(author's note) *sigh* This is the last, and longest, chapter of my story. First of all, I mean no offense to any celebrities (you'll know what I mean when you get there). Second of all, Misto's little temper explosion thing has nothing to do with whatever the guard cats say (again, you'll know what I mean when you get there:).
And now for a sentimental moment. To all of you who read and reviewed this story, thank you so much! Even if you didn't write a review, thank you anyway! This is my longest story and I know it probably seemed pointless at times, but your positive impute feels so great! Thank you so much to all of you!
And, just for the fun of it, I would like to thank my beautiful dog, Bella. You'll understand why when you read this chapter.
I'll shut up now so that you can.
Thanx ya'll!
U ROCK!
=^.".^=
(the next day)
"Hey Vor?" asked Layf. "Do you think the jellicles have found the magical cat's body yet?"
The head guard cat shrugged.
"I don't know. They've at least noticed that he's missing. If anything, we can be sure of that."
The guard cats had spent the previous night in a nearby alley so that they would not risk being seen by the jellicles. They had come back a day earlier than they had made known. That way, the tribe would never suspect that they could be involved in the magical cat's death. But now it was the next day and they could return to the tribe and find out what had resulted from their murder of Magical Mr. Mistoffelees.
"We ripped it up so well I doubt they'll even recognize it," laughed Tak.
"Oh, they'll recognize it all right," answered Vor. "But, I don't think they recognize it as a murder. What we want them to think was that it was attacked by a pollicle."
"Why can't we tell them it was us who saved them?" asked Tak.
Golb spoke up.
"They are a strong tribe. They are well attached to Mistoffelees, magical cat or not. Until we can convince them that its death was for their good, we should keep our part in it a secret."
"You know," voiced Kent to no one in particular. "I don't think the trust between Mistoffelees and the tribe was all that great."
"Why do you say that?" asked Vor.
"Well, even after we started to encourage the magical cat to leave, the jellicles remained just as friendly to us as they were from the beginning."
"So?"
"So, if Mistoffelees trusted them, it would've told them about our threat. And, if they knew about it, don't you think they would've at least stopped being so friendly?"
"Hey, that's right," said Golb.
Kent continued.
"I think we can safely assume that the magical cat did not tell anyone about what we said to it. So like I said, the trust between it and the tribe must not be all that great."
Vor nodded. This was indeed a good point. Perhaps convincing the tribe that the magical cat's death was a fortune to them would not be as hard as they thought.
Layf spoke up.
"What I meant from the beginning was, shouldn't we check the clearing to see if the body is still there?"
"Why the Heavyside would we do that?" asked Tak.
"Well, if the body is still there, that would mean the jellicles don't know it's dead and they won't say anything about it when we arrive. But, if it's gone, then the jellicles must've found it and we can be ready to act appropriately when we find them all in tears."
"Good idea Layf," said Vor. "We'll do that."
Then gang headed toward the magical cat's clearing.
When they got there, they did not see the lifeless figure of Mistoffelees. Only a dried pool of blood that marked where he had died. So the jellicles had discovered his body and taken it back to their clearing. Now the guard cats could be prepared for glum faces and maybe even tears when they returned.
They were just about to exit the clearing, when they heard music begin to play. It sounded hollow and distant and it echoed a little bit. They stopped short as they recognized it as the song of the magical cat.
"Oh! Well! I never! Was there ever a cat so clever as Magical. Mr. Mistoffelees?"
Everyone, except Kent, froze on the spot when they saw what happened next. I say everyone except Kent because he was the only one who could not see anything. He only heard the haunting music and saw the horrified faces of his comrades.
What the other four saw was indeed surprising.
In the center of the clearing, they saw Mr. Mistoffelees himself!
He was dancing to the music.
However, he was different in his appearance.
His fur seemed to be different shades of gray rather than black and white. It did not sparkle when he danced. Instead it seemed to have an eerie, bluish glow to it. His outline was not sharp but rather fuzzy as if they were looking at him through a lens that needed to be focused.
There was another thing.
Usually when he danced he wore a big ear to ear smile that lit up his white face. His eyes sparkled with the love to dance and perform his magic. But now, he seemed so melancholy.
His expression was so blank,
so cold,
so dead.
A chill ran down the four brown tom's spines.
Could this be the ghost of the magical cat that they had murdered?
Suddenly, the music stopped and a deathlike silence filled the clearing. Though their eyes never left the ghastly form, it took the four guard cats a second or two to realize that he had stopped dancing and was staring straight at them. Not just one of them, he seemed to make eye contact with all of them at the same time. It felt as though his eyes were burning holes in their bodies.
He must be a ghost!
Vor had been leading the group, and so he was closest to the apparition. He stared at it in shock. He could not move his eyes. They stayed locked on the ghastly figure. Every muscle in his body was tense. He never believed in ghosts. Actually seeing one was something he never thought he'd do. Certainly the last thing he had expected at that moment in time.
He drew in a sharp breath.
Unless he was dreaming, the ghost had a smile on his face! But, it was not a friendly smile. At the same time, it was not an evil smile. It was simply a smile. Vor supposed it could be a crafty smile. Crafty was the only word that he could think of to describe it. Either way, the ghost of the feline they had murdered was smiling at them.
And. . .holy Heavyside!
He was coming toward them!
Vor's eyes grew wide with terror. The ghost was coming toward them! He lifted one foot and placed it in front of the other and yet, he did not seem to be walking. Rather he glided over the ground with every step he took.
He came closer.
Closer.
Closer.
He could not have been more than ten feet away when Vor decided he couldn't take it anymore.
He began to slowly back away from the ghost of Mistoffelees.
Further and further he backed away.
He supposed that his comrades were doing the same as he did not run into them. Either that or they had retreated and he had not noticed. He was too terrified to turn around and find out. He could not move his eyes from the ghost's hard gaze. It continued to glide closer. Vor continued to back away until, he felt something hard against his back.
Drat!
It was the edge of the clearing. Probably a washing machine or oven or something of that kind.
Whatever it was, Vor had his back against it and it prevented him from going any further.
His breath quickened.
Misto's smile had become bigger and , Vor thought, craftier.
He continued to move forward. As he did, he seemed to be fading away. It wasn't fast, but Vor was positive that he could see through the ghastly figure more and more every second.
He was practically gone and only one step away from the gang leader, when the ghost lifted a paw above his head and snapped his fingers.
It vanished from view.
Vor had not heard the snap. It was silent. The brown tom let out a sigh of relief as he finally realized that the ghost was gone.
He looked around.
So was his gang!
Vor panicked.
Where were they?
Gone!
Vanished!
Had the ghost taken them with him?
"Hi Vor," he heard the voice of Golb say.
He saw the four heads of the brown toms appear from behind different pieces of junk.
"We were right behind ya the whole time!" said Layf.
"Yeah," added Tak. "We weren't afraid!"
Kent said nothing. He did not even know what had happened. He heard music. He saw his friends stare at something that he could not see. He saw them run and hide. He followed. That's all he knew.
Vor was too glad to see them to be angry. And yet, he was too shaken up to be glad.
There was no doubt about it.
They had just had an encounter with the ghost of Magical Mr. Mistoffelees.
=^.".^=
(an hour later)
The guard cats had been slowly making their way to the tribe's clearing. None of them spoke. What could they say? What can anyone say after seeing the ghost of someone they had murdered? And what could Kent say being as he had not seen anything? Vor was especially silent.
Finally, Layf spoke up.
"Look, why can we just forget about what we saw and relax?"
"What did we see?" asked Kent.
Layf ignored him and continued.
"I mean, we will not be able to play convincing innocent cats if our minds are elsewhere. And for another thing, so we just happened to see a ghost. So what? What are the chances that it will come back?"
"What were the chances that it would come in the first place," mumbled Tak.
Kent was dumbstruck. A ghost? What ghost?
Layf continued.
"Besides, I've always heard that ghosts only return to the scene of their death."
This statement comforted Vor a great deal.
"That's right," he said. "We should just forget about it and concentrate on our behavior for the jellicle tribe."
No sooner had the words escaped his mouth, then Vor fell forward and landed on his face. He looked up angrily at his gang.
"Who did that?" he demanded.
The brown toms were stunned.
"What?" asked Golb. "Who did what?"
"Don't be pollicles!" snapped the leader. "Someone tripped me!"
"None of us tripped you."
"Is that so Layf? Then how did I end up on the ground?"
"VOR!"
The standing guard cats spun around as the loud, hollow voice echoed through the junkyard. All except Kent, who had not heard anything.
"Hey guys?" said Golb nervously. "Did that sound at all like Mistoffelees to you?"
"You idiot!" said Tak. "How could it be Mistoffelees? He's dead!"
Tak's head suddenly snapped to the right. He almost lost his balance. He touched a paw to his cheek and looked with bewilderment at the blood that covered his fingers. Five, red scratches had appeared on his face. Who was the attacker?
"TAK!"
The brown tom fell to the ground and covered his head with his paws when he heard the strange voice say his name.
"It is Mistoffelees!" he cried.
Golb stood over him and laughed.
"You idiot! How can it be Mistoffelees? He's dead!"
The next thing Golb knew, he was pushed to the ground, landing on top of his comrade.
"GOLB!"
Layf opened his mouth to speak when something that could not be seen grabbed him by the fur and threw him into a pile of rubber.
"LAYF!"
Kent watched in horror as each of his comrades fell due to some invisible force. An evil spirit of some sort! It must be!
"No!" he cried.
He turned to run away when he felt a burning pain in his back and fell to the ground. The other four toms had heard what sounded like the lightning of the magical cat.
