The way that his magic was revealed was not surprised Misto, but the way that Tugger was turned into a kitten never crossed his mind. His jaw dropped, staring at the little tiger pattern cat in his paws unbelievably. Was this used-to-be-the-charming Maine Coon whom every young cat in junkyard must glance at truly cursed into an innocent kitten?!
"No...How...how—?" Tugger muttered softly to himself while shaking his head slowly.
"Everlasting!" This was the only word that the Tux could take out of his mouth.
Tugger tried to get a hold of himself and stared at Misto, before realizing that he was floating above the ground. He struggled as hard as his little body could to release himself from the grip and shouted, "let me go already! Or else—!"
Although his threat didn't even slightly frighten the Tux, Misto knew it too well to keep holding the angry Rum Tum Tugger.
The Maine Coon didn't wait for Misto to put him onto the ground, he just leaped out of his hands, as though he couldn't wait any longer. The kitten looked at himself panicking and span around like he was chasing after his own tail. "What's going on? Why am I—wha—why did I become like this?!"
His high pitch voice made Misto wanted to tease the other cat. But when he saw Tugger's face grew more serious every single minute, he had to prevent himself from laughing. Misto thought of their childhood together. Even though he was the older one, Tugger always was way bigger than him. And that totally gave the cat meanie perks! Misto was not sure if it was because of how Munkustrap being overprotective towards his young brother or what, but it turned out that Tugger 'loved' to act as if he was the older one when he was with the Tux. So, right now, was more than a great opportunity for him to get his revenge, and Misto found it so hard to hold himself from reaching out and rubbing that little fluffy mane just exactly like what Tugger used to do to him.
"Calm down, Tuggs, I believe we'll figure something out."
Tugger quickly glanced up at him. "'Calm down'? In case you didn't notice it, but I shrank, Misto. I shrank into a freaking kitten!" He shouted, "and goodness! I've never been shorter than you."
The Tux rolled his eyes. He swore that at first, he completely felt sorry for Tugger. But after hearing what he said, maybe Macavity should take his rotten mouth instead of his height.
"Listen, Tugger, we can't think of anything if you're panicking like this," said Misto as calmly as he could. "We'll return to the junkyard. And ask Munkustrap—"
Before he could finish the sentence, Tugger then interrupted. "No! We're not gonna ask anyone about anything."
"What did you say?"
"I said no one will know about this."
Mistoffelees tilted his head perplexedly. He was not going to tell anyone? Especially Munkustrap? The one that could possibly help them? And how could he was going to turn into normal if he didn't ask for help! Macavity would never suddenly change his mind and undo the spell easily.
As if Tugger could read his mind. He held his paw up and pointed his finger at the Tux's chest. "You have to turn me back."
"Me?" Shock crossed his face.
Him? To undo the spell? He couldn't even escape from Macavity by himself. How could he do something like that?
Misto laughed nervously. "You're joking, right?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Tugger bared his teeth. Joking or not, Misto wasn't sure, but upsetting? Absolutely. The Maine Coon sighed heavily and look straightly into his eyes, "I know you can do it, Misto. You have 'magic'."
Misto gulped as hearing that forbidden word and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his paw. " I don't think that will be a good idea, Tuggs. Why don't we tell Munkustrap? Or Old Deuteronomy? He knows lots of stuff, I'm sure he must know what to do."
"Oh no, we won't do that." Tugger shook his head as if what Misto had said was a terrible idea. "I don't know what you think about this absurd thing. But this Rum Tum Tugger would never show his face to anyone in this condition. Never ever."
Misto wrinkled his nose. "But if you even don't tell them, they'll know it anyway when they see you."
"So that why they'll never see me until I get my body back."
"What?" Misto cried, looking at the Maine Coon, walking towards the opposite way of the junkyard. "What do you mean?"
He walked slowly, with Tugger's shorter legs allowed him to follow the kitten without a hurry. "It means that you have to do whatever it takes to make me become the same as soon as possible. And until then, you can't let anyone know about it, understand? "
He understood everything Tugger said. But how was that possible? Just casting a spell to make the electric current was difficult enough for a new-to-magic-cat like him. And to undo the Hidden Paw's spell by himself? It sounded completely impossible!
"And where are you going?" Misto asked as he saw the kitten was walking the wrong way.
"Go home."
He pointed his finger to the opposite way. "But the junkyard's over there."
Tugger stopped abruptly and then looked up at Misto with eyes full of irritability. "I mean Kathleen's house. I believe that if I play my cards right, she probably wouldn't notice that I'm smaller," he mumbled the last sentence to himself, "or maybe I'd hide in an alley somewhere."
"Are you crazy?" the Tux cried in shock.
