Chapter 7: Invasion
Magnus was well pleased with how his test had gone; the time now for the invasion was at hand. The Jellicle tribe was easily outnumbered by the Pollicles and now with Mistoffelees at their side, they couldn't fail. He knew in his heart that this would be the end of the Jellicles and he smiled at that thought. His name would be known for generations of dogs; looked on with reverence, even treated as a god in a way.
Mustn't get carried away old boy, he reminded himself, you still have to accomplish that task. Overconfidence has led to the downfall of many good dogs.
So true. Well, he mustn't keep the troops waiting. He walked out of the room and was soon joined by Oso, Rohl and Mistoffelees who accompanied him to the stack of crates which allowed him to see his army. Feeling his chest puff out with pride at the sight of them all, he took a deep breath.
"My friends, our time is at hand," he said loudly as the dogs all turned to face him, "The test has proven to be a success and we now move on with the invasion of the junkyard."
There were a few cheers but there was grumbling mixed in with it. Magnus frowned slightly; this wasn't right. They were all supposed to be cheering like they had when he first told them of his grand plan and now they were grumbling? What was wrong with them?
"What the hell do we need that cat for?" a Pollicle demanded gesturing at the motionless tux, "We got enough numbers here to beat them ourselves." Others shared his sentiments. Magnus fixed the dog with a hard stare.
"Mistoffelees is our ultimate weapon," Magnus said not liking the dog's tone, "He is the Jellicles' advantage that I spoke of. The key to our success lies with him."
"Didn't you hear what he just said?" another dog piped up, "We don't need him. We can beat them without his magic."
Magnus did not like this. He was in control of this army; he was their commander, their general, their superior. How dare this mutt talk to his superior in that tone!
"Do not forget," Magnus said, his voice growing low and icy, "They have the Demon Cat on their side as well. We will need someone to deal with him."
That was a mistake. The mention of the Demon Cat sent a wave of apprehension through the gathered dogs. None of them, not even Magnus himself, particularly wanted to face the silver tomcat but they all wanted to be rid of the Jellicles. At least that's what the Wolfhound was hoping.
"And how would that tux beat the Demon Cat?" the first Pollicle asked, "He's at least three times as strong."
"He will deal with him I assure you," Magnus said growing irritated.
"You're out of your mind," the Pollicle said, "The Demon Cat could wipe us out by himself if he really wanted to." He looked around at the other dogs. "I say to hell with this. I value my neck enough to put up with those damn Jellicles." He pointed at Magnus who was growing angrier by the minute. "This idiot is going to get us killed. I'm outta here. If anyone else here wants to live, you'll get out too."
He turned and made his way through the crowd of dogs toward the door. For a moment, no one moved but at last with a bit of murmuring, a large group of dogs turned their backs on Magnus and walked out. Standing on the crates, Magnus seethed with anger. Damn those foolish mutts! Damn them all to hell! Didn't they realize he was leading them to glory? That he was going to rid them of their oldest and greatest enemies? He felt his body trembling as the remainder of the dogs turned back to their leader. He had only half of his army left; at least they were still loyal to him. They were still numerous enough to overwhelm the Jellicles and they still had Mistoffelees. Let those fools go; they would regret their decision to turn their backs on him.
"I'm glad you still have the sense to stay with me," he said to the remaining dogs, "And I promise you, we will have our victory. Move out, all of you! The invasion begins!"
Munkustrap and Demeter had not left Jemima's bedside since Munk had brought his daughter to Jenny's den. The Gumbie Cat had immediately called Jellylorum to come and help her and they'd worked frantically for half an hour to clean and dress the horrid burns on the kitten's chest as well as prevent her from going into shock. Jemima had come around a couple of minutes after her wounds had been treated; the cries of pain that had come out of the kitten tore her parents' hearts out. Jelly gave her some catnip for the pain which had quieted her down but tears still ran down her face as she whimpered with fear that she was going to die. Demeter, with tears in her eyes as well, sat next to her along with her mate holding her paw and reassuring her that she was going to be fine. Munk gave her a soft nuzzle to calm her down so she could rest. Jenny gave her a small cup with some medicine in it, telling her it would help her to sleep and once she drank it, she finally dozed off.
Munk rose from the bed and headed outside. He needed to clear his mind if that was possible. What had the Pollicles done to Misto? Had he been brainwashed or had he changed sides on his own? No, he couldn't think like that. Misto was his friend; he'd never turn on them. This Magnus the Great must've done something to him.
