Well, I hate to say this (is secretly relieved) but this story is drawing to a close :( I can easily say that I had a LOT of troubles with this one, truth be told it's not my favourite (being my first fiction in this fanbase) but don't worry! I have another story coming up :D I am SUPER excited because I have it all planned out and so far I'm 5 chapters in (Haven't posted it up yet though so look out for that) I'll be posting the prologue up at the end of the story :)
Review time!
YouMeVsTheWorld : I hope so too :P It would be very very nice to see them live happily ever after :D Umm... I'm not sure what his new account name is, but I remember it was Supabadassjellicalslaya before -shrug-
Catherine: Awww, thanks :D Yeah, gotta love that Quaxo/Tugger angst :P
Tugger reached the Gumbie Cat's den in a matter of minutes, he peered in to find the small tux being carted to the back of the den by Tantomile, his face was a violent clash of fear and confusion as he was practically being dragged away from the front room. The coon was suddenly shoved further into the den when a rush of kittens were being ushered into the safety of the terrifying queen's domain. "We have to get him out of here! He's what Macavity wants, if we take him out then he'll leave," Tantomile called out over the screams and whimpers of the little queens and toms.
Screeching and the twisted clash of metal pierced the air as hell broke loose outside. Tugger turned to close the door but found Munkustrap reaching into the den to slam the door shut behind them, a brief stare passed between the two brothers before they lost each other in the chaos. "Where do we go?" Tugger called back. The smooth coated queen stared unknowingly, she wasn't a plan maker- she was more of a consultant of sorts. "Hold on, love," Jenny called over her shoulder as she crammed the last of the kittens into a secret, underground compartment. Once she was finished, Jenny bustled forward to the slightly distraught tom. "Skimble's train is passing by Threstonian station within the hour. You two'll be safe there."
A bright flash of light flooded the den followed by a wave of cries and a horrible roaring sound. "Come," she grabbed his elbow and dragged him to her and Skimble's room, opening a mini-fridge hidden among the junk wall; the compartment was backless and seemed to lead down an indistinct passage. "There's a small burlap sack at the bottom of the landing that leads you out of the main area, you keep going straight until you reach the threeway pass, go to the far right until you're out of the junkyard. You should be at the station in less than half an hour if you take Martin ave."
Confused, he opened his mouth to ask for clarification but was cut off by the bumbling cat. He followed her out the room with his gaze where Tantomile stood with Quaxo leaning heavily against her side. "There's not much time," the younger queen urged.
"What about you guys?-" Tugger managed finally.
"We'll be fine once he's out of the junkyard, now go!" With that, the young tux was passed to him and he was shoved into the passage to be sealed in shut. He could feel the thin tux trembling violently, both from his weakness and the fear that came in being cut off from all possible communication to the world around him. Tugger blinked in the darkness, turning them around to face the way they were to go; the terrifying sounds of the yard around them seeped into the gloomy tunnel eerily. "It's alright, Quax," he whispered airily, more to himself than anything though he did provide comfort to his companion by rubbing his back soothingly before piggy backing him towards the train station.
Following Jenny's advice, they arrived at the station in time to hear the distant whistle of the train as it drew closer to the town. Tugger looked around nervously, the tux still clinging frightfully to his back. The train soon rounded the bend and blew its whistle, coming to a complete stop what seemed like hours after its initial entrance. It didn't take Tugger all too long to find the railway cat surveying the loading of the new merchandise onto the locomotive.
"Skimble!" Tugger called out. The marmalade cat looked extremely put off by the coon's sudden appearance, he had never seen the coon outside his encounters with the kits or floating around the queens of the tribe. Even more off-putting was the milky-eyed magician perched up on his back, he watched intently as they approached. "There- Macavity... Macavity came looking for Misto, we have to leave town or he'll take him and..."
"Wait, hold on a minute, son," the Scottish tom interrupted. "What about Jenny and the kits?" his expression grew to that of severe concern. The train blew a warning signal.
"She's hiding out with the kits in your den," he explained briefly. "There's no time we have to go!"
Just then; the dark, meniacle laughter of the Napoleon of Crime himself echoed through the now deserted platform. "Where you going with my kit, Tugger?" he drawled teasingly, remaining hidden to the two below. Panic bubbled in his veins when the train gave one last hoot before it began to chug away. "Get inside!" Skimble yelled as he pulled the maine coon up into the cart; surprisingly not having to apply as much energy as one would expect for their height/weight ratios.
Tugger dropped the tux by an old crate before rushing over to held Skimble close the side door. Luckily, there were more than enough cracks to satisfy their light-sensitive eyesight. Giving one last glance of assurance and a sigh of relief, the two toms returned to the disabled tux who cowered against a food rations' box.
Skimble began to mumble to himself quietly about missing cargo, excusing himself as he ran to the other cars to make sure nothing got left behind; Cat forbid the railway should fail with him on board! Tugger took a seat on the ground next to the terrified tux. "It must suck, not being able to see or hear," he offered lightly to the obviously unaware tom. "I hope you get better, though. Funny to say, but I think I like the thought of us... I've liked that thought for a while now." He stretched out a gentle paw to soothingly run his hand along the black furred back, smiling when a soft purr began to rumble under Quaxo's skin.
