Hey-this is rpg-related stuff about my main character and her first
meeting with Feral.  I've been up all night writing it(had to jump on
the idea), so you might want to look it over...if you would like to
see
what ayori looks like, there are pictures and info at this url:
www.geocities.com/paris/leftbank/6807/lonewolves.html  ....i'd love
to
hear what you think!  But for now, i need sleep...TTFN!
 		---->Diem Curry
Diem Curry :Swat Kats Fanfic    “The Lone Wolf” by Diem Curry


	Things started to come into focus, not that the experience was
pleasant. Ayori sat up, rubbing at her sinuses and taking in her new
surroundings. She found herself on a rooftop, said rooftop belonging
to an alarmingly tall office building. From over her head, the face
of a clock overlooked the new, strange metropolis that thrived and
went on with its usual rhythm. No, Ayori thought. This unfortunate
city had no idea what had arrived to it.
	This city, in this dimension, was the latest stop for Ayori Mera,
who had been sent on a rather unpleasant tour of various times and
dimensions.  She carried a burden with her in her travels, being the
leader of a diverse group of resistance members.  Their furry,
wolf-like kind was under the gun, literally, as Ayori's own
mother--the Empress of Cerberus and its Empire--marched boldly ahead
to conquer as many worlds as possible while paying little attention
to the homeworld.  The Cerberan Resistance Armed Forces was indeed
armed to the teeth...due to some not entirely-legal use of government
equipment.  And, Ayori was compelled to remind herself in her weaker
moments, she was their Kitsura, the Commander of the whole affair.
	Things often got bad and were followed by the worst, when an old
age of  Cerberan sorcery was brought back to light, renewing the
folklore of the blood of the gods that flowed through the veins of
the royal line.  Ayori's mother had found the spark of power in her
supernatural ability, and as it was considerably stronger than
Ayori's own powers(which included hovering, fire-conjuring,
energy-channeling and the like), she vowed revenge against her
daughter, and wielded it with little restraint.
	Ayori's punishment was an unpredictable jaunt through turbulant
times and places, each stopover wearing her down just the least bit.
	
	And so, here she was,a princess, a trained military specialist(to
the dismay of those who lost her to the Resistance), and a would-be
goddess incarnate, running the proverbial gauntlet.   She felt a need
to get back to her officers, her friends, but she never knew when it
all would end, and she had started taking each new place a step  at a
time.
	Such with this place.  She stood, brushing off her black,
red-trimmed Commander’s uniform, double-checking her weapons, and
most of all, her Cerberan fighting blade.  Safe in its scabbard and
slung across her back, she made herself invisible to life in general
and wandered towards the roof stairway.

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

	Megakat City was the name of the burg.  Ayori dodged pedestrians
and eventually gave the effort up to hovering above the crowds.  It
was going to be a bit hard to fit into the public; they were,
unenterprisingly, kats.  She was closer to wolf, with her wide ears,
thick tail and strange legs.  
	She saw a newstand, and paused to read from the rack.  There was
something about Enforcers, and a SWAT team.  It left her mind with
the arrival of a symphonic stomach growl, and she realized she had no
food and no means to obtain it.  Pirate though she may be, it was not
for her own welfare.  She would not steal, for herself anyway.  She
wondered if there wasn’t a way to get a bite any time soon, and
feared dinner had to be earned.
	She also needed a place to stay during her visit, and forced her
mind to concentrate on housing instead.  She had gone through this
particular detail before, and quickly found herself a cozy nook, in
the attic of The Megakat City Concert Hall.  A few blankets and some
clothing, which she did have, and her home was secure.  There was a
utility closet, and a rather small restroom that seemed to be rarely
used by backstage hands.  It would do.
	Wth the previous obstacle averted, the food issue returned.  She
thought that she would be useful, perhaps, as a little bit of help to
the local law enforcement.  Her own advanced tech was miles ahead of
what the locals seemed to utilize, from the looks of the newspaper
photos.  She decided she’d bite the bullet and present herself to the
fuzz, allow them to take her as she was, and hoped that some small
payment would come her way before she passed out from hunger.

