Macavity's eyes slitted with anger as he watched the Jellicles prepare for the Jellicle ball. Hatred rushed through him as he saw all the Jellicles rush around Old Deuteronomy. Hate seared his veins as he saw Munkustrap begin the festivities.
"I should be down there." he thought savagely. "I should be the leader. Tonight will be my night though. I will get my revenge." As he watched the cats he now hated, he slipped back to another time. A time where he was respected in the tribe. A time that he was a young cat. When he was one of....them.
Chapter 1
Macavity's eyes opened for the first time to see his litter mates. Beside him were his two brothers and one sister. One brother was larger than the rest, black with a mane around his neck. The other was a average sized grey tabby who was very close to Macavity's black, white, and red striped body for warmth. Also snuggled with them was his sister, a cream colored kitten with brown paws and whisker pads that resembled that of a Siamese.
"Oh, isn't he darling!!!" excaimed Jellylorum. "They're all simply adorable, Grizabella. You must be very proud."
"I am," said Grizabella with a smile. "Very proud indeed." She turned to the kittens to wash them, the entire time thinking of names for each.
She looked up to see her father, Old Deuteronomy, approaching to see his new grandchildren. He was old and beginning to wear down, so Plato, a spry young cat, was helping him along.
"You must be very proud, Gus." Old Deuteronomy addressed his son-in-law. I've never seen a finer litter. One of these will become a great leader. Their training must begin as soon as possible."
Gus gleamed even brighter with pride. "Yes, it must." He turned to Grizabella, who was finishing washing Macavity. "Have you thought of any names, my dear?"
Grizabella looked up. "Oh, yes. This striped one will be called Macavity. The grey tabby will be named Munkustrap. Rum Tum Tugger will be a wonderful name for the large maned one." She looked fondly at the little girl. "And my only daughter of the litter, she will be named Perilune."
"Oh, what wonderful names, darling!!" exclaimed Balibom, who was herself expecting kittens soon. She laughed as she watched Macavity try to climb out of the box where his litter mates were. "He's a live one isn't he? He'll grow up to be very popular with the girls, I have no doubt."
Meanwhile, Macavity finally succeeded in removing himself from the box and leaving his siblings behind. He rubbed against his father and tried his best to stand like he was standing. When the other cats laughed, he puffed out his chest and grinned at them all proudly.
Macavity snapped out of his daze and watched the Jellicles dance, hatred rising in his soul every second. He suddenly felt a pang of regret as he saw Bombalurina step out from the shadows, but it was only a flicker, for the hatred returned once again, ten times as strong.
Chapter 2
Macavity and Bambalurina stepped into the light of the junkyard. At once, Macavity was swarmed by yowling, adolescent female kittens.
"Help! Attack of the midgets!" he yelped, grabbing Bom's paw and pulling her into a car trunk.
"Whew! That was close," Bom sighed. She couldn't help but laugh at Macavity's shyness towards all the attention from the kittens. His brother, Tugger, soaked it all up, not that he got much since Macavity got most of the attention.
"Yeah. Close call. Hey! Quit playing with my tail!" he said, grabbing his tail.
"It wasn't me."
"Well, if it wasn't you..." Macavity turned around and saw a small dark face. He screamed like it was the very devil. The face screamed too, only it was much higher pitched.
"Demeter! What are you doing here?" Bom demanded, more than somewhat perturbed.
"Nothin'" came her younger sibling's innocent reply, as she rubbed against Macavity.
"Move it or lose it, Squirt," Macavity muttered. "Come on, Bom. We need some privacy."
"Why can't I come?" demanded the little shadow.
"Deal with it. Go bother Tugger." her sister said, pushing her out.
"Now, what did you want to tell me?"
"Well...ah...I...uh...er...here," Macavity stuttered, pushing forward a black collar with gold spikes on it.
"Macavity! It's beautiful! Thank you!" she exclaimed, rubbing against him happily. "I'll never take it off."
"So, uh, is that a yes?"
"Yes!"
Chapter 3
Macavity stood proudly in line beside his brothers. He puffed out his chest and grinned at Bom, who gazed at him proudly. Today was the day his life had centered around. The day that one from his litter would be choosen to be the next leader of the tribe. Old Deuteronomy looked upon his grandsons proudly.
