"No…please…no…I thought you had them…You said-…they'd be okay… no… No…! NO! Please…no-o…" Alonzo witnessed his mate sprawled on the ground in complete devastation. He stared at her and the bags in each arm. All of his kits…dead…

Alonzo was about to join his mate on the ground, until his eyes met Zelaphelia. She looked different from the rest of the search party, because she was the only one without a body bag. The black and white tom stared at her curiously, and what was in her arms. Suddenly, he gasped. A small dark Siamese queen was sitting quietly; her chest rising up and down. Alonzo stood up as his heart filled with hope, "…Vitalee…?"

~^..^~

Three days passed swiftly by after the murder of Cassandra and Alonzo's kits was discovered. And what was three depressing days in the Junkyard, felt like months in Demeter's mind. They'd discovered two things these past few days: Macavity was the cause of all of this, and Plato showed no signs of improvement; and it was at this that the gold queen felt hopeless. She was witnessing the tribe tear themselves apart. Munkus had told everyone about the injections of a toxin, and pointed out good points of why he kept it secret; something about comprehending what they were up against or something of that nature, but after his confession, the tribe was pointing paws in every which direction. The older members were beginning to question Munkustrap's abilities to control the tribe, a few were looking at Zela for some answers about the trademark Macavity had left, and for the benefit of a doubt, practically every feline in the Junkyard were openly discussing outraged opinions about the Hidden Paw's involvement. Things were worse than ever as the tribe was losing the sanity and hope that remained with them.

However, not everything was going wrong. Cassandra and Alonzo were still mourning for the loss of their kittens after commemorating them with a small funeral two days after. However, they were overjoyed that one of their kittens had not been lost; the tiny little Abyssinian queen-kit, Vitalee had survived. Every cat in the Junkyard was confused from Misto's discussion about what he recollected that day. The fact that the one kitten had survived was a miracle, but the tribe magician was still baffled, and as a result, he and Jelly agreed to study what killed the kits and what was still affecting Plato. It was an overwhelmingly sad situation that the Junkyard tribe was in, but Misto declared that not all hope was lost. Now that he had blood samples from the bodies of the kits, they could look further into what this toxin actually was and how it could induce felines. Cassandra was now extremely overprotective of her kitten, but she agreed to let Jellyorum examine her while they tried to figure things out. Not really all that bad, but then again, there was still the matter of Zela.

The poor gold-red female had gone into a depression since she came back into the Junkyard from the search. She wasn't in any sort of shock that Demeter had seen, but she looked fairly shaken, and worse, her daughter had isolated herself in her den. Zela was horribly devastated, and would barely speak to anyone, as if she were lost in her mind. Demeter could barely get her to eat, and sleeping had not been easy for her. No one seemed to be as mindful of Zelaphelia as much as Victoria, the Rum Tum Tugger, Mistoffelees, and Electra. Vicky came into the gold-red queen's den unannounced several times, but only left with slight tears in her eyes. Tugger, for some reason, had grown an interest in Zela, which disturbed Demeter and made her curious as to why he suddenly cared about her so much. The gold queen wouldn't allow him to see her without someone with him for her own paranoid reasons though. As a result, Tugger came frequently with Mistoffelees. Demeter didn't mind it as much with both toms trying to help Zela, but it rarely seemed to help. She even got Jenny away from Plato long enough where she could just check on the gold-red female. The Gumbie cat claimed she would be fine in a few weeks, but that seemed too long a time. Demeter wanted her daughter back.

The gold queen had decided to visit Zela again just to check-up. It hurt Deme to see her in this frightening despondence. She thought perhaps it had been caused by the lost kits. Munkustrap explained to her that Zela had been saying awful things when they discovered evidence of Macavity during the search. She was blaming herself for everything that happened, and it didn't matter what anyone said, she was feeling genuine hatred of herself. Demeter entered into Zela's den quietly. She looked around, seeing the scratched-up rugs and carpets draped around abandoned wooden furniture. Her eyes finally casted away from the small den to see her daughter curled up on a rug that rested on top of a pulled-out upside-down dresser drawer. She didn't even look over at the entrance to see who had come in. She was simply lying there, looking dreadful and abased. Demeter sighed, walking in slowly, and putting on a faint smile, "Zela…?" she called softly.

