Talon woke up, feeling a paw on his shoulder. He rubbed his eyes, looking up at Jenny. "Perhaps it's best if you sleep in your own den, dear," the Gumbie cat said sympathetically. Talon nodded reluctantly, his eyes lingering on the unconscious form of Kroova. She'd been like that for almost a whole day, and nothing they did seemed to revive her. She'd thrown up a couple times, but other than that, she did nothing more than lay dormant in Jenny's medical den. Talon brushed a paw across her feverish forehead and slowly left the den.

Jenny watched him go, wishing she could do more to lift his spirits. Jellylorum came into the den, carrying a bowl of water and a bit of cloth.

"Don't you think we should tell him?" Jelly asked, watching the gold tom trudge slowly out of sight. Jenny shook her head.

"I have a feeling it would only upset him more. We'll wait and see what happens…" she gazed at the white and grey patched queen. "If nothing changes in twenty-four hours, we'll have to tell him. He has a right to know."

Jellylorum nodded and began dabbing Kroova's forehead with the wet rag, while Jenny set about making a broth in case she woke up. It'll just go to waste, Jenny thought sadly. She'd seen this condition before, and the results were never pleasant.

=^..^=

It was the strangest sensation in the world… I knew I was floating, but it seemed impossible. I could look down and see myself, touch myself, but I had no substance. Around me, silvery clouds swirled, occasionally broken by spots of brown, orange, or gold. I invented a game; I would guess what color would come next, and where it would appear, and I got a point if I guessed right. Eventually—after about four thousand—I lost count and resigned to simply guess. After a while I noticed that the gold stopped appearing, and it was just brown and orange.

A darkness appeared behind me, and even though it was large and ominous, I wasn't afraid. It was a friendly darkness; though I wondered if I should go near it. I decided, yes, I would go near, but then I realized that I couldn't move. I watched the darkness as it moved around, sometimes mixing with the brown or orange.

A swirl in my stomach, and I felt myself heave, though nothing came out. I wondered if my body—wherever it was—was throwing up. This happened several times, and each time I was surrounded by the colors in the space. When I seemed fine, they retreated and moved at their slow pace again. Eventually, I began to notice a tiny white light underneath me. Odd. I hadn't even realized there could be anything underneath me. I watched it for a while as it darted this way and that, never staying in the same spot for more than two seconds.

The gold color came back, glowing brightly next to me. It was almost as bright as the white one. I watched it, wondering what it was doing. Usually the colors faded in and out, but it stayed right where it was, throbbing like a pulse. I heard sounds then, sounds that seemed familiar… but I couldn't decide where I'd heard them before. I didn't even know why I knew the sounds. I began to long for the sounds, wondering when I would hear them next. They sounded sad… whatever they were. I realized the sounds were actually coming from the colors. Each of the colors had its own sound; the orange and brown were light and friendly, the gold was strong and deep, the black was somewhat loud, and the white was the quietest of all. I could only hear it if I listened really carefully.

I saw the silver swirls starting to solidify, forming tall boxes and flat surfaces. I felt something hard beneath my feet, and I realized I was standing on one of the hard surfaces. The colors were gone, but I saw a large figure moving slowly towards me. It looked like a cat, but there was something odd about it—it seemed like thick smoke, whereas I was completely solid. The cat stopped a few feet in front of me, and I recognized its' face.

"Samuel," I said with a smile. It had been a long time since I'd seen the old Siamese.

"You should not be here, Kroova."

I frowned. "Why not? I'm not doing anything wrong, am I?"

"No, but you have a family back on earth that misses you."

"Back on earth?"

"You are in Heaviside," Samuel explained, gesturing to the silvery shapes around us. "But only partly. If you stay here any longer, your soul will soon join your mind, and you will have to stay here forever."

I frowned at the ground, running Samuel's words through my head. "Are you dead, then?"

"Yes," Samuel nodded. "I was chosen to go last year at the Jellicle Ball, and I have just been waiting to be reborn."

"I thought that happened immediately?"

Samuel shook his head. "No, it turns out we can choose when we get reborn. Grizabella is still up here, waiting for the perfect situation."

"What sort of situation?" I'd heard of Grizabella; she'd gone up a few years ago.

"She wants to be reborn into the junkyard."

"Huh," I looked down at my paws. "How much longer until I stay here for good?"

"A few minutes, at the most."

I looked around at the shapes. They began to swirl again, forming into the familiar scene of the junkyard. I saw Jenny's medical den in front of me, and occasionally a flash of color would move around it. "How do I go back?" I asked. Samuel crossed his arms, moving to stand beside me.

"That is something you must figure out on your own," he said quietly. I glanced at him, but he just shrugged. "If I knew I wouldn't be allowed in Heaviside."

I moved forward, headed for the medical den. Inside, I saw Jenny and Jelly, talking quietly, though I couldn't understand what they were saying. I saw my own body lying on a bed. It scared me, seeing myself so close to death. Jenny stood next to me—my body—facing Jelly. She said something, and then held up the blanket to show the other queen something. I leaned in to look, but the blanket was dropped before I could see anything. What in the world? I thought, I tried to pick up the blanket, but my paw went straight through it. As soon as I touched my body, I felt as though someone had turned on a vacuum cleaner. I was being sucked inside my body, and I hit the ground with a bone-jarring slam.

[A/N]

I would like to thank my readers; especially MandoJetti—without whom I wouldn't really know what Mike would say… you know what you did!

Anyway, I would like to know: what was your favorite memory of Kroova's? Just something I'm curious about :) And to those who are constantly reviewing each chapter: the rule doesn't apply to you! Scratch that… I'll just get rid of the rule altogether… anyway. Please review! Its' that button down there V-V go ahead and push it!