Chapter 8

Rum Tum Tugger was also deep in thought as well and he constantly struggled to find some alone time, but so many little queens were after him, and the only place he could find peace was Munkustrap's den. Inside, he saw his brother sitting next to Jendangen's little bed, where the orange kitten was resting.

"Something wrong?"

The silver tabby glanced up at him and shrugged, "I suppose you could say that." The Maine Coon glanced around the den and noticed no one else was there.

"Where is everybody? Where's your lovely Demeter?"

"We sort of had a disagreement."

"Ah, what about?" That question had Munku glaring at him.

"What, you think I'm going to tell you? I don't even like talking about your problems, but then again, you never have any, right?"

"C'mon Munkie! I'm your own brother! You can tell me what's wrong or what's going on. Trust me."

Munkustrap thought for a moment then nodded, "Well, alright. But remember, you tell nobody. Tugger, answer me on this, and be honest. Am I egotistical?"

"What do you mean?"

Tugger's brother sighed and glanced down at his paws, "Well, Demi says that I always try to protect my ego whenever someone does something I tried and can't do, like just yesterday when Macavity defeated Draconic. She thinks he should the one sent to the Heaviside Layer, because he freed the tribe."

"And you are too envious to send him, like during the Ball when Macavity attacked, right? Alonzo was the one that fought him away, and you failed. Boy was your dander up after that! You couldn't even look at Lonzo in the eye for weeks afterward, let alone talk to him!"

"Don't remind me!" the silver tabby answered with a growl, "Anyways, I have been wondering. What if she was right? Am I letting my ego control me? What should I do?"

"What do you think is the right thing to do?"

"I…I don't know…I mean, Mac has only done this one very good deed and that's it. I just don't see how saving the tribe alone can redeem him for all that he did over the years. How could the Everlasting Cat even consider that? He hasn't done anything else that was good."

"What about when he found Demeter and her sister and brought them to the tribe? In a sense, he brought you the queen you now love and adore," Tugger answered with a smug grin, which always irritated his brother.

"Well…alright that's two things, but one of those is more personal than the others. That doesn't help much."

The Maine Coon knew that he was going to have to figure out something soon, or else it will be impossible to change his mind. With no other choice, he said the words that had his brother freeze in thought, "What do you think Father would've done?" referring to Deuteronomy, who was now in the Heaviside Layer himself. Munkustrap couldn't respond to that, and he just sat there, wondering. What would've his father done? Would he have forgiven the tom that was once a master criminal and a monster of depravity?

"And as for your ego, I think that you think you have a duty, a reputation, and you want to hold that up as much as possible. But remember, we all have off days, and the best thing to do is to learn from you mistakes and build off of them, rather than dwell in them forever."

Munku glanced up at his brother and gave a smirk of his own, "Since when do you suddenly give words of wisdom like that?"

"Ever since we could talk to each other, where our reputations mean bull plop," Tugger responded with a grin of his own. The two shared a chuckle, and the tense air in the den loosened up greatly. The sight of two little queens standing in the door also helped the silver tabby forget all that had happened in the few minutes past.

"Father," Catalina asked respectfully, "Could we please go and visit Uncle Mac and Aunt Bombi?"

Munku grinned, "Of course. I have a few words to say to him myself."

Munkustrap, holding Catalina's and Sophline's paws, went into the trunk where Macavity was. Bombalurina was sitting by his bedside, gently holding one of his paws. The ginger tom glanced over at the trio entering and smiled.

"Well, hello there. And who might this radiant queen with my daughter be?"

Munkustrap grinned, "Well, this is my daughter, Catalina." The black and white queen quietly went up to Mac's bedside. She had a kind of sad look to her eyes, as apparently Sophline told her what was going to happen to him.

"It's very nice to meet you Uncle Mac."

The ginger tom grinned at his niece, "And very nice to meet you too," the two shook paws, and he glanced over at his daughter, "Why the long face, hon? Aren't you glad that your daddy's alright?"

Sophline's face winced in an attempt to hold back tears, but she instead ran off again, Catalina running after her. Mackey immediately glared at his mate.

"You told her!"

"I…I couldn't lie to her. You have to understand!"