The gold-red female looked up slightly, but then just averted her eyes back to the ground. The fur on her face was matted down from the jagged line of dried tears. She whimpered a little before mumbling a few words: "Mum…I really don't want to talk right now…"

Demeter seethed as she came in closer to her daughter, "That's fine." She said, "You don't have to talk. I just want you to listen to me. Okay?"

Zelaphelia stared at her mother for a few seconds before looking away to stare at something else. "Alright…" she sighed.

"Good." The gold queen murmured. She hadn't really expected Zela to be cooperative, and hadn't really planned out what she was going to say. Demeter's lips curled back as she gazed from the ground to the young Jellicle queen several times before speaking, "Well… Vitalee's been getting better. She's up again and walking around…Cassandra won't let her out of her sight though," the gold queen chuckled a little, but turned serious again when she saw that Zela didn't look amused at all. She sighed, "Zela, what happened to the kits wasn't your fault. You have to accept that. And with all the blood samples, Jelly's finally agreed to try inventing a cure with Misto's help. Things are getting better for us. There's nothing you have to worry about."

The gold-red female looked up at her mother and sat up. Her face was blank, but pale. She had dark lines on the indents between her eyes and nose, and she seemed sluggish and bent over from exhaustion. She truly did look awful, "Please don't say that, Mum…" she whispered, "If I didn't come back, then none of this would have happened. Sure, Vitalee's safe now, but what happens when Macavity decides to strike again? Don't tell me things are going to get better for us. They can only get worse as long as I'm still here. I knew coming back was a stupid idea… Everywhere I go, chaos follows…No matter where I run, Macavity's going to come looking for me. No matter what I do, he'll always be one step ahead … I don't have a way out …"

Demeter seethed, the thought of Macavity suddenly launched in her mind, and it gave her slight uneasiness thinking about how much Zela sounded like her, but instead of reacting, she put her paws on her hips and raised an expectant eyebrow at her daughter, "Don't talk like that, Zela. He may have done this, but he'll get to you over my dead body. Macavity will never find you. I promise you that."

The gold-red queen stared at her mother with tears in her eyes, "Mum…there are some things…I didn't tell you about…When I was living with those two cats up north… we were attacked by a Pollicle… We killed it, but I saw that there was a cut shaped like an M on his neck… I knew then I was endangering the cats, which was why I left them and decided to come back. I thought I could hide in plain sight. I was horribly wrong, Mum… It only made things ten times worse."

Demeter listened quietly as Zela spoke. The thought of a Pollicle dog dominated by Macavity scared her. The ginger tom's empire was growing more than she expected, and Zela was in the middle of it. The gold queen frowned, deciding to sit next to her daughter, "Zela…why didn't you tell me about this when you came back?"

Zelaphelia wiped away a few tears, staring at the ground, "Because I didn't want to worry you… I knew anything with Macavity was going to endanger the tribe, and I completely ignored my instincts…I did all of this…"

Demeter sighed, wrapping her paw around the gold-red queen's shoulders comfortingly as she thought over the words. Macavity was getting to everyone, including Zela. He was working his twisted way into their thoughts and tormenting them; harassing everyone with his serious threats. What was unbelievable was that the tribe was turning against each other, and none of them realized it yet. The gold queen scowled as she looked over her daughter, and deciding she didn't really know what to say to comfort her. "Zela… worse things have happened. Macavity's tortured the tribe years before you came along. It isn't your fault, it's his. He's chosen his path, and we all must find ways not to get caught into his little mind-games. We won't let him win, ever."

