Shadows in the Mirror

By Don Redmond and Jade F. Callan


Dedicated to The Goddess, with love



	Two tom-kats stood at one end of the parking lot to Leonard's Diner.
One of the kats turned to the other. "That's her." The two kats grinned and
waited for her to return.

**********************************************************

	Lieutenant Felina Feral sat at the lunch counter having tuna chili. The
food was great, but the company wasn't. Since she was on duty, she was in
uniform, and that kept everyone away from her. She would much rather be
eating lunch with Callie, even in a place like this but, being the Deputy
Mayor, Calico Briggs had to attend a luncheon the Mayor was giving for
some visiting business associates. She didn't envy Callie her meal of shoe
leather masquerading as some kind of meat and a salad of lettuce that
probably had been picked before Manx was even born.

	Felina finished up and paid her bill. "Great food as usual, Leonard."

	"Thank you, Lieutenant."

	Felina was smiling as she walked back to her car awaiting her in the
parking lot. Suddenly, her right shoulder felt like a giant mosquito had
bitten it. She reached back to scratch and stumbled as she felt dizzy.
Instead of a mosquito bite she found a tranquilizer dart, and pulled it out
of her shoulder. She looked at it uncomprehendingly as she passed out.

**********************************************************

	When she awoke Felina found herself tied to a post that helped
support a dilapidated warehouse. As she looked around she began to
recognize various features. This was the old Gillet Warehouse, which had
been abandoned for many years now. She thought she had heard that it was
to be torn down soon.

	"Ah, the sleeper wakes." The tom-kat to whom the voice belonged
came into view in the dim lighting. He was a tall and lanky with gray fur.

	"What do you want with me?"  The last three words took on a little
more urgency as Felina realized that most of her clothes were gone and all
she was wearing were her bra and panties.

	"We only want your mind."

	"What?"

	"Billy, will you come here?"

	Another tom-kat walked into Felina's view. He was a big burly orange
kat, though shorter than the other, and he had a dart gun pointed at her. He
pulled the trigger and the dart hit Felina just above her left breast as she
tried to jerk out of the way. This time, however, she didn't lose
consciousness. The spot where the dart hit felt hot. Soon her entire body
felt hot and all she could see was flickering light.

	"That'll get her started, Jack."

	"Are you sure you know how to do this?"

	"Sure." Billy waved a pamphlet at his partner. "It explains all the
steps right here".

	"I sure hope this works. If we can get someone inside the Enforcers
who's got the confidence of the Commander, we'll be able to ship drugs
when and where we want to.

	"Do you want to be her old man or shall I?"

	"Let's flip for it, just so there'll be no hard feelings from the
one who isn't getting any."

	Jack grinned, picked up Felina's pants, and dug into the pocket.
"Here's a fair coin. Heads or tails?"

	"Heads."

	Jack flipped it and let it bounce and roll on the concrete floor of the
warehouse. When it stopped it was heads up. Jack slapped Billy on the
shoulder. "I hope you enjoy your nights." The two kats laughed before
getting back to the task at hand.

**********************************************************

	At regular intervals Billy would inject Felina with various
psychoactive drugs and both kats would quietly lecture her on her new
life. She was Mrs. Billy Cannon and she worked in the drug trade. She had
joined the Enforcers to spy on them. The tale got told in various ways and
various times depending on the drug Billy used.

**********************************************************

	The night after Felina's ill-fated lunch Callie dialed Commander
Feral's home number only to be transferred to his office. She was
momentarily amused to see that there was someone who worked later
hours than she did.

	"Ms. Briggs? I was just going to call you."

	"You were?" Callie was taken aback.

	"What's going on with Felina? She didn't sign out last night, nor did
she sign in this morning."

	"I was going to call you to find out if her duty assignment had been
changed. We were suppose to go out last night, but I haven't heard from her
in several days."

	"This does not bode well. I'll call you if anything comes up."

	The two kats hung up, neither feeling very happy.

**********************************************************

	Several times the two kats brought Felina out to check on their
progress, but found that they weren't succeeding very well. Once when
they tried the marriage part with Billy and Felina together in bed Felina
almost killed Billy before Jack could tranq her again. After that incident
Felina's return to consciousness was quite slow as it was each time
thereafter when they tried to bring her back to full consciousness.

