A/N: Yo, I'm back! I've been unsuccessfully searching for my notebook (poor baby, it always seems to be missing…) but I have a general idea of what I need to do. This is only a little of what I meant to have for this chapter (I'm rethinking a lot of this part…) but I'm uploading anyway! ENJOY!
It had calmed down reasonably since Macavity had struck – the Junkyard was back in working order by sunrise, everyone recovering as they always did when such a worry arose. Rumpleteazer left Silhouette at a safe place, where Macavity hopefully wouldn't go looking for her, before returning to the yard. No one could tell if the Napoleon of Crime had any particular interest in the queen, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Coricopat, Sil and Cettie were sitting in the den, simply moping about the missing presence of their friend and sibling. Slowly the curtain shifted, a somber faced Pouncival standing awkwardly at the door.
"You can come in." Coricopat said, curious as to why the tom was here.
"What do you want?" Etcetera growled, looking up from her position, lounging on the floor, "Here to find more things to hurt us with?"
He shuffled his feet. "I've come to... apologize. I'm sorry for everything I did. At first, I thought it was for love. I really did love her. Victoria I mean. But I've realized something." He took a step closer, gaining a little confidence. "She never loved me, she never loved anyone. She just wants us to fall at her feet and do as she says. And... I think I deserve more than that." Dell smiled warmly at him, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Well, you're welcome here, mate. We won't turn you away." Pouncival sat down, and they soon began a conversation on the events of the past day.
Tantomile was in a small meeting with Munkustrap, being the messenger of sorts for the mystical twins.
"I have heard and seen nothing from Macavity." She told the silver sentinel. He looked worried; while Alonzo lounged lazily nearby, tail flicking around slowly. Demeter lay nearby with a distracted smile on her face, paws on her belly. Any worry she had receded when her mate returned.
"I hope it stays that way. Any word on where Sil is?" He asked.
"Sil is with Gus, at the theatre--" Tantomile cut short, her eyes widening and her ears perking upwards. Alonzo sat up with surprise.
"What is it?" He asked.
"They aren't safe." Tantomile gasped, turning towards the door and beckoning the group out of it. "Macavity found them. They—there's--" Tantomile struggled to find the words, obviously infuriated with herself.
"We have to find them! Get as many toms as you can--"
"No!" Tantomile shouted, surprising them both. "If all our protectors leave, Macavity will come here."
"Here?" Demeter screeched, beginning to hyperventilate.
"Calm down, Dem – okay, halve them up and get something working – Dem? Are you alright?" Demeter had passed a simple hyperventilation, her breathing ragged and pained as her paws grabbed at her womb.
"I—I think they're coming!"
Sil couldn't find much to do with the boring old tom around – he went through his stories fast enough, leaving her to roam the theatre. 'As long as you stay nearby,' he had said, 'or I won't be doing my job.' Sil had scoffed, pushing open a door and wandering away.
She was looking through a hallway now, slowly checking each room and approaching a large window at the end. Examining the stained glass she stood mesmerized.
At least until it shattered unceremoniously, a heavy object ripping through the carpet
"What--" Silhouette was cut off as the small parcel exploded into flames, curtains and carpet catching on and quickly heating up the theatre.
"No!" She shouted, running back and trying to find Gus. The fire spread fast – faster than she could run – and she had to jump down the stairwell and land painfully on the floor. Smoke choked her lungs as she crawled along the floor.
"Gus!" She yelled, squinting as her eyes watered. "Gus!"
"I'm here, dear!" A voice choked, a paw reaching out from an air vent on the floor. Ripping off the metal cover, not bothering to replace it, Sil pushed Gus through the vents as they filled with smoke from behind them.
"Up, or out?" She asked, turning Gus to face her.
"Up or out?" She asked more fiercely, shaking him.
"Both." He replied, lifting the smaller queen with his paws and teeth and shoving her into a higher, smaller vent, sloping slightly upwards but leading the lamp-lit streets outside.
"But-what about you?" She asked. Gus coughed, a sick sound, paws covering his muzzle.
"I would rather valiantly give me life to save the young, than try to save myself and risk us both dying. Go, now, and try to save the theatre!" The tears in her eyes no longer just from smoke Sil sadly nodded in respect to her elderly friend, sniffling as she broke through the metal grate and into the streets. A lone shape in the smoke stood nearby, tall and heroically fighting through the flaming debris to reach her.
"Munkustrap?" She coughed, reaching toward him.
"Oh, so you know baby brother."