The blind tux stumbled aimlessly as he settled himself to rest between the coon's long, toned legs, leaning closely into Tugger's broad chest and warm heat. He smiled softly as he felt the bigger tom's heartbeat. Tugger sighed at the feeling of the young tom being so close to him, he couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness when he thought of what they could have been. Sure, Quaxo could have gotten better... but then he also could not change. It was hard for him to face the thought that there might be nowhere for them to go from here and their still-standing status a 'friends', he was more than willing to give it a try but he wasn't sure if he was up for the job of caring for this tom; as selfish as it sounded.
He ran a paw down Quaxo's face where it rested cupping his cheek lightly, looking into those milky eyes just made it hurt even more. Ever so gently, he leaned down to capture his companion's supple lips with his, keeping the kiss sweet and relatively innocent. To his delight, Quaxo reciprocated and took the opportunity to deepen the kiss by pushing himself up further against the golden tom's mouth.
Despite their current situation and the fact that they were on the run from the tux's psychotic, manic father, this was definitely the best kiss they had shared... of the now two they'd engaged in. He let his paw slide down to press itself against the other's lower back, hugging him closer as their kiss began to intensify.
Suddenly, a loud shriek scorched through the loud car; nearly deafening the coon permanently then and there. He tossed the tux to his side prepared to protect the small cat from any dangers. Light flooded the gloomy cart when a sheet of the metal that made the roof peeled back jaggedly.
"Mistoffelees!" came the drawled scream. Tugger grabbed his friend and scampered around the boxes behind them. His paw immediately clamped over Quaxo's mouth to prevent any sounds from escaping him unknowingly. He could feel the tux's heart race through his thin coat and his breath strain raggedly against his paw. The cargo hold fell quiet and still, his heart running laps. An inquisitive paw crept up to rest on his heaving chest, Tugger grabbed it reassuringly but kept his other hand firmly against the Quaxo's mouth.
He knew he hadn't left, there was no way he'd gone away; he had obviously found them so easily in the one of tens of cars. There was just no way... The whole train jolted suddenly, throwing the two hard against the wood.
Tugger cautiously peered around the corner of a nearby crate, no sign of any magic cat in sight... save for the huge tear in the ceiling, of course. There was a long silence, the car soon proved to be completely deserted aside from them. That soon changed when a bumbling Skimble charged into the room abruptly.
"The bridge is out up ahead, we have to get off!" He was met with an incredulous stare, obviously taking this news as a form of cruel train-humour. "...The bridge-" His free arm was grabbed and he was brusquely led to the closed door of the steel box. "We're going to have to jump," he grunted as he fiddled with the lock and yanked the door open.
"J-Jump! How fast is this thing going anyways?" The door slid open to reveal the surrounding landscape whizzing by the screeching train. Skimble took a deep breath as he watched the dangerous drop into the equally dangerous wooded area. Collecting his thoughts, he turned to pry the little tux from the coon's grasp. "We have to jump, Tugger. We'll never make the drop when the train goes over!"
"What about the humans-"
"We can't worry about them right now, we have to save ourselves," he yelled over the loud squeal of the metal on metal of the train trying to save itself from the lethal drop just a few hundred yards away. He peered out of the door at the possible landing sites, clutching the now whimpering tux in his one arm. "Okay, I found a spot..."
"Please tell me you've done this before..."
"Just once. 3...2...1... Jump!" Tugger crouched to jump to the soft grass but his balance was knocked off when the train rocked heavily, throwing him back into the hold. He sat up to find that Quaxo and Skimble had both made the jump off the edge for they were nowhere in sight. Meniacle laughing crept its way to his ears through the screaming chaos around him. "You better get off soon, Tugger," the voice drawled before breaking into another row of insane laughter. He spun around to face the scruffy, unkept face of the Napoleon of crime.
"Run, brother, run!" he shrieked. In a flood of anger, Tugger charged at his notorious counterpart; catching him off-guard and slamming him to the floor. "You better-"
"What? Fix this? What are you going to do about it if I decide not to? You see, I can just simply not be on this train, if you catch my drift," he finished with a wink. Tugger knew all too well what he meant; after all, he did have a son who's exposed the Jellicles more than enough to his cunning and sneaky ways. Macavity continued. "You'd just be that unfortunate cat who couldn't get off in time. I would be playing cards with my poker pals downtown... I always have an alibi."
Furious, Tugger began pounding his fist into the older tom's face, letting out an acridic cry with every blow; he hardly took time to notice the punches being delivered to his exposed underbelly. The train jolted again as they began to roll about on the floor, claws out for blood. A hard jerk of the cargo hold sent then both crashing into the pile of boxes and crates at the back. The maine coon nearly vomited right there at the distinct crunch from the scarlet tom's head and neck area as he landed against the edge of an overturned board.
Not wasting any time, Tugger rolled to his knees and scrambled to the door. He looked out as the marmalade tabby had, he could see the damaged bridge creeping forward at an incredible speed. Luckily for him the train had slowed considerably. He silently counted down before he finally launched himself out the side of the runaway train.
He had landed roughly on the soft, drenched grass that lined a little stream that ran parallel to the tracks. Groaning miserably, though his body had yet to recover from the shock, he sat up groggily. A loud, sadly terrifying sound drew through the air as the locomotive bent forward of the end of the track just a hundred feet away from the tom. He watched wide-eyed as the great metal beast bowed gracefully before making its final exit off the cliff, all crew and cargo going down with it.
The sight was incredible and the noise was unbearable when the expected demolition roared up the canyon, echoing its death all throughout the country. Tugger couldn't help himself as his vision grew dark and his mind lost itself in the land of abysmal ignorance.
Be expecting another update soon... well, sooner than usual I guess ^_^''