"KENT!"
The four who had heard this, as Kent did not hear anything, looked up to see the misty glowing figure of Magical Mr. Mistoffelees standing between them and the path to the tribe's clearing. He stood, or rather he hovered, with his arms crossed and the same crafty smile on his face.
Before any of the brown toms could react, he faded away, leaving them alone. Or so they hoped.
After a short while, the guard cats recovered from their second encounter with the ghost of Mistoffelees. Kent was feeling very confused and rather scared. He did not know what was going on. In his state of panic, his mind told him it that an evil spirit was attacking them. But now, he didn't know what to think.
The gang stood no less than thirty feet from the tribe's clearing. Each of them trying to relax and help the others to relax..
"We have to act normal," said Vor, talking to himself as well as the others. "Think, we have just returned from a four day vacation. We don't know anything about the magical cat or the rest of the tribe. We will enter the clearing expecting a warm welcome, and will be surprised, and concerned, when we find them upset."
The brown toms nodded.
"We can do this, we're professionals," concluded the leader.
He took a deep breath and continued toward the tribe's clearing with his gang close behind.
They were scarcely ten feet from the entrance when they heard a friendly voice call out to them. At least four of them did. As you have probably guessed, Kent heard nothing. The four who had, looked up and stopped short. The misty figure of Mistoffelees was walking from the clearing toward them. He actually walked this time rather than gliding just above the ground. He still smiled, but this time it was not so mysterious. Now, he wore a carefree, friendly, almost annoying smile on his glowing white face.
Kent stopped short when his comrades did, but he did not know why they had done so.
"Hey guys!" called Misto when he had reach them. "It's great to see ya! Well not that great, but still! How long has it been?"
The ghost paused and looked at his wrist.
"A whole twenty-four hours! Well, it's been that long since you saw me alive. I guess it's really been more like ten minutes since we last met."
The four guard cats stared at him in stunned silence as he broke into a fit of inane laughter.
"Come on Vor," he said, when he had gotten a hold of himself.
He held out his arms and walked toward the leader as if to give him a hug, but instead, the magical passed right through the brown tom.
The guard cats who could see him drew in sharp breaths that startled Kent.
Misto simply shrugged.
"Haven't quite gotten used to that yet," he said casually.
He looked at each of their tense faces.
"What?" he asked. "You've never seen a ghost before?"
When they didn't respond, Mistoffelees continued.
"Hey, I know where you're comin from. I've never seen a ghost either. It's not like I can look in a mirror. If there's anything I've learned, it's that we don't reflect very well. Or at all, for that matter."
Mistoffelees suddenly noticed that the green eyes of four of the guard cats were nervously shifting from his face to his feet. Confused, he looked down to see that he had subconsciously risen into the air and was hovering about a foot over the ground. He grinned sheepishly and lowered himself down.
"Sorry, I've never been a ghost before."
Golb had been trying to stay silent like the rest of his gang. But, as he watched the carefree behavior of the magical cat, his curiosity got the better of him.
"What's it like?"
Kent looked at him confusedly. Who was he talking to?
Misto's face lit up.
"You can still talk!" he exclaimed. "I was beginning to wonder. What's what like?"
"Being a ghost," answered the brown tom.
Misto shrugged.
"It's okay I guess."
He looked at his paws.
"It's different."
He stuck one of his paws deep into his stomach and pulled it out without leaving a single mark behind.
"Kinda disgusting."
Golb nodded in agreement. The magical tom continued.
"I did prefer black to this bluish, gray color, but there's nothing I can do about that."
"How did the jellicles react to seeing you?" asked Layf who was also starting to relax and get curious.
Kent stared at him. Layf too? What was going on?
Mistoffelees smiled.
"You really don't understand this whole ghost thing do you?"
Layf shook his head.
"Well, I'll try to explain it as simply as I can."
The magical cat cleared his throat and disappeared.
That same second, he reappeared behind the guard cats. Only this time, he was very much different. He had on a light gray suit jacket and a bright red bowtie. He also wore a thick pair of black rimmed glasses. In his left paw, he held a thick book like an encyclopedia. In his right paw, he held a pen which he clicked open and shut at random times, though he never wrote with it. He was hovering about two feet in the air and appeared to be sitting on some invisible chair. He cleared his throat and began to speak with a thicker, almost overdone British accent than he had before.
"There are two ways to get to the Heavyside layer," he said, subconsciously clicking the pen. "The first one is to die. The second one is to be sent there by your tribe. Now if you are either sent there, or die of natural causes, then you have the opportunity to be reborn. A bit like reincarnation. Are you understanding me so far?"
The four guard toms nodded.
"But," continued Misto. "If you should happen to be murdered, then being reborn is out of the question. You can, however, come back as a ghost. The only catch is, only the ones responsible for your death can see and, or, hear you. Is everything clear now?"
"Oh yeah," replied Layf. "Perfectly clear."
Mistoffelees smiled.
"Good, I'm glad I could be of service."
In a sudden puff of smoke, he disappeared and reappeared to the left of the guard cats. This time looking, talking and acting the way he did before.
"One more question," added Layf.
He pointed toward Kent.
"Why can't he see you?"
Misto looked confused.
"He can't see me?"
He walked up to the guard cat and waved his paw in front of his face. Kent did not react. Misto smiled.
"Well, what'dya know?" he said.
He snapped his fingers in front of the brown tom.
"Yo, Kent! Ghost callin ya!"
No response.
A crafty smile came to the ghost's face. He reached up and grabbed the back of the guard cat's head. There was a spark as his fingers touched his skin. Kent cried out in pain and surprise. The other toms jumped backward. Mistoffelees laughed.
"Don't worry, just havin a little fun that's all. What can I say? I couldn't resist. "
Kent had been staring at his comrades in confusion. They were looking at, and talking to someone, or something, that was not there. They had all gone insane! They had been inhabited by some evil spirit! He was the only one who was free. Then, Layf pointed to him and said the words, 'why can't he see you? Kent did not know what was going on. They turned their focus to him. He suddenly felt a shock on the back of his head. The evil spirit must be trying to enter him too! He clutched the back of his head with a paw, but the pain was gone. Only now, he heard a tiny voice in his head. It said things like,
"You are a murderer!"
"You are all murderers!"
"The Everlasting cat does not like murderers!"
"There is no place in the Heavyside Layer for murderers!"
Kent did not know where this voice was coming from, but he did not like it. He shook his head. He tried to ignore it, but it would not go away.
Meanwhile, the other four guard cats had turned their focus back to something that he could not see.
"C'mon," said the ghost. "I'll bet the others will be glad to see you."
He started toward the tribe's clearing. The guard cats followed.
"Hey," said Misto. "I don't suppose you guys could help me out a little. You did kill me so you owe me something. Maybe, I could talk to you and you could tell the others what I'm saying."
Mistoffelees thought about this for a while.
"Nah," he said with a wave of his paw. "Forget I even brought it up. After all, what I would want to tell them, you would not want them to know."
=^.".^=
No one seemed to notice the gang of brown toms. They entered the tribe's clearing with big smiles, but they quickly faded when they saw the sadness that filled the area. They pretended as though they did not know what had happened.
They expected it.
They knew that they would have to act the way they did. However, the annoyingly carefree apparition that hung around them as if nothing was wrong made it especially difficult.
Mistoffelees looked around at his fellow jellicles. For a moment, his happy expression turned solemn. He looked at the guard cats.
"It's funny," he said. "I seem to remember someone saying that I would not be missed."
Vor flinched at the ghost's cold words, but nobody noticed.
Suddenly, there was a puff of smoke where the magical tom stood. A queen appeared in his place. An older Siamese. She sat in an overstuffed armchair. Her ankles crossed. Her paws folded in her lap. A serious expression on her face. She talked into a camera that was in front of her.
"Today we will be talking to five toms who call themselves guard cats," she said, with an air of authority. "We will find out from them how a murderer can deal with the deed he, or she, has committed. What is it like from their point of view? That's next on the Pouncra Queenfry show."
She gave the camera a sincere smile.
"Go to commercial," said a voice.
A puff of smoke and the camera, and Pouncra Queenfry, disappeared.
Again, the four brown toms saw Mistoffelees, who sat in the armchair with his ankles crossed and his paws folded in his lap. He looked up at them with that annoying grin.
Tak narrowed his eyes and took a step toward him.
The chair disappeared as Misto leapt to his feet. He held out a paw toward the approaching guard cat. Tak suddenly felt as though his feet were glued to the ground. He could not walk any further.
"Ah, ah, ah," said the ghost of Mistoffelees.
He held up his paw as if to strike.
"Remember, no one can see, or hear me, but you. It would be interesting to hear you explain how your face suddenly started to bleed for no reason whatsoever."
The apparition waved both paws and let them drop to his sides. Tak stumbled backward into Golb. He muttered something under his breath, but snapped his mouth shut when he saw Misto hold up a paw with his claws extended. They looked longer now than ever before.
Kent, in the mean time, had been nervously glancing at the jellicles. Jemima was crying and Victoria was trying to comfort her.
The voice in his head was growing louder.
"You'll never get away with it."
"They will find out."
"They will learn that it was you."
"You'll never get away with it."
"You are a murderer!"
"Hey guys," said a voice.
The guard cats looked to see the Rum Tum Tugger walking up to them. A forced smile on his face.
"Hey, it's the Rum Tum Tugger!" answered Vor.
He and the Maine coon slapped paws, but Tugger's smile appeared to be fading.
"Did something happen while we were gone?" asked the gang leader.
Tugger let out an exasperated sigh.
"Actually," he started, trying to figure out what to say.
