Chapter 4: Finding the Source

Two days had passed since Wisp's return and already Munkustrap was starting to feel the weight of his decision bearing down on him. The tribe hadn't been happy, as he'd suspected, but they had kept quiet for the moment; mostly from fear that the Ghost Cat would attack someone. But now the complaints were coming at him from all sides; Jemima was nervous at the way Wisp was watching her yesterday, Jenny didn't like the kittens playing outside with him around and Demeter said that Wisp acted so much like Macavity sometimes she was afraid to go near him. And to top it all off, some of the tribe who had human families were getting kind of antsy; they liked going back to visit their humans every two or three days just to let them know they were alright. Munkustrap had insisted that no one could leave the junkyard without an escort; usually a group of about four cats accompanied the one on their visit, waited for them outside, then walked with them back to the yard.

Victoria paced irritably as she waited for Plato to finish with his patrol so they could go on a visit to her humans. Being cooped in the junkyard like this was starting to wear on her nerves; she understood the necessity but she was worried that her humans would be wondering about her and pretty soon, they would start combing the streets for her. She had that unpleasant experience happen to her once; she had been out with Plato and she'd forgotten that it was the day she usually visited her humans and they found her and Plato together at the park. The father had shouted at Plato and of course he, in turn, had become protective. Since it was summertime, he had taken off his sandal, a weird looking thing that she couldn't describe if she tried, and threw it at her intended mate hitting him in the head. Plato had stumbled around dazed for a moment before collapsing. Victoria had meowed at them plaintively hoping they would understand she meant for them to leave him alone but they didn't. The son, who had come with him, snatched her up in his arms and carried her back to their car while the father put his ridiculous looking sandal back on, came back to the car as well and drove away. Needless to say, Plato wasn't too happy when she came back to the junkyard the next day and he had quite a big lump on the side of his head for at least a week. He hadn't stayed mad at her for very long however but he insisted that she never forget to visit her humans again. It hurt too much.

"Finally," she huffed as her mate came into their den.

"Sorry," Plato said, "Munk had me go with Alonzo on his patrol today too. He's really nervous about the north gate for some reason. I mean those hench cats that were there a couple of days ago took off as soon as they saw us and they haven't been back since. I would think a normal patrol there would be enough."

"Well, you know what Munk's like," Victoria said, not really wanting to hear about this, "Now come on, we have to get going."

"Oh yeah," Plato said with a small note of disgust, "Your humans."

Victoria sighed quietly; even though Plato had forgiven her for that time, he still carried a grudge against her humans. She supposed she couldn't blame him; if she got a sandal thrown at her, she wouldn't be so forgiving any time soon. But lately, every time she mentioned visiting her humans around him, he would go off into a rant about them all the way there and all the way back. It was fine the first couple of times because he was still a bit mad about it but it was annoying her now.

"Don't start," she said as they came out of their den and headed for the gate, "I don't want to hear it." Plato huffed and kept quiet but she knew it wouldn't last long.

Passing through the clearing, she noticed Wisp lying on top of a high junk pile looking down at them. The silver cat hadn't moved very much in the last two days except to hunt mice or to just stretch his legs. She figured he knew about all the complaints about him and decided it was best if he just stayed out of everyone's way. Although sometimes, she mused, she could swear that he looked lonely up there all by himself. She had seen him watching the different couples in the junkyard and she thought for sure one time he had seemed…sad. She had made a point of trying to talk to him but Plato had kept her away. Now though as they passed by, she gave him a genuine smile and although he didn't return it, he gave her a tiny nod in response. Well, better than nothing.

"Where are you two going?" They both turned to see Munkustrap striding towards them.

"I'm going to visit my humans," Victoria said, "Plato said he'd come with me."

"You know the rule Victoria," Munk said sternly, "No one leaves without an escort."

Plato opened his mouth to protest but closed it again. The Jellicle Protector looked frazzled; probably from all the complaints he'd been hearing so he figured it'd be best if they didn't rattle him more.

"Ok," Plato said shooting a "be quiet" look at Victoria who looked ready to argue, "We'll take Misto with us. With his magic, he's as good as two cats in one."

Munk still looked worried but he finally nodded and walked off. He called out for Mistoffelees and told the black tux to go with Victoria and Plato.

Further down the street, Oso and Rohl led their group of Pollicles in their search for Jellicle cats. In the past two days, there hadn't been much activity in the usual places where Jellicles could be found so Magnus had instructed them to go deeper into their territory.

"And while you're at it," he had said, "Scout out the junkyard as well. I want to know what we'll be up against when the time comes."

