Disclaimer: All I own is a laptop and a well used DVD of Cats.

Thanks to Wombaat and Cookie05 for reviewing the last chapter

Chapter Two

Several months later, Tugger had been as good as his word. He had certainly been around the junkyard more often, at least, although that might have had something to do with the presence of another queen kitten who thought he made the sun shine every morning.

A lot of the time, he stayed out of sight, keeping an eye on the kittens as they played, although if asked he would insist his attention had been stolen by one of the older queens.

Today, though, something was different.

Plato and Admetus never really played anymore, focussing their attention on hunting, unlike Tumblebrutus and Pouncival, who still enjoyed the rough-and-tumble of play-wrestling.

Munkustrap was curled up on the hood of the TSE1 car, talking quietly to Demeter, who was stretched out beside him in the sun, but if something was wrong, even her presence wouldn't have stopped Munk from noticing it.

Tugger jumped down onto one of the chairs balanced precariously in the pile, running an eye over the kittens. Let's see … Pounce, Tumble, Admetus for once, Victoria … Wait.

They were a kitten short, he realised, but Jenny, back from her trip, was watching them with no signs of concern, which meant Misto wasn't missing.

Tugger landed silently on the junkyard floor, scanning the usual hiding spaces.

"Lose something?" A voice purred in his ear.

Tugger spared Bomba a charming smile. "Yeah, Misto. You seen him?"

Bomba tilted her head to one side. "He's curled up in the old tyre."

"Thanks." Tugger headed in that direction, but her voice stopped him again.

"What is it?" She asked quietly. "You usually turn up, get the kittens overexcited and then leave us the clean-up. What is it about this one?"

Tugger shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just feel responsible for him."

"Heavyside help us, you're growing up." Bomba teased. "You'll have your own next thing we know."

Tugger laughed. "Me with kittens? Don't even joke." He trotted off to the huge tyre at the back of the junkyard, passing Alonzo and Cassandra curled up in the shade.

It was a good question – he honestly didn't know why he felt so responsible for Mistoffelees. It definitely wasn't just an obligation to fulfil a promise.

Maybe it was his mother. That poor queen probably clung to life just waiting for someone to come along so she knew he was safe. Or it's that she could well be someone else's Bomba.

He tried not to think long those lines, and found the perfect interruption to that train of thought when he leapt onto the tyre and found Misto curled up inside.

Or it's just because the kid's damn cute.

"Hey, kit." He greeted, sitting down.

Mistoffelees stretched, looking up at him. "Oh, hey Tugger."

"What's wrong?" Tugger asked without preamble.

"Nothing." Misto lied. "Why would anything be wrong?"

Tugger shrugged. "You and Vicky aren't normally this far away from each other. You two have a fight?"

"No. And don't call her Vicky; she hates it." Misto sighed. "It's my you-know-what."

Tugger was confused for a second, but then Misto tapped his paw hard against the tyre and sparks flew from it. "I can't control it. I can't be around them like this."

The memory came unbidden, a happier time, when he was a kitten himself, looking up to his bigger brothers.

"Why do you practice magic all the time, Mac? You never have time to play anymore."

"I have to practice, Tug. Otherwise I can't control it and it would be safe to be around me."

Some people say that cats do not know strong emotion – love, jealousy, remorse, guilt …

Some can't.

But Jellicle cats can.

It is one of the things that make them special.

Tugger hated his brother, had for a long time. But part of him, however much he tried to deny it, was still hurt deeply by everything he had done, not as another tom, but as his brother.

He had avoided that area of the junkyard for so long, but he knew it was the only place that would work.

"Come on." He said. "We're going for a walk."

"I'm not allowed out the clearing on my own." Misto reminded him.

"You're not alone." Tugger pointed out, catching Jenny's eye. "You're with me."

The matronly queen narrowed her eyes momentarily, but conceded with a sigh and waved them off.

"I was expecting more of a fight than that." Tugger remarked a few minutes later.

"She's preoccupied." Misto said, investigating the new surroundings. "She's going to have kittens."

Tugger stopped short. "Actual kittens? I hadn't heard about that."

"Oh, she hasn't told me." Misto admitted cheerfully. "I just have a feeling." He drew closer to Tugger as the alleyway between the junk towers grew narrower. "Are you sure no one knows? About … what I can do?"

"I haven't told anyone." Tugger told him. "What kind of feeling?"

Misto shrugged. "Just a feeling when I'm near her."

"Maybe I should take you to see Cori and Tanto." Tugger muttered.

"Who are they?" Misto asked curiously.

"They're twins – Cassandra and Exotica's older siblings." Tugger answered. "They get feelings like that as well – actually, they might know about you. It's always quite difficult to tell with those two. They won't say anything if they do. Keep to themselves really. Whoa, hold on." He put a paw on Misto's shoulder as they reached the next clearing. "Just let me check first. Stay here."