Mistoffelees smacked the head guard cat on the arm.
"What do you think?" he said. "You know something happened while you were, quote, unquote, gone!"
"Shut up!" hissed Tak.
Rum Tum Tugger shot him a look.
"Fine!"
"Tak!" snapped Vor.
Misto burst out laughing.
Tak's jaw dropped open.
"I-I. . ." he stammered.
Golb broke in.
"He was talking to me."
Tugger wrinkled his forehead.
"But you didn't say anything."
"Yes, I did. I whispered a comment about his mother. He didn't like it too much."
"Well, it wasn't funny," hissed Tak.
Vor turned back to the Maine coon.
"Sorry 'bout that."
"No prob."
The ghost finally stopped his inane laughter.
"That was good!" he said, wiping a tear from his eye.
Vor ignored him and continued to speak.
"You were saying?"
"Yeah," Tugger replied.
He cleared his throat.
"Ya know Mistoffelees?"
Vor nodded.
"The magical cat? Yeah, we know him."
"He's dead."
"What?!"
Mistoffelees again smacked Vor on the arm.
"You heard him! I'm dead."
"He's dead," said the Maine coon.
"You see?"
Tak started to move, but Misto shot him a look and he backed off. Tugger continued.
"We found him yesterday. He was all ripped up, it was awful."
Misto placed one one paw on his heart and the other paw over his forehead.
"Yes, it does sound truly awful," he said with a dramatic sigh.
Tugger continued.
"We aren't sure what killed him yet. Munkustrap is discussing it with Old Deuteronomy right now."
Vor pointed to something behind the Tugger.
"Looks like he's done."
Tugger turned to see the gray tabby walking up to them.
"Hi guys," he said. "Did Tugger tell you already?"
Vor nodded.
"Do you know what did it?" he asked.
The apparition rolled his eyes.
"Why are you asking? You know what did it!"
There was another puff of smoke. Mistoffelees disappeared. A red tabby appeared wearing a gray suit jacket and tie. He sat in a tall chair and spoke with an overdone New York accent rather than British.
"Munkustrap, here is your final, one million catnip question."
Mistoffelees, who now looked distinctly like Clawgis Furbin who hosted the show Who Wants to be a Catnippaire, looked up and read the question as it came up on a screen that had appeared in the sky.
"What killed the magical cat?
Was it
A, pollicle
B, Godzilla
C, aliens from outer space
or D, the guard cats?"
"Yeah," said Munkustrap to Vor. "We've decided it was a pollicle."
Clawgis wrinkled his forehead.
"You said A, pollicle. Is that your final answer?"
"Are you sure bro?" asked the Tugger.
Munkustrap nodded.
"Yeah, we're sure. What else could've done it?"
Clawgis frowned.
"I'm sorry that's incorrect."
A puff of smoke and Clawgis Furbin, and the screen, disappeared.
"I can't believe he got that one wrong," said Mistoffelees, who had reappeared. "It was so simple!"
Kent placed a paw on his forehead. Those voices were so loud they had become deafening. He felt dizzy.
"Not much longer."
"They will find out."
"They'll learn what you did."
"Better come clean now."
"You know," said the ghost of Mistoffelees. "I hate for them to have lost all that catnip, and still not know what the correct answer is. If only there was some way I could tell them."
Vor bit his tongue. He was afraid he would lose his concentration if that ghost did not be quiet!
Mistoffelees snapped his fingers.
"Wait a minute!" he said. "There is a way!"
The guard cats stiffened. Misto smacked his forehead and continued.
"Why didn't I think of it before? One of the cats in this tribe is psychic. I can just tell her!"
Vor and the others took in quick breaths as Mistoffelees disappeared and reappeared on the tire next to the jellicle queen named Tantomile.
He leaned in toward her and whispered into her ear.
Her eyes widened.
"I'm getting a message from Mistoffelees!" she cried.
Munkustrap and Rum Tum Tugger ran to her to see what she would say.
Her eyes glazed over and her face became blank.
"It was not a pollicle that killed me," she said in a monotone voice.
Kent's head began to swim.
"She knows!"
"You've been discovered!"
"Come clean now!"
"I was murdered," continued the queen.
Munkustrap and Rum Tum Tugger started.
"Murdered?" said the gray tabby. "By who?"
"Someone who is here now."
The guard cats tensed up. There was nothing they could do.
Kent was ready to lose it. The words were like thunder.
"Tell them now!"
"Come clean now!"
"You are a murderer!"
"You are a murderer!"
"You are a murderer!"
He suddenly felt as though all his strength had left his body. He fell to his knees.
"Stop it!" he cried at the top of his lungs. "All right! It was us! We killed the magical cat! We killed Mistoffelees!"
Seconds after he'd said this, there was a flash of light that filled the entire clearing. When it disappeared, all was as it was before except for one thing, Mistoffelees' appearance. His fur was once again shiny black and pure white with no hint of a bluish, gray glow. His outline was no longer blurry. In short, he no longer looked like a ghost. He looked the same as he did when he was alive. He was still sitting on the tire.
Tantomile had been frightened by the flash and ran to the washing machine where her brother, Coricopat, was sitting.
Misto's eyes were closed and he rubbed his forehead.
"You all right Misto?" asked Rum Tum Tugger.
The tuxedo nodded.
"I'm fine."
He took a deep breath.
"That was exhausting."
Kent, who was still on his knees, was seeing the magical cat for the first time since the previous day. He was terrified.
The other guard cats stared at Misto and the Maine coon with shocked expressions.
"You can see him?" asked Vor.
Tugger shot him a sarcastic look. He opened his mouth to speak, but Mistoffelees cut him off.
"Him? When did I get promoted from, it?"
His words were like ice. Kent shuddered as one of his comrades pulled him to his feet. Vor continued.
"That's impossible. You can't see him, he's dead!"
"Really?" said Munkustrap, raising an eyebrow. "He looks pretty alive to me."
"But. . .but. . ."
"Speak up, Vor!" hissed the tuxedo. "We can't hear you!"
"You all heard Kent. He's dead! We killed him!"
Rum Tum Tugger smiled and patted Misto on the back.
"Ya just can't keep a good magical cat down can ya?"
"There's no such thing," muttered Tak.
Munkustrap took a step toward him and narrowed his eyes.
"What did you say?"
Tak started toward the gray tabby.
"You heard me you pollicle! There's no such thing as a good magical cat!"
With a fierce hiss, Munkustrap leapt at the brown tom who fell under his weight. The other guard cats started to help him, but were quickly surrounded by the jellicle toms, including the Tugger.
Munkustrap slashed Tak across the face. He then picked him up by the fur and threw him into the circle of angry jellicles.
"It's true!" said Vor, trying to sound calm. "There's no such thing as a good magical cat anywhere on the planet."
"What are we waiting for?" said Tugger. "Let's kill em!"
"Wait!" shouted Mistoffelees from the tire. "This is something I have GOT to hear."
Vor visibly relaxed as the jellicle toms backed away from the gang, and stood along the edges of the clearing.
"Go on," hissed Munkustrap. "Explain yourselves."
Vor smiled confidently.
"First of all, you must understand that we know more about magical cats than anyone."
As the head guard cat spoke, Mistoffelees leapt from the tire and began walking toward them. Vor sneered at him.
"We know more about your magical cat, than IT knows about itself."
An angry Munkustrap started toward him, but Misto put a restraining paw on his arm.
"Go on," he challenged. "If you know so much, tell us!"
Vor smiled.
"With pleasure, slime."
No sooner had he said this, than there was a flash of lightning. Vor cried out as he fell back into the arms of Layf.
Mistoffelees glared at them, his eyes were turning red.
"Get talking!" he hissed.
Vor regained his feet and began to shout.
"All magical cats are the devil's servants!"
He pointed an accusing finger at Misto.
"This poisonous creature is one of them!"
Mistoffelees clenched his fists. His fingers had already begun to spark. Vor continued.
"They are chosen by the devil himself to do his evil work! Nothing good ever comes from their dark powers!"
"That's not true!" shouted a voice.
Plato leapt forward.
"He uses his powers for good things only! He uses them to help us!"
"What's an example?" demanded the head guard cat.
Plato readily answered.
"Last year, Old Deuteronomy was catnapped from the jellicle ball, and Misto brought him back!"
"So your leader was catnapped? Was that before, or after that thing joined your tribe?"
"After," replied the jellicle tom, without thinking.
"You see?" said Vor. "Nothing good ever comes from a magical cat's presence. Wherever they go, pain and suffering follow."
The bewildered Plato sank back into the crowd of jellicles, not knowing what to say.
Rum Tum Tugger on the other hand, knew exactly what to say.
"The only pain and suffering round here was because of you!" he shouted. "You're the poisonous ones!"
"Give it a little thought, Rum Tum Tugger. You will see it our way with time."
"Unfortunately, time is something you do not have!" hissed Munkustrap. "You're finished!"
The head guard cat smiled sarcastically.
"And, who's gunna finish us, pollicle? You?"
"I am!"
The brown toms turned to the little tuxedo. His eyes were red. His fists were clenched. There was fire in his words.
Vor laughed.
"You? You must be joking! You couldn't defend yourself against a fly!"
"Is that so?" hissed the magical cat.
Before anyone had time to blink, Mistoffelees appeared in front of Vor and slashed him across the face. The blow sent the leader tumbling to the ground. He looked up in shock. He rubbed his cheek and stared at his paw.
There was no blood!
It badly stung. It sure felt like Misto had broken the skin, but there was no blood on his cheek.
The other guard cats noticed this too. They looked at their fallen leader with stunned expressions.
