How Their Friendship Began By Kari Gilmore Email: karigilmore@hotamil.com Prologue: One night, the Kats were looking through some boxes in the hangar. "Would ya look at all this junk! I'm glad we're getting rid of it," Quiver said, picking up a box full of newspapers. "*Junk*?! Katarina Lynn Furlong, this *junk* is priceless memories. I treasure this *junk*," T-Bone said, snatching the box from Quiver. "Yeah, you treasure all junk, T-Bone. You treasured all the junk Burke and Murray used to dump in front of the garage," Razor said, leaning against some of the boxes. His arm has been in a sling since the past week. "Watch it, Razor. I could kick your kick all the way back to the Dark Ages if I wanted to. Not to mention, I could break your other arm." "Ha! I'll believe it when I see it!" With that, T-Bone dropped his box on the floor. "Come here, you little son of a--!" T-Bone started to charge at Razor, but Boulder, Shera, and Quiver held him back. "Jesus Christ, T-Bone! What's the matter with you?" Boulder asked. "Clawson's my problem! He's lucky he's dating my sister, or I'd--!" T-Bone growled. Quiver sighed and took out a spell book. "Normally, I don't use my spells on my brother, but you forced me." She spoke in Latin and T-Bone was slammed back into the wall. "See what you made her do, Razor?!" he growled. "Aw, what's the matter? Is the big, mean Swat Kat sad because his own sister kicked his tail?" Razor teased. They both continued to shout at each other until Quiver snapped her fingers. Both T-Bone and Razor's mouths were slapped shut. "What's the matter with you guys? You're making Mega War II look good. I haven't seen you like this since the first day we met," Quiver said. "Haven't they always been friends?" Shera asked. "Well, they've only known each other for four years and, like T-Bone said recently, he wasn't so fast with making friends with Jake." "There was a good reason for that, Quiver," T-Bone said. "Yeah, because Feral went against his wishes and gave him a partner!" Razor hissed. "You want a fat lip, Razor?" "You want a black eye?" "Both of you, shut up!" the three Swat Kats shouted. "Fine," T-Bone said, crossing his arms and turning his back to Razor. Razor did the same. "In case you've forgotten, Chance, you'd be *dead* if it wasn't for Jake." Chance lowered his eyes slightly. "What do you mean?" Boulder asked. "Boys, I suggest you listen. You might learn something." "From the past, I learned I don't like bedtime stories," T-Bone said. "Do I have to super-glue that mouth of yours to shut it up, T-Bone?" T-Bone sighed and sat down next to Quiver. Razor sat on the other side next to Quiver. They looked at each other, then looked away. "All right. Fours years ago..." Chapter 1: A she-kat in white high heels, white dress and white sun hat walked up the steps that lead to the Enforcer Building. Each new kat she passed, they starred at her. "You think they've never seen she-kat before," she said to herself in a light Scottish accent. Then she ran into a young brown kat with his arms full of papers. While knocking into him, he dropped his papers to the floor. "Oh, I'm sorry," the she-kat said, bending down and helping him pick his papers up. "It's OK. It's these damn forms, I can't see over them. I should blame the Comm. for this paperwork," the kat said. The she-kat chuckled. She gave him the papers he dropped. "Thanks." "My pleasure." Then she resumed walking away. As she passed an office, she heard a kat yelling. "Commander, you can't be serious! I work alone!" a blond-fur kat with brown stripes on his arms yelled. "Not anymore, Furlong. I'm assigning you a partner. He's new in town and he needs one of the best to teach him the ropes," Comm. Feral said. "But a kitten?!" "He's not that much younger than you. Three years is all." "But, Commander--!" "This conversation is over, Chance!" Feral got out from behind his desk and walked to the door. He opened it and behind it was a kat carrying an arm-full of papers. "My new partner looks more like in 'In' box than a kat," Chance joked. Feral took the papers from the kat and placed them on his desk. When the kat was in the room, Feral shut the door behind him. "Detective Chance Furlong, this is your new partner, Jacob Clawson." Chance sneered at him. "Hmph!" Jake said. "You two are going to be working together, so get used to it," Feral said. "Oh, if we must, we must," Jake said. "I don't think so, Rookie," Chance said, crossing his arms. Then the door opened again. Standing in the doorway was a she-kat with