By: Luna Cat & Sol Kitten
Mungojerrie was curled up on his favorite car in the junkyard. Ah! He stretched. The afternoon sun felt so relaxing as it warmed his aching body. The memories of the previous night’s activities flooded back to him.
He and Rumpleteazer were preparing for a rather extensive caper in Victoria Grove. They had been planning it for several weeks now and had every angle covered, or so they thought…
Only one family had been safe from them, until now. Both cat burglars had become totally fed up with the cocky attitude of the family. Word had it that even Macavity the Mystery Cat couldn’t breach its security.
“All the better,” announced Rumpleteazer. They were curled up beside the fire, grooming each other. “Now we can prove your worth once and for all.”
Mungojerrie smiled and rubbed her cheek with his. ‘Where would I be now,’ he wondered to himself, ‘if she hadn’t rescued me?’
“What’s so special about this particular house?” Teazer asked, looking lovingly at her mate.
“Trust me love. It’s never been breached. I don’t know the details, but they have a whole array of security measures.”
“There is a first time for everything!” laughed Teazer as she swatted Jerrie playfully with her paw. “Relax hon. you take yourself way too seriously, you know that.”
Mungojerrie sighed, “Maybe you’re right. But I can’t help being a little wary of this whole idea.”
“We’ve been planning this for weeks. What could possibly go wrong?” Mungojerrie rolled on his back so Teazer could groom his stomach. “There you go again, changing the subject.” Teazer laughed as she started her grooming. Jerrie closed his eyes and let the sensation of her warm, soft tongue soothe him.
The clock in the hall struck 10:00 p.m. Jerrie leapt to his feet and was followed by Teazer.
“It’s time!” They chorused in unison and bolted outside. Grabbing their ‘Bags-of-tricks’ Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer dashed off into the night!
* * *
“You know this place looks like a fortress Teazer.”
“We can pull this off Jerrie. Have some faith in yourself.”
When they arrived at the house, the first thing they did was to make sure they had all their equipment. Mungojerrie pulled out a pair of rings with a wire that attached them together, while Rumpleteazer dragged out a large steak.
“Amazing how well these things work to distract the family guard dog,” laughed Teazer. Jerrie pulled out a lock pick kit and looked over at Teazer. She smiled at him and pointed to a window.
“I don’t think that you’ll need those.” He looked to where she was pointing. He saw that a window was open in the garage.
“Looks suspicious to me Teazer.” He then pulled out a very strange looking device.
“What’s that thing,” Teazer asked curiously.
“It’s an I. R. alarm detector.” He handed Teazer the scope. “Take a look.”
She eyed the scope warily and then looked through it. “So what am I supposed…” She stopped in mid-sentence. “Whoa! There are two glowing green lines across the window!”
“Yep! Just as I thought! That’s an invisible alarm trigger,” Jerrie states.
Teazer grinned with delight, “Yeah, for a human maybe! But the bottom line is high enough for us to go under it.”
“I still don’t trust it though.” Mungojerrie looked around to make sure that no one was around. But when he looked back toward Teazer she wasn’t there. “Teazer,” he hissed. “Where are you?”
He then heard her notorious laugh. “It’s all clear Jerrie!” She was already inside the garage. “Come on!”
He ran over towards the window and leaped up onto the windowsill and then went on in under the alarm.
* * *
A few hours later the two cats had successfully pulled off their caper. “And I thought you said that it couldn’t be done,” Teazer said playful teasing Jerrie.
“Well Macavity hasn’t been able to.” He then looked to see what they gotten from their ‘little’ caper. When he turned to smile at Teazer she had disappeared. “Teazer! Where did you go now?”
Instead of her cheerful voice Jerrie heard a rough, menacing voice, “She’s with me now!” Jerrie then heard a deep, growling laugh. “And the only way you’ll see her again is if you come back to me!”
“Not a chance in Hell Macavity!” Jerrie snapped.
