TITLE: THE TOURNAMENT - PART THREE

AUTHORS: C. L. Furlong & Ricochet

DATE: August 10, 2001

FINISHED: October 27, 2001

FINAL REVISION: November 01, 2001

RATING: R for violent content

SUMMARY: The Tournament finally arrives and Razor has to fight in order to survive while Dark Kat "feathers his nest" at the cost of Razor's blood. Can T-Bone learn the location of the event in time to save his friend from certain death?

DISCLAIMER: SWAT Kats and anything related to the series is property of Hanna-Barbera. No infringement is intended and no profit is gained with this fiction.

COMMENTS: Okay, this is going a bit out of hand... This story was supposed to have only *one* part and it's already on its third and a *fourth* part is underway... Yeah, I had a lot to write about it... Very well, the Tournament finally arrives and Razor... Well, you'll see it for yourselves... I think I don't handle well the fighting sequences. Nevertheless, I hope this is enjoyable. Again, there's some violent content. Not as much as in Parts One and Two but there's some violence here too. Again, thank you so much for this story, Felicia... A thanks goes also to Helion for his reviews on this fic. Again, I reiterate that these "Tournament" fictions aren't related to my "Final Resistance" series. C. U. all, SK fans!

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THE TOURNAMENT - PART THREE

Dark Kat took Razor to a large room, even larger than that where Doc met his doom. Razor saw the elevated rings, where the trial matches would take place. He saw his opponents. They were all there: Viper, Mac and Molly Mange, the PastMaster, Turmoil, Hard Drive, Chop Shop, Rex Shard, Lenny Ringtail, Greenbox and a bunch of other fierce-looking thugs he had never seen before.

"Dear contestants... Fellow villains... Welcome to my humble home..." - Dark Kat stated as he entered the room. Every head in the place turned to meet Dark Kat's figure. Some of the pupil-less eyes present widened when they saw the slim SWAT Kat beside the crime overlord.

"What the... A SSSWAT Kat?" - Viper hissed - "What'sss *he* doing here?"

A chorus of similar questions and demands ensued after Viper's words. Dark Kat silenced them all simply by rising his right paw.

"The SWAT Kat is here because I 'invited' him. *He* will be my fighter during this Tournament." - the huge purple kat stated. If the other villains' eyes widened when they saw Razor, they nearly jumped out of their orbits this time.

"You can't do that!" - Viper hissed - "In all my yearsss here in the Tournament, no one has ever..."

Viper never finished his sentence. Dark Kat gave him a look that nearly froze his blood. The other villains saw it too and settled down.

"The rules of the Tournament..." - Dark Kat said, in his booming voice - "... are very clear, Viper. They state anyone can enter in this contest and that any contestant has the right to choose a representative. I have fought every time the event happened. This year, I chose to be represented."

"Getting too old to handle the pressure, Dark Kat?" - Viper taunted and chuckled dryly.

Dark Kat narrowed his eyes. Taking two fast steps forward, he rapidly covered the distance separating him and Viper and grabbed the reptilian scientist by his lab coat, lifting him in the air.

"Must I remember you that I'm not in the Tournament? I could crush your bones right now if I wanted!" - he growled.

Viper just grinned.

"I don't think ssso, Dark Kat!" - he sibilated and suddenly wrapped his tail around Dark Kat's neck. - "Now what? Crush my bones if you want to, but I'll break your neck first!"

Dark Kat narrowed his eyes even more until they were nothing but tiny slits with an intense fire burning behind. He powered down and let Viper go. Viper loosened his tail, and it slithered away from the purple kat's neck. However, Dark Kat grabbed Viper's tail tightly in his huge left paw.

"I'll let you leave now, Viper but *never* try that stupidity with me again... Otherwise, you won't live enough to regret it..." - he said and threw the tip of Viper's tail towards the green scientist. The tension was nearly palpable. Razor thought it was so thick one could cut it with a knife. Viper looked to the slim SWAT Kat and chuckled dryly.

"Thisss Tournament will be a piessse of cake... You're dead, SSSWAT Kat! Thisss much I assure you!"

"Hey, leave something for us!" - Molly said.

Her husband agreed.

"Yeah... I think we *all* would like to settle a score here with our little flytom, am I right, gang?" - Mac said, turning to the remaining sixty-one kats behind him, which also agreed in loud agitation.

"Let me fry him!" - Hard Drive said.

"And then I'll chop him!" - Chop Shop added.

"Not before I have reduced him to a red fleshy pulp!" - Rex Shard stated.

Razor gulped. He didn't like that a single bit. Dark Kat stepped in front of the slim kat and once again raised his right arm, silencing the raging crowd.

"*No one* is going to touch a single strand of fur of the SWAT Kat until we have decided the matches! The draw will begin in a few minutes. Then, we will know who will fight who during the trial matches." - the purple crime overlord stated and headed for a pulpit with a wooden box in it. A ninja brought a packet of small cards and delivered it to Dark Kat. - "In these cards you have all signed your names. I'll throw them inside this box and mix them. Then I'll draw out one card at a time and the name will be written on that board behind me. The second card I retrieve will have the name of the opponent of the first drawn and so on. The winner from this couple will fight the winner of the next couple and so on. Any doubts?" - the kats remained silent. - "Then, let's proceed with..."

Suddenly, a ninja erupted into the room and headed directly to Dark Kat. They interchanged a few words and the ninja left. Dark Kat turned to the crowd and addressed it.

"There are pressing matters that need my assistance now." - he pointed to one of the ninjas - "You. Come here and carry on with the draw. I'll be back as soon as possible." - and with this he left the room. The ninja did as he was told and went to the pulpit. Inserting his paw inside the box, he retrieved a card and read out loud the name written there, showing the card to the crowd.

"Leider Greenbox!"

Another ninja wrote down the name on the board. The first kat drew out another card and read it out loud.

"Stevenson!"

And so, the draw continued on.

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"This had better be important or heads will roll!" - Dark Kat boomed as he headed for the infirmary. The ninja in front of him just gulped. He knew Dark Kat all too well to know that the huge kat *really* meant what he said. They reached the infirmary, and the ninja held the door open for Dark Kat, closing it when the purple kat stepped inside.

What greeted Dark Kat at the infirmary was not a pleasant sight, but the purple kat had a stony heart and that wouldn't make him flinch. One of his ninjas was sitting on a stretcher. His right leg was uncovered and he rested it on top of the bed. That would be alright if it weren't for the fact that his thigh bore three huge rips and his blood was dripping to the ground. His snout was also bleeding, or had bled, for it presented a dark red color in it.

"Report." - Dark Kat ordered. No emotion was palpable in his voice.

"The other SWAT Kat did this to me when I was spreading the word of the Tournament's new date. My comrades were knocked out when attempting to resist him. Your highness, the SWAT Kat seemed to have gone insane! He was so enraged I could swear his eyes were glowing... My comrades were no match for him. Neither was I... I was lucky to escape alive!" - the severed ninja said. His voice had a tinge of fear in it, whether it was of T-Bone or of Dark Kat, it didn't matter. Maybe it was of them both! If he had known what was ahead of him, he'd wish to have stayed in the alley with T-Bone.

"And, you ran away like the coward you are..." - Dark Kat boomed, shaking his head.

"But... But... The SWAT Kat was about to kill me! Your highness, I had no other choice but..."

The following sound emerging from the ninja resembled a dry bough breaking up. In less then a second, his head was twisted at an impossible angle and his eyes were staring without seeing. He fell over the stretcher limply, a thin thread of blood oozing down from the left corner of his snout.

Dark Kat stepped to the door and opened it. A ninja was standing guard outside the infirmary. He called the ninja, who came inside the room and stumbled, stopping dead in his track when he saw the lifeless body on top of the stretcher. He went to his comrade and checked him.

"He's dead!" - the ninja said.

"Then, his troubles are over. Get rid of him. And, summon three of your colleagues. I'll be waiting for them in the library." - Dark Kat ordered and left to go to the library.

It was a medium-sized room. The floor was made of mahogany, as were all the doors, floors and furniture of Farrell Manor. The walls elevated high above the purple crime overlord's head, each of them covered with dozens of books. In the middle of the room stood a desk with a lamp on top. In the ceiling, a big candelabrum made out of thousands of little pieces of crystal seemed to hover above Dark Kat's head, pouring down a golden warm light that filled the room.

