Bound By Blood Part Three

Bound By Blood - Part Three

"Jellicle Cats come out tonight! Jellicle Cats come one, come all!"

The Jellicle Ball had begun. Chaotic, yet with mystifying order, the Jellicle tribe danced under the light of the full moon, maddened by the night air and agile movements. As if insane the cats moved, paws flashing quicker than the eye could follow and bodies twirling so fast they were naught but a blur. Though Demeter's mind was occupied on other matters, she couldn't help but be swept along with the tide of madness that overtook them. With silent music drumming in her ears, she pranced nimbly on her quick, agile limbs along with the others. Time flew by unheeded.

Blood coursed through her veins in a hot fever, and in the midst of the rush of movement and feeling Demeter found herself dancing alongside her mate. Words were lost, nor were they needed, as Munkustrap extended one sturdy black paw. She took it gently, smiling as the tom drew her close and they danced together. Closing her eyes, the queen felt herself swept away by his graceful, powerful strides. One moment they were dancing together gracefully, whiskers inches apart, only to spin away in their own bursts of energy to come whirling back again into the comfort of each other's embrace. Demeter's mind flew back, back to before... She and Munkustrap had been kittens and grew up together, realizing only in their early adult lives that they were hopelessly devoted, and wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. She remembered when they'd done their own Mating Dance: the wonders of it all as bonds were sealed and vows made. And now, here, in the midst of their celebrating, she'd broken it.

That one sour thought broke the spell the Ball held over her, and Demeter's coursing energy halted in its tracks. When her movements slowed, it caught Munkustrap's attention and he stopped, ignoring the wild dancing around them. "Demeter? Are you alright?"

"I'm..." she said breathlessly, "I'm tired, Munkustrap. Could we leave?"

He drew her close, concerned as he put a protective arm around her shoulders and the two slunk away from the music and dancing, into the darkness of the junkyard...and into solitude.

Later, much later, Demeter lay on her side, gazing through the darkness of night to where the sound of enchanting music and laughter reached her ears. Munkustrap lay beside her, one arm draped over her white middle, his chin resting on his shoulder with his eyes closed. His breathing was deep and measured, and Demeter should have felt at least content in his warmth, the dim noise in the distance lulling her senses. She didn't.

"Munkustrap," she said, gently nudging his lean chest. He grunted in reply, shifting slightly but not opening his eyes. "I have to tell you something."

Munkustrap drew a long breath and exhaled, lifting his head to gaze down at her lovingly. "What?"

"It's about Alonzo..."

Alonzo barely had time to look up before a flash of gray hit him hard in the jaw, propelling him to the floor where he landed on his back. The other cats gathered for their annual dance could only stand open-mouthed as Munkustrap bent over the other tom, claws flexed fully in his face and fangs bared.

"You rat-loving fatherless sonofadog!!!" he screamed, claws quivering on the brink of explosion for any reason to rip his throat. Alonzo didn't move, but remained frozen where he was, meeting the mad glint in the tabby's eyes. Their meaning was all too clear.

"Munkustrap, I--"

"Don't you say a word!" he roared, drawing back his fist. "What made you think you could do this to me? To us?" The other cats gathered rose to their feet in alarm, but went unnoticed by both. "What was I to you, Lonz?! I thought you were my friend!" On the last word he let Alonzo have it again, his claws raking across the brown tom's face. The force of the blow threw him back, but before Munkustrap could attack further the others took action, restraining the crazed tabby.

"Whoa, Strap," Tugger purred, both his spotted paws gripping Munkustrap's shoulder. "What's gotten into you?"

"Him!" he yeowled, lunging forward with a hard snap at Alonzo, restrained only by Skimble who had to duck a flying set of claws. "That traitor's gone too far! Gagh! Let me go! I'll kill `em!"

With a joint effort, Skimble, Tugger, and Mungojerrie barricaded Munkustrap between them, the orange tabby bristling. "Now just a minute, Strap. Tonight isn't the night for fighting. Calm down!" To emphasize this the three toms pushed him down to a seat on the newspaper stack. He remained, his blazing gold eyes fixed in hatred on Alonzo, his claws digging deeply into the soft paper. Alonzo hadn't moved from where he'd landed, feeling the wave of guilt he knew would come sooner or later. Mungojerrie brushed back his ruffled cheek fur, his ever-present grin remaining.

"Say now, wot's all this abou'?"

"Him," Munkustrap growled between clenched teeth, bristling. "That sonofapollicle...he took advantage of Demeter!"

Mouths fell open, and three astonished faces turned to stare at the tom still on the ground. He gazed back, an expression they'd never seen before covering his battle-scarred face. The stunned silence was unbearable. "Strap, I..." He didn't finish. There was no justifying what he'd done. He couldn't bring himself to try. His eyes fell in shame, having no dignity to save.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't rip you apart." Munkustrap's voice was claws on steel.

