A/N: OH MY. I am completely freaking out because the symbol I've been using as my separator of perspectives won't show up on fanfiction anymore on ANY of my stories, and neither will the spell check on fanfiction and I AM FREAKING OUT. It's okay…I'm calm… SO for now, this little icon: ~^..^~ is going to be my POV separator until I can figure out what happened!

"MUNK!" a panicked voice suddenly cried into her den. The gold-red queen spun around, seeing Jellyorum, with a sobbing Cassandra and Alonzo with a comforting arm around her.

Munkustrap walked over to Jellyorum, seemingly trying to calm her down as it appeared she looked like she was going to hyperventilate. "Jelly…what's wrong? What happened?"

Jellyorum breathed quickly as she squeezed his shoulder blades, "Munk, it's Quaxo…we found him unconscious in Cass and Lonz's den. And the kittens…Oh Everlasting Cat, we can't find them! They're gone!"

~^..^~

Jennyanydots could tell by the looks of the sky, sunset was growing nearer, which wasn't exactly good news. It meant another half of a day was going to end in a few hours, and the more her son's lifespan was curtailing. Jenny had been watching Plato, obviously, who had been growing increasingly worse with the toxin in his body. The Gumbie Cat was well on her way to accepting Plato's terminal illness, which she hadn't given up hope on yet. She was still trying to convince Jellyorum to help find a cure, or at least something to help subside the symptoms. Nothing she said to her friend seemed to work. Jelly seemed to have lost all hope. She promised the Jennyanydots that his disease -or toxin, or whatever it was, was going to kill the calico tom in a matter of months. And so, she had been sitting in her den, unable to even tell her mate, Skimbleshanks, about their son's return, and his being condemned to death by the high order of disease. It had been hell for the Gumbie Cat.

Etcetera suddenly came in quietly with a tray of medical supplies. She smiled at Jenny, and sat herself close to Plato's side. The poor tom had been lying on a regular bed now for two weeks, and had an increasing fever. The young tabby had been extremely watchful and caring of him. It made Jenny happy a little to see that someone was taking in interest in him, besides her. The Gumbie Cat cleared her throat, feeling a little light headed. She assumed it was from staying up too late with Plato. Then again, there was a lot she assumed nowadays. Etcy sat uneasily, and the silence between them gave Jenny a chill.

Despite this overwhelming shiver, she smiled at the light tabby, watching her press a damp rag against the calico tom's forehead, wiping away any remaining perspiration. Plato lay on his bed, sleeping quietly. It was a haunting look on his face, the morbid kind of look that killed a mother inside. She looked up at Etcy, smiling slightly, "You care about my son, don't you?"

Etcetera looked up, smiling back, and sighing in a relief of the ending silence, "I do, Jenny. He's just……I'm sorry, Jenny…I really am."

"Don't be." The Gumbie cat replied, trying to act as if her son's ailment didn't bother her, which it did. "It's…it's going to be alright…it will be…" she choked on her words, unable to hold back her tears.

The young tabby queen's smile disappeared as she watched Jennyanydots slowly beginning to cry. The old female knew that the two of them were feeling an empathetic connection between each other. Jenny knew that Etcetera was looking forward to being with her son at the Jellicle ball next month, and now she probably wasn't even going to see him there. Perhaps both queens knew they were going to be losing a tom they loved soon…that was…if Jellyorum maybe helped create a cure…

Suddenly, to her little surprise, the Gumbie cat noticed the thin, pale, and panic-struck medical queen rush into her den. She gave no greeting glance towards her friend or her daughter. She simply rushed past them, and dived into a pile of medical books. Jenny stood up, about ready to question the old tabby about her position with Plato and why she seemed so distressed. But before she could say anything, Tumblebrutus and Munkustrap came in, dragging an unconscious feature of Quaxo into the den, and setting him gently on a bed. Once done, Munkustrap paced up and down the aisle between patient's quarters, wiping his face with his paw, and looking confused and exhausted. Then abruptly, Alonzo came in carrying a crying and frequently collapsing Cassandra.

