Chapter 3: A Challenge

A/N: Good gracious! It's been sooooooo long (definitely too long) since I updated. I really can't apologize enough. But at least and update is an update, right? I hope so. Anyways, I had this whole story outlined, and then I lost all the paper…so now I'm winging it. I mean I still know the general plotline of the story, but I'm afraid I'm going to forget some of the subtle nuances that I had come up with about the story. Oh well. I hope you enjoy! I'll definitely be trying to update all my stories soon and more often! Thanks again and please review!

Disclaimer: Don't own Cats! Shocker!

The young tom couldn't help but smirk as he watched the petite little Jemima flutter her eyelashes, practically in a tizzy. The young kit giggled and looked away shyly. "Stop it Plato!" She mewed as she playfully pawed him, asking for mercy from his teasing jabs. Most tomcats were driven practically mad by Jemima's flirtatious ways. However, this was the usual for young Plato, and he simply laughed and looked away, unfazed by those doe eyes or tittering voice.

During the Jellicle Balls, the cats always sung the praises of the queen-obsessed Rum Tum Tugger, but he was only in the yard for about one week a year. His rarity was the real reason that the queens were so obsessed. The more permanent resident of the junkyard and the real queen's tom was Plato himself. His cream fur covered in copper splotches only seemed to further accentuate his strong build and tight muscles. He was large and masculine, everything a queen wanted, and he knew it.

Plato had been around the dating block a time or two. He had never had a serious relationship, but that was okay. He was still young; he wasn't supposed to get tied down anytime soon. Plus, it wasn't like anyone had ever been hurt by his flirtations. All the queens in the yard knew what kind of tom he was, and never really expected much out of him.

Recently, Jemima had become the center of his attention again, and it was so hard to not notice the demure lolita. However, the patched tom quickly grew bored of her stale games and was no longer impressed by her coy looks or light touches. But that was just the problem. Everything was stale, old, and most of all, boring! There was no challenge anymore. It wasn't even that he was just so good at flirting, but all of the queen's knew what kind of tom he was, so they willingly played along for the attention; they played him almost as much as he did them. Everything was always the same and so mundane.

With a deft wink, and a tickle under that white chin, Plato slipped off of the tattered sofa that the two had been sitting on. As usual, Jemima made no attempt to chase after the spotted playboy. She had gotten her attention and she didn't expect much more. With a quick bound she leapt over the back of the couch and went to find something else to amuse her.

Plato suppressed a sigh as he began to pick his way through the yard, greeting the few cats he came across. Everyone in this yard was so boring…so predictable. What he wouldn't do for something new to capture his attention. It didn't even have to be a new queen; he just needed anything that would break the monotony that was beginning to overtake his life.

His contemplation had carried Plato to lesser-visited areas of the yard. The young tom was about to turn around and go look for a new queen to try and capture his attention when feint noises arrested his progress. Copper furred ears swiveled wildly in an attempt to locate the offending sounds. Even though the evidence was feint, Plato could tell that whoever it was, was throwing things around some clearing or other.

At first the patched tom was going to dismiss the disturbance as Pouncival or Mistoffelees up to their usual mischief until he remembered that he had passed them in the clearing. So who could be making such a racket? As improbable as it was, perhaps this was something new to distract him from the Jellicle life. Heck, Plato would even be happy if it was a peke in the yard. Anything that would let him experience something exciting…

As quiet as a cat could be, Plato stalked in the direction of the noise; the commotion getting louder and louder the closer he got. Finally, hugging close to one of the surrounding piles, the muscular tom crept to the edge of the clearing to see what was making all the noise. To his surprise, it wasn't one of the usual tribe members or even a peke. Instead busily hustling around the clearing was a queenkit hurriedly tossing some fallen debris back on the piles and out of the clearing. The young queen was lithe and slender with a petite frame; Plato would be surprised if her ears even made it up to his shoulders. As the small cat methodically worked through the fallen trash, a steady coat of dust began to cover her fur, but even with the dingy brown layer, her alabaster pelt almost seemed to radiate through.

Plato let out a silent chuckle as he straightened out of his defensive crouch and contented himself to lean against the pile with his arms crossed over his chest. The tom couldn't suppress his crooked smile, as his copper eyes refused to leave the queen. Not only was the young kit beautiful, but it was also entertaining to watch as she desperately tried to keep the items on the pile and prevent them from continually falling back into the clearing.

