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The alley was completely silent. Except for an occasional car, no sounds were heard. Suddenly, a small black cat with a white chest and face crawled slowly into the alley. Then, standing up, he looked around. Sighing heavily, he noticed a white cat creeping towards him. He smiled when she reached him.
"Why hello, Victoria. Look. It's time again." He said to her.
"Yes. But where is Munkustrap? He is usually the first one here."
"I'll tell you when we are all here. But for now, be patient. I have quite a story."
"Oh, really?" came a voice from the shadows. Looking into the darkness, they noticed another cat. It was Rum Tum Tugger.
"The great Mistoffelees has a story?" he continued, walking out. "Oh, I can't wait."
"Yeah, I missed you to, Tugger." The black and white cat said to him. "How have you been?"
"Oh, it was a normal year. Nothing really happened."
"Where is Munkustrap?" two voices said together. More cats were arriving.
"I'll tell you all. Soon enough." He sighed again. "Soon enough."
Cats started coming from all directions, all asking the same questions. Where is Munkustrap? Mistoffelees must know. And they were right, for he indeed knew what had happened to the protector over the year. He knew, but he wasn't happy.
"Ok. I will tell you what happened to Munkustrap. I will show you."
Mistoffelees waved one hand over the other. A small ball appeared in his hand. All the cats peered into the ball.
A little movie started playing on the ball. It showed a grey tabby cat crawling through the street. It was Munkustrap. Suddenly, another cat, one with red-stripes, jumped from the balcony of an apartment and landed on Munkustrap's back. It was Macavity, the demon!
"Hhhhiiiissss!" a long wail came up from the two fighting cats. Suddenly a loud meow was heard, and Macavity stood up, triumphantly. Munkustrap lay on the street. He looked dead. Suddenly a flash of white on black! A black and white cat had sprung from a corner, and was now fighting Macavity! The cats gasped. The new cat was Mistoffelees!
They fought for a moment before the black and white kitten was thrown onto the ground next to Munkustrap. As Macavity stood over them, laughing in victory, Mistoffelees got his magic to work. Putting one hand on Munkustrap, he waved the other over his head, and they both vanished!
Across the town, Mistoffelees stood over Munkustrap, as he tried to stand up. Failing, he looked at Mistoffelees.
"Mistoffelees, you must be the protector. Guard all the cats smaller than you, and never let them think you are afraid. I know you are still a kitten, but try your hardest. You have magic to help you."
"Munkustrap?
The movie ended. All the cats were close to tears by then, seeing their guardian die. Mistoffelees closed his hand, and the ball disappeared.
"I must avenge Munkustrap!" He said, angrily. "I will, if it's the last thing I do!"
"But how?" his older brother, Alonzo said. "You are too little. Let a grown cat do it for you. If you go against Macavity, he will surely kill you."
"Alonzo, I know I could. But they weren't there. They didn't watch that demon kill him. I was there. And I must do it."
"Mistoffelees, no!" the white cat cried. "You'll get yourself killed!"
"Maybe. But maybe I can beat him. Maybe I can?
He didn't get to finish the thought, because right then a horrible laughter filled the alley.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
"Macavity!" a cat named Demeter yelled. All the cats scattered, all except for Mistoffelees and Alonzo, who stayed in the alley.
"Leave, Mistoffelees." Alonzo demanded. "You're too young to fight him."
"No, I must stay. Munkustrap told me to guard the kittens. I must do my job."
"Alright. I'll leave." Mistoffelees' black and white brother started to leave the alley. But, before he could get anywhere, a black cat jumped in his way. One of Macavity's henchmen! Throwing a heavy net over Alonzo, the black and white cat fell to the ground.
"Mistoffelees!" he yelled.
"Alonzo!" he started to run to his brother. But another black cat jumped in his way, throwing a net over his head. But before he could carry him away, Mistoffelees used his powers to free himself. Seeing his brother being carried away, he screamed,
"No! Macavity! Leave my brother alone! He doesn't have the powers! Only I do! Leave him alone!" But he was too late. Macavity had kidnapped Alonzo.
ˇ@
Mistoffelees crouched in a corner, head in hands, thinking. The other cats stood out in the alley, kittens crying, mothers trying to comfort them. Victoria the white cat walked up to him.
"What's wrong?"
"I fear that? he stuttered. "That I am not doing my job well."
"Why?"
"I don't know the story, I let Macavity capture my brother, and Old Deuteronomy hasn't appeared yet. He's usually here by now."
"How many of the Jellicle Balls have you been to?"
"Counting this one?"
"Yes."
