Magical Mystery

Part One

By Mistofleeze

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A small kitten woke up slowly. He was in a strange place, far from his home. Instinctively, he knew he was alone, for he could sense when his one parent was near. Nevertheless, he called out of nervousness, and distress.

"Daddy!"

The small tom cried, but tried not to. Tear streaks would show up all to well on his white face, one of the only two white areas on his body. The rest of him was black, but seemed to sparkle with an unearthly glow. Slowly, he began to remember where he was, and why he was there. He closed his eyes, recalling their conversation before he left.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I don't wanna leave you, daddy!" The tiny kitten whined, even though he knew not to. His father didn't get mad; he just-gently-grabbed the kitten's chin in his paw.

"I know, but with the police after me, I can't take care of you any more. I never was that good at taking care of you, any way." The tiny kitten purred and rubbed against his father.

"I think you are doing a wonderful job, daddy." His father smiled, briefly, at his son.

"So polite, just like your mother, and your grandmother." His eyes darkened at the thought of his child's mother, who had died after getting caught in a battle of Peeks and Pollicles. And the child's grandmother, who hadn't been seen for years, yet his son seemed to know more about her than his own mother.

"When will grandmama be back, daddy?" This snapped the kitten's father out of his thoughts.

"I don't know, kiddo, I just don't know." The kitten asked another question.

"Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"Why are the police after you?"

"Because, kiddo, I do very bad things."

"Like what daddy? Do you LIE?!" Asked the little kitten, horrified that his 'daddy' might actually commit this crime of all crimes, to him, anyway.

"Yes, I'm afraid I do. And many things worse than that."

"Are you lying now, daddy? Do I really have to leave?"

"No, kiddo, I'm afraid I'm not. I wish I were, though. You do have to leave."

"WHY, daddy?"

"It's not safe for you to be with me any more. I'm sending you to the Jellicles. They'll take care of you, and do more for you than I ever could have."

"But daddy, the Jellicles hate you!"

"I know. That's why you must never tell them who your father is, or of your...abilities. You know the way. Now, run along."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The kitten knew what abilities his father spoke of, and being the obedient son that e was, he ran away and never looked back, not stopping until  he collapsed. That was how he ended up here, outside of a junkyard. But not just any junkyard. The Jellicles' junkyard.

He knew that the Jellicles didn't like, or approve of magical cats with powers stronger than their leader's, and that was what he had. So he performed the one trick that would hide his powers from any and everyone, even those with magical abilities themselves.

He got rid of his mystical appearance, making his very fur look like a normal black cat. But he went even farther, by giving himself whit socks and tipping of his tail with a bit of white. He left his face and chest the same, though.

Next, he blocked away any signs of his powers. Doing this exerted him, and he collapsed again, just before reaching the entrance to the junkyard.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Oh, the poor thing!"

"What a darling!"

"He's awful shrimpy."

"Tugger, hush! That's not very polite!"

"I know. So what?"

"Hush everyone, he's coming around." The kitten opened his eyes to find several cats staring at him. He jumped up, fur rising along his back. He hissed and backed slowly away from the strangers. Suddenly, a small white kitten ran in.

"What's going on? Who is that, and why is he so scared looking?" At the site of the white kitten, 'kiddo' calmed down. He made a respectful bow to her, shocking most of the older cats with his manners and ways of speaking. (He sure knows how to make a good first impression, doesn't he?)

"Greetings, malady. It is an honor to be in the presence of a lady such as yourself." Everyone was startled when such a tiny kitten said such an adult phrase. The only one who had ever acted like that had been Grizabella, back in the old days. The small white kitten didn't seem shocked at all. Instead, she just smiled.

"I'm Victoria. And who would you be?" He smiled.

"My name is Mistoffelees, but I would much prefer you calling me Misto." Victoria giggled.

"All right, Misto. Do you want to play?" Misto quickly agreed and the two chased each other around, playing games like tag and other childish games. The older cats looked at each other and nodded. This definitely needed to be reported to their leader.

"Well, who's going? We can't all go, some have to stay here and mind the kittens." Jellylorum asked expectantly. All the cats responded by staring intently at her. "I take it I'm staying."  They all nodded, and then most of the older cats started off for the Vicarage wall, to where Deuteronomy was lying.

Jelly watched them go. She had no idea what they'd say except that they had found a strange kitten who had the manners of a gentleman cat, but who had no pet or anyone to take care of him. The way he acted when he saw them stunned her too. There was something this kitten was hiding, and she didn't like it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Gotcha!" Misto said, for at least the twentieth time in the last half hour. Victoria sighed.

"Okay, this time you're not going to be it. It's too hard to hide from you. But it's no fun for just me to hide! It's too easy for you!" She suddenly perked up, as if getting an idea. "I know!" She giggled, then sent an ear-piercing yowl out, a signal to get all the kittens of the Jellicles to come. Misto rubbed his ears, trying to hear something again. He muttered darkly to himself.

"Should have warned me before she did that, that hurt!" He had no time to do anything else, as he was knocked to the ground by a young cat. 'Should have known that was coming...' He thought to himself before seeing the cat who knocked him down. He was talking to Victoria.