He crept out of the shadows, sniffing the area carefully. He highly doubted that Macavity would be overcome with a fit of nostalgia and visit his old practicing space, but he didn't want to be too careful.

Once he was sure it was safe, he waved Misto out to join him. "It's safe for you to practice magic here."

Misto looked terrified. "B-But what if something goes wrong?"

"That's why you only practice magic when you're with someone else." Tugger told him. "And you never come here on your own, alright?"

Misto nodded. "How'd you know about this place? And how'd you know I should practice?"

Tugger sighed and settled down in the sandy dirt beneath them. "My brother could do magic."

"There's another magical cat?" Misto asked excitedly. "Who can do what I can do? What's his name? Can I meet him?"

Tugger flinched. "You don't want to do that, kit. It's Macavity."

Misto looked horrified. "You mean … what I can do … it's because … because of him? My father? I don't want to be like him …"

"You're not like him." Tugger told him firmly. "Remember that Macavity got his magic from somewhere as well, and I'm fairly sure that was our father. Old Deuteronomy."

That cut right through Misto's fretting. "He has magic too?"

"I've never seen it." Tugger admitted. "But he does. It's all about what you do with it."

"Did Macavity do bad things with his magic?" Misto asked quietly. "Is that why he was exiled?"

For a few minutes, Tugger didn't answer. They never spoke about Macavity's exile and only six cats knew the truth – and two of those were Old Deuteronomy and Macavity himself.

"What do you know about the Jellicle Ball?" He asked eventually.

"I know that Old Deuteronomy comes and chooses a cat to be reborn." Misto answered. "And that there's lots of singing and dancing. Do I need to learn any of that?"

Tugger chuckled. "No, you'll pick up what you need to do. It's part of being a Jellicle. The point is that it also involves the Coming-of-Age dance. The ball after a queen's second birthday, she dances to the middle of the junkyard and waits for a tom to approach her."

"And that's who her mate is?" Misto guessed.

Tugger nodded. "Of course, after the first litter of kittens, she has the option to leave and within the first month, another tom has the right to approach her, but the final decision is hers. And most cats make the decision before the ball anyway and the dance is just a formality."

Misto was nodding, but the expression of 'what does this have to do with anything' was clear on his face.

"One year, the most beautiful queen in the junkyard was coming of age." Tugger continued. "And I mean, she was stunning. She was …"

"Bomba." Misto concluded, cutting him short.

Tugger stared at him. "How did you know that?"

Misto grinned cheekily at him. "You're always drooling over her."

Tugger drew himself up with dignity. "The Rum Tum Tugger does not drool."

"Except over Bomba." Misto finished, ducking Tugger's playful swat.

"Watch it." Tugger settled down again, unwilling or unable to stay mad at the kitten for too long. "Anyway Bomba was coming of age and she was single. There was no tom who spent more time with her than any other. I thought about approaching her before the ball, but … Well, I wasn't as confident then as I am now. I thought she'd turn me down flat. At least at the ball, I'd have a moment with her, even if that was all it was." He was barely aware of his audience now, even though Misto was listening in rapt attention.

He was back in that circle of cats, watching as that beautiful queen danced sensuously to the centre. There wasn't a tom who hadn't been watching her … although Munkustrap's gaze flickered to Demeter almost immediately.

"So there she was, waiting for an approach, and before I could move …" Tugger scowled. "Macavity did."

Misto was silent for a few moments, digesting this news. "My father and Bombalurina were mates?"

Tugger nodded. "I could have approached her in that month afterwards, but … When had I ever been able to compare to my brothers?"

"You're my favourite." Misto told him, with kitten-honestly.

Tugger smiled. "Thanks, kit. I give you one more month before you're complaining about me."

"Probably." Misto agreed, rolling onto his back. "Someone should keep your head from getting to big. So what happened then? Bomba doesn't have kittens, does she?"

"No." Tugger frowned. "No one could work out why. They never spent a lot of time together either."

"Maybe she didn't love him." Misto suggested. "It doesn't seem very fair to me, that she gets no say like that."

Tugger smirked. "No, you are definitely not your father's son." He said, making Misto smile proudly. "I avoided both of them – I wouldn't know what was going on. All I know is that the next year, Demeter came of age."

"Weren't they littermates though?" Misto asked curiously.

"They were." Tugger confirmed. "If there are two queens in a litter, the one born first comes of age first."

"So only one queen can come of age at once?" Misto asked.

"No, more than one queen can come of age, but not if they're from the same litter." Tugger shrugged, "Hey, I don't make the rules."

Mistoffelees rubbed his head with his paws. "My brain hurts." He whined.

"It'll make sense at the Jellicle Ball." Tugger told him. "And toms don't have to go through all this. All you have to do is catch enough prey to feed yourself."

"Oh good." Misto sighed. "So who approached Demeter?"

"Take a guess." Tugger prompted.