Just thinking that a small kitten had to walk from here back to Tugger's human's house, like Kathleen's, already gave Misto a chill down his spine. Who would have known what would happen along the way? There might be a pack of Pekes waiting for some stupid kitten to walk by and become their dinner. Or what if Macavity decided to come back to attack him again. And not to mention that Tugger thought about going to live alone in a lonely alley in the heart of London!
"We will return to the junkyard together," Misto ordered.
Tugger wrinkled his forehead. "Hey, would you like me to die because of shame? How would the other queens think if they see the Rum Tum Tugger became a little kitten?"
"Oh, so you'd rather die because of those Pekes out there instead?!"
"I can take care of myself. Thank you very much." Tugger puffed out his chest so that he looked taller, lifting the chin up.
Misto raised his eyebrows and looked down at the kitten. "With your tiny legs?"
Tugger gave him dagger eyes, hissing, "I just saved your butt."
"Because of that, I must repay you by saving your butt as well." Misto didn't wait for the other cat to argue back. He snapped into the scruff of the Maine Coon's neck by his mouth a bit roughly and then walked back to the other way. While the kitten kept shouting angrily and struggling to get out of Misto's teeth. Misto knew that no matter how resentful the Maine Coon was, with this body size, Tugger would never ever be able to overcome him again.
The view of the dumps and the remains of old things appeared in front of Mistoffelees' eyes as he walked through the junkyard fence with a much faster speed than usual. The Magical Cat bet on himself that if he didn't rush to take Tugger to Munkustrap, the Maine Coon would definitely struggle strong enough to free himself from his mouth. Who would have thought that even though he has become much smaller than the usual, his strength and stubbornness were still not reduced at all!
"Misto! Where have you been?" Victoria's familiar voice rang from the hood of an old car. She rushed towards her older brother with an expression of concern, and that made him realize just how much time he had spent fighting Macavity. The white cat tilted her neck to one side, looking at the kitten hanging limply from his mouth teasingly. "I didn't know that you have a guest."
Her laughter called the attention of the other young cats who sitting around the old car. Their big eyes became even more sparkling when they saw a new unfamiliar kitten joining the junkyard for the first time. Jemima jogged toward Tugger with curiosity in her eyes, then followed by Electra who leaped to the Maine Coon without caring that might scared him off, and, the last one, Etcetera slowly joined in with her nose sniffing around the kitten's body.
"Who is this, Misto?" asked Electra.
"Yeah, he's even smaller than us," Jemima smiled at the kitten who wasn't very happy with the definition of 'smaller'. Tugger bristled his mane as though it helped his body to look bigger, yet his action turned out to be too adorable for the girls to hold their giggling.
"His smell is very familiar to me, like I have smelled it before," Etcetera narrowed her eyes at Tugger suspiciously.
For someone who called themselves Rum Tum Tugger's biggest fan, of course, she was going to be able to remember his sense. Otherwise, all these years of trying to get close to the infamous tom would be useless. The Maine Coon's eyes darted around and found himself about to be cornered by all these queen kittens as soon as Misto put him down on the ground. The four girls rushed to him, and couldn't help themselves trying to get as much sight of the new member as possible. They shoot questions at Tugger and took turns either rubbing his mane or pulling his cheeks without permission so that the kitten needed to hide between the Magical cat's hind legs. Misto never thought that he would ever see Rum Tum Tugger felt upset because of being a self-centered before. He bet that if it was the normal Tugger, that tom would just puff his mane proudly and wink at the girls a few more times. But right now he was nothing but a shy kitten who flicking his tail nervously and using Misto's legs as a shelter.
The reaction of this kitten made it to hard for Misto to hold back his laugh. But for the sake of their long time friendship and the panicking in the Maine Coon's eyes, Mistoffelees tried his best to keep him away from the girls, sending them a polite smile. "Alright, kids, I know that it's very exciting. But you all need to calm down. We don't want to scare this poor kitten, right?"
"We are not kids, Misto," Electra argued.
"But my father said that I am still a kid," Jemima murmured to herself.
Misto also heard a soft protest coming from his own legs as well. "I'm not a kitten and certainly not a poor one."
"What's going on here?" asked Munkustrap, following by Demeter and Bombalurina, who came by to see what all the fuss was about.
Jemima rushed into the arms of her father, snuggling into his chest. "Misto brought a kitten into our junkyard, daddy"
"'Kitten' ?" Bombalurina confusingly repeated the young cat's word.
"Actually, he is—"
"I'm just lost." Tugger didn't let Misto finish his sentence. The appearance of Munkustrap caused the kitten's body to shake a little. He tried to hide his face from his big brother and also find a way to disappear from here if he could. "But I'm good now and I gotta home."
Misto knew instantly what Tugger was trying to do. And he would not going to let the Maine Coon get back out there and face the danger alone that easily.
