears as she saw her mate lying on a bed, blanket covering him. He looked so helpless, so weak. He glanced up at her and smiled.

"Hey, hon. How are you doing?"

Bombi couldn't help but return the smile, "I'm alright, though I will be better when you are all better. Jelly told me that you…should be out of bed within 2 weeks at the most."

Mac looked at her with a suspicious look on his face, "Liar. I could tell by the tone of your voice," he sighed and looked up at the ceiling, "I know I'm going to die. I can almost…feel my body giving up. Like how an old light bulb slowly fades away as it dies."

Bombalurina's face pinched together, like she was trying to hold back her tears, but she finally let out a sob and laid her face onto her mate's chest, lightly so as not to irritate his wounds, "You're dying, Mackey! I…I can't lose you! Not again!" she cried out all of her held in tears. Macavity just laid a paw on her head. After her crying quieted down again, he talked again.

"Bombi, please look at me," She looked up and into his eyes. His image had changed once again back to the tom that she had loved for so long, "You are a very strong queen, I know that for a fact because you were brave enough to watch over the kittens when I would be out scavenging all day, even when the weather was turning bad. You never panicked and you were always comforting our children that I would be back. I know you can make it through this, but you are going to have to will yourself to. It'll be alright. You have your family here, and after I'm gone, there will be two little kittens that are going to need their mother more than ever," He stopped and started coughing loudly, like a whooping cough. Then he settled down and laid back, looking up at the ceiling again.

"You know what bothers me the most right now?" He said quietly. His mate quietly shook her head.

"I never figured out who I was, what my purpose was in life. All I did was made other cats' lives miserable," He closed his eyes for a moment before finishing, "Who am I? What was my purpose? Why am I here?"

This had her thinking for a long moment herself before she was able to figure it out, "Mackey, your purpose was this; to help this tribe, to save it! I once heard everything happens for a reason, and I think I have figured it out. Your learning the Dark Magic happened because fate found out in the long run, it would be needed for the benefit of the tribe. And it saved the Jellicles from evil!"

"I figured that out myself, but I am an enigma, Bombi. I don't know what kind of a cat I am."

"Mackey, I know what kind of a cat you are. You are one that can't stand to see someone else suffering before you. I know that for a fact, because you stood up for me when I first arrived in the Jellicles. Remember when Tugger said how different my fur was? And you defended me, and helped make me feel belonged! I was grateful for that! And you decided to sacrifice yourself to save this tribe. That's what kind of a cat you are. You are unselfish, caring, and selfless. That's who you are."

His mate's words got the ginger tom thinking and he suddenly realized she was right. All these years, he had tried to figure out who he was, and what his purpose was, like his father had said to him that final night he was alive (Read Macavity Chronicles, and The Flames Within by Bombalurinasara for more on these past incidents mentioned). It made him feel more at peace, realizing that all he had wanted to find out had been there in him the whole time, and he never acknowledged it.

At around the same time, Munkustrap was sitting in his den, his daughter Catalina playing with Sophline, though the little red queen wasn't exactly in a playful mood. Demeter came in with a quiet, sober look on her face.

"How is she?"

"Bombi's alright, but these next few weeks are going to be very difficult for her," The gold and black queen told her mate.

The silver tabby nodded, "We'll have her stay with us for awhile, until she's able to stand on her own two feet again."

Demi nodded and walked over to where Jendangen was sleeping. For a long moment, she just stood there, watching her nephew, and felt a stab of guilt, sorry that this little tom was never going to come of age without a father. It really made her heart cry for him. Munku's voice broke her thoughts.

"I've been thinking. Misto told me that the Jellicle moon may be shining tomorrow night. He got that from the twins. Anyways, that means that before dawn, I will have to choose someone to…"

"Go to the Heaviside Layer?" Demeter finished the sentence, and looked back at him, "Are you…you're considering…Macavity?"

"No! Absolutely not! There's no way I'm going to choose him. He doesn't deserve it!"

"What do you mean he doesn't deserve it! Didn't you see what he did? He saved the whole tribe from him! And he sacrificed himself for all of us!" Demi shouted at her mate. Munkustrap had no emotion on his face, but the gold and black queen could see hate in his eyes.

"I don't care. I am not sending him up at all! Period!"

Demeter sighed and looked back at her nephew. A new thought went through her head and she turned back to the silver tabby, "Is this about what he's done to you in the past? That rivalry you two had all those years ago? Everlasting Cat, you two were kittens! Grow up! You can't just let an age-old rivalry separate you two!"

"It's not that, Demi! It's…something else."

"Than, what is it? Is it because he was able to defeat Draconic and you couldn't? What, is this an ego thing now? Whatever you fail, and someone else succeeds, you always become jealous of that cat, and you don't talk to them for a long time," Demeter was now glaring at him. Her mate walked up to her, so that they were face-to-face.

"I'm never jealous. I'll never be jealous of others."

"What about the ball when Macavity attacked and you tried to fight him off? You got knocked out, Alonzo took care of him, and couldn't even look him in the eye for weeks! Not jealous, my foot! For Heaviside's sake, Munku, look at yourself! Think about what he did! He saved the whole tribe, made it free again! If your ego can't handle that…" She couldn't finish and she stomped outside, fuming, leaving a sullen tom behind.

Munkustrap just watched her leave and shook her head. As he turned around, he saw his daughter and niece looking at him with wide eyes. He avoided them and sat next to his nephew. As he watched the little orange tom sleep, he suddenly felt a slight change of heart. This little kitten was going to someday ask him what Mac was like. What was he going to tell him, that he was an evil, ruthless criminal? That would put any cat to shame! He started thinking of what Demi had said to him. He slowly realized that he was…no, it wasn't possible! Tugger was that, not him!

"Everlasting Cat!" he muttered under his breath, "Am I…egoistical? Am I letting my pride taking over my responsibilities?"

This bothered the Jellicle leader, and had him sitting there for a long time.

Ah, how I love suspense! I noticed that the last two reviews for this story both had people starting to feel sympathy for the Hidden Paw. Well, I'm glad to know I have struck a cord with some, and I hope you all keep R and R. I got probably 3-4 more chapters of this story left, maybe more. Once I'm done, I'll either continue the Macavity Chronicles, or do my next CATS fan fic, A Rose Blooms For Two. Anyways, glad to know people like this story, and hope you all keep readin' and writin'!