	Finally, the two kats felt that they should quit giving her drugs until
she responded normally. Then they could start over again. However, it did
not seem to matter. Even when both kats shook the supposedly drug-free
Felina's limp body it was to no avail.

	They waited several days, but Felina remained unconscious. Finally,
Jack kicked her body in disgust. "Well, this was a waste of a small
fortune." He looked at Billy with anger, "Got any more bright ideas?"

	"Next time we don't mix the tranqs, stims and the drugs. I think her
body is too confused."

	"Well, I'm confused, too. She was the perfect candidate. Maybe we'll
find another. Let's get her dressed and when it's dark we'll toss her
somewhere."

	"What if she dies?"

	"Then it's one less Enforcer to trouble us."

**********************************************************

	"Ms. Briggs? Commander Feral here. We've found Felina. She was
discovered north of town just off Highway 61. She's been taken to MegaKat
Memorial in a coma. She's alive, but she's not responding. She's in room
513 if you want to see her. I'll be there later."

	"Thank you, Ulysses."

**********************************************************

	Callie was seated next to Felina's bed, holding her hand, tortured by
the thought that her lover might never reawaken. Even Felina's mother had
to admit that Callie's love for her daughter seemed genuine, though Callie
was oblivious to this. She just wanted Felina conscious again.

	Callie was starting to nod off when she felt Felina stirring. She
looked at Felina's face as her eyes opened. Callie smiled at her lover only
to be greeted by a confused frown. Felina looked about the room several
times before withdrawing her hand from Callie.

	"Deputy Mayor? Where's Chance?"

	Callie was confused. She could only mumble, "Chance?"

	"Yes. Chance Furlong."

**********************************************************

	Somewhere else Felina Feral awoke feeling groggy and realized she
was lying in a bed. She couldn't remember where she was. As she stretched
she felt a furry body next to her and smiled. She thought she must be over
at Callie's and was just waking out of really disorientating dream. The
smile broadened when a hand brushed her breast. She opened her eyes and
found herself staring into the face of Chance Furlong.

	"Morning, Beautiful."

	"Chance? What are you doing here? Where's Callie?"

	"Why shouldn't your lover be in bed with you? Did I do something
wrong at the party last night? And what's the Deputy Mayor got to do with
this?" Chance paused and looked at Felina, who was sliding over the bed
away from him.

	Felina was very confused: it was unlike Chance to be so nonchalant
about this sort of thing. He knew about her and Callie. And what was
Chance doing in her ... . Felina looked around and realized she wasn't in hers
or Callie's bed, "Where am I?"

	"In my bed, of course," Chance told her, a confused look on his
face, "What's with you?"

	"I ... ." Felina wasn't sure what was going on, but realized she had
better not let Chance get suspicious. "I guess I didn't get enough sleep.
Sorry."

	"S'ok," Chance told her, "Now, do you have to get up, or do we have
a little time?"

	"Uh, sorry, Chance, I gotta get to work," Felina wasn't sure she could
manage making love to Chance.

	"Too bad," Chance pulled her to him, "Guess we'll just have to make up
for it tonight," he kissed her lightly and then, to Felina's great relief,
rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

	In Chance's bedroom, while he showered, she quickly dressed and then
cleared out of the Salvage Yard. On the way to her apartment she called
Enforcer Headquarters to see when she was scheduled to be on duty. The
officer in charge was surprised that Lieutenant Feral didn't know, but
willingly told her. She said she would be in late and hung up.

	The first thing she did when she got to her apartment was call
Callie's apartment, but she wasn't in. It had been a long shot since Callie
started early and stayed late, but she didn't know who else to turn to. She
hoped Callie could explain what was happening.

	When she arrived at Headquarters she got her duty sheet and
everything went well during the day. Indeed all seemed almost normal
until she was signing out. Then she ran into a blond she-kat who smiled at
her and said hello. Felina almost walked past her.

	"Felina, is something wrong?"

	Felina stared at the kat and saw that she was taking to an Officer
Higgins. "No. I guess I'm a little distracted."

	"Is everything all right with you and Chance?"

	Felina felt her confusion of this morning starting all over again. She
decided to take the easy way out. "Everything's fine, just fine."

	"Good. Is this weekend still on?"

	"Sure. I'm sorry, but I've got to run. I've got an appointment in a few
minutes."

