A/N: Well, yeah. This took a while. So it's extra long to compensate. Enjoy.

About an hour later, Etcetera was running through the junkyard, trying to find a hiding space where Jemima wouldn't find her. She may have been almost an adult by human standards, but as far as hide and seek was concerned, she was still a kitten! (Really, hide and seek was irrestible when in Jellicle form. It was so much more challenging when you could usually sniff out whomever you were looking for.) "Ready or not, here I come!" Jemima could be heard calling in the distance. Etcetera needed to find a hiding spot, now!

Spying a hollow industrial strength washing machine, Etcetera scrambled into it, only to realize a second later that it was already occupied. "Hey, what're you doing on my tail!" Electra cried. She pouted indignantly at Etcetera, and wrapped her arms around the neck of the other occupant of the washer, Mistoffelees. "Misto and I were having fun..." she pouted.

Etcetera grimaced. She didn't want to be around any kind of fun those two might be having. "Sorry, guys," she muttered and turned to leave. "I'll go now."

"Thank you," Misto mumbled between the kisses he placed on Electra's mouth. "Good thing, too. It's getting late, and I don't want to miss any time with you, my dream cat..." His voice faded out as he became smothered by his girlkit's love.

That stopped Etcetera dead in her tracks. "Getting late!" she squeaked, panic evident on her face. She whirled around and almost screamed at the pair in the washer: "What time is it!"

Electra sat up, clearly annoyed. "Not that I'm wearing a watch, but it's probably about ten," she guessed. "But why do you care? It's the moon! Enjoy yourself!"

"I have to go!" she did scream this time, and, offering no explanation, rushed off as fast as her legs could take her toward the nearest junkyard wall.

"Now that that's settled..." Mistoffelees uttered as he reached up to bring Electra down toward him for another kiss.

But Electra stayed put sitting up. "She shouldn't have anywhere to go on a full moon, should she?" she asked of the tom below her.

Misto smirked. "No, but why does it matter?"

"Well, she's just been acting kind of weird lately, and –"

"Have you seen my sister!" Pouncival interrupted, sticking his head into the washer. "I lost track of her when she hopped the ironing board, and I can't find her!"

Mistoffelees gave up. He'd never get to enjoy the time with his girlfriend. Sitting up, he answered, "Yes, we did. She was just here a second ago, in fact. Didn't you hear her? She said she had to go somewhere and took off."

"She took off?" Pouncival repeated. "Where was she going?"

"That'a'way," Electra said, rising and pointing in the direction Etcetera had taken. "She just said, 'I have to go!' and took off!"

Pouncival scratched his head. "That's weird. She didn't tell me she was going anywhere. I'm worried about her. I'm going to go follow her." And he turned to go find his sister.

But Electra grabbed his arm. "Wait, I'll come with you. She's been acting really weird," she said with genuine concern. She turned to the other washer occupant. "Mistoffelees, you're coming, too."

"Do I have to?" he complained like a kitten as he was dragged to his feet.

"Yes, you do. We might need you," Pounce agreed. "Let's go."

Etcetera checked all around her to make sure there was no one nearby before scaling the junk piled against the wall closest to the gate. She was kind of rushed (a quick look at her watch which she had left with her clothes had told her it was already 10:10), but being an agile queen, it wasn't that difficult for her. Though when she got to the top, she realized that she had the other problem of getting down: there was no handy rubbish on the other side of the wall to climb on. Gritting her teeth, she prepared to jump to distance from the top of the wall to the ground.

A hushed voice pierced the relative darkness: "Etcetera!" Startled, she lost her balance, and landed with an undignified thump on the ground. Through the stars that clouded her vision she barely made out the form of Brandon rushing over. "Etcetera! I'm sorry!" he hissed, constantly looking about him to make sure no one was around. "I didn't mean to do that! I'm sorry! C'mon, let's get you back to the car!"

He deftly picked her up into his arms, and gently brought her back to the cab of his truck, which he had been waiting in not fifty feet from where the queenkit had emerged over the wall. The gentleness was a bit uncalled for, however, considering that Etcetera was really very much able to walk on her own paws. But, considering the ... circumstances, she was content to be carried.

"Are you all right?" Brandon whispered as he laid her in the backseat of his truck.

"I'm fine, really Brandon!" she muttered, a bit lovestruck. "Really, I'm all right. Let's go!"

"Are you sure? You looked like you landed pretty hard back there!"

"I'm fine! Really!"

"Are you absolutely sure!"

"Yes!"

