(Book 2 in the CATS series)

One day, after practicing dance with the other Jellicles for the Jellicle Ball that was coming in three weeks, Tigor and his younger cousin, Demalurina, went on a hike together. Even though they had been born and lived in the Junkyard for all of their lives—almost three years for Tigor and just above two years for Demalurina—they still found new and exciting things to explore in everyday, and new games to play or hide themselves in the new places that they would discover. The tiger-looking tom and his multi-coloured cousin were the best of friends that enjoyed talking and playing together very much. True, they had other friends, but sometimes it was nice to get out with a family member that you enjoyed being with.

Tigor, who had been named for his tiger-like appearance of an orange pelt of fur wrapped around a semi-muscular body, was eighteen Cat-years old, and still acted like a kitten whenever he wanted to. The orange fur was strewn about with black stripes that ran around his body in a dizzying array of patterns that no one seemed to be able to make out. That was probably one of the many reasons he was entitled ‘the weirdest of Cats’. His long tail twitched this way and that in anticipation almost all of the time, ready for something to happen—good or bad, it did not matter, as long as something happened to break any boredom that might be threatening him. The forepaws on front and back were covered in a shaggy brown and gray fur that hid his muscled forearms and strong legs that he used for jumping and protection in a battle. His paws, ear-tips, and tail-tip were covered in black fur. The only white on his entire body was on his belly and over his muzzle. His green eyes sparkled with mischief and something that always seemed to say, “I know something you don’t know”, without giving it away. This lead to the mischievous life that he lead with his friends, playing harmless pranks or joking around with other Jellicles or others invited into the Junkyard. Nimbly, he dodged Demalurina in a game they had made up, called Tag, You’re A Pollicle.

His fourteen-year-old cousin, like himself, had a white belly, but she was much more colourful than he, as most of the Jellicle queens were. It was probably in part due to the fact that her mother was one of the prettiest queens in the Junkyard, but also due to her colourful father that was never around. Not much smaller than Tigor—she came up to his shoulders when they stood beside each other—her lithe shape let you know from the beginning that she was female, even from afar! Black spots and stripes, ran in a dizzying array of patterns over her red coat of fur from front to back, head to tail. Yellow lightening bolts slashed over her leg fur in patches so thick in places, it was hard to decide if she was red with yellow stripes or yellow with red stripes. A yellow stripe of fur ran down her chest from her right shoulder to her left side at the waist, and back up to the right shoulder again. Thick patches of fur on her shoulders bore all four of her colours. One of her forepaws was red, yellow and white, while the other was black and white. Both her hind feet and ankle fur were black. Her head fur was much like her mother’s, with black and white dashing through the red, but it also had a dash of yellow stripes down the sides of her face and over her eyes. A high forehead and slightly sunken eyes were gifts—and a curse—from her father, letting all who had ever seen even a glimpse of Macavity know that this was the offspring of the Napoleon of Crime. Few wanted to believe that, and so proclaimed Plato as her actual father. Plato had adopted Demalurina when he had been mated with Bombalurina, after helping in her rescue from Macavity’s lair.

Playing around in their own special games together, they unknowingly had crossed the forbidden boundary of No Cat’s Land between the land of the Jellicles and where it was wild pickings for any Cat brave enough to claim territory. Most of the area on this side of the boundary was controlled by Macavity, and anyone else that he let control under him. The others might like to think that they were in control, but they were actually puppet governments that always worked under Macavity, whether they wanted to or not. At first, there was no significant difference in the landscape, and really there is not any at all. It is not until you begin to meet members of Macavity’s Strays, that you realize that you have stumbled upon his lands and his lair. For most Cats—and even a few Pollicles if the Strays think they can handle it—by then, it is far beyond too late.

Demalurina and Tigor continued to ignore the fact that they were on the wrong side of safety, until they noticed beady glowing eyes appearing in the trash around them and surfacing to reveal themselves as members of the Rat Pack belonging to Macavity. More and more Rats began showing up from all sides to view the intruders. The two kittens had stopped short when they realized their mistake. Turning around, they found themselves surrounded on all sides by the Rat Pack. Then to their horror, the infamous leader of the awful gang surrounding them appeared. Seeming to suddenly appear out of nowhere, Macavity walked over and stood on the outside of the guarding ring until two Rats noticed him and moved around to create an open space for him to pass through, all the while keeping a wary eye on the skittish kittens.

“Welcome,” he laughed quite loudly, “daughter and nephew.” The infamous tom scowled evilly at the two trespassers. Long, shaggy red fur was run amuck with a zigzagging pattern of black stripes that resembled lightening bolts, covering him from head to foot. Large claws, sharp and black, never seemed to retract into his large greedy black paws. The only other colour on him was a large break of white fur that ran from his neck to the area between his legs. Black striping on a never pleasant face gave the appearance of a character on an ancient Indian totem pole. When he grinned, razor-sharp fangs glinted in the sun along with the rest of his very sharp teeth. His evil yellow eyes told them that they would be wishing they had never been born once he was through with them.

