Author's note: I should mention that this is generally set roughly several to seven years after the animated series, to avoid any confusion, and that CCD's char Cal will be in this story, so I apologize for yet another sudden change, it was rather last minute. Also, please pardon any strong language or slightly suggestive material in this story, but it's in keeping with the characters, so if you're offended by mild swearing or implied *ahem* matters, DON'T READ. This goes for the entire story, unless otherwise noted (meaning: PG rating, PG-13 at worst).

Yawning as I wake up, I know instinctively that it's night, I find myself looking on at my pet, Prince Rapses, reborn as a human tom-kitten named Presley, yes, I do consider Presley my pet, and his human guardians and allies, a very interesting collection of them, really. I suppose these could be strange times, but then, we're all strange, aren't we?
Oh, yes. Speaking of strange, I suppose you're wondering who's telling you all this. Unless you're far stupider than the average human, you can tell that human is the last thing I am.
My name is Kanoi Iya Dayeisha, though if you're human, called me Kahti, as do Presley and his guardians. I'm also a mummified feline, it's been this way for, oh, thirty-five hundred years, give or take little over a quarter of a century by the human calendar.
"Rath, again, why is the summer solstice important? It doesn't affect anyone's magic in particular, does it?" Ja-Kal, the alpha male of Presley's mummified, and living, guardians, presses.
"That depends on several factors, Ja-Kal. However, the magic of the Western Gate will be at it's weakest then, since that night is the shortest of the year. We might be able to use that against Scarab if he decides to conjure another spirit from the Gate." That's Rath, the resident sorcerer who's spells tend to either backfire or, more often, not work at all.
Don't ask me what I think of them. Ja-Kal, well, everyone likes him, though he really does need work on his people skills. That, and admitting his feelings, which I'll go into detail about later.
Rath, well, I really don't know. Oh, I've heard, not through ordinary sources, mind you, but from my own connections, that some people consider him...strangely attractive. This being the case, I keep getting the feeling that he may have had mates in the past, I also feel, rather strongly, that he may have even sired kittens.
Nothing odd about that, though humans rarely sire kittens within Lifematings, or Denmatings, the latter of which are specifically for the purpose of producing offspring. Mostly, they simply flirt with a queen, sire, then leave the kittens to be reared by the queen. Most humans only have a litter of one kitten, I've witnessed the birth of a two-kitten litter, and I've heard of, though never seen, litters of three.
And really, what's so special about this year's summer solstice? I could understand if it was some time ago, but this is well after the year 2000 by the calendar of modern humans, there's nothing special planned for this year. At least, I don't recall there being anything planned.
"I don't get what's the big deal, either, Rath. Maybe you want to explain to those of us who *don't* do magic?" Presley asks. The human tom-kitten, he's now an adolescent, a teen, I guess, fusses his brown headfur, tied back with a string of fabric, before looking slightly sheepish for his actions. The sorcerer only sighs.
"My Prince, I understand it's importance, but it's very difficult to put into words. Unless I can do something to show you, I'm afraid I can't explain it." Rath tells the tom-kitten.
While the humans foolishly begin to argue about this, I notice that the magical pyramid on the table begins spinning, while they pay no attention to this, or if they do, they pretend they don't.
When the magic pyramid stops spinning so...well, it's a human term, so I won't say it. But when it does, I simply step over to it, the humans never notice me unless I don't mind that they do. What I read, yes, a feline can read, is odd, to say the least.
'I have come before you, the path is opened...'
Odd how it trails off like that. Perhaps it's a phrase, yet to be completed because the next part has yet to come about. We shall see, I suppose, we shall see.