The gold-red queen looked up at her mother seemingly inspired or hopeful, which was what Demeter was hoping to accomplish at the time, but Zela didn't seem thoroughly convinced. The gold queen grinned, "Hey, maybe I can get Quaxo and Victoria to talk to you, and I'll speak to Munk and see what he thinks about this, okay?"

Zela sniffed, and faintly smiled as she hugged her mother. Deme smiled back at her and held her close. She felt that this was probably one of the more motherly moments she had had with her daughter upon her return. What hurt was the gold queen realized that all this talk of Zela wanting to leave again, she wasn't going to have these moments with her much longer. She was frightened for the young Jellicle female, and seeing her leave again was going to be more painful than anything. Perhaps maybe she could convince her to stay at least until after the Jellicle ball, but that could come later when the gold-red queen got through this self-tormenting. Demeter sighed, tightening her embrace once and then loosened her grip to scuttle out of the den...

~^..^~

Quaxo lifted his head out of righteous meditation, just trying to think about the conjunctures that endangered the Junkyard. Macavity left his traces of himself all over the murder scene, and was fairly obvious about it. He seemed to want to keep Zela's implication a bit more secretive though. Quax was trying to piece it together, which proved not to be as easy as he hoped. He tried once more to tap into Macavity's thoughts or a henchcat's mind, but he was blocked off by some sort of mental energy that surrounded the Warehouse. It was impossible to access into any thinking process that resided there. The tuxedo tom groaned at his attempt of infiltrating the Hidden Paw mentally, and decided to give up on trying for now. He was feeling overly tired anyway from doing anything about helping anyway.

Quaxo sighed as he looked around at where he was. He was sitting on the bonnet of a rusted pick-up truck that he been ripped away of most of its scraps. The vehicle sat right outside of the tom's den, and he figured this was pretty convenient for him if he wanted to sit around after awhile. After all, he was exhausted. Using up all of his mental energy tried the tuxedo tom physically. He sighed, looking over the Junkyard, mildly interested. Everything was calming down after the funeral of Cassandra and Alonzo's kits; no one seemed quite the same though, except for him. Besides the fact that he was going to be a father in seven weeks, and that he was injected with a toxin he knew nothing about, Quaxo actually felt fine. There were no side-effects similar to Plato's. It was confusing that he wasn't as sick as him by now. The tuxedo tom had a theory of why, but he couldn't get it straight in his mind…

"Hey Quaxo!" a light voice called to him.

Quaxo's head turned curiously to the source of the sound. He smiled after discovering Demeter padding towards the rusted truck quickly. The tuxedo tom stood up and nodded politely in her direction as a greeting, "Afternoon, Deme." He said quietly.

Demeter leaped up on the hood of the car and smiled slightly. For being his mother-in-law, Quaxo always heard the gold queen always was able to hold her own, which he found true, looking back on any experience he had with her. Demeter cleared her throat and sighed, "Quaxo could I trouble you for a favor?" she asked quickly. She seemed in quite a rush.

Quaxo half-grinned, "Of course, Dem. Just don't be so formal, will you? You know I find it distasteful when my family talks like I'm an acquaintance."

Demeter chuckled, "Of course, Quax. I was just hoping you could find Vicky and go talk to Zela for awhile while I go talk to Munkus?"

The Tuxedo tom grimaced, "She still stuck in that den, huh?" he asked quietly.

She hesitated before answering, "Yes… She just needs felines to talk to right now… Maybe if someone can get her out of the den long enough, she'll brighten up…"

Quaxo nodded and smiled at the gold queen as she stared down at herself ashamedly. He found this a bit sad of Demeter, but since after the kittens' funeral, everyone seemed in grief, so he didn't blame her, "I'll do my best, Deme." He said tenaciously.