"Today, grandsons, one of you will be choosen to follow in my footsteps. You will all be leaders, but only one of you will learn the secret to the Heaviside."
The tension was palpable. Old Deuteronomy paced up and down the line, pausing in front of each grandson.
"Dear Heaviside, please pick me!" Macavity prayed.
Old Deuteronomy paused on front of Macavity, then moved on. He stopped in front of Munkustrap.
"Behold, fellow Jellicles, my grandson and he who will one day lead you. Munkustrap."
Munkustrap stepped forward proudly. Macavity's eyes filled with tears as he turned and ran away. He lay in his tunnel, seeing nothing, thinking nothing.
"Macavity?" Bom peeked into the tunnel. "Are you OK?"
Macavity looked at Bom with eyes of stone. "I'm leaving the tribe. You can come with me if you like, but you don't have to."
Bom started at him like he was crazy. "I can't. I won't. I will not leave my family when they need me." She removed the collar he gave her so long ago. "Here. To remember me by." She turned and walked away, forcing herself not to look back.
Chapter 4
Macavity awoke with a start. He heard hisses below him. "What's this?" he thought. "They can't have spotted me." He peered below him and saw that his mother, proud, tattered, and old, had entered the junkyard. If he'd ever truly hated the Jellicles, it was at this moment. Seeing his mother like that was his main hate spring. He felt his mind slip back to the last time he'd seen her. "No." he thought. "Not that..."
Macavity dug through the trash can for a scrap to eat. The smell was terrible, but he was used to it. Every now and then, he thought of his family or Bom. Especially Bom. He heard another cat knock down a trashcan at the opening of the alley. His head jerked up, fearful. He'd been beat up by larger toms for scraps and avoided other cats as much as possible. As the new cat came into view, he wished that he'd left without looking for the other cat. It was his mother, Grizabella. His heart broke for her. She had once been beautiful, with silky fur and eyes full of life, adventure, and vivacity. No more. Her fur was now matted, dirty, and tattered. Her eyes, once beautiful and expressive, were now dull, lifeless orbs full of suffering. She looked around, hoping no one was there to see how dilapidated she'd become. Macavity slunk away unnoticed, swearing revenge on the Jellicles. "They could've helped her. But they didn't. They will pay." he thought.
Chapter 5
"Hey, boss. You ready for us to get the old 'un?," a raspy rat voice said from beside Macavity, awakening him from his memory.
"Yes. Let's go now," he said softly. He followed his rats behind the old cat. "Now!," he whispered. As the rats caught Old Deuteronomy in their net, Macavity came into the light, hair on end, in all his horrible glory. When his rats were safe and out of harm, he ran into the darkness where nobody could see him.
"Good work, boys," Macavity said as he slipped on his Old Deuteronomy costume. He sneered at the tied, gagged Old Deuteronomy. Three rats "helped" him into the light. As the cats gathered around him, he thought happily, "This is how it should be." Suddenly, he felt a weight on his back and heard a hiss. "Demeter," he thought ruefully. He burst out of the costume and grabbed Demeter, trying to drag her off. Out of nowhere, Alonzo swept down and carried Demeter to safety. Munkustrap appeared in front of Macavity. "Hello, dear brother," Macavity hissed and swiped at Munkustrap.
"You shouldn't have come back, Macavity," Munkustrap hissed back and returned the blow. Macavity was infuriated by now and hit Munkustrap with the force of his hatred times one hundred, knocking him unconcious. Immediatly, all the adult cats were surrounding Macavity, hissing and scratching. "I can't handle this." Macavity thought desperatly. "Not with all these cats." He retreated to some spark plugs, which he held together and created a diversion so that he could dissappear back into the darkness.
The Jellicles gazed into the darkness. "Macavity's not there!," they whispered to one another. Oh, dear Jellicles. If you only knew. His spirit, the spirit of the good, loyal cat he once was will always be with you.
Epilouge
Old Deuteronomy was later saved from Macavity's clutches by Mr. Mistoffelees's magical powers. Grizabella was later chosen to go to the Heaviside Layer by Old Deuteronomy.
The End
*Sniff* Even criminals are innocent at some point...