"I love Demeter," Alonzo said, quiet, though in the tense silence of the night it rang like a bell. "I risk my throat by sayin' I love her as much as you." It was a long while before he sighed heavily and looked up. "I know what I did was wrong, an' I don't expect you to forgive me, but I'm sorry, Munkustrap."

Munkustrap was through with talking, except for one thing. With icy coldness he locked eyes with Alonzo. All their years of friendship dissolved in that one look. "May Heaviside give me the blessing of never having to look at you again." And with that, he turned and stalked away, never once looking back.

Word of the confrontation ran through the junkyard like wildfire, growing more intense and violent each time the version was told. Alonzo ignored the supportive gestures and purrs from the other cats as he slowly pushed himself to his feet and slunk away, head lowered and tail dragging in the opposite direction Munkustrap had gone. He may as well go explain himself to Deuteronomy--or try to--and take his leave...this time permanently.

Munkustrap sought his own counsel alone in the junkyard, listening to the far-off voices and music that began slowly but grew until they were once again the powerful, cheery notes they were before. They held no comfort for the tabby. His rage was unbearable, and it was three rags, a sock, and half a shoelace that suffered his wrath before he slumped down inside the shell of an oven. Of course the last thing he wanted was to be sought out.

"Go away," he growled and turned his face opposite Plato as he approached. The young tom just into adulthood cocked his ears, frowning but keeping his place. It was awhile before he spoke.

"So you think Lonz's totally disgraced the tribe an' you'll never forgive him?"

"What do you think?" the tabby growled.

"I think you're making a big mistake."

Munkustrap glared at him evilly. "You're barely grown into your whiskers. What d'you know?

"I know enough that friendships don't dissolve over petty differences."

"Demeter is not petty."

"Can you blame her for having feelin's for another tom?"

"I'm not blaming her for anything."

"Arright...then can you blame Alonzo for havin' feelings he can't change?"

"Alonzo's a ratlover."

"What about Demeter? It takes two."

The tabby's stare grew in intensity. His claws flexed, wanting to vent their rage on this younger tom's face at any excuse. "Shut up!" he ground between clenched fangs. "Get outta here. After being through Macavity, she was vulnerable. She didn't know."

"Don't talk like that, Strap. I got my own relations to Macavity."

"That's different. Your mother was taken by force in the junkyard."

"And Demeter's mother consented. It ain't her fault."

Munkustrap raised his head and glared. "How'd you know about that?"

"I was listening outside the den."

"You slimy little--!"

"Y'know, I remember a certain tom who came to me once sayin' he'd found his true love when he asked Demeter to be his mate."

"True love," the tabby turned his head away with a snort. "It doesn't exist."

"It can if you make it," Plato snapped in his own biting sarcasm. "When you two became mates, not even a raincloud dared show its face around here. Now yer gonna do this t' Demeter when she needs ya most? She jus' found out about Macavity, fer Heaviside's sake."

"I'm not abandoning her," Munkustrap snapped, taking an aggressive step forward. Though younger, Plato's unusual height matched Munkustrap's. Neither winced. "I love her."

"MUNKUSTRAP!!!!!!!" A voice from far within the junkyard broke the impending fight. In their conversation neither tom had noticed the Ball's music had stopped. "Deuteronomy's gone!!! Macavity got `em!!"

When Munkustrap and Plato's race to the gathering of cats halted, it was to the sight of a frightened lot of Jellicles without their Deuteronomy. Centering them, claws raised high, Macavity held Demeter in an inescapable grip, snarling angrily at the cats around him. The rage that had built layer upon layer over Demeter's abduction, Alonzo, and her betrayal Munkustrap was finally able to let loose: loose on Macavity. In a flying ball of fury he leaped, driving Macavity into the ground from behind. Demeter was slammed to the ground and pulled away to safety. Macavity bucked powerfully and knocked the tabby away. They faced each other, snarling.

"I've come to take back what's mine," Macavity hissed as he and Munkustrap slowly began to circle. Munkustrap bared his fangs.

"She's not yours."

Macavity's glare only grew in intensity. "I see Deuteronomy finally told you."

"Everything," the silver tabby snapped. "Demeter wants nothing to do with you. She belongs here, with her tribe." Munkustrap knew this was no clumsy fighter he faced. Slowly, they circled like two hawks waiting to dive. Each step was measured, calculated, mentally assured that neither would stumble on the uneven ground. Each muscle in both their sleek forms was poised, ready to act should the other make the first attack. Each of Munkustrap's whiskers stood forward with anticipation as his heart raced, pounding in his ears, ignoring the shaking in his paws that resulted from facing the Mystery Cat. His tail lashed behind him, betraying his uneasiness.