Jenny turned towards Jelly; then Munkustrap, beyond befuddled on what had happened and why Quaxo was unconscious. "Munk…what's wrong…"

The silver tabby turned to her with a frustrated look in his eye. "Everything, Jenny! Everything's wrong!"

She was about to quiz him further, wondering what Quaxo was doing there, and why he was unconscious, but a gasp from Tumblebrutus escaped him before she could. "Good Heavyside," Tumble whispered, "Plato?"

Jennyanydots turned towards her son, realizing that he was now exposed to two other cats that hadn't already known about him. Munkustrap finally growled angrily, turning to the cats in the room. "That's it!" he exclaimed, stomping his hind foot on the floor, "We're having a tribe meeting! NOW. Jenny, Jelly, you and Etcetera will watch Plato and Quaxo. If Quax wakes up, quickly examine him and get him to the meeting den. Tumble, go tell everyone we're having a meeting."

Before anyone could ask the Jellicle guardian a question, Munkustrap quickly stormed out. Jennyanydots looked around at the faces in the room. Jellyorum was looking up from a book, redundantly blinking. Tumblebrutus gave a confused glance at Plato, then at Jenny and then sprinted out of the den to tell the tribe about the meeting. Quaxo was lying on a bed, stirring somewhat, which Jenny immediately stood up to. She turned to Etcy, who seemed to be handling Plato very well.

The Calico tom's eyes suddenly narrowed open as he looked as his mother. He moaned, while wheezing, "Mum…what's… going on? What's wrong with Munkus……?" He coughed a few times, breaking out in a new sweat. The Gumbie Cat shook her head, brushing a few strands of longer fur off his forehead, "Were you listening the whole time?"

Plato smiled weakly, clutching her paw, "Only a little…" he replied hoarsely.

Jennyanydots grinned at her son, and bent down to gently kiss his head. "Don't worry about it, dear…" she whispered, patting his cheek lightly. Her voice strained with incomparable motherly love. She was scared for her son, and would do anything to see him live. Perhaps, maybe they'd take it seriously now. The Gumbie Cat patted his cheek, and reluctantly left his side to attend to the impaired magician, who was still grumbling.

Jenny grabbed a damp cloth from Etcetera's chair and quickly made her way to Quaxo's side, trying to get him to wake up. He was an ice cube, just by touch of his fur, you could tell he was. "Come on, Quax…wake up…" she begged quietly. The tuxedo tom shivered a little, as if his mind was fighting his unconsciousness. Perhaps he'd wake up in a few moments. Jenny patted the cold rage against his rag. "Please wake up dear…" she said in a small whisper.

Jellyorum came over to her friend's side with the book in her hands. The Gumbie cat glanced at her, trying to lightly slap Misto back into consciousness, which wasn't working. She breathed roughly, and turned back to the medic, "I know Plato isn't going to be with us much longer…" she said sorrowfully, "Could you bear seeing two of our younglings die?"

Jelly shook her head, resting her arm on her friend reassuringly, "Quaxo won't die..." She said. The older tabby frowned, leaning his head forward, and examining his neck. Jenny noticed the blood shimmering off of his ebony colored fur. There was a puncture wound where his vein was.

"What happened to his-"

"An injection from a needle. Same kind we found on Plato, I'm afraid… I don't know… I'm beginning to wonder…maybe…there's a pattern to this toxin…"

The Gumbie cat quickly cleared her throat, "A pattern, Jelly?"

"Perhaps whatever this toxin is may be more than what we think…"

Jenny stared at her friend curiously, wanting to question her theory further, but was soon stopped by the sound of Quaxo's odd blue eyes flickering open. Jelly bent down, touching the back of her paw to his head. "He's a normal temperature…" she commented. Her attention quickly turned to the tuxedo tom, "Quaxo, are you awake? Please, Quax, answer me…"

The medical queen shook his shoulder, and the young tom's grasp of the living quickly followed him, "Jellyorum…?" he said. He rubbed the back of his head painstakingly, "Hm…what happened?..."