	With that Felina continued her trek out of Headquarters. She did not
know where to go now. She didn't want to go back to her apartment since
there was every possibility that Chance might call. She decided to go get
something to eat and then head over to Callie's apartment.

	When she entered Han's Diner she wasn't really hungry, but as she
smelled the food that others were eating her appetite grew. When the
waiter gave her a menu she almost ordered without looking, but the
strangeness of the day made her hesitate long enough for the waiter to
leave. Fortunately there was some constancy in her life and sweet and
sour shrimp was still on the menu.

**********************************************************

	"Megakat Salvage Yard, Jake speaking."

	"Jake? It's me, Sami. Um, is Felina there?"

	"Nope. I think Chance was hoping she'd stop by, but he can't seem to
locate her. Why?"

	"Well, she was acting ... vague today. I was just wondering if
everything was OK between the two of them."

	"As far as I know it is."

	"OK, thanks. See you tomorrow night?"

	"You better believe it."

**********************************************************

	When Felina arrived at Callie's apartment she wasn't home. Not so
surprising since Callie sometimes stayed very late when she was working
on a speech for Manx and didn't feel like bringing her work home. Callie had
broken dates with her more than once because she had a speech to finish.
Of course, she usually made up for it when she did get home.

	Felina reached into her pocket for her keys, but couldn't find her key
to Callie's apartment. More things were out of kilter. She was relieved to
notice a skeleton key for the buildings in this area. Today she had been
investigating some robberies in this area, and so had the key. She used it
to let herself in, but with trepidation. If she didn't have her key to Callie's
apartment, maybe there was something wrong with her, or between her
and Callie. She looked around and noticed that several things seemed to be
missing. The books were different: there was no Sufi poetry, for example.
Some of Callie's video tapes weren't there. Felina gave up looking because
she didn't want scare herself too much.

	Felina had just started to doze off on the couch when she heard the
door open. Then she heard Callie talking to someone outside the apartment.
"Good night, Harry."

	As soon as Callie closed the door Felina rushed into the hallway and
threw her arms around Callie, hugging her tightly. Callie, surprised,
remembered some of her self-defense moves and sent a very surprised
Felina over onto her back on the floor.

	"Lieutenant Feral, what is going on? What are you doing in my
apartment?"

	Felina was not expecting this reception and she just lay on the floor
looking up at the kat she had thought of as her lover. "Callie, I ...we ... ."
Felina sat up, put her head in her hands and began to cry. Everything was
gone. Everything.

**********************************************************

	Felina looked at the Deputy Mayor standing by her bedside, wondering
why she was here and Chance was not. Apparently the Deputy Mayor
seemed to care for her, but the feelings seemed to be a little deeper. They
were friends, but nothing more. When Callie left her room she seemed
saddened.

	Later her mother appeared and went into her "See doesn't this show
you you should get out of the Enforcers?" spiel, but the lecture ended the
same way it always did and had the same effect it always did. Mother and
daughter yelled at each other for awhile until the nurse showed up to ask
her mother to leave.

	Things went much better when her uncle came by. He asked her how
she was - all the usual things. He also tossed in a few questions regarding
what had happened to her and here she was glad to have to plead ignorance.
The last thing she remembered was making love to Chance, and when she
woke up she was in the hospital. Oddly, when he left he asked where the
Deputy Mayor was.

	The doctors needed to keep her in the hospital for another couple of
days for tests and observation. During this time Calico Briggs came by
once more, but the visit was short. It was clear that friendship was not
all that she felt. What confused her even more was that Chance never
called. She could understand, perhaps, his not coming to see her in the
hospital, after all their relationship was known to only a few, but she
expected at least a call.

	When she finally was released from the hospital she returned to her
apartment. Her uncle told her to take whatever time she needed to recover
and she was going to use all of it. The first thing she did when she was
finally settled in her apartment and alone was call Chance. Lucky for her,
he answered the phone.

	"MegaKat Salvage, Chance Furlong speaking."

	"Hi, Hotshot."

	"Ah, ... who is this?"

	"Chance, it's me, Felina."

	"Lieutenant Feral?"

	"Chance, is this some kind of joke? I need to talk with you."

	"Lieutenant, are you sure you're calling the right person?"

