Cassieteazer, Thank you very much! I hope you continue to enjoy! :) Emily, Thank you! That means a lot! :D

Nineteen

"What if they were wrong though?" Rumpelteazer asked her brother as she looked around the alleyway they were walking down.

"I don't think Coricopat and Tantomile's predictions have ever been wrong," Mungojerrie replied, giving her a comforting smile. "Try not to worry too much."

Rumpelteazer sighed sadly. "But what if we don' see her? What if the whole night goes by and we never even get a glimpse of her?"

Mungojerrie frowned. "Don' think like that, Teazer. We'll do everythin' we can. We'll keep our eyes open and stay alert. If we don' see her, then all we can do is say we tried our best and continue searchin' for her."

"I suppose," Rumpelteazer said. "I'm just scared that we'll never see her again."

Mungojerrie pulled his twin sister close and hugged her. "It'll be alright. I promise that Demeter will get saved and she'll return to the Junkyard happy and healthy. Keep your spirits high."

"I'll try," Rumpelteazer said with a weak smile.

The two cats continued walking in silence. They kept their eyes open and they searched the shadows for the slightest sign of Demeter. They were beginning to lose hope quickly as hours passed by without any hint as to where Demeter might be, or if she was ok. Mungojerrie looked over at his sister, and his heart broke at the sight of her defeated expression. He could tell that she was becoming exhausted as well, and he had half a mind to take her somewhere that they could rest. But he knew that they had to continue searching for Demeter, no matter what. He was just about to say a few comforting words to Rumpelteazer when his ears suddenly perked up. He noticed Rumpelteazer's ears do the same, and she looked at him with anticipation. Distant voices could be heard; one was a tom and the other was a queen.

Mungojerrie prayed that the female voice belonged to Demeter. He and Rumpelteazer silently made their way to where the voices were coming from. They snuck down the alleyway and peeked around the corner of a tiny antique shop. Standing in front of a neighboring building was a tom with bright red fur. He seemed to be waiting for something. The queen that the twins had heard earlier was nowhere to be seen.

"Let's wait a little bit," Mungojerrie whispered. "Maybe she'll come back, and then we'll be able to see if it's Demeter or not." Rumpelteazer nodded in agreement, and the two cats fell into silence once again as they waited, their eyes never leaving the ginger tom.

A few minutes later, they noticed a shadow move at one of the market's windows. Shortly afterwards, six large fish were tossed out of the window, landing at the tom's paws. He quickly gathered up the fish, and then looked back up at the window, just in time to see a queen jump down. She whispered something to the tom, who nodded and kissed her cheek in response. Then he motioned for her to follow him, and they began to walk down the alley. When they reached a spot where the moon touched them perfectly, the queen's golden fur shimmered. Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer both had to hold back a gasp as they recognized the queen to be Demeter. Neither of them knew what to do next. They weren't sure if they should confront Demeter and the tom or not.

"Let's follow them for a bit," Rumpelteazer suggested. "Then we can talk to them after we find out where they are headed and what they are doin'." Mungojerrie agreed to the plan, and they quietly began to stalk the other two cats.

Mungojerrie couldn't help but wonder who the ginger tom was and what his business with Demeter was. He couldn't imagine the tom being Demeter's secret mate. She didn't seem to be that kind of cat. He was also trying to figure out what they were doing inside of the market. Had they been stealing fish? They followed the couple until they reached a popular pub. Recognizing the pub, Mungojerrie started to get a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was beginning to piece everything together and he was sure that he knew who the tom was. He prayed that he was wring though. When they entered the building, the bright lights confirmed that the queen was, indeed, Demeter. However, they also revealed the identity of the tom, and, this time, Rumpelteazer could not suppress her gasp.

"Demeter! What are ya doin' with Macavity?" Mungojerrie blurted out, horrified that his assumption had been correct.

Demeter jumped, and both she and Macavity spun around to face the calico twins. Demeter's eyes widened and Macavity smiled maliciously. "Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer," he purred. "What a pleasant surprise. What brings you here tonight? We aren't meant to meet for a few days still."

"We want to know what business ya have with Demeter!" Rumpelteazer answered angrily. "Everyone at the Junkyard has been worried out of their minds about her! We've been lookin' everywhere for her!"

Macavity's smile quickly turned into a sneer. "Demeter works for me now. Although, it's really none of your business what I do with her. Now run back home. I have no more time for you."

"Demeter! You can' work for Macavity!" Mungojerrie said, ignoring the other tom. Ya need to come back to the Junkyard with me and Teazer. Macavity will do nothin' but manipulate ya!"

"Shut your mouth!" Macavity roared. "I will show you what happens to any cat who defies me! Tropicus! Belizario! Fara! Brito!" Out of nowhere, four other cats appeared, each of them glaring at the twins. "Get rid of them," Macavity hissed. The four henchcats attacked as Macavity pulled Demeter away from the fray. Demeter cried out for her friends, struggling against Macavity so she could help them. But Macavity was much stronger than she was.

Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer didn't want to fight the strange cats, but they weren't going to allow themselves to get ripped to shreds. Mungojerrie tried to figure out which of the four cats seemed to be the strongest, so that he could take them on and leave the weaker ones for Rumpelteazer. He didn't doubt Rumpelteazer's fighting ability, but he also didn't want her fighting someone she couldn't handle. He decided that the toms called Belizario and Tropicus seemed to be strongest and he lunged at them. He sunk his claws into Belizario's side and then swiped at Tropicus's face. However, Belizario shook him off easily and Tropicus pounced on him, claws and teeth going for the calico tom's face.

Rumpelteazer lunged at Fara, biting the queen's ear and scratching at her face. Fara yowled with pain and Brito jumped in to aid her. He knocked Rumpelteazer to the ground and dug his claws into her chest. Rumpelteazer screamed in agony and tears streamed down her face. She desperately tried to push Brito off of her, but the orange tabby was stronger than he looked. And, before Rumpelteazer knew it, Fara was on top of her too, clawing at her face.

Mungojerrie looked over at his sister when he heard her scream. When he saw the other two cats overpowering her, he knew that he had to get her out of there. He shoved Tropicus away from him and scratched Belizario across the face. Then, he ran to Rumpelteazer's side and began fighting off Fara and Brito. When he managed to pry them off his sister, he gathered her in his arms and ran out of the pub.

He kept running until he reached the Junkyard. He made his way to Jenny's den and handed his sister to Skimbleshanks, while he explained to the two elderly cats what had happened. When he finished his story, Jenny began dressing the twins' wounds. Mungojerrie closed his eyes, wishing for his pain to go away. Before he knew it, he was drifting off to sleep.

I'm really interested in what you have to say and what you think will happen. Also, suggestions are always welcome! Please, tell me what you think! The more reviews I get, the sooner I'll update. Thanks for reading!

Mew Painappuru