***

Half a world away, in London, England, actually, things were quite different in the Junkyard of the Jellicles. For one, there was no worry or anxiety about the approaching summer solstice. For the Jellicles, it wasn't a source of worry, but rather, of cheer and excitement.
In front of a good number of his tribe, amidst all the gathered felines, was the tribe's magician, Mister Mistoffelees. His full name was Quaxo Mistoffelees, but as the magical Conjuring Cat, he lacked the white-tipped black tail and three white paws he otherwise had, also, his fur was considerably sleeker.
Dancing before his audience, Mistoffelees paused without missing a beat, sending a flash of light from his black forepaws. Where there was no one a moment before, there was now his beautiful Lifemate, Victoria the White Cat, who joined him in a solo that then became a duet. She was his Lifemate because they had chosen to spend their lives with each other, Mistoffelees was the first to admit what he felt towards the white queen, and they were the proud parents of seven beautiful kittens.
"Thank you, my queen." Mistoffelees said to his white mate after the dance. Victoria blushed, but returned the thanks before the magician ran to the old car trunk. Reaching into a small opening, he pulled out a huge red cloak, ignoring the small paws of two kittens who were perched on the car trunk before sliding down after him.
"You two are hyper today. Did your pets give you sugar or did you get into the candy yourselves?"
Khinizsha and Alepho, fraternal twin tuxedo kittens, raised a black eyebrow at the mostly-gray tabby tom-kitten who asked that question. Khinizsha was the first to answer.
"We're not hyper. It's just that..."
"...We don't think Father should do that." Alepho finished.
Michael was always a bit bothered by twins. They were much like the original mystical twins, Coricopat and Tantomile, who were twins and Lifemates, only this pair had different parents, and weren't planning on being a Lifemated pair. Khinizsha and Alepho were the youngest set of twins, born to Mistoffelees and Victoria, but they also had the strongest raw magic, which they were learning about with aid from their sire.
The trio watched as Mistoffelees chose an assistant for this magic trick. Amazingly, his assistant was Exotica, the mother of Cassandra and the Rumpus Cat, she was also the lifemate of Admetus. Admetus was usually the only one who could get her to do anything, the shy Burmese queen tended to blend into anything dark.
As Michael watched the trick with only half his attention on the magician and his assistant, he glanced at the sky as he heard a faint rumbling noise, and felt a strange, distinct tingling in his whiskers. A storm, normally, this made Jellicles tense, but he could sense something strange about this particular storm. When he looked back to the rest of the Jellicles, he noticed something rather odd.
Aeolus and Windstorm, the tribe's two weather-manipulators, looked at the sky with growing anxiety. Aeolus began shaking uncontrollably and looked like he was shrinking in on himself as his cousin put a comforting arm around him. Michael wondered, this wasn't the normal reaction they had to storms.
Being somewhat psychic, he shared the telepathic and telekinetic abilities of the mystical twins, he felt the need to find out what was going on. Readying himself, he sent a gentle wave of directed thought at the anxious pair.
*What's wrong? This is a normal storm, isn't it?* he asked both of them.
Michael thought he saw Aeolus shake his head, but the tom-kitten was shaking so much it was difficult to tell. Windstorm shook her head and replied along the thought-thread the other tom-kitten created.
*That's what has him so scared. This is no ordinary storm, I can tell it has a magical basis. But that's the strange part, the magic's not based on Father, in fact, it's not based anywhere in England.*
Michael knew better than to question the kitten-queen's judgment. As one of Mistoffelees and Victoria's daughters, she inherited her sire's magic along with a strange twist in her bloodline that resulted in her meteorlogical talent. She was also taking after Victoria's mother, Jellylorum, in looks and habits.
Turning his attention away from the pair, Michael watched as Mistoffelees began his trick. Exotica was already under the cape, but Michael had a feeling that Old Deuteronomy would be the last thing to appear from it.

***

I am not happy right now.
I hate Rath's spells, which have a slight tendency to either not work or backfire. But when it involves me, I would like my own mystical talents to work. Which they don't, this time.
"Kahti, settle down. Nothing's going to happen." says my modern-world pet. When Presley tries to pet me, I only hiss, which I've taught him to mean 'don't touch me'.
"Now, the sacred kitty is going to need this if the spell has any chance of working." Rath holds up an amulet, fittingly, a moon symbol, tied on a string. While I refuse to have anything tied around my neck, I don't have a choice here. Still, I'll cut it off when I get the chance, provided they don't remove on my command first.
Being set down, I decide to just wait and see. I'll escape this potentially stupid situation when the opportunity presents itself, by my paw or otherwise.
"Rath, are you sure this spell requires a cat?" I can't tell who that might be, though I can give you some choices to guess from.
Corryn, the daughter of the dwarf god, Bes, bless her, and a more powerful magician than Rath, perhaps that's why he shuns her help.
Satyre, a rather tragic figure, the guardians don't trust her, but they don't even have an inkling of what she's been through.
And Cal, a mystery even to a feline. A rather odd mummy, when he's in his human form, and a very strange tom, when in feline form.
"Yes, I am quite certain that this spell calls for a cat to be a part of it, Corryn." Rath says in that snobbish tone he uses on her.
"Aw, poor Kahti." Cal pets my head as he smiles. Someone please choke me. Oh, well. At least he doesn't torment me by hugging me to death, as Kalia might.
"You're really reaching, you know that, Cal?" I say sarcastically. Still, he's likeable, even if, as an understatement, called eccentric by other humans.
As Rath begins the spell, with only a few stray sparks of green light to show the presence of magic, I begin to sense something wrong. There is magic being used elsewhere, not in this city infested with humans, no, but far, far away. And it's going to affect the sorcerer's spell. How? I'm almost too afraid to ask.
As the green light of the sorcerer's magic grows brighter, I look to the large table. The pyramid is spinning again, wildly. So fast that it's primitive human writing isn't even visible to the eye anymore. Oh, how I know I'll hate this.
Just when I think it couldn't get any worse, it does. I yelp as a flash of bright blue light begins to overpower the green light of human magic. Even in my ancient time an eternity ago, it was known that such a blue light is the sign of feline magic. I can only wonder...