They were suddenly snapped back to reality when Misto kicked Vor in the jaw. The leader rolled a few times before he staggered to his feet. Mistoffelees glared at him with fiery eyes.
"What goes around, comes around," he hissed.
There was a shout as Tak ran up behind the little tuxedo. Misto spun around and slashed him across the face. He then swiped his claws across the brown tom's stomach. Tak cried out in surprise and pain. He grabbed his stomach only to find that it was not bleeding. No matter how much it hurt, no blood was being shed.
With the strength of ten toms, Misto grabbed Tak by the fur and threw him into Layf who was charging toward him from behind. Both toms fell to the ground.
The watching jellicles cheered.
Mistoffelees felt Kent grab his wrist. He twisted his arm out of his grasp. He then grabbed the guard cat's wrist and sunk his claws into his fingers. Kent gasped. He saw the tuxedo's claws pierce his skin, but there was no blood. Misto threw Kent to the ground and kicked him in the back.
"At least that wasn't a rock!" he hissed.
The tuxedo turned to Golb. He waved his paw and flicked his wrist. A spiked collar appeared in his paw.
"Look familiar?" he asked.
Golb's eyes grew wide. He felt his neck to find that his collar was not there.
"Thought so."
Mistoffelees threw the collar toward the guard cat and waved his paws. The collar wrapped itself around Golb's leg, piercing his skin with it's spikes. Golb screeched and tried to remove it, but before he could, he fell to the ground with a hard thud. Mistoffelees was on his back. He could not get up. The next thing he felt was Misto's arm around his neck. He gasped for breath.
Since when was the magical cat this strong?
His vision began to blur when, finally, the tuxedo released him.
Misto rose to his feet just in time to fall under the weight of Layf.
The jellicles gasped.
Misto landed on his back. He slashed Layf once, twice. The second blow was so strong that Layf was knocked off of the magical cat, pressing a paw to his cheek. Misto got up and grabbed his paw. Repeating what he had done to Kent, the tuxedo swiped his claws through the guard cat's fingers.
Golb and Kent ran up behind him, but Misto spun around and slashed them both with a single swipe of his claws.
Meanwhile, Tak had taken one of Vor's paws and was helping him to his feet. Mistoffelees suddenly appeared next to them. He grabbed Vor's other arm and gave it a good yank. Vor cried out and grabbed his arm as he fell back to the ground.
Misto grabbed Tak's arm and yanked it also. Tak fell to the ground and recoiled as Mistoffelees kicked him in the stomach.
Layf had just managed to get to his feet when the magical cat appeared behind him and swiped his claws across his back. Layf cried out and fell.
Now, all of the guard cats were on the ground. They moaned and clutched their bloodless wounds. Mistoffelees made his way to Vor and glared down at him.
"You said a guard cat never goes back on his word," he hissed.
He took hold of one of Vor's arms and held his claws to his wrist. The head guard cat's eyes were wide with fear.
Misto released him.
"And yet, Mistoffelees is still alive."
Misto stepped over the brown tom and walked toward the tire. As he moved away, each of the guard cats rose to their feet. They helped their leader to his. Vor glared in the direction of the magical cat.
"A guard cat never goes back on his word!" he shouted. "Mistoffelees is DEAD!"
Together, the guard cats charged toward the tuxedo.
"Misto, look out!" cried Jemima.
Mistoffelees whirled around and waved his paws wildly through the air.
There was a brilliant flash of light that was so bright, the jellicles had to shield their eyes.
There was a loud noise, unlike any that anyone had ever heard.
Then, there was silence.
The jellicles slowly opened their eyes.
Mistoffelees was standing alone.
He looked up at the sky, but his eyes were closed. His arms were down at his sides. His breath was calm and relaxed. He was calm and relaxed.
Most importantly, the guard cats were gone.
Jemima was the first to move. She had been watched the whole ordeal from the car bumper. Now, she ran to her mate and threw her arms around his neck.
"Misto, you were wonderful!" she said.
She grabbed his head and pressed her lips against his.
When the couple separated, they saw that their fellow jellicles had surrounded them. They cheered for the magical cat. All the queens wanted to hug him. The toms patted him on the back and shook his paw.
Rum Tum Tugger leapt onto the tire.
"The greatest magicians have something to learn from Mr. Mistoffelees' conjuring turn!"
The jellicle cats immediately joined in.
"And we all say, Oh! Well! I never! Was there ever a cat so clever as Magical. Mr. Mistoffelees?"
The Maine coon leapt from the tire. The jellicles ran to the edges of the clearing. The little tuxedo danced as around as the Rum Tum Tugger sang his song.
"He's quiet, he's small, he's black
From the ears to the tip of his tail.
He can creep through the tiniest crack,
He can walk on the narrowest rail.
He can pick any card from the pack.
He's equally cunning with dice.
He's always deceiving you into believing that he's only hunting for mice!"
An idea suddenly came to the magical cat's head. He was going to do something different this time.
He snapped his fingers. A cork appeared in his paw.
"He can play any trick with a cork,"
Misto clutched the cork in his fist and blew on it.
"Or a spoon and a bit of fish paste."
He opened his paw to reveal a spoon bearing a tiny bit of salmon paste. With a cute little grin, he swallowed the food. . .and the spoon!
The jellicles gazed at him in surprise.
He winked at them and pulled the spoon out of his ear!
The felines laughed.
Misto threw the spoon into the air where it disappeared.
The jellicles rose to their feet as they continued the song.
"Oh! Well! I never! Was there ever a cat so clever as Magical Mr. Mistoffelees?"
The little tuxedo was hoisted onto the shoulders of Alonzo and Munkustrap who paraded him through the junkyard.
"Oh! Well! I never! Was there ever a cat so clever as Magical Mr. Mistoffelees?"
Finally, the two toms let the tuxedo down onto the tire.
"I give you the magical, the marvelous, Mr. Mistoffelees!" shouted the Rum Tum Tugger.
The jellicles looked toward Misto. A huge smile spread across his face. He had planned on saving this trick for the ball, but what the Heavyside?
He vigorously rubbed his paws together.
There was a gasp as they began to glow.
Using the same actions that he had used before, Mistoffelees soon had a beautiful, glowing star above his head.
He waved his paws and it began to spin.
It spun faster and faster and faster, until it was just a golden blur above the heads of the amazed jellicles.
Misto clapped his paws together.
"Presto!"
The golden light suddenly exploded into a rainbow cloud of butterflies!
The jellicles cheered.
The kittens leapt at the winged colors trying to catch them.
The celebration in honor of the magical cat continued.
A little while later, a stray calico entered the clearing. Rum Tum Tugger embraced and kissed her. He introduced her to the tribe as Medica, the one with the healing powers. The jellicles cheered for her. Mistoffelees could not thank her enough for how she had helped him. Before the end of the afternoon, she had been accepted into the tribe and was proud to call herself a jellicle cat.
The felines celebrated long after the sun set.
It was midnight when the last jellicles went to their sleeping quarters.
Mistoffelees and Jemima were laying in each other's arms inside their little hovel.
"Misto," said the queen. "You were wonderful."
"So were you," he answered. "Everyone was acting so well, I almost thought you really couldn't see me."
"Oh we could see you all right! It was hard to keep from laughing!"
Misto smiled. Jemima continued.
"I didn't know you could do an impression of Pouncra Queenfry so well."
The magical cat felt himself blush.
"That was a spur of the moment thing!"
"Oh sure," laughed Jemima.
"It was!"
"I said sure, didn't I?"
"You were being sarcastic!"
"I was not!"
"Oh be quiet!"
"Make me!"
"All right!"
Mistoffelees leaned down and kissed her.
They stared affectionately into each other's eyes when their lips finally parted.
"I love you," said the tom.
"I love you too."
The purring queen rested her head on his chest. A few minutes passed before she spoke again.
"Misto, where did you send those horrid guard cats anyway?"
Mistoffelees didn't answer, but a smug smile spread across his face.
=^.".^=
Somewhere in the United States of America, a young girl was following her mother around a large fairground on a sunny day. She had her lovely pet Labrador retriever on a leash and was talking to her as they walked.
"Lots of dogs here, huh Bella? Yeah, lots of dogs that are gunna enter the contest just like you."
She was right, there were a lot of dogs. The town that her family lived in had a fair every summer. One of the most popular events was the dog show.
"Lots of dogs that you are going to beat, huh Bella? Yes, because you are so beautiful."
She scratched the lab behind the ears.
She tapped her mother on the arm.
"Mom, can I get a soda?"
"MAY I get a soda," corrected her mother.
"May I get a soda, please?"
"Yes, you may."
Her mother handed the girl a dollar bill. The girl excitedly led her dog through the crowd of both people and canines.
She had almost reached the refreshment stand when suddenly, five, large, brown cats appeared out of nowhere and crashed into it.
Popcorn, candy, sodas and fruit punch flew everywhere.
There was a bark,
and another,
and another,
and another,
and another!
Dozens of dogs pulled away from their masters and ran toward the refreshment table were the cats were. The frightened felines bolted away as fast as they could.
Bella excitedly pulled away from the girl and joined the chase.
"Bella! Bella girl, come back!"
The girl ran after her pet as she ran after the felines.
Tables and chairs were overturned.
Souvenir and game stands collapsed as the cats ran past them and the dogs ran into them.
Owners called their pets.
Other spectators frantically moved out of the way.
Laughing children escaped from their parents and ran after the animals.
There was ultimate chaos at the fair.
The girl did not remember how it all turned out.
Somehow, the animal control officers were able to catch the stray felines, and return the dogs to their masters.
