Teazer was slowly heading in the hole, and Jerrie was following her, but he was watching Macavity as he slowly turned around to gaze at his room. As Jerrie carefully put the floorboards back in their place, he heard the Hidden Paw's sly words echo past the walls, "Well, hello there, Zelaphelia…."

Before Mungojerrie could react, his mate was already dragging him through the dark passage way, and he was left to wonder what Zela had done…

~^..^~

Zela watched from her undercast view up in the rafters, staying as silent as a rock as Macavity looked around his den. The dark, twisted feeling in her stomach returned, seeing her father again. He looked as wicked as ever, though a little more worn down than usual. Killing kittens must really drain you of your energy… she though bitterly towards him. She'd thought this when the ginger tom was near the closet doors; quite suddenly, his ears perked up as he swiftly turned around and looked right at her with a tooth-bared smirked. The gold-red queen mentally smacked her forehead, remembering that she had forgotten that mystics could be telepathic with each other. She cursed herself because she had exposed her presence in the Warehouse. The Hidden Paw merely stepped forward and watched her intently, "Well, hello there, Zelaphelia." He said in an amused tone.

Zela, realizing her loss of concealment, leaped down from the ceiling rafters, and stayed a good distance away from the ginger tom. She knew Jerrie and Teazer were gone by now, so at least being accidentally discovered was not in vain. "Rot in hell, Macavity…" she growled at him. The gold-red queen felt the hate and discomfort of being near him radiate from her. And she could tell how his smirk began to rise on his face that he knew her emotions at that moment.

The ginger tom chuckled and took a step forward, "Now Zela, is that any way to speak to your father?" he asked with an insidious grin.

Zela glared at him and took a step towards the door. She could tell that he saw this, but she needed to go and catch up with Mungo and Teazer. Macavity didn't seem to look like he was going to let her go, considering he already got in her way of the door. The gold-red queen growled furiously, "You aren't my father anymore." She reminded coldly.

He gave a distasteful sigh, "Ah yes, how could I forget the way you disowned me at the Junkyard?" The ginger tom slightly scowled at the floor but then turned back up to her with a grin, "Does it satisfy you, daughter? That you keep defending and obeying cats that are weaker and more spineless than you?"

Zela growled at him angrily, "They aren't weak!" she retorted.

"Ah, but they are spineless, aren't they?" The Hidden Paw laughed mockingly, "In fact, why do they send you, of all cats, to come and spy on me, eh? They're too afraid to come after me themselves, that's why. So they send the only one they know who could last fighting me."

As he smirked menacingly, the gold queen was trying to think of something to say, but she didn't really have a good argument. She wasn't exactly prepared for debating her tribe's ethics. To replace a quip, she glared, "And I'll do the same thing I did last time if you don't stay out of my way!"

For obvious reasons, the Napoleon of Crime wasn't affected by her threats. He only took a step closer, which made her antsy. "You don't realize what happened that night, do you?" he asked with a conniving chuckle.

Zela paused, and quietly shook her head, "No. I don't…" She lengthened the silence, simply to take a moment to think of a comeback, and also for dramatic effect, "But that doesn't mean I won't do it again! And I'll tear you to ribbons this time!"

Macavity threw his head back and laughed sinisterly, "I'm actually quite amused by your threats, daughter. It reminds me of… well, me at your age." He gave a thoughtful pause, "Maybe you're more like me than I thought…"

Zela winced and tried to block out what he had said. "NO!" she screeched. She wasn't like him; she would never be like him, ever. The gold-red queen made an immediate dash for the door, but Macavity's claws had already caught her and were digging into her flesh as he spun her around and twisted her wrist behind her back, forcing her to fall on her knees. He was faster from when she last remembered. The gold-red queen screamed in pain. "Let go of me!" she shouted, struggling to get out of his grip. The ginger tom didn't take long to restrain her.

"It's obvious you still haven't learned how to respect your father." He whispered into her ear. She side-glanced at him, seeing the evil smirk on his face. "But we'll change that."