“Fine. She is mine!” Macavity snarled. Suddenly there was a yelp of pain from Macavity. Rumpleteazer had stabbed him with her claws. But Macavity didn’t release her the way she thought he would. He threw her to the ground with extreme force.
Teazer cried out and Jerrie charged at Macavity. “You hurt her!!” Jerrie growled. Macavity was unable to dodge Jerrie and took the blow very badly. Macavity was now on the ground. He called for his rats.
The rats arrived and went after Jerrie but he didn’t notice them for he was to busy attacking Macavity.
“Jerrie! Macavity’s rats!” Teazer called out. But Jerrie didn’t hear her. She got up and ran over to keep the rats of off Jerrie. Suddenly Macavity got a good shot in and both he and Jerrie went across the yard in different directions.
“I will have you back Mungojerrie!” And with that Macavity disappeared.
* * *
“Jerrie! Hello? Anybody home?” Teazer’s voice brought Jerrie back to the present.
“Over here.” Jerrie called and closed his eyes again. Rumpleteazer made like a calico blur and bounded to Jerrie’s side. Silently she pounced on him and began licking his face. Mungojerrie started, and then relaxed as he felt her reassuring presence.
“What’s wrong?” Teazer asked as she gently cleaned his wounds. “Did you have another nightmare about Macavity?”
“Nope. I was just remembering last night, and how angry and scared I was that Macavity nearly took you from me.” Jerrie sighed and began cleaning the wounds she had gotten from the rats.
“Oh! Thank you love.” Teazer lay back and relaxed. She wondered how she could have been so lucky as to be the one to save him from Macavity.
Then the voice of Teazer’s sister, Etcetera, snaps Teazer out of her thoughts. “Teazer! Jerrie! Oh, there you two are.” She smiles at them. “I’ve been wondering where you two have been. Boy, you two look terrible! What happened and why did you guys disappear so soon after the sun went down?”
“If you think we look bad you should see the other cat. We left because we had a ‘little’ caper. But we ran into a few unanticipated snags,” Teazer answered her sister. “Ouch!” Teazer cringes in pain from her injuries.
“A few snags?” Etcetera looks curiously at Teazer. “What kind of snags?”
“Oh, just Macavity and his rat pack,” Jerrie says off-handedly.
“WHAT!!!” Etcetera looks shocked. “And you’re still alive?!?”
“Like Teazer said ‘you should see the other cat’,” Jerrie said with a wry laugh.
Etcetera looks from Teazer to Jerrie and back again. “Jerrie, could you tell me how you were taken by Macavity?”
“Sure ‘Cetera. Then I’ll tell how your silly sister, oooff, I’m mean your loving sister saved me from that ‘monster of depravity’ as Bomb and Demeter put it so well.”
* * *
Jerrie’s mind returned to the days of his kittenhood, if you can call it that. He and Tumblebrutus, his best friend, were wandering aimlessly, as kittens tend to do, when they wandered down to the docks.
“Betcha I can beat ya across the channel,” declared Tumblebrutus.
“Your on!” cried Jerrie. And with that both kittens leapt into the water. Unknown to the kittens Macavity and his rats were watching their antics.
“I want those two kittens!” roared Macavity. He and his rat pack decided to wait till the kittens had finished their little swim because they would be too tired to escape.
When Tumblebrutus and Mungojerrie pulled themselves out of the water they did not notice Macavity and the rats sneaking up on them.
“Told you I could beat ya,” laughed a very tired Tumblebrutus.
“You did not,” Jerrie said defiantly. “You cheated!!”
At this time Macavity had reached the two friends. “What’s up fellows?” Hissed the sinister cat.
“I’m whipping his tail,” answered Tumble proudly. Macavity nodded.
“Mmm-hmm. I see you are a strong young fellow. How would you like to put your talents to a real purpose?”
Suddenly a dozen rats leapt into sight and attacked the two kittens. Macavity turned into a ginger tornado and soon five were lying dead and the rest had fled.
