Cocobutterrox, this one's for you. I know you and I have a deep, DEEP love for Plato, but I'm willing to give him up to you :) Here's to the biggest Plato fan in the whole wide world!

P.S., thanks Cocobutterrox for a name and description of you! :) If anyone wants to become a character in the story, feel free to PM me :)

*I don't own Cats*

The pain was excruciatingly painful. It felt as though a thousand daggers had repeatedly stabbed me in my body. The pain had eventually subdued and became a numbness. I tried screaming for help, but it was no use. It was stormy outside, including thunder and lightning. My wails were drowned out by the thunderous booms that echoed off the wall.

The bright ginger tom had me pinned to the cold concrete floor. I begged for him to stop, but my pleas were ignored. Repeated blows to the head and gut numbed me to the point where I could barely breathe or keep my eyes open. I cried out for someone – anyone – to help me. The henchcats smirked at me - the defenseless queen.

I had been taken from my family by Macavity when I was only a few days old. In his warehouse, I had been beaten unmercifully, tortured, and Macavity let his henchcats have their way with me. My innocence was long gone, with the unforgiving thanks to the henchcats. My usual brown and black striped fur coat was now a grimy and faded tan and grey. My usual warm chocolate brown eyes had grown cold and filled with hatred.

I had been with Macavity as his prisoner for over a year now. I had successfully made friends with a few fellow henchcats, but they were sentenced to execution when Macavity found out. Macavity had a son, Plato, but he ran away after a few months. We had become great friends, and thankfully Macavity never found out. When Plato left, I was devastated. He always protected me from harm (or tried to) and he was my one true friend – my only friend. Well, I actually had one more friend. His name was Zakk, and he was Macavity's most loyal henchcat.

"Get this thing out of my sight," Macavity hissed. He gave one last kicked to my head before storming out the door. Zakk and another henchcat, Devon, picked me up and carried me to my cell. Our pawsteps echoed off the walls as we walked down the hallway towards the prisoner cells. I gave a shaky sigh as I was thrown into my cell. Devon had left, but Zakk stayed behind for a brief second.

"Want me to get you anything?" He whispered through the small window in the metal door.

"To be free," I thought. "Pain medication and some pigeon would be nice," I whispered back with my remaining strength. I listened to his pawsteps walking away and I curled up into a ball, silently crying.

Zakk returned an hour later, holding two pills, a glass of water, and a plate of pigeon. He slid it under my door and I crawled over, mustering up all my strength. I swallowed the pills and felt a little better as the pain slowly deceased. I hated it here. Other than Zakk, this place was the exact opposite of the Heaviside Layer. There were days where I wished that Macavity would kill me, right then and there. I often thought of Plato, and wondered how he was doing. I needed to get out of here. But how? I glanced at the now empty plate and an idea slowly formed into my mind.

"Macavity!" I called out to no one in particular. He appeared out of thin air a moment later.

"What?" He sounded irritated.

"I – I've decided I want to become one of your h – henchcats," I said quietly. Macavity stared at me. "A – And I got to thinking: m – maybe I should follow around one of your h – henchcats to see what it's like."

Macavity rubbed his whiskers. "Fair enough. You will no longer be my prisoner and will now be my henchcat."

I bowed my head. "Thank you, Sir."

"I shall have you train with my most loyal henchcat, Zakk."

"The one who brought me to my cell?"

Macavity nodded. "You are to follow, train, and learn from him." He came closer and narrowed his eyes. "But, if you so much as have one hair out of line, you will be a prisoner again and beaten worse than you could ever imagine."

I shivered. "Yes, Sir."

"Very good." He yanked me out of my cell and found the black and tan Tabby in the Recreation Room. He stood up and saluted Macavity, who returned the gesture.

"What can I do for you, Sir?" Zakk asked.

"Our prisoner here decided she wants to join us." He threw me in Zakk's direction. Zakk took a hold of my elbow. "She is to follow and be trained by you."

Zakk bowed his head. "As you command, Sir." Macavity disappeared and Zakk whirled around to face the striped queen. "Are you crazy?" He whispered frantically, shaking my shoulders. "You don't want to be one of us!"

"Look, it might be my ticket to freedom," I whispered back. "I will do anything to escape."

Zakk sighed. "Fine. I'll help you in any way I can."

We - the two secret friends - went about the warehouse doing chores and helping out. We spent some time in the library, where Zakk read to me. Zakk had learned to read over the years, unlike me, who was locked up most of my life. The sounds of the rain softly tapping against the windows and Zakk's soft voice made me sleepy. I yawned and fell asleep against my friend's warm shoulder.

Hopefully my plan would work.