Zela couldn't move, she was stuck on her knees, and no amount of struggling would loosen his hold on her, not even a little. He'd finally caught her in his grasps after all this time, but the ginger tom grunted somewhat angrily and pushed her down further, "I'm disappointed in you, Zela. You once could have taken my head off without so much as a struggle, and I have you caught without even trying!... You've grown as weak as the rest of the Jellicles. Why is that? Have you gained a fear of me now?" he chortled to himself.

The gold-red queen didn't actually have an answer for him, because she was trying to figure a way out of his grasp. "What do you think this is going to accomplish?" she asked him, trying to stall in any way she could. "Just because you're holding a Jellicle queen hostage, you think that's a plan? I can escape easily and there's nothing keeping me here. You might as well just let me go."

The Napoleon of Crime didn't speak for a moment, and Zela was hoping that maybe he was thinking about the statement. Unfortunately, all it did was make him twist her wrist harder. She seethed and winced as he knelt down to her ear, "You think I'm going to let you go that easily?" he asked in a rough whisper, "I went through hell trying to track you down, and get you running back to your little family at the Junkyard. Oh yes, I had every step you took followed, and sent my best agents after you, because I knew you wouldn't be able to hide forever. The real question is why would I go through all that trouble?" The ginger tom quickly twisted her around and slammed her body to the ground, pinning her paws to the floorboards, "I did it, because I'm going to watch you fall from the pedestal the Jellicles put on. But don't worry; I won't keep you on the ground for too long, just long enough where you realize the real potential that you have with your father. And I am your father, whether you like it or not."

The gold-red queen glared at the Hidden Paw, seriously thinking about spitting in his face. She hated him. The bane of her existence was staring at her, practically implying her forced apprenticeship to him. Zela was about to protest, and tell him how she would never work for him, or train with him ever again. But before she even uttered a word, there were three slams on the door. "Sir!" a squally voice called, sounding like there was some sort of struggle going on, "We got somethin' for ya!"

Macavity gained a small grin on his face as he lifted the gold-red queen by her pelt like a kit. She tried clawing at him and kicking her back legs to be free of him, but he suddenly sent a current of electricity through her body, which tormented her nerves enough where she went limp. The ginger tom chuckled; "You can come in." he called.

Zela felt weak from the spikes of electric energy running through her, "Well, now at least we know what will keep you from struggling." He told her. Zela glared up at him as two large henchcats opened the door. They were holding Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, pushing them in with their paws tied behind their backs and their shoulders being held so they couldn't scamper away. Zela winced, unable to believe her sacrifice had been for naught…

~^..^~

Macavity chuckled as he held his daughter up by one arm. Actually, the ginger tom thought half the fact that Zela had come to the warehouse was because luck was on his side, which happened rarely on anything that had to do with the tribe. Macavity grinned at the two tiger tabby cats. "Well, welcome back to the Warehouse. How are my best former thieves doing?"

Mungojerrie was gazing at Zela, but as soon as he heard the ginger tom's voice, he narrowed his eyes and spat at Macavity's feet. "Go to hell, you piece a sh-" The henchcat behind the tiger-striped tom hit him in the back of his head, which made Jerrie go blank for a moment.

Rumpleteazer gasped and stared at her mate, "Jers!" The ginger tom's smile slightly faded when the tiger tabby tom blinked and regained his regular facial expression.

Macavity gave an amused facial expression, but Zela was twitching slightly. He knew that anyone who suffered from his shocks would probably be shaking on the ground with painful shocks still buzzing their brains, but because the gold-red queen carried his genes and magic, it only seemed to affect her less than the regular henchcat. The ginger tom grinned at his daughter and held her light body higher so he could talk closer to her face, "Do you see this, Zelaphelia?" he asked her mockingly, "It's a thing called leverage."

Zelaphelia gave her father a glare, but then let her head fall in defeat, because she knew she was being cornered, thanks to two idiot Jellicles who thought they wouldn't be caught. One of the henchcats looked up at the ginger tom, "The queen had these, Sir." He lifted his other paw that didn't hold Rumpleteazer's shoulder, and revealed a rolled up dark blue paper and three white envelopes. The ginger tom grinned as the henchcat tossed the rubber band bounded papers. He caught them with one paw and chuckled, "Good. It would be a shame to misplace these. Who knows whose paws they'd fall into?" He smirked and set them on the table next to him.