As he stepped out the door of Jenny's den, he noticed Wisp sitting nearby watching Jemima through the doorway intently. His gaze shifted to Munk momentarily then went back to the injured kitten.
"Now you understand," Wisp said quietly.
"Understand what?" Munk demanded. He wasn't in the mood for Wisp's riddles.
Wisp's gaze shifted to him again. "You wondered why I act the way I do. You didn't understand the change I went through. Now you do." He gazed at Jemima once more and Munk stalked off muttering to himself.
Something was definitely wrong. When Wisp had first sensed Misto's magic, it had come off him in waves; like the current of the Thames; powerful but gentle. Now though, it was erratic; the river had been dammed and it was trying to force its way out. Why? What was making it act like that?
His train of thought was shattered a moment later by a loud howl then the air was filled with angry barking. Looking toward the main gate, he saw a large group of Pollicles charging at full speed toward the junkyard. Munkustrap saw them as well and began shouting orders; nearly all of the tribe came out to meet the charge as the dogs crashed headlong into them. There were simply too many for the tribe to completely stop and a few slipped past. Wisp rose to his feet moving to intercept the dogs when out of the corner of his eye he noticed the kittens were still outside. They had been playing near the other end of the yard and they were too far away to get back to Jenny's den in time.
A group of five dogs burst past the tribe and into the junkyard looking to wreak havoc. They immediately spied the group of kittens near the far end and closed in on them. Pouncival and Tumblebrutus started to move out to stop the dogs when they were suddenly thrown back toward their friends by what felt like a pair of invisible paws and a second later, a bolt of lightning slammed into the nearest dog. He tumbled away as the Ghost Cat skidded to a halt in front of the kittens.
"Stay behind me and go when I tell you," Wisp ordered and the kittens fearfully nodded. The four dogs left came at him and Wisp once again threw a lightning bolt at them. The bolt shot between two dogs then with a loud crack, the bolt split taking out both. More dogs had gotten past the Jellicles now and Wisp soon found himself facing six dogs now instead of two. Focusing his mind, the Ghost Cat loosed a powerful mental shove knocking two dogs away but as soon as he did, he was tackled by the rest of them.
Etcetera screamed as Wisp was taken down; Victoria grabbed Pounce's scruff to keep him back just as two Pollicles moved in on them. The white queen moved to protect the kittens but one dog took her down. The second dog smiled viciously at the terrified kittens when suddenly, the metal beam used in Skimbleshanks' song wrenched itself loose and flung itself at the dog knocking him away. At the same time, it slammed into the dogs attacking Wisp taking them out as well; the whole lot crashing to the ground a few feet away. Getting up Wisp looked around desperately and silently thanked the Everlasting Cat when he saw the way to Jenny's den was clear.
"Go," he shouted. The kittens hurried toward the den and Wisp trotted along with them keeping an eye out for any trouble. The ticking of claws made him look behind them; the Pollicle that had attacked Victoria had finished with her and was coming after them. Wisp couldn't risk using his lightning; his arm was injured from a dog bite so he had to improvise. Seconds later, the dog was knocked out by a flying piece of metal.
The kittens all hurried into the den making Wisp relax slightly. He may be cold and cruel but he would not stand by and let a dog kill innocent kittens. Now that they were safe he could focus on helping the tribe survive this fight.
At the main gates, Magnus, his bodyguards and Mistoffelees watched the battle and the Wolfhound felt excitement bubbling inside him. Even with only half his army the Jellicle tribe was still being overwhelmed. It was only a matter of time until…his excitement faltered when he saw the flashes. His throat momentarily went dry; the Demon Cat was loose. The flashes were coupled with yelps of pain and he could see they were getting closer. Time to bring my new weapon into play, Magnus thought then, with Oso and Rohl leading the way, he entered the junkyard.
There were dogs and cats fighting all around him but none of them so far had noticed the four of them come in. Oso and Rohl did their jobs; knocking Jellicles and Pollicles alike away from their leader and the hypnotized tux until they came to a small break in the action. Magnus looked around; there were so many bodies moving and shifting it was hard for him to find the one he sought. He carefully began to move forward again when across from him, two dogs were thrown through the air by nothing it would seem. A figure stepped forward and Magnus found himself standing directly across from the Demon Cat.