Bella was returned to the girl.
To this day, she remembers that day as the strangest she had ever experienced.
The End =^.".^=
And now for a sentimental moment. To all of you who read and reviewed this story, thank you so much! Even if you didn't write a review, thank you anyway! This is my longest story and I know it probably seemed pointless at times, but your positive impute feels so great! Thank you so much to all of you!
And, just for the fun of it, I would like to thank my beautiful dog, Bella. You'll understand why when you read this chapter.
I'll shut up now so that you can.
Thanx ya'll!
U ROCK!
=^.".^=
(the next day)
"Hey Vor?" asked Layf. "Do you think the jellicles have found the magical cat's body yet?"
The head guard cat shrugged.
"I don't know. They've at least noticed that he's missing. If anything, we can be sure of that."
The guard cats had spent the previous night in a nearby alley so that they would not risk being seen by the jellicles. They had come back a day earlier than they had made known. That way, the tribe would never suspect that they could be involved in the magical cat's death. But now it was the next day and they could return to the tribe and find out what had resulted from their murder of Magical Mr. Mistoffelees.
"We ripped it up so well I doubt they'll even recognize it," laughed Tak.
"Oh, they'll recognize it all right," answered Vor. "But, I don't think they recognize it as a murder. What we want them to think was that it was attacked by a pollicle."
"Why can't we tell them it was us who saved them?" asked Tak.
Golb spoke up.
"They are a strong tribe. They are well attached to Mistoffelees, magical cat or not. Until we can convince them that its death was for their good, we should keep our part in it a secret."
"You know," voiced Kent to no one in particular. "I don't think the trust between Mistoffelees and the tribe was all that great."
"Why do you say that?" asked Vor.
"Well, even after we started to encourage the magical cat to leave, the jellicles remained just as friendly to us as they were from the beginning."
"So?"
"So, if Mistoffelees trusted them, it would've told them about our threat. And, if they knew about it, don't you think they would've at least stopped being so friendly?"
"Hey, that's right," said Golb.
Kent continued.
"I think we can safely assume that the magical cat did not tell anyone about what we said to it. So like I said, the trust between it and the tribe must not be all that great."
Vor nodded. This was indeed a good point. Perhaps convincing the tribe that the magical cat's death was a fortune to them would not be as hard as they thought.
Layf spoke up.
"What I meant from the beginning was, shouldn't we check the clearing to see if the body is still there?"
"Why the Heavyside would we do that?" asked Tak.
"Well, if the body is still there, that would mean the jellicles don't know it's dead and they won't say anything about it when we arrive. But, if it's gone, then the jellicles must've found it and we can be ready to act appropriately when we find them all in tears."
"Good idea Layf," said Vor. "We'll do that."
Then gang headed toward the magical cat's clearing.
When they got there, they did not see the lifeless figure of Mistoffelees. Only a dried pool of blood that marked where he had died. So the jellicles had discovered his body and taken it back to their clearing. Now the guard cats could be prepared for glum faces and maybe even tears when they returned.
They were just about to exit the clearing, when they heard music begin to play. It sounded hollow and distant and it echoed a little bit. They stopped short as they recognized it as the song of the magical cat.
"Oh! Well! I never! Was there ever a cat so clever as Magical. Mr. Mistoffelees?"
Everyone, except Kent, froze on the spot when they saw what happened next. I say everyone except Kent because he was the only one who could not see anything. He only heard the haunting music and saw the horrified faces of his comrades.
What the other four saw was indeed surprising.
In the center of the clearing, they saw Mr. Mistoffelees himself!
He was dancing to the music.
However, he was different in his appearance.
His fur seemed to be different shades of gray rather than black and white. It did not sparkle when he danced. Instead it seemed to have an eerie, bluish glow to it. His outline was not sharp but rather fuzzy as if they were looking at him through a lens that needed to be focused.
There was another thing.
Usually when he danced he wore a big ear to ear smile that lit up his white face. His eyes sparkled with the love to dance and perform his magic. But now, he seemed so melancholy.
His expression was so blank,
so cold,
so dead.
A chill ran down the four brown tom's spines.
Could this be the ghost of the magical cat that they had murdered?
Suddenly, the music stopped and a deathlike silence filled the clearing. Though their eyes never left the ghastly form, it took the four guard cats a second or two to realize that he had stopped dancing and was staring straight at them. Not just one of them, he seemed to make eye contact with all of them at the same time. It felt as though his eyes were burning holes in their bodies.
He must be a ghost!
Vor had been leading the group, and so he was closest to the apparition. He stared at it in shock. He could not move his eyes. They stayed locked on the ghastly figure. Every muscle in his body was tense. He never believed in ghosts. Actually seeing one was something he never thought he'd do. Certainly the last thing he had expected at that moment in time.
He drew in a sharp breath.
Unless he was dreaming, the ghost had a smile on his face! But, it was not a friendly smile. At the same time, it was not an evil smile. It was simply a smile. Vor supposed it could be a crafty smile. Crafty was the only word that he could think of to describe it. Either way, the ghost of the feline they had murdered was smiling at them.
And. . .holy Heavyside!
He was coming toward them!
Vor's eyes grew wide with terror. The ghost was coming toward them! He lifted one foot and placed it in front of the other and yet, he did not seem to be walking. Rather he glided over the ground with every step he took.
He came closer.
Closer.
Closer.
He could not have been more than ten feet away when Vor decided he couldn't take it anymore.
He began to slowly back away from the ghost of Mistoffelees.
Further and further he backed away.
He supposed that his comrades were doing the same as he did not run into them. Either that or they had retreated and he had not noticed. He was too terrified to turn around and find out. He could not move his eyes from the ghost's hard gaze. It continued to glide closer. Vor continued to back away until, he felt something hard against his back.
Drat!
It was the edge of the clearing. Probably a washing machine or oven or something of that kind.
Whatever it was, Vor had his back against it and it prevented him from going any further.
His breath quickened.
Misto's smile had become bigger and , Vor thought, craftier.
He continued to move forward. As he did, he seemed to be fading away. It wasn't fast, but Vor was positive that he could see through the ghastly figure more and more every second.
He was practically gone and only one step away from the gang leader, when the ghost lifted a paw above his head and snapped his fingers.
It vanished from view.
Vor had not heard the snap. It was silent. The brown tom let out a sigh of relief as he finally realized that the ghost was gone.
He looked around.
So was his gang!
Vor panicked.
Where were they?
Gone!
Vanished!
Had the ghost taken them with him?
"Hi Vor," he heard the voice of Golb say.
He saw the four heads of the brown toms appear from behind different pieces of junk.
"We were right behind ya the whole time!" said Layf.
"Yeah," added Tak. "We weren't afraid!"
Kent said nothing. He did not even know what had happened. He heard music. He saw his friends stare at something that he could not see. He saw them run and hide. He followed. That's all he knew.
Vor was too glad to see them to be angry. And yet, he was too shaken up to be glad.
There was no doubt about it.
They had just had an encounter with the ghost of Magical Mr. Mistoffelees.
=^.".^=
(an hour later)
The guard cats had been slowly making their way to the tribe's clearing. None of them spoke. What could they say? What can anyone say after seeing the ghost of someone they had murdered? And what could Kent say being as he had not seen anything? Vor was especially silent.
Finally, Layf spoke up.
"Look, why can we just forget about what we saw and relax?"
"What did we see?" asked Kent.
Layf ignored him and continued.
"I mean, we will not be able to play convincing innocent cats if our minds are elsewhere. And for another thing, so we just happened to see a ghost. So what? What are the chances that it will come back?"
"What were the chances that it would come in the first place," mumbled Tak.
Kent was dumbstruck. A ghost? What ghost?
Layf continued.
"Besides, I've always heard that ghosts only return to the scene of their death."
This statement comforted Vor a great deal.
"That's right," he said. "We should just forget about it and concentrate on our behavior for the jellicle tribe."
No sooner had the words escaped his mouth, then Vor fell forward and landed on his face. He looked up angrily at his gang.
"Who did that?" he demanded.
The brown toms were stunned.
"What?" asked Golb. "Who did what?"
"Don't be pollicles!" snapped the leader. "Someone tripped me!"
"None of us tripped you."
"Is that so Layf? Then how did I end up on the ground?"
"VOR!"
The standing guard cats spun around as the loud, hollow voice echoed through the junkyard. All except Kent, who had not heard anything.
"Hey guys?" said Golb nervously. "Did that sound at all like Mistoffelees to you?"
"You idiot!" said Tak. "How could it be Mistoffelees? He's dead!"
Tak's head suddenly snapped to the right. He almost lost his balance. He touched a paw to his cheek and looked with bewilderment at the blood that covered his fingers. Five, red scratches had appeared on his face. Who was the attacker?
"TAK!"
The brown tom fell to the ground and covered his head with his paws when he heard the strange voice say his name.
"It is Mistoffelees!" he cried.
Golb stood over him and laughed.
"You idiot! How can it be Mistoffelees? He's dead!"
The next thing Golb knew, he was pushed to the ground, landing on top of his comrade.
"GOLB!"
Layf opened his mouth to speak when something that could not be seen grabbed him by the fur and threw him into a pile of rubber.
"LAYF!"
Kent watched in horror as each of his comrades fell due to some invisible force. An evil spirit of some sort! It must be!
"No!" he cried.
He turned to run away when he felt a burning pain in his back and fell to the ground. The other four toms had heard what sounded like the lightning of the magical cat.
"KENT!"
