Title: The Protector (5/14)
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Character death
Summary: When some Jellicles are cat-napped, Munkustrap has to descend back into Monnik territory, back into his old life, and must confront his biggest fear - the truth escaping.
Roleplays:
If you're not into RPing, feel free to skip this part.
Ourjellicle (o u r j e l l i c l e s . p r o b o a r d s 5 1 . c o m ). is a normal Cats RP set after the Jellicle Ball. Currently, Macavity has taken over the junkyard, but the Jellicles escaped safely. They're enlisting the help of a crew of pirates, though, to reclaim their yard… but that decision may cause more pain than pleasure.
One of These Nights (w w w . s 8 . c r e a t e p h p b b . c o m / o n e o f t h e s e n I g h t / I n d e x . p h p ? m f o r u m (equal sign) o n e o f t h e s e n I g h t) is an AU RP where the Jellicles are human members of a band (named Jellicle). Tugger (taken) is the lead singer, with Bombalurina (taken), Alonzo, and Plato (taken) as other members, and the rest of the Jellicles helping out as friends, stage hands, special effects, etc. Munkustrap (taken by me) is the manager of the band, and his father, Deuteronomy, is a huge music mogul. Macavity (taken) leads the rival band, the Depraved. Most of the characters are still available, though. If you're interested, come on by!
Cats does not belong to me. Simbol does. He's shpiffy.
The Protector
"Plato? Plato! Wake up! Please, Plato, please wake up… don't be dead, Plato. Don't be dead…"
Cattivo's voice was the first thing Plato heard as awareness returned to him. Cattivo's worried face was the first thing he saw. "Cat…?"
"You're not dead!" Cattivo flung his arms around Plato, hugging him close. Plato could feel dampness, like from tears, where Cattivo's face pushed against his shoulder.
"Cat!" Plato pushed his brother away, holding him at arms' length so he could look him over. "Are you all right? Did the Monniks hurt you?"
Cattivo shook his head, reaching up to wipe his face dry. "No, they didn't hurt me. They just locked us in this cage." He nuzzled Plato's cheek. "I thought you were dead. I thought Macavity killed you, like the Monniks killed Father and Grandpa and Alonzo…"
"Shh…" Plato nuzzled Cattivo, licking his ears. "I'm not dead, and you're not dead, and we're together. The Monniks might have us imprisoned, but they don't have us beat."
The touching moment was interrupted by the dull thump of a body dropping to the ground outside the cage. Both brothers looked up, and both brothers grinned broadly as they watched their dad touch his paw to his lips, motioning for them to stay quiet.
Simbol crouched by the cat he had knocked out, pulling a ring of keys from its paw. He stepped over to the door and unlocked it. Plato and Cattivo rushed out, wrapping their arms around him in tight hugs. "Dad!" Plato whispered.
"You saved us!" Cattivo said, just as quietly.
Simbol hugged both toms briefly before releasing them. "We can celebrate after we get out of here," he murmured. "Come on, be quiet now." He began to lead his sons out.
Plato blinked as they left the room and stepped into a hall with windows. The sky was dark, but the sun was beginning to rise. So much time had passed! The attack had happened around high-sun, and now it was the next day.
Simbol was just about to turn a corner when he hesitated, swiveling his ears back. Plato and Cattivo followed suit. Behind them, in the room the brothers had been held prisoner in, there were voices, Monnik voices, Monniks who were discovering their fallen comrade. A cry rang out, "The prisoners have escaped!"
Simbol bolted, Plato and Cattivo hot on his heels. The three raced down the empty halls, trying to put as much distance between themselves and their captors as possible. To the left and right, Plato caught glimpses of fallen cats, cats that had been nudged aside into the shadows. Apparently, the halls hadn't been as empty when Simbol came in.
"There they are!"
When they reached a T-shaped intersection, a group of Monniks spotted them and came running toward them from one hall. Simbol shoved the brothers down the third hall. "Run!" he shouted, turning toward the Monniks and assuming a defensive position.
"Dad…"
"Run!" Simbol repeated. "Go! Get back to the yard!"
"C'mon, Cat," Plato said, grabbing his brother's paw and taking off again. Behind him, he could hear yowls as the Monniks ran into the Jellicle Protector.
Getting out of the building they were being held in wasn't too hard – they just followed the trail of unconscious or dead cats.
Getting out of Monnik territory was another challenge altogether. Plato looked around after they stepped out, whining slightly as he didn't recognize anything. "Cat... do you know where we are?"
Cattivo whimpered, looking behind them. "We just left Dad!"
"Dad can take care of himself," Plato said. "And he told us to run. He told us. He didn't want us to stay."
"We left him!"
"We were obeying direct orders from our superior!" Plato turned and grabbed Cattivo's shoulders, shaking him lightly. "Pull yourself together, Cat! I need you!"
Cattivo gulped and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. When he looked up at Plato again, he still looked scared, but he didn't look as panicked. "O-okay. What do we do now?"
"We need to get out of here." Plato looked around, biting his lip. Cattivo was looking to him for orders, and he didn't know what to do! "We need to find the junkyard."
"Where is it?"
"I don't know, Cat!" Plato bit his lip again, regretting his outburst as Cattivo pulled back, looking ashamed for asking. "I don't know," he repeated, more calmly this time. "But we can't just stay here. C'mon." Taking Cattivo's paw, he started heading west. The Monnik territory was to the east of the Jellicle lands, therefore going west must lead them back to the Jellicles. Once they were back in Jellicle territory, finding the junkyard would be a snap.
Morning turned into afternoon, and afternoon turned into evening, and the two brothers huddled together under a dumpster, certain they were lost. Finding the Jellicles again wasn't just a straight shot west. They had to keep turning and ducking and running to avoid the Monniks moving around, and once they got chased east about ten blocks. They hadn't seen any sign of their dad, either, and weren't sure if he had gotten out and back home a different way, or if he was still in that building, fighting the Monniks.
The thought that he might be dead never crossed their minds – Simbol couldn't die. He was the Jellicle Protector. He was their dad. He was invincible.
When Plato woke up the next morning, he was alone.
"Cat? Cattivo, where are you?" Plato sniffed around under the dumpster. The spot next to him, where Cattivo had been lying, was empty but still a little warm. Cat had been there recently. And then he… slipped out the back… went a little ways down the alley… ugh, went to the bathroom… uh-oh. Monniks.
The reek of Monniks was everywhere. Cattivo had been surrounded on his way back… they took him off this way… Breaking into a run, Plato tracked his brother's scent, and soon caught up to the group that had him. There were five Monniks – one of them was that one-eyed cat who had started this whole mess in the theater – and Cattivo was in the middle of them, dragging his feet and sagging against the restricting arms of his guards. There was blood on his face, dripping down from a wound between his ears, and his eyes were glazed over, very dazed-looking.
Plato whined inside his head and pressed himself against a wall as they passed, laughing and boasting and shoving his stumbling brother along. He couldn't fight off five Monniks on his own! Cattivo was in no shape to help him, either. All he could do was follow, keeping his footsteps and breathing as quiet as possible.
Cattivo was dragged back to the building they had escaped from, and Plato hung back, biting his lip. He couldn't go inside – that would be suicide. Staying out wouldn't help Cattivo either, though. But what if he could get back to the junkyard? With Simbol and Munkustrap and Admetus, maybe together they could get Cattivo out. "Hold on, Cat," Plato whispered, stretching his paw toward the building. "I'll be back soon!"
Another short chapter...