Once the area was clear to her satisfaction, the queen did something that Plato wasn't expecting. After quickly dusting herself off, which did little to actually clean the dirt from her coat, and gently lifted her arms and legs as if to dance; and dance she did. Her movements were slow and almost shy at first, but she quickly began to dance herself into a frenzy. While she never lost the dancing quality and grace, it was almost as if she was fighting something off, perhaps something inside her. Her kicks and spins came to her with almost a sense of urgency as if she was trying to push herself to the edge. With one final, powerful jump spin, the kit came crashing to the ground. A small cloud of dust erupted under her knees, and the queen made no attempt to get up, allowing the dust to settle as her shoulders heaved in an effort to catch her breath. It was increasingly clear that she was mad as someone or something.

Perhaps Plato's prayers were answered; he had never seen this queen before, and she was absolutely beautiful. After taking a moment to let the dust settle, Plato slowly began to clap his paws together, never dropping his crooked smile. "Not too bad, chickadee." He purred, stepping into the clearing.

The white cat's head shot up as she turned her face towards the intruder. Plato froze for a moment as her crystal blue eyes met his. It wasn't the beauty he found in them that caught his attention, though they were quite beautiful. It was something that he couldn't quite place. It was almost as if there was a war going on inside the queen. It was almost as if her eyes were calling for help while also warding everyone away. However, it was clear that the queen was fighting back tears that were threatening to be free.

The patched tom quickly shook the thoughts from his mind, it must have been a long while since he had met someone new and now he was just trying to read into things too much. He had simply scared the queen, that was all. Quickly recovering himself, the tom held up his paws in a sign of innocence. "Sorry, little darlin, didn't mean ta frighten ya. I just heard ya moving things around and came to investigate and saw ya dancing. It was pretty good." Plato motioned over his shoulder, indicating the direction he came from.

The queen's blue eyes narrowed in suspicion as she listened to Plato's tale. She slowly stood up, never taking her eyes off her intruder and began to actually dust herself off. Plato realize how pure and white her fur really was as the dust began to fall away. He liked what he saw. "Where'd you learn to dance like that chickadee?" He asked, resuming his advance on the queen.

Brilliant white fangs glistened in the setting sun as if to warn Plato to halt his advance. "Who are you?" The queen's voice was beautiful, almost as if each word held a little song. Even when she was trying to be threatening, she was tantalizingly tempting. "And I'm not a bird."

Plato let out a deep chest laugh as he let his paws fall to his side. "Sorry there darlin. I'm Plato…part of the Jellicle Tribe of this junkyard. And it's just you're so light on your paws, it's like a bird in flight." Plato knew that he was laying it on thick, but it had been so long since he actually had to win someone over. Since he had to legitimately charm someone, he was intrigued and up to the task.

The strange queen seemed to look Plato up and down as she took a step closer to him to size him up. She cocked an eyebrow as she studied his face and lopsided grin. "Plato…" She paused, it was as if she had heard the name before and was trying to place it. A look of recognition flooded her face as her suspicion gave way to a mischievous smile.

The young kit quickly closed the distance between the two cats so that they were closer than Plato had expected. The young queen stood on the tips of her back paws so that her snowy ears just barely reached past Plato's chin. "I'm Victoria." She purred. "Jem has told me all about you…" Her eyes glinted with an impish light as her smile widened. Her eyes seemed to searching his for something…

Plato was taken aback and actually had to work to keep his breathing normal and to maintain his balance to keep from reeling back from her. This wasn't what he was expecting. Plato had expected a demure, shy little creature that would bat her eyelashes at every compliment as he laid it on thick. Then she'd be his, easy as pie. He hadn't been expecting her to make the sudden advance, or to even get this close. He could feel her breath playing with his fur, as her scent seemed to overwhelm him. That lilting voice suddenly encompassed him and it was all he could comprehend. On top of all of that, he definitely hadn't been expecting her to know his reputation.

Plato took a hard swallow as he tried to will his body to react smoothly.

Victoria was leaning closer to the tom, her eyes still searching…

"Victoria!" An authoritative, demanding yell carried across the clearing, interrupting the moment.

The downy Victoria looked as if she had been shot and quickly pulled herself away from Plato. (The young tom wasn't sure if he was disappointed or relieved). As cutely as a kitten, Victoria leaned to the side to peek around Plato's broad shoulders. Her face instantly fell into an odd mixture of terror and anger, both emotions warring for dominance.