Tigor, though scared as he was, scowled at his red-and-black uncle. “Please let us go,” he said with forced bravery. Surprisingly, his voice held steady and hard while his insides churned with fear and hate of the nemesis standing a few feet ahead of him and Demalurina. Graciously, the sweat pouring from his brow did not show through his fur, so he could hide his fear better from those around him.

“I think not. It is high time for a bit of a reunion. No matter how…small,” he stated with a grin at the young kittens. “You will come with me.” They made no advancement forward, or in any direction for that matter. “By force or by will does not matter, but you will come.” The two then began to back away in fear, looking around for any sign of escape, any holes in the ring around them, but were suddenly caught up in a tangle as a heavy rope net was thrown over them to prevent their escape. The more they thrashed around, the more the kittens tangled themselves up in the net, but in fear, they tried in vain to break free not knowing that they were making it worse on themselves this way. Meowing and clawing at their binding, they were dragged to the heart of the lair as Rats poked and jumped away, taunting and teasing them at being so easily captured by a bunch of rats. What an insult for a Cat—kittens or no—to be captured with no escape by a bunch of Rats.

Making their way to a large, abandoned building, they moved down a twisting and winding corridor that seemed to never end. There, Macavity had them pride from the net (where a couple Rats were scratched by the kitten’s claws), and thrown in a cell to be locked there until his next move with them. After a few more taunts from the Rats and a few Strays that had decided to come and see what all of the commotion was about and add their own taunts, the corridor was empty. Then the two kittens were left all alone.

“I'm scared,” Dema said in a small voice, almost a whisper. She sat on the stone outcropping that, Tigor guessed, was supposed to be a bed, and shivered in fear.

“So am I, but we’ve gotta keep calm,” he said, trying to reassure her as he moved over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders for protection and warmth. “There’s no telling what your…father…will do with—or to—us.” He regretted the last statement when Dema looked to him with white eyes the size of dinner saucers, on the verge of tears. She lunged her head into his shoulder, and the tears gushed forth. Tigor patted her on the back in comfort, trying to figure out how they were supposed to get out.

Stupid! he cursed at himself. Why couldn’t you have seen that you were in Macavity’s territory? You know better than to cross that line; dad’s told you a thousand times and grandfather’s told you even more…every day!…to be careful where you go when you leave the Junkyard. Why couldn’t you have been more careful? If it was only you, it might be easier to escape, but now you’ve got to take care of Dema too. She’s scared. This isn’t like her! No, there’s something she hasn’t told me that she knows, and that’s what’s got her scared.

He sat there, holding his cousin as convulsions took over when tears would not come anymore. The little bit of light that had been in the small room to show them what a barren waste their prison was like was beginning to fade. Soon, night came, and brought with it sleepiness for the kittens. Even though their fear held them strong, they could not help but yawn and stretch, and sleep found them quickly. The two curled up on the stone outcropping together for warmth.

Tigor kept himself half-awake in case something might try to come at them in the night. He was sure Macavity would let them wait out the night in fear, but of his followers, Tigor was not so sure. Having heard stories of Jellicles that had gone out and never returned, or returned in pieces from a run-in with one of Macavity’s Strays, he was not so sure that they would leave two seemingly defenseless—and even Tigor could not figure out why they were not completely defenseless—alone when they would be such easy targets. The only explanation that he could come up with was that Macavity had ordered that there be no harm to them, so that he could have them all to himself should he so desire to the next day. Even the most evil of Cats needed sleep sometime. It was unfortunate for the two captives, though, that they needed to get sleep at the same time that he did.

***

Morning came, and a little light seeped in through the slits in the tiny grating at the top of the cell. Yawning, Dema stretched out for the warmth that the sunlight was beginning to bathe her in, and sighed in pleasure. Her sleep had been so haunted and the ground felt so cold. It was no wonder she had kept having nightmares that she and Tigor had been captured by her evil father. The thought of that sent shivers up and down her spine. Dema had disappeared for a while and worked for Macavity under the guise of a black Stray (she had been covered in black dye to hide her fur) named Kiahna to be with her friend, Starrla, and try to overthrow Serelity, someone who claimed to be his sister, to free the Strays from her death grip. Only a few other Jellicles knew about Dema’s little adventure (most only remembered that she had disappeared for a while), and even fewer seemed to remember that it had happened. Oh the blood and gore that she had seen, and had lost two mates because of her disappearance! It made Dema sick with fear for returning that Macavity might have something special planned for her if he knew half of what had happened. That was why she was so scared; she hated and feared her father because of what he was and what he had done. Once Serelity had been overthrown, they had thought that everything would be okay, but somehow, Macavity had reappeared after being ‘dead’ for a few years. Bombalurina had killed him, or so they had thought. Actually, she had killed one of his body-doubles by mistake, and he had gone into hiding, waiting for Serelity’s demise after she had stepped up to take his place. It seemed that he feared her more than anything and was grateful to be rid of her. Not grateful enough to forgive Dema of her little escapades, though. Certainly not.

