"Vail! Wake up!" Pike shook his sister awake, and she instinctively swiped at him for disturbing her.

She sat up, rubbing her eyes with her now covered left paw; she didn't want to risk getting poison on anyone other than Macavity. "What's the emergency?" she asked.

"You'll never believe what I just saw." Pike sat back, satisfied that she was awake.

"Munkustrap sleeping on duty," Vail guessed, not really caring what it was—she just wanted to get back to sleep.

"Mom beat Alonzo."

Vail was wide awake now. "Who are you kidding? Nobody beats Alonzo."

"But I saw it with my own eyes," Pike protested. "Well, not really my own eyes," he amended. "But I saw it on the water. He tackled her, thinking to surprise her, and she pinned him! Twice!"

Vail scowled at the ground. "Living with those barn cats must have made her a formidable fighter, then."

Pike looked at her with confusion. "Why do I hear jealousy in your voice?"

Vail snarled and shot a bolt of energy at a random pile of junk, causing it to topple to the ground with a crash. "If I had stayed there, I would have learned to fight like that!" Pike backed away, mentally building a shield around himself in case she decided to hit him. "Macavity taught me to fight, sure, but I haven't been able to win without using my power!" she was really mad, Pike could tell. They'd both gotten the capacity for anger from Macavity, but Pike kept it under control better than Vail. Perhaps that came from being raised by Jellicles.

"What if you ask the barn cats to teach you?" he suggested. He'd heard them talking about having a mock fight tournament before the ball. "Rascal was talking about teaching the other kits here."

Vail stared at him, her fury still burning in her blue-grey eyes. "That would mean showing my face in the junkyard. Do you honestly think your tribe won't make the connection? We only have one thing to tell us apart," she reminded him, pointing to her ginger patch. "They'll see us as twins, and then they'll start asking where I got the ginger fur. They'll connect us both to Macavity, and they'll throw us out. Is that what you want?"

Pike shook his head. "You don't have to answer their questions if you don't want to. They aren't nosy like that."

Vail scowled and plopped down on the ground, her paws still crackling with energy. She frowned at them. "This is another thing," she said, holding up her paws to show him. "I can't keep it in when I feel energized. It's just a part of me, and Mistoffelees will recognize it as like Macavity's magic."

"If they need convincing, I can vouch for you," Pike volunteered. "I've never seen you hurt someone, so there's not really any proof."

Vail rolled her eyes and lay down, staring up at the stars. She wanted to learn how to fight well, but she didn't want to meet the rest of the tribe. It would raise unnecessary questions that she didn't want to answer. Especially if Kroova was as close as they thought she was to the junkyard. She growled to herself, pulling off the cover of her left paw to examine her dark red claws. She wondered idly if the poison would remain after affecting one cat. She stood up, stretching.

"Where are you going?" Pike asked, watching her carefully.

"I just need to do something," Vail said quietly. "I'll be back before she gets here."

"You aren't going to Macavity, are you?"

Vail stayed silent, clenching her jaw as she thought about what she was going to do. Without answering Pike's question, Vail took off, with the only indication of her location the random sparks flying from her paws, and her mostly white coat.

=^..^=

"I didn't think I would see you back here until the ball was over."

Macavity frowned at Vail, who was standing with her paws on her hips and glaring at him. "Just because I'm going to get rid of Munkustrap and Deuteronomy, doesn't mean I have to stay with those freaks."

"What do you want?" Macavity rubbed his eyes. It had been a long day, and he was ready for some private time. He'd been about to lock the door to his chamber when Vail had stormed in, demanding to see him.

"I've earned a nickname for myself," she said, holding up a gloved paw. "Call me Poisonpaw."

"Vail Poisonpaw," Macavity mused. "Not a bad title. I assume you'll continue being an assassin after killing Deuteronomy and Munkustrap?"

Vail grinned wickedly. "Nothing would please me more."

"Well then," Macavity stood, and strutted over to the young queen. "We'd better test your skills."

He led her out onto the balcony overlooking most of the warehouse. Macavity's eyes roved over the cats who were fighting among themselves, looking for an appropriate target. "Do you see that white tom down there?"

"The one with half his face gone?"

Macavity nodded. "He stole from me this morning. I want you to make sure he doesn't do it again."