The Hidden Paw looked between his three captives, and couldn't help but feel mirthful that something had gone right that day. He chuckled, and then quickly remembered that he had to do something with them. Macavity knew what he wanted to do with Zela. She was obviously untrustworthy, but she was staying here, so he'd have to put her in a place where she couldn't manipulate anyone. The cells underground would work. As for the two tiger-striped burglars, he had to keep them locked away, and nowhere near Zela. They were his ascendancy over her. The only way she wouldn't try to leave was because she knew that her friends could be damaged by every move she made. The ginger tom couldn't help but snicker, enjoying how ironic the three former Warehouse cats' cohered mission had worked out in his favor.

Macavity looked at the henchcat holding Rumpleteazer and grunted, "You." The other henchcat grabbed the queen's shoulder and let his partner face the Napoleon of Crime. He tossed Zela on the ground and squeezed her shoulder tightly before the henchcat lifted his daughter to her feet. "Take this one down to the cells," he commanded, "and-" he turned to the table next to him, and quickly scribbled a note on a scratch piece of paper with a quill and ink. He lifted the paper from the tabletop and gave it to the henchcat, "Give this to the tom on guard. He'll know what it means."

Macavity quickly stepped forward and whispered into Zela's ear, "I'd behave if I were you. One miscode of conduct with any of my workers, and I'll make sure you regret it. Especially when I have those two." He pointed to the thieves with his eyes. Macavity grinned and patted her cheek lightly, "And I'll fill you in on details later, my dear." The ginger tom tossed her to the ground once and the henchcat quickly got her back to her feet and began pushing her away. "Be careful with that piece of baggage." Macavity told his employee, "I need her kept in perfect condition."

As the henchcat nodded and led the gold-red queen away from the Hidden Paw's private room. Macavity couldn't help but grin to himself, thinking about all the plans he had for his daughter, which the tribe would play a large part in later on. He quickly lost his mood when he saw the two thieves, then his smile only grew wider on his face, "And I have a special place for you two…" he grinned sadistically as he quickly took Rumpleteazer and told the henchcat to follow him with Mungojerrie tight in his grasp. It was going to be a fun week…

~^..^~

Teazer was shivering under the paw of Macavity. Memories were flooding back of nights cowering in fear of him. She remembered that Jerrie always told her to hide behind the bed posts in their room at night. He was always paranoid that the Napoleon of Crime would come back and chide them both in his sick way. Any time they were caught during a thieving job, or failed it, he would punish them. Even now, the ginger tom scared her, especially because he was right behind her. Jerrie was so close, but he wouldn't be able to help her, because he was as incapacitated as she was. The tiger-striped queen heard Macavity chuckle to himself. Perhaps he could sense her fear. But the fact that they were back in the clutches of the Hidden Paw didn't worry her as much as the thought of Zela being back in them as well. She was probably more in danger than they were, but knowing the malicious ways of Macavity, any wrong move from the gold-red queen would cost them their lives. Teazer wondered if it was worth it if Zela could escape.

Suddenly, Macavity came up on a large bolted door. He kicked it open and clutched Rumpleteazer's scruff of neck fur. She yowled, but the ginger tom paid no mind as he threw her into the dark room. Teazer landed on her face, due to the fact that her paws were still tied behind her back. She felt her skin scrape against the concrete surface, feeling her cheek, arms, and stomach pulsing. She moaned in pain. It wasn't too long until a cursing Mungojerrie landed next to her. She opened her eyes to him, and he had merely flipped over on his back and jumped up to his feet. The tiger-tabby tom was still throwing out curse words at their former boss, but the ginger tom simply walked in the room and slightly smirked. He raised his paw and threw a forceful ball of energy at Jerrie, which tossed him hard on the back wall, which silenced him.

Macavity cackled cruelly, "How fun it will be, having you all back. It's a shame it has to be this way between us three though. But no worries, I just need two of you for a short time; before you know it; there'll be elbow room for one of you." The ginger tom smirked, and took the door handle as he left; slamming it behind him. They heard it being locked as they sat in darkness. Teazer felt her eyes brimming with tears as she scooted near her mate.