She opened her eyes, expecting to see her mother and father sleeping in a huddle next to her and her siblings, especially Zarquen the youngest, and feel herself lying in her warm feather bed. They lived in a well-furnished pipe that Plato had provided for them when Bombalurina had moved in with him as his mate. Dema had lived there for a while with her parents and baby sister, Pristala, until her many-month’s adventure, and had then returned to her family that had grown since she had left it. When she returned, she found that there was a little brother waiting for her, who seemed untroubled by the fact that she had disappeared before he was born and had returned seemingly from the dead. Oh, how she wanted to see her family and the warm familiar walls of home, when all that greeted her were the cold and gray walls of the prison that had haunted her dreams so often last night.

Jerking herself awake from the shock, she knocked into Tigor who suddenly awoke from his catnap, ready to spring into action. He leapt from the stone cropping they had been sharing and looked around with a glare and teeth showing. A low growl emitted from his throat as he searched the area for any sign of danger. When he saw nothing he turned back to Demalurina with a look of confusion on his face. All mannerisms of offence dissipated from his face when he looked at her. Fear coated her eyes and she just stared at her cousin in wonder.

“I thought it was all a bad dream,” she croaked. “I had hoped so hard that when I woke up, all of this would be gone and I’d be back home with mom and dad and Zarquen and Pristala, and be in my nice feather bed. …You remember my bed. …You’ve seen it before. …A red pillow with yellow yarn fringe all around on it’s edges. Dad—Plato, not Macavity (he’d never get me anything!)—got it for me when I won that singing contest against Jemima after her winning for so many years—boy did that make her mad! Softer than anything else I’ve ever felt before in my life…”

“Dema,” Tigor said.

“…And the house is a big wooden crate with a hard ceiling packed with insulation so tightly that never leaks and is always warm enough to sleep in, even in the coldest of winter nights…”

“Dema,” Tigor tried again.

“…And still it never gets too hot in the summer, but cools off nice enough inside that it feels forty degrees cooler there than even in the shade under grandpa’s favourite elm…”

“DEMALURINA!” Tigor almost shouted. Demalurina stopped talking and turned to him, her eyes coming back into focus. “You’re rambling,” he told her. She looked away in embarrassment, and faced the wall. The tom-kitten could see her shoulders begin to shake as she began to cry once more. He came up and placed a paw on her shoulder for comfort. “C’mon. I wasn’t yelling at you. This is so not like you! You’re the brave one, not me. Right now, you’re scared. I know it. So am I, but don’t let it control you. That’s what Macavity wants us to do. This is one of his ways at destroying a Jellicle. He just doesn’t know how strong we two Jellicles are. He’s got a pretty big mess on his paws right now, if he doesn’t watch out. Remember, we’re the Trouble Couple. Everyone says so, so don’t you forget it.” He gave a small smile to her back, hoping that she would sense his comfort and come back to being herself.

Demalurina turned back around and smiled. She sniffed and wiped a paw across her face to collect any stray tears that tried to mat her fur. “You’re right,” she said. “You’re right. I’m just overreacting a little bit I guess. I’ve just never been here before.”

“Then why are you so scared?” Tigor asked. “We’ve both heard the awful stories from the other Jellicles, and even a couple other friends from tribes that like to drop in for a visit every now an again. They don’t affect me the way they seem to be affecting you. What is really the trouble? You know you can trust me with anything. …Anything, and I’ll still be your friend, as well as your cousin. Nothing you can say or do would get rid of me.”

Dema looked like she had been slapped. She felt sick to her stomach and was afraid that it was going to show very quickly from the queasy feeling inside. Tigor trusted her all right, but what if he knew the truth? That she had disappeared and had worked for Macavity—under Serelity, of course—and had then come back as if nothing had happened. What would he think of her then? No, she had to keep this from him for at least a little while longer. She trusted and loved her cousin, but wanted to keep this to herself, no matter how good she knew he was at keeping secrets and an unbiased mind for his friends and family when they needed it.

“I know my father enough to know that he’s not going to be kind to us, even if we are kin,” she offered. “Even to me, his ‘beloved’ daughter. Remember, he even threw Uncle ‘Tugger out one time and told him never to come back. His own brother that he loved and had looked up to him for so many years as a kitten, and he just told him never to come back or he’d be killed.”

“That was a long time ago,” Tigor stated, seeming to accept her answer. Deep inside, though, he still contemplated about what it might be. “And then there was the time we all thought he was going to be nice and rejoin the Jellicles, but instead he stayed a Stray and went mad. I’ve never figured out why, and if dad or grandpa knew, they haven’t told me yet. No one knows what happened to Gissy or Uncle Ry. …Or Aunt Griddlebone. They just seemed to disappear without a trace like Macavity did when he reappeared out of nowhere. It’s scary what Macavity can make happen if he wants to. But this all happened before we were born. What?”

Tigor had noticed that Dema had stopped listening to him and was staring above him, looking at the ceiling of their hold. He turned his head up and saw a grating that looked big enough for both of them to be able to climb through. “Do you think we can?” Dema asked.