light gray fur, long black hair, white dress, shoes, and hat, and emerald-green eyes. Both Chance and Jake's eyes were wide open. "Blasted, you think you've never seen a she-kat before," the she-kat said, running her fingers through her hair. "None like *her*, anyway," Chance whispered to Jake. Jake nodded. "My name is Katarina. I'm here to report a crime," the she-kat said. "Of course. Last name?" Feral asked. "Oh, I don't have one. I'm here to report the disappearance of the Devil's Eye," Katarina said. "What's that?" Jake asked. "You mean you've never heard of the Devil's Eye?" Chance asked. "Not exactly. What is it?" "It's a giant ruby that can destroy cities, hypnotize, and blind people. It's been kept in the Museum of Famous Jewels for a couple of years now." "Correct, Mr...?" Katarina said. "*Detective*. Detective Chance Furlong. And, *this* is my new partner," Chance said, sounding slightly disgusted. Jake hissed. "Aye, I met him already. But I didn't catch a name." "Detective Jake Clawson. I'm new around here," Jake said, nervously shaking Katarina's paw. Then she turned to the Commander. "I want the best on this case, Commander. The Devil's Eye has been in my family for centuries and I didn't just *hand* it over to the museum for it to get stolen! It's dangerous!" Katarina said, slamming her fist on the Commander's desk and knocking his coffee mug over. "Yes, Katarina. In fact, here's one of the best right now. Furlong, do you want the case?" Feral asked. "Yes, sir," Chance said. "All right, then. The case is yours... If you take Jake with you." "What?!" both Chance and Jake asked. "You heard me. You're both working on this case." Chance stormed out of the Commander's office with Jake and Katarina behind. "Listen, Chance, I don't like it anymore than you do, but we don't have much choice," Jake said. "Sure we do. I'll take the case with Katarina and you can get another partner," Chance said. "Oh, yeah, uh-huh. Like I'm gonna let you take the case *and* the girl," Jake said. "I've been an Enforcer longer than you, kitten. I know the ropes." "I'm Enforcer material and if you just gave me a chance, I'd show you." "Yeah, right." "Guys, I could always pick another Enforcer team instead of you two," Katarina said. "All right, all right! We'll *try* to work together, won't we, Jacob?" Chance asked, wrapping his arm around Jake's shoulder. "Yeah, sure. Detectives Furlong and Clawson, at your service," Jake said, giving Katarina a salute. Katarina chuckled. "So, where do we start?" she asked. "Well, Katarina, we start at the scene of the crime," Chance said. "Which would be?" Jake asked. "The Museum of Famous Jewels, where else?" Later, the three were in Chance's red car heading for the museum in Tortoiseshell City. It was about 50 miles away from MegaKat City so they had a long drive ahead of them. "So, uh, where are you from, Jake?" Chance finally asked. "New York. Nothing seemed interesting there so I came here," Jake replied. "But that's not your *only* reason, is it, Jake?" Katarina asked. "No, it isn't. I wanted to get away from my old life. I couldn't make any friends there, and apparently, I can't make any here either. And I had to take care of myself when I was in the orphanage." When he heard this, Chance felt sorry for the rookie. "So, how did your parents die?" he asked. "I don't know. For all I know, they abandoned me. Uh, what about your parents, Chance?" "Oh, well... I don't know what happened to my parents. I haven't heard from any of my family for about six years," Chance replied. Four years later. "You lied about your parents. You told us recently that you thought they were dead," Razor said. "Would you believe me if I told you they were killed by a king-sized spider?" T-Bone asked. Quiver snapped her fingers and both of their mouths closed. "Our parents aren't dead anyway. Now sit down and stay quiet. I'm narrating here." Four years ago. "Sorry. At least you had a family growing up," Jake said. Chance, keeping his eye on the road, kept on paw on the wheel, and put his other on Jake's shoulder. Jake gave a small smile. "Ahem. Uh, Katarina--?" Chance started. "Please, call me Kat," Katarina said. "OK, Kat. Do you have any idea who would steal the Devil's Eye?" "Plenty of people. But my top two suspects would be Albert E. Kat and James Blue," Kat replied. "What can you tell us about them?" Jake asked. "Albert E. Kat is a collector of rare jewels and he's been trying to steal the Devil's Eye from me for years. That's why I put it in the museum. With