Jenny shrugged, "You're going to have to tell us that, Quaxo…."

~^..^~

Munkustrap watched the commotion of the Jellicles coming into the meeting den. He sat on the hood of the yellow convertible car that remained in the center of the den that allowed him to look up in the lofts that were closest to the sky. That was where most of the tribe would climb to. Some remained on solid ground, others on wooden crates and old furniture. He shook his head ponderously, uncertain of how he was going to tell the tribe about Plato. But that wasn't what he was worried about. His main concern of this meeting was the missing kittens. Munkustrap was upset with himself that they weren't kept under better security.

The silver tabby noticed Cassandra and Alonzo coming in finally. His half-sister looked awful. She was walking with the support of her mate, and her face stained by tears. Alonzo seemed worried for his mate as he held her up. Munkustrap sighed, feeling awful for the poor queen. Demeter and Zelaphelia swiftly followed them in, both with solemn faces of concern. To the silver tom's understanding, they were both given a position as Godparents to Cassandra's kittens. Now they were gone, and everyone knew it. Munkustrap scowled soon as Tugger had came in, staring after Zela. He rolled his eyes unwittingly, trying to ignore his brother. Maybe both he and Zela would get over their little fling and she wouldn't have to keep things from Deme. The silver tom sighed and watched as the rest of the tribe quickly came pouring in. He took a quick but important not that he was going to have to speak to all of them and explain what he had been keeping for two weeks.

As everyone quickly took a place in the meeting den, Munkustrap let his booming voice echo through the walls; "Jellicle Cats of all kinds, I call this meeting to order to point out the main concerns that have been ensued in the Junkyard!"

All the attention turned to the Jellicle guardian. The silver tabby gulped once before continuing, "At most recent, we have all just discovered that Cassandra's kittens have gone missing." –a murmur and whispers went through the crowd- "No one can find a trace of them anywhere in the Junkyard, and I want to plan a full search party to be immediately sent out after them. If they're not in the Junkyard, then they can't be far off. I will go to lead. Are there any volunteers?"

A serge of paws waved around in the air. A few cats stood up as their voices rang into his ears, making them twitch from the noise. Munkustrap ignored any signs of wanting to go on this search from Alonzo and Cassandra. He felt it would be much better just to stay in the Junkyard for now. Cassandra was completely devastated, and Alonzo needed to be there for his mate. At the sight of the many volunteers surrounding the den, Munkus chose the most random of any paws he saw. "Alright, Tumblebrutus… Mungojerrie… and Quaxo will come with us when he gets-"

"I'm here Munk." An agitated voice grumbled from the entrance of the den. All heads in the room turned to see a tuxedo tom, looking exhausted and strangely grumpy. Quaxo had changed into Mistoffelees before finally coming into the den. His sparkling coat was shimmering excitedly, but Misto looked less than what his fur expressed.

"Perfect timing, as usual Mistoffelees." The silver tabby commented lightly, "Perhaps you can shed some light on what happened to the kittens?"

The conjuring cat groaned as he walked further into the meeting with a grey facial expression. He looked around at the eyes staring at him before sighing and looking back at Munkustrap. "I don't know everything that happened. All I remember was that all six kittens were running around together, and they were all in front of me. Then someone came up behind me and stabbed me in the neck, which rendered me unconscious." The tuxedo tom turned his head to the side to display the injury on his neck, which was patched with a white rag, and now blotched red with his blood. There was a wave of shock and confusion over the meeting den. A few queens looked away in disgust, while toms grimaced at it. The older cats merely studied it with interest. Mistoffelees seemed to have ignored all of the reactions and turned his head again to face all of them. "I didn't sense anyone then, and when I woke up I was in Jelly's den…and I wasn't sure where the kittens went…" his head hung in shame, as if he felt guilty for an accidental crime.