“It’s worth a try,” Tigor stated in an almost whisper. “Everything good’s always worth a try.” They walked until they were directly under the grating and coiled their muscles until they felt like they would snap. Together, they leapt into the air and reached for the grating…which fell out of reach by a good four feet. They tried again, and then Dema decided to jump from their outcropping of a bed. It was not much higher, but any leverage that would be helpful would be gladly received. Unfortunately, even with the extra height given, neither could make the extreme jump that was necessary, and these kittens were two of the best jumpers of all time in the Jellicle Junkyard.

“Then we’ve just gotta find another way out,” Dema choked. “We’ve just gotta. Oh Tigor, I can't help but shake.” She just stood there with fear in her eyes, pleading him for an idea. From the expression on her face, anything would do, as long as it was an idea that they could work on and hopefully be able to use to their advantage. Instead, all he could do was look at her. He had never seen her like this before. She was usually telling him not to be a scaredy-Cat at things he thought might be frightening, and he told her so, trying to build up her courage. She must know something really bad to be left in such a state as this. Something her mother or his mother had told her about Macavity. Or maybe something she had found out on her own. Of which one it could be, he was not sure. It could be a mixture of any of them as well. Tigor was seriously worried for the sanity of his cousin. If her father could do this much to her with just mind games and stories, he feared what Macavity could do to her physically or what she would do if ordered to do something heinous that would make him proud of her and once and for all prove to the other doubting Jellicles that she was Macavity’s offspring and was just as evil as he was.

“There has got to be a better way,” Tigor offered. He could not bear the thoughts of losing her to Macavity. Never in his life had he believed that she could be bad—no matter what others told him—and he had seen her at her worst of tempers before. Not once, though, could he see anything but the normal tantrum a kitten throws at someone when they cannot get their way, no matter how hard they had tried. Instead, he tried to bring her back to her regular self by tossing confidence her way. “There always is a better way when something doesn’t go right the first time. No matter how slim the chances. You tell me when things to me are bad, so now I'll tell you. Yes, it’s bad, but there is a way. We’ve just got to figure it out. There is always a way to get around your fears.”

“It’s hopeless,” Dema grumbled. Other than the word ‘hopeless’ that Tigor did not know to be part of her vocabulary, she seemed to be coming back around to her normal self. Looking back up at the elusive grating, the glared at it as if this were all its fault. “Some jumpers we are. Tied for first against dad, Pouncival, and Tumblebrutus, and even we can’t get up there. I sure wish we had Misto’s powers to be able to float up and out of that.”

“…Or Macavity’s powers,” came a sinister voice from behind them. Both turned around in a snap to find the Napoleon of Crime grinning at them with a smile most unpleasant. In spite of himself, Tigor swallowed hard at the sight of the cinnamon tom. Macavity just grinned at the disturbance he had caused for his two guests. “Are you ready to do what I want?”

The two kittens in all of their discussion had not noticed him standing there until he had spoken up, and the two turned about in shock of seeing him again. They silently wondered just how much of their conversation and attempted escape he had seen or overheard. Dema stood stalk still at the sight of her fearsome father. Sudden hate filled Tigor and a scowl bigger than yesterday's ran along his face. He balled up his paws into fists, ready and wanting to tear at the gloating nemesis and suddenly wanting to give it another reason to be such a crimson colour.

“Calm down, nephew,” he warned. “Tigor isn’t it? Ah, yes, Munkustrap’s son.” He growled at the thought of his younger brother, who had foiled more than one of his plans in the past. It seemed to be forgotten that the same silver tabby that he was loathing right now had also helped him out of a few jams in their short times together, both as kittens and as adults. That was one of the problems with Macavity’s insanity. He seemed to remember only what he wanted to and turned everything else into a lie or completely forgot that it had ever happened in a poof of smoke. The ginger tom shook his head of the menacing memory of his brother, and brought himself back to the present. “Do not try to give me trouble or you and your cousin will be mistreated most horribly.” Dema whined almost too low to be heard and Macavity grinned at her fear. “Do we have a deal?” It was more of an order than a question.

“For now,” was all Tigor said.

“‘For now’? Well, you do have some spunk,” Macavity sneered at his nephew. “That will be all fine and good when I have you help me in my future plans. But for now, you will obey me, and soon you’ll become just like me. But unfortunately for you right now, I will not take any backtalk from a kitten! ¼Especially one of my own family. You will learn very soon, Tigor, that manners are a necessity around me, and exactly why. Whether you want to or not is no longer your choice. You can learn the hard way or the easy way, but you will learn. And that IS an order.”

“I said for now, and that is all you will receive,” Tigor said defiantly. “If you think you can force me to promise you something, you’ve got another thing coming. Tomorrow brings another thought, as does each second that passes by. I will not change my decision until I am fully ready to do so under my own will and decrees. ‘For now’ is what I said, and ‘for now’ is the way it will stay. For now. Take it or leave it.” There was definitely more than a little of Munkustrap in this young tiger-like kitten, and every ounce of bravery was being accounted for against such a fearsome foe.