"Oh, it's you," Wisp growled as he stared at the Wolfhound, "Finally summoned up the courage to get your paws dirty?"
Magnus clenched his jaw slightly as the silver furred demon smirked at him. You won't be smirking for long, Magnus thought gleefully. He gestured next to him and Mistoffelees moved out in front of the Mastiffs. Inside his head, Misto felt the nervousness growing inside his body. He just had to pray that Wisp would only knock him out instead of killing him outright.
Wisp felt Misto's magic flowing over him; that same erratic wave and studied the tux closely. He looked at his eyes; if it was hypnosis, his eyes would be clouded but they were clear. Half veiled though and his expression was blank. Also he moved like he was puppet on a string. Wisp's eyes widened; it was hypnosis!
"Mistoffelees, if you will," Magnus's smooth voice said.
"Sorry Misto," Wisp said quietly as he built up his own power in response to the tux, "But this is going to hurt."
Misto thrust out his paw and hurled a bolt of lightning at Wisp who simply stood still and caught the blast with his mind so it circled him for a moment then flung it back at the tux. Misto cursed when his body leaped out of the way; he figured it'd have to be distracted first. As soon as the bolt passed him however, the two Mastiffs attacked; overpowering the Ghost Cat quickly. Misto watched as Wisp's body disappeared beneath the two massive dogs for a moment but after a couple of heartbeats, their bodies rippled with lightning and they were tossed back. He realized the silver tom had the ability to channel his lightning through his body. A helpful thing when you couldn't use your arms. Wisp was hurt though; his left arm had a nasty looking bite on it not to mention the cuts on his chest, forehead and arms. The silver cat was slowly rising to his feet.
"Behind him," Magnus commanded, "The junk pile!"
A tall junk pile loomed behind the Ghost Cat and Misto felt himself focus his mind on it. While he was nowhere near the level of mind control that Wisp was, Misto could still move things when he needed to and now he saw the pile starting to topple. Wisp hadn't noticed; he was on his feet shaking his head to clear it. Misto wanted to shout out a warning but he knew it was already too late. He watched in absolute horror as the pile came crashing down; Wisp had enough time to glance behind him, crouch down and cover his head with his arms before the entire pile collapsed and buried him alive.
The resulting crash got nearly everyone's attention for a moment but the battle quickly resumed. The Jellicles couldn't keep up with the number of dogs; Coricopat was too injured to fight which left Tantomile, also injured herself, to defend the two of them as was the case with Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. Mungojerrie at least had managed to pull his sister back from the fight before a dog got in a lucky hit knocking him unconscious. Victoria had also pulled herself away, her left back leg was broken which had sent Plato into a frenzy; he rushed headlong into a crowd of dogs punching, clawing and biting with everything he had. His brave assault hadn't lasted long and the dogs had severely beaten him and tossed his limp form aside like a sack of garbage.
With the Ghost Cat out of the way, Magnus resumed his search finally spying the one he wanted; Munkustrap. The silver tabby along with Demeter and Bombalurina were fighting off the Pollicles efficiently but at a slight nod from Magnus, the two Mastiffs, recovered from their encounter with Wisp, joined in. Bombalurina was their first target; Oso tackled her forcing her to bang her head on the ground stunning her. Demeter quickly tried to help her friend but she was cut off by Rohl. She swatted at his face and forced a yelp from the big dog. He retaliated by landing his own swipe across her face which knocked her down. In a flash Munkustrap was on Rohl beating the Mastiff with everything he had. Rohl had underestimated how strong the Protector was and soon Oso had to come to help his friend. Munk turned his fury on him as well.
Incredible, Magnus thought as he watched. Munkustrap was a whirlwind of motion; pounding down on Rohl then spinning to punch Oso in the face before ducking beneath a return blow from Rohl to attack him again. Magnus moved closer and suddenly, the whirlwind that was Munk came at him. The silver tabby caught the Wolfhound with a strong right which made the Pollicle leader stumble. Munk attacked him again swiping his claws across Magnus's chest; the Pollicle grunted in pain then struck back, catching Munk in the stomach then after he'd doubled over, kicked him squarely in the face sending him sprawling.
"Force the rest into the center of the clearing," Magnus ordered as Oso and Rohl attacked the dazed Munkustrap and beat him down. A few minutes later, the battle was over; the Jellicles were pinned in the middle of the clearing and the Pollicles controlled the yard.