"You called, your highness?" - one of the ninjas asked. They had arrived in the meantime.

Dark Kat passed by them without a word and headed for the big desk, sitting in the chair behind it. He swung the chair around and faced the book-covered wall. All the ninjas could see of the purple kat was his hood and his cape hanging off the chair's arms.

"The other SWAT Kat..." - he said - "...I want him found... and killed..."

"It shall be done as you wish, your highness." - one of them said and they all left the room immediately. Seconds later, another ninja entered the library.

"Milord, the draw is closed. The combats will commence."

A rush of light burned in Dark Kat's eyes - "Finally..." - the purple kat rose from the chair and went out of the room. He turned around and addressed the ninja when he reached the door. - "You... pick two of your colleagues and run along. Bring me these two kats."

Dark Kat tossed two photos towards the ninja. He grabbed the pictures and peered rapidly at them, after which he nodded to the huge kat.

"Consider it done, milord..."

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Chance had been down by the hangar the entire night. He had repaired the sandbag and now it was lying on the ground again, with the sand all spattered on the floor. He had been punching and kicking it the entire night, and he still wasn't satisfied. His muscles hadn't recovered their full strength yet, but he didn't care. He wanted more. He *needed* more! Dressed in his Enforcer training uniform he went upstairs and outside the body shop, towards the obstacle course, despite the fact that it was raining heavily now.

He started running, his boots making splashing thuds on the muddy ground. The first obstacle was a wall with a time and a half his height. He jumped and threw his right arm up, grabbing the edge of the thick wall, which was slippery due to the rain. Throwing his right leg up, he heaved his body up the wall and jumped down it in a single fluid motion, darting from it.

A few meters ahead he found a low tunnel made out of barbed wire. He ducked and threw himself through the tunnel, crawling underneath the fierce-looking thorns, which still managed to rip the fabric of his tank-top and his skin. As soon as his thighs were out of the tunnel he got up to his feet and resumed the running. Needless to say his clothes were a complete muddy mess by now. However, he didn't care and just carried on.

Ahead of him stood a rope with some knots that was tied up to the beginning of a few dozen meters of metallic catwalk, which seemed like an elevated railroad several meters above ground level. He climbed up the rope resorting only to bare arm strength. When he was at the top he threw his left arm to the catwalk and swung his body forward, throwing his right paw to grab the next bar. And so he continued until, a few tens of meters ahead, the catwalk abruptly ended.

Chance swung his body harder and performed a back somersault, landing hard on the ground and sprinkling mud high into the air. Immediately after it stood the tire track. The tires were separated from one another by a distance of about two meters. Stepping inside the first tire, he jumped to the next at his right and then to the next to his left and so on.

The cracking of thunder drew nearer now. The drizzling rain of early that morning had gave its place to heavy thunder showers. Chance jumped to the first of two giant piles of metallic litter and climbed it up. When he reached the top of it, he threw himself into the air, plunging directly into the pit filled with muddy water and ignoring completely the rope dangling in the wind. The coldness of the muddy fluid enveloped him and he swam upward. With a few strokes, he reached the margin and heaved his bulk, starting to run.

He located the long pole resting on the ground. Chance picked it up without stopping and ran towards the second pile of metallic garbage. Using the pole, he thrust himself over the top of the pile while a lightning ray crisscrossed the sky behind him, immersing the front of his body in darkness as he let go of the pole and somersaulted forward. He hit the ground running and darted to the finish line a dozen of meters ahead, breaking the ribbon.

However, he didn't stop. He ran towards the next pile of metallic litter and climbed it up. He stood on top of the hood of a car when he reached the top of the pile. There he stopped and scanned the city in front of him. His jaw was tightly clenched, as his fists were. Water was dripping down his fur and his clothes. Thick droplets dropped down his chin and nose as his enraged eyes scrutinized the dulled outline of the skyscrapers in the distance and his chest heaved up and down wildly.

"I'll find you, Dark Kat! Even if it kills me I will find you! And I'll bring Jake back home! THIS I SWEAR!" - he roared as a huge lightning bolt cracked behind him.

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"Ah! What a lousy weather!" - Callie said as she crossed the street, fighting against the wind that threatened to take off her umbrella at any moment. - "What a time for my car to leave me like this..."

She was so busy with the umbrella she didn't even notice the kat dressed in a long black overcoat in the other side of the street, knocking against him.

"Oof! I'm sorry!" - she apologized, looking up to the tom - "I'm sorry. I haven't seen you!"

"Deputy Mayor Briggs?" - the tom asked. She nodded. - "You must come with me!"

"What? Why?" - was all she had time to ask before another tom came from behind her and placed an handkerchief soaked in chloroform in her snout. She struggled for a few seconds in her captor's strong clutches feeling the sweet taste the cloroform left in her mouth, but was no match for him. She gave in to the chemical and slipped into dormancy.

A car's tires screeched until the vehicle came to a stop right in front of the three kats. The doors were opened and the toms bustled Callie's limp form inside the car, after what both toms entered inside the vehicle, which drove away from the spot.

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Dark Kat entered the room where the try-outs were about to occur. Greenbox and a tough-looking thug were already on top of the far-off ring. The middle ring was occupied by two unknown kats. The closest ring had Turmoil and another unknown thug on top of it. The purple kat located Razor in the crowd and headed for him, patting the slim kat in the shoulder when he reached him.

"What did I miss?" - he queried.

"Nothing, really. The combats will start now." - Razor informed. He frowned. How could he be having such a normal conversation with his sworn enemy?

"Who will you fight?" - Dark Kat asked, ignoring Razor's expression.

"Some guy I never heard about... His name's Karl. It's that brown-furred tom over there, near Mac.

Dark Kat looked to the kat Razor pointed to. It was a well-built tom, with prominent muscles in his arms. Dark Kat shook his head.

"He's no match for the SWAT Kat... With the training I provided him, he's able to eat thugs like that at breakfast..." - he thought.

Meanwhile, the three combats had begun. The shouts of encouragement from the crowd filled the room together with the sound of punches and kicks. At some time, a muffled moan of pain cut off the roar of the crowd. Greenbox was having a bad time with his opponent, Stevenson. The thug was a street fighter, both Dark Kat and Razor could see it clearly. His blows were barely legal but that was an illegal tournament that bore as primordial rule "there aren't any rules" so every blow was allowed. Stevenson rapidly defeated Greenbox. The other matches ended fast also.

Turmoil won her bout easily. Her opponent, named Dick, was so eager to combat he ran towards her as fast as he could. She cocked one eyebrow and placed her paws on her hips as she saw the big yellow tom running towards her. When the kat was about to strike her, she just stepped aside and Dick didn't have time to stop, falling out of the ring.

"Ludicrous tom..." - she mocked under her breath as she stepped calmly out of the ring - "This Tournament is going to be a piece of cake..."

Dark Kat couldn't help but slap himself on his forehead. Kats alive... Was that one of the new generation's thugs of this city? Please...

The next round opposed six unknown ruffians. Obviously, three of them won. Their names were Svern, Marisa and Troll. The third round came quickly. It was about 10 a.m. and six bouts had already been fought. In the middle ring stood Brett Frisk and Hard Drive. The combats had begun again. Razor was more interested in the fight of the techno-crook. His opponent was a slim gray-furred kat.

Brett moved fast, jumping from one side of the ring to the other. Even Razor had some difficulty in keeping an eye on his moves. Hard Drive, however, seemed completely unimpressed and undisturbed. Brett came closer to Hard Drive, preparing his blow. The tan-furred kat just smiled. Brett jumped towards Hard Drive, attempting a flying-kick. Hard Drive just extended his left arm and released an electric discharge that hit the gray-furred tom, sending him back and off the ring.

Razor widened his eyes and turned to Dark Kat. - "Can he do that?"

Dark Kat just shrugged - "Of course he can."

"Then we can use weapons in the Tournament?" - he asked in disbelief.

"Except for fire arms, yes, you can use whatever you want."

"Then, I can use my glovatrix?"

"Sure you can. But you can't fire explosives or missiles."

"Doesn't matter. Where is it?" - Razor queried, shaking his head.