"Three." He laughed. "I was to young to know what was going on the first time, the second one, I actually got my magic to work right, and this is the third. I know I'm not a kitten anymore, but I'm not old enough to be a cat. I guess I'm just in that middle-stage. I still don't have a strong hold on these powers."
"I think you're a great improvement from last year. Besides, the way you work your magic isn't what they think about. Everyone's counting on you. You have to find Macavity for two reasons now; one, to find your brother. Two, to avenge Munkustrap."
"I know. But how? he interrupted himself. "Who's that?"
"Who?"
"That." He pointed over to the alley. A ragged cat had emerged from the shadows. The other cats hadn't seen her yet, but Mistoffelees spotted her. Jumping to his feet, he pulled Victoria behind him as he walked cautiously towards the new cat. The cat saw him. Walking out of the shadows, she started towards him. Pushing Victoria behind him, he stepped back. The other cats had seen her now. They were watching Mistoffelees as he guarded Victoria from the new cat.
"Who are you?" he asked her.
"Last year," she responded. "My mother came to this very alley, on this very day, and never returned. I know this is the Jellicle ball, and I know you are celebrating something, though I don't know what. But I have come, because I know one of you is responsible for her. So I, Luliha, daughter of the glamour cat, Grizabella, have come to seek revenge!"
Cries of astonishment went up around the alley. Grizabella, the glamour cat! She was the one whom Old Deuteronomy had chosen to be reborn at the last ball!
"The glamour cat has been sent to the Heaviside Layer to be reborn." Mistoffelees told her.
"Wait a minute. I've seen you before." She looked hard at Mistoffelees. "You are the conjurer, Mistoffelees!" her eyes narrowed. "Was it you? Did you cast some spell on her? If you did, I'll skin you alive!"
"No! Mistoffelees!" the cats cried. They tried to rush up to him, but he wouldn't let them.
"I did nothing to her!" he answered. "I have not the power to command the Layer. Only our leader can."
"Well take me to him. Let me confront the Jellicle leader!"
"He isn't here, though he is coming. You may stay until he gets here."
"No. I will come back." She turned and started to walk away but stopped. "But hear me out!" she yelled to him. "If my mother does not come back, I will make your end personal. Very personal."
ˇ@
ˇ@
"Tell us a story!" some kittens called up to Mistoffelees, who was sitting up on the hood of a car.
"Ok." He said back, trying to smile. Sliding off of the car, he said,
"I know of a couple stories." Thinking a moment, his eyes brightened and he smiled at them.
"Ah, yes, the story of Mendocino, the ginger cat. You should like this one. This story has been a secret between my brother Alonzo and I for years, but I don't think he'll be too upset if I tell it.
"Mendocino has lived for nearly as long as Old Deuteronomy. He was a daring kitten, he didn't want to grow up. He had the same powers that I have, and he used them in terrible ways. He would capture young kittens and hold them in cages, just for a laugh. He got to be worse than Mungojerrie and Rumpelteaser. But nobody knows him by the name 'Mendocino'. He is known by another name. A name will chill your blood.
"Mendocino is my father. That is how I got the powers. His new name?Macavity!"
"Macavity!" the cats cried. "No! Mistoffelees can't be the son of Macavity!"
"It is true!" he told them, tears coming to his eyes. "I should have told you earlier. But I am not the son of Macavity. I am the son of Mendocino, before he became the demon."
Suddenly a cat named Pouncival ran up to Mistoffelees and whispered something in his ear. Mistoffelees' eyes got wide, and he whispered,
"Old Deuteronomy." He looked up and smiled, his eyes sparkling mischievously. The cats looked over at what he was looking at.
An old cat was slowly walking into the alley. It was Old Deuteronomy! The Jellicle leader! Surely he would know what to do!
"Hello!" he cried as the other cats ran up to him. Looking up at Mistoffelees, he was confused, but didn't show it. Pulling away from the other cats, Old Deuteronomy walked up to the conjurer.
"Where is Munkustrap?" he asked him.
"Munkustrap was killed by Macavity. By my father."
"You must avenge him!" he ordered. "Do you know what this means?"
"I have to kill my father. There's another thing. Macavity has been here tonight. He took Alonzo, my brother. I must find him."
"Yes."
"And one more thing."
"What?"
"Her." Mistoffelees pointed behind Old Deuteronomy. He turned to see Luliha coming out of the shadows.
"Are you the Jellicle leader? Old Deuteronomy?" she asked. "This conjurer told me to speak with you."
"I am Old Deuteronomy. What is it you want?"