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

	Ayori had to admit , there were some original faces among those
she received from passers-by.  She did look pretty close to this
kind, but the differences were quite obvious.  She ordinarily would
have remained invisible, but her energy was diminishing.  She had
learned from a befuddled street vendor that the Enforcers kept the
peace here, and that they had one Commander Feral as their leader.
She considered her own rank, and thought that perhaps she would stick
with her alternate Resistance name, Hunter, for the time being.  No
need to have a battle of superiority, not when the odds glared down
at her in evident contempt.

	The Enforcer building was an interesting one.  It had its own
runway, with planes and choppers coming and going about their
business.  She went inside, followed the directory to the upper
floors, where the bulk of the offices were.  Ayori found the outer
offices of the Enforcer commander, and sauntered up to the
secretary’s desk.
	“I’d like to see Commander Feral, please.”
	The secretary glanced up, and took on a look of suprise at the
unusual sight in front of her.  “Err...Do you have an appointment,
Miss?”
	Ayori shook her head, and ventured into a bit of verbal
maneuvering.  “No, but i’m to see him.  It’s urgent.”  She shifted,
giving her blade a hitch.  “The name’s Hunter.”
	“Uhhh...just a moment,” the secretary stuttered.  Ayori’s
presence had thrown her quite off-guard, apparantly.  She pressed the
intercom button.  “Commander...?”
	From the inner office: “Mrs. Katz? Is there something wrong?”  
	“Uh, Commander, there is an officer Hunter here--not an Enforcer.
She says she’s to see you.”
	A pause.  Then, the same resonating voice.  “I don’t think i’ve
heard that name before,”
	Mrs. Katz looked to fall apart, the poor dear.  “She says it’s
urgent, Commander.” She swallowed.  “She’s armed...”  
	Ayori could only guess at the thoughts rolling through the
Commander’s head, and was prepared to work up the charm, but--
	“Alright.  Show her in, Mrs. Katz.”
	Ayori beamed.  Mrs. Katz seemed all too pleased to dispose of her
at the threshhold of the inner office, and scurried back to drown her
tremors in antacid, perhaps.  Ayori opened the door herself, knowing
this next part would be the most difficult.  It was time to resurrect
the unused charm, her most powerful means of persuasion.
	The office was well-lit, large, and bordered by a wall of glass.
In front of the glass was the Commander’s desk.  The Commander,
however, was no where to be seen.  She mused on this for a moment,
and was caught short by a sharp jab behind her ribs.
	“It’s loaded.” She hadn’t picked up his scent from behind her;
her powers were definitely fading.  A hand tugged lightly at Ayori’s
scabbard and gunbelt.  “Lose them or not; it’s up to you.”
	Not really having a choice, Ayori unhooked each from her heavy
leather belt and surrendered them behind her back.  The unseen hand
receieved them from her own, and the gun barrel withdrew.  She rubbed
her side, turning to face her attacker in some imprudent disgust.  
	“Is this how you treat all your guests?”
	Ayori’s expression changed when she found herself talking at
Commander Feral’s chest.  She looked up to his face, which was
thick-jawed, with neatly-trimmed whiskers and dark, incriminating
eyes.  He was well-built, with close-cropped black hair, and dressed
in military-issue boots, pants and shirtsleeves.  The Commander was
likewise taken somewhat aback, sizing Ayori up and masking any
outward expression of astonishment.  He clutched her weapons, and was
armed with his own pistol as well.
	“Hunter? Is that your name?”
	“It’s what they call me,” Ayori replied, dryly.
	Feral nodded to himself, and turned back toward his desk.  He set
her gun down and drew the blade from the scabbard, pausing at
halfway.  Eyes shifted her way.  “May I?”
	Ayori moved forward cautiously.  “Commander, that blade is
terribly valuable--”