“Cool!” Cried Jerrie and Tumble. “Thanks Mister. How did you do that?”
“Come with me and I’ll teach you. You’ll be lieutenants. It will be great fun!”
“Sound like a blast!” answered Tumblebrutus, but Jerrie was a little more hesitant about the whole idea. There was something wrong here. It didn’t seem quite right.
“What do we have to do,” Mungojerrie asked curiously.
“Well you have to join me. That means you can no longer see your families.”
“Cool! I don’t have to put up with my parents or my siblings?” asked an excited Tumblebrutus.
“Exactly. You are your own cat now. But you will have to do what I say, which won’t be much.” Macavity had an evil glint in his eyes that the kittens didn’t see.
“Okay! I’m in!” Tumblebrutus did a backflip.
Mungojerrie didn’t say anything. He was still a little concerned about this whole thing. But he wanted to make sure his friend stayed out of trouble. With Tumblebrutus, there was no telling what he would get into. His cool thinking and fast action had save his friend more than once, but now he was afraid they were making their biggest mistake of their young lives!
* * *
A month later, Mungojerrie had become invaluable to Macavity’s organization of crime! His keen senses and knack for getting out of a tight situation had gained him the rank of Macavity’s right-hand cat. Tumblebrutus on the other paw, had never quite had the flare that Macavity desired. So while Jerrie was chosen to lead the important heists, Tumble was often left to wander the streets.
While wandering he found himself in a junkyard. In the junkyard two female kittens were playing. One was dancing about while the other was doing acrobatics. Tumblebrutus decided to make friends with the kittens.
He scampered up to them and said, “Hi!” Both kittens started and ran from him. “No wait! I won’t hurt you. I just wanted to know if I could play with you two.” The girls looked at each other and smiled.
“I’m Electra!” said the one who had been dancing.
“And I’m Etcetera!” said the other while doing a cartwheel.
“My name is Tumblebrutus.” The kittens shrieked and started to run again. “Hey! Why are you running?”
“Because you work for Macavity!” they cried in unison.
“Macavity, ha! I’m sick of him and all the lies he told me.”
Electra looked at her friend and then at the poor misled Tumblebrutus. “Come on! You don’t have to go back to Macavity ever again!” Tumblebrutus smiled and jumped up and did a midair flip.
When Macavity heard that he had lost Tumblebrutus he was not all that concerned. “Good riddance. He was not the type of cat for my army.”
Mungojerrie was upset that his best friend was gone.
“Relax. We don’t need him anymore. You are the best.” Macavity stated with an evil grin. “I have just what you need. What do you say to leading my most dangerous mission yet?”
“Uh, sure,” Jerrie said, because he knew he had no other choice.
“Alright son. Here’s what you need to do.” Macavity told Jerrie every detail of his plan.
“Well I think I’ll need about a month to get everything together.”
“Fine. Take all the time you need just get this right.”
* * *
One month later, Mungojerrie was nearly prepared for his mission, but he still lacked one thing, the will to go through with it.
As he was wandering about, attempting to muster the motivation for his mission, he heard a faint meow from behind a Dumpster.
“Hello? Who’s there?” He wandered over to the Dumpster and looked behind it, and there sat the cutest kitten he had ever seen. “Hi there. Who are you?”
“Name’s Rumpleteazer! What’s it to ya?” she replied in frightened yet defiant tone. Yet at the same time she was thinking how nice he looked.
“Rumpleteazer, cute name. I’m Mungojerrie.” And at that moment she leapt out and pinned him.
“You work for Macavity!” she cried and tried to scratch out his eyes.
“Hey take it easy little one!” He pried her off of his chest. “I won’t hurt you. I promise. Macavity kidnapped me and my friend when we were kittens.”
“Your friend? What’s his name?”
“Tumblebrutus. He managed to escape Macavity.”
“I know him. He and my sister love doing acrobatics together. And my best friend and he like each other.”