The four who had heard this, as Kent did not hear anything, looked up to see the misty glowing figure of Magical Mr. Mistoffelees standing between them and the path to the tribe's clearing. He stood, or rather he hovered, with his arms crossed and the same crafty smile on his face.
Before any of the brown toms could react, he faded away, leaving them alone. Or so they hoped.
After a short while, the guard cats recovered from their second encounter with the ghost of Mistoffelees. Kent was feeling very confused and rather scared. He did not know what was going on. In his state of panic, his mind told him it that an evil spirit was attacking them. But now, he didn't know what to think.
The gang stood no less than thirty feet from the tribe's clearing. Each of them trying to relax and help the others to relax..
"We have to act normal," said Vor, talking to himself as well as the others. "Think, we have just returned from a four day vacation. We don't know anything about the magical cat or the rest of the tribe. We will enter the clearing expecting a warm welcome, and will be surprised, and concerned, when we find them upset."
The brown toms nodded.
"We can do this, we're professionals," concluded the leader.
He took a deep breath and continued toward the tribe's clearing with his gang close behind.
They were scarcely ten feet from the entrance when they heard a friendly voice call out to them. At least four of them did. As you have probably guessed, Kent heard nothing. The four who had, looked up and stopped short. The misty figure of Mistoffelees was walking from the clearing toward them. He actually walked this time rather than gliding just above the ground. He still smiled, but this time it was not so mysterious. Now, he wore a carefree, friendly, almost annoying smile on his glowing white face.
Kent stopped short when his comrades did, but he did not know why they had done so.
"Hey guys!" called Misto when he had reach them. "It's great to see ya! Well not that great, but still! How long has it been?"
The ghost paused and looked at his wrist.
"A whole twenty-four hours! Well, it's been that long since you saw me alive. I guess it's really been more like ten minutes since we last met."
The four guard cats stared at him in stunned silence as he broke into a fit of inane laughter.
"Come on Vor," he said, when he had gotten a hold of himself.
He held out his arms and walked toward the leader as if to give him a hug, but instead, the magical passed right through the brown tom.
The guard cats who could see him drew in sharp breaths that startled Kent.
Misto simply shrugged.
"Haven't quite gotten used to that yet," he said casually.
He looked at each of their tense faces.
"What?" he asked. "You've never seen a ghost before?"
When they didn't respond, Mistoffelees continued.
"Hey, I know where you're comin from. I've never seen a ghost either. It's not like I can look in a mirror. If there's anything I've learned, it's that we don't reflect very well. Or at all, for that matter."
Mistoffelees suddenly noticed that the green eyes of four of the guard cats were nervously shifting from his face to his feet. Confused, he looked down to see that he had subconsciously risen into the air and was hovering about a foot over the ground. He grinned sheepishly and lowered himself down.
"Sorry, I've never been a ghost before."
Golb had been trying to stay silent like the rest of his gang. But, as he watched the carefree behavior of the magical cat, his curiosity got the better of him.
"What's it like?"
Kent looked at him confusedly. Who was he talking to?
Misto's face lit up.
"You can still talk!" he exclaimed. "I was beginning to wonder. What's what like?"
"Being a ghost," answered the brown tom.
Misto shrugged.
"It's okay I guess."
He looked at his paws.
"It's different."
He stuck one of his paws deep into his stomach and pulled it out without leaving a single mark behind.
"Kinda disgusting."
Golb nodded in agreement. The magical tom continued.
"I did prefer black to this bluish, gray color, but there's nothing I can do about that."
"How did the jellicles react to seeing you?" asked Layf who was also starting to relax and get curious.
Kent stared at him. Layf too? What was going on?
Mistoffelees smiled.
"You really don't understand this whole ghost thing do you?"
Layf shook his head.
"Well, I'll try to explain it as simply as I can."
The magical cat cleared his throat and disappeared.
That same second, he reappeared behind the guard cats. Only this time, he was very much different. He had on a light gray suit jacket and a bright red bowtie. He also wore a thick pair of black rimmed glasses. In his left paw, he held a thick book like an encyclopedia. In his right paw, he held a pen which he clicked open and shut at random times, though he never wrote with it. He was hovering about two feet in the air and appeared to be sitting on some invisible chair. He cleared his throat and began to speak with a thicker, almost overdone British accent than he had before.
"There are two ways to get to the Heavyside layer," he said, subconsciously clicking the pen. "The first one is to die. The second one is to be sent there by your tribe. Now if you are either sent there, or die of natural causes, then you have the opportunity to be reborn. A bit like reincarnation. Are you understanding me so far?"
The four guard toms nodded.
"But," continued Misto. "If you should happen to be murdered, then being reborn is out of the question. You can, however, come back as a ghost. The only catch is, only the ones responsible for your death can see and, or, hear you. Is everything clear now?"
"Oh yeah," replied Layf. "Perfectly clear."
Mistoffelees smiled.
"Good, I'm glad I could be of service."
In a sudden puff of smoke, he disappeared and reappeared to the left of the guard cats. This time looking, talking and acting the way he did before.
"One more question," added Layf.
He pointed toward Kent.
"Why can't he see you?"
Misto looked confused.
"He can't see me?"
He walked up to the guard cat and waved his paw in front of his face. Kent did not react. Misto smiled.
"Well, what'dya know?" he said.
He snapped his fingers in front of the brown tom.
"Yo, Kent! Ghost callin ya!"
No response.
A crafty smile came to the ghost's face. He reached up and grabbed the back of the guard cat's head. There was a spark as his fingers touched his skin. Kent cried out in pain and surprise. The other toms jumped backward. Mistoffelees laughed.
"Don't worry, just havin a little fun that's all. What can I say? I couldn't resist. "
Kent had been staring at his comrades in confusion. They were looking at, and talking to someone, or something, that was not there. They had all gone insane! They had been inhabited by some evil spirit! He was the only one who was free. Then, Layf pointed to him and said the words, 'why can't he see you? Kent did not know what was going on. They turned their focus to him. He suddenly felt a shock on the back of his head. The evil spirit must be trying to enter him too! He clutched the back of his head with a paw, but the pain was gone. Only now, he heard a tiny voice in his head. It said things like,
"You are a murderer!"
"You are all murderers!"
"The Everlasting cat does not like murderers!"
"There is no place in the Heavyside Layer for murderers!"
Kent did not know where this voice was coming from, but he did not like it. He shook his head. He tried to ignore it, but it would not go away.
Meanwhile, the other four guard cats had turned their focus back to something that he could not see.
"C'mon," said the ghost. "I'll bet the others will be glad to see you."
He started toward the tribe's clearing. The guard cats followed.
"Hey," said Misto. "I don't suppose you guys could help me out a little. You did kill me so you owe me something. Maybe, I could talk to you and you could tell the others what I'm saying."
Mistoffelees thought about this for a while.
"Nah," he said with a wave of his paw. "Forget I even brought it up. After all, what I would want to tell them, you would not want them to know."
=^.".^=
No one seemed to notice the gang of brown toms. They entered the tribe's clearing with big smiles, but they quickly faded when they saw the sadness that filled the area. They pretended as though they did not know what had happened.
They expected it.
They knew that they would have to act the way they did. However, the annoyingly carefree apparition that hung around them as if nothing was wrong made it especially difficult.
Mistoffelees looked around at his fellow jellicles. For a moment, his happy expression turned solemn. He looked at the guard cats.
"It's funny," he said. "I seem to remember someone saying that I would not be missed."
Vor flinched at the ghost's cold words, but nobody noticed.
Suddenly, there was a puff of smoke where the magical tom stood. A queen appeared in his place. An older Siamese. She sat in an overstuffed armchair. Her ankles crossed. Her paws folded in her lap. A serious expression on her face. She talked into a camera that was in front of her.
"Today we will be talking to five toms who call themselves guard cats," she said, with an air of authority. "We will find out from them how a murderer can deal with the deed he, or she, has committed. What is it like from their point of view? That's next on the Pouncra Queenfry show."
She gave the camera a sincere smile.
"Go to commercial," said a voice.
A puff of smoke and the camera, and Pouncra Queenfry, disappeared.
Again, the four brown toms saw Mistoffelees, who sat in the armchair with his ankles crossed and his paws folded in his lap. He looked up at them with that annoying grin.
Tak narrowed his eyes and took a step toward him.
The chair disappeared as Misto leapt to his feet. He held out a paw toward the approaching guard cat. Tak suddenly felt as though his feet were glued to the ground. He could not walk any further.
"Ah, ah, ah," said the ghost of Mistoffelees.
He held up his paw as if to strike.
"Remember, no one can see, or hear me, but you. It would be interesting to hear you explain how your face suddenly started to bleed for no reason whatsoever."
The apparition waved both paws and let them drop to his sides. Tak stumbled backward into Golb. He muttered something under his breath, but snapped his mouth shut when he saw Misto hold up a paw with his claws extended. They looked longer now than ever before.
Kent, in the mean time, had been nervously glancing at the jellicles. Jemima was crying and Victoria was trying to comfort her.
The voice in his head was growing louder.
"You'll never get away with it."
"They will find out."
"They will learn that it was you."
"You'll never get away with it."
"You are a murderer!"
"Hey guys," said a voice.
The guard cats looked to see the Rum Tum Tugger walking up to them. A forced smile on his face.
"Hey, it's the Rum Tum Tugger!" answered Vor.
He and the Maine coon slapped paws, but Tugger's smile appeared to be fading.
"Did something happen while we were gone?" asked the gang leader.
Tugger let out an exasperated sigh.
"Actually," he started, trying to figure out what to say.
Mistoffelees smacked the head guard cat on the arm.
"What do you think?" he said. "You know something happened while you were, quote, unquote, gone!"