	"Chance ... I ... I'm sorry to bother you." Felina slowly cradled
the receiver. What was going on? He acted like they barely knew each
other. Maybe Chance was in some kind of situation where he couldn't talk
freely. She'd call back later.

	In the meantime she'd take a shower and relax. When she was looking
for clothes to wear she saw some unfamiliar things in her closet. She
decided on jeans and a tee shirt. However, there were some other she-
kat's clothes. Indeed, one resembled one of the Deputy Mayor's business
suits. What was going on here?

**********************************************************

	When Jake returned, Chance was still fiddling with the engine he had
been working on when he had left, "Productive day, I see."

	"I got a weird phone call earlier," Chance told him, "From Lieutenant
Feral. She called me Hotshot, and said she really needed to talk to me."

	Jake's brow furrowed, "That's weird."

	"Tell me about it," Chance replied.

	"You gonna go talk to her?"

	"At first I was, but decided not to."

	Jake just shook his head. "Why not?"

	"I think there's something going on between her and Callie, and I don't
want to get involved. All I need is for one of them to decide I'm siding
with the other one. It's too easy to lose friends that way."

	"You're probably right."

**********************************************************

	Callie helped Felina up off of her floor. Clearly Felina was badly
shaken, but more than the little fall merited. Felina was still sobbing
when she led her to the living room couch. When Felina leaned against her,
Callie put an arm about her shoulders to provide some comfort. Eventually
Felina calmed down and sat up on the couch with a tear soaked face.

	"What's this all about, Felina?"

	"I am so confused. When I woke up this morning I found myself in bed
with ... someone I shouldn't be, but whom he and others thought I should be.
You're the one I love and you treat me like I'm just someone you know from
work. I looked around your apartment and things I know were here just
aren't anymore."

	"How did you get into my apartment?"

	Felina pulled out a key and held it up for Callie to look at. "You gave
me a key to your apartment six months after we started acting like a
couple. I've used it every now and then, but couldn't find it tonight so I
used another." Felina stood up and looked sadly at Callie. "Do you want me
to leave?"

	Callie could see that Felina was on the verge of tears again and
decided she couldn't just send her out into the night, but she wasn't sure
what to do with her either. Maybe she could let her sleep on her couch
tonight, and in the morning call Felina's mother or Commander Feral.

	"Would you like something to eat? You can stay at my place tonight if
you want. I think the couch would fit you. Or would you rather go back to
your apartment?"

	Later Felina was curled up on the couch asleep and Callie was trying
to decide who to talk to about her. She could get the Feral home number
but wasn't sure that this would be a good time to call them. However,
there was a chance she might get ahold of Commander Feral.

	She called Enforcer Headquarters and got his answering machine. She
gave a sigh and said a few words. Maybe if she called early in the morning.
Callie was tired and decided it was time for her to go to bed as well. As
she walked back to her bedroom she saw Felina roll over on the couch and
hoped she would sleep peacefully tonight.

**********************************************************

	Felina slowly approached the entrance of the Salvage Yard. She had
been unable to find her motorcycle in the garage, and so had driven her car
to within a few blocks of the yard, and walked the rest of the way. Her key
to the front door was missing, so, after passing through the front gate and
walking up to the door of the garage, Felina was forced to ring the night
bell.  After a few moments, Jake opened the door.

	"What's up, Lieutenant? Car trouble?" Jake asked her.

	"Huh? What do you mean, Jake? I've come to see that lover of mine
who's too lazy to come see me in the hospital."

	"I'm afraid Callie's not here, Lieutenant."

	"What does the Deputy Mayor have to do with me and Chance?"

	Jake's mind wandered back to the strange phone call Chance had
gotten earlier, "Um, why don't you come in?" he stepped aside to allow her
to enter the garage, then closed the door. Turning, he was surprised to find
her half way up the steps to the living room. He scrambled to catch up to
her as she opened the door at the top of the stairs.

	"Chance?" Felina called as she walked in. She stopped dead in her
tracks at the sight of Chance sprawled on the couch, his eyes fixed on the
TV. She had never seen him like that before - at least, not quite that bad.
She walked over to the couch, leaned down, and kissed his neck. Chance
just about jumped out of his fur at her touch, and Jake could only stare.

	"What the hell was that for, Lieutenant?" Chance yelped, moving away
from her.

