Fanfic: Rum Tum Tugger Story

I don't own CATS (although I wish I did)
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I was living the high life now and still hadn't been re-caught. My father had frowned at first when he heard what I'd done but he understood either way.

Many dates later was the Jellicle Ball. I didn't come out at first. I stayed back and watched them.

Why are they singing about that darn Gumbie Cat? I thought to myself. She's no one special!

My airhead brother Munkustrap was singing about Jennyanydots. I personally saw no reason in it whatsoever. I mean, she's a Gumbie Cat. She sits around all day. So what?

A while into that song, I decided to make my appearance. If they can sing about that lazy dame, they can sing about me. I'm much more interesting.

The moment I interrupted the song, it became clear to me that the dames of the tribe had been busy this last year. They had made up their own song for me.

"The Rum Tum Tugger is a Curious Cat!" they sang. It wasn't a bad description. I decided that now would be the perfect time to strut my stuff, and I did.

Certain parts of the song, they left blank, and I got to sing. The dames followed me around the whole time, singing about me.

"The Rum Tum Tugger is a Curious Cat! And there isn't any need for me to spout it! For he will do as he do do,"

"And," I said, deciding to end the song. "There's no doing anything about?

The dames who were kneeling at my feet started to scream! They calmed down after a moment, and I tried again to finish the song.

"About!"

Again, they started screaming! When they were done, I tried again to finish.

"About"

Etcetera was the only one who screamed that time. I figured she'd stop, but she just kept screaming. I got bored with it and silenced her by putting one hand over her mouth.

"About it!" I finally finished. Etcetera fainted, and the other dames all reached out to touch me. I walked away, teasing them, and they just kept running after me.

I had run up to stand on the hood of a car, the dames on the ground reaching for me. Suddenly, I saw an old, ragged dame limping out of the shadows. She had a smile on her face, her eyes never leaving me.

I said something rude and stalked off, angry because she had interrupted my song. Her smile faded, apparently she had come out to get a better look at me. Munkustrap held the kittens away from her as they looked at her curiously. She wasn't part of our tribe, and wasn't welcome to it.

"Remark the cat who hesitates towards you? she hissed to Munkustrap. "On the light of the door which opens on her like a grin."

Jellylorum stepped towards her, Etcetera and Victoria at her heals. The old dame turned, angrily.

"You see the boarder of her coat is torn and stained with sand!" she hissed at Jellylorum, who herded her daughters away. The old cat turned to see Cassandra smirking at her.

"And you see the corner of her eye twist like a crooked pin!" she hissed to Cassandra. The Havana gave Munkustrap an unimpressed look, before going to stand with Alonzo.

The old dame started to walk off, smirking, when Demeter walked forward.

"She haunted many a low resort." Demeter told us. The old cat stopped to listen. "Near the grimy road of Tottenham Court. She flitted about the no-mans land, from The Rising Sun, to The Friend At Hand, and the postman sighed as he scratched his head. 'You'd really have thought she'd ought to be dead.' And who would ever suppose that that was Grizabella: The Glamour Cat?"

The old dame cringed at her name.

"Grizabella: The Glamour Cat." Bombalurina came to stand by her daughter. "Grizabella: The Glamour Cat! Who'd have ever supposed that that was Grizabella: The Glamour Cat?"

Grizabella limped out of the junkyard, trying not to cry. Demeter ran after her to make sure she was gone, as Mistoffelees greeted his uncle, who had just stepped out.

Jennyanydots sang a song about Bustopher Jones, another cat I see no point in singing about. He's just a fat cat.

They were well into that song, when we heard a CRASH! Bustopher ran off, frightened, as the other Jellicles looked around for trouble.

"Macavity!" Demeter hissed. Everyone left the junkyard, knowing he was lurking around. Munkustrap left last, making sure no one was left there with the demon.

A moment later, I heard a familiar giggle. Someone shushed it, and then two tiger tabbies crept out. It was Mungojerrie and Rumpelteaser.

They sang their own song, about themselves and the crimes they commit at their home. I wondered why they would come out after Macavity had been spotted. But with those two, you'll never know.

After a while, the rest of the tribe ran out, surprising the duo. I stayed in my corner, watching the whole thing, mostly because I knew that I would get no peace if I stepped back out there.

