A/n: Here's chapter twelve, sorry it's been a while. Life's been a bit crazy, but now I'm left with two weeks of Easter Break. I wanna say thanks to my reviewers, it cheers me up a lot to see that you guys are still enjoying this story. I'm half-way through chapter fifteen now, so lots more to come! I do have a couple of specific replies, to put here.

SophieRose: you were absolutely right. Yay for Metallica!

Crawler: After all the reviews I gave you for Ritzkin... I'm only kidding, I know you've been reading it and I appreciate it muchly. You're fantastical.

Quaxo Mistoffelees: There's lots more yet to come, I've worked out exactly how this is going to end, and I'm predicting twenty chapters in total, at the very least. Probably more.

Chapter 12 – The Magic Of Cats

"They… hate magical cats?" the tuxedo tomcat stuttered, staring at the snake with wide-eyed disbelief.

"Why?"

"Because they don't believe normal catsss are entitled to magic." Situla explained patiently. "Perhapsss they are right, I don't know."

Mistoffelees shifted uncomfortably at these words, tearing his eyes away from the snake's unblinking stare to watch the nervous twitching of his tail instead. He had not yet revealed his own abilities to these animals, although he had a funny feeling pressing on the back of his mind that they already knew. He didn't like the sound of these wildcats, the snake had mentioned that they had magical abilites very much like his own. That was a scary thought, they sounded more dangerous than Macavity even. The Hidden Paw was the only other cat Mistoffelees knew of that had magic.

"How can I help you though?" he finally asked, scared of what they expected of him.

"They are old enemies of ours, and of the owner of this house. They must be elminated to preserve the status quo." Freki answered, his yellow eyes blazing with suppressed rage. Or was that just the light from the fire? The wolf was very difficult to read.

That didn't really answer Mistoffelees' question though.

"What would I have to do then?" the tux was certain now that they knew he had magic, why else would they be asking him to help? He was small, slight and definitely not a fighter. Mistoffelees had never killed anything bigger than a rat in his life. His magic was all he had to offer. He'd already agreed to help, and he knew he wouldn't want to back out. He owed these creatures his life, it was the least he could do.

"Help us find them, help us take them out. Your magic can help protect us from their own. Incidentally, I believe that in the process we will both be able to get you home and help your tribe."

That was enough for Mistoffelees to be convinced. Freki still scared him a lot, but then it was only natural seeing that he was a wolf and Mistoffelees a cat. On the other hand, he was starting to feel that he could trust this strange assortment of animals. If he could help them, get home and help the Jellicles all in one go, then all the better.

"Okay." With that single word, Mistoffelees had agreed. He was unaware of exactly what he'd agreed to, or what it would entail. Perhaps the toothy grin that spread across the wolf's face, or the satisfied smirk worn by the pig, or even the glances and smirks shared by the other animals, should have told him that he'd be getting more than he bargained for but the young magician was too excited at the prospect of being able to go home and help his friends to notice anything odd about the response to his words.

"Well, since that's all settled now, perhaps we should tell you more." Diazi said cheerfully, "See, the owner of this house isn't an ordinary human. She's a witch."

The rabbit paused expectantly, as if expecting a massive outcry at her words. The pig rolled his eyes and the only other response she got was a confused look from Mistoffelees.

"What's a witch?"

Diazi sighed over-dramatically before launching into a long-winded and roundabout explanation of how some humans can also use magic, but they have to keep it very secret so that other humans don't keep bugging them about it.

"I see." The cat lied, he understood about the humans that had magic but the rest of that made little sense.

"See, she told us that you were coming, and where we could find you. She told us you'd be able to help." Scrofa put in, shooting a look at the rabbit.

"You can talk to humans?" Mistoffelees asked incredulously.

"Sort of." Cerva answered. The finality in that statement was unmistakeable.

"We'll be leaving tomorrow. Get some rest." Freki said, effectively ending the conversation.

Mistoffelees nodded and curled up on the soft blanket by the fire, his mind going over everything he'd been told. Suddenly his mind became oddly blank, sending him into a deep sleep.

I had spent two hours in my brother's den, now that he was back, I could fill him in on what had been happening in the Junkyard. I even took the time to explain my worries about Alonzo, and my confidence that we'd find Mistoffelees alive and well. There had to be some way to find the tuxedoed tomcat, and despite the growing length of time the conjurer had been missing, my confidence was growing.

The silver tabby was now sleeping, properly for the first time in months. I watched him for a moment, a grey purring pile of fur, comfortable on his bed with a small smile on his face. It was good to have him back, although I feared it might be a while before he'd be ready to face the rest of the tribe.

Leaving him in peace, I headed off in search of Alonzo to let him know the good news and talk about Mistoffelees. I don't know why I was so convinced he was still alive, but I just knew he was out there somewhere. The only question was where. I found him sitting on top of the old car, staring off into space. I couldn't even begin to imagine what he might have been thinking about. It must have been pretty deep, since he didn't even blink when I sat down beside him.

"Whatcha thinking about?" I said, nudging him to get his attention.

"Huh? Oh, hi Tugger."

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Just thinking," Alonzo paused, turning to look at me. "What's up with you?"

"What do you mean?" I replied, unable to hide the smile that had been threatening to surface.

"You're in a much better mood than last time I saw you," he said curiously. I grinned at that, I couldn't help it.

"I have some good news. Munkus is back." I almost laughed at his face when I said that, the utter disbelief was hilarious.

"He's… back?"

"Yeah. I finally got through to him; he's sleeping in his den. Properly sleeping. We talked, he's still not quite right but we'll get there." I explained, hoping he'd understand that Munkustrap would need time to get used to a lot of things again.

"That's good." I hesitated before answering him; I didn't like his tone there. His smile seemed quite forced as well, and I wondered why he might not be so happy about Munkustrap beginning to recover.

"What's the matter?" I said, admittedly a little offended. Alonzo and my brother used to be friends, before it all started, why wouldn't he be happy…? Oh.

"Nothing."

I knew Alonzo was lying, and I was sure I knew what was going on.

"You're afraid to face him." I said, aware that it sounded like an accusation. He turned his eyes to the ground and nodded. I remembered what Munkustrap had said, when I told him Jemima was alive and well. This might be awkward, and Alonzo was having a hard enough time as it is. The tribe hadn't yet gotten over his "betrayal" and he clung to me because I knew the truth. I hoped nothing else would happen, especially if it involved a lot of fighting. If Alonzo was presented with another opportunity to prove himself to the Jellicles, there was no telling what he'd do.