"Shut up!" hissed Tak.
Rum Tum Tugger shot him a look.
"Fine!"
"Tak!" snapped Vor.
Misto burst out laughing.
Tak's jaw dropped open.
"I-I. . ." he stammered.
Golb broke in.
"He was talking to me."
Tugger wrinkled his forehead.
"But you didn't say anything."
"Yes, I did. I whispered a comment about his mother. He didn't like it too much."
"Well, it wasn't funny," hissed Tak.
Vor turned back to the Maine coon.
"Sorry 'bout that."
"No prob."
The ghost finally stopped his inane laughter.
"That was good!" he said, wiping a tear from his eye.
Vor ignored him and continued to speak.
"You were saying?"
"Yeah," Tugger replied.
He cleared his throat.
"Ya know Mistoffelees?"
Vor nodded.
"The magical cat? Yeah, we know him."
"He's dead."
"What?!"
Mistoffelees again smacked Vor on the arm.
"You heard him! I'm dead."
"He's dead," said the Maine coon.
"You see?"
Tak started to move, but Misto shot him a look and he backed off. Tugger continued.
"We found him yesterday. He was all ripped up, it was awful."
Misto placed one one paw on his heart and the other paw over his forehead.
"Yes, it does sound truly awful," he said with a dramatic sigh.
Tugger continued.
"We aren't sure what killed him yet. Munkustrap is discussing it with Old Deuteronomy right now."
Vor pointed to something behind the Tugger.
"Looks like he's done."
Tugger turned to see the gray tabby walking up to them.
"Hi guys," he said. "Did Tugger tell you already?"
Vor nodded.
"Do you know what did it?" he asked.
The apparition rolled his eyes.
"Why are you asking? You know what did it!"
There was another puff of smoke. Mistoffelees disappeared. A red tabby appeared wearing a gray suit jacket and tie. He sat in a tall chair and spoke with an overdone New York accent rather than British.
"Munkustrap, here is your final, one million catnip question."
Mistoffelees, who now looked distinctly like Clawgis Furbin who hosted the show Who Wants to be a Catnippaire, looked up and read the question as it came up on a screen that had appeared in the sky.
"What killed the magical cat?
Was it
A, pollicle
B, Godzilla
C, aliens from outer space
or D, the guard cats?"
"Yeah," said Munkustrap to Vor. "We've decided it was a pollicle."
Clawgis wrinkled his forehead.
"You said A, pollicle. Is that your final answer?"
"Are you sure bro?" asked the Tugger.
Munkustrap nodded.
"Yeah, we're sure. What else could've done it?"
Clawgis frowned.
"I'm sorry that's incorrect."
A puff of smoke and Clawgis Furbin, and the screen, disappeared.
"I can't believe he got that one wrong," said Mistoffelees, who had reappeared. "It was so simple!"
Kent placed a paw on his forehead. Those voices were so loud they had become deafening. He felt dizzy.
"Not much longer."
"They will find out."
"They'll learn what you did."
"Better come clean now."
"You know," said the ghost of Mistoffelees. "I hate for them to have lost all that catnip, and still not know what the correct answer is. If only there was some way I could tell them."
Vor bit his tongue. He was afraid he would lose his concentration if that ghost did not be quiet!
Mistoffelees snapped his fingers.
"Wait a minute!" he said. "There is a way!"
The guard cats stiffened. Misto smacked his forehead and continued.
"Why didn't I think of it before? One of the cats in this tribe is psychic. I can just tell her!"
Vor and the others took in quick breaths as Mistoffelees disappeared and reappeared on the tire next to the jellicle queen named Tantomile.
He leaned in toward her and whispered into her ear.
Her eyes widened.
"I'm getting a message from Mistoffelees!" she cried.
Munkustrap and Rum Tum Tugger ran to her to see what she would say.
Her eyes glazed over and her face became blank.
"It was not a pollicle that killed me," she said in a monotone voice.
Kent's head began to swim.
"She knows!"
"You've been discovered!"
"Come clean now!"
"I was murdered," continued the queen.
Munkustrap and Rum Tum Tugger started.
"Murdered?" said the gray tabby. "By who?"
"Someone who is here now."
The guard cats tensed up. There was nothing they could do.
Kent was ready to lose it. The words were like thunder.
"Tell them now!"
"Come clean now!"
"You are a murderer!"
"You are a murderer!"
"You are a murderer!"
He suddenly felt as though all his strength had left his body. He fell to his knees.
"Stop it!" he cried at the top of his lungs. "All right! It was us! We killed the magical cat! We killed Mistoffelees!"
Seconds after he'd said this, there was a flash of light that filled the entire clearing. When it disappeared, all was as it was before except for one thing, Mistoffelees' appearance. His fur was once again shiny black and pure white with no hint of a bluish, gray glow. His outline was no longer blurry. In short, he no longer looked like a ghost. He looked the same as he did when he was alive. He was still sitting on the tire.
Tantomile had been frightened by the flash and ran to the washing machine where her brother, Coricopat, was sitting.
Misto's eyes were closed and he rubbed his forehead.
"You all right Misto?" asked Rum Tum Tugger.
The tuxedo nodded.
"I'm fine."
He took a deep breath.
"That was exhausting."
Kent, who was still on his knees, was seeing the magical cat for the first time since the previous day. He was terrified.
The other guard cats stared at Misto and the Maine coon with shocked expressions.
"You can see him?" asked Vor.
Tugger shot him a sarcastic look. He opened his mouth to speak, but Mistoffelees cut him off.
"Him? When did I get promoted from, it?"
His words were like ice. Kent shuddered as one of his comrades pulled him to his feet. Vor continued.
"That's impossible. You can't see him, he's dead!"
"Really?" said Munkustrap, raising an eyebrow. "He looks pretty alive to me."
"But. . .but. . ."
"Speak up, Vor!" hissed the tuxedo. "We can't hear you!"
"You all heard Kent. He's dead! We killed him!"
Rum Tum Tugger smiled and patted Misto on the back.
"Ya just can't keep a good magical cat down can ya?"
"There's no such thing," muttered Tak.
Munkustrap took a step toward him and narrowed his eyes.
"What did you say?"
Tak started toward the gray tabby.
"You heard me you pollicle! There's no such thing as a good magical cat!"
With a fierce hiss, Munkustrap leapt at the brown tom who fell under his weight. The other guard cats started to help him, but were quickly surrounded by the jellicle toms, including the Tugger.
Munkustrap slashed Tak across the face. He then picked him up by the fur and threw him into the circle of angry jellicles.
"It's true!" said Vor, trying to sound calm. "There's no such thing as a good magical cat anywhere on the planet."
"What are we waiting for?" said Tugger. "Let's kill em!"
"Wait!" shouted Mistoffelees from the tire. "This is something I have GOT to hear."
Vor visibly relaxed as the jellicle toms backed away from the gang, and stood along the edges of the clearing.
"Go on," hissed Munkustrap. "Explain yourselves."
Vor smiled confidently.
"First of all, you must understand that we know more about magical cats than anyone."
As the head guard cat spoke, Mistoffelees leapt from the tire and began walking toward them. Vor sneered at him.
"We know more about your magical cat, than IT knows about itself."
An angry Munkustrap started toward him, but Misto put a restraining paw on his arm.
"Go on," he challenged. "If you know so much, tell us!"
Vor smiled.
"With pleasure, slime."
No sooner had he said this, than there was a flash of lightning. Vor cried out as he fell back into the arms of Layf.
Mistoffelees glared at them, his eyes were turning red.
"Get talking!" he hissed.
Vor regained his feet and began to shout.
"All magical cats are the devil's servants!"
He pointed an accusing finger at Misto.
"This poisonous creature is one of them!"
Mistoffelees clenched his fists. His fingers had already begun to spark. Vor continued.
"They are chosen by the devil himself to do his evil work! Nothing good ever comes from their dark powers!"
"That's not true!" shouted a voice.
Plato leapt forward.
"He uses his powers for good things only! He uses them to help us!"
"What's an example?" demanded the head guard cat.
Plato readily answered.
"Last year, Old Deuteronomy was catnapped from the jellicle ball, and Misto brought him back!"
"So your leader was catnapped? Was that before, or after that thing joined your tribe?"
"After," replied the jellicle tom, without thinking.
"You see?" said Vor. "Nothing good ever comes from a magical cat's presence. Wherever they go, pain and suffering follow."
The bewildered Plato sank back into the crowd of jellicles, not knowing what to say.
Rum Tum Tugger on the other hand, knew exactly what to say.
"The only pain and suffering round here was because of you!" he shouted. "You're the poisonous ones!"
"Give it a little thought, Rum Tum Tugger. You will see it our way with time."
"Unfortunately, time is something you do not have!" hissed Munkustrap. "You're finished!"
The head guard cat smiled sarcastically.
"And, who's gunna finish us, pollicle? You?"
"I am!"
The brown toms turned to the little tuxedo. His eyes were red. His fists were clenched. There was fire in his words.
Vor laughed.
"You? You must be joking! You couldn't defend yourself against a fly!"
"Is that so?" hissed the magical cat.
Before anyone had time to blink, Mistoffelees appeared in front of Vor and slashed him across the face. The blow sent the leader tumbling to the ground. He looked up in shock. He rubbed his cheek and stared at his paw.
There was no blood!
It badly stung. It sure felt like Misto had broken the skin, but there was no blood on his cheek.
The other guard cats noticed this too. They looked at their fallen leader with stunned expressions.
They were suddenly snapped back to reality when Misto kicked Vor in the jaw. The leader rolled a few times before he staggered to his feet. Mistoffelees glared at him with fiery eyes.