"I am Luliha, daughter of Grizabella, the glamour cat. Last year she came here, and never came back. Now I must know: what happened to her?"
"You mother was chosen last year to be reborn. She was sent to the Heaviside Layer. She was chosen because I felt she needed and wanted it most."
"I was taught by her not to trust any of you preppy Jellicles. How do I know you are telling the truth?"
"I can show you!" Mistoffelees offered.
"I don't need any of your magic to know the truth." She said, turning on him. "My mother would never do anything like that." Walking up close to Mistoffelees' face, she said in a voice of ice,
"You did cast a spell on her. I can sense it. You little liar!" with that, she pushed him hard. Falling on the ground, Mistoffelees waved one hand at her. She froze in her position.
"Stop!" he commanded. "You are becoming irrational!"
"Let me go!" she demanded angrily.
"I will take back the spell." He reassured her, still lying on the ground. "But you must leave."
"Fine!" she yelled. He waved his hand again and she fell to the ground. Crawling away at a startling rate, she turned at a safe distance away.
"You magical feen! You're no better than Macavity! I'll come back for you." She ran off, leaving him lying on the ground.
ˇ@
Old Deuteronomy and Mistoffelees were sitting above all the others, talking. Suddenly, Mungojerrie and Rumpelteaser, two little troublemakers, ran before them.
"I have news!" Mungojerrie told Old Deuteronomy.
"We have news." Rumpelteaser corrected him.
"Ok, we have news." He said to her.
"Well?" Old Deuteronomy asked.
"Macavity said to tell you that he wishes to meet with you." Mungojerrie told him. "He wants to bargain with you."
"What for?"
"He said that he will trade Alonzo for Mistoffelees." Rumpelteaser said. "A prisoner exchange."
"No, you can't do it!" Victoria the white cat cried. "Mistoffelees, no!"
"He gave you his word that he would return my brother?" he asked them.
"Yes." Mungojerrie said. "He says that you are much more valuable."
"Because Alonzo has no powers." Rumpelteaser added.
"Yes."
Old Deuteronomy looked at Mistoffelees. "You don't have to." He told him.
"If it means having my brother free," he said to them with a sigh. "Then tell Macavity to meet me here."
"No!" the cats cried. "Mistoffelees!"
"It's my own choice." He told them. "I will be his prisoner."
"Yes, oh magical one!" Rumpelteaser said as the two cats ran off.
"Oh, Mistoffelees." Victoria cried.
"It's alright Victoria. It's alright."
ˇ@
ˇ@
Looking around, Victoria walked up to a cat named Tumblebrutus.
"Where is he?" she asked him.
"In the car." Tumblebrutus responded. Victoria walked up to the car. Opening the trunk, she saw Mistoffelees lying inside. Laughing slightly, she looked at him.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Thinking."
"What about?"
"Well, it's like," he started, rolling over to lie on his back. "It's like I can leave Alonzo with Macavity and have my brother turn up dead, or I can fight Macavity and kill my father, or I can surrender to him and get myself killed. Whatever I decide, someone's getting killed. I don't think I want to make this decision. All I want to do is grow up, learn my magic, and live a normal life. How was I to know I would end up having to make life-death decisions?"
"I guess you didn't." she said, sitting on the edge of the car. "But you don't realize that most everyone wants the powers you have. They don't know how much trouble you have with them."
"Victoria, you must promise me something." He said, suddenly serious. "When Macavity comes and I go with him, you must take care of my brother for me. He is the oldest of us two, but he acts like he's still a kitten, even though I'm the only one of the litter that's still a kitten. Do you know how hard it is to be the runt of the litter?"
"No, but I can imagine. Of me and my sister, I'm the young one, although I'm not a runt."
"I was picked on terribly by my two older brothers. Especially when they found out about my magic. They didn't know about my powers until I got older. I didn't want them to know. I guess I was a little embarrassed about being different."
"I've only met one of your brothers. Who is the other one?"
"Well there's Alonzo, who's the oldest. Then Barvormont, the happy medium. And then there's me, Mistoffelees, the runt. I wasn't even expected to survive." He suddenly laughed, like the whole thing was a big joke.
"I've wondered ever sense you told us that your father was?well, you know. Who do you and Alonzo get your black and white from? Macavity's got red stripes, while you have a black body with a white face an chest, and Alonzo has the black and white in splotches."
"Our mother had white spreading down her shoulders. The rest of her was black. Alonzo and I both look like her, but Barvormont looks like Macavity. Barvormont would tease me, call me a dame, because I looked so much like her."
"Why haven't I met your mother or Barvormont?" Victoria asked.