“That’s nice,” Jerrie said glumly. He wondered why a nice kitten like her was sitting behind a Dumpster. "So what's up with that" asked Jerrie curiously tilting his chin toward the Dumpster.
"I was playing hide and seek with my sister, my best friend, and Tumblebrutus. And I was winning until you showed up!" she stated with just a hint of petulance in her voice.
“Hey Teazer. You win. Where are you?” Came a shout from down the alley.
“Coming ‘Cetera!” Teazer yelled back. “That’s my sister. Hey do you wanna come and meet her and my best friend?”
“I don’t know.” Jerrie was a little hesitant. He wanted to go. But Macavity didn’t tolerate slackers. He had a heard enough stories about the horrors that Macavity’s wrath brought upon his disloyal Henchcats.
“Why?” Teazer asked him with honest curiosity.
‘If only she knew,’ Jerrie thought ruefully. “Well it’s kinda hard to explain.”
“Are you scared of Macavity?” She looked at him with big kitten eyes.
“No! Well, maybe a little. I don’t want him mad at me, but I’m also beginning to wonder if maybe there’s something better.”
“So why don’t you quit?” Asked Teazer, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Quit! I can’t quit!” Jerrie looked shocked that she would suggest such a thing.
“Why can’t you?” She looked so innocent at that moment that it touched something deep in Jerrie's heart. He had never had the chance to be that naïve.
“I don’t know! It’s just never been done, that’s all.”
“Tumblebrutus did, you can too!” She stood there and just looked at him and waited for him to say something.
Jerrie thought about it. Her arguments were sound. There was something to be said for her logic. But still…
“Your right.” He finally admitted.
“I know I’m right. I knew that from the start of this ‘little discussion’.” She smiled, proud of herself for proving her point. She grabbed a hold of his paw and dragged him away. “Hey ‘Cetera! I have a new kitten to play hide-and-seek.”
“Hey wait a minute. I never said yes!” Jerrie fought against her. She then let go of him and he fell to the ground. “Oof!”
“Well you never said no either.” The look that she gave him was so compelling that he couldn’t do anything but follow.
“But what about Macavity?” he asked, still a little dubious about the whole thing.
“What about him?” she said as she looked at him with a mischievous grin. Electra and Etcetera turned as Teazer appeared from behind a pile of trash. Dragging a tough looking newcomer behind her.
“HEY! Tumble, I’ve got someone you know here that you know!” Tumblebrutus turns and looks at Jerrie for a moment.
“Jerrie?!?” Tumble runs to his friend. “Are you sick of Macavity too?” Electra and Etcetera start to run but Teazer stopped them with a look that told them it was okay.
“He’s really a decent guy once you get to know him.” Teazer said defensively. The other kittens looked a little skeptical.
“You were really into that stuff the last time I saw you Jerrie.” Tumblebrutus said.
“Yeah. Well somebody finally talked some sense into me.” Jerrie looks over at Teazer. Tumble noticed a look in his friend’s eyes that he only had seen in the cats who had mates.
“Jerrie’s gonna tie the knot!!” Tumble crowed and slapped his friend on the back! “Congratulations buddy!!”
“SAY WHAT!!” Jerrie looks at Tumble with indignation. “I’m too young for a mate!!!”
Meanwhile the other kittens were rolling on the ground, laughing so hard there were tears in their eyes. Teazer threw a mock punch at Tumble’s stomach.
“What have you been telling these cats about me Tumble?!” She asked in playful indignation! “You make me sound like a common slut! Who do you think I am? Cassandra!!”
“Hey, I was just kiddin’! Can’t you take a joke!” Demanded Tumble as he nimbly sidestepped the kick Teazer aimed at his ribcage.
“Hey Teazer, Tumble, cut it out, you’re killin’ me here!” Gasped Electra through a paroxysm of giggles. Etcetera, on the other paw, was on the ground, laughing so hard she could hardly breath let alone speak!