"Destroyed, I'm afraid." - Dark Kat oozed, looking into the distance.

"I'm doomed." - Razor moaned, doing a face. Dark Kat couldn't help to chuckle for himself.

The other fights ended also and the forth round was rapidly organized. Razor jumped on top of the far-off ring. Karl jumped too a little bit later.

"This is it..." - Razor thought, tightening the grip on his own fists.

Dark Kat was behind him, in the floor. Razor could feel his gaze burning in his back. The slim SWAT Kat tensed his muscles and assumed a fighting stand. Karl did the same, choosing the same position of Razor. Dark Kat just shook his head in disappointment.

"That tom doesn't even know how to fight... Look at his position... He's completely open! Even trying to imitate the SWAT Kat he can't do it right... I'm sure he can impose respect to people with his musculature but he's definitely no match for *any* of us..."

"Hajime!" - the judge bellowed.

Razor crouched a bit, flexing the muscles on his legs. His face bore a concentrated grimace. His brows were furrowed under his mask, his teeth clenched. Karl shuddered almost imperceptibly. A drop of perspiration poured from his forehead and down his cheek. Razor analyzed Karl. The other tom didn't move. Razor's heart was pounding hard on his chest. He could see the tom in front of him wasn't such a good fighter as he had thought before. Even so, doubts started crossing his mind.

"C'mon! Start the fight!" - one thug yelled.

"Yeah! We wanna see a combat, not a statue competition!" - another added.

Razor wasn't paying attention to them. What if he judged that kat wrong? What if Karl turns out to be an outstanding opponent? What if he loses control of himself? What if he ends up crippling that kat?

"Snap out of it, Jake..." - he thought to himself - "Snap out of it... You're here to win, remember? You're here to win at all cost! Even if that implies..."

Suddenly, he jumped into the air, covering the distance between him and Karl, screaming a high-pitched cry. Karl just widened his eyes and hid his face behind his arms, curling into a ball and screaming in fear.

Razor cocked one eyebrow and landed before the curled tom. He went to him.

"Yah?" - he said in a low tone while softly touching Karl in his shoulder with his paw. The tom screamed in fear and tossed himself off the ring. The entire crowd was frozen by the ridiculousness of the situation. Then, one by one, all started laughing. Razor just sighed and got off the ring, shaking his head.

"What did I say?" - Dark Kat thought to himself as he shook his head.

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After taking a warm shower and sleeping a couple of hours, Chance was feeling better. His muscles hadn't regained their full efficiency yet but all the workout he had obliged himself to do made him restless. The adrenaline levels in his body were still high and neither the workout, nor the shower nor the nap had sufficiently calmed him down. And, the fact he had just blown one precious chance to find out the whereabouts of Jake wasn't helping anything. He decided to go outside again, not as Chance Furlong but rather as T-Bone. Minutes later, after changing into his G-suit, T-Bone piloted the TurboKat. Thick droplets of water smashed against the glass of the canopy while the ones that dropped near the rear of the jet were instantly vaporized by the bluish backwash. Once again, the big SWAT Kat was out for the hunt.

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Lunchtime had arrived and so did the end of the first round of try-outs. The original group of fighters had been reduced by thirty-two contestants now. Besides Turmoil, Hard Drive and Razor, also Rex Shard, Lenny Ringtail, Viper, Chop Shop, Molly, Mac and the PastMaster had managed to enroll in the next try-outs, along with another twenty-two unknown ruffians.

"Very well, everybody! We've made quite a few progresses! But now let us all rest for a couple of hours. The fights will resume after lunch, at two o'clock." - Dark Kat announced and the crowd started to disperse, following some of the purple kat's ninjas to the dining-hall. Razor meant to go with them when Viper bumped against him.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" - Razor said, stepping back from Viper. The reptilian scientist turned around and addressed Razor.

"What did you sssay? You sssaid you wanna fight?" - Viper hissed and took one step towards Razor. The other kats stopped in their tracks, sensing the impending confront. However, nothing came to happen. Dark Kat stepped in between the SWAT Kat and Viper.

"Touch one single fur of the SWAT Kat and you'll be disqualified immediately according to the rules. If you want to fight him, then win all your bouts because I have no doubt that he will be the winner of this Tournament." - Dark Kat boomed. Viper just gave a disgusted grin, turned tail and calmly walked out of the room. Razor started to walk towards the door when Dark Kat placed a paw over his shoulder. - "You're going back to your cell."

"Huh? Why?"

"Two reasons: first, you're still my prisoner. Second, it's safer for you." - Dark Kat simply responded and motioned Razor to the opposite door. Razor had no other alternative but to obey.

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Back in the obscurity of his cell, Razor sat in lotus position on top of his cot. The rain was penetrating in his cell from the barred window again, forming a cascade that ran down the wall and turned the dirt into oozy mud. He found a tray with food on top of the mattress when he entered the cell.

"A plenty meal... Bread and water... Well, I guess I should thank I'm not starving here..." - he muttered as he tore a piece of bread. That thought stung his mind more than he would have expected.

"What would be Dark Kat's behavior if he didn't need me? He said he'd kill me... I wonder if he would torture me or something... Or if he would let me waste myself away of starvation... His mind is so sickly..." - he closed his eyes and the red burst of Doc's head returned as vividly as when he witnessed it... - "Doc... I mustn't forget I'm doing this for him... And for you, Chance..." - a tear dropped from his eye - "I wanna see you, buddy... I don't really wanna fight... I don't wanna be here... If you were here by my side this would be so much easier for me... I miss you so much, Chance... I miss you so much... I wish I were at home with you right now..." - he thought, drooping his ears and closing his eyes. He suddenly cocked his head. - "No. I gotta win! I *have* to win! I *have* to fight... I can't flag now... Yes, Jake, you *cannot* give ground to those thoughts now... You'll fight... and you'll win... For your freedom, for your family, for Chance! ..." - he narrowed his eyes, a raging fire burning behind them - "...and for Doc..."

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The fire burning in the fireplace cast long dancing shadows across the room as its orange luminosity borrowed a warm tinge of color to the depressively decorated salon. It was half past one p.m. but it could very well be midnight - the darkness was about the same. Heavy storm clouds rolled ruthlessly in the sky, clouds as black as the heart of the huge tom that contemplated them from behind the tall window that ran up from the floor almost to the ceiling. The sudden flashes of lightning illuminated briefly a visage that very few wouldn't fear. Not a snout or even a nose were features observable in this face. A skeletal visage even more deformed by his mouth - fleshless lips or bony edges, who would really care. Perhaps his most frightful features were his pupil-less orange eyes, eyes that burned with a fire of their own, eyes that penetrated into any kat's soul, tormenting it forever and ever more. However, an even more! ghastly feature of this tom was something that no kat could see.

His soul.

A grievous soul. A soul that had already witnessed much more than any kat should.

This kat had a name, a normal life. Now all he has is a burden. A burden of vengeance. Vengeance against Justice. Vengeance against Law and Order.

Vengeance against katkind...

This kat still has a name. A name capable of inflicting terror in the most stonehearted kat.

This kat has a name...

Dark Kat is his name...

The purple kat walked away from the window and headed for the mirror hanging above a small table, on the wall. He looked at his reflection on the mirror, narrowing his eyes until they were nothing but thin slits, growling softly as he did it. A flash of lightning flickered, illuminating the room and immersing his face in darkness. He drew his right fist back and rammed it against the mirror, giving out a loud roar. Both the sounds of the shattering mirror and Dark Kat's growl mingled with the roar of thunder, which cracked awfully close. He retrieved his fist and looked at the black fluid oozing down from the cuts, some of them quite deep, the shards of glass had inflicted.

"Milord... Is everything okay?" - a ninja who had entered inside the room and witnessed Dark Kat's burst of wrath asked.

Dark Kat looked to the tom with a gaze capable of clotting anyone's blood. The ninja couldn't help but gulp when his boss's eyes met his own. The purple kat turned away and went to the fireplace. His back was turned to the ninja.

"What do you want?" - Dark Kat asked.

"I'm just here to tell your Excellency we've captured one of the she-kats."

Dark Kat straightened his torso. - "Why haven't you captured both already?"

"The other she-kat is hard to get. She's all day in the place you know..."