Macavity's expression remained cool, relaxed, though his eyes burned with the light of a thousand pains kept within him at seeing his daughter grow up among other cats; seeing the fear in her eyes when she looked at him; hearing the countless stories they told her, poisoning her mind and turning it against him. She'd been bewitched by them, and now it was time to make things right.

"Blood's thicker than water," Macavity replied evenly. "I would think Deuteronomy's brat would know that."

The anger flared in Munkustrap and he attacked, lunging forward to swipe his claws at Macavity's eyes. Macavity dodged easily, and returned the blow to Munkustrap's back. The tabby cried out as four long slits began to stain red across his shoulder blades. He lashed back with an angry snarl and caught Macavity's jaw. The ginger tom stumbled back, licking a trickle of blood from his cheek, and in a fury he leaped, aiming for Munkustrap's chest. The tabby, by luck more than experience, caught the blow with his arm and twisted, using his own body weight and Macavity's momentum to slam the invader to the ground.

Alonzo's head hung low as he slunk through the dark junkyard, his paws dragging and tail limp. He didn't expect Munkustrap to ever speak to him again, but then he couldn't blame him. The first sounds of the caterwaul far behind he ignored, his mind elsewhere. But they steadily grew louder, more intense, and with all the reluctance of an outcast he turned to look back the way he'd come. There was something familiar about one of those voices, and it wasn't until the first cry of agony from Munkustrap that realization struck him and he sped back into the junkyard.

Macavity was momentarily stunned as the back of his skull connected with a stone just appearing out of the dirty junkyard floor. The world spun, and dimly he saw a flash of silver gray leap over him and deliver another blow to his middle. Macavity coughed for breath, and rolled over, where he found his footing. He shook his head to clear it, and found himself staring into the golden eyes of Munkustrap. Hate overcame his dizziness, and almost simultaneously the two leaped to their feet.

Munkustrap had grown more confident now. He'd been able to knock the Mystery Cat to the ground and twice wound him. Foolishly, he snarled and attacked as Macavity stumbled back a few paces, fighting the dizziness. But the other tom was ready.

Macavity, in turn, caught Munkustrap in the face with a volley of slashes, at the same time ignoring the swimming in his head that threatened to overtake him. He used a quick knee to Munkustrap's chest and a blow to the back of his head and threw the tabby down. Munkustrap landed with a grunt, and doubled up in attempt to regain the breath that emptied his lungs in a whoosh.

Macavity didn't waste a moment. He leaped at Munkustrap, who lay prone, and delivered a hard slash and punch to the tabby's ribs. Munkustrap cried out with his new-found breath, and instinctly struggled to his feet. Macavity wouldn't have it.

Macavity stretched his arm towards Munkustrap's face, paw spread wide with his claws unsheathed fully. The action caught Munkustrap's attention, and for a moment their eyes met. A moment was all Macavity needed. His stare, deep, dead, unblinking, focused solely on Munkustrap's as he slowly waved his claws over the tabby's face. Munkustrap found all sound frozen in his throat, all movement in his body halted, and unable to tear his gaze away from Macavity's sunken eyes. His heart and mind raced with panic, though the rest of him was powerless against Macavity's trance; he could feel the very will being pulled from him by Macavity's mesmerizing claws.

Demeter could stand it no longer. How could she cringe in the shadows while Macavity was doing this? It was her fault he was here in the first place. She broke from Bombalurina's steady grip, ignored her cry to come back, and forced her way through the other cats until she stood alone before them. "Macavity! Stop!" she screamed.

Macavity's eyes went wide and he jerked his stare away, turning to look toward Demeter, forgetting the tabby he fought. The trance broken, Munkustrap fell back dizzily. His head swam as he suddenly found he had control over his voice and actions again. He shook his head violently to get his thoughts organized. Macavity took a slow step toward Demeter, a dim flicker of hope coming to life in his heart. "Demeter..."

Munkustrap looked dumbly from Demeter, to Macavity, back to Demeter, unaware of what was going on between the two. He only knew one thing: his duty. And his duty was to protect the other cats. He leaped forward and tackled Macavity. Furious at himself, at Munkustrap, at life itself at the thought he might have just gotten through to Demeter, Macavity roared and attacked insanely. The two toms held nothing back. Fur flew, fangs flashed, claws shredded, blood spattered as they fought blindly. Driven by nothing but anger, desperation, and longing, Macavity bit down as hard as he could on the side of Munkustrap's neck while raking his claws viscously at any gray tabby part that happened to come into his reach. He savagely released and sent Munkustrap spinning away, rolling over the ground into the clutches of the other Jellicles. They crowded around him protectively.