After Mungojerrie and Rumpelteaser had been scolded, Mistoffelees broke away from the crowd, sniffing the air. A smile crept onto his face, and I heard him whisper,

"Old Deuteronomy?"

Tantomile and Coricopat, the twins, also broke away. They confirmed his thoughts.

"I believe it is Old Deuteronomy!" they said together. Every cat got to the ground to clean themselves, making themselves presentable for the leader. Mistoffelees ran off to help him the last few steps of his journey.

I walked out to stand on a drainpipe, as Munkustrap told the tribe about Deuteronomy.

"Old Deuteronomy's lived a long time. He's a cat who has lived many lives in succession. He was famous in proverb, and famous in rhyme, a long while before Queen Victoria's accession."

I decided that because I was his second oldest son, I could tell about him too.

"Old Deuteronomy's buried nine wives." I said from my corner. Munkustrap walked up to me to listen to what I had to say.

"And more, I am tempted to say, ninety-nine. And his numerous progeny prospers and thrives, and the village is proud of him in his decline."

"At the sight of that placid and bland physiognomy," Munkustrap took over. "When he sits in the sun on the vicarage wall, the oldest inhabitant croaks - 'Well of all things, can it be really? No, yes, ho hi, oh my eye! My mind may be wondering but I confess, I believe it is Old Deuteronomy!"

The tribe grouped together in the centre of the junkyard, except for me, I stayed in the corner. Just then, Mistoffelees approached, in the company of Deuteronomy.

Our great leader walked into the junkyard, and every cat ran up to him, touching him, and greeting him. He looked up at me, an amused look on his face. With a smile, I bowed to him, showing him that I too respected him. His smile grew wider, as he walked up to sit on the old tire where he always sits for the ball. Munkustrap turned to address the whole tribe.

"Jellicle Cats meet once a year, on the night we make the Jellicle Choice!" he told them. "And now that the Jellicle Leader is here, Jellicle Cats can all rejoice!"

All my fellow cats mingled amongst each other, and I knew what was going to happen. Each year, Munkustrap would tell a story to Deuteronomy, and the rest of the tribe would act it out, as a play. Each year it was different.

"Of the awful battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles!" Munkustrap said so the whole tribe knew what story he was telling. "Together with some account of the participation of the Pugs and the Poms, and the intervention of the great Rumpuscat!"

All the dames went to one side of the junkyard and the Toms went to the other, and Munkustrap stood in the middle and started the story.

It was a well-known story about when the four dog tribes, the Pekes, Pollicles, Pugs, and Poms, had met together in the park, and fought a great battle. They would have gone on until every dog was dead, but then the great Rumpuscat had scared them off. I never did believe in Rumpuscat. He's just a fairy tale that mother cats tell to their kittens.

The dames were pretending to be the Pekes, and the Toms were the Pollicles. They did good dog impressions, barking ceaselessly at each other until even Munkustrap was irritated.

I decided to make my mark in the story. He was telling about the Scottish Pollicles, and I had the perfect plan.

The Toms had just marched out playing their part and speaking in sync. "There are dogs out of every nation, the Irish, the Welsh, and the Dane. The Russian, the Dutch, the Dalmatian, and even from China and Spain the Poodle, the Pom, the Alsatian, and the mastiff who walks on a chain. And to those that are frisky and frollicle, let my meaning be perfectly plain: that my name, it is Little Tom Pollicle, and you'd better not do it again!"

That's about when I made my appearance. I ran out toting a homemade bagpipe, and playing it as well as I could. The dames ran up to me, but Munkustrap pushed them away, as I walked off again. It was a good touch to the story, and it sure made Deuteronomy laugh.

Admetus got to play the part of Rumpuscat. He'd always been a big believer of him, so he was delighted.

After Admetus had chased all the "dogs" away, everyone came back and praised him.

"All hail and all bow to the great Rumpuscat!"

Everyone knelt at Deuteronomy's feet again, as I stood off to the side to watch. Our leader started to tell them about Pollicles and Jellicles, when another CRASH! was heard.

"Macavity!" Demeter hissed again. All the Jellicles, except Munkustrap, Deuteronomy, and Mistoffelees, ran off. Munkustrap stayed to guard Deuteronomy, because he couldn't run off that fast. Mistoffelees stayed so he could hide behind Deuteronomy. The leader soon shoed him off, and the tuxedo cat ran into the shadows.