	"Well, not that you deserve a kiss, after ignoring me while I was in
the hospital, but I couldn't help myself," Felina smiled at him, then a
worried frown crossed her face. Why were these two calling her
Lieutenant?

	"Look, Lieutenant," Chance sputtered, "I don't know what's going on
between you and Ms. Briggs, but if this is some attempt to make her
jealous, leave me out of it!"

	"Ms. Briggs?" Felina looked confused, "What are you talking about?"

	"Um, Lieutenant, I think you better go," Jake put in, coming up behind
her, "We've had a long day, and I don't think this is the time for ... games."

	"Games? What do you mean?" Felina looked from one tom to the other,
"You know I love you, Chance!"

	The two tom-kats stared at her, wondering what was going on.
Finally, Felina turned and ran from the room, charged down the stairs,out
the front door, and into the night. She fled to her car, gunned the motor,
and drove as fast as she could back to her apartment, where she spent the
night curled up in the middle of the bed, wishing Chance was there to hold
her and tell her everything was all right. Eventually, she drifted into a
fitful sleep.

**********************************************************

	When Callie woke in the morning she went out to get breakfast
started and discovered that Felina was gone. She stood there trying to
decide what to do next. Perhaps Felina had just gone back to her own place.
Unfortunately Callie didn't have any home phone numbers for any of the
Enforcers except for Commander Feral. She'd have to call him. As she
reached for the receiver the phone rang. She hoped it was Felina.

	"Ms. Briggs?"

	"Commander."

	"I got your message. What is my niece doing at your apartment?"

	"I don't know. She came here with some confused story. I let her stay
the night, but when I got up, just now, she was gone. I don't know where
she is."

	"Great, just great. If you hear from her, let me know right away."

	"I will."

	This sounded too easy. An Enforcer was having a nervous breakdown.
It was not unknown, but why didn't this seem like a simple breakdown?
Felina seemed so sure of what should be, but the things she seemed
certain of were so outrageous that it couldn't be that simple. Callie tried
to put all of this out of her mind as she got ready for another day's work.

**********************************************************

	Felina had to get out of her apartment, but she had nowhere to go.
Chance had rejected her. Maybe the only place was to go was to Callie.
Obviously the Deputy Mayor had the wrong idea about them, but it seemed
she was the only one she could talk to.

	As Felina left her apartment she started to wonder how she was
going to get around, but then remembered that her car was back in the
apartment's parking garage. It was a short drive to Callie's apartment and,
even though she couldn't recall ever being over to the Deputy Mayor's, it
was all very familiar.

	She knocked and heard someone moving around inside. When the door
opened she was greeted by Calico Briggs who embraced her and held her
tightly. Felina freed herself from Callie's embrace and wondered if this
had been a mistake.

	"Look, Ms. Briggs. I don't know what you think is between us, but
there isn't anything. On the other hand, the kat I thought was in love with
me is ignoring me. I only came to you because I need someone who will
listen."

	Callie looked hurt, but she led Felina into the living room and sat on
the other end of the couch from the other she-kat. Felina started talking,
trying to explain what had happened, but, dismayed, she found it didn't
even make sense to her. Before Callie could even react, Felina
unexpectedly jumped up from the couch and ran from the apartment.

	Felina got in her car and drove. She had no idea where to go.
According to her uncle she had been in a coma for several days. Something
had happened to her, but she didn't know what. Chance had rejected her and
she didn't understand why. When she had tried to explain her confusion to a
sympathetic ear it sounded foolishly confused even to her.  While she tried
to think of what to do next, and to piece together what had happened, she
drove.

**********************************************************

	Felina was distractedly walking through Kat's Haven Memorial Forest.
When she'd come to an intersection of trails she would mentally flip a
coin and take the direction indicated. She did not care if she got lost. How
could she be any more lost than she was now with the kat she loved acting
like they were only friends and the kat who loved her she only considered
a friend.

	Felina had no idea how long she had been walking or where she was
when she came upon a she-kat kneeling at a creek to get a drink of water.
This kat was clothed only with a long bow and quiver of arrows slung over
her back. Her fur was a dark gray color that shimmered with its own silver
aura. Her hair was a pure white that flowed down to her tail.

	The kat stood up and turned to face Felina. She was very tall, a good 6
to 8 inches taller than her uncle and very beautiful. She looked Felina over
and then smiled. "What is the matter, my daughter?"