Alonzo's trained fighting instincts took hold as he saw his one-time friend thrown to the ground from the back of the gathered Jellicles. Snarling terribly, he tore through them, and all Macavity saw when he whirled was a brown and black flash of fur and fangs that hit him directly in the chest, sending them both head over tail. "Told ya I'd be waiting!" Alonzo pounded his claws furiously at Macavity's face, but the fire-colored tom equaled him in experience, and with a feint and kick he knocked the brown-shaded Jellicle away. Alonzo stumbled, but kept on his feet. Alonzo's style wasn't to circle, calculate, and wait for an opening; he was trained to fight. Fight he did. Not giving a second's moment to rest, he attacked again, hurling with his shoulder forward at the older tom. Macavity deflected it, leaning his own shoulder forward so that they met squared, and Alonzo let out a small cry of surprise as he found himself flipped over. As luck may have it, he managed to give Macavity a small goodbye gift before being thrown away: a gash, deep and long, right across the Mystery Cat's middle.

Macavity knew it was over. He was hurt terribly, and the Jellicles, seeing him fall wounded, were growing bolder, lashing out at Macavity as he backed away to the protection of the shadows, then darting away with feline agility. They left in their wake small scratches and cuts that weren't serious, but stung with pain nonetheless. Macavity saw only one chance to escape as the toms of the tribe were getting too close for their own good.

There was a flash of fiery sparks as Macavity jammed the opposite-charged wires of the barely-living car battery together, singing his coat terribly. With the heat and light of the sparks blinding him, Macavity shrieked out over the static: "Demeteeeeeeeer!!"

The sparks died, and Macavity wasn't there.

Machete sat outside the fence bordering the junkyard, his front claws kneading in and out of the dirt. The sounds of a viscous battle within the junkyard were far from comforting to him. Then there was buzz of electricity, and silence. The lanky Abysinnian stood and paced nervously along the perimeter, ears and whiskers forward for any clue as to what had taken place. If Macavity had been successful, he would have returned by now with the cat he claimed to be his daughter. Machete placed his front paws on the wire fence and poked his nose through it, sniffing.

"Machete..."

A weak voice from further on down the fence drew the rusty Abysinnian's attention. On silent feet he padded to the edge of the fence, where the wire was pulled up that had provided the two an entrance to the junkyard. There he saw, ripped and bloody, Macavity leaning heavily against the fence, panting and holding an arm over his stomach, where the white fur was slowly spreading to blood red. Machete slipped gracefully under the fence to his master. Almost automatically, Macavity shifted his weight from the fence and threw an arm around Machete, leaning on his most trusted cat as he gasped, "I failed."

Machete knew better than to comment back on that subject, even though Macavity was injured. Machete in all his obedient glory never once had a thought of killing Macavity in his weakened state and taking over all that Macavity had worked to achieve. He lifted the fence bottom with one hand and helped guide Macavity through with the other.

"You're hurt, sir," he purred. "Let's get back and take care of those wounds."

The two said nothing more as they slowly made their way back to the city, Macavity limping and breathing heavily. Machete could smell the blood reeking from the Mystery Cat, and unseen his eyes darted to the growing red spot over Macavity's middle. There was no doubt in Machete's mind that Macavity had given as good as he received, and he wondered how bad off the Jellicles were.

Save the beaten and battered Munkustrap, the Jellicles weren't bad off at all. Mungojerrie had a slash across his cheek were he'd gotten a little too close to Macavity, and Pouncival's endless gloating from striking Macavity twice would probably never end. After Macavity had vanished, Munkustrap had courageously ignored his wounds and struggled to his paws, snapping away any Jellicle that offered him help. He bit his lip to keep from crying out at the biting pain in his side whenever he moved, and disguised his limp by saying his paws were sore from hitting the invader.

Alonzo, virtually unscathed, licked smooth a ruffled spot on his shoulder before catching notice of his younger friend. Or...ex-friend. The cats crowded around him, not giving the fighting tom a moment's notice or thought, especially after his and Munkustrap's fight. To avoid further conflict he swept unnoticed off into the darkness of the junkyard.

Munkustrap immediately sought out Demeter among the cats, insisting to them he was alright. But even with that they all noticed the grimace of pain his face showed as Demeter threw herself around him, crying piteously into his fur.

"I'm sorry, Munkustrap," she wept. "I'm so sorry."

Munkustrap gently put his arms around her in comfort, stroking her mane. "It's alright, Dem. He's gone. You don't have to be afraid anymore."

Demeter took a step back, shook her head slowly, and looked up at him, her tears glistening in the moonlight. "No..." she sobbed. "No, he'll be back. He swore he'd come back. He'll never stay away unless I go with him."

"Don't talk like that." Munkustrap looked around, self conscious of the curious stares that began to land on him and Demeter from the other cats. After the episode earlier, things had not yet become steady again. "It'll be alright. You'll see." He released her and turned to the other cats, bringing up the topic of relocating Old Deuteronomy in hopes that it would take her mind off what tormented her. It didn't. Instead, he unknowingly left her to wrestle the problem herself...alone.