The gold queen gave him a grateful smile and then quickly headed away from him to go into hers and Munkustrap's den. The tuxedo tom sighed, half of him being curious as to why Demeter seemed so anxious to talk to Munkus, and the other half concerning himself with Zelaphelia and her depression. He grimaced, leaping off the bonnet of the truck and onto the hood, wondering where he could find Victoria, until he heard a gruff voice speak behind him: "You're not going to find Vicky, because I need to talk to Zela too."

Quaxo quickly spun around on the hood of the truck, and saw Tugger sitting above him inside an old bookshelf. He grimaced and shook his head at the Maine coon. "When are you going to learn to stop eavesdropping on other Jellicles' conversations?"

The leopard-spotted tom shrugged, "I don't eavesdrop, I just overhear."

The tuxedo tom rolled his eyes, "Fine. Whatever. But why the heck do you want to go anyway? You could just talk to Zela on your own, you and the Everlasting Cat knowing why."

Tugger chuckled amusingly before standing up, and leaping onto the hood of the vehicle to meet with his old friend. He got somewhat serious in his facial expression, "Demeter won't let me near Zela unless someone 'responsible' is with me, and she just happens to deem you responsible."

Quaxo grimaced as he stood up and stared at the Maine coon, less amused with him now, "Tugger… Deme asked me to do this for her, and Zela kind of needs comfort, so I don't think it's a good idea if you see her."

Tugger didn't respond beyond a nonchalant shrug and simply made his way to the end of the hood, "It wasn't really a question, Quax." He replied quickly as he leaped off and began padding his way to Zela's den.

Quaxo rolled his eyes, knowing that once Tugger had his mind set, he didn't change it, which got him into more trouble then he even realized over the years. The tuxedo tom then grimaced, deciding that he might as well make sure his friend didn't get into trouble now with Zela, knowing it would probably get him into trouble too. Actually, Quaxo knew very much about Zelaphelia and Tugger's little fling together after accidentally catching on to the golden-red female's thoughts. He thought it was completely inappropriate, and probably improper of him to be doing nothing about it, but neither of them would appreciate it if he did. For now, Quaxo decided not to comment on their situation and just focus on Zela right now. She needed the most help at the moment, and he had an idea of how he could do it too…

~^..^~

Munkustrap sat in his and Demeter's den in a ponderous state of mind. He quietly traced water around the dry spaces of the floor from beneath the leaky steel pipe that acted as a guide to lead a small stream of sewer water out of the den, which kept this particular part of the Junkyard from flooding. He frowned, thinking about the tribe, and about his malicious brother…half brother, rather. The disaster of the kits' murders was devastating to the Jellicles, especially Cassandra, and surprisingly Zelaphelia. Well, actually it wasn't all that surprising. She was blaming herself for their deaths, and, like Demeter, Munkustrap could sense a strange fear of Macavity developing in her, the kind of fear that could fluctuate into submission.

That wasn't the only thing that was bothering him. The tribe elders were beginning to question Munkustrap's leadership skills because he and several other tribe members never mentioned that Plato was back and sick with a disease that they didn't know much about. Maybe it wasn't the wisest idea to do that, but Munk had no idea of what was running through the calico tom's veins, and he had no idea if it could do any harm to anyone else. There was much more on his mind though; especially about Macavity who had imposed a new threat on the Junkyard, which Munkustrap was hoping wouldn't happen. The silver tabby tom mentally sighed as he thought over what was going on, and how he, the leader, could sort through it gently and still protect the tribe.

"Hey Munkus?" a voice he immediately recognized as Demeter's called to him.

Munkustrap's thoughts were immediately interrupted by his mate's abrupt utterance. He came out of his pondering, and fraudulently smiled as the gold queen quietly walked into their den. She grinned back at him and padded gracefully up to his face. The silver tabby sat up, glad because he hadn't talked to his mate in days, "Hey Deme…" he greeted, half with a slight irascibility. Not that he found the intrusion congruous, but just that he felt less than pleasant about having to partake in conversation with Demeter, which he rather not do at the moment. He still needed to think up an idea to handling Macavity and protecting the tribe, and she probably wouldn't be much help while interrupting him.