	"Who ... are ... you?"

	"Your kind has given me no name, but many others call me The
Huntress." She looked at Felina closely. "There are things wrong in this
world that center around you. What has happened?"

	"I don't know. A few days ago I awoke and found myself in the wrong
bed with the wrong kat. I do not know how I got here or how I get back to
where I belong."

	The Huntress began to glow. "I must search the lines of creation." The
glow brightened to the point where Felina had to protect her eyes. When
Felina finally opened her eyes The Huntress was gone.

	And Felina was alone once again.

**********************************************************

	 Felina got back to her apartment late at night. Things were only
getting stranger and she was getting more confused. Escaping into sleep
Felina decided to wake only when sanity returned. That wasn't the next day
as Felina left her sanctuary only to eat and use the bathroom. As she lay in
bed she found herself curling up and pulling the covers up to her chin,
continually wishing for Chance's strong arms around her.

	Eventually her withdrawal ceased to protect her. She was still
depressed and knew she should be doing something, but she didn't know
what. There was no one to talk and no place to go.

	Felina was sitting in her living room reading when she became aware
of someone else in the room. As she looked around the room she saw
nothing at first. Then out of the corner of her eye she caught a glint in a
corner. As she went to investigate she realized someone was standing in
the corner in shadow too deep to be normal.

	"Come with me, my daughter."

	Felina, at first, balked. 'Where?' She thought that maybe she was
crazy. She was seeing and hearing things. However, the voice was so
gentle and so insistent that she could not refuse for long. She followed the
voice into the shadows.

**********************************************************

	Callie was worried. Commander Feral called again to see if Felina had
returned to Callie's apartment. She knew that Felina was one of the better
Enforcers and it would be a shame to lose her. Also there was still
something about Felina lately that caught at Callie's heart. She could not
understand why she felt this way, but she did.

	Felina was out there somewhere and she was obviously in trouble.
Callie did not know what to do, and so she did what she always did when
trouble overwhelmed her. She called the SWAT Kats.

	"T-Bone?"

	"Yes, Ms. Briggs."

	"I need your help. This is a small scale thing, but Lieutenant Feral is
missing. She is acting odd and I don't know where else to turn. She's been
gone for awhile now and from what Commander Feral has told me none of
the Enforcers have been able to find her."

	"We're on it, Ms. Briggs!"

**********************************************************

	"Let's get a move on, Razor."

	"Where to, buddy?"

	"Apparently nowhere in town. Callie said the Enforcers have
exhausted the search in the city."

	"That leaves several roads out of town. Which one do you want to try
first?"

	"Felina's trying to get away. I would head for the hills."

	"But isn't it faster to go north?"

	"The Enforcers would have spotted her since there is no place to hide
that way. You can be sure that Feral is going to scour the area for his
niece."

	The two kats were silent for awhile as they flew out over the hills.
There were several ways to go once in the hills and though they both knew
Felina's car on sight, picking out one car on these winding roads would not
be easy.

	"What do you think is the matter with Felina?"

	"I don't know. She's been acting strange since the other day. I thought
it might have been something from the party, but this is too weird even
for that. You tell me that Sami thinks there's something wrong, too. We've
got to find her, Razor."

	"I'm picking something up on radar."

	The Turbokat, following the road, went around several corners and
both kats saw a car up ahead on the road. It only took them a moment to
recognize Felina's car. Several times T-Bone flew as low as he could over
the car hoping Felina would recognize him and stop, but she did not."

	"According to the topo map the road straightens out up ahead. Why
don't you go up ahead and land in front of her on the road? That should stop
her."

	"Roger that!"

**********************************************************

	Felina had no idea where to go. She was driving around MegaKat City
on automatic. At one point she noticed she was driving toward the hills to
the east of the city. Why not? Everybody she cared for in MegaKat City
thought she was crazy, and so she might as well leave it for good.

	Driving through the canyons and along the winding roads she slowly
became aware of the sound of a jet over head. She ignored it and continued
her drive into the unknown. Then she realized the jet was shadowing her
and when she looked up she saw that it was the Turbokat.

	The Turbokat landed gracefully on the straight stretch of road before
her. She slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car. Escaping down
the hillside from the road she heard T-Bone calling her name.