Vail grinned and flexed her claws. "With pleasure."

=^..^=

I slowed my pace, seeing the high wooden fence of the junkyard in the distance. Talon glanced at me, but slowed his pace to match mine. Rascal and Taru were walking ahead with Mistoffelees, and Raena was doing her best to ignore Griffyn, who was complaining very loudly about anything she could think of. Eventually Gruve scooped her up and kissed her, successfully keeping her quiet for a moment. Wallen, Tamm, and Mercuos were running ahead, making bets on how many of the Jellicles they would beat in the wrestling tournament they were going to hold.

"I bet I'll get twice as many as you," Tamm was boasting.

Mercuos shook his head. "You've never really beaten me, so there is no way you can get that many."

"Well, I'm going to get more than both of you," Wallen grinned. He liked provoking the two brothers to arguments. His comment sent the two of them into louder protests and promises of 'numbers'.

Rosa and Lizarre trotted past, the two of them more eager to meet toms that weren't related to them. They, too, were excited for the tournament, but they more wanted to attract the eyes of any eligible toms present.

"Do you think they'll go more for us since we'll be able to beat them?"

Rosa laughed. "We're new material to look at," she said. "From what I understand, these Jellicles grew up together."

"That could do one of two things," Lizarre said. "They'll either ignore us completely, or be so taken with us they'll beg us to stay." The two queens giggled, and continued their conversation in a hushed whisper.

I watched Mistoffelees, noticing he was looking at me with an odd expression on his face. I decided I would ask what was on his mind later.

Alonzo had run ahead and was now coming back with a small queen on his back. I recognized Liebe, but I thought she would have been bigger; she was a year old now. He strode up and began introducing everyone to his daughter. "This is Taru and Rascal, and their kits Tamm, Mercuos and Rosa; Griffyn and Gruve, their son Wallen; Raena and Gurnson, and their daughter Lizarre; and Talon and Kroova." Alonzo gestured to each cat in turn, and Liebe gazed at them all with light green eyes.

"Do you have any kittens, Kroova?" Liebe asked innocently. She had noticed that the other three couples had kittens, and had even taken in Griffyn's swollen stomach. Every one of the barn cats fell silent. They all knew the answer, and they knew that Pike was a member of the tribe—Liebe probably knew him.

My mind raced as I tried to think up an answer. What would I say that wouldn't be a lie? Talon came to my rescue, though. He put an arm around my shoulder and said, "Not yet." I sighed. He and I didn't have kittens yet, so that was truthful enough. I smiled and nodded to Liebe.

She shrugged and hopped off Alonzo's back, falling into step beside Rosa and Lizarre. I could tell the three would soon be inseparable friends.

"Well," Alonzo said as the rest of us continued onward. "Deuteronomy told me to help all of you find suitable dens for the duration of your stay, so let's get started." He rubbed his paws together as a show of enthusiasm.

[A/N] Dang it… I hate forgetting what I planned for the a/n. Anyway I have some other orders of business:

-I wrote a fic called 'Anything you can do, I can do better'. I would LOVE to have more than a measly handful of reviews for it… I know people are reading, but for some reason, they aren't reviewing.

-I have decided on a sequel! It will focus ONLY on Pike and Vail, and will include an OC to be named by one lucky reader. Want to know how to get your chance? Guess what it will be a cross-over into! It might be easy, but here you go:

Vail and Pike glanced at each other, then continued forward. The snow got thicker as they slowly made their way through the low-hanging branches, and the air grew colder. Vail paused long enough to transfer the glove from her left paw to her right, and Pike pushed his long headfur out of his eyes. The sight that greeted them was truly incredible.

The sun was shining, but the snow around them showed no signs of melting. Vail saw her breath mist in front of her face, and she grinned at Pike. How was he taking it all in?

"This is impossible," he whispered.

"Ah, but Silverthought," Vail said, flicking Pike in the ear as she used his nickname, "Didn't you say so yourself that nothing was impossible?"

Ok! So there you go! I hope you all look forward to this; I'm looking forward to writing it! Note: when the actual story comes out, this particular sequence might not be the same (I had to modify it so it wouldn't be so easy to guess) sort-of-hint: the OC is a fox.