The gold queen sighed, sitting down next to the silver tabby, "So…how've you been?"

Munkustrap scoffed, as if the answer to her question was fairly obvious, "I've been better…" he muttered, with a hint of sarcasm lodged in his throat. The silver tom grinned at his mate, then quickly let it fall as he faced his own paws, and turned away from her sadly. He was mostly in his own mind, and trying to ignore the fact that his mate was there so he could focus on the tribe. So much was happening, and he had reviewed it over and over in his mind. "First Plato gets sick…" he mumbled, "then the kittens were m-murdered…and now Macavity's back…" This was all to himself really, but Deme happened to be listening intently.

Her lips curled back as she came much closer to him and rubbed against the side of his face. His expression didn't change, and neither did hers. "Munk…" she began hesitantly, "with everything that's been happening…I feel like…you've been drifting… and I just want you to be okay… You've been too stressed for your own good, and you were getting so much better since Deuteronomy left the tribe-"

"I know, Dem…" he interrupted quietly. His gaze lingered towards her once, but only to find himself back in his ponderous mood, "I've been trying to calm down, but there's too much going on. I can't just relax whenever I want to. I have a tribe to run." All of this was in a fairly impassive tone, which Munkustrap hoped was just to get his point across neutrally.

Demeter grimaced, tipping her head slightly to the side, as if to examine him and his words. "Munk… I know you're busy, and I understand but… there are more important things at risk, and you need to realize that."

Munkustrap raised an eyebrow and craned his neck closer to her with a look of benignant interest. "More important things, Dem?" he asked, partly jeering her words, "Like what?"

The gold queen shrugged, "How about the fact that you have two daughters to look after, and one step-daughter that's completely dejected, and needs everyone who can help her."

At these words, Munkustrap could no longer feel mild and somewhat calm. Her last sentence sliced through him, reminding him that he had even more to worry about than just Macavity and the tribe. He still needed to speak with his daughters, which he hadn't done in a long time. And when he looked at his mate, he was reminded that he needed more than anything to protect her as well. Everything she said was killing the silver tom a little more and keeping his mind in a non-resilient caution. It was worse, knowing he could do nothing for them except what he as the Jellicle leader was capable of doing, which wasn't much since his last fight with Macavity. He didn't want to admit it, but slowly, Munkustrap was losing his strength, and the stress was taking its toll. He turned to Demeter sharply, a frown being worn on his face, "Deme, like I told you before, I have enough to worry about. There's a tribe that depends on me to protect them. I've been busier than ever trying to plan out anything I can! Everyone's been on-edge for days, and I've seen it especially in Zela, but Macavity's planning something big, and I don't have anymore time to share with anyone, including Vicky and Electra and Zela, and if you want to see this Junkyard remain in one piece, then maybe you could understand what I'm going through!"

All of this was said pretty harshly, and made the gold queen's face twisted in surprise and distaste as she rose to her feet, "There are some things you know are more important than the tribe. While you're trying to handle things diplomatically and strategically, you're missing your daughters' lives. Did you know Electra's went to see Zela four times in the past three days when she trapped herself in her den? And did you also know Vicky's been helping both her sisters also, while she's pregnant? They've had to take care of themselves more than you have the past few days. You've been neglecting our family, Munk, and they come before your duty. I thought we agreed to that when we mated..."