"But you don't know where your home is. And the sun is setting. Shouldn't you stay 'here' first?" Misto pretended to convince the kitten, but he actually just tried to explain the situation to the other cats indirectly. He knew that the Jellicle cats were too generous to let a lost kitten go outside alone at the time like this.
"Oh, dear! Do you remember anything about your home?" Demeter asked.
"Well, I..." he immediately couldn't get a word out as all eyes turned to him, and now, Jennyanydots also joined the conversation.
Munkustrap kneeled down to the same height as the kitten and looked at him with sympathy in his eyes that even made Tugger shook uncontrollably and unconsciously stepped backward.
"Don't be afraid, boy. I promise that you will be safe with us. But can you tell me who your parents are?"
"I don't think he knows who his parents are." If Tugger wanted to deceive all the junkyard, then this Magical Cat will give him one big scene. "Maybe he's an orphan, and about to wander alone in the evening amongst the street where who knows if there're Pollicles or even Pekes waiting for some young cats!"
The four girls immediately cried in unison. Both Electra and Etcetera gripped Victoria's arms, and Jemima trembling hopped in between her father's legs.
"Everlasting! And will we let him go home alone right now?" asked Jenny worriedly.
Victoria quickly raised her hand as she got an amazing idea as soon as all the girls agreeing with what Jennyanydots said. "Why don't we let him stay here? There're plenty of spaces for every cat in London!"
Tugger's eyes widened in surprise. "But—but I have a house...and my owner who's probably worried sick about me by now."
Bombalurina sniggered, shaking her head. "If they truly care for you, you wouldn't get lost in the first place."
Munkustrap was trying to take it all in. Everything happened so fast that he needed a bit of time to process and find a proper solution for this. He understood that the kid was scared and not trusted the stranger cats who were crowding him as if he was an alien that much, but Misto and Jenny had a point. The outside junkyard gate was too dangerous for a little kitten. "Listen, boy, we'll definitely take you home. You don't have to worry about it, but while we're looking for exactly where your home is, I want you to stay here with us."
The victorious smile appeared on Misto's face, meanwhile, the younger tried to open his mouth and say something, but he couldn't find any reasonable word to argue back.
"The outside of this territory is not safe for any cat. Especially a kitten like you, understand?"
Mistoffelees puffed out his chest proudly when he was able to convince Munkustrap. Tugger could create as many scams as he wanted, but he needed to be somewhere safe. However, it looked like he underestimated this little Maine Coon. The kitten sent him the infamous devilish and sly smirk which gave Misto chills.
"I think I could manage that. But,"—of course, there was always a but— "I want to stay with Misto. If I can't be with him, I will go home right away."
'Stay with him'? Aside from Victoria, he had never shared a den with anyone before! And the last time he had a roommate was a very very long time ago, maybe since he was just a pre young tom or something. He couldn't stand anyone to pry his personal stuff, left alone risking reveal his secret to other cats. And now it was getting even worse because he had to share it with the Curious Cat!
Bombalurina laughed, giving a knowing look. "What a stubborn boy, just like someone I know."
The protector of the junkyard only shrugged in return. "If there's no problem with him."
Demeter stepped closer to Misto and grabbed his shoulders softly, looking at him expectantly. "You're the one who brought him here. I believe it's common that he'll feel more comfortable with you than any of us."
The mischievous Maine Coon slightly raised his eyebrows as though he was challenging him, while the others waited for his answer expectantly. Misto knew by heart that Tugger was not a bad cat. On the contrary, he surprisingly was the greatest friend anyone could ask for. But, everlasting cats, living in the same den with him for 24 hours? Sharing food? Sleeping side by side? The tuxedo cat didn't think it was a wise idea at all.
"I—I don't think—"
"Am I a burden to you, Mr. Mistoffelees?" Cursed all the Pollicles in the world! He knew that Tugger was artful, but he didn't expect him to be this crafty! How could he dare do this to him? Tugger knew that Misto had never ever denied him whenever he used that little trick with the brittle voice and his stupid puppy eyes. And now it was even worse because of his adorable tiny size!
But, to be honest, Misto wasn't even sure what was the worse between that foxy face or the look that all the queens and girls giving him. Right now, Demeter was the one who raised her eyebrows at him. Bombalurina shook her head. Even Victoria gave him a disapproval look. But what they didn't know was this foxy kitten was literally Tugger; The Rum Tum Tugger, for crying out loud!
Misto sighed, "I mean, why not?"
Demeter nodded happily, and turned to the kitten, sending the sweetest smile that Misto swore he'd never seen her doing this to Tugger before. "Anyway, what's your name, honey?"
"My—my name?" he stammered, "well, my name is..."