"You called, honey?" Victoria giggled, her face bright red. Misto sighed, it seemed that she was taken. He ran off, finding an old pipe, and cowering down in it, thinking of his father. He was still a small kitten, and he didn't like being among strangers without his daddy. But when he was around Victoria, that changed. He was a little older than her, but his small size hid that fact.

He suddenly felt a presence nearing. Two, actually.  They were remarkably alike. Twins, he decided. Should they try to attack him, he might have to use his magic, something he did not want to do. But he noticed some magic about them. It wasn't hard to figure that out. He watched them walk past, their movements in sync with each other.

He smiled slightly, they practically had it written all over them. Like reading off a sign (Which he could do.), everything about them shouted 'SEE US? WE'RE MAGIC!'. As one, hey turned and looked around. Great, just great. They had sensed him. They were older, but not that much.

He quickly concentrated and put everything he had into blocking out any signs of his powers. He concentrated so hard, he fell asleep, only to be dragged out by his tail a few minutes later.

"Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow..." He muttered to himself, for whoever was dragging him was dragging hi with their mouth. He dug his claws in the ground to prevent from being pulled, but that only succeeded in ruining his claws. Well, not quite. It made whoever was dragging him let go.

He turned to see two older cats staring at him, jaws dropped. Both were toms, but that didn't tell him much. The one who had his teeth in his mouth was a splotched cat, and his companion was a silver tabby.

Misto crouched and backed away. The splotched one wasn't what alarmed him, he had only been playing. It was the tabby that scared him. Misto hissed and tried to hide.

"Leave me alone." The splotched one looked taken aback.

"Feisty little fellow, aren't you." Misto hissed again.

"Not half so little as you think." For the first time, the tabby spoke.

"Would you mind telling us what you're doing here?"

Misto could suddenly tell why he had scared him. This cat was over protective. Suddenly, Mistoffelees' vision swam, and he saw the tabby cat as second-in-command, and then later on in life as the leader. He hadn't even known he'd collapsed until he felt something nudging him.

"Come on now, get up." He found himself face to face with the tabby. His name came to him suddenly.  Munkustrap. An interesting, but not at all odd, name. And the other, Alonzo. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Munkustrap was talking. "And you might be...?" Misto stood up quickly. He grinned.

"Mistoffelees at your service, sir." As he said this, he bowed politely. Munkustrap returned the bow.

"I apologize for any harm we might have caused you. We smelled a strange scent, and Alonzo decided to pull a prank on you. So sorry. We thought you might have been one of Macavity's henchcats." Misto grinned.

"I can honestly say that I am not, never was, and never will be one of his henchcats." Munkustrap smiled.

"Now that that's taken care of, what are you doing over here?" Misto sighed.

"I was about to sleep, when your friend decided to pull my tail off." Alonzo grinned.

"Sorry. But if it's any help, it tasted good." Misto sighed sarcastically.

"That's really good to know." Suddenly, he saw two familiar faces poking through the tube at him. He hissed. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer! He knew these two way too well. He ran off before they could get a good look at him. Rumpleteazer looked at her brother curiously.

"Wot got 'is fur all riled up?" Mungojerrie was just staring after the kitten. He quickly pulled Rumpleteazer aside, motioning for her to follow him into the old, broken up desk they used as a home. Mungojerrie quickly dropped down a sheet of metal they used to block out any visitors when they wanted privacy. As soon as he knew that they wouldn't be overheard, he whispered, his tone implying his seriousness.

"'Teaza, did'ya not notice? That tiny one that ran away, 'E's Macavity's son!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Misto shuddered from his hiding place. It was all over now. Those two'd certainly tell all the other cats he'd had no chance to meet, and his new life would be over before it had even begun. He shuddered for a moment. He was scared to death. When not a sound was heard around him, he began, if rather slowly, to relax. And finally, he fell asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jellylorum took a quick head count. They were all there, except for the little fellow they found earlier. She gave a quick glance at Tugger, who had succeeded in gathering all the kittens together. He grinned, knowing what she asked. She knew that the grin was her answer and she took off.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rumpleteazer shook her head.

"You're losin' it, 'Jerrie. Macavity's son doesn't have white markings, 'cept his face and chest!" Mungojerrie sighed.

"Nah, 'Teasa, you're the one losin' it. Don't ya rememba? The kit's magic. Who says 'e didn't just disguise 'imself?" Rumpleteazer sighed.

"Who cares who 'is father is? That doesn't mean he's anythin' like 'im!" Mungojerrie sighed.

"Yer right, O'course. Let's give the little fellow a chance, shall we?" Rumpleteazer grinned.

"'At's the spirit, 'Jerrie!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jellylorum spotted Alonzo and Munkustrap. Alonzo seemed to be hypnotized by something, following it with his eyes as it moved back and forth rhythmically, hanging out of an empty drain pipe. Munkustrap was trying to snap him out of it. Jelly laughed when she saw what it was. It was the tail of Mistoffelees!