"Enforcer Headquarters..." - he said together with a low growl. - "What about the other SWAT Kat?"

"He hasn't shown his snout today yet. So reports the team charged to finish him off." - the ninja simply answered.

"Leave." - Dark Kat ordered in a calm tone, leaning against the fireplace, his back still turned to the ninja. The ninja complied and left the room.

Dark Kat surveyed the flames cracking in the fireplace, lost in his thoughts. Thoughts about the past. His past. He thought about the Enforcers, about his Commander. He narrowed his eyes.

"One day... One day I shall have my vendetta..." - he muttered. He went to the small table again and picked up the phone, dialing a number. After a few moments someone answered from the other side.

"I've got another job for you." - Dark Kat oozed.

"Do I get paid extra?"

"Surely."

"Don't call me Shirley, will you?"

"*Stupid fop*! I meant you *will* get paid for this too." - Dark Kat bawled, annoyed.

"Oh. What do I have to do?"

"Very simple, indeed..."

The phone call lasted only another minute. Dark Kat placed the receiver back onto the hook. He looked outside, to the stormy afternoon.

"You'll get paid, alright... Double... Imbecilic infatuated scum bag... You make me sick... You and all of your kind... You're just the kind of kats I will get rid of first..." - he mumbled. Someone knocked on the door. - "WHAT?"

"The combats will resume, milord." - a voice said from outside.

"I'm coming." - Dark Kat said in a calm tone as he headed for the door. A few moments later, he was down by the catacombs, freeing Razor from his cell and guiding him upstairs again, to the arenas.

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The room was filling up with kats again when Dark Kat and Razor entered. The first fighters to spar were already on top of the rings. On the first ring were Stevenson and Kyle, a patchy white and black kat. The middle ring had atop Turmoil and Svern. Finally, on the third ring stood Marisa and Troll.

The room was filled with kats when the bouts begun. Stevenson and Troll won their respective combats, Troll having a bit of difficulty beating Marisa, who turned out to be as deadly as she was beautiful.

Turmoil had a bit more of work with Svern than she had had with her previous opponent. Svern was an impressively built tom, with a plain garment of golden fur. Only his left eye bore a ring of brown fur around.

"I hope this combat turns out to be more satisfying than my previous one." - she taunted as she fell into a fighting stand. Svern did the same. He had a strong accent, like hers.

"Don't worry. I won't make the same mistake." - he stated.

"Hajime!"

Both kats hurled towards each other. Turmoil pointed her left elbow to Svern's sternum. However, before she even had the chance to hit the tom, Svern somersaulted above her head and landed behind her. Turning around quickly, he kicked her in the back, throwing her to the ground.

"Had enough? I don't like to beat in she-kats, you know? Just give up and everything's gonna be okay." - Svern said.

Turmoil got to her feet and looked to Svern with a grin in her snout.

"Give up? My dear tom, I'm just getting started!"

"Suit yourself." - Svern said and hurtled towards her again.

She grinned. She had him exactly where she wanted. Svern threw a punch to her snout but she dodged it, lunging forward and standing up on her paws. She wrapped her feet and legs around Svern's neck and contracted her abdominal muscles, lowering her legs. The jolt was so big Svern's cervical vertebrae popped and nearly became loose. The tom's bulk hurtled towards the ground and he landed head over feet on the ring, passing out immediately.

Turmoil picked up her Commander's cap and looked to the fallen tom before stepping out of the ring.

Razor was dumbfounded. - "Wow... She's one heck of a fighter! I'm glad we never came to fight her when she attempted to take over the city."

"You're next, SWAT Kat." - Dark Kat informed, placing his injured paw on top of Razor's shoulder. He noticed it and meant to ask what was that when he suddenly remembered the purple kat was his sworn enemy. Razor jumped on top of the middle ring. He would fight against Ostend, a persian kat with long white fur and a flattened face. Hard Drive stood on top of the far-off ring, where he would meet Tucker. In the closest ring stood two unknown ruffians, Bob and Wildkat.

The bouts begun once more. Hard Drive didn't want to have much trouble fighting, it seemed. He fried once more his adversary, sending him off the ring. Wildkat won over Bob with relative ease. Razor had also another easy victory, despite the fact that this time he really had to fight. However, the combat didn't last much since Razor flattened Ostend's face even more with a kick, throwing him off the ring.

Razor got out of the ring and Dark Kat greeted him with a slap in the back that nearly drew all the air from Razor's lungs. One thing was for sure: Razor was satisfied not to have to fight Dark Kat. The purple tom seemed a mountain of sheer muscle!

The third round had begun in the meantime. Rex Shard and Lenny Ringtail occupied the far-off and middle rings, respectively while two unknown thugs fought over the third ring. Shard and Ringtail won their respective bouts, both applying barely legal blows.

Next in line were Viper, Chop Shop and four unknown punks. Viper stood on the first ring, Chop Shop on the second. Viper won is bouts with extreme ease! His opponents were no match for his tail! Chop Shop won his bout also, although recurring to some acute chopping arguments that rendered his opponent helpless.

The fifth round of the second try-outs had Mac Mange on the first ring, Molly Mange on the second and the PastMaster on the third. Needless to say Mac and Molly won their combats easily. Their titanium bodies sees to that. As for the PastMaster, well, nothing can withstand the magic of his watch, anyway... The sixth round only opposed two unknown thugs.

It was about half past four when the try-outs were over. From the original set of sixty-four kats only sixteen enrolled in the third try-outs. Their names: Stevenson, Turmoil, Troll, Hard Drive, Razor, Wildkat, Rex Shard, Lenny Ringtail, Cougaramond, Viper, Chop Shop, Nick, Mac Mange, Molly Mange, the PastMaster and Clawster.

Dark Kat peered rapidly at the board behind the rings. He saw there could be some interesting fights. Shard would fight Ringtail. He looked further to his right and widened his eyes, a grin appearing on his face. Razor noticed it. Dark Kat snorted in amusement.

"What's so funny?" - Razor asked.

"The Metallikats... They'll face each other... *Now* we'll see who wears the trousers at home, if Mac or Molly..."

"Well... That's another load off my mind..." - Razor thought - At least I won't have to fight both of them..."

The SWAT Kat scanned the room. He saw Viper further to his right, also looking to the board. He saw the reptilian kat grin and felt a shiver running up his spine when the good doctor looked directly to him, zipping a clawed finger across his scaled throat. Razor gulped. If he and Viper ever came to fight, it would surely be a tough match. The slim SWAT Kat turned his head to the other side, trying to see his next opponent, Wildkat. However, he didn't find the kat.

After a fifteen minutes break, the combats resumed. One of the rings had, in the meantime, been removed, so there were only two rings in the room now. Turmoil and Stevenson occupied the far-off ring whilst Hard Drive and Troll jumped onto the closest one. The judges screamed Hajime and the combats begun.

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Outlined by the flashes of lightning against the nearly blackened skies, the frame of the TurboKat mingled with the clouds and the gusts of rain and wind. In its interior stood its pilot, T-Bone. His face was contorted into a determined grimace as he looked forward, beyond the glass of the canopy and stared into the dark cloak of clouds in front of him.

The storm had his full attention now. He shouldn't be out here he knew that. He was tempting fate every time a gust of wind balanced the jet or a lightning bolt crossed he clouds around him. He knew bad wind shears and lightning storms were the nightmare of every pilot.

Still, he was calm. As usual, flying around in the TurboKat managed to calm the tabby down. He had devised a plan while he flew around the city, looking for any criminals. In finding none, he decided to keep his mind busy thinking. As one half of him was piloting the fighter, the other thought of an easy way to get to know the Tournament's location. He groped his pocket and retrieved a small plastic box from inside, opening it.

"Why didn't I thought of this in the first place? Now all I have to do is find one of Dark Crud's ninjas..."

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Turmoil was having difficulty in beating Stevenson. The tom was actually getting the upper paw.

"Here!" - he said, pointing to his right elbow.

Turmoil looked at it and the next second she had a painful close-up of Stevenson's elbow. The tom had struck her right between the eyes, bringing her to the ground. If he had hit a bit lower, her nose would've been broken. She lay on the ground, in all fours. Stevenson ran to her and kicked her hard in her stomach, making the she-kat roll over.