Macavity thought on this, tapping his finger to his chin. “Hmmm…Very well,” he decreed as if he had thought of it himself. “Good enough…‘for now’.” The last bit was very emphasized. Turning to the two henchrats beside him, he grinned in an almost welcome manner. Almost…if it had not been for the bloodthirsty look that gleamed in his eyes. Macavity wanted trouble. He wanted to make Tigor give him trouble so that he could teach this young upstart a lesson that he would not soon forget, and maybe tear him apart in the process to prove once and for all that he was the best tom in all of Cat-dom!

“Guards, let out my ‘guests’ to enjoy themselves,” he sneered. “They need to get to know their new surroundings. It’s gonna be their home for a very looong time.” He grinned straight at the kittens taking each in turn as he spoke, making sure they understood that he was not a loving uncle and that joking was not what he was doing at this moment. He wanted to make sure that he was not about to give them room for error, much less to breath, and any false move would spell trouble for them. A creek came from the old brass lock as a key was turned, and the gate swung open with a creek that even Macavity, standing so close beside it, cringed at...which was definitely more weakness than he had truly wanted to reveal to his ‘guests’. Macavity always tried to look immortal and infallible to everyone around himself. Maybe part of his insanity was in part because he could not prove himself and his infallibility to himself.

A Rat Pack member was pulling it open as had been ordered, but then Macavity stopped him with a clawed hand pressed on the Rat’s chest. “…On second thought, only one at a time. That way if there was any thought of or attempts to escape, and a successful one at that—impossible as that may be now—I still have some form of compensation. They’ll both get their turns to walk around learn their new home—guarded obviously—but one at a time until I can trust them enough to come out together.” He pointed at his daughter. “Demalurina, you may come first.”

The fiery red kitten-queen made no move towards the door. Fear held her still, and she could do nothing to obey her father, whether she wanted to or not. “Demalurina, NOW!” he roared. When she still would not move, Macavity ordered one of the gang members to go inside and retrieve his daughter. The Rat reached for Dema. Coming to some of her senses of what was going on around her, she suddenly pulled back in fear and disgust, and a low growl began in Tigor's throat in warning. Ignoring the growl, the Rat grabbed her arm tightly and yanked to get her to move—and she had to take a step forward to catch herself—and began to pull her out. Big mistake!

Tigor suddenly sprang up, knocking the Gang member down, and forcing the Rat to lose his grip on Demalurina. A short fight ensued with some tiny claws and two bites finding Tigor’s arms, and then the member was quickly pinned to the ground, rendering it incapable of further harm. He had been no match for a Cat from the beginning, even a kitten. The Rat struggled to get free, but under Tigor’s weight and strength, any thoughts of escape were futile.

“Release him, Tigor, or I will make you suffer!” Macavity roared. He stepped inside of the cage, walking closer and closer in a very menacing manner towards the kittens and his beaten follower. He chopped at each word, making each emphasis louder as he spoke to his nephew.

Tigor looked up with a glare of hatred and defiance at his uncle. “I told you ‘for now’. Now, I changed my mind. And there is nothing you can do to me! I am NOT one of your members you can thrash around whenever you feel.” With that, he smacked the Rat Pack member in the side of the head, and the Rat fell limp. “And you certainly have no authority over me. Only those I give authority can tell me what to do and I’ll obey. But if they prove unworthy of such power, I’ll revoke that from them. You’ve never had that power, so don’t even pretend that you do.”

“To you?!” Macavity laughed. “Do something to you? No, no. Not to you, my boy. I was just going to make you suffer as you watched your cousin being tortured. I believe that she shall get the same that your mother got!” He grinned evilly at Tigor as the tiger-tom cringed at that thought. “From the look on your face, I see she has told you. Well then, I think I will just do that, so you may get a first-hand view. And then more!” His laugh echoed off the walls. Louder and louder it came until it echoed in Tigor's ears.

“You’d do that to your own daughter?” Tigor spat in disgust.

“I would do that to anyone to prove my point,” Macavity sneered icily. “Oh, you should have seen the look on her face and heard her screaming and caterwauling all night long,” Macavity continued, reminiscing about him raping Demeter so many years ago. “Remember it like it was yesterday. Ah, yes. She enjoyed it, I tell you. Enjoyed every minute of it. Don’t let her tell you otherwise. All lies if she does. Both she and Bombalurina enjoyed everything they got when they were with me. It was too bad that they were brainwashed by those fool Jellicles that they left for them and then stayed with them. Oh, and of course the same ones went back for them on the ‘rescue’ missions that were performed for them.”

Tigor closed his eyes, wishing he could close his ears, and trying to stop the terrible memory of what his mother had told him about her terrible encounter with the Mystery Cat. He had wondered what this ‘secret’ had been that she had kept from him all these years and she had warned him that it would not be pretty if she told him. Still, he wanted to know and she had told him…every last gristly detail, so that he would understand and never become anything like Macavity.