Victoria and Jemima ran back out to stand before Deuteronomy. They started to sing, as Alonzo watched from the shadows.

"Jellicle Cats come out tonight, Jellicle Cats come one, come all. The Jellicle Moon is shining bright, Jellicles come to the Jellicle Ball."

Alonzo strutted out. "Jellicle Cats are black and white. Jellicle Cats are rather small. Jellicle Cats are merry!"

"And bright!" Pouncival ran up to add. Slowly, each cat came back to sing a line of the song, which started the actual Jellicle Ball. The ball is a long, fast dance that every cat participates in, even me.

We had all crawled to the ground to rest, and Plato stayed standing, looking for any dame who stood up. Surprisingly, it was Victoria who stood.

Plato did the ritual dance with her, and they lay down to rest. Suddenly, Tantomile and Coricopat leaped up!

Mistoffelees soon followed them, as if sensing something. Skimbleshanks also jumped up, sniffing the air. Soon, we were all up. Something was wrong.

Mistoffelees figured it out. He spun around and pointed off into the shadows. There, watching us the whole time, was old Grizabella!

Alonzo chased her off, as the rest of us started to do another fast dance. This one was mostly to show her that to be a Jellicle, you must be able to dance well.

We soon stopped, for we were still tired from our last dance. Then, Grizabella had the nerve to show up again!

I strutted past her, and her eyes followed me. I didn't need to see her. I was tired, and she just made me mad by interrupting our celebration.

As I left, I heard Jellylorum speaking to Victoria.

"You see the boarder of her coat is torn and stained with sand." She told her daughter, then pulled her away. Jemima stepped forward, as Jennyanydots watched carefully.

"And you see the corner of her eye twist like a crooked pin." As soon as the words were out of Jemima's mouth, her mother had herded her away too. Grizabella was left alone, with Deuteronomy watching her from his seat.

She started to dance, to show us that she could, but failed. Her old limbs wouldn't work fast enough to make the dance go smoothly. That was the last I saw or heard.

When I came back a long while later, every cat was back, and I could see Jellylorum leading her father, old Gus, out of the junkyard. Apparently she had sung a song about him.

After they left, the tribe sang a song about Skimbleshanks. I understood slightly why they would sing about him. He is the Railway Cat.

He ended up singing his own song about himself, and I sat up by the old clock and watched in amusement.

Far into the song, another loud CRASH! I felt someone shove me over from behind, and I fell onto the old car. When I looked up, the cold blue eyes of a ginger cat glared back at me.

The ginger started to laugh at what he had done, his laugh wicked and full of hatred. I got to my feet and ran out of the junkyard, just as Demeter announced his arrival.

"Macavity!" she cried. He laughed again, and I heard the screams of my tribe.

I stayed out of the junkyard while Macavity was there. Soon, I saw three of his black henchmen running off, dragging something along with them. It looked like it was a cat that they had tied in a net. Looking closer, I realized it was Deuteronomy! They were kidnapping him!

I didn't go back to the junkyard until I saw a flash of lightning and Macavity leave, limping. Then, I slowly made my way back.

"Macavity's not there!" they were saying as I came to lie in a pile of junk. The junkyard had gotten darker, Macavity had used his magic to put out the lights so he could make his escape.

"We have to find Old Deuteronomy!" my tribe cried in one desperate cry. And suddenly, I got an idea.

Alright, I knew it was stupid. I knew that he'd probably use his powers against me when this was all done. But hey, this was an emergency.

"You ought to ask Magical Mr. Mistoffelees." I told them, after I had seen that the tuxedo cat wasn't there. "The original Conjuring Cat. There can be no doubt about that."

Pouncival shined a bright light in my face, and they all gave me looks of doubt.

"Please listen to me." I told them. "And don't scoff. All his inventions are off his own bat. There's no such cat in the metropolis, he holds all the patent monopolies for performing surprising illusions, and creating eccentric confusions.

"The greatest magicians have something to learn from Mr. Mistoffelees' Conjuring Turn! And we all say: oh! Well, I never! Was there ever a cat so clever as Magical Mr. Mistoffelees?"

I jumped down and told them everything I knew about Mistoffelees, the conjurer. I didn't say a word about his real name or what he really looked like. But I told them that he was a conjurer, one of his big secrets.