"Jerrie?" she called blankly, feel the sobs beginning to choke her throat.

She heard her mate sigh as he nuzzled close to her. The queen flipped on her back so she could feel his chest. "Hey now, Teaze, don't cry." He soothed quietly.

"Oi'm sorry…" she whispered, "I just don' know what else ta do…"

Jerrie sighed again, "Well, we ain't gonna show no weakness in fronta Mac, that's fo' sure."

"But whatta 'bout Zela?" she asked quietly, still trying to hold back her tears.

He shrugged, "I dunno… All we can do is 'ope she knows what ta do… Oi sure as 'ell don't."

She blinked up at his dark face, "An' the troibe?"

He shrugged again, "I dunno." He mumbled, "Teaze… there's no way outta here, Oi don't think…If I can remember everythin' about the Ware'ouse. Oi think we're stuck fo' now."

Rumpleteazer suddenly didn't have a reply to give him. Nothing he said was really comforting and all she could do was cry on his shoulder and pray the tribe would realize what happened, and be able to find them and help elude Macavity. That was the hope now. Until then, the tiger-tabby queen was remembering what the Hidden Paw had said about needing only one of them in a short time. She didn't want Jerrie hurt, or herself. The only question left in her mind was what was going to happen to them…

~^..^~

It was a boring night for Marcetheus, as usual. He was still a little hung up on his boss killing young Jellicle kittens, but he was trying to get over it. After all, the Jellicles forced him out of their tribe. They were wreaking havoc on the city. They deserved to suffer, even their youngest of kits. The tortoiseshell tom sighed, still trying to gain a positive opinion on Macavity's operations, and wondered when he would be a part of them. He wanted a way to prove himself to his boss.

Marceth was quickly nodding off while he sat under torchlight of the cells. The fire was just enough to light the dark catacomb. It wasn't until after Marceth was stationed in the cells for so long that he noticed they were very well sculpted in shape and would hold up the whole foundation of the Warehouse well. The tortoiseshell tom grinned to himself as he stared into the dimly lit cell that sat directly across from him. The light slightly shined off the dull, black, steel bars. He couldn't help but notice the cobwebs filling the bottom in between spaces. Grimacing, Marceth was silently praying to Heavyside that he would be given some excitement, or at least something to do in Macavity's prisons. He shook his head as he did that, slightly closing his eyes.

But abruptly, he was brought out of his practically sleeping stance when a disheveled knocking on the cell doors vibrated onto the bottom of his seat. Marceth stood up quickly and rushed to the small sliding window on the top of the wooden door. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the dark red eyes of a senior torturer. "What is it?" he asked, faking gruffness in his voice.

"Delivering a prisoner." He answered blandly, "The boss said to give ya this." he slipped a small piece of paper through the window. It softly floated to the floor, and Marceth quietly picked up, not bothering to read it yet. This must have been the prisoner that Macavity was talking about; the important one that he wanted him to watch. The dark tortoiseshell couldn't help but grin as he unlatched the door and swiftly opened it.

The old but still fairly large henchcat strode in, aggressively grasping the shoulders of a young female. Marceth blinked at her, slightly stiff where he stood. He was confused. Macavity had said this was a very important prisoner, and the tortoiseshell tom thought that meant that he would be large and dangerous. This was a little queen who looked harmless. Marcetheus shook his head as he glanced down at the note in his hand. The older henchcat was busy opening the cell next to them and pushing the queen inside. While he did this, the tortoiseshell skimmed through the note:

-Guards tom, this queen is more treacherous than she looks. Don't talk to her, listen to anything she says, or acknowledge her. Be sure to guard her carefully and not fall for her tricks. Good luck –M

Marceth read over the short note and began wondering if his boss was taking him seriously. Had he even remembered his only guarding tom's name? Marceth looked behind the bars at the queen who was just standing there, and looking around with her back turned to the two toms. She didn't look like much at all. Why did Macavity make such a big deal about her in the note? The henchcat turned around, "He says this queen's a special piece a baggage and needs 'er in perfect condition."