None of the group particularly liked the idea of going into Jellicle territory; the cats could be fearsome fighters when they were protecting their land and besides that, they had to keep a watchful eye for the Demon Cat. The Pollicle who had felt the light brush against his back at the meeting later said it felt like a cat's tail but he had seen nothing. The Pollicles instantly realized the Demon Cat had been present at their meeting; no doubt he had gone to warn the Jellicles which explained why they hadn't been seen. Several times, Oso or Rohl had to reprimand one of the dogs in their group for making too much noise; the Demon Cat had excellent hearing and it wouldn't hesitate to attack if it saw an opening.

It's probably watching us now, Rohl thought as he looked around, waiting for its chance.

"Sir," one of the Pollicles in the group said to Oso, "I was thinking; if Magnus wants us to find the source of the Jellicles advantage, wouldn't the Demon Cat suffice?"

"No," Oso answered gruffly, "The Demon Cat is not a Jellicle. Jellicles have different powers. Now keep your voice down!" Frankly, Oso didn't know what kind of powers the Demon Cat or the Jellicles had and didn't care. He just wanted that dog would shut up.

They continued their search checking alleyways and behind dumpsters where the Jellicles were known to hunt mice but still, there was no sign of them. The Mastiffs were getting annoyed, not to mention nervous. The Jellicle Junkyard was only a couple of blocks ahead of them and judging by how quiet it was, they could be waiting in ambush. A movement up ahead suddenly caught Oso's eye and he motioned for the group to stop. They ducked into the shadows of an alley as three cats, two toms and a queen, made their way toward them.

"Jellicles," the same Pollicle said, "Finally."

Rohl turned and smacked him on the head. "Shut up!"

"Remember, take them alive," Oso said quietly as the three neared them, "One of them could be the source."

Once the Jellicles were close enough, all six Pollicles quickly emerged from the alley, surprising the cats, and surrounded them. The white queen clung to one of the toms while the black tux seemed to ready himself for a fight. They were clearly afraid though; their gazes never left the two Mastiffs. Guess they'd never seen dogs like them before.

"Come quietly and you won't be harmed," Rohl said evenly. The tom holding the white queen spat at him.

"Very well," Rohl said, a growl mixing with his words, "Take them."

As one the Pollicle pack moved in trying to grab hold of the cats and the fight was on. Although they were outnumbered, the three still fought bravely. Plato slashed one Pollicle in the face then grabbed hold of another and bit him hard on the neck. The dog swatted him off but Plato quickly got up again. He was taken down a moment later when a dog clamped his jaws around his arm but Victoria clawed at its eyes forcing it to let go. Mistoffelees swatted and punched as hard as he could but the dogs were so close he couldn't get a chance to use his magic. Knowing that was their only chance to get out of this alive, he fought and wriggled his way through the tangle of legs and jaws until he was beside Plato and Victoria. The pack closed in again and Mistoffelees saw his opening; he flung out his paw and a bolt of lightning slammed into one dog sending it tumbling head over tail across the street where it slumped against the wall of a building.

Oso was shocked; he couldn't believe his and Rohl's luck. The source of the Jellicles' advantage was here. Wasting no time, he ordered, "Separate them! The black tux is the source! Get him!"

The pack immediately split in half; Oso, Rohl and one other Pollicle went after Mistoffelees while the other three kept Victoria and Plato away. Misto knew he couldn't handle three dogs by himself but he wasn't going to run and leave his friends behind. He struck out again with his lightning; this time aiming at one of the giant Mastiffs who ducked beneath it at the last second. The other Mastiff, though slightly smaller, quickly charged along with the other Pollicle and tackled Misto to the ground. They pinned his arms down and the larger dog drew back his paw and smacked the black tux hard. Misto felt the powerful impact and everything went dark.

"Fall back," Oso shouted as Rohl picked Mistoffelees up in his mouth, "We have what we came for!"

The other half of the pack quickly broke away from their fight with Victoria and Plato and hurried off, following the others into the night.

"Misto," Victoria cried in horror, "They took him!"

She tried to get up and go after the dogs but her body wouldn't allow it. Neither she nor Plato could do anything except watch the dogs vanish into the night with their prisoner. As the sound of their ticking claws faded away, Victoria broke down crying. This was all her fault; she shouldn't have been so impatient to go. Her humans could've waited for a while longer and now look what happened. Plato comforted her as best he could, knowing they had to get back to the junkyard and let Munkustrap know what happened. Plato cringed at the thought. Munk's going to flip when he hears about this.