Misto grinned. "Munkustrap."

"Of course." Tugger nodded. "No one was surprised by that. The surprise came two days later when Macavity approached her."

Misto clearly realised that this was where the story 'got good' as it were, and he stiffened. "Why?"

"He told us that he had approached Bomba to make Dem jealous." Tugger's expression was furious and it comforted the kitten to know it wasn't aimed at him. "That was when things started getting ugly."

"They fought?" Misto guessed.

"Oh yeah." Tugger chuckled. "Wasn't easy to break them up either. Skimbles did it in the end. He hadn't been around to hear what Macavity said, of course, and none of us was about to tell him. As angry as we were, we didn't want him dead."

"But?"

Tugger cast another look at the young kitten beside him, wise beyond his years. "But two months after that, Demeter announced she was expecting her first litter."

"But Demeter doesn't have … any …" Misto trailed off. "Oh dear."

Tugger nodded grimly, sniffing the air again. It wasn't just Macavity he was checking for either – if any of the queens knew he was telling a story like this to a kitten, he'd never wiggle his hips again. "He attacked her. I don't know if he used magic or not, but whatever he did caused her to lose the kittens."

"I hate him." Misto stated darkly.

"Yeah, me too." Tugger sighed. "Munk and I chased him from the junkyard and he's only ever come back to cause trouble."

"So that's why Demeter's skittish around me?" Misto asked. "Because I remind her of him?"

"Possibly." Tugger agreed tentatively. "Although she's like that around Victoria, and she was like that around the others when they were younger. Although I think that may be why Bomba keeps an eye on you."

"And you?" Misto asked quietly, staring at the ground. "Why do you keep an eye on me?"

"Two reasons." Tugger answered, finding it easier to respond to Misto than to Bomba. "First of all, it's not your fault who your father is. Second of all, if Bomba had had kittens and the same thing that happened to your mother happened to her and some other tom found them … I'd want to know they were being taken care of. Now …" he nudged Misto to his feet. "Let's see some magic."

Misto stood up, but didn't start practicing. "Are you ever going to let Bomba know you like her?"

"I do that every day." Tugger pointed out.

"Yeah, her and every other queen." Misto rolled his eyes. "You should tell her. I have a feeling she feels the same way."

"The same feeling that's telling you Jenny's having more kittens?" Tugger teased.

"Yep." Misto danced across the clearing, warming up his paws. "Tell you what, if I'm right about Jenny, you have to seriously talk to Bomba. Deal?"

"Deal." Tugger agreed, fairly confident that Jenny was not going to have another litter. "Off you go." He settled down to watch as Misto began to shoot bolts of lightning from his paws, disturbing the dust on the ground.

If he ever decides to come clean about this, he could have his own number at the Jellicle Ball. Tugger stretched absently, as Misto pointed at an old hat balanced atop a junk pile and it floated down to him. "Oh well, I never, was there ever a cat so clever as Magical Mister Mistoffelees?"

His paws crackling with magic, Misto waved them over the hat and knocked it over. To Tugger's surprise, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven little kittens rolled out.

"Well, that's going to be hard to explain!" Tugger commented, leaping to his feet.

"It's fine, they're only illusions." Misto said. "At least, I think they are."

Tugger attempted to pick one of them up, but couldn't grasp it. "Yeah, they are. Can you get rid of them?"

"I think so." Misto waved his paws again and they all vanished.

Tugger breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Heavyside for that! How do you feel?"

"Out of breath." Misto admitted. "But much better."

"Time to head back then." Tugger decided, nudging Misto ahead of him. "Come on."

When they arrived back at the main junkyard, they found a flurry of activity and Tugger had to take a quick step backwards, pulling Misto with him, to stop them from getting run over by Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer.

As Bomba and Demeter's brother, Mungojerrie should probably have been informed of Macavity's actions, but no one involved wanted to talk about it. He had still got on quite well with Macavity and spent some time working for him, much to his mother's annoyance. Rumpleteazer, on the other hand, had heard rumours of what had happened while she worked there and, when the two met – ironically shortly before Teazer was adopted by Jerrie's family – she had told him the whole story, which was when they left Macavity (although not a life of crime).

"Whoops, sorry!" Teazer giggled.

"What's going on?" Tugger demanded. "Did we get a sudden delivery of catnip or something?"

"Nah," Jerrie sniggered. "I wish. But Vicky and Misto 'ere won't be the youngest no more."

"Jennyanydots is having another litter of kittens!" Teazer squealed. "Isn't that exciting?"

"Yeah." Tugger answered dryly, very aware of Misto's smirk beside him. "Very exciting."

"Bomba's over by the TSE1 car." Misto whispered, before prancing over to congratulate Jenny.

Tugger watched him go with an incredulous expression, before chuckling and making his way over to the scarlet queen. "Oh well, I never, was there ever a cat so clever as Magical Mister Mistoffelees?"