"All right," Brandon muttered, without moving. He stayed where he was for a minute, gazing at his Jellicle girlfriend. Etcetera stared back, a little awkward at being looked at for so long. Finally, Brandon whispered, "Let's go then," and climbed out of the cab to go get in the driver's seat. "So where are we going?" he asked as he hopped in and buckled up.

Etcetera remained where she was in the back. "I don't know. Anywhere we can be alone," she muttered, gazing up at the full moon through the glass of the rear windshield.

"My place then?" Brandon offered. "No one's home all weekend." Etcetera agreed, and Brandon started the truck, preparing to wisk them off to a night of celebrating just what they were, and, consequently, a night they would never forget.

"C'mon! I think she came this way!" Pouncival called as he lead his little search party toward one of the outer walls. "I think I smell her scent coming from over here," he said as he let his nose lead the way.

"Are you sure you can smell her?" Mistoffelees queried, incredulous.

"I know what my own sister smells like!" Pounce retorted. "Come on, I think we're almost there!"

Mistoffelees rolled his eyes, but still followed Pouncival and Electra until they reached a junk wall, where Pounce lost the scent. "Darn! Now where'd she go!" he muttered, frustrated.

Electra looked up at the rubbish. "Do you think she could have climbed up there? It looks like you could get over the wall from that high," she said, estimating the distance to the top.

"Only one way to find out," Pounce muttered, and began to mount the large rubbish pile. Electra followed suit. When Pouncival peeped his head over the junkyard wall, he looked out for any sign of Etcetera, but swore at what he saw instead. "Oh, shit," he mumbled.

"Isn't that Brandon's truck?"

Pounce started at the sudden voice in his ear, and bared his claws in surprise. "It's only me," Misto reassured him. The tuxedo tom was cool and collected, having avoided the exhausting climb by simply teleporting to the top of the wall. Electra climbed up and poked her head over the wall on the other side of him, so that Misto was in the middle.

"Damn, don't do that! You scared me, man!" Pounce hissed.

"Sorry. But isn't that Brandon's truck?" he muttered anxiously, all annoyance swept away in the realization of what seemed to be taking place before his eyes.

"It is," Electra whispered. "You ... don't think she ... told him, do you?" she moaned.

Pouncival squinted, trying to see the long distance. "Well, she's in the truck with him, so I'm thinking probably yes. Shit." And he started climbing over the wall to get to her.

But Misto stopped him. "What do you think you're doing?" he hissed. "You'll be seen!"

"Seen by who?" Pounce retorted. All caution had been thrown to the wind in his determination to save his sister from the certain public exposure of her felinity.

"Does it matter? You can't go out there in Jellicle form! Someone is bound to see you! And we don't want to have to deal with you ratting out on us to the City Council to save your skin," Electra hissed now.

Pouncival looked on futilely as the truck started up. "But they're leaving!" he uttered. "We have to follow them somehow!"

"No arguments there," Mistoffelees muttered. Swiftly, he grabbed Pouncival's shoulder with one paw, and Electra's with the other. Not giving them time to think, he ordered, "When I count to three, close your eyes, hold your breath, and think of nothing but being in the bed of that truck!"

"But Misto -"

"Just do it! One, two three!"

And with that, Pouncival's breath hitched in his throat as he slammed his eyes shut and concentrated as hard as he could on the big black truck bed. He was intensely cold for a second, and his heart pounded in his ears, but when he opened his eyes he felt metal under his paws and wind whipping over his fur. "Get down!" a voice ordered, and without thinking, Pounce got down on his belly so as not to be seen by the driver of the truck.

"That was close."

As he got his bearings, Pouncival found himself safely in the back of the truck (which had stopped at a red light), lying down in close proximity to Electra, who had Mistoffelees on her other side. "Misto, did you have to do that?" she muttered.

"Yes," he replied, just as softly. "What else would you have had me do? Watch them drive off?"

Electra was quiet. Pouncival shivered. "Did it have to be in the back? Why couldn't we be in the truck! Where it's warm!" he demanded.

Mistoffelees smirked. "What? And have them see you? Sorry, no," he answered. But he did turn to his side and lift up what appeared to be a large blanket. "But we should cover ourselves up anyway. If only so we're not seen by tailgaters."

Pounce sighed in relief. Finally one thing had gone right. As he spread the blessed relief that was a blanket over the three of them, he muttered, "Misto? Was this here already, or did you make it get here?"

"Don't you wish you knew."

"Hey, Pouncival?" Electra asked. "Does Brandon have a dog?"

"A dog?" he repeated. "No, I don't think so." Jokingly, he added, "Would I let my sister date someone with a dog?"

"Just asking," she replied. "Because I swear it smells like dog back here!"