"Deme, I-…I know… I -…I can't…I…I …auhg!" Munkustrap couldn't say anything to that. He merely turned away from her with a scowl contorting his face. He didn't want to believe the words coming out of her mouth. It was true; he hadn't known Victoria was pregnant, which he wondered why he was never told about. But then…maybe because of being so busy, he'd been able to make excuses not to make visits with his daughter. Then of course, there was Zela; the queen who helped find the dead kits, and seemed to regret everything she'd done in the tribe so far, and now she was in an emotional coma. The silver tabby sighed, just wanted things to get better. He wanted to make Deme happy and be able to care for Victoria and Electra and Zelaphelia, but they all wanted something he couldn't give them right now. Not while Macavity was on the loose and plotting against them with his ambitiousness stronger than ever before. He heard Demeter inhale gruffly as she stepped forward a ways, "Munk… I love you… but I need to make sure that you have the strength to do everything that's being asked of you right now. I want to help you, but I need you to help me first…"

Munkustrap looked back at his mate, slightly frowning, but realizing how genuine and loving those words were. The silver tabby sighed and walked towards her. He realized how much Demeter was putting up with while staying with him. She was sacrificing almost as much as he should have been. He loved her, and he wondered briefly how she could ever love a nutcase like him. Munkus smiled at her, touching her cheek and kissing her lightly; he only wanted her and her love at that moment, and needed this to simply get him through his current leadership issues. He quickly parted their kiss and gazed into her dark forest eyes, "I'll… I'll talk to Zela for you Dem…" he murmured, with a veritable grin, "I'll make it better…I promise."

~^..^~

"Hello Zela!" a cheerful voice quickly infiltrated Zelaphelia's den and gave her a slight headache at recognition. It was Quaxo, obviously, but she decided not to look at him, fearing to see a smile, which was the last thing she wanted. What was there to smile about in this forsaken Junkyard? Five kittens were dead… and it was her fault. Everything was confusing the golden-red queen, getting into her head and seducing her into darker memories and thoughts. Cheerfulness seemed pointless.

Quaxo quickly spoke again, reducing Zela to listening, "Demeter asked me to talk to you, and…" his voice quickly toned down into sourness, "Tugger decided-"

"I decided to tag along." A charming voice suddenly rang into her den. Zela's head rose slightly, wanting to see the Rum Tum Tugger, but not positive if she should or shouldn't. She sighed, deciding to risk it and spare a glance at the two toms in her den. She first saw Misto, and the silly grin she had expected. Then she saw Tugger, and felt almost joyful. He certainly looked better than she felt. His gold and brown mane was glowing over the sun's radiance, and his amber eyes seemed to catch light as his gaze passed over her. His smile, as usual, was pleasant and enchanting. She was trying to circumvent his handsome luminescence, and focused on being serious. For one thing, Zela couldn't believe she was falling for the Rum Tum Tugger, but she couldn't help it. He, of course, was a charmer.

"So Zel," Quaxo said in a sudden whirlwind, as if trying to separate Tugger and Zela's gaze from each other, "I know you've been really depressed since…the kittens…" he paused, staring up at Zela promiscuously, then got his positive disposition back, "But I think that I have an idea to give you some confidence back." His grin suggested something that promoted Quaxo's persona completely: his…cleverness. The gold-red queen decided to listen broad-mindedly, deciding that anything that could help her was worth trying. Quaxo quickly continued, "Remember when I said that we could talk to Tanti and Cori later? Well, I thought maybe, if you talk to them now, they might be able to steer you in the right direction. Get you out of this deep dark hole you're in…"

Zela frowned at the magician, slightly raising an eyebrow as she pondered over his request. She knew Tantomile and Coricopat were powerful prophets of a different species. The only thing anyone truly knew was that they could look in the past, and vaguely sketch out the future. The golden-red queen heard stories of when cats came to them in search of guidance, they revealed small pieces of their future, and give them the most plausible advice they could conjure in their duopolistic mental connection. She knew she'd receive no sympathy for her emotional breakdown, which actually sounded relieving to Zela. She stared at the tuxedo tom for a few moments before whispering in a dull impassive tone: "I…guess…If you think it'll work…"

Quaxo's grin stretched out further as he clasped his paws together in an eager manner and stood up pleasantly, "Good!" he exclaimed, turning himself half-way towards the exit, "I'll go and find them now." The magician began walking a bit towards the archway that was her "door", but before he left, he turned to Tugger, "Why don't you try your 'talking' now." He said in a low acerbic mutter.