Tugger looked up at Misto, his eyes pleading for help. Great, so now he really needed his help. The Magical Cat couldn't think of any good name off the top of his head, so he just blurts out a very random yet kind of too familiar name alarmingly. "Rummy!"
"Rummy?" Demeter tilted her head.
"Rummy?" sneered the current named Rummy kitten, irritated.
Misto knew that it was not the best name, well, actually it was bad, totally horrible for the Rum Tum Tugger, but, in his defense, he didn't want to lie to anyone in the first place. And giving out the name as soon as they could think of was better than none, otherwise, it would seem weird that the Maine Coon couldn't even remember his own name.
Bombalurina laughed softly. She leaned closer to the kitten's face in a way that Tugger with a normal form would absolutely not appreciate. "We meant your Jellicles name."
Damn it! Misto completely forgot that 'Rummy' didn't sound like a proper Jellicles name. Just thinking of a normal name was this difficult enough, how could he come up with that kind of complicated name in such a short time.
"Um...I...I don't have one?" the kitten stammered, turning his head to Misto and raising one of his eyebrows as though reassuring if what he said was the right thing. "This is the only name that my human calls me."
"Oh, you poor thing!" Jennyanydots exclaimed. She held the kitten into a huge hug so tight that Tugger's whole body sank into her fluffy belly. "Are you sure you don't want to stay with Auntie Jenny, dear?"
Tugger tried his best to slip out of Jenny's warm hug, before sending an extremely wicked smile to Misto. "I'm sure he will take good care of me, with cozy blankets and delicious fish to eat every single meal. Right, Mr. Mistoffelees?"
Misto secretly bared his fangs to the headstrong kitten as if he wanted to chop that little furry head off. He possibly could find one nice warm blanket. But fish? Where could he find them? Didn't have to ask about every meal. Just only one meal is way hard all ready.
The Old Gumbie Cat nodded, even though she still didn't seem that convincing. "If there is anything you need, do not hesitate to tell me, alright?"
The Tux snatched the kitten's shoulder to stay alongside his body, pretending to hug the younger cat tightly like a lovely brother, before rubbing his head a bit too roughly just like the way Tugger loved to tease his. "Don't worry. I'll take real 'good' care of him."
Tugger shot daggers at him while trying to smooth his fur. Misto didn't sweat by those cutie tiny irate eyes. He just gave him an irritated smile back and made sure that Tugger would certainly be furious on the inside by now. While both of them did nothing but glaring at each other, the whole junkyard departed and returned to what they did before, discussing about the new kitten; what should they do to him? where was he really from? could they keep him here forever? or even was the Magical Cat suitable for this babysitting job?
The sound of Munkustrap calling after them caught their attention to face him.
"Wait a sec, Misto." He approached with a slightly worried expression. The protector of the Jellicles tribe raised his hand to massage the back of his neck as though there was some difficult thing to say. "Have you seen Tugger?"
The Maine Coon froze immediately upon hearing the other tom calling his real name. His eyes widened and started to panic, his small paw unconsciously clutching the tip of Misto's tail tightly. The Tux scowled at the kitten when a light pain caught his tail so that Maine Coon would realize that if he didn't keep it together, Munkustrap would find out that there was something wrong for sure.
"He said he would come to help us building a toy house for Jemima. But it's almost an hour, he hasn't been here yet." The tabby cat frowned, "I know my brother is not that very reliable, but if it comes to Jemima, he never breaks a promise."
That was true. Whenever Jemima needed something this Uncle Tugger would always leave whatever he was doing to go and take great care of her first. Misto and every single member of the junkyard know how obsessed was Tugger with his favorite niece, even though he kept denying and saying that he just did all those things because he wanted to show Munkustrap what was it like to be 'a cool uncle'. If they weren't love and care, Misto didn't know what would they should be called.
Misto glanced at Tugger, who looked at his brother feeling guilty. He still didn't agree with Tugger's scam, but since it came this far and he didn't want to make his friends feel any worse than he was right now. The Magical Cat sighed and decided to play along with this stupid plan for once.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Tugger said that Kathleen has an urgent business to leave the town, and she doesn't want to leave him alone at home. So, it might take them a few days before he comes back." Misto took the moment that Munkustrap processing the new information, catching a glimpse of the little kitten. Tugger looked back at him, sending a relieved smile while making a mouth saying 'Thank you'. "He also asked me to tell Jemima he apologizes for not being there. But he promises to find something nice from the trip to give her as a redemption."
Munkustrap laughed, shaking his head. "And that tom pretends to not be crazy about her."
Tugger rolled his eyes. Misto knew how much the Maine Coon wanted to protest.
"Well, I just hope she wouldn't be that sad that her favorite uncle, unfortunately, bailed on us like this," said the tabby cat before walking back to his den.
Tugger glanced back after his brother. His ears flopped down, whispering. "I hope so, too."