	“I’ll be careful.”  He drew the blade out and examined the edge.
“It’s like nothing i’ve seen before..”  
	Ayori pursed her mouth.  “Commander.”
	Feral returned the blade to the scabbard and pulled a chair over
from the wall.  “Sit.”
	She sat.  Feral took his place behind his desk, and leaned
forward, fingers interlaced in front of him.
	“Wha...who are you,” he asked, “And what are you after?”
	Ayori breathed deeply.  This was going to be harder than she
thought.  
	“I’m no kat, Commander,” she began.
	Commander Feral snorted.  “No, you certainly aren’t.  I’m now
giving you a chance to explain yourself before I have you taken
away.”
	Institute-funded feedings occured to her.  So did better
judgement.  “I came here to offer my services to the Enforcers.”
	“Services.”
	“Yes, Commander,” she assumed one of her more casual, relaxed
moods.  “My specialities are in espionage and detective skills.
Undercover investigations.”
	“And,” Commander Feral raised an eyebrow.  “Why do you think the
Enforces are in need of such a specialist?”
	“Well, apparantly, only your SWAT unit seems to be getting
anything done.”
	Feral looked shocked for a moment, and then gave her a dark look.
“The...SWAT Kats aren’t a part of the Enforces.  They are vigilantes
who take the law into their own hands.”
	At that moment, Ayori felt the beginnings of a wickedly
convienant plan conjuring between her ears.  “These SWAT Kats; do
they have a habit of pulling just the right trick at just the right
time?  To succeed at catching up with criminals, I mean.”
	Feral brooded at nothing in particular.  “There seems to be such
a pattern...”
	Ayori put on her most engaging smile.  “Commander.”
	Feral looked back at her.
	Ayori stood up again, leaned forward into the Commander’s space
with palms flattened on his desk.  “Would you like to catch more of
those criminals yourself?” She could see he was a little dishevelled
at her advance.  She lowered her voice to a seductive purr.  “I can
make it happen.”
	Feral was immediately speechless, to Ayori’s delight.  He
swallowed and, averting his eyes again, tried to regain his graven
composure.  Ayori fell back into her chair, smiling widely.
	“The Enforcers don’t need help from an...outsider,”  Feral
managed.  He found a spot on the ceiling of interest. “We are quite
capable.”
	Ayori was crestfallen, but was ready with another ploy.  She made
a sweeping ascent to her feet, and helping herself to her weapons,
she turned to go.  Halfway to the door, she stopped and looked back.  
	“Perhaps my offer will fetch better results with the criminals
themselves.  Money is money to me, Commander.  Good day.”  Ayori
continued on her swaggering way.  She reached to open the office
door.
	“Wait,” Feral stood up abrubtly; she heard his chair fall.  She
turned back to face him, and waited for him to cross the office to
her.  “We may be able to work something out.  Do sit back down...Miss
Hunter is it?”
	“Miss, yes.”  She grinned again, in spite of herself, and
returned to her seat.  Feral did not ask for her weapons.  Having
regained his place, he shot her a wary look.  
	“I could just have you arrested for blackmail, you know.”
	“But,” Ayori interjected, “I’d escape easily.  And if you did
arrest me, you wouldn’t be able to find out all about me.  Right?”
	She had struck another chord.  Feral heaved a sigh, and looked
her straight in the eye.  “What kind of money?”
	“Not a lot.”  She glared right back.  “Enough to...keep fed.”
Her stomach growled, right on cue.  She stood her ground, shrugging
it off.  “The necessities, Commander.”
	“Have you eaten? Is that why you need to work..?”  Feral seemed
to stumble into what she’d hoped to cover.  “If that’s the case, I
can--”
	“No.” Ayori spoke firmly, looking at the floor. “Thank you.  I
don’t take handouts.”
	“Well,” Feral looked a little quashed.  “I would like to hire
you, then.  But I wish I knew where you came from.”  He looked her
over, this time not bothering to hide his amazement.  “I’m sure