"Had enough?" - Stevenson taunted. Turmoil got up to her feet and wiped the dust off her cloak, grinning to him.

"Finally, some fun..." - she said. She took off her cap, which miraculously was still on her head. Her brown hair flew off in the air, settling down on both sides of her face, framing her visage. Her gloves followed, falling on the ring. She undid the clip that hung her cape in place and with a swirl, took it off, tossing it towards Stevenson.

The cloak impeded his vision of her and he rapidly grabbed it in the air and swept it away. He couldn't know that right behind the cloak was his opponent. Stevenson was caught completely off guard. Turmoil delivered a huge kick to the tom's face. Still in the air, she spun her body and punched his face again, throwing the tom to the floor.

Turmoil landed and jumped in the air once more. Stevenson rolled over and stood with his back on the ground. His eyes were still unfocused. He just saw the lights shining above him. Seconds later, a slick dark form came into his field of view, followed by a knifing pain in his gut which obliged him to gasp a warm fluid from his mouth. Stevenson doubled over on the ground with his paws gripping his stomach. He opened one eye and just saw one of Turmoil's feet rushing to hit him in the face. The next thing Stevenson saw was total darkness.

Turmoil had won by knockout. She picked up her belongings, slipping the gloves, swinging the cape on and finally placing her cap on top of her head. She looked to the unconscious tom as she stepped out of the ring. - "Not even a worthy opponent..." - she thought, jumping off the ring.

On the other ring, Hard Drive had a bit more of trouble defeating his adversary as well. Troll was an orange-furred short kat but could move quite fast. Hard Drive wasn't about to lose his coolness with such a kat. He decided he would just fry him like he did with the others. So Hard Drive shot an electric bolt towards Troll, hitting him square in his chest. Hard Drive closed his eyes while he yawned, basking in the glow of another victory. What he wasn't prepared to face was the pain that suddenly spread across his face. Troll had taken his shot and had punched him in the face. Hard Drive groped his warm cheek and widened his eyes in disbelief.

"What? I hit you! I know I did!" - and he decided to shoot another bolt. And the bolt hit his opponent. And his opponent just kept coming as though nothing had hit him. - "How's that possible?" - Was everything Hard Drive could vocalize before Troll punched him in his gut.

Hard Drive doubled over himself and rolled over, getting away from the short tom. He got up to his feet and inspected Troll. The other tom had a plastic necklace with a few wires around it. Troll lunged towards Hard Drive again, but the tan-furred kat somersaulted over the short tom. Hard Drive looked back and saw an insulated wire running down the necklace and into Troll's shirt. He looked to the boots he was wearing. Under the plastic sole stood a thin metallic plate. Realization dawned on Hard Drive. Troll was nothing more than a walking-talking lightning rod.

"Your electricity won't work on me, you infatuated fool. Get ready to get some bruises!" - Troll defied as he walked confidently towards Hard Drive. If Troll thought Hard Drive would be scared of his little gizmo, he couldn't be more mistaken. The techno-crook furrowed his brows and ran towards Troll, catching the short kat by surprise.

"You stupid half-brain schizoid!" - Hard Drive shouted as he ran - "You think I'd be that stupid? You think my electricity is my only weapon?"

Hard Drive jumped and placed a foot over Troll's chest, which acted as a support. The tan-furred kat heaved his body so that his feet stood at Troll's face height and kicked it with all his might. Troll was knocked off his feet and rolled on the ring. The short tom came quickly to his feet but Hard Drive was already running to him. Troll drew his right fist back and threw it against Hard Drive's face. However, Hard Drive ducked and Troll only punched the air. Hard Drive, however, delivered a huge blow to Troll's left knee while he ducked. Troll screamed as the techno-crook broke his kneecap, kneeling on the floor of the ring. Hard Drive got up to his feet and shook his right paw, which was throbbing with pain. He headed for the short tom and delivered a huge roundhouse kick to his head, knocking him out cold.

"Damn! My paw..." - Hard Drive cursed under his breath as he got off the ring.

Razor was impressed with both villains. They could really fight well, he had to admit it. He once more fel a huge paw patting his back. He turned to Dark Kat.

"It's your turn again." - the huge purple tom said. Razor nodded and jumped on top of the far-off ring. In the other ring stood Shard and Ringtail. Wildkat joined Razor on the first ring.

Razor had the chance to analyze the tom in front of him for a while before the judges told them to begin the fight. Wildkat was an impressive tom, powerfully built. He was wearing a white gi and respectfully leaned to Razor before the start of the combat, saluting the SWAT Kat. Razor did the same. Wildkat straightened up and Razor could see the other tom's face for the first time. What he saw made him gasp. He was looking to Chance's face! Wildkat seemed exactly as Chance with the only exception that he had gray fur instead.

"I wonder if he's a tabby too? Crud, it seems I'm looking to Chance on a black and white screen! He's the spitting image of him!"

The judges ordered the beginning of the combat. Wildkat assumed a fighting stance. So did Razor. The SWAT Kat was astonished with his adversary's similarities with Chance. He never ceased analyzing the burlier tom. Wildkat struck first, running to Razor. Razor snapped out of his trance just in time to block Wildkat's punch. The gray-furred tom threw his knee up and rammed it against Razor's gut, which was followed by a series of punches to the SWAT Kat's head. Wildkat finished the series punching Razor's chest with the lower part of his paw. Razor staggered back on the ring and readily assumed a fighting stance.

"He's faster than Chance..." - his head was throbbing with pain - "And as strong as Chance... But he knows what he's doing... His blows hit me all in the right places and he didn't have to cheat to do that. I'm impressed."

"C'mon, SWAT Kat! Are you gonna stay there all afternoon?" - Wildkat said as he fell into a fighting stand also.

"His voice is different from Chance's. Colder. Deeper." - Razor thought - "He's *not* Chance! Now that I see it, his face is also a bit different. His canines are showing a lot. Chance's never showed that much. And he has some tiny tufts of fur in the tip of his hears. Chance doesn't have them. He's *not* Chance!"

And, with this thought, Razor jumped into the air, covering rapidly the scant meters that separated him from the gray-furred tom. Wildkat successfully blocked the first punch but Razor was too fast for him and the slim kat delivered a series of punches and kicks to Wildkat's head and gut. To top it off, he made a jumping roundhouse kick that brought the burly tom to the ground.

Wildkat promptly stood up to his feet. He smiled. - "You're good, SWAT Kat. Real good."

"Thanks. I had a lot of training." - Razor responded. Wildkat took off the upper part of his gi and tossed it off the ring, revealing a muscular torso. - "Again, like Chance's..." - Razor thought as he saw the powerful muscles flexing - "Heh, and he's a tabby too... Guy, wouldn't Chance be surprised to find someone like himself..."

"Let's get to some serious stuff, shall we?" - the gray tabby said, assuming a fighting stand known as Neko-ashi, raising slightly his left foot and extending his left arm in front of his body while the right paw remained at his chest height.

"'Kat' position, huh?" - Razor thought as he fell into another stance, rotating his body so that he looked askew to Wildkat. His left arm was down while the right paw was raised at his shoulder height and stood in front of his chest. His left leg was also a bit raised.

"Huh? What's he doing?" - Wildkat thought - "Ahh! Garku-kamae stance! The 'leaning dragon'! Well chosen, SWAT Kat. But not good enough!

Wildkat disappeared and a second later reappeared behind Razor, throwing a punch to Razor's head. Razor however had also disappeared and positioned himself behind Wildkat, smashing his both paws against both sides of Wildkat's face. The tabby turned around but Razor wasn't there anymore. Wildkat somersaulted back just before Razor had thrown a kick to his back. Razor turned around and received a huge roundhouse kick on his head, sending him rolling on the floor. He quickly got up to his feet and scanned the ring. He couldn't see Wildkat anywhere. He looked up and saw Wildkat's gray foot rushing to hit him on the head once more. Razor stood on all fours, wiping the blood off his snout. He never knew if he saw it coming or simply felt it but Razor jumped out of the way of Wildkat's knee, which rammed on the floor and opened a hole on the ring. Wildkat got up to his feet and looked around, trying to find Razor. He didn't see him. The tabby looked up but Raz! or wasn't there too. He turned around, trying to see Razor but the slim kat wasn't at sight.