The memory of when Macavity had kitnaped Demeter, and raped her when she was a kitten—the same as he had done to Bombalurina more recently just over two years ago—before she was rescued by the now much-elder Jellicles, flooded his mind. The thought, ran rampant and kindled his anger and hatred for his uncle. He looked up at the evil being standing just feet away. The evil creature was actually throwing his head back and laughing at his memories of the deeds, believing that he had actually done something good to these queens he had hurt so terribly. Some favour! He had put both into shock enough that neither would let a tom near them for the longest times until they were loved by Munkustrap and Plato. Both had been shunned by the other Jellicles, some idiots saying that both had gotten what they deserved because they were not true Jellicles (they had been born outside of the Junkyard and brought to the Junkyard later on in life…by Macavity nonetheless!). Others had helped them get through their hard times, and the two best had been Munkustrap for Demeter and Plato for Bombalurina. Without those two, the tortured queens would never have found true love.

He tried hard in vain to vanquish the terrible pictures that were floating through his head: his mother being forced onto the ground as Macavity mauled her tiny body and used it for his own pleasure; his aunt as she cried being under the same pressures and torture; the thought that the same thing might happen to his cousin…NO! He could not let that happen! The past was done! The future could be changed or prevented to protect his cousin! …Then the tom-kitten suddenly saw his opportunity flash on the ginger tom’s body as another memory from a more happy story flourished into his mind.

It was about a Jellicle Ball over three years ago when Macavity had kitnaped Old Deuteronomy and tried to kitnap his mother again. Alonzo and Munkustrap had fought the Mystery Cat and hurt him badly before his escape. Munkustrap had been knocked out cold, but Alonzo had continued to fight, dodging the deadly claws of his enemy. As Macavity had flipped Alonzo over and off his back one final time, Alonzo had torn his left side open with extended claws. Spurned by the bravery of the two toms, the other Jellicles had helped chase Macavity away, daring claws against the ginger tom with hurt pride and hurt body. Even after all of this time, though, the wound had not healed properly, since Macavity liked living on the rougher side of town, and Tigor noted this about his uncle’s side with glee.

Coiling up his hindquarters, Tigor leaped through the air and hit Macavity square in the chest, while slashing at the sore on his left side. They tumbled over in a flurry of fur and claws, laughter from the Mystery Cat turning into screams and Tigor’s growling turning to a roar. Again and again, Tigor wrenched at the wounded side, clawing at it to make it bigger and open up an old sore. He had been told that old sores reopened are more painful—especially if dirtied up with dirt and grime—than first-time sores. The tom-kitten jumped up and away from his enemy as Macavity’s momentum forced himself into a roll that slammed him into the bars of the cell with a loud ping! on the far wall. Leaping back in recoil, Tigor steadied himself and then grabbed Dema by the arm, bringing her back to the present. Then, the two flew through the open gate to escape to freedom. But, then Dema stopped and turned back. Tigor followed her in question, but held his tongue until they were close to the bars.

“We need to get out of here,” he reminded her, impatiently.

“I know,” she sighed. “Just let me do this. No. Wait here,” she said. Going back to the cage, she looked at the mess in the cell. “Goodbye, father. I can't say it's been a pleasant stay here. Goodbye!” With that, she closed the cell gate with a mighty slam, twisted the keys in the big brass lock to lock it, and threw the keys through the air behind her, where they landed on a grating. There, they teetered for a moment, and then fell through the slots, making a splash as they hit the flowing sewage water inside. She turned back and smiled at her cousin who marveled at her newfound bravery. Then, she turned her back to the sight of her father who had nothing but fear and hate in his eyes for the two escapees. Too late for either one of them, the Rat member that Tigor had knocked unconscious was regaining consciousness.

“You'll never get away with this!” he yelled in pain at the escaping twosome. “Guards! Rats! To the cell hold!” he screamed. His voice echoed along the halls, chasing them as they wandered around the dizzying pattern of tunnels that seemed to lead everywhere and nowhere at once, trying to find the exit. Ignoring the haunting voice, they continued their plan of escape, running around corner after corner, trying to find the opening to freedom. Every few feet, though, they had to duck around another corner as a Stray or Rat prowled down the corridor in response to Macavity’s pleas.

The two slunked around in the halls until they finally found an exit. The ground ahead was very barren, but they managed to avoid any more encounters with other strays. Just because Tigor had been able to tear at his uncle did not mean he could tear at and win a battle with a full-strength Stray Guard that was legendary for taking no prisoners and leaving only scraps of their victims behind. Finally, they reached the edge of Macavity’s lands, and, there they saw the familiar No Cat’s Land grounds that they had been drug through yesterday. Creeping in the shadows, as Mistoffelees had taught them—just because they had not been caught yet did not make them home-free; Macavity’s followers had been known to follow their prey into these lands before—they made it back across the invisible border separating Macavity’s lands from the Jellicle Grounds.

A loud sight of relief came from both of them when they crossed. Macavity would not dare to enter here very often, and at this time—for reasons brought on by two very wiley kittens—could not even come close. Tigor grinned at that thought. His heroic cousin and him had stopped the Mystery Cat from another evil plot. The tiger-kitten chuckled at that too. Then he began to laugh harder and harder. Demalurina looked at him, wonderingly.

“We,” he laughed when he noted the strange look on her face, “just stopped a professional criminal from one of his plans. Us! Two kittens stopping a professional! Ha-ha!” He continued to laugh at this, and Demalurina joined him. They both sprawled on the ground laughing at the past experience and the realization that the nightmare was finally over with. A few minutes later, they stopped laughing and were able to regain their composure enough to get up and walk.