"When I was young, to young to walk, that's when Macavity turned demon. One day, he got mad at me. He tried to kill me. My mother tried to stop him. He? Mistoffelees' voice stuttered as he tried not to cry.
"He killed my mother. Barvormont was on his side. They went after Alonzo and me, Alonzo carrying me. Macavity vowed to find me when I grew up, because I alone shared his powers. Alonzo took me to the safest place he could think of. He took me to Old Deuteronomy. He raised us. When Macavity captured Old Deuteronomy during the last ball and Rum Tum Tugger got me to use my magic to bring him back, Macavity was watching. He took Old Deuteronomy because he wanted to see me use my magic. When I used it to bring Old Deuteronomy back, I knew he was satisfied. He knows I have his powers. And he wants me now. He will do anything to get me, even kill me. He can't stand knowing that there is a cat out there who is as powerful as him."
"I didn't know?
"I know." He interrupted. "No one except me, Alonzo and Macavity know. And now you. We never told anyone because we were ashamed of Macavity. Ashamed of Barvormont. Ashamed of my powers. We wanted to keep it a secret. But you see how well the runt keeps secrets."
"Do you think Barvormont will be here tonight?'
"He's been here every night. I can sense it. He sits up there and watches me. Watches Alonzo. Just waiting for enough evidence of my magic. When I didn't give them that, they made it so I had to use it. Now they will get me, because they have proof that I have the powers."
"He's coming to get you."
"Yes. And I can't do anything about it."
"Hey," Rum Tum Tugger said from a corner where he had apparently been the whole time. "You want to speed up the process of revenge?"
"What are you talking about, Tugger?" Mistoffelees groaned, crawling out of the car.
"Hey, I was just saying, if you want to get tonight over with and done, I know of someone you can call."
"Who?"
"Magilla: The Detective. She is the perfect one for solving mysteries. She could find Macavity for you. She's a tough one to find herself, but I know how to call her."
"Would you?" He asked, not quite believing him.
"Of course! Just let me contact her." Walking out into the middle of the alley, he said in a loud voice -
"Magilla! Magilla! Where are you?"
"Who is this?" a voice said that seemed to come from everywhere at once.
"Hello Magilla." He said, smiling. "Don't you remember me? I am the Rum Tum Tugger!"
"Ah, yes. I remember you. I'll be right there." A black cat with a white skunk stripe down her front appeared from a corner. Walking up to Tugger, they rubbed faces.
"Hello, I have missed you." She said.
"And I you." He said back. Then, motioning to Mistoffelees, he said, "Magilla I'd like you to meet Mistoffelees, the conjurer. Mistoffelees, meet Magilla."
"Hello." He said to her as she walked up to him, looking him over.
"A conjurer, huh?" she remarked. "Got any powers?"
"Yeah, a few." He admitted.
"Show me."
"Ok." He took a step back from her.
"You see, it's all in the way you look at things." He said. "I can be here." Then, he disappeared!
"But maybe I'm here." Came a voice behind her. Turning around, she saw him standing behind her.
"Continue." She said, fascinated.
"I'm black with a white chest. But? he said, waving his hand over his head. In a flash, his colors changed. "…maybe I'm white with a black chest. You see it's all in the way? he disappeared and reappeared back where he was originally with his real colors. "…you look at things." He finished. Bowing slightly, he laughed.
"Well, I'm impressed." She remarked. "So, what do you need?"
"I need you to find Macavity. We have a score to settle."
"Alright, sounds easy enough." She started to concentrate, but then she looked back at him.
"I need a sample."
"Huh?" he asked.
"You know, a piece of fur, a footprint. A sample."
"We don't have anything of his."
"Then I'm wasting my time." She said, starting to walk away. Victoria thought for a moment, then yelled after her.
"Wait! Can you do it from DNA?"
"Sure." Magilla said, turning back around. "What, do you have a DNA sample?"
"No, but we have his son."
Mistoffelees took a second to catch on. Then, stepping back, he shook his head.
"I don't think so." He said in a shaky voice. "You want to get a sample from me? No way! I hate needles."
"It won't hurt." Magilla reassured him. "All I have to do is touch you." She stuck out her hand. "With your permission."
"Um?sure." He said, putting his hand in hers. She held it for a moment, then let go.
"Ok, that should be enough." She closed her eyes and concentrated. "Macavity is very easy to find at the moment. In fact, I don't think you really needed me." Opening her eyes, she looked at Mistoffelees.
"Macavity is right behind you."
Go to chapter 4 and 5
ˇ@