"Where are you?" - he bellowed - "Where are you hiding?"

"Right in front of you." - Razor said in an ice-cold voice and struck Wildkat with a powerful uppercut to his midriff, making the tabby double over, grabbing his gut and gasping a gob of red saliva. Wildkat knelt on the floor with his mouth wide open, trying to regain his breath, falling to the side.

"Don't try to move. The blow I gave you rendered you paralyzed. It'll pass in a few minutes but you won't be able to move until then.

"W-who tau-taught you t-that?" - the gray-furred tom stuttered - "Did... did Doc... taught you... that?"

Razor was surprised when he heard Wildkat talking about Doc. He knelt by his side.

"You knew Doc?"

"Doc is my master. I don't know his name and I just called him that way. I know he is a doctor for he took care of me... Did Doc taught you that move?" - he insisted.

"Yes, he did..." - Razor answered. Meanwhile, the judge had started to count.

"It just had to be Doc... Where is he? I want to see him..." - Wildkat asked. Razor winced.

"... three..."

"He's... He's dead..."

Shock filled Wildkat's face for a second, being rapidly replaced by grief.

"... five..."

"Who..." - Wildkat asked.

"It doesn't matter now..."

"... seven..."

"*Who*?" - the tabby asked. Razor remained silent.

"... nine..."

"WHO?" - Wildkat bellowed in a despaired voice, tears dropping from his eyes.

"... ten!"

"Dark Kat..." - Razor hissed under his breath.

"Razor is the winner." - the judge announced.

Razor picked Wildkat's bulk from the floor and jumped out of the ring. He poised the tabby on the wooden floor, looking down on him. Wildkat had his eyes closed and tears soaked his facial fur as he silently cried the loss of his master.

Dark Kat stepped in and addressed Razor. - "Why are you wasting your time with that loser? Come on, the other fights will begin in a few minutes. You must study your possible adversaries."

"Give me just a few minutes with him, okay?" - Razor asked. Dark Kat nodded after thinking for a few seconds and left.

"You're another one of his kats... I thought you were a good guy!" - Wildkat asked with a disgusted tinge in his voice.

"I'm *not* one of Dark Crud's kats! It's just that, for now, Dark Crud's got all the aces in his paws, you understand?"

"How'd you got caught in all this, anyway?"

"It's a long story. I have to go. You should be recovering your motility any second now. Before I go, promise me one thing. Promise me you won't get even at Dark Kat. At least while your skills haven't improved!"

"I can't promise that, SWAT Kat. You know I can't! You don't know what Doc was like for me. He was like the father I never had!"

"Promise me, please! You're a good fighter and you have a good soul. But you're no match for Dark Kat now!" - Razor closed his eyes - "Not even me can take him down... He's much stronger than I am..."

Wildkat shut his eyes for a moment, shuddering in rage. - "Okay... I promise... But I promise you another thing... I'll practice my tail out just to get at Dark Kat... And at you... I would be honored if we fought again some other time."

Razor blinked an eye to Wildkat - "I'm sure we'll fight again some time... I gotta go..."

"Good luck, SWAT Kat! May the best kat win!"

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In the meantime, while Razor and Wildkat sparred, another fight went on just a few feet away, a fight between Shard and Ringtail. Both toms were equally strong and vicious although nothing special really happened. Except for one moment. Shard managed to make Ringtail lose his stand and lifted him up in the air, throwing him out of the ring.

"You were good, kid, but ol' Rex Shard's better!" - the gray-furred tom said as he headed out of the ring. He was preparing to jump out when he heard Ringtail's laughing.

"Just one minute, oldie... If the judge cares to check my position, I think he would find that the combat's not quite over yet."

And so it was. Ringtail wasn't, in fact, out of the ring but rather tightly pinned to *the side* of it, thanks to his claws. Shard couldn't believe his eyes.

"He's even crazier than I thought!" - Shard thought to himself as he watched Ringtail straining to get back onto the ring - "Not only he doesn't fight as Mad Kat but rather as Ringtail, he even does this, grabbing himself to the side of the ring like a fly! Well... If he wants to do an animal pantomime pretending to be a fly, that's all right! He'll be crushed like one!"

Shard ran to Ringtail, who was still trying to get onto the ring. Ringtail looked up with a surprised look on his face to the gray-furred kat rushing towards him.

"If you're still game, then I have no reason to wait for you to get up again! Either way, I'm gonna win!" - Shard stated before kicking Ringtail's head with all his might. The brown-furred kat turned his head to the other side with the blow, spurting some blood and fell on the floor, passing out. And that's how Rex Shard won his bout.

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Razor left Wildkat and headed for Dark Kat, whose expression denoted his dissatisfaction.

"What did I miss?" - Razor queried.

"Everything." - Dark Kat rumbled, growling.

Razor looked to the ring in front of him and widened his eyes. He saw a light orange-furred kat lying on a pool of his own blood. - "W-what happened?"

"His name's Cougaramond and he's dead. That's all you need to know." - Dark Kat coldly answered.

Razor looked to the ring again. Only then did he see Viper. He looked to the green kat's claws. They were reddish and blood dripped from them. Razor figured that, apparently, Viper have decided to change his strategy and ripped the other tom's throat.

In the ring beside that another drama occurred. Chop Shop was fighting an albino kat named Nick. The spotted tan-furred kat lunged at Nick, throwing him a punch, which the albino blocked perfectly. Nick managed to hit a few punches on Chop Shop before the laughing hyena threw a dagger that riveted on Nick's leg. The albino let out a scream of pain and knelt on the floor, taking the dagger off his leg. A gush of blood sullied the ring. Nick unstably got up to his feet only to receive a huge blow by Chop Shop's right leg in his right arm, right above the epiphysis of his humerus, breaking it.

Both Nick and Chop Shop heard the distinct crack, as well as the entire crowd. A maniacal smile appeared on Chop Shop's snout when he heard that sound. Nick's eyes widened when he heard the crack and then his forearm went limp. Chop Shop stepped back and Nick looked down to his arm in disbelief. The albino turned around and staggered a few steps towards the border of the ring, kneeling down on the ground. He arched back his head and screamed a heart-rending scream of pain while he grabbed his arms.

"SHUT UP!" - were the last words Nick ever heard from his opponent. A second later, his head was twisted at an impossible angle and another crack echoed along the walls. Nick's body fell lifeless on the ring.

Razor had his mouth open in shock. He had witnessed such violence only once, during Doc's trial. Dark Kat stood by his side.

"I never expected there were so few deaths this year..." - he mumbled. Razor snapped his head at the purple kat.

"What? You mean there has been more deaths in the previous editions of the Tournament?" - Razor queried, astonished.

"Lots more..." - he simply responded. - "Hah! The following bout should be fun..."

Next in line to fight were the Metallikats, the PastMaster and Clawster. Mac and Molly stood on the first ring while the skeletal sorcerer and the brown furred slim kat stood on top of the second. These were the last bouts of the third try-outs.

"Hah! You shouldn't have left your graveyard, grandpa..." - was all Clawster had time to say before a purple beam reduced him to a pile of smoldering ashes.

"It just happens that this 'grandpa' is good enough to teach you a good life lesson, young tom... Too bad you didn't live enough to learn it well..." - the hooded sorcerer commented before leaving the ring.

On the other ring, in the meantime, a fight was on. But not quite the kind of fight one would expect on a fighting tournament...

"What're ya doin' here? Didn't we agree that you'd give up?" - Mac asked her wife.

"I lied! Sue me! Now *you* get the heck outta here." - Molly retorted, placing her paws on her waist.

"Ya never let me do what I want!" - Mac complained.

"What? *I* never let you? What about you? Do ya ever let *me* do anything I want?" - Molly asked back. Mac just grumbled and went out of the ring.

"Molly Mange is the winner by desistance of her opponent." - the judge said. Mac just grumbled some more.

The third try-outs were over. Only eight kats remained now for the quarterfinals: Turmoil would fight Hard Drive, Razor would fight Rex Shard, Viper would fight Chop Shop and Molly would fight the PastMaster. It was already half past six p.m.

"Very well. You've all fought very well, dear contestants." - Dark Kat bellowed - "You have been very patient, ladies and gentletoms. The try-outs are officially over. The real matches will start now. Let's make a pause for dinner. The bouts will resume at eight o'clock downstairs. My servants will gladly guide you all to there."

