Omg! It's been almost a month since I updated anything! I'm sorry :( School is a witch and I need to get my English mark up from a %66 -_- That, to me, is a bit hypocritical on my part and I find it kinda funny at the same time. Macbeth SUCKS (no offence to MacB lovers)

Anywho, another big chapter :D yay!

Enjoy :)


"You did what!" Munkustrap shrieked, he began to hyperventilate as the realization sunk in. "Tugger, he can't be alone-"

"I know that!" Tugger snapped, he wasn't new. "It doesn't take a genius to figure that out, Munkus."

The silver tabby paced agitatedly, running his claws through his headfur; now greying from the overload of stress. They looked to the sky above their father's den, the clouds streaked with a brilliant shade of orange.

"Tug, there's only two hours of sunlight left- Cat knows what will happen to him if we don't find him soon!" Munkustrap passed Tugger, striding nervously towards the clearing. Tugger nodded, Quaxo alone at night was enough to send the frail tux into a panic attack, even if he was indoors. The tabby chatted nervously as they walked, presenting search party plans and just making as much noise as possible so to avoid the silence that no one seemed to find solace in anymore. It wasn't all too often that he saw his brother flustered, but it always made him nervous to see him so unsure.

The two strode purposely into the humming centre, all Jellicles focused on either the tux's disappearance or the well being of the poor, unfortunate queen kitten that had been victim of a freak accident. Many gazes locked with his, unsure what was expected from them at such a time. Victoria sat worriedly at the entrance to her brother's den; her pain stricken face streaked with tears and guilty sniffles plagued her.

"I just don't know where he could have gone," the coon heard his brother sigh deeply.

"Would he have gone to one of our dens?" he offered, the Jellicle protector just shook his head.

"He probably thinks he's in trouble: he wouldn't go to there," he sighed as he rubbed a shaky paw over his face. "I just don't see him being too far, he doesn't like being alone much so I don't think he would leave the junkyard, not by himself anyways."

"Munkustrap." Their heads snapped up as Skimbleshanks walked over to the two toms, his features twisted with worry. "We should go out and find the kit," he suggested with a solemn, fatherly tone. They began to fire off a series of techniques and plans in order to track the tiny tux down. Tugger stood back, silently, going over anything Quaxo had ever confided to him; his likes and dislikes, his fears, any safe places or notable land mark he found interesting. Although the two had spoken often, Tugger just couldn't remember ever hearing any of these minor details; some of which he probably hadn't bothered to pay much attention to.

"How's Electra?" Tugger's head snapped up at the mentioning of the queen kit's name, he'd almost forgotten about her leg.

"She's fine, a bit rattled but he didn't seem to do much damage," Skimble sighed in relief and Munkustrap nodded happily. Victoria and Jemima silently crept over to the trio, making slight sniffling sounds when they spoke.

"Do you know where Misto is?" Victoria asked in worry. Tugger scowled slightly, thinking twice about giving the white queen a smart-ass remark.

"We should split up the tribe and search the junkyard," Munkustrap concluded as he dismissed the queens; turning to Skimble and Tugger.

It didn't take long to organize the 30-some-odd Jellicles into smaller groups, each being assigned a specific area of the junkyard. Tugger was stuck with Admetus, Plato and Victoria. Great, he thought bitterly; knowing full well that he would be able to cover more space if he had been on his own. Munkustrap had been paired with Demeter, Bombalurina and Asparagus. The tribe quickly spread out, all determined to find the scared tux. Tugger and Victoria started to brainstorm possible hideaways they would expect him to use; Tugger saw no use because he, as well as everyone else in the junkyard, knew that if the magician did not want to be found then the chances of finding him were slim to none.

They turned down one of the narrow veins that branched out from the main paths, pleading desperately for the young tom to return home. Tugger sighed as he looked up to the orange streaked sky; Quaxo loved the sunset.


Tugger rolled his eyes internally at the young kitten bouncing energetically through his legs. He had a strong feeling that neither he nor Munkustrap would be getting much sleep with the Energizer kitten running around at top speed; well, only Munkustrap because he had a hot date with Bomba later and he wouldn't be up to crossing the junkyard in the middle of the night to his den. He hoped that Jenny's suggestion of walking the little kit to wear him out would have some truth to it.

"...And then Tumble threw his stone at Etcetera! She was sooo upset..." The kitten rambled on aimlessly, jumping over the minuscule pieces of junk and dodging the more obnoxious obstacles; never missing a beat. How the kitten managed to stay so quiet in public amazed the coon as well as the silver tabby; only when he was among the two toms or his sister did he ever formulate more than a couple sentences, and that was in private.

The older tom was drawn from his thoughts when the tuxedoed kitten stopped mid sentence in front of him, head cocked to the left and eyes wide in admiration. The spotted tom almost didn't notice the change but the fact that the kit had blocked his path forced him to pay attention.

"C'mon, keep it moving," Tugger encouraged; pushing the immobilized kitten forward until he was shrugged off.

"Isn't that cool?" Quaxo asked dazedly.

"Yes, I'm sure Tumble will get an earful from Jenny tonight, now can we go?" Tugger nudged again.

"Not that. That." The coon followed his gaze, he seemed to be staring at the setting sky overhead. Splashes of fiery reds danced around soft swirls of orange, mixing the the blue of the late-day sky until it had blended into night.

"It's great," the coon agreed flatly, grabbing the smaller tom's limp paw and towing the cat behind him. "Now let's go," he complained, sounding more of a kitten than the one he was looking after.