you’re not a local.”
	Ayori had to laugh.  “Quite an understatement.”  she felt a wave
of relief overtake her, along with weary gratefulness.  “Commander,
thank you.”
	Feral looked up from the folder he was rummaging through.  “I
know it’s not my place to pry, but you look as if you’ve been through
a lot.”  
	Ayori felt that.  “A lot” had a hell of a context meaning when
she considered it.  Maybe it showed.  Feral set the folder aside.  
	“Miss Hunter?”
	She looked to the side.  “I’m...not from around here.  But my
trust needs to be earned, Commander.  I’m afraid i’m not in a
position to take risks without knowing who will stab me in the back.”
	Feral was extremely interested.  “Who would betray you, Miss
Hunter?”
	Ayori shrugged. “That’s what I have to find out...”  She realized
she was sharing more than she should, and shut her mouth.  Fast.
	“Miss Hunter?  Is that your real name?”
	“No.”
	Feral shook his head. “I wish I knew what you’re doing here...a
wolf in a city of kats.”  Another probing glare.  “If we make a deal,
could you tell me?”
	“That’s something that I have to consider.”  Ayori felt uneasy,
as though her privacy had been invaded.  “Commander, please, just
give me something to do.”  
	“Wouldn’t you rather eat first?”
	She would.  Ayori’s stomach was screaming.  “Just give me pay in
advance.  I’ll get something.”
	Feral shook his head again.  “No.  I’ll buy you something.”
	“Commander--” She protested.
	Feral held up a hand.  “As payment, tell me your name.”
	Ayori’s eyes narrowed.  “Blackmail, Commander?”
	“No, not really.” It was his turn to smile.  “I’m curious.  And,
it’s a fair trade, don’t you think?”
	Ayori sighed and stood.  She turned and paced for a moment.  And
came back to where Feral sat, still smiling, Damn him.  Ayori crossed
her arms and faced the wall on Feral’s right.  “My whole name?”
	“Just your first, if you prefer.”
	She lowered her eyes and ears in defeat, mostly driven to
desperation by her empty stomach.
	“Ayori.”
	Feral grinned even wider, then seeing her evident displeasure,
assumed a more sober expression.  “Ayori,” he repeated.  “I’ve never
heard a name like it,” was his inevitable conclusion.  
	Pouting, Ayori gave Feral a look that could sour milk.  Feral
laughed.  	
	“It’s a pretty name.”
	Ayori felt her ears go slightly pink, but decided it was her turn
to retaliate.  “And your first name?”
	“Commander.”
	Ayori muttered a few choice words, and Feral laughed all the
more.  “My name is Ulysses.  There.  Happy?”
	“I suppose.”  She was quite embarrassed.  She was the one who was
supposed to be chewing away at Feral, but found herself being
manipulated instead.  It was a rare feeling for her--probably the
lack of food.  That was it.  It had to be.  “My job, Commander?”
	“Your dinner.”  Feral went after his coat.  “I’ll go over what I
need done while we eat.  Come on, now, Miss Ayori.”  She continued to
glare at him.  “I’ll keep your name a secret, I promise.”
	Ayori brightened a little then.  She led herself be herded out
the door, past the fragile Mrs. Katz(who was trying to recover and
not doing well), and down the hall.  “Commander.”
	“Hmmmm?”
	“May I call you Uly?”  Ayori had to do her best not to crack up.
	 Feral stopped at looked at her oddly.  Then he continued, Ayori
following.     Enforcers up and down the hallway gawked.  “I’ll think
about it.” He answered finally.
	Ayori snickered.  “Commander.” 
	When Feral glanced over, she pulled two knives from sheaths in
her boot-sandals, dangling them in front of him.  “You didn’t get
these.”
	Feral looked startled, but when he realized she wasn’t going to
knife him he relaxed.  “Indeed.”			Ayori thought then that
she and Commander Feral were fairly evenly matched.  She wasn’t sure
what would happen if it came to her dealing with criminals, but it
didn’t look like she’d have to, if she had SWAT Kats to deal with
first.

		                                  The End...of the Beginning!