the kind of security system that place has, you could set it off just by breathing. If anyone got in there and is still alive, they must be indestructible." "And what about James Blue?" Chance asked. "He studies jewels and after hearing about the Devil's Eye's power, he wants to add it to the 'Wall of Jewels'. Basically, both Kat and Blue want the Eye for their collections. I might be wrong by saying this, but they might've teamed up to steal it. But I wouldn't know how the hell they got past the security system though." "Any others?" Chance asked. "Like I said, plenty. They all want the Devil's Eye for their own uses. Mostly to add it to their jewel collections." "Then why are Albert E. Kat and James Blue on the top of your list?" Jake asked. "They're the ones who have tried the longest. And they're practically millionaires." "Hmm. What do you think, Rookie?" Chance asked Jake. "First off, don't call me Rookie. Second, you got me. I suggest that after we look for clues, we should pay these guys a visit." Chapter 2: Four years later. "So, what happened next?" Shera asked. "Well, after we discussed about who would steal the ruby, we discovered that we had arrived in Tortoiseshell City," Quiver replied. Four years ago. Chance pulled the car up to the front of the museum. They stepped out of the car and looked up. "Holy kats! This place is huge!" Chance said. "No shit. Wait till you see the inside," Kat said, opening the door and walking in. Chance and Jake looked at each other, and shrugged. They followed her inside. Inside, all four walls were covered with all kinds of jewels. "Kats alive! I've never seen so many jewels before. With all of these rocks, I'm surprised they only want the Devil's Eye," Jake said, following behind Kat. "That's because the Devil's Eye is the only one of all of these that's unlike all the others. It's the largest ruby in the world and most powerful. Raise it to the light, and it's said to blind a kat," Kat said, leading them into a room. Inside was police tape surrounding a large case in the middle of the room. "Have they dusted for paw prints?" Chance asked. "Yes. The stealer was wearing gloves." "What about the surveillance cameras?" Jake asked. Kat looked up to the ceiling corner to see a camera with the lens broken. "Busted. Basically, I don't see anything else to do," Kat said. Jake looked around along the floor, then noticed something underneath the throw rug. "Hey, look what I found," he called to them. Chance and Kat rushed over to find Jake holding up a key chain. On the chain was written "W O". "Katarina, do you know anyone with these initials?" Chance asked. "Can't say I do. Wait. W O? Wayne O'Neile!" "Who's he?" Jake asked. "He'd be #3 on my list. He's a greedy millionaire who my family worked with years ago. But when he tried to steal the Devil's Eye, he was thrown out of the county. I remember him saying he'll be back for revenge," Kat said. "Well, where can we find him?" Chance asked. "Last time I heard, he was retired on Ana Katta Island." "Then let's go! C'mon, Jake!" Chance and Kat stormed out of the room. Jake quickly stuffed the key chain in his pocket and followed them. Then they ran into a security guard. "Whoa! Where's the fire, Ms. Katarina?" he asked. "We might have a lead on who stole the Devil's Eye, Oliver. Guys, this is Oliver Marmalade. He's one of the guards here," Kat said. "Well, then, were you on guard when the Devil's Eye got stolen?" Chance asked. "No, I only work the day shift," Oliver replied. "Then you wouldn't know if the security seals were still functional when the robber stole it?" Jake asked. "No, I wouldn't." "C'mon, guys. We gotta get going," Kat said, heading out to the car. Jake kept his eyes on Oliver until he and Chance left. In the car, Jake said, "I've got a felling that this Oliver is up to something." "Why would you say that, Jake?" Chance asked. "He seemed a bit bothered when Kat said that we might have a lead on the robber. I think he might have something to do with it." "Oh, Jacob. He wouldn't do such a thing. I've known him for years, and he doesn't have a mean bone in his body," Kat said. "Besides, you heard him say he only works day shifts," Chance said. Jake kept silent in thought the whole way back to MegaKat City. Chapter 3: Four years later. "This is starting to get good," Boulder said. "Well, *we* weren't having so much fun. I wasn't enjoying driving 50 miles from one city to another," T-Bone said. "Yeah, I gotta admit, I was getting leg cramps in that car," Razor said. "Is it *my* fault Feral gave me such a crappy car?" "*You* never asked him for a new one!" Quiver snapped her fingers and T-Bone and Razor's mouths both shut. "I wander why they're acting like this?" Shera asked herself. "Who knows? Anyway, back to the story. We rented a boat to get to Ana Katta Island as soon as we got back," Quiver continued. Four years ago. While they drove their boat to Ana Katta, Jake asked, "Are you sure this O'Neile guy still lives here?" "Almost positive," Kat replied. Chance brought the boat to the dock and jumped out. Jake and Kat followed. They walked up to an islander. "Excuse us. We're looking for Wayne O'Neile. Do you know where we can find him?" Kat asked. "Yeah. Just on the other side of the forest," the islander said, pointing to the forest. "Thanks." They walked through the forest. When they finally came through, the only thing there was a graveyard. "A graveyard? There's gotta be some kind of mistake," Chance said, looking at the tombstones. Kat and Jake separated throughout the graveyard. "Chance, Kat! Come here!" Jake called. Chance and Kat ran over to where Razor was. In front of him was a tombstone reading "Wayne J. O'Neile rest in peace. Born March 12, 1898 Died January 9, 1985." "Great. Our only lead has been dead six years. Now what do we do?" Kat asked. "Well, as of this moment, we ran out of suspects," Chance said, sighing. "But what about the key chain?" Jake asked. "It's nobody I know. Wayne O'Neile was the only W O I knew," Kat said. "What about the other guys? Albert E. Kat and James Blue?" Chance asked. "No, I don't think so. Their names don't begin with a W or an O." Jake took out the key chain from his pocket and looked at it. "Hey, wait a minute. What if we held the key chain up-side down?" He flipped the key chain and looked at it. The letters read "O M". "Whom do you know with the initials O and M?" he asked. Kat rubbed her chin and gasped. "There's no way in Hell that you're not suggesting--" she asked. "I am. I've had a bad feeling from him from the start. Let's move." They rushed back through the forest and back to their boat. They drove the boat back to MegaKat and rushed back to Chance's car. "I hope you're right about this, Clawson," Chance said as they started driving. "I know I'm right. Let's just get back to Tortoiseshell City." Chapter 4: Four years later. "So, is it who I think it is?" Shera asked. "You'll find out, Shera. We wanna keep you on the edge of your seat until you find out," Quiver said. Four years ago. They arrived in Tortoiseshell City at night. They drove up to the front of the museum. "Are you sure about this, Jake?" Kat asked. Jake nodded. "If he's greedy enough, he'll come back for some more rocks. Let's check it out." They slowly walked up to the door and opened it. They peered through the small crack. The room was completely dark. Chance took out his flashlight and turned it on. The light reflected off the jewels when it hit them. "Think it's safe?" he asked. "Most likely not. But we gotta risk it," Kat said. She began to creep in when she felt a paw on her shoulder. "I got a better idea. Come on." Jake walked away from them and disappeared around the corner. Chance and Kat exchanged glares and followed him. Jake found a ladder leading to the roof. He, Chance, and Kat climbed up it and stepped onto the roof. Jake walked over to the skylight and look down. Below, he saw a dark figure walking along the walls and putting jewels in his bag. "There he is," he said. "Are you sure it's who you think it is?" Chance asked. "Positive." "Only fools are positive." "You sure?" "I'm positive." "Fool," Jake chuckled. Chance slapped his forehead. "I feel for it! The little son of a bitch." "Be quite, Furlong. You wanna give us away?" Kat asked. With that, a gun fired and the glass on the skylight broke. "He gave us away!" Jake said. "Let's do it!" They jumped through the hole and landed in front of the jewel thief. "Oliver!" Kat gasped. "I *knew* it!" Jake said. "So, how did you figure it out?" Oliver asked. "You dropped your key chain," Chance said as Jake pulled out a key chain from his pocket. "Crud! Besides that, how did you know?" "Well, your story seemed all too innocent. Judging by the bags under your eyes, I'd say you only slept about a few hours the night the Devil's Eye was stolen. That means you were awake long enough for you to steal it. And I'd also say that you knocked out the night guard and hid him in your car. Then you knocked out all the security systems so you could have no trouble stealing