Author's Note - This is my first ever story, so please have harsh " Don't do this," or " You shouldn't have done that," comments (My teacher would call it "constructive criticism"). Or you can write things about how awesome I am at writing, and how you want my permission to put my story on your CATS website, because you know that it will never be complete without it. Just saying. I will try to recognise the people who review in the next chapter that I write, i.e. if you review for chapter one, I will recognise you in chapter two. My limit is to the first ten people who review. So if you want to be recognised, review quickly. One more thing. I won't recognise you if you write something irrelevant, i.e. "Haha that was so funny!" or "I'm putting this on my favorites!" I will recognise you if you write something like, " That was great! Just try to do this better..." or "maybe you should try to do this...". That's all! Hope I didn't scare you away! *looks around nervously* "That was a joke guys. Just so you know. You can come back now." *sighs in relief when they do come back* Ok! On with the show, er, story! Whatever!

Disclaimer: I do not own cats. Andrew Lloyd Webber does! *sniff*

It was hard being a Jellicle leader sometimes. Some days were perfect, like on the day when Demeter told him that she was pregnant, and other days were terrible, like the day a few weeks ago when they found out that Demeter was just fat. Today was a bad day. Munkustrap could already tell by the weather. Grey clouds and damp ground, the result of major rain coming down yesterday. Just what they needed, two days away from the Jellicle Ball. Munkustrap sighed. "Time to go see what the other Jellicles are up to," he mused.

His first stop was behind the tire. This was where Jemima lived with her parents until she was old enough to move out on her own. When he got there, he saw all of the other kittens in a big cluster surrounding something. When he got closer, he saw what the object of their interest was Jemima, just the kitten he need to see.

"Ok, move out of the way, here comes a mean ol' cat coming through!" He growled playfully, and all of the kittens scattered. He hooked Jemima by the arm though and asked her, "Are you ready for the Jellicle Ball?" for it was his role to ask every Jellicle before the ball to see if they needed help with anything.

Jemima shrugged.

"Does that mean that you're ready?" He asked her. She shrugged again.

"Can I get a yes or no answer out of you?" She broke eye contact, turned to look down at the ground and shuffled her feet nervously.

"Jemima, can you please say something?" He asked her, getting a little impatient.

"Hello," came the quiet, meek reply.

"Louder?" He was starting to get angry.

"Hello." He heard in a voice that was scratchy and a little bit squeaky. Suddenly it dawned on him.

"Jemima," he started, "have you lost your voice?" She looked up at him with eyes threatening to spill their many tears. "Jemima, I'm so sor-" He tried to say, but she ran off in tears before he could say another word. He felt bad for Jemima, who he knew that her voice was her most cherished thing. He sighed for the umpteenth time that day, and walked on to the next stop.

When he got to Admetus's den, he was expecting a very nipped up welcome, because Admetus was just that kind of tom. He was always making fun of Tugger behind his back at the ball, especially when Tugger tried to woo the queen-kits around him by thrusting his hips into their faces. But when he greeted him, he got a completely different kind of welcome.

"Hey, 'Med'" He called out, using the popular tom's popular nickname.

"Why, hello, Munkustrap. Please kindly refrain from using my atrocious nickname, and instead use my real, full name. Admetus Marian Ga- well, I can't tell you that one. I'm sure once we get on better terms of friendship I'll allow you to call me by my second full name. Aurthur Liam Wy- I can't tell you that one either. Now, what is it that you wanted, dear boy?"

But Munkustrap was too shocked to say anything. His head was spinning. He wanted to bombard Admetus with questions, like What happened to you? Why did it happen? Since when did you have two three different names? Did your humans do it to you? Is this for real? But he was so surprised, all he could do was mutter, "Isn't Marian a girl's name?"

Admetus was so offended at this, that all he did was huff, "Go away. I am mature now, and I don't need you. Hmph." And he wouldn't look at Munkustrap again.

Munkustrap stumbled out of there still dazed and confused. What had happened to the nip overload cat from last week? He knew that Admetus had gone on some kind of missionary trip with his humans, but how could that change him so drastically? He decided that he would just let things unfold, and see what happens. He stumbled around for a bit, trying to get his balance, before continuing off.

He was going to see Victoria, who still lived at home with her parents. This sleek all-white cat was dancing in her yard, next to a mud puddle that was still there from the downpour yesterday. When she saw him, she ran up to him and asked, "Do you want to see my new dance move, Munku?" using the nickname everyone called him by. "I'm going to perform it for the Jellicle Ball!"