Mac groaned and lay back, "Great, just great! Now how is she going to be able to talk to me now that she knows what's going to happen to me?" Just as he finished his rampage, Jellylorum burst in.

"Macavity, don't be shouting! It's not going to improve you!" The ginger tom responded with a piercing glare. His mate quickly stood up for him.

"Please, Jelly, he's going through a rough time right now. Everyone is, so let's please keep everything quiet."

The elder cat nodded, "Yes, you are right. I better go check on Jemina and Rumpleteazer."

Bombalurina understood, hearing what had happened to them as a result of Draconic, "You think they're going to have abortions?"

"Not from what I can tell. Mungojerrie's set against it, and Jemmi's too sweet to even consider it."

"I feel so sorry for them. Without a mate and having kittens, it's going to be very hard for both of them," Bombi said with a tone of guilt. It was hard for any queen to have kittens and no tom to care for her. Jelly left, and Bombi, at Mac's insistence, followed. For the longest time, he just lay there, wondering how it was going to feel dying. How did his parents and his little brother die? Did they die quickly with limited pain, or did they suffer terribly? Mac hoped that it was the former.

"Am I interruptin' somethin'?" A sharply accented voice broke the silence. Munku, who had been staring at the ginger tom in bed rest without saying a word, looked up.

"I think so, Mungo. It would be best if you leave."

Macavity glared at the Jellicle leader, "It'll be fine, and it will be better if you leave."

Feeling offended, the silver tabby left, leaving Mac alone with his former partner-in-crime. The brown cat grinned at him.

"Howsit feelin', boss?"

Mac grinned through the pain, "Well, I didn't think dying would hurt so much," he chuckled lightly at his own little quirk, and then went serious again, "Hard to believe this is how my life is going to end; lying here, slowly dying. I don't even know how I am going to be able to sleep tonight, because I might die in my sleep, who knows?"

Mungojerrie chuckled, "Good ol' gloomy Mac! Neva' a real optimist, aren't ya? That's always how it is, everyone else sees da doughnut, an' ya just see da hole!"

"Shut up," Macavity replied with a tone of irritation, "So how's your sister doing? Especially after…"

Mungo quickly nodded, "Yeah, she's alright, but she was considerin' an abortion! Ya can't imagine how much it took to get that thought outta her mind!"

"Doesn't she know that abortion among cats is taboo?"

"She just doesn't want a kitten, that's all."

The ginger tom shrugged, "Well, at least she has a tom that cares for her. Can't say the same for Bombi. She's going to have to raise those kits all by herself…" He shook his head and let a tear slip down his face. Mungo shook his head.

"I don't think dat's gonna be a problem for ya. As for Teaza', I'm just lookin' out for my sista', nothin' to it."

Mac was silent again for a moment before he spoke again, "Mungo? I'm sorry that I forced you to work for me when I practically ran a crime business. I had no reason for making you do all that, and treating you the way I did. I'm surprised you didn't try to run off."

"Ah, boss, there was nothin' else I could do! Stealin' things has always been my specialty. I'll be perfectly blunt here when I say that I wanted to stick with ya. You were da only one dat even cared about me! Everyone else hated Teaza' and myself for all the pranks we did as kittens. Though I have to admit, workin' for ya didn't help my situation!"

"I suppose it didn't," Macavity responded with a light chuckle. His face soon contorted, though, and he coughed harshly, like a whooping cough. When he settled down, a bit of blood dripped out the side of his mouth, and there were drops on his paw where he coughed. Mungojerrie froze, and the ginger tom's heart sank. His clock was finally ticking; he had now only at the most the rest of the night to live.

At the same time, it was getting to the middle of the night, and the Jellicle Moon started shining through the clouds…

Whew! Another chapter in the trenches! Glad to know there are some still wanting more and I am more than glad to keep on satisfying story-hungry people. I know prob. some Munkustrap fans were mad that I made him full of ego, but I figured that he had a stubborn pride, so… look, it's just a story, alright! Anyways, I was glad I had Spring Break to get more writing time, and that's how I was able to get 2 chapters done in less than 5 days, faster than any other time I have written. I will be free to write all weekend, so write I will, and get this done! Even I can't wait for the finish! Keep on R and R, and enjoy!