A/n: Time for chapter 11, in which things will happen. Thanks again for the reviews, and I appreciate them. This chapter has only one point of view (shocking, isn't it?), but it's rather an important one. E-brownies for the first person who can tell me where I got the title for the chapter, and the other name for the song (big hint there), and the artist. If you can name the album as well... uhm... I'll throw in some e-icecream to go with the brownies. Heh, pop quizes. Fun stuff. Anyways, enjoy and let me know if you like it, if I made a stupid mistake. You know the drill.
Chapter 11 – Welcome Home
All I could do was stare at Alonzo. Macavity, admitting he was afraid? I couldn't believe it, I wouldn't believe it. That wasn't like my brother. The Napoleon of Crime wasn't afraid of anything. I shook my head, trying to work it all out.
"He told you this?" Skimble asked the question I couldn't voice.
"Not exactly. I just realised why he wanted to make sure I never mentioned it. He'd heard there were strange cats hanging around, and he asked me if I'd seen them. Of course I knew nothing about it, but he let something slip and mentioned the wildcats. I'd never seen him like that, at the time I thought it was anger but now…" Alonzo explained as best he could, but his voice shook and I watched him put a paw to his face again. Something had happened to him, I could see that. I got the feeling he was tracing scars, hidden by his fur.
"Why would he be scared of them, what would wildcats have to do with Macavity?" I asked, finally able to speak but still extremely confused.
"That's what bothered me about that quote from the man's grave. It mentions the wildcats, and magic. Macavity had magic and he was murdered. Mistoffelees is a black cat, and a magician and he's vanished. A couple of weeks ago, Macavity was worried about strange cats hanging around. It all fits." Alonzo answered, sounding much more confident now.
"I guess that makes sense," I muttered, mulling it all over.
"It does, there must be a connection. So what do we do now?" Skimbleshanks asked. I didn't have a clue but Alonzo didn't seem to have the answer either.
"Well, we still need to try to find Mistoffelees and I think we need Munkustrap. I'm going to see him again." I said, getting to my feet. "Get some rest Skimble, and thank you. I hope you feel better soon."
"Thanks. I could dae wi' a sleep in my own bed." Skimbleshanks replied, struggling to his feet and limping off, shrugging off Alonzo's attempt to help him. I hesitated, watching the patched tom.
"Maybe you should rest as well," I suggested, walking away from him and to my brother's den. These visits always depressed me, but I had to keep coming back. I felt I'd made some progress and was finally starting to get through to him. I couldn't give up now.
I entered the den, it had been left unlocked but Munkustrap had never left it. That was the next stage but first I had to get him to notice me. He was sitting in his usual corner, staring straight ahead and the mouse I'd brought for him lay half-eaten and forgotten on the ground. It hurt, like it always did, it was almost a physical pain to see him like this. It only made me more determined to help him.
I talked to him, I told him that everyone was doing fine. I told him how Jemima was doing, and Demeter and the rest of the tribe, even Alonzo. I told him all about what Skimble had found out and what Alonzo had worked out from that. I explained what I planned to do. I told him how much I missed him, how much we all did. It was the same thing every time I came here but I had to tell him something. So I told him everything.
This time was harder for some reason, maybe because we'd found something to work with and we were starting to get somewhere. I didn't have a clue what to do, the lost leader, the fish out of water. That was me.
"I need you Munksy, I can't do this without you. Please come back to me." I whispered, finally breaking down despite promising myself I wouldn't. I thought, just out of the corner of my eye, I saw him move but it was probably my imagination or the tears clouding my vision.
"Tugger?" That must have been my imagination as well, no-one whispered my name. My imagination is cruel, it's playing tricks on me. It must be.
"Tugger?" I know I heard something that time. I blinked the tears away and looked up, hardly daring to believe it.
He was staring right at me, his yellow eyes fixed on me. I couldn't be sure but I could have sworn there was a spark of recognition in them.
"Munkustrap?" I said, still not sure I believed it yet. "It's me, it's Tugger."
"Wh- what happened?" He said weakly.
"It's okay, I'm here. You're safe, everything's going to be okay." I said, not bothering to hold back the tears now as I approached him. I wasn't sure whether I was reassuring him or me at that point.
"But- but, no." my silver brother muttered shaking his head, "Impossible. You're dead, you can't be here. I just want you to be here, it's all in my head,"
"No Munkustrap, it's not. I'm really here, I promise you." I said, stepping forward.
"How? He said, he told me… you were dead." Munkustrap protested, still shaking his head.
"He told you a lot of things, none of it's true. I'm fine, Demeter's fine, everyone else is fine. Jemima's fine." I said, hoping that he would believe me.
"Jemima…" he whispered. I remembered what Alonzo had told me, maybe the mention of his daughter being perfectly fine would help. "Are you sure?"
Oh man, he sounded so hopeful, and looked so pathetic. I couldn't stand it.
"I'm sure, she's been asking to see you since we found out you were okay. I just didn't think you'd want her to see you like this." I offered.
"But, she was killed, just last week. He… Alonzo…" he growled. This didn't sound good to me.
"No, Alonzo never touched her. I swear, I can vouch for him. That was months ago, Macavity made him tell you that." I tried to explain, and probably made a complete arse of it.
"Months…." He sounded doubtful. Clearly, where ever it was he'd been all this time, there was no sense of time. "Wait, how did you get in here? Macavity will kill you if he finds you here, I can't, you need to leave. I don't want you getting hurt just to see me, I'll be okay."
Now that was starting to sound more like the Munkustrap I knew and loved. But I guess I had to tell him, now that he was back with us again.
"Macavity won't do anything to me, he can't. He's gone Munk, he's dead. It's over and we're free." I said. Silence. He just stared at me, long enough to make me uncomfortable. I mean, what I said wasn't that complicated, was it?
"You must be a figment of my imagination. That's impossible." He said scathingly, turning away.
"It's true, we still don't know how or why, but he's gone. I conducted his funeral myself," I said, moving to place my paw on his grey striped shoulder, cringing at the feeling of dirt in his fur. He flinched and hissed at me, giving me a glare that would normally have sent me running for the hills but I didn't pull away. Not now that he was responding.
"Munkustrap, please. You've got to believe me, you've just got to. We've got rid of Macavity, I'm the Leader now and I can't do it. I just can't do this without you. I need you, we need you. Everything's going to be okay, I swear." I had just about lost control by this point, and I hated the way my voice broke and the tears didn't stop flowing down my already damp cheeks.
"Tugger…" he whispered my name again and I looked up to see tears in his eyes as well.
"I thought I'd lost you," I whispered, "Welcome home."