Brandon remained relatively silent for most of the car trip back to his house. He had a lot on his mind: first and foremost, what fun they were going to have, just the two of them, plus the moon. But also, the very fact of their relationship was clinging around his thoughts. It was still a mystery to him how a Pollicle and a Jellicle, two beings who should be mortal enemies, had managed to fall in love! Yet he couldn't deny it; in love he certainly was.

Though it had felt awkward, carrying Sarah – no, Etcetera - back to the car. She was undeniably feline, and he had felt a bit ill-at-ease holding her in his arms. Natually, he had never been much of a cat lover.

"You sure you're all right?" he called back to the back seat. "You looked like you hit your head pretty hard!"

"I'm fine!" she said from her hiding place. "It's not like I've never hit my head before!"

That, Brandon could believe.

thump

"Hey, did you hear that?" Brandon asked, a little unnerved, but still keeping his eyes on the road. "I thought I heard something."

"Nope, I didn't hear anything. Why, what was it?"

Brandon shivered. "I thought I heard something in the truck bed. Maybe I should pull over and check it out."

Etcetera rolled her eyes. "There's nothing back there! Let's go! I want to get there while the moon is still out!"

Brandon shrugged. He was probably just a little jumpy anyway, what with hauling a fully feline Jellicle in his truck!

Brandon smiled as he pulled into his driveway. Home sweet home. "Bunches?" he murmured to the back seat. "We're here."

"Really?" a voice said as Etcetera's head popped up. "That was quick!"

"I was speeding," Brandon mumbled. He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned around in his seat, handing her his coat. "Here, put this on so we can get into the house with no one noticing."

"Into the house! Why don't we go out to your backyard? I want to be under the moon!"

He turned to her to argue, but his eyes locked with hers, and his words died in his mouth. "Fine," he whispered. "Go ahead and get into the backyard. I'm going into the house to ... change."

When he no longer heard voices, Mistoffelees gingerly lifted their blanket off and peered around the unfamiliar neighborhood. "Pouncival, do you know where we are?" he asked.

Pounce opened his mouth to reply, but Electra beat him to it. "This is Brandon's house," she whispered. "But why would he bring her to his house? If he knows what she is ..."

"Hey, I think she just went into the backyard," Pounce interrupted, peering over his shoulder, being careful not to be seen. He was right: his sister's tail could be seen as she slipped over the back fence. "Let's go," he said, starting to climb out of the truck, but Misto stopped him.

"You want her to see you? Don't follow her!"

"Then how are we going to ..."

Electra wasn't really listening. She was evalutating the situation. They couldn't follow Etcetera over the fence without her seeing them, but that didn't mean they wouldn't be able to find out what was going on. There was a large pine tree that she could see, which overlooked the yard, but pine needles didn't look very friendly. Though the roof of the house was relatively flat...

"Misto?" she whispered, "Do you think you can get us up to the roof?"

Mistoffelees looked up to where she was pointing and grinned evilly. Again, he put one paw on Electra's shoulder and the other on Pouncivals. "You remember the drill," he murmured. "Close your eyes and think really hard of being on the roof."

Electra followed his instructions to the letter (for she knew to listen to a magical cat when he was going to do a spell), but when she opened her eyes, she was annoyed to find prickly needles digging into her fur!

"Misto! What did you do? We're in a tree?"

"I'm sorry! I don't know what happened! I didn't mean to!"

"Actually, it's my fault. I guess I was thinking about how funny it would be if we landed in the tree."

"Pouncival!"

"Hey, shush! There she is!" Mistoffelees cautioned. He gestured to the backyard below them. Etcetera was there all right, running around and using more of the seemingly endless wellspring of energy she seemed to have.

"Well, there she is," Pounce muttered. "But where's Brandon? I hope he's not calling the police or something..."

Suddenly, Electra's breath caught in her throat. Her eyes grew wide, and she slowly gestured to the screen door of the house and mumbled, "There he is..."

"That's not Brandon, that's a – Everlasting Cat!"

Pouncival had been about to say "dog," but he was suddenly interrupted by the dog moving to stand up on two legs. Now, he could see that the dog really had the shape of a man, or more specifically, a teenager. Etcetera ran to him, and nuzzled him lovingly. Together, they strode to the center of the yard, where Etcetera suddenly tagged him on the shoulder and ran like crazy. He growled playfully, and they began a spirited game of tag, except with nuzzles instead of tagging.

Pouncival could only stare the entire time. Finally, he muttered, "No, tell me he's not..."

"I think he is," Misto finished for him. "I think Brandon is really a Pollicle."

Back in the junkyard, Jemima still walked around, scratching her head, and occasionly poking through the rubbish. "Wow, Etcy's really good at hide and seek..." she mumbled.