"Sure," Munkustrap replied, excited for her.

Victoria stood up, and leaned forward from the waist up so low, that her head almost touched her kneecap.

"Boy, that kit is flexible!" thought Munkustrap in amazement.

She then proceeded to jump up, almost keeping her head in the same place, and quickly unfolded her arms to land in a handstand. She did this all in one movement, and with any cat but her, it would've looked like a sideshow trick in a travelling circus. But Victoria made it so graceful; it reminded Munkustrap of a bird changing direction in mid-air. First fly up, and then fly down.

Munkustrap was so mesmerized by Victoria's grace, that he didn't notice that she was leaning to far forward, until it was too late.

"Look out!" He cried, but he could do nothing to help. SPLOP! Victoria landed on the border of the mud puddle, so when she landed, she only got little splotches of mud on her.

"Ahhhhhh!" Victoria screamed. "I'm never going to get this off!" She stood up and ran inside.

Munkustrap watched as she disappeared behind the door, and then heard sobbing from inside. He felt terrible. "Why didn't I see that coming? I could've stopped it from happening!" Victoria's coat was one of the few things about her that made her stand out from the other cats in the tribe. If she couldn't get it off, it would just destroy her. "I'm just going to let Vicky cool down a bit. Maybe I'll stop back here later." Munkustrap was thinking to himself as he walked through the Junkyard to his next stop.

"I think I'll do the magic cats next," he thought as he changed course slightly to go to the tuxedo cat's den. When he got there, he couldn't find Mistofelees, so he went around to the back of the den to his "secret magic place". Once there, he found the small, black and white magic cat working on some of his powers, next to a big puddle.

"Ahem," Munkustrap said as casually as he could. Mistofelees jumped 5 feet in the air.

"You scared me, Munkustrap!" Mistofelees said once he saw who it was.

"No duh," Munkustrap thought to himself.

"So, what do you want?" The magic cat asked him.

"I was just comin' to ask you if you're all ready for the Ball."

"The Ball? Totally. Here, watch this!" Mistofelees said excitedly as he struck a stone with his electricity. The tom was very fond of his magic powers, and wasn't afraid to show them off. He took pride in how far he could hit something with his signature power, electricity. Munkustrap chuckled as he saw how happy the younger cat got when doing his magic. He was wondering what it would be like to have powers like his, when the tuxedo tom saw an empty metal barrel and zapped it.

BANG!

Mistofelees wasn't ready for the noise of the impact, and therefore shot into the air like a rocket. And then landed in the puddle. BZZZZZZZ! When the magic cat got out, even though his fur was wet, it stood on end. There were sparks coming out of his mouth, water coming out of his nose and ears, and Munkustrap was pretty sure there was smoke coming out of his butt.

"Ow," he whispered, for his throat was very sore, "I think I blew up…I'm gonna go home now." He then waddled off, muttering something like, "OhmygodIthinkmybuttisonfire!" but he had too much dignity to check it out in front of Munkustrap.

Munkustrap sighed. When was that cat going to learn not to use his magic near water? He then proceeded to go on to Cori and Tanti's den.

Cori and Tanti were in the middle of linking their powers when Munkustrap came in. Linking powers was something that they did each year a few days before the Jellicle Ball. It helped them get in better harmony with everything around them. It involved of facing each other, holding hands tightly, and putting their heads close together. They would then chant a few chants and phrases and do some synchronized movements, and link to each other. They were at this stage when Munkustrap came in, tripped over a rock, and yelled something a Jellicle Tribe protector should never say.

Cori and Tanti pulled away in surprise. But, since they were holding onto each other's paws, they yanked back together, smashing heads.

"Uh, sorry if I was interrupting anything, but I was just wondering if you guys needed anything before the Ball."

"No, we do not!" They both snapped at him, angry at being caught unawares.

"Um, right then. I'll just, uh, just, um, just go. Yeah. Um, so, uh, yeah, bye." Munkustrap ran out of there as fast as he could go. Those two always gave him the creeps. He never liked talking to them. "I think I'll take a break and go home for now," he thought, as he realized that he was pretty hungry. As he was heading home though, he heard four piercing screams come from Tugger and Bomba's den, filling the silence. Munkustrap quickly ran over to investigate.

So there's the first chapter! Remember, Rate and Review! See if you can find the major Andrew Lloyd Webber reference I put in there. If you know the answer, send me a message, do not put it in the comments! (P.S. I'm not sure how you send me a Personal Message, so you're gonna have to figure it out on your own!)