During this whole scene Mungojerrie stood back and watched bemusedly as the kittens carried on with their childish antics.
‘Where did my youth go?’ Jerrie thought with just a hint of remorse. He was just beginning to feel sorry for himself when suddenly something flattened him from behind.
“Got ya!” Teazer chortled triumphantly. “And there’s nothing at all you can do about it!” Then she pinned his legs to the ground. “What are you looking so smug about anyway?”
“I’m not looking smug.” Jerrie attempted, half-heartedly, to get her off of him. “In fact I was feeling kinda sorry for myself.”
“Why?” Teazer seemed like she really wanted to know.
“Well, it’s kind of a long story.” Jerrie shrugged. He wasn’t really sure if he wanted to tell her. He didn’t want her upset, but he couldn’t understand why.
“Is it that you miss being a kitten?” She held a knowing look in her young eyes. Jerrie looked at her in surprise. “I guess I’ll take that as yes.”
“H-how did you know?!?”
“I just did. Something told me and I knew it.”
“I guess I can tell you the rest.” He proceeded to tell Teazer, Etcetera, and Electra the whole story.
* * *
“And you know the rest ‘Cetera.” Jerrie sighed.
“Yep! Macavity tried to get you to come back but all of the tribe protected you.” Jerrie nodded in agreement.
At this moment Teazer cried out again, “Ouch!!”
“Teazer, are you okay?!” Jerrie was at her side in a moment.
“No!!” Jerrie looked very worried. “It’s not my injuries either!”
“You mean…” Teazer nodded. “‘Cetera! Run and get Jenny!”
“But…”
“NOW!!!” Jerrie yelled. Etcetera did a double take for she had never heard Jerrie yell. Then she took turned and ran off.
* * *
Hours later Jenny came out of her home and walked over to Jerrie, who was surrounded by nearly every cat in the Junkyard. “You can see her now. But she is very tired.” Jerrie nearly trampled Jenny in attempting to get inside.
“Teazer?” Jerrie whispered. He heard a soft sobbing from a cushion. He looked over and there was Teazer curled in a very tight ball. “Teazer? What’s wrong?”
She looked at him and he saw the tears falling down her face.
“Oh my god. Sweetie, What’s wrong?!” Jerrie asked. He knelt and took Teazer’s paw to his lips.
She didn’t say anything, but she uncurled somewhat and showed him what was wrong. Teazer had been curled up around a single silvery-white kitten. Jerrie looked at the kitten.
“She kinda looks like Vicki but her paws, her nose, and the tips of her ears are gray.” Jerrie said not understanding yet.
“She’s the only one we have Jerrie!” Teazer burst into tears again. Jerrie pulled her to him.
“What do you mean?”
“She’s the only one that survived. We had five but four of them didn’t make it.”
“What?!?” Jerrie felt burning tears of anger. He collapsed to the floor and an unintelligible whimper escaped from his throat. “I’ll get even with you Macavity!” he yelled. He was right in this. Macavity had caused this to happen, but not intentionally, for when he threw Teazer he had injured her and killed those kittens.
“Jerrie,” Teazer said gently. “Come here. We have to name her.”
Jerrie quickly overcame his rage and looked at his mate and then at his kitten. “Well, she was born under a full moon, so maybe Luna?”
Teazer looked at her kitten and then at Jerrie and smiled. “Luna it is. She looks like the Jellicle moon doesn’t she? All silvery-white.” Jerrie nodded.
Jerrie decided that he didn’t need to take revenge on Macavity. He still had Teazer and now he had a kitten of his own to care for. Jerrie smiled proudly. He then lay down and curled up around Teazer, who was curled around little Luna.
* * *
Bombalurina cautiously walked in holding her one of little kittens that had been born the week before. This was her runt, named Sol because he was a golden sun colored kitten. Bombs smiled at the new parents and then she walked out quietly.
* * *
All in all the cats were content with the whole event even though only one kitten was born to them.