it. But after you stole it, it wasn't enough. You wanted more jewels for you greedy little correction. And that would lead us to right here, right now," Jake said. "Well, Detective Clawson, you are correct," Oliver said. "He is?" Chance asked. "Why did you do it, Oliver?" Kat asked. "Why *wouldn't* anyone do it? The Devil's Eye is the most powerful and largest ruby in the world. Your family had a gold mine on their paws and they never used it! I'm putting it to *my* use!" He pulled out a gun and fired. They all moved. "He-yah!" Kat yelled, grabbing the bag full of jewels and smacking Oliver with it. He fell over. He tried to grabbed her ankle, but she performed a back flip and rejoined Jake and Chance. They both starred at her, eyes wide. "What? You think I was *just* pretty?" Kat asked. "Hell, yes!" the both replied. Oliver fired the gun again. They all separated again. "You guys got guns. Use them!" Kat shouted. "Oh, yeah. I forgot about those," Jake said, pulling out his gun. He and Chance fired their guns at Oliver. The bullets hit him in the chest. But he didn't scream in pain. "What the hell--?" Chance asked. Oliver lifted his shirt up and showed he was wearing a bulletproof vest. "Crud!" Jake and Chance both said. Oliver then pulled out a different gun. He pointed it at Kat and fired. It hit her in the arm. She quickly passed out. "Crud. Tranquilizer!" Jake said. Oliver ran over to her and picked her up in his arms. "Sorry I can't stay, Detectives. But I got what I wanted." Jake quickly took out a different gun and shot Kat's leg. Oliver threw a smoke bomb to the floor. The room filled with smoke. "Damn it! He got away!" Chance hissed. "Don't worry, Chance. I managed to get a transmitter on Kat. We'll know where she is," Jake said, taking out a small device in his pocket. "By the way, how the *hell* did you know all that shit?" "I didn't. I just took a wild guess on most of it. That was a *real* good guess." He shrugged. "Ha. You know, I'm starting to like you, Clawson." "You ain't too bad yourself, Furlong." They smiled at each other. Then Jake's attention was on the transmitter. "They're heading for the waterfall outside the city. Let's get after them." They rushed out to the car and drove off. Chapter 5: Four years later. "So, you were kat-napped and Jake and Chance came to save you? That's a change," Boulder said. "What's so different about it?" T-Bone and Razor both asked in unison. "Usually, she's saving *your* tails." T-Bone and Razor looked at each other and nodded. They extended their claws and started coming to Boulder. "Oh, boys..." Quiver said, holding up her book. They instantly stopped in their tracks. "All right, anything to prevent you using that damn book again," T-Bone said, sitting back down. Quiver chuckled. "At least you two agreed on something. Even if it *was* hurting Boulder," she said. T-Bone and Razor exchanged glances. "OK, back to the story. You two needed to work together to save me. Fortunately, you were willing to work together then." "We had to. You were in trouble," Razor said. Four years ago. Chance pulled the car up in front of the waterfall. He and Jake stepped out of the car. "Are you sure that transmitter is operational?" Chance asked. "Yeah, why? Don't like water?" Jake asked. "No, I just don't like getting wet." "Be a kat, not a mouse. C'mon, Kat's gotta be in trouble by now." Jake walked through the waterfall and signaled for Chance to come in. He followed. Behind the waterfall was a cave leading towards a gleam of light. They exchanged glances and followed the cave. When they came to the next cave opening, they leaned against one of the walls when they saw Oliver pacing. "What do you think?" Chance asked. "About what?" "About what we should do with this guy. Got any good ideas?" Jake rubbed his chin. Then a thought ran through his head. "Raise it to the light, and it's said to blind a kat," Kat's voice said in his mind. Then he notice a ruby the size of a baseball on the table next to Kat who was tied in a chair with a gag in her mouth. "I've got an idea that's just crazy enough to work," Jake said. "Now, what should I do next? Maybe I should go after the world's largest emerald. It would go very well with your eyes, Katarina," Oliver said, grabbing Kat's chin and forcing her to look at him. She growled. From behind her chair, she extended her claws and started cutting the rope. Then she noticed that the Devil's Eye was gone from the table next to her. She hoped that Oliver didn't noticed. She looked under the table