The Jellicle Ball went on as usual that night. Everything was perfect. Macavity and Bombalurina were made official mates, and, for the first time ever, Tugger was without a mate. (Etcetera still had a year to go until she was old enough to mate) He sat in his den, sulking for the most of the Ball. The kittens sat near the center of the Junkyard for the entire Ball, just in case there was trouble.

Malaro and Fenara sat together on the car hood alone, not really in the mood to celebrate. Etcetera wasn't in much of a good mood either, because Tugger wasn't thrusting his pelvis everywhere every second of the Ball. The air was tense, but other than that, the Ball was being carried on as it normally was. Jellylorum and Jennyanydots were knitting and chatting in the corner. Bombalurina was enchanting Toms with her dancing, (Unintentionally, of course, lest Macavity show his rage) and the kittens were dancing enthusiastically, and generally bothering the adults.

In the midst of the celebration, a loud cackle echoed throughout the night. "Really, Macavity? Three Jellicles against about 30 Henchcats?! Your math really hasn't improved."

A blur of black, white, and red flew through the darkness. Several cats screamed. It only took Bomba a moment to realize that it was the torn and bloodied body of Alonzo. Macavity's ducked his head, his fur dipping over his eyes. He looked almost dead to the world. "How dare you shed the blood of an innocent Jellicle…YOU BASTERD! ALRIGHT! Everyone, circle up, kittens in the center! If it's a fucking war you want, IT'S A WAR YOU'LL GET!"

The Jellicles obeyed without question, all except Bomba. She stared, scared, at Macavity. His eyes were red again, and she could tell that he was not himself. "Macavity…Wait…Maybe we can-"

Macavity whirled around, fury pulsing madly from his body, "GET IN LINE!"

Bomba skirted into place, and Macavity gazed around the perimeter. Munkustrap and Skimbleshanks came bolting into the clearing. They took their places on either side of Macavity. "How many…" Macavity growled.

"30." Munkustrap said, "Not including Zazor….Sillabub."

"WHAT?! SILLABUB?!"

"Yeah, I thought you knew!"

"NO, I DIDN'T KNOW! I THOUGHT SHE WAS DEAD!"

"WHAT?!" Bomba cried, "You have a sister?!"

Macavity turned slowly on his heel, and stared angrily at Bomba. "Let's try to concentrate on the fact that we're about to get our ASSES HANDED TO US BY ABOUT 32 BLOODTHRISTY HENCHCATS!"

As if to answer Macavity cry, 32 cats appeared along the border of the clearing, Zazor and Sillabub at the head of the group. "Kill them all." Zazor said softly.

For a moment, Bomba thought that it was all over. Then, just as the Henchcats began to move forward, Zazor held up a paw. "All of them." He said, "Except for those two."

He pointed a dirty claw towards Bombalurina and Macavity. "I have a special surprise for them."

The Henchcats ran forward, claws extended, poised to kill. Macavity snarled and knocked a Henchcat aside, his claws slashing through both fur and flesh. The Henchcat twitched and then lay still. "One." Macavity thought, "31 to go!"

Skimbleshanks and Munkustrap fought 5 Henchcats at once. They managed to kill 3 of them before one injured Skimble and he went down. Munkus killed the other two himself. Jennyanydots had a bloodlust in her eyes, and was chasing Henchcats around with her sewing needle, "Come here, you filthy, dirty cats!"

The needle tip sparkled with blood as she drew it out of a Henchcat's throat.

Malaro was fighting just as skillfully as the adults. He weaved in and out of the fight like a hornet, slashing through muscle and injuring Henchcats. As he cut through the tender calf-tendon of a Henchcat, leaving him unable to walk, he heard a scream. He saw Electra running up a junk pile, trying to escape two Henchcats, who were making kissing noises at her. Malaro snarled and felt a surge of power run through his muscles like an electric current. He flew 10 feet up into the air, and landed protectively in front of Electra. The Henchcats jumped back with surprise, but then, seeing that he was only a kitten, they laughed, and moved forward. Malaro growled, and sent a red bolt of lightning at one cat, and a wall of solid air at the other. The first cat's charred body crumpled to the ground, and the second flew backwards into a pipe, snapping his neck clean in two.

Electra stared in horror at the gruesome sight for a moment, and then turned to Malaro. "You…You saved my life..."

Malaro went even redder than usual, and murmured, "It was nothing, really..."

"Yes, it was…"

Electra pecked Malaro softly on the cheek. Malaro blushed again, and scampered back to rejoin the fight.

Cassandra's moonlight eyes had gone red with hatred as she fought tooth and nail, protecting Alonzo's mutilated body.

Coricopat and Tantomile stared grimly at a Henchcat. The Henchcat looked confused, and a little scared. He slowly reached upward with one claw, and slit his own throat. The twins stared at their dirty work as the Henchcat fell to the ground. Macavity, who had been watching, stared at them. "You have very dark minds." He commented.

"Thank you." They said in unison.

Sillabub stood on a pile of junk, staring down at the yellow and black Queen as she slashed open a Henchcat's stomach. She laughed quietly, "Where's your pretty niece, Demeter?"

Demeter looked up, and snarled, "Sillabub!"

Zazor's twin laughed with bloody glee, and leapt onto Demeter. The two cats rolled several feet, and then began fighting. Demeter lashed out, but Sillabub dodged it, twisting around like a sparrow avoiding a hawk. Then she struck Demeter on the side with her claws. Demeter scrambled as blood poured from her hip, and she fell. Sillabub prepared to deliver a finishing blow, but then a force, like a fist of steel, struck her in the shoulder. She fell back several feet, and landed on her back. She gritted her teeth against the exploding pain in her shoulder. She looked upward to see who had caught her.

Munkustrap was standing protectively over Demeter's body, his paw curled into a fist. Not worth the fight, she decided. She saw, out of the corner of her eye, the Rum Tum Tugger fleeing the fight. "Coward." She muttered, and she followed him.

He led her to his den, where he was probably hoping to seek some sort of refuge. She grinned, "Hello, my over grown fur coat of a brother."

He whirled around, a fearful gleam in his eye, and then he snarled. "Sillabub."

She grinned, "You remember me! Good for you! But, you know, I've always had trouble with names. I can't remember yours, so how about I just call you…Dead!"

Tugger leapt backward, but Sillabub had a claw wrapped around his belt already. She pulled him forward and closed her paw around the metal clasp. "Are you STILL wearing this thing? I think it's time you lost your baby belt!"

Tugger's eyes widened. "No! Please!"

Sillabub laughed widely, and ripped it off. Tugger roared in anger. He swatted at Sillabub, but she danced out of the way, and began tearing the belt into pieces. He lashed out blindly, over and over again, but Sillabub avoided him with ease. She sighed and tossed the torn leather lazily into the mud. "My, my, you're out of practice! Let's see how your defense is…"

She lashed out experimentally. Tugger stumbled out of the way. She shook her head, smirking. "Not very good!"

She curled her paw into a fist, and punched forward with all the strength she possessed. She heard a satisfying crunch as his sternum snapped in two, along with several of his ribs, and he flew backwards into his den wall. She savored his pain as she stalked toward him. He lay at the entrance to the den, his breath coming in short, pained gasps. She grinned down at him. She extended a claw, and hovered thoughtfully over his stomach, like a child wondering what might happen if she proceeded. "Never thought that I would have to kill my own brother."

She plunged her claw into his stomach. Tugger gave a long, pained scream. "Oh, well." She laughed, "You'll be dead in an hour or so."

She turned around to rejoin the fight, leaving Tugger alone.