“We’ve gotta get back to our parents and the other Jellicles,” Demalurina stated. “They’ll have already made a search party.” And as if on call, her words rang true. Six Jellicles—Munkustrap and Plato, Bombalurina and Demeter, and the Rum Tum Tugger and Mister Quaxo Mistoffelees—were seen running up the hill at the sound of the kittens’ laughter. They looked at each other in mute surprise for an instant, then Dema screamed, “Mommy!” and ran up to Bombalurina. The silence spell had been broken and Tigor ran up to his parents in gratitude of seeing them again.

“Dad! Mom!” he yelled as he reached them and hugged them both. Then the kittens were handed to the rest of the group of Cats, hugging each in turn.

Relief filled each heart there. “Oh we were so worried about you”, “Are you alright?”, “Where were you?”, “You two know better than to run off like that!”, and other questions and comments came from all sides. The two began telling their story at once, but stopped when confusion ran over the adults’ faces. They then took turns at telling them, getting looks of displeasure, to worry and amazement until all were laughing at the thought of these two ruining Macavity’s plot. They all walked back together, arm in arm, laughing all the way. Soon they reached the sight of the Jellicle Ball, where many meetings took place as well as the Ball itself. All of the Jellicles were there to Meet, Old Deuteronomy sitting on his pedestal of a car tire, and the others scattered around in front of him in various places.

Looks of surprise came from all around. Then surprise became relief as grins began spreading like a plague over each face. All ran up as fast as they could to greet the arrival of the lost kittens. Then the two began telling the story again, having to stop and start all over in the excitement as everyone talked at once.

When the story was finished, Deuteronomy said, “Because of your bravery, you both deserve an award.” Looking to the crowd, he said in a very loud voice addressed to the crowd around them, “Does anyone know of a proper gift for the bravery of these two kittens? What for Demalurina?”

Mistoffelees quickly stepped forward. “Since she has a knack for being snuck upon by the toms,” he looked at her and grinned; Dema blushed, “I think what she needs is a magical collar that will enhance her sixth sense. This way, she’ll know when someone is trying to sneak up behind her, and who it is.” Groans came from the tom-kittens at this news, and laughs right after from the rest.

“Do you agree to your reward?” Deuteronomy asked. He knew that there was something else to this ‘magic collar’ idea of Mistoffelees’, but he also knew that he would be completely informed later on when the two would meet alone.

“I accept!” Dema shot up with a squeal. She stepped down to Mistoffelees to go with him and make it, but instead, he pulled a long shiny object out from…the air! Again, he marveled the Cats at his magical abilities. The object in his paw sparkled in the sunlight.

“Here you go, Demalurina. Just for you.” He handed it to her, and she looked at it in awe. It was black with golden spikes all around it. She then put it on, and it was a perfect fit around her neck. Then he bent to whisper in her ear, “The collar really does what I told all of the others it would do. It will also warn you beforehand if there is going to be any danger to you. It cannot protect you from any enemies, just warn you of them.” With a whisper of ‘thank you’ to Mistoffelees, she then walked down into the crowd with her head held up high in pride. The Jellicles looked at her, prideful of her accomplishments. Some had doubted before that she would be a good Jellicle because of who her father was. She had been able to prove them wrong once more. Maybe this would put a stop to all of their doubts once and for all.

The Jellicle group started to turn around to see what Tigor was revealed to prize, but suddenly there came a shout from the crowd. All turned around in the direction the shout had come. It was from the middle of the crowd and had come out of the collar prize-receiving queen-kitten.

“Scrapper! I knew it was you!” Dema yelled.

“Dang it! It DOES work!” yelled a tom-kitten. The crowd broke out into laughter. Tigor, grinning, looked past the crowd as Dema and Scrapper—Tigor’s Best Friend in the world—emerged from the back of the crowd and left, arm in arm, cuddling and kissing all the way. Scrapper was a multi-coloured tom with reddish-brown fur that had black stripes and spots covering his body from one end to the other. A black patch covered the right side of his face, lending a mysterious air around him, and his shoulders, forearms, shins, and tail were covered with thick tufts of fur in a reddish-brown-black-reddish-brown-white-reddish-brown-black-reddish-brown pattern. He was a cocky, but sincere and intelligent, tom who would be good for her.

What a prize for her, Tigor thought, a boyfriend and a magical collar! His attention returned as Deuteronomy put up his hands for the crowd to quiet down.

“And what for the tom-kitten?” Deuteronomy asked, grabbing back everyone’s attention once more. “Any special magic to prevent him from being snuck upon by the queen-kittens?” The Oldest of Cats grinned at that thought, and the crowd broke into laughter once again. Deuteronomy’s hands came up in a few minutes after he regained his own composure. The crowd slowly silenced at the sign. After a pause, a voice shot through the crowd.