***

Nefer-Tina felt considerable unease the moment Kahti disappeared from the Sphinx. She didn't know why, but there was a sense of confusion and various emotions in the air. She herself almost felt a sense of loss that was almost...maternal?
*Stop it!* she scolded herself. *That was over thirty-five hundred years ago, you should be over it! Besides, you've faced the fact that you'll never see them again, so why do you keep thinking like that?*
When anyone could speak again, Ja-Kal spoke up. "Rath, what happened?" When he got no reply, he turned to the sorcerer. "Rath!"
Rath looked up, Ja-Kal's voice snapping him out of his own thoughts. For a moment there, he almost swore he saw Kahti, not as an ordinary felines, but rather, a more human-like creature.
That inspired a deep dread and unease, because that reminded him of a woman he knew. A woman who's mannerisms and appearance were more cat-like than anything else. She was also something of a hypocrite and almost a liar at times, so he didn't bother to listen to her when he left, and behind him, she called to him, saying that she was pregnant with their child. Now, he felt very bad about something, what, he couldn't say.
"I...I..." Rath regained his typical composure and sniffed. "It's far too complicated to explain." was his only answer.
Presley sighed and began to wonder. Then, Cassandra, his cousin, albeit not by blood, spoke up, and turned to Ja-Kal.
"Ja-Kal, do you think Scarab might have something to do with it? I mean, he's conjured up entities from the Western Gate before, maybe he plans to use Kahti to summon another." she suggested.
Ja-Kal seemed to turn his attention away from something before he looked at Cassandra and her words sank into his awareness. "Yes...yes, Cassandra, you may be right. Scarab could do such a thing. And he wouldn't have any regard for Kahti's safety if she suddenly appeared or if he found her. Meaning that we have to find her first."
All of the guardians agreed, though Nefer-Tina and Rath had apprehensions of their own at first. If only they knew why.

***

After the blue and green lights vanish, I feel nothing, and I see nothing. But only for the briefest of moments.
After my eyes adjust to the darkness, after all, a gift of my tribe is to see in the dark, I feel something. I hit something hard and cold, I recognize it as metal.
And just when I thought things couldn't get stranger, they do. I see the literal light at the end of the tunnel, and I find myself racing towards the light, though my legs aren't moving, I believe I am almost falling.
Then, I encounter a strange, silky red cloth, like a cape or some such. One moment, the light was visible. Now, I see dissolved moonlight through the silk cloth, and can even make out the moon itself, though nothing else.
"AH! It's a Pollicle!" I hear a feminine voice screeching. What's a Pollicle? I can't help wondering that.
"It's not a Pollicle, Zi." This voice sounds strangely alien, yet familiar to an extent. It reminds me of the Everlasting Mau's mortal, yet divine, enemy, a creature humans call Apep. But it's not, I know that.
Something touches me on the head through the cloth, while I feel something tugging it away from me, behind me and to the left.
I'm caught unaware as the cloth is promptly pulled from me, flinging me nosefirst into a smelly trash heap. When I finally manage to get my head free of this horrible mess, I look around to find myself practically surrounded by a mass of colorful, and, in the case of most, strangely-marked felines. Jellicles, I can tell that immediately.
One particular kitten, almost entirely a silver tabby, except for a few bits of color on his head and forepaws, creeps near, leaning forward as he breathes in my scent. Strange, I never knew that was a way in the modern world still considered acceptable.
"She...she smells Jellicle." says the kitten. When he speaks, I realize that he can't be more than a week from his first birthday, and adulthood. He's large for his age, I'll give him that.
"But who *is* she?" asks one kitten, I recognize the Jellicle 'breed' as Burmese, like me. "She looks a lot like Granma 'Xotica." I noticed the kitten speaks with a slight nasal accent I've only heard in humans. A breed kitten, perhaps? Knowing what I know of the ancestry of the Jellicle race, human crossbreed kittens, called 'breed' as a shortening of 'crossbreed', are not unheard of.
Think about that later, Kanoi. Two things I'm worried about right now; one, where on this human world am I, and two, how exactly did I get here? I get the impression that the sorcerer's magic was not solely responsible for this.
"Tell me, stranger," says a pure silver tabby tom, snapping me out of my thoughts, "if you're a Jellicle, like my son says, then what's your name?"
I can't help smiling. "I am indeed a Jellicle, like the young one says, though I doubt you've heard of me. My time was well over thirty-five centuries ago, by the human calendar." I tell him.
The silver tabby tom blinks, and I can't help noticing that his eyes are the same silvery-gray color as his fur. Interesting.
"Well, what's your name, then?" he asks. I'm not all that certain he can be said to have brains, but then, that's something we only learn of through long association.
"My tribe called me Kanoi Iya Dayeisha. I was the matriarch, in my time." I explain to him.
I hear two gasps that almost sound like one, just behind me. Turning, I find myself face to face with a pair I can only call twins, silvery-white Cats with a strange black overlay, splashes of red, and a tan face with white and black markings, most noticably, the white stripe across their right cheek. I immediately get the impression that they're also a Lifemated pair.
Oh, Heaviside. Why am I even here? More and more, I keep feeling out of place around here. Especially by thirty-five centuries and half a world. Who wouldn't?
"Oh, my! Dearie, come here and let me take care of that."
"Huh?" I turn to find myself face to face with an elderly queen. A rather plump white queen with brown and orange stripes and black leopard spots here and there.
"You've been hurt on your arrival, I see." she tells me, pointing to my chest and arm.
Looking down at my chest, I see a long gash with sluggishly flowing blood. On my arm, red lines crisscross from my shoulder to my wrist. Yes, I see how that might be a problem. Especially as I notice the pain only now.
Oh, Heaviside. Just why am I here?

