Would you believe... only 3 chapters left?? Sob.

Big thank you to everyone that's been reviewing! I love getting them. It makes my day when people actually want to read about my silly CATS addiction :P

()()()()

Quaxo hadn't slept all night. Every part of his body screamed for sleep, but he knew that he had to find him. Part of the small tom told him that it was hopeless. If Tugger didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be.

Quaxo just couldn't bring himself to accept that though. He picked his way through the junkyard. He pulled apart beds and sofas, chairs and boxes, anything that Tugger could hide in.

Quaxo searched everywhere in the yard and asked every cat that he saw. None of them had seen the Tugger and none of them had the energy to look.

"Quaxo... he just needs time... he'll come back when he's ready." that was the advice Pouncival had given when Quaxo expressed his concerns. The young tom began to feel helpless, lost, alone... he had already tried to use his powers to search out his friend, but he couldn't find anything. Quaxo knew the cat must have left the junkyard, and that meant that the chances of him ever being found were slim. The world out there was huge and dangerous. Quaxo already knew that, but if there was any, ANY chance at all of Tugger being found, Quaxo had to take it.

Quaxo took a deep breath as he reached the junkyard gate. It was a big world, but Tugger was out there somewhere. Enough time and diligence put into it, and Tugger would be found eventually.

The young tom stepped out of the junkyard and into the big world ahead of him.

()()()()

Quaxo slid down the busy street. He squeezed around the many feet that stomped around his head, missing him by only centimeters at times. Quaxo hated the city. It was loud, it was crowed and no one ever cared about the well being of one little cat.

Which somehow didn't calm Quaxo down at all.

Quaxo continued to comb through the crowd of humans. Woman with pointed shoes clicked next to his ear and men with big, large pollicles let their dogs bark at him. Quaxo felt oddly frightened of this place. Even though he had spent years living out here, he hadn't set foot outside the Jellicle junkyard alone since he had come to live with them. He didn't like not having the protection of other cats around him. He didn't like knowing that if he got hurt, Jenny Anydots wouldn't be able to come rushing to help. Quaxo almost debated going back to his home and waiting for Tugger there.

But he knew he couldn't. Tugger was his best friend. More then his best friend even. There were some days that they were inseparable, and they always knew where the other one was... eventually. Something in the pit of Quaxo's soul told him that this wasn't going to be the same as the other times. This time, when they found each other if wouldn't be all smiles and laughs. Something about Victoria upseted Tugger, and Quaxo didn't care what it was, he would do anything to get his best friend back.

Quaxo wandered through the busy city streets, dodging cars and feet as he went. he passed building after building, crossed street after street. Quaxo began to feel completely hopeless, knowing that Tugger could be anywhere. Any box, any garbage can, could easily hide the tom, but Quaxo just didn't have to time to check each any every one of them.

One foot in front of the other, thats how Quaxo continued down the streets. He kept his eyes and ears open and his powers going at full force.

He had just passed another darkened ally when some unseen, inviable force stopped him. He paused in his tracks, nearly getting run over by a human on a skateboard. Something tingled in Quaxo's body, his instincts telling him to go back. Quaxo obliged, doubling around and peeking into the ally. He tried not to get his hopes up too much, his powers had been known to trick him before. His eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness of the confined space. The contrast between here and the busy city streets was unsettling. Here, it was dead silent but the fear of a big city still lingered in the damp air.

Quaxo's magical intuition pushed him forward though. It pushed him passed crates and cans, places that would be perfect for a cat Tugger's size to fit in. Quaxo knew though, he just knew that this time his powers were right on. Tugger was here somewhere and Quaxo was going to find him. Quaxo stretched his eyes wide as he neared the ending of the ally. His intuition screamed at him, Tugger should be right here!

Finally, Quaxo lept up onto a large crate. He peered around him and... there! Quaxo felt a smile erupt on his face. Tugger! Curled up in a corner of the ally!

"Tug!" Quaxo cried as he lept off the crate and flew into the air. He landed on the ground next to his friend and batted at his ears playfully. "Tugger! It's me! It's Quaxo!... Tug?"

Quaxo stopped swiping at his friend for a moment, but the cat below him didn't move.

"Tug...?" Quaxo repeated. He bent his head and nudged the tom gently. Quaxo waited, seconds ticked by, until it slowly began to dawn on him. Like an egg cracked over his head, it started there and slowly worked it way down until it was passed his face, his shoulders and finally hit his heart.

"No..." Quaxo whispered taking a few steps back from the cat before him. "No... Tug!"

Quaxo lept forward again and placed both on his small, black paws on his friends back, pushing him over. Tugger rolled onto his back and Quaxo couldn't help but scream.

The normally perfect and well groomed cat was a mess of matted hair and dirt. His eyes, normally wide and full of life were dull and gray. Blood pooled out from the young toms slightly open mouth and landed on the pavement below. His legs were twisted into weird, unnatural positions and his head had a gushing wound right in the middle of it.

"No...no.. Tug..." Quaxo muttered as his eyes began prickling with tears. Quaxo placed a paw on the toms face and turned his head slightly so it was looking Quaxo in the eye.

"Tugger... Tugger, why?" Quaxo chocked as he dropped his head into his paws and sobbed.

()()()()

How long he sat there for, Quaxo had no idea. It could have been 15 minutes, it could have been three days. Time didn't matter much to Quaxo right now, he wasn't sure if it ever would again. Right now, Quaxo just felt... numb. Like his body was trying to protect him from the pain that was sure to come at some point.

Quaxo stayed by Tugger's side the entire time, barely sleeping and eating nothing. Every once in a while he would say something and look over at Tugger, hoping desperately for an answer, bringing a fresh set of tears to his eyes when he never got one. If only he could hear his friend speak again...

"Quaxo..."

Quaxo nearly screamed. He jumped back from the body that he was rested against and stared at it with wide eyes.

"Quaxo!"

Quaxo turned around, realizing the voice was coming from somewhere else. He turned to see Alonzo at the entrance to the ally, peering in with his electric green eyes.

"Quaxo what the hell do you think you're doing?" The black and white cat scolded as he pranced down the length of the dark space. "Everyone is going insane! First Munkustap is killed then you and Tugger disappear and-" Alonzo froze as Tuggers corps came into his view. He stared at it and then at Quaxo's tear stained face and back again.

"Oh, heavyside..." he mumbled as he came closer.

Something overtook Quaxo as the other cat came close to his dead friends body. Quaxo hissed and jumped between them, arching his back and glaring at the other tom. Alonzo paused again, debating fighting Quaxo, no doubt, but sighed and took a few steps back.

"Quaxo, I understand how you feel..." he tried to reason with the young tom, "I understand how hard it is. I just lost my best friend too..."

A burning rage overtook the younger tom. "NO!" Quaxo screamed. "You don't understand! If you understood, you wouldn't be here! You wouldn't... you just..." The anger left the poor cats body as quickly as it had came and he dissolved into tears again.

Sinking to the cold pavement beneath him and covering his face again he sobbed, "It's not the same... it's not..."

()()()()

Oh my god, this is so depressing! Two deaths in two chapters! Why?? People should probably stop reading this, or you're all going to end up with depression. It really doesn't get any better from here on.

Until the end at least... well... wait I'm not sure if it's happy or not... you'll all just have to wait and see, I guess. :)