The kats remaining followed Dark Kat's ninjas to the dining-hall once more. Razor turned to Dark Kat.

"I guess I have to return to my cell, huh?" - Razor asked.

"You're a mind reader, SWAT Kat..." - Dark Kat said before chuckling slightly. And so, once more, Razor was confined to the gloom of his prison.

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Felina left Enforcer Headquarters at seven p.m. A cold gust of wind greeted her when she transposed the door to the street in front of HQ. She pushed her overcoat closer to her snout and crossed the street in a hastened step. She walked around the block and entered in the building where her quarters were.

"Damn weather..." - she cursed under her breath as she took off her coat and shook off the water. She went upstairs, stroking her water-matted hair. She opened the door to her quarters and tossed the overcoat to the hanger before turning on the lights. Her clothes were tossed to the air and fell on top of her bed.

After a ten minutes shower, she came out of the bathroom enveloped in a gray towel and with another on top of her head. She dried her fur and hair and put some regular clothes after what she sank in her bed. She stared at the ceiling. The flashes of lightning flickered in the dark night sky and momentarily filled her quarters with blue, yellow and red shades. The rain drummed against the windows. Her mind was still lost on what she should do with her recently gained knowledge.

"T-Bone is Chance, Chance is T-Bone, Razor is Jake and Jake is Razor..." - she thought - "The two pilots my uncle dismissed from the force are the SWAT Kats, one of his worst headaches... Talk about poetic justice..."

She stared out the window, to the stormy night. A few seconds later she decided to get up and walked to the opening in the wall. Placing her left paw on her hip and with the right one resting on the frame of the window, high above her head, she scanned the pitch-dark sky. A lightning crisscrossed the sky in front of her and hit the lightning rod of a skyscraper in the distance. The roar of thunder echoed over the city, causing the glass on the window to shudder ever so slightly when the sonic boom connected with it.

"They're outlaws... Performing justice with one's paws is a crime punished by law... They're against everything I believe and stand for... My duty is to arrest them..." - another lightning flickered in the sky, immersing her quarter in an electric bluish color - "But is it the right thing to do? Should I arrest them? Yes, they perform justice with their own paws but they never killed anyone... Nevertheless, it's illegal... If I were in their place what would I do?" - she looked down, to the alley. Another lightning flashed and she could swear she just saw a black-dressed figure bolting near the opposing wall. - "What the..."

She decided to wait for another spark. She didn't have to wait long. In the flash of a series of lightning bolts, she found the alley completely deserted. - "I must be seeing things..."

Suddenly, she heard the doorknob moving. The lock was being forced. She went for her blaster, retrieving it from its holster and regulating it to stun. She rested her back against the wall adjacent to the door, rising her weapon so that it was resting at her face's height.

The door was finally unlocked and started opening slowly. The light in the hall was out so her quarters were still immersed in darkness. She begged to the clouds to hold back their electric discharges. A paw pushed the door ever so slowly. Seconds later, she saw a kat entering. The kat's intentions were deliberate, moving forward slowly. Her movements, however, were fast like a bolt. She rested the muzzle of her blaster in the kat's right temple.

"Freeze." - she hissed - "Turn around... Slowly... Put your paws where I can see them..." - she ordered in an ice-cold voice. The kat did has she ordered, keeping the paws at chest height and the palms turned to her. A lightning flashed and she widened her eyes when she saw the kat's face half bathed in electric blue. - "Steele?"

"Lieutenant-Commander Steele for you, Lieutenant." - Steele corrected her.

"What are you doing here, Steele?" - Felina asked, still aiming her blaster at his head. Steele slowly pushed the muzzle of the blaster to the side with his finger.

"Ah, can we talk about this, Lieutenant?" - he asked. Just as soon as his finger left the muzzle, Felina trained it on him again, as though there was a spring on her arm. - "Why don't we turn on the lights so we can discuss this, Felina?"

"You still haven't answered my question." - she said.

"Let's just turn on the lights, shall we?" - Steele insisted.

"You're trying my patience, Steele. You have a choice: either you choose to tell me right now what you were doing sneaking inside my quarters or you choose to tell it in front of my uncle. It's your call."

Steele gulped. He looked around in the darkened room, trying to locate the light switch. He just had to turn on the lights. Then he could go anywhere. The lightning flashed and then he saw it. It was in the wall right behind Felina. He gulped once more.

"I'm waiting, Steele." - Felina said. Steele started to walk away from Felina. - "Stay where you are."

"C'mon, Lieutenant. What are you trying to say? That you'll shoot me? That you'll shoot a superior?" - Steele said as he headed for the window.

"If I have to. You freaked me out, you know? Why were you sneaking inside my quarters, Steele?" - Felina responded, aiming her blaster to his back and taking a few steps after him. Steele turned around.

"Shoot me. I would like to hear what your uncle would have to say for you shooting a superior. Even he would see that you would have to be court-martialed, Lieutenant." - Steele retorted, heading for her.

"Stay where you are." - she ordered but he kept coming.

"You know, Felina... It could be dangerous for a lonely and helpless she-kat like you to be in a darkened room all by yourself. Nasty things could happen... Now, if you just let me turn on the lights, I'm certain you'll..."

"Why do you want to turn on the lights? I like it that way! Why that compulsion for light right now? What are you trying to pull, Steele?" - she asked, suspicious.

"Those are to many questions, Felina..." - he said and lunged to her, trying to get her blaster. She easily overpowered him and threw the orange-furred kat against the wall adjacent to the door.

"That was stupid, Steele! On your feet! I'm taking you to see my uncle right now!" - she ordered as she reached for the cuffs on her commode.

Steele smiled. She did exactly what he wanted her to do. He got up to his feet and reached for the switch, turning on the lights.

"You piece of crud!" - Felina hissed. In a split second decision, she aimed her blaster against the lamp and shot, destroying it and immersing the room in darkness once more. She quickly trained the blaster on Steele again. - "I don't now what you're trying to pull, Steele, but it's over as of now."

The lightning flashed again and Steele looked out the window and smiled. Outlined in the flash of blue light, outside the window, stood a black kat-like form.

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T-Bone had, in the meantime, returned to the hangar to refuel. Flying around the entire day had its cost. Their fuel reserves were alarmingly low now and without fuel not even the SWAT Kats would worth much. He decided to economize the precious liquid and just filled the TurboKat's tanks to half their full capacity. He jumped onto his place and gunned the engines, once more defying the raging winds and the thunder.

He was flying over a residential district when his radio crackled. It was tuned into the emergency band. He picked up an Enforcer dispatch stating that First National Bank had just been robbed. T-Bone didn't wait for more and banked the jet to the left, setting course to that area.

T-Bone reached the district in less than a minute and landed the TurboKat on the rooftop of an apartment building. He got out of the fighter and headed for the edge of the rooftop, peering down at the portico of the bank. It had been blown up. The Enforcers weren't anywhere at sight yet. However, in a flash of lightning, he saw three black-dressed kats leaving the crime scene.

"Dark Kat's ninjas! I can't believe I'm that lucky!" - he hissed and headed for the fire escape, running down it as fast as the wet steps allowed him. He was still half way down when he saw the ninjas had entered in the alley next to the apartment building. He fired his grappling hook to the banister and jumped off of the fire escape, reeling himself down silently. He had examined the alley and knew it was a dead end. - "I can't believe they're so stupid as to run into a dead end with all the loot..."

He landed silently behind the ninjas, who had, in the meantime, stopped running, and cut off the cable. He stepped after the ninjas. - "Well, well... Look who's here tonight... Don't you think it's a rather wet night for robbing a bank, lads?" - T-Bone taunted.

"Don't you think it's a rather wet night to get kicked in the tail, SWAT Kat?" - one of the ninjas said as the three slowly turned around. T-Bone blinked. The ninjas had dropped the loot and were focusing entirely on him.

"What the hell, what the hell, what the hell... Something's wrong... I feel like I've been led..." - T-Bone thought as the three ninjas circled him.