Munkustrap glanced at Alonzo and Cassandra who were sitting together, close to the ground, and staring at the magician in awe and sorrow. Mistoffelees sighed as he looked back up, "Once Jelly patched me up and explained everything, I went back to Cassandra and Alonzo's den to see if I could find anything…but the only scent I got that wasn't the kittens was…henchcat."

Munkustrap eyed all of the Jellicles now whispering theories, opinions, and concerns to each other that weren't too far out of earshot. Cassandra already collapsed into Alonzo's arms in a new line of tears. The silver tabby sighed, wondering why he hadn't investigated before beginning the meeting, or the fact that no one else could smell henchcat like Misto did. Inhaling sharply, the silver tabby turned back to Mistoffelees, "Do you know which way they went?"

The conjurer shook his head, "That I don't know…" he admitted softly.

Munkustrap grimaced, unsure of what to think or say after that. If they couldn't track these marauders and the kittens quickly, it may be too late to find them. The Jellicle guardian sighed, as if losing all hope in finding those poor kits. But a question posed Munkustrap's mind: What did Macavity want with kittens? If he sent his henchcats after them and they found a way to disguise their scent as much as possible, then the ginger tom must have really been focused on getting them. Munkustrap's brow furrowed in his pondering state. He felt like he needed something to guide him and tell him what he should do. He needed Old Deuteronomy right now. But the real Jellicle Leader was probably miles from here, and it would take days before they would actually find him, and that would be too late.

Almost ready to wallow in his despondence, Munkustrap looked up at the tribe with a solemn expression and was about to tell the tribe that they would use numerous searchers to look for the kittens. But he didn't even utter word. Anything that came out was automatically drained by a shrill growl that came from a source somewhere in the gallery of the Jellicles. All heads turned to find the cat that was creating these odd noises. The silver tabby's eyes finally shifted to see Zelaphelia gripping the sides of her head and wincing in a way that looked to be pain. Demeter was trying to secure her daughter's shoulders and trying to get say something to calm her down, but the screams of torment seem to have suppressed any words of comfort or concern…

~^..^~

Zelaphelia had saw that there was enough hopelessness in this tribe without the tiniest of useful information from Mistoffelees. Her friend had been brutally attacked, and didn't even see who kitnapped the kittens, if that was what happened to them. Maybe if she tried accessing her powers, it would be easier to know who had taken them, and where they were. If she could try having a vision…then maybe…maybe…

As soon as the thought hit her, the gold-red queen suddenly acted on her impulse and tried thinking of her Godchild. Maybe if she thought of Vitalee, her mindsight could tell her where she was. And then a fierce pain suddenly hit the side of her head. It crossed several times in her mind, causing excruciating aches all around her head. Had she really not been exercising her powers enough that it was painful to try spontaneously? The last thing Zela felt was her mother's hands gripping her shoulders and everyone looking at her after she couldn't contain her pain any longer. Without another thought, Zela's mind gently subsided from pain into a relaxing darkness that took over her vision and mind. As the black outlining of her vision faded, a light blurred into her view:

A little chocolate colored Abyssinian kitten was mewling helplessly in a knapsack, as were her brothers and sisters. They were all being carelessly carried by three midnight-black henchcats. One of them had a jagged scar on his left cheek. Barnabas. The henchcats were walking stealthily by an alley way. They seemed to be looking for something…or someone. Suddenly, the outline of a dark and ominous figure that wasn't recognizable yet…

Zela quickly fled out of her vision, feeling herself getting dizzy. She faded away from the darkness of her mysticism, and back into reality. She stared upward, knowing she must have collapsed, which she didn't think would happen. She knew she should have worked her powers a little more before using them so quickly, but this was an emergency, which she was needed in. Zela blinked once or twice before her body could function again without being completely disturbed. She found her mother, and both her sisters staring at her, calling her name and trying to slap her gently into consciousness.