***

"I'm telling you, Scarab must have a hand in this. It's only reasonable..."
Ja-Kal stopped talking as the realization sank in that no one believed a word he was saying. As he sat back in the Hot-Ra, Cal, in cat form, jumped onto his shoulders.
"Why Scarab would kidnap Kahti?" Cal asked. His speech was always a bit off when he was in cat form.
"Why not? He'd do anything to destroy us, wouldn't he? If he thought it would be of some benefit to him, I wouldn't put it past him." Ja-Kal answered.
No one noticed, but Nefer-Tina remained especially quiet during the journey. She couldn't help that her mind wandered back to what happened when she remembered, that while ago. She shook her head. It was no use thinking about it, and it wasn't the time, now.
They had spent an uneventful two hours searching for the sacred kitty, with no luck, or even a clue to her whereabouts. Cal jokingly said that Rath's spell backfired, and Kahti wasn't anywhere in the city. What if the green cat was right?
The guardians all were snapped out of their thoughts as a burst of purple light hit the road just ahead of them. Ja-Kal moved to cover Presley just as the hood of the car popped open, revealing none other than Scarab hovering in the air above them.
"What did you do with the sacred kitty, Scarab?" Nefer-Tina shouted. Ja-Kal hadn't noticed that Nefer-Tina transformed in that brief moment of total chaos, though he was grateful that she did.
Scarab's face, what was visible under the helmut, reflected only total confusion. "What makes you think I took your stupid cat, woman?" he shouted back at her.
"If you didn't take her, then what happened to Kahti? Besides, you'd come up with some new plan to get us by now, I would think." Kalia was near Nefer-Tina, spear at ready, and also armored up.
"I don't know, I don't care, but I'll take advantage of the fact that you're all here." Scarab smiled. With that, he simply began firing bursts of magic.
Ja-Kal was keeping Presley safe, there was no need to worry about the others, even if he wanted to. Satyre, the spider guardian, was likewise armored up, and trying to reach Scarab with Kalia and Nefer-Tina. Samuel Hawkes was of no help in the fight, the two werewolves Shade and Meccha, had their own defenses, and Corryn, the demi-goddess, took to the air briefly to fight.
Rath promptly fired at Scarab, most likely as an effort to distract him long enough for Ja-Kal to really do something. Naturally, however, he missed, and the green fiery beam flew into the sky.
Corryn's wings, folded over Presley when Ja-Kal moved, blew in a gentle breeze that gradually became stronger. Holding her green hair back with one hand, the half-imp looked at the sky, and shouted something to the sorcerer. What she said, no one knew, but when she got his attention, she pointed to the sky.
Indeed, there was reason to be scared. The burst of magical misfire from Rath was send into the sky, but it also mingled with the wild magic that was rampant in the sky on this night. That mingling created a magical storm, throwing green and blue lightning all over the sky, accompanied by the deep rumble of thunder, and a funnel-cloud.
As the funnel-cloud grew in size, random bursts of green and blue lightning shot from the sky and hit the ground. Those would could fly took to the air, those who couldn't, ran for cover.
A random burst of blue hit Scarab as he tried to avoid the lightning, the burst became a beam, pulling him into the tunnel and beyond the sight of the guardians or their allies. Soon to follow, Rath was hit by a burst of his own magic, now a part of this storm, and likewise vanished into the tunnel.
"Corryn!" Ja-Kal shouted, barely audible above the howling wind. "What's going on? What is this?" the hunter asked the half-imp.
Corryn looked into the sky, barely able to ground herself as the wind grew stronger. "I don't know! I've never seen anything like this before!" she shouted back. It was true, despite being far older than the guardians, she didn't know all that much about magic, she was still learning about her own powers, and even if she knew all there was to know, she's never seen anything like this before.
Suddenly, Cassandra, the only guardian to hail from the modern world, yelped as a flash of blue-green light blinded them all. After that brief moment, there was only white. And nothing.