	She ran through the woods and crossed a couple of creeks. After a
time she no longer heard the SWAT Kats behind her, and ahead she saw a
cave. She ran toward it, entered and scrambled as far to the back as she
could get. She hunkered down and hoped no one would find her.

	The SWAT Kats scoured the woods with little success. They kept
coming across her trail, but would lose it again almost immediately. They
were amazed that she could have lost them as they hadn't been that far
behind her.

	"We've got to find her, buddy, before anything happens to her."

	"Roger that. Look up there." Razor pointed to a cave up the hillside.
"Maybe she went in there. That might explain why we haven't come across
her yet."

	"Might as well try it."

	The two kats walked up the hill to the cave. Razor pointed to the
floor right at the opening. There was a fresh footprint in the shape of an
Enforcer boot. The SWAT Kats entered the cave hoping it didn't have lots of
branches. If it did, they might never find her. Fortunately it didn't, and
around a bend in the cave their lights shone on Felina cowering in a corner.

	T-Bone ran up to her and embraced her. "Felina, what is the matter?
Why are you hiding from me?"

	Felina's response was to put her head on his shoulder and cry. T-Bone
let her cry as long as she wanted. Razor told his partner that he was going
to call Callie and tell her that they had found Felina.

	After a few minutes Felina stopped crying and pulled back from T-
Bone's embrace, but stayed encircled in his arms. T-Bone lifted up Felina's
face so he could look into her eyes. What he saw there caused him to gasp.
Somehow he knew this was not the Felina he knew. This she-kat who
looked like his lover was not.

	"Who are you?" T-Bone gently asked her, cupping her face. Even though
this was not his lover, he couldn't bear the look of pain in her eyes.

	"I'm not sure anymore," she replied, stepping out of his arms.

	When Razor returned he told the two kats that Callie would be along
as soon as she could. Razor was even more surprised than T-Bone when his
partner told him this was not Felina.

	"What do you mean 'This isn't Felina.'?"

	"I don't know, buddy. I just know that this isn't the Felina that we
both know."

	"Whoever this is, what are we going to do?"

	"I guess we'll wait for Callie to show up and see what she has to say.
I don't think we can really decide until we know what's going on."

	The SWAT Kats convinced Felina that it was safe to wait out on the
road for Callie. The three stood near Felina's car, and T-Bone and Razor
held onto the distributor cap and the car keys just to make sure she didn't
try to escape again.

	Eventually Felina turned to T-Bone, a questioning look on her face,
"I'm sorry if this is a personal question, but I have to know ...."

	"Know what?" T-Bone responded, looking at her.

	"What do I ... um, what does your Felina mean to you? Do you love
her?"

	T-Bone thought for a moment, then answered, "I love Felina more than
life itself. She completes me, body, mind, and soul. I would never allow
anyone, or anything, to hurt her."

	Felina nodded, "I guess I just wanted to make sure my reflection in
this world is not alone."

	T-Bone smiled, "Don't worry."

	When Callie arrived Felina started running to greet her only t
remember this Callie was not her Callie. She had only taken a few steps
before the realization struck and she stepped back to wait with the SWAT
Kats.

	After long discussion Felina decided she might as well hide out in the
cave. No one would come looking for her there. T-Bone would go back and
return with some food and supplies while Razor would drive the car back.
Callie would wait with Felina until T-Bone returned.

	In the cave, just inside of it this time, the two she-kats sat
silently. Callie hoped that something could be done for this kat who was obviously
immersed in an emotional chaos. Maybe if she could get Felina to talk she
would feel better.

	"So, Felina, what's your Callie like?"

	"A lot like you. She is compassionate and friendly." Felina paused. "We
love each other very much."

	Callie smiled to herself. In another life she was a lesbian, that was a
twist. And, it seemed as though, in this other life, she had a great love.
Looking over, she noticed that Felina seemed distracted and was staring at
the cave wall. "What is it?"

	"Why is it so dark over there?" She pointed to the opposite cave wall.

	The wall did look darker that it should and Callie also had the feeling
that someone else was in the cave with them. Curious, Felina approached
the wall to investigate. "What are you doing?"

	Both she-kats started when they heard the voice.

	"Come with me, my daughter."

	Callie did not know what to make of the voice. It did not seem to be
directed to her. Somehow she knew that the voice was talking to Felina.
She stood up and put a hand on Felina's shoulder. She didn't know whether
she was trying to stop her or bid her farewell.