The gold-red queen thought of this overheard statement while listening to the tuxedo tom leave her den hurriedly. Zela didn't really think about it her friend was gone, but she suddenly realized that she was alone with Tugger again. This hadn't become too big of an issue between them, but at that moment, Zela felt like she and him were complete strangers, circling each other aimlessly with no little ambition but to simply stare. Zelaphelia sighed, not really looking at Tugger, but keeping her gaze to the floor of her den. She heard Tugger exhale and walk over to her side slowly. The golden-red female was still lying over the upside-down dresser drawer lethargically. She felt the Maine Coon sitting near her as it took a fair amount of time for him to cease hesitating; "So…Zel…" he murmured, gazing at her with a strange look, "I know that…you know, you've been pretty… sad lately…and…Well… I just want you to know that… I'm here if you ever need anything."

The gold-red queen smiled faintly as her head rose to glance at the leopard-spotted tom. She almost chortled, "So the great Rum Tum Tugger's offering me help, really? That's a bit unlike you, Slick." Zela's brow wrinkled, unsure of why she used her own unique brand of hypocorism.

Tugger chuckled lightly turning his head over with a specious look in his amber eyes, "Well, thanks for ruining that when I was being completely genuine, Zel."

Zelaphelia stood up slightly, and grinned for the first time in days. She didn't know how, but Tugger just brought out the vivacious part of her, which she supposed was good. "I guess. But I was just surprised you didn't try to pull the moves on me or anything."

The Maine Coon scoffed, grinning back at her, "Pulling the moves on you, Zel? Would I do something like that?" This was completely sarcastic, which was perfectly discernable. It would have made the gold-red female laugh if it weren't for the fact she was retaining her seriousness. Tugger continued, "But if I remember correctly, and I do, you've flirted with me more often than not."

Zela stared at him and quickly shook her head in a delayed reaction, "What would make you think that?" she asked sincerely.

He shrugged, "Well there was the little incident of last fall when you kissed me…twice."

In a sudden realization of the truthfulness in his statement, the golden-red queen raised an eyebrow, her grin slightly fading, "Hey, the first one doesn't count because it was a peck on the cheek, and the other one was... just to say good-bye."

Tugger seemed less amused by this, but kept his loose composure while retaining some earnest behavior at the subject, "Yeah, but… I still count it." He smirked slightly, not really staring at her anymore.

Zela stared at him, realizing that he was avoiding what she'd brought up. "Tugger… do you think that…maybe I shouldn't have came back? Maybe none of this would have happened…"

He thought silently, and seemed hesitant somehow. Finally, he shrugged, "I don't know, I mean… you came so fast, then you left, then came back, then left for nine months, and now you're here again. To tell you the truth, your nomadic moods swings are kinda weird for me."

Hearing this made Zela's face contort into a confused look, "Weird? Well, I guess I understand what you mean, but does my choice really surprise you that much that I don't want to stay in one spot?"

Tugger glanced at her once, seemingly emotionless, "I dunno, Zela… I mean, I waited for you to come back because of what you did. I wanted to see you again, and now you're back and…" He unknowingly trailed off in thought.

Zela stared at him, thinking about what he could have possibly meant, "Huh…I never really thought you knew what you wanted; especially if it included me." When the gold-red female heard this coming from her own mouth, she regretted it instantly.

The Curious Cat erased his smile as he stared her down, looking rather disturbed and disgruntled. "What makes you think-" he sounded as if he were about to get into a harsh rant, but to Zelaphelia's relief, Quaxo abruptly showed-up with the twins.