Marceth looked up to him and nodded once, "Alright. I'll take care of it." He said, not really paying attention. He was still trying to make sense of this in his head.

"Alright. Good. Ifya need anythin', the guards are just upstairs." The henchcat quickly left the cells, closing the doors behind him. Marceth morbidly locked it behind him and sat back in his seat, secretly scowling to himself.

Macavity wasn't taking him seriously. Maybe the ginger tom just wanted to keep him busy with a pointless job. This queen didn't even look capable of evading the cells. What was so important about her? Marceth frowned as he observed the gold-red queen locked behind the bars. She looked almost as confused and sulky as he was. She was mostly black on her body, with bright red striped scraped around her body. He could make out that she had a white chest, and her face and head fur was gold. She had some red flicks over her head, and was white on all four paws. Admittedly, she wasn't bad looking, excluding the dirt on her fur and scar spots on her arms and legs where hair hadn't grown on yet. He was wondering about her and what Macavity wanted with her.

Suddenly, the gold-red queen flashed a glare at him. He noticed the hostility in her violet eyes. There were some thin gold lines swirling around in her irises, which made him a little more surprised. Marcetheus was thinking about returning her glare, simply to look intimidating, but all he could muster was to frown and look away. Marceth bit his lip as he sat back down. He crumpled up the note given to him by the Hidden Paw. He liked his boss less after idolizing him for years, now the only thing he had was a seemingly harmless queen to watch. Marceth watched her quietly as she curled up in the corner of her cell with her forehead pressed against her knees…

~^..^~

A dark night was filling the Junkyard, and not even the florescent lights shining down could even help Demeter calm her nerves. Her mind was filled with questions. She wondered when or if Zelaphelia and the thieving duo would be coming back; or if they would find what Munk needed. Actually, she was very angry at Munkustrap, and was wondering what was passing between his thick skull. The gold queen growled quietly as she paced around Bombalurina's den nervously. Her sister was the only one who could really make her feel better at the moment.

"Out of every tom I've ever met, I thought he was the one who had brains!" Demeter was fuming and raving about her frustration to Bomba, trying to understand her own anger directed towards her mate.

The scarlet queen sighed from inside a dryer. She was flipping through a human magazine, and barely looked like she was barely listening, "I'm sure he's the only one with brains around here. He just didn't use them in this situation."

"And he's putting my daughter's life on the line!" she growled back agreeably, "Someday, he has to realize that Zela's my daughter, not his. He can't put her welfare in his paws!"

Bomba looked up from the magazine that she probably couldn't even read anyway. She was only looking at the ads and pictures, "You know, Deme," she said quietly, "Didn't you always want Munkustrap to be her father anyway? I mean, he's her step-father and everything, but why don't you treat him more like the father to her?"

Demeter took a moment to think about the question, "Because… we all know that's not the truth… No matter how much I don't want it to be true, Zela is half-Macavity. Even if Munk treats Zela like one of our daughters, he will never truly be her dad."

"Well…" Bomba murmured as she flipped the pages and propped her feet up on the ledge of the dryer, "I'm sure Zela views him as a father more than she does her real father."

Demeter closed her eyes tightly and exhaled a deep breath, "I know. But he's doing a horrible job of being a father to any of his kits. Do you think he's getting too deeply in his job?" The gold queen looked back at her sister with a curious eyebrow raised.

Bomba shrugged, "Do you think he is?"

She paused a moment to think about it, "No…" she mumbled, "At least I don't want to think he is…" The gold queen glared once at the ground before sitting next to the dryer machine. "But I can't even look at him until my daughter gets back…"

Bombalurina nodded, "Okay then Deme… but maybe later you can get off your silly high horse and work these things out with Munkustrap instead of complaining them to me?"

Demeter cleared her throat and shook her head, "I know… later… at least in the morning… when Zela gets back…"

Bomba sighed, "Alright then…" she said boringly.

Demeter shook her head again, slightly leaning against the dryer as she wondered how her daughter was. She was trying to think positively, and think that her daughter was going to be just fine. But she couldn't be sure anymore. This was Macavity… Something was going to happen, whether Zela returned safely or not…

~^..^~