	Half curious, half apprehensive Felina, at first, balked. "Go where?"
She thought that maybe she was crazy if she was seeing and hearing
things. However, the voice was so gentle and so insistent that she could
not refuse for long and she followed the voice into the shadows.

	When T-Bone returned a couple of hours later Callie was waiting on
the road by her car.

	"Why aren't you waiting in the cave?"

	"Felina's gone."

**********************************************************

	For a moment there was utter darkness. Felina could sense nothing.
She began to feel that she had finally lost it all. Suddenly she was
stepping from nothing to face a great rock wall that stretched up farther
than she could see. Turning she saw a forest stretching along the wall in
both directions.

	"Daughter."

	Startled Felina turned toward the voice and saw the same tall naked
she-kat she had seen before, the one who called herself the Huntress.
Felina approached.

	"Why have you brought me here?"

	"You need help returning to your proper world."

	"But why here? Why not just put me back ?"

	"That I cannot do. My domain is that between death and life. I hunt
souls and create life, but between these points I cannot interfere. I can
show you the direction, however, only you can choose to go that way."

	"Then where do I go?"

	The Huntress pointed out a path Felina had not noticed earlier.
"Follow that way. At the creek you will know what to do." The Huntress
embraced Felina and then released her. "Fare well, my daughter."

	Felina turned to the path, then turned back to ask something, but the
other kat was gone. "If this is a hallucination, it is a very detailed one."
With that Felina turned again and began walking the path into the forest.

	Several times she found the path blocked with fallen trees or
overgrown by shrubs, but she never lost the path for very long.
Occasionally she heard the sounds of others trampling their paths through
the forest, but she never caught sight of anyone else.

	She'd had been walking for awhile and began to realize she was
thirsty. She hoped the creek that was close. Not too much later that she
heard the sound of running water. Just as she saw the creek she saw
another kat kneeling there to get a drink. Since this one was clothed she
probably was not the Huntress.

	As she approached she startled the other kat who looked up at her.
Then they were both startled, and both stepped back. They were looking at
themselves. Except for the clothes it was like looking into a mirror.

	Both kats spoke at once. "Felina?"

	"Are you the one in love with Chance?"

	"Are you the one in love with Callie?"

	"We have been in the wrong place."

	Both kats laughed.

	"So how do we get out of here?"

	"She didn't say."

	"He loves you very much."

	"She loves you very much."

	The two she-kats embraced, and felt, as if their minds interlaced,
their thoughts becoming one for an instant.

**********************************************************

	Felina awoke feeling groggy but realizing she was in a bed. She
couldn't remember where she was. She stretched and smiled as she felt a
furry body next to her. She thought she was waking out of really
disorientating dream. The smile broadened when a hand brushed her breast.
She opened her eyes and found herself staring into the face of Chance
Furlong.

	"Morning, Beautiful."

	"Chance!" She leaned over and kissed him passionately. "You wouldn't
believe the dream I had."

	About half way through her telling of the dream Chance broke into
loud laughter. Eventually he managed to speak around his laughter. "Callie
really thought you were her lover? You can't be serious."

	Felina rolled her eyes, "I told you it was weird." She related the rest
of the dream.

	"At least you got one part right," Chance observed when she had
finished.

	"What's that?"

	"I do love you more than life itself," he informed her tenderly,
looking into her eyes.

	Felina, unable to answer, pulled him close, kissing him gently.

**********************************************************

	Callie was seated next to Felina's bed, holding her hand, tortured by
the thought that her lover might never reawaken. Even Felina's mother had
to admit that Callie's love for her daughter seemed genuine, though Callie
was oblivious to this. She just wanted Felina conscious again.

	Callie was starting to nod off when she felt Felina stirring. She
looked at Felina's face as her eyes opened. Callie smiled at her lover only
to be greeted by a confused frown. Felina looked about the room several
times before withdrawing her hand from Callie. She rubbed her eyes and
then smiled back at Callie.

	"Callie? I had a really weird dream."

	Felina had just started her description when Callie stared at Felina.
"Chance? You were in Chance's bed? Are you trying to tell me something?"

	"Yes, it was a really weird dream." With that Felina pulled Callie's
head down to hers and kissed her lover very passionately.

The End