"Okay!" the tuxedo tom quickly exclaimed, forcing Tugger to stop and listen, "Cori and Tanti agreed to see you… and will start when you're ready…alone of course." His face turned to the leopard-spotted tom with an expectant grin. Tugger didn't return it. Instead he stood up and quickly strutted out of the gold-red female's den without even giving her one glance. She felt uneasy about that. Had she said something to the Maine Coon to get him upset with her?

She didn't even have time to ponder this. Tantomile and Coricopat strode harmoniously together to her side. They both looked deathly serious, but genuinely concerned. Zela stared at their golden eyes illusively, but was getting too lost in them. She quickly turned herself over to Quaxo to ask him a question, but she found that he'd left as swiftly as Tugger did.

"Would you like to start, Zela?" Tantomile asked from behind. The gold-red female turned back to the twins who were both sitting in an identical and completely poised stance. Zelaphelia felt her lips curl back slightly as she stared at them with uneasiness.

She noticed the striped twins grasping each other's paws and they both were holding out their other out to her. The gold-red queen was fairly uncertain about doing this with the mystics, which Coricopat must have heard in her head, "It's alright Zela. We want to help in any way we can."

"You just need to trust us." Tantomile added aside her brother's statement.

Zela, as tentative as she was at this moment, decided that they were probably two of the wisest and most omnipresent felines in living existance. She hadn't known anyone more foreseeing and as close to the Everlasting Cat than them. Knowing everything that was at risk, Zelaphelia silently grasped both their paws, and before she realized what they were doing, the twins' minds formed into an inscrutable and mystical meditation, which she hadn't known was a type of fascination that twisted into her mind and traveled through the connection of both the magical realm and the gold-red female's psyche.

No one spoke, and Zela knew it would have been extremely wrong to disturb the silence as they mentally read through her thoughts, her memories, her past, and possibly her future. The golden-red female waited patiently, feeling the flow of magic running through the three of them, and an abrupt overwhelming calmness relaxed her every muscle, coining a strange boldness that she hadn't fully recognized before. It was a new mystical anomaly Zelaphelia felt must have been created from the three mystics' magical union.

Suddenly, both of the twins released their grasp on the Jellicle queen's paw, tossing themselves back slightly. They both looked at her simultaneously with serious dispositions. Zela leaned forward as Coricopat began speaking, "Zela…" he began in a rough whisper, "…We saw a divination of you…"

Tantomile quickly picked up his statement, "We saw your heart being torn between the two worlds you will forever love."

"-You will live in both for a long spell of time-"

"But you will never remain happy in one without the other."

The twins quickly positioned themselves comfortably as they shifted closer to her. They continued with their voices in unison: "In the future, you will lose something, you will gain someone, and your loved ones will suffer in the choice you made from those two things…. This process of the future will repeat three times in the next year… We only see a bleak outlook. The only way to see happiness is if you create it…"

Zelaphelia was listening to their omen searchingly. She knew from what they described, anything revealing the future was going to be fairly vague. When they found an opportunity to pause, Zela leaned in to ask a question, "What should I do, though? What do I have to do to start this… process?"

When hearing this question, the twins stared at her, straining to answer it. When they finally let go of each others' paws, they blurted out one sentence, "You must confront the one you fear the most… Macavity…"

And with that, the twins collapsed from mental exhaustion and Zela was frozen where she sat. Her one fear, realized. How could she confront Macavity? ...Why would she confront him? He'd been hunting her down for a full year now, and was still trying to get to her and her family. Could she do this? Really? There wasn't really any other option. But there was so much to think over in the process. One, how, and two, why. She didn't understand why she needed to do this, but if it was going to help her dark future and the tribe in any way, perhaps she could create a better future… maybe.

A/N: Okay, so I realize this chapter is actually a bit longer than my most recent. You all know writer's block? This week, I updated so fast, I think I had writer's adrenaline. YAY FOR ME! And did you all notice my change in profile picture? This would be colorless humanly shaped Zelaphelia that I drew about a year ago. :)