Plato swiveled in place to view who had interrupted his meeting with this intriguing queen. Standing almost commandingly at the entrance of the clearing was a sparking Mistoffelees. Plato couldn't think of a time he had ever seen the gentle tom this angry before. "Victoria." The tuxedoed tom repeated the syllables as if they were a crippling command.

Victoria quickly answered that command, slinking over to the sparking magician. The tom had his black ears pinned back in anger as he quickly began to sling a hushed scolding at the now docile queen. However, whatever Mistoffelees had been saying was quickly beginning to rile Victoria up. Her tail began to slash violently as her white ears were pinned against her skull as well. The tom's white paw took a stern hold on Victoria's wrist as he began to lead her away from the clearing.

Snowy white paws dug into the ground as Victoria yanked her arm free of her captor's hold. She hissed something back, her hackles rising.

Even with Plato's sensitive ears, he wasn't able to hear anything of what the two were saying, just hushed, clearly angry voices. However, whatever it was that they were talking about, Mistoffelees was clearly infuriated and he was distressing Plato's new girl, Victoria. He quickly took a step towards the two, calling out, "Yo, Misto, the little chickadee doesn't have to go with ya if she doesn't want to."

Plato had simply been trying to play the hero to Victoria's damsel in distress, but a sudden change had come over the other two cats that made him wonder if he had made the right decision. Mistoffelees anger seemed to jump to a whole new level as even more sparks began to erupt from his fur, creating small electricity arcs as it danced over his body. All the fight that Plato had seen in Victoria seemed to suddenly deflate as her eyes dropped to the ground. As sad and depressed as she looked, it was painfully clear that this was Victoria's natural state. Plato couldn't say why, but for some reason he just knew that the real Victoria was this heartrending, lost little queen.

Mistoffelees let his copper eyes fall on Victoria for a moment with almost a kind of pity in them. He quickly turned back to Plato, his fury rising. "To the den." He hissed to Victoria, never letting his eyes off of Plato.

The young queen didn't have to be told twice and she quickly slunk out of the clearing without even looking back at the patched tom she had just met.

Then slowly, deliberately, with a type of malice that no one had ever seen in the young tom, Mistoffelees made his advance towards Plato. Once he was a few strides away, he lifted a paw and pointed at the copper and cream cat. A quick flick of his black paw sent a burst of energy just over Plato's shoulder and erupting into the pile behind him.

Even though he didn't want to, Plato couldn't help it as his body flinched.

Mistoffelees quickly closed the distance between the two toms and grabbed Plato by his chest fur and pulling him down so the two were face to face. There was none of the friendliness that Plato was used to anywhere in those copper orbs. Plato was too stunned to resist.

The smaller tom's lips curled as he bared his fangs to his much larger opponent. Every word was slow and deliberate, as if each one was an individual threat. "Don't you ever go near my cousin again!"

Plato was stunned even more, and all he could do was blink. Cousin? This day was full of surprises.

Mistoffelees continued, "Do you hear me you stupid playboy? Victoria will not be one of your silly little playthings. She's fragile enough as it is. I will not tolerate any of what you think of as entertainment." With his last statement, Mistoffelees gave Plato a hard shove as he turned to walk away. Once the tuxedoed tom was at the entrance of the clearing, he turned around one last time and pointed a sparking paw at Plato. "I won't miss next time." He warned before he disappeared after his cousin.

Plato was frozen to the spot as he rubbed his chest where Mistoffelees's claws had clenched his fur. He knew that he had asked for something new and exciting, but this was all happening at once. A new, beautiful queen had suddenly entered under Plato's radar and her cousin, a tom that Plato had thought was his friend, was now threatening him. After a moment to process all of this, the patched tom regained his nerve and found his crooked smile again. He liked this new exciting twist in life. "This sounds like a fun new challenge little chickadee…" He purred to himself as he began to formulate a plan to see Victoria again.

A/N: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know what you thought! I think I like it, but you guys matter too. I originally thought there would be more other Jellicle interactions, but it just didn't seem to fit the story just right just yet. Sorry if you were looking forward to that. But our hero(?) finally met our heroine! Odd meeting right? Both seem to be scheming… hmmm… oh well. Review pretty pretty please! :D