The gold-red queen quickly sat up, shooing them away from her face. "I'm alright…" she said warily, "I'm alright…" she shrugged Demeter's paw off her shoulder, and accepted the help to stand up. Victoria and Electra stood in front of her, supporting her and helping her walk off the platform.

"Zelaphelia…" Munkustrap stood on the crushed convertible, everyone staring at her with interest and confusion in their eyes. Demeter placed her close to the silver tabby's seat and stayed with her. Victoria and Electra stayed close behind. Munkustrap's voice lifted slightly as he stared, "Are you alright?"

Zela ignored the question as she spoke, "I know where they are and where they're going. I'm not sure why, or who they're meeting. But I'm sure of where they are."

Munkustrap, and frankly the whole tribe, was at awe of her words. They all stared at her with hope flickering in their eyes. The Jellicle Guardian paused for a brief second as he stared at her in a pondering manner. "What? The henchcats? Where are they?"

Zela quickly shook her head. The silver tabby was a bit ignorant of how precious time actually was. "There's not enough time, Munkustrap!" She retorted quickly, "I can take you to them, but we need to go now, or we'll be too late!"

Munkustrap raised an eyebrow, seeming to object to the idea of her going on the search with them, but she was giving him an expression that told him her seriousness of the matter. He grimaced, but then seemed too confused to argue with her. He nodded at her and turned to the crowd, "Mungo, Mistoffelees, Tumblebrutus, Zelaphelia and I will find the kittens. Everyone keep calm and we'll be back with them shortly. This meeting is adjourned!"

Everyone started getting up from their seats in the meeting den. However the cats whose names were called for the search party quickly met down to Munkustrap. Everyone else quickly left. Demeter still seemed uncertain of leaving her daughter, with a look from Munkus; she reluctantly let go of Zela's shoulder and left without glancing back. The gold-red queen grimaced at her mother leaving. She was always concerned with her daughter, which Zela didn't hate, but found that she knew her mother couldn't protect her from everything. She wanted to be apart of the tribe rather than be treated like a kitten for most of her time at the Junkyard.

The young Jellicle queen turned to Munkustrap as he spoke to the four of them, "Zela, you'll lead us to where they are. We'll head out now, inconspicuously if we can, and then follow the henchcats. They weren't going to the Warehouse were they?"

Zela shook her head, "I don't think so. They looked like they were meeting someone, maybe…"

Munkustrap shook his head, and turned to the three other toms. "When we catch up to them, we'll fight any henchcat that poses a threat. But we all have to focus on getting the kittens into safety before attacking any of them. Remember that above all. Now, let's head out."

~^..^~

Barnabas carried two kittens in the sack with the utmost of haste. Macavity was waiting in some alley, or at least that was what he had described when giving the black tom and his other henchcats this job. It wasn't that he was really proud of catnapping kittens, but he didn't feel any guilt towards the fact that he did it. It was a job, after all. If he refused to do it, he would probably be falling out of Macavity's 'favor'. Not that he cared that much. His boss already hated most of his henchcats, and only trusted a few of them.

Barnabas sighed, looking back at the two henchcats that were carrying two other sacs that held two other kittens in each. They looked just as apprehensive as he was about these kits. Every so often they often mewled their pleas and cries for help, which muffled through the webbing of the knapsacks. That annoyed the black tom to no end, and sometimes he'd drop the bag ahead of him to see if they'd shut up. It only made them cry more, which really wanted to make him through the bag up against the wall and end it, but that was against Macavity's instructions, and he wanted all of them alive upon delivery.

He wasn't going to question his boss at the moment. His job and boarding depended on it. Barnabas quickly turned the corner and crossed an empty road, knowing that with that one queen, Zelaphelia being the more powerful of mystical cats in the Junkyard, the tribe felines wouldn't be too far behind if she was using the powers that the Hidden Paw described. This was why he told the three henchcats to rush with the kittens; as fast as they could go, and meet with him at the exact street corner.