"Time to die, SWAT Kat! With the compliments of our master, Dark Kat!" - one of the ninjas said as he jumped forward and kicked T-Bone in his head, sending him back. T-Bone landed hard with his back on the wet floor. Another ninja grabbed the collar of his G-suit and lifted him up, banging his back against the nearest wall and ramming his knee on T-Bone's gut, making him double over ever so slightly. Another ninja made a reverse kick to T-Bone's gut, crushing the tabby against the wall. T-Bone staggered a few steps forward and a ninja appeared behind him, snatching his arms back and leaving his body completely exposed. A ninja delivered a series of punches to the tabby's chest, nearly breaking his sternum.

"I think you've played long enough, lads..." - T-Bone said. His chest hurt with every word he spoke. He had been trying to contain himself so that his plan would work. But he saw now that these ninjas were here specifically to kill him. The rage of earlier this day returned, overwhelming the big tabby. With a roar he broke apart from his captors' clutches and threw his paws over his shoulders and behind his back, grabbing the ninja's head. He pulled the kat over him, throwing the ninja against his comrades, knocking them both.

"Okay. Who's next in line, lads?" - T-Bone questioned but never waited for them to answer. Like a raging tornado in the middle of an orchard, the avenging SWAT Kat made his way through the ninjas, delivering punches and kicks at his will. He applied a powerful arm lock on one while he kicked another in his gut, after what he threw the ninja he was holding against the other, knocking them both to the ground. Spinning on his heel, he delivered a huge blow to the head of the other, who was sent flying back. The blow took off his mask and a fountain of blood could be seen leaving the ninja's nostrills.

The other two ninjas unstably got up to their feet. T-Bone took two steps on their direction and landed a punch on each ninja's head, making them pass out. He turned around to the third ninja, who was leaning against the wall, trying to catch his breath. T-Bone looked at the ninja askew, his eyes nearly glowing in rage. The rain was pouring down harder now. Both kats were soaked wet. Even so, T-Bone could distinctly see the thread of blood running down the ninja's snout and mixing with the rainwater. A lightning flashed momentarily and the ninja attacked, running towards the big tabby with his right arm drawn back. He meant to punch the tabby but T-Bone caught his incoming fist and twisted the ninja's arm behind his back, clenching him against the wall. The ninja let out a muffled moan of pain when his snout collided hard with the wall.

"I've got only one question for you, wretch..." - T-Bone hissed in the ninja's ear in an ice-cold voice - "Where's Dark Kat?"

The ninja remained silent. T-Bone twisted his arm but the ninja didn't even flinch. Doc had trained them to support pain. T-Bone twisted it even more, nearly breaking the ninja's arm but the black-dressed kat remained mute.

"I see I need to be more persuasive..." - T-Bone whispered at the kat's ear. He remembered what he did to the other thug the other night and just how freaked out the kat was. Maybe it would work out with this one too. - "Say, have you ever flown with a missile up your tailhole?"

This time, T-Bone got the desired effect. The ninja looked back at him with a 'are-you-crazy' look in his eyes. T-Bone just grinned.

"Have you?" - T-Bone insisted, lowering his glovatrix.

"YOU FREAK!" - the ninja growled and jerked his head back, banging it on T-Bone's. The burly SWAT Kat let the ninja go and groped his forehead. The ninja took the chance and did a roundhouse kick that wiped the ground off of T-Bone. T-Bone just lay down on the ground, moaning in pain while the ninja escaped and disappeared in the night.

Seconds later, T-Bone uncovered his face and scanned the alley, still lying on the ground. He didn't see or hear any movement other than the rain, drumming on his chest. He got up and inspected the alley. Only the two other ninjas were there, still out cold. He checked the visor on his glovatrix. In seeing it showed a blip, T-Bone's lips spread apart in a grin. - "That's it, tough guy... Lead me directly to your master...".

T-Bone quickly dragged the limp forms of both ninjas to the entrance of the alley and placed the bags of money from the bank near them. The Enforcers were finally coming to the crime scene. He could hear the sirens of the cruisers. Heading back to the alley he climbed up the fire escape and entered into the TurboKat, gunning its VTOL engines and switching, seconds, later to the rear ones.

Once more, he fought against the storm, which had gained a new force. Lightning bolts crisscrossed the pitch-dark skies all around the black jet fighter. T-Bone inspected the radar screen in front of him. The storm was interfering with the radar but the signal from the homing device he had planted on the ninja while he had him pinned against the wall was strong enough to be read. T-Bone shook his head in disappointment. - "Why haven't I thought of this earlier? It's so much simpler!" - he sighed - "Razor would've thought of it in the first place before diving head first into a senseless pursuit... So much he has taught me and so much I haven't paid attention to him..." - he looked straight ahead, staring beyond the glass of the canopy - "Hold on, buddy... I'm comin' ..."

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Dark Kat sipped a bit of the red whine from the stemmed crystal glass as he finished his meal. He hadn't eaten since breakfast and even him was hungry now. He got up and inspected the tall grandfather clock in a corner of the room. It was a quarter to eight p.m. With the glass once more full of wine, he went to the fireplace, where the flames were still lending their warm orange and red light to the salon. The fire, however, was dying out and soon enough the entire room would be immersed in darkness.

Though Farrell Manor had electricity and inclusively had a set of power generators in case of a power outage, Dark Kat only seldom used electric lamps. The library was the only place where he would always use an electric lamp because of the books.

Dark Kat loved this mansion. It was his. The only place in the world he truly possessed. It was *his* and no one would take it away from him. It was his headquarters, yes, but most of all, it was the place he called home.

The flames in the fireplace died out even more. Dark Kat wasn't thinking about the house now. His mind was busy with other subjects. Like the money he would win with Razor. He predicted every kat would bet against the SWAT Kat now that only the most powerful villains of Megakat City had remained. Obviously, he would bet on the SWAT Kat and all the money of the bets would go to his pocket. And, the greater the show the SWAT Kat would give to the audience, the higher the bets would rise and more money he would gain. Not that he needed. He had a lot of it. He managed to feather well his nest before he became what he is today. Nevertheless, more money was always welcome. And, he would need a lot of it if he intended to take over Megakat City. Later, when the entire planet stood under his Pax Nigrufelina, money would be abolished. But, until then, he would have to use it.

He went to the tall window once more and once more stared at the stormy night. The storm was near its peak and the branches of the trees in the garden outside were shaken violently by the heavy gusts of wind and rain. The purple kat raised the glass to his mouth and drank some more wine, letting it stay in his mouth for a while, savoring it, before swallowing the refreshing fluid. A lightning bolt crossed the skies and illuminated the purple face. Someone knocked at the door just before the roar of the thunder was heard.

"Come in." - Dark Kat said in a calm voice. One of his ninjas stepped inside the room and bowed to the purple crime overlord, who had his back turned to the black-dressed kat.

"We have the other she-kat, milord." - the ninja announced.

Dark Kat's eyes glowed slightly for a brief moment - "Put her together with the other she-kat." - he ordered and sipped another gulp of wine. - "Now, leave."

The ninja did as he was ordered, leaving Dark Kat alone again. The huge kat drank the rest of the wine and headed for the fireplace again. The room was practically in the dark for the fire was extinguishing fast now. He retrieved the vial with Razor's blood from a pocket in his robe and stared at it. The test tube reflected the faint red light from the dying out fire. The dark red fluid inside the vial seemed black in the semi-obscurity.

"My enemy's blood. How many times have I had his blood on my paws, covering my chest, sprinkling my face?" - he took the cork out of the tube and raised it to his eye's level - "His blood is red, thanks to the iron present in the hemoglobin. My blood is black like the night. Even that... Even the color of my blood was taken away from me..."

He crouched and put his arm into the fireplace. Only one tiny flame burned in a singed log. Slowly, Dark Kat poured Razor's blood over the flame, putting it out and immersing the room in complete darkness. After emptying the vial he threw it to the ashes.

"Either way, the SWAT Kats die tonight..." - he muttered. The purple kat rose from his crouch and walked to the door, opening it and leaving the room.

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TO BE CONCLUDED...

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Musical inspirations:

Bomfunk MC's Freestyler for the fighting sequences, namely those with Razor;

Andrew Gold's The Trouble Man for the solo sequences of T-Bone/Chance;

Vangelis' Shadow and Light, from their album 1492 - Conquest of Paradise for the solo sequences of Dark Kat.