leg and saw Chance with the ruby in his paws. Her eyes widened. "Crud, you act like you've never seen a kat before," he said very quietly. He helped her get free of the ropes. He removed the gag from her mouth. "Chance, you gotta get out here. He's dangerous," Kat said. "Relax. Jake has a plan." He tossed the ruby from all the way from his side of the room to the other side where Jake was hiding. He looked up at the bright lamp. "I think it's bright enough. Hey, Marmalade!" Oliver spun around to the direction the voice came from. Then he noticed that Kat was gone and so was the Devil's Eye. All that was there was an empty chair with rope surrounding it. Jake came out from his hiding place. "Over here!" Oliver turned to him. Jake held the Devil's Eye up to the light. The reflection from the ruby bounced off and shined into Olive's eyes. "Aah! Can't see!" He reached for his gun and fired in different directions. Chance came out of hiding and started coming towards him. Oliver heard his footsteps. He pointed the gun at him. "Chance, look out!" Jake shouted, leaping out of his hiding place. Jake quickly knocked Chance over just as the gun was fired. The gun hit Jake in the stomach. He fell to the floor, motionless. Kat threw a crate at Oliver and knocked him out. She then rushed to Chance and Jake. "Chance, Jake saved your life!" Her eyes widened to see Jake's body staying motionless and lying in a puddle of blood forming from his stomach. "Yeah... But it costed him *his* life." Chapter 6: Later that night, Jake regained his senses. He slowly opened his eyes. He found himself in a white room filled with flowers, windows with blue curtains, and a TV. He was in a hospital. "Jake!" a voice said. Jake turned his head to find Chance and Kat, smiling at him. "We thought you wouldn't make it," Kat said. "Make it? What do you mean, make it?" Jake asked in a soft voice. "We thought that bullet killed you," Chance said. Jake shot up in his bed, then quickly fell back into his pillow. "Bullet?! And I'm still alive? Did my plan work?" "Perfectly. It blinded Oliver and that gave us time to bust him. Unfortunately, he could still hear us good," Kat said. "I wish I found that out sooner. You saved my life, Jake. I owe you," Chance said. Jake weakly smiled. "Commander Feral said now you're a full fledged Enforcer and we both got promoted to the air force. He said you can pick out your new partner if you wanted." "You want the pleasure, Chance?" Chance smiled and patted his paw. "Love to. Thanks, Jake. And thanks, Kat, for bringing us together." Kat smiled. "Well, now that I see that he's going to make it, I might as well get moving. Good-bye, Chance," Kat said, kissing his cheek. Then she bent over to Jake and kissed his cheek. "Good-bye, Jake. I'll see you again someday. I promise." Four years later. "And we *did* she her again. And here she is," T-Bone said, putting his arm around Quiver's shoulder. "What happened to the Devil's Eye after that?" Boulder asked. "Well, after we returned the Devil's Eye to the musuem, Jettona stole it. She had it for four years until we met up with her." "That was a wonderful story, Quiver," Shera said. "Yeah, it was great!" Boulder followed. Then Quiver turned to T-Bone, then Razor. "I hope you two learned something from that story." "Yeah. I learned that I'm glad Feral went against my wishes and gave me a partner. And that's he's the best partner I could ever have," T-Bone said. "Yeah. I'm sorry I teased you about the stuff. Boulder suggested that I teased you more often," Razor said. "*Boulder*?" Boulder got out of his seat. "Well, would you look at the time? I gotta go!" Then he ran off like lighting. T-Bone, Razor, and Quiver laughed. Quiver sighed as she pulled out a picture from one of the boxes. "You guys had a lot of adventures then," she said. "Yeah. But I think our first one was our favorite," Razor said, putting his left arm around T-Bone's shoulder. T-Bone did the same. "I hear ya. And I'm glad it's all over," T-Bone said. The three looked at the picture. It was a picture taken after their first case in the hospital. They all smiled and sighed. THE END Whoa! Finally done! Can you believe I did this whole story in ONE DAY?!! I did! My fingers are so tired. I worked on this all day. I think it's pretty good. True, T-Bone and Razor were a little madder at each other four years later than four years ago. I admit, that kinda sucked. I couldn't think of anything at the time. Questions? Comments? E-mail me: karigilmore@hotamail.com. Later, Kat fans!