"What goes around, comes around," he hissed.
There was a shout as Tak ran up behind the little tuxedo. Misto spun around and slashed him across the face. He then swiped his claws across the brown tom's stomach. Tak cried out in surprise and pain. He grabbed his stomach only to find that it was not bleeding. No matter how much it hurt, no blood was being shed.
With the strength of ten toms, Misto grabbed Tak by the fur and threw him into Layf who was charging toward him from behind. Both toms fell to the ground.
The watching jellicles cheered.
Mistoffelees felt Kent grab his wrist. He twisted his arm out of his grasp. He then grabbed the guard cat's wrist and sunk his claws into his fingers. Kent gasped. He saw the tuxedo's claws pierce his skin, but there was no blood. Misto threw Kent to the ground and kicked him in the back.
"At least that wasn't a rock!" he hissed.
The tuxedo turned to Golb. He waved his paw and flicked his wrist. A spiked collar appeared in his paw.
"Look familiar?" he asked.
Golb's eyes grew wide. He felt his neck to find that his collar was not there.
"Thought so."
Mistoffelees threw the collar toward the guard cat and waved his paws. The collar wrapped itself around Golb's leg, piercing his skin with it's spikes. Golb screeched and tried to remove it, but before he could, he fell to the ground with a hard thud. Mistoffelees was on his back. He could not get up. The next thing he felt was Misto's arm around his neck. He gasped for breath.
Since when was the magical cat this strong?
His vision began to blur when, finally, the tuxedo released him.
Misto rose to his feet just in time to fall under the weight of Layf.
The jellicles gasped.
Misto landed on his back. He slashed Layf once, twice. The second blow was so strong that Layf was knocked off of the magical cat, pressing a paw to his cheek. Misto got up and grabbed his paw. Repeating what he had done to Kent, the tuxedo swiped his claws through the guard cat's fingers.
Golb and Kent ran up behind him, but Misto spun around and slashed them both with a single swipe of his claws.
Meanwhile, Tak had taken one of Vor's paws and was helping him to his feet. Mistoffelees suddenly appeared next to them. He grabbed Vor's other arm and gave it a good yank. Vor cried out and grabbed his arm as he fell back to the ground.
Misto grabbed Tak's arm and yanked it also. Tak fell to the ground and recoiled as Mistoffelees kicked him in the stomach.
Layf had just managed to get to his feet when the magical cat appeared behind him and swiped his claws across his back. Layf cried out and fell.
Now, all of the guard cats were on the ground. They moaned and clutched their bloodless wounds. Mistoffelees made his way to Vor and glared down at him.
"You said a guard cat never goes back on his word," he hissed.
He took hold of one of Vor's arms and held his claws to his wrist. The head guard cat's eyes were wide with fear.
Misto released him.
"And yet, Mistoffelees is still alive."
Misto stepped over the brown tom and walked toward the tire. As he moved away, each of the guard cats rose to their feet. They helped their leader to his. Vor glared in the direction of the magical cat.
"A guard cat never goes back on his word!" he shouted. "Mistoffelees is DEAD!"
Together, the guard cats charged toward the tuxedo.
"Misto, look out!" cried Jemima.
Mistoffelees whirled around and waved his paws wildly through the air.
There was a brilliant flash of light that was so bright, the jellicles had to shield their eyes.
There was a loud noise, unlike any that anyone had ever heard.
Then, there was silence.
The jellicles slowly opened their eyes.
Mistoffelees was standing alone.
He looked up at the sky, but his eyes were closed. His arms were down at his sides. His breath was calm and relaxed. He was calm and relaxed.
Most importantly, the guard cats were gone.
Jemima was the first to move. She had been watched the whole ordeal from the car bumper. Now, she ran to her mate and threw her arms around his neck.
"Misto, you were wonderful!" she said.
She grabbed his head and pressed her lips against his.
When the couple separated, they saw that their fellow jellicles had surrounded them. They cheered for the magical cat. All the queens wanted to hug him. The toms patted him on the back and shook his paw.
Rum Tum Tugger leapt onto the tire.
"The greatest magicians have something to learn from Mr. Mistoffelees' conjuring turn!"
The jellicle cats immediately joined in.
"And we all say, Oh! Well! I never! Was there ever a cat so clever as Magical. Mr. Mistoffelees?"
The Maine coon leapt from the tire. The jellicles ran to the edges of the clearing. The little tuxedo danced as around as the Rum Tum Tugger sang his song.
"He's quiet, he's small, he's black
From the ears to the tip of his tail.
He can creep through the tiniest crack,
He can walk on the narrowest rail.
He can pick any card from the pack.
He's equally cunning with dice.
He's always deceiving you into believing that he's only hunting for mice!"
An idea suddenly came to the magical cat's head. He was going to do something different this time.
He snapped his fingers. A cork appeared in his paw.
"He can play any trick with a cork,"
Misto clutched the cork in his fist and blew on it.
"Or a spoon and a bit of fish paste."
He opened his paw to reveal a spoon bearing a tiny bit of salmon paste. With a cute little grin, he swallowed the food. . .and the spoon!
The jellicles gazed at him in surprise.
He winked at them and pulled the spoon out of his ear!
The felines laughed.
Misto threw the spoon into the air where it disappeared.
The jellicles rose to their feet as they continued the song.
"Oh! Well! I never! Was there ever a cat so clever as Magical Mr. Mistoffelees?"
The little tuxedo was hoisted onto the shoulders of Alonzo and Munkustrap who paraded him through the junkyard.
"Oh! Well! I never! Was there ever a cat so clever as Magical Mr. Mistoffelees?"
Finally, the two toms let the tuxedo down onto the tire.
"I give you the magical, the marvelous, Mr. Mistoffelees!" shouted the Rum Tum Tugger.
The jellicles looked toward Misto. A huge smile spread across his face. He had planned on saving this trick for the ball, but what the Heavyside?
He vigorously rubbed his paws together.
There was a gasp as they began to glow.
Using the same actions that he had used before, Mistoffelees soon had a beautiful, glowing star above his head.
He waved his paws and it began to spin.
It spun faster and faster and faster, until it was just a golden blur above the heads of the amazed jellicles.
Misto clapped his paws together.
"Presto!"
The golden light suddenly exploded into a rainbow cloud of butterflies!
The jellicles cheered.
The kittens leapt at the winged colors trying to catch them.
The celebration in honor of the magical cat continued.
A little while later, a stray calico entered the clearing. Rum Tum Tugger embraced and kissed her. He introduced her to the tribe as Medica, the one with the healing powers. The jellicles cheered for her. Mistoffelees could not thank her enough for how she had helped him. Before the end of the afternoon, she had been accepted into the tribe and was proud to call herself a jellicle cat.
The felines celebrated long after the sun set.
It was midnight when the last jellicles went to their sleeping quarters.
Mistoffelees and Jemima were laying in each other's arms inside their little hovel.
"Misto," said the queen. "You were wonderful."
"So were you," he answered. "Everyone was acting so well, I almost thought you really couldn't see me."
"Oh we could see you all right! It was hard to keep from laughing!"
Misto smiled. Jemima continued.
"I didn't know you could do an impression of Pouncra Queenfry so well."
The magical cat felt himself blush.
"That was a spur of the moment thing!"
"Oh sure," laughed Jemima.
"It was!"
"I said sure, didn't I?"
"You were being sarcastic!"
"I was not!"
"Oh be quiet!"
"Make me!"
"All right!"
Mistoffelees leaned down and kissed her.
They stared affectionately into each other's eyes when their lips finally parted.
"I love you," said the tom.
"I love you too."
The purring queen rested her head on his chest. A few minutes passed before she spoke again.
"Misto, where did you send those horrid guard cats anyway?"
Mistoffelees didn't answer, but a smug smile spread across his face.
=^.".^=
Somewhere in the United States of America, a young girl was following her mother around a large fairground on a sunny day. She had her lovely pet Labrador retriever on a leash and was talking to her as they walked.
"Lots of dogs here, huh Bella? Yeah, lots of dogs that are gunna enter the contest just like you."
She was right, there were a lot of dogs. The town that her family lived in had a fair every summer. One of the most popular events was the dog show.
"Lots of dogs that you are going to beat, huh Bella? Yes, because you are so beautiful."
She scratched the lab behind the ears.
She tapped her mother on the arm.
"Mom, can I get a soda?"
"MAY I get a soda," corrected her mother.
"May I get a soda, please?"
"Yes, you may."
Her mother handed the girl a dollar bill. The girl excitedly led her dog through the crowd of both people and canines.
She had almost reached the refreshment stand when suddenly, five, large, brown cats appeared out of nowhere and crashed into it.
Popcorn, candy, sodas and fruit punch flew everywhere.
There was a bark,
and another,
and another,
and another,
and another!
Dozens of dogs pulled away from their masters and ran toward the refreshment table were the cats were. The frightened felines bolted away as fast as they could.
Bella excitedly pulled away from the girl and joined the chase.
"Bella! Bella girl, come back!"
The girl ran after her pet as she ran after the felines.
Tables and chairs were overturned.
Souvenir and game stands collapsed as the cats ran past them and the dogs ran into them.
Owners called their pets.
Other spectators frantically moved out of the way.
Laughing children escaped from their parents and ran after the animals.
There was ultimate chaos at the fair.
The girl did not remember how it all turned out.
Somehow, the animal control officers were able to catch the stray felines, and return the dogs to their masters.
Bella was returned to the girl.
To this day, she remembers that day as the strangest she had ever experienced.
The End =^.".^=