***

"Kanoi, dearie. You can come out now, you're all patched up, and no one will be able to tell the difference." Jennyanydots tells me.
I peer around the doorway to see the Matron almost staring at me. I can tell what that look in her eyes means, and I'm not sure whether to laugh myself silly or run away screaming because of it. However, now is not the time to worry about that.
I manage to pull myself upright to my feet, the bandage around my chest would cut off air if I still was breathing, and the wrapping around my right arm dulls the sensation of touch from the shoulder down, especially below the elbow. Still, not a problem, I have been known to be ambidexterous, as humans call it.
"Kanoi, I was wondering-Oh, oh, my."
I come face to face with the other Matron, Jenny's half-sister Jellylorum. She has that same look in her eyes, one that tells me what I'll be in for if I stay. Part of me wants to lose control and run away screaming like an idiot human, but another part wants to find out what that look will offer, though I have some idea what the nature of that 'offer' is.
"Jelly, now would *not* be a good time to say what you're thinking. And before you even ask that far, remember that I *am* the ancestor of your tribe." I tell her. I see the corner of Jellylorum's mouth twitch, and I mentally gulp to myself.
I step outside without waiting for a verbal answer from Jellylorum, and I immediately notice a few versions of the same look from a few other Jellicles, be they tom or queen. Most of the toms just have a stupid grin plastered on their faces, and most of the queens just have what humans might call a 'Mona Lisa' smile. Well, it could be much worse, at least the past behavior I am so accustomed to is openly practiced. I feel considerably more at ease, for the moment, at least.
"Kanoi, I hope you're up to the challenge. You're going to have to help Mistoffelees with this...spell, you understand?" Victoria tells me. I look into the white queen's aquamarine eyes, and see a twinkle of...mischief?
"Of course. And you shouldn't worry, I don't think your mate will waver in his loyalty to you." I smile. Victoria's face flickered with confusion for a moment before she returns the gesture.
*After all,* I add, with the power of my mind, *he is the sire of your kittens. That alone is living proof of his loyalty.*
Victoria, the white queen, leads me over to her mate, a tuxedo named Mistoffelees. However, he looks different now. No longer does he have the white-tipped tail or the three white paws. The only white he now has are his face, chest and the white pads on his paws. Interesting transformation, must be new in recent generations, I suppose.
I begin to summon my own powers to the fore, hoping I can help to get myself back to San Francisco. I'm no Magical Cat, but I have powers, you humans might call them psychic abilities, and some mystical talent. I know full well what I am doing, as I should.
However, when my power intertwines with that of Mistoffelees, I immediately sense something is amiss. There is alien magic in the air, one that feels vaguely familiar for one moment, then not, the next.
I feel my muscles beginning to tense, and a familiar tingling in my whiskers. A storm, that's what it is. But no ordinary storm, I can tell that. It's linked to that magic in the air.
A deep rumbling from the sky catched the attention of myself and the Jellicles present. As I watch, a funnel-cloud, or so I think you humans would call it, begins to form, and energy flares. A portal.
The rampant magic in the air twists and pulls at the natural forces, human magic. It strains the very forces of reality, having been dormant for centuries and given little chance for nature to adjust to its presence.
A deafening clash of thunder makes me turn my head away from the sky, then I feel the earth rumbling in protest to all the chaos. Looking back towards the portal, I finally see something that is familiar.
At first, I see a figure in purple swirling in the wind, then its flung far away from the portal, beyond even the sight of a Jellicle. It was Scarab.
Next, I see a figure in light clothes, and a gleam of a gold amulet, rectangular in shape. It's Presley! My pet!
Behind the tom-kitten, I see his guardians and allies following. How did they get here? Better still, how will we now get home?

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