The henchcat swallowed hard as his eyes averted to the alley Macavity had described to him. He walked in tentatively with the other cats following him with the mewling bags of kittens. The alleyway was completely empty. A complete dead-end if he had ever seen one. Barnabas looked around curiously as he dropped the sack and groaned. Why would his boss lead him in a dead end?

"You're late. Again." A quick voice snapped from behind.

Barnabas quickly turned around. The henchcats followed in the same gesture. Macavity stood in front of them wearing a disgusted scowl as his gaze shifted between the three of them. Barnabas flinched at his boss's face, and quickly tried to catch himself on the rebound as the leader of his party, despite having the hidden paw staring at them, "Apologies, Sir…" he murmured to the black top and slurring his tone, "We got caught up in the Junkyard. The Jellicles are still trying to track us, no doubt with their magician leading them, but we took care of him…" Barnabas grinned sadistically, holding a syringe that his master had entrusted to him; a syringe that had a deadly toxin- or poison, or whatever it was- in it.

Macavity's scowl only deepened as he stepped forward, "Your excuses are meaningless to me, Barnabas. And if you had been listening to me, I told you only to use the contents in that syringe if any of them tried to attack you! Stupid henchcats, always so insolent…"

The black tom gulped as he stepped down, swallowing his smugness down his throat. He couldn't even think to himself before Macavity began speaking again, "Please tell me you at least didn't disappoint me on your mission. The kittens? You have them?"

He grinned again at the ginger tom, holding a knapsack up. The kits in it began mewling again and sounding terrified. This only made Barnabas a little happier. However, Macavity's face didn't seem as amused. He quickly took the bag from him and peeked inside, looking as if he were counting money instead of seeing if his agent found the kits he wanted. A dark smirk suddenly curled around the ginger tom's face as he looked up and tossed the bag to his assistant. The Napoleon of Crime quickly walked behind him, ignoring the other henchcats and looking as if he were getting something, which in fact he was. He came back to his original spot in the shadows, carrying the same silver case in his clutches that had the syringes of toxin poison in it. He quickly clicked it open on the ground and took out a vile and syringe. Macavity acted quickly and loaded one of the tubes with the dark liquid.

He stood up, looking back with a crazed look in his narrowed yellow eyes. He put out his paw and gestured Barnabas forward. The henchcat did as his master wished, and the ginger tom quickly snatched the knapsack away. He opened it and took out one of the kits. A dark Siamese that looked like that Cassandra queen. Macavity grinned sadistically as he held the kitten carelessly in his paw. "You said that only one of them was a mystic?" he asked, turning his attention back to the black tom.

He nodded in response, "They're eldest son, a patched one; black and white."

The ginger tom grimaced, but then just made a face that seemed to understand, "Then I'll just have to slit that one's throat."

Barnabas stared at his boss curiously, "Pardon me Sir, but…you're going to kill them?"

Macavity didn't look the least bit surprised by the question, "It's time to show these Jellicles how much backbone the Warehouse cats have. One dose of this stuff-" He held up the syringe- "Would take at least a few months to kill an adult feline. The same dosage in a newly born kit…it would only take a few minutes…"

Barnabas, despite the fact that he wasn't fond about killing kittens this young, grinned sadistically. He wasn't sure what Macavity's plan was. He kept more of his plans locked in his own head, but now it seemed the Hidden Paw was revealing himself slowly. As Macavity tossed the case of poison to Barnabas and ordered him to use it on the other kittens, saving the mystic for a naturally caused death, he used his own syringe to plunge into the small kitten in his paw…

~^..^~

It was about mid-afternoon when the search party rushed together far from the Junkyard. No one was speaking to each other. Sometimes Misto would catch up with Zela to ask a question, though she seemed too focused to answer. The toms were mostly following the gold-red queen as she led them down the sidewalks of the city, practically running. But to Tumblebrutus, she seemed to be holding back. Maybe it was just him; then again, everyone seemed to be wondering where the gold-red queen was going anyway. Tumble wasn't even sure why she was leading them, even if she was the one with the visions. It didn't make sense in his mind, but he wasn't about to question Munkustrap or the two most powerful mystics in the tribe.