A moment later, to my surprise, the tuxedo cat actually appeared! He appeared, and he looked like he really looked, with the super shiny black fur and without the white socks.

He took one look around the junkyard, and knew what was wrong. Immediately, he reinstated the lights, which gave the tribe a really good look at him.

As I kept singing, Mistoffelees gave me a nasty look. But he said nothing, just went with what I was saying about him.

Soon, he got his chance to show off his spectacular dancing skills. He did a quick dance, just a wonderful as his first solo, but now it was even more glamorous, because of his shiny fur.

Then, the moment we had called him for. It was all fun and games dancing and making things disappear, but he had to find Deuteronomy.

He got a large red sheet, and chose Cassandra to assist him. She was reluctant at first, but then went with it.

He covered her completely with the sheet, waved his hands over it, and with a flash of sparkles, he lifted the sheet up, revealing Deuteronomy!

"And we all say," I said slowly, as Deuteronomy turned to look at me. "Oh, well, I never! Was there ever a cat so clever as Magical Mr. Mistoffelees?"

I motioned towards the little conjurer, who leapt into Deuteronomy's arms and started to lick his face, happy that his trick had work. Alonzo walked up behind him and gave him a nasty look, and Mistoffelees nodded and walked off for a moment. Then, he returned with Cassandra!

Mistoffelees bowed to her, and then they bowed to the whole tribe. They were taking it pretty well, finding out two of his secrets.

Mistoffelees did another spectacular dance, before he jumped up onto the old tire.

"I give you? I said to everyone. "The magical, the marvellous, Mr. Mistoffelees!"

Then, he really surprised us. He jumped up into the air, did a split, and disappeared in a flash of sparkles! He reappeared on the ground next to Alonzo, who thanked him for returning Cassandra.

Then, Jemima realized the sun was coming up.

"Daylight." She announced. Munkustrap smiled at Deuteronomy.

"Now," he said. "Old Deuteronomy, just before dawn, through a silence you feel you could cut with a knife, announces the cat who will now be reborn, and come back to a different Jellicle life."

We all crowded at his feet, begging to be chosen. Even I lay on the ground before him. I mean, who wouldn't want to know the wonders of the Heaviside layer?

He was about to chose, when old Grizabella stepped out of the shadows again. Mistoffelees stood and stalked up to her. After his tricks, he wasn't the shy kitten anymore. Now he was grown, and wasn't as accepting to her as the kittens were. He just glared at her and walked away.

I too strutted up to her. I just sneered at her, and held one hand towards Deuteronomy, showing her that she could go ahead and try to be chosen. I knew that she would be. She wasn't a Jellicle.

She started to sing a sad song about when she was young, and Deuteronomy listened quietly.

Soon, it was too much for Grizabella. She collapsed to the ground, unable to stand any longer, saddened by her memories. Then, Jemima stood up.

"Sunlight through the tree's in summer." She sang. "Endless masquerading. Like a flower as the dawn is breaking?

"The memory is fading!" Grizabella finished. She stood up again, Jemima's beautiful voice had given her strength.

"Touch me!" she pleaded. "It's so easy to leave me all alone with the memory of my days in the sun. If you touch me you'll understand what happiness is." She looked up at the dawn. "Look, a new day has begun."

As she finished, Victoria slowly stood. She crept towards old Grizabella, and gently placed her hand in Grizabella's. The old cat smiled in gratitude, and soon the entire tribe was crowding her, wanting to touch her.

I accompanied Cassandra back into the centre of the junkyard, because Alonzo was trying to touch Grizabella. Cassandra wasn't sure she wanted to, and neither was I.

After she had touched hands with all who wanted to, Deuteronomy bowed to her. She had been chosen.

He led her to stand on the old tire, which was the passageway to the Heaviside layer. She had a smile as big as Etcetera's was after our date.

After she had gone to Heaviside, Deuteronomy sang one last song, before we left to go to out separate homes. On the way, Mistoffelees caught up to me.

"Hey, Tugger!" he called. "Can I walk with you?"

"Sure." I mumbled. We walked in silence for a moment.

"Tugger?" he said finally.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

THE END

A/N: I'm finishing it here for now, there's two more in this series coming up. One telling this story from Pouncival's pov (It's good honest) and then I'm going to write one on my own character. Please review :)