"... I'm going to live outside," Quaxo stated suddenly. "I'm never going to have a den, I'm going to sleep outside under the sunset and the stars," he announced to the now intrigued adult.

"Why would you do that?" the coon retorted, intentionally evoking what was going to be a long and elaborate explanation from the highly articulate youth.

"I like the sunset," the tom kit answered simply. "It's way more interesting than the middle of the day: more colourful," he smiled broadly.

Thoughtfully, Tugger looked between the warm hues in the west and the gold kissed, white face of the tiny cat. "Come here," he grinned, enthusiastically dragging the smaller form behind him who more than obliged the new adventure. He led him to a nearby junkpile and started to climb the tower with expertise.

"Munkustrap said we're not supposed to-" Quaxo reprimanded but was caught by the scruff of his neck by a gloved paw and soon found himself being carried up the massive sky scraper between the coon's locked jaw. He squeezed his eyes shut when he caught a glimpse at how high they were from the cold junkyard floor.

They soon reached the top where Quaxo was placed on the quilted ironing board that sat perched on top of the other discarded items. The tux was overcome with curiosity and slowly opened his eyes; smiling broadly at the breathtaking view in front of him.

"It's nice," Tugger admitted honestly, sitting lazily beside the younger tom. The youth just stared at everything, taking in as much as he could before they had to return to their den for bed.

"I'm going to have my den right here. Right on top of this junkpile, this is mine now," Quaxo smiled happily at himself, satisfied at having his a den and junkpile to call his very own.

"Nice choice tux," Tugger nodded approvingly. "Now you need to learn not to listen to stripes all the time so you can actually climb up here," he laughed. Quaxo mulled over his words thoughtfully, his brow furrowing in deep thought. "I was just kidding, kit. You should listen to old straps; he's only looking out for the best, making sure you're safe."

"I know," he replied softly before breaking his small trance. Tugger stretched majestically before gingerly clamping down on the loose scruff and carrying him off down the side of Quaxo's tower.


Tugger stood and watched as the white queen searched old hiding places and any small hole the tom would be able to squeeze himself into. Admetus was chatting quietly with the rust-coloured cat. He spun on his heel sharply and took off in the opposite direction, hopefully going unnoticed by the others as she tore through the tiny barricades and shoving through any Jellicles who happened to be in his way.

It didn't take the coon long to find Quaxo's tower from memory, throwing himself to the small, worn path that he had taken before. He climbed as quickly as he could; he just knew that the tom would be hiding out there.

"Quaxo!" Tugger shrieked when he caught sight of the peaceful youth watching the sunset in silence. The Jellicle was standing at the end of the quilted iron board, arms hugging himself against the bitter wind and usually animated tail dangled motionless over the edge.

"Quax?" He approached the lithe tom cautiously, hoping to Cat that the tux would reply.

"The sun's setting earlier now; I was going to miss it," he stated to no one in particular.

"I was going to bring you up here earlier but I guess you beat me to it," the flirt chuckled nervously; the only reply was a hollow, vacant nod. Their ears both flickered at the distant sounds of the youth's name echoing throughout the yard. "You really had us all worried..." he trailed off when the slender frame that stood so boldly against the sadly setting sun started to tremble and shake.

"I'm sorry," the black tom choked, he twisted slightly to look at his best friend with bright, watery, icy-blue eyes. From this angle, Tugger could still see splotches of sparkles and black streak his coat.

"It's Ok, Tux," Tugger smiled comfortingly, offering his paw to his distressed friend. "C'mon, we'll go down and let everyone know we're alright-"

"I can't," he whispered softly.

"Sure you can, I'll be right there with you. No one's mad at you, we just wanna make sure you're Ok-"

"Well I'm not," he responded firmly, hugging himself even tighter now as he started to rock on the balls of his feet, a habit he never dropped as a kitten.

"Quaxo, please, come on. Let's go home," the coon's stomach knotted as he watched the other tom rock on the balls of his heels dangerously, not even watching the sunset anymore.

"It's too hard," he sobbed. "I have no friends, my magic is all screwed up, I'm always in pain, I'm being forced to leave from my home, my sister hates me-"

Tugger involuntarily took a step forward, panic began to set in; starting with his voice. "No one hates you-"

"You can see right through their little facades; they feel sorry for me. It's not love, it's sympathy." The last words were a bitter taste on his tongue, he hated to admit that his world now revolved around the charity of others and his social interactions on their discretion.

"So they feel bad, it doesn't really matter-"

"Of course it matters!" he yelled. How could he not see? "That's what I'm going to be from now on, the tom who was raped by his father? How far am I going to go with that following me my entire life? Not to mention trying to get a mate! I can't deal with that," his voice finished just above a whisper.

The coon's breathing started to quicken, how could this be happening! He gaped in horror as the last pieces of Quaxo's plan started to come together in his mind, he could only watch his friend play dangerously close to the ledge of the once hopeful structure."Quaxo... Please- I'm begging you!"

He smiled calmly and turned his gaze back to the setting sun, shaking his head as he exhaled greatly. "I'm sorry. I just can't," he whispered softly and with one last glance, he turned and took the final step to his doom.

"QUAX!" Tugger shrieked as the black figure fell from his perch with the setting sun.


Cliff Hanger! Yes!

I hope to be updating a lot sooner xP I can only do so much and get so distracted xD

Reviews are kick-a$$ !