“A new name,” someone shouted. A new name? No Cat was given a new name. That was just…odd. Then Tigor realized what this meant. This was no oddity after all. In fact, it was a great honor to have a second name given. Sometimes you picked your own, and other times, you were granted it from someone else for a deed. Sometimes it was a nickname of sorts, sometimes, that was used only in professional occasions or in the midst of your best friends.

“Tigor, do you have a second name? ‘The name that will never belong to more than one Cat’?” Deuteronomy asked. He smiled, too, because he knew how important this was, especially for a kitten so near adulthood as Tigor was, and wanting to finally be accepted by the adults as an adult.

“No, Grandfather, Sir. I have never been given the opportunity before,” Tigor was shocked and pleased at the same time.

“What shall we name him?” the Leader asked turning back to the crowd. “For his bravery?”

“Name him after his father!” someone in the crowd yelled.

“No. ‘A name that shall never belong to more than one Cat’ is the rule!” came Deuteronomy's stern reply.

“Then, how about partially named after him? And maybe someone else?” a queen-kitten named Jadelynne-Again asked. She was one of Tigor’s best friends. “Something like, ‘Munku-Tum' Tigor?” There was a silence as the Jellicles thought of that.

Finally, after the pause, Deuteronomy asked, “What is the ‘Tum’-part for?”

The queen-kittens giggled. “For the flirt he is like his uncle,” they chimed together. They had been collaborating on this special for him. Tigor blushed at this statement, but still felt pride in his accomplishments. It had always been just an unspoken truth, and everyone knew it. Deuteronomy’s previous statement had been as close as that ever got to being spoken aloud.

“Hooray!” came a voice in the crowd. It was the Rum Tum Tugger. “That's my boy!”

“That’s my son,” Deuteronomy mumbled under his breath so that only Tigor could hear. He rolled his eyes and grinned in spite of his professional leadership at his son’s antics. Then back to Tigor, he asked, “Well, Tigor? Is this what you would like? Your own name?”

“I’ve definitely never expected this, but I am grateful and honored.” He bowed at this to Deuteronomy in thanks.

“Especially the ‘Tum’ part!” was yelled by a queen-kitten. Tigor blushed and was grateful to be bowing at his grandfather so that the other Jellicles would not see it.

“Hooray! came the ‘Tugger again. The entire crowd burst out laughing at that, some rolling on the ground, clutching their sides. After a few minutes, the laughter subsided.

Turning to the crowd of Jellicles, he smiled as he shouted and raised his arms towards the sky, “I accept. I am the ‘Munku-Tum’ Tigor!”

The crowd cheered. He turned and bowed his head once more to the Jellicle Leader in a silent ‘thank you’, then walked down into the crowd. They all broke up as a celebration was being set up. Of Scrapper and Demalurina, there was no sign, but they would soon know about the award given to him. They needed to start out their plans now for their future, he guessed, and wanted to get started right away.

The queen-kittens followed him as he walked, giggling all the way. He turned to them who were smiling. “Yes? You think that was funny?” he stated, looking angry. They looked up at him, shocked and confused, then glanced back and forth to each other. He frowned at them and crossed his arms. He stood like that for a minute, looking at each one in turn. Then he smiled and relaxed his arms to his sides. The other queens still looked at him, not quite knowing what to expect. He had a habit of changing moods whenever it suited him. It always held him one step ahead of the others if they did not know what he was up to or what exactly he was thinking. Tigor liked that. The others did not.

He bent down, and put his hand under one of the prettiest kitten’s chin. Rahvenah was her name, and, sometimes, she was almost as big a flirt as he. They could have made the perfect couple for each other, knowing what they did and the way the cared about each other, but had decided that it might be best for them to just remain friends instead. Still, though, they liked spending quality time together alone. Pixley also followed them around the corner. This was Tigor’s aunt, born of Deuteronomy and Cassandra, and younger than he by a month. Young enough, she would probably be accepted as an adult at the next Jellicle Ball, as Tigor and most of his friends would be. Not surprisingly, she already had a tom of her own, the tall and shadowy Glendar—who’s long ponytail of mane and goatee made him as unique as any other Cat there—to whom she had been mated for the last year. He was not born a Jellicle, but had become part of the Tribe a little over a year ago, and he and she had fallen in love instantly. Some Jellicles found their mate during the Loss of Innocence dance when they would be initiated into adulthood, but others found them before or waited until afterward. Either way was fine. Though Pixley was Tigor’s aunt, she hardly ever used that power on him, and she and her older nephew were the best of friends, too.

Then his smile became a grin. “In that case, I'd better live up to my name,” he said, looking over all of them. Motioning for them to follow, he walked behind a tall pile of scrap metal. When he settled to rest, squeals sounded from them as he kissed and told them how pretty they all were. His sincerity flowed on each compliment, and every set of eyes glowed from what he told them. Not once had he ever given a compliment outside of sincerity, and all of the queens knew it, though some, such as Sela, wished he was more selective about himself than he was. He then proceeded to tickle some of them, and they giggled from him finding their most ticklish spots that they had never told anyone about. He knew them. He knew them all. And he was most assuredly proud of his name. …Especially the ‘Tum’ part!

***Thus begins the story of the “Munku-Tum” Tigor***