The grey and brown calico wandered close to the back with the Jellicle Guardian. Misto was close up with Zela, and Mungo was rushing awkwardly in the middle of the four of them. Tumblebrutus was simply wondering if half of this was as dangerous as everyone was assuming. To him, it was just a little more drama. However, with Cassandra's kittens missing…maybe it was a reason to start fearing for the worst, and not just that, but for another reason that was slowly crawling its way back to the front of Tumblebrutus's mind. As they ran across the road and onto a parallel sidewalk, he turned to Munkustrap quietly, "Munk…?" he said.

The silver tabby seemed not to be paying much mind to him. He kept staring up at Zela, "What is it?" he asked distractedly. He turned his attention away from the gold-red queen long enough to look at him.

Tumble took a pause before asking his question: "Munk…is Plato back in the Junkyard?"

Munkustrap turned his gaze fully towards the brown and gray tom's face. He probably would have stopped dead in their tracks if they weren't in a hurry to get where Zela was leading them. His face was darkly impassive at the moment. "Yes…" he said after a long silence, "We found Plato two weeks ago…"

Tumblebrutus looked slightly agog at his words. He swallowed his argument and belched a question instead, "Why didn't you say anything?"

It took even longer for Munkustrap to answer now, "Something happened to Plato… Something …not normal and I didn't think the tribe needed to know about it yet. I thought maybe if he was kept quiet for awhile, it would clear up, and he'd be normal again. But…it didn't happen. I was going to tell the tribe about it, but we left so quickly…I couldn't. But I will. The second we get the kittens back, I'm planning to tell everyone."

Tumblebrutus nodded quietly at the news. He didn't understand everything yet, but perhaps when they brought the kittens back and had another tribe meeting, he would. As they rounded a street corner and into an alley, the calico tom was thinking about asking Munk more questions, but a fowl mixture of smells infiltrated his nose and made it wrinkle; a bad combination of blood and henchcats. By the Jellicle guardian's facial expression, everyone else must have been just as disgusted. Suddenly, Zela stopped dead in her tracks. The toms paused with her. With some curiosity in his mind, Tumble stepped forward to meet her face, as did Misto.

The tuxedo tom's eyebrow was raised, "Zela…?"

The gold-red queen's head turned sharply to an aluminum trash can. Everyone's faces turned with hers, and suddenly, Tumble's blood curdled cold. Black garbage bags were piled on top of one another next to each can, and under that was a puddle of dark scarlet liquid that oozed into lines like a river and seemed not to end. In this puddle, six tragic kitten bodies lay lifelessly. They're eyes were all open, looking purely horrified, as if they're last moment had been experienced by a nightmare. Tumblebrutus turned away in terror and disgust and looked back at everyone else.

All toms and Zela had flushed faces. Everyone seemed frozen for a moment until the mystics stepped forward and bowed their head in sorrow. "Great Heavyside…" whimpered the gold-red female as she looked at them, "…They…they're…but…I…I thought…" Tumble saw tears rolling down her cheek.

Munkustrap put a supporting paw on the Jellicle queen's shoulder, "We…we were too late…damn… Dammit all…"

Most of them were in tears at this point while staring at the grotesque sight. Tumblebrutus turned from all of them to the dead-end wall of the alley. And as his eyes looked over it, they widened in complete shock. His jaw dropped as his horrified squeaks of words came out, "Mu-Munkus…" he almost shouted, "Y-you have to see this…"

Everyone turned to Tumble's direction, and seeing what he was still horrifyingly studying, they all had the same exact face of awe, shock, and fear. The faded orange brick had been painted on with the blood puddle of the kittens in the shape of a giant "M". On a side wall, there was written a small message, "MORE WILL DIE, UNLESS YOU COME."