"Boys." She said quietly, snapping Alonzo out of it, and Munku to attention. "I take it that Mistoffelees is up there." Munkustrap nodded.

"I was trying to keep Alonzo from biting his tail and pulling him out, like he did a few minutes ago." All that talking woke Misto up. They weren't looking, he might be able to do some magic to get down. He knocked down a piece of rubble from across him. It didn't do any damage but made a lot of noise, giving him the chance to teleport himself in front of them.

He sat calmly for a second as the cats were still watching the piece of rubble, and then teleported himself to another part of the junkyard. It just happened to be right in front of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer's desk, which now had the door open.

'Jerrie shot 'Teaser a look which plainly said 'I told you so.' Misto noticed that he had been seen, and cowered back as he realized who had seen him. He hissed as 'Teazer jumped down from the desk and started towards him. He hissed again as she kept coming. He started to back up and his fur started to rise.

He could have teleported himself away, but he had convinced himself he wouldn't be safe if he did. He didn't dare attack as 'Teazer came forward. He was too scared. He could barely talk. He didn't care about being the tough guy. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer had worked for his father, and had quit recently, saying that they 'were troublemakers-not murderers'.

They had every reason to attack him. He couldn't even talk, he was so scared. As Rumpleteazer placed a paw on him, he winced and pulled away.

"L....L...Lee...Leave me a..alone... Please!"

"'Ey now, 'oos gonna 'urt you? Certainly not me."

"B..But..." Rumpleteazer sighed.

"We know who you are, but we're not telling anyone, an' we're certainly not gonna 'urt ya." Mistoffelees relaxed somewhat.

"Um, would you mind not telling them I'm magic?"

"All roight, kid, ya can tell 'em in your own toime. Just make sure that you tell 'em, someday. Everything. Or We'll tell 'em for ya. Roight, 'Jerrie?"

"Roight, 'Teazer." Just then Mistoffelees was lifted into the air, by none other than Jellylorum, with Munkustrap and Alonzo right behind her.

"There you are, you little terror. Thank you for finding him, Mungojerrie, Rumpleteazer. It seemed like this kit was pulling magic on us, the way he left when we weren't looking." Misto was very annoyed that they were talking about him as if he wasn't there, but he listened to what Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were saying.

"'Ey now, don't go blamin' th' kit, 'twas us that led 'im away. Isn't that roight, 'Jerrie?" Mungojerrie nodded. Jelly looked uncertain, but Munkustrap tentatively touched her with a paw.

"Yes, what is it, Munku?" Munkustrap looked at her, his eyes soft and concerned.

"I believe them, Jelly. Besides, even if they weren't telling the truth, wasn't this the same thing I did when I first came here?" Jelly sighed.

"You are right, Munku, as usual. I wouldn't be suprised if you were the next leader." Mistoffelees laughed inwardly, that was what was going to happen, but he didn't say anything. Jellylorum had forgotten that she was holding him, and was making it hard to breath. Finally, after much struggling, he succeeded in getting out of her grasp. He dropped on the ground, breathing heavily. Munkustrap grinned at him, letting him know that he'd been through it, too.

Misto rubbed at his neck, and then started to sneak off, only to be stopped by Rumpleteazer.

"'Ey now, Jelly, you're charge is escapin'!" Jellylorum grabbed Misto again. He hadn't been here even a full day, and already he felt annoyed by her!

"Don't even bother trying. No one's escaped me yet!" Misto grinned cheekily at her.

"I think I did a rather good job of it earlier." She cuffed him playfully after letting go with one paw.

"Ah, so you do speak. I was beginning to think you couldn't!" Mistoffelees, embarrassed, wormed his way out of her grasp and ran off. However, he was getting nowhere. The pain in his tail told him one thing: Alonzo. Sure enough, the splotched tom had his tail in his teeth again. Misto grinned. He was going to play some unnoticeable magic.

Rumpleteazer grinned as she noticed what he was doing.

"Jelly, Alonzo's causin' trouble again!" Jellylorum turned around just in time to see Alonzo fly past her, crashing into a junk pile. He sat up, dazed.

"What happened?" Rumpleteazer glanced over at Mistoffelees, who was now sound asleep. Jelly was lecturing Alonzo on teasing kittens, and to avoid running into things. Mungojerrie watched on, not saying anything, but grinning to himself. Munkustrap was already at Mistoffelees' side.

He nudged him until he woke up. Munkustrap smiled gently.

"You can sleep later. Right now, why don't I take you to the other kittens?" Mistoffelees nodded, still tired. Munkustrap helped the kitten along. They were back with the kittens by the time Jelly had finished lecturing Alonzo, who had a bad headache. Jelly noticed Misto and Munku gone, and dragging Alonzo behind her, raced off to the kittens.

Rumpleteazer grinned.

"Th' kit's all roight, don't you think so, 'Jerrie?" Hearing no answer, she turned to look at him, only to see him ready to burst. He burst out laughing, and he shook so hard he fell out of the desk. Rumpleteazer, finally seeing the funny note of it, laughed too.

~*End part one*~