A pair of star-crossed lovers... by Xanadu Introduction... Anya carefully opened the door to James' room. She looked in on the handsome young kat, and saw him slumped over the blueprints to some weapons. She thought about the argument they'd had earlier, about whether or not he was being too obsessive regarding Dark Kat's recent return. She smiled as he slept on the very designs he'd been working on for a couple weeks now. He was still holding the pencil he'd been sketching with. She walked in with the stealth that had saved her life several times in the past, and quietly pulled the pencil from his paw. She rolled up the blueprints and placed them in the container he always kept his things in. She carefully lifted him into his bed, and pulled the covers up over him. Through all of this, he stayed asleep. Two weeks without any decent sleep. It's not that big a surprise, really. She walked out of his room quietly, and looked back at him one last time. Then she closed the door and walked back out. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Felina Feral was changing out of her uniform and into a more comfortable outfit, jeans and an old workout shirt. She collapsed into the chair and looked around at her apartment before picking up an old photograph. She ran her fingers along the profile of Mark Dawnlight and sighed. Mark doesn't even have a clue. She smiled as she remembered that night. He'd helped her take down a group of bandits in the woods1, and afterwards had come up to her place. They'd had some good laughs, and the next day she took the security camera down to get a couple of the pictures. Only one had developed well, a picture of she and Mark laughing about the look in the bandits' faces when he had decked the one closest to him. She put the picture back on the cabinet, and went back to her vault, looking for the old video tapes she had, tapes of when she, Jessica, Tabby, and Abby had gone down to Vegas for a girl's night out, only to find Mark, Jonathan, and Jer down there already. That had been quite a night. She smiled while the old tape rolled, and finally fell asleep in her chair. Chapter 1: The next morning... James Jonathan awoke to find himself in his own bed, despite the fact that he was sure he'd fallen asleep at his work table. He got up and stretched out, and walked out into the main room at the Scrapyard. Anya was sitting down, reading a magazine, and Scott was in the kitchen, working on breakfast for the rest of the gang. James walked down the stairs, and checked on Kitty and Doc in the infirmary. Kitty's leg was healing nicely, especially since she managed to change back into Starstrider. He walked back out, finding Anya waiting for him. "So, how was your nap?" "Strange. I could have sworn I fell asleep at the bench, but I woke up in my bed." "I know. I put you there." "Thanks. Any idea what Scott's putting together for breakfast? I hope it's not anything like his other cooking projects." "No, just oatmeal." "Hey, for Scott, oatmeal is as hard to put together right as one of Jonathan's souffles. He never could cook." "I guess your right. How's your latest project doing?" "Okay. I finished the schematics last night. I think I'm going to take a break before I put together a working model though." Anya looked shocked. "What?! James Jonathan, actually being sensible? This is a real first! What happened to knock some sense into you?" "I think it was you finally getting me to realize that I was going to kill myself if I didn't relax a bit more." "Where'd you go? Burke and Murray cleared out your apartment in the city, after all." "I still have my place out by the beach. I've been renting out the second apartment lately, but the main part of the house is still free." "Great! You'll finally be able to get away from the Swat Kats for awhile." Scott walked into the room with a set of bowls filled with oatmeal. He sat them down and went out for the milk with a smile on his face. James looked at one and grimaced. Somehow, Scott had managed to burn the oatmeal he'd put together. Instant oatmeal too. "The main reason today is so that I can get away from Scott's cooking." He and Anya laughed while Scott was still out of the room, and tried to eat it when he returned. About a half-hour later, Anya and James managed to convince him to let them cook for the others and they went into the kitchen. James looked slightly embarrassed while the pancakes they started were cooking. Anya noticed. "What's on your mind?" James' face turned a shade of crimson visible even under his fur. "Well, it gets kind of lonely up at the old house when nobody else is there, and the tenants are off on their own vacation this week. I start thinking about Anne and things like that. I was wondering if you'd like to come up there with me. It's right on the beach, and I don't think that it's that badly polluted yet..." He trailed off as Anya turned away from the stove and hugged him. "I'd be thrilled. When were you planning on leaving?" "If you don't mind, as soon as I've gotten a chance to pack up. And as soon as those pancakes that are starting to singe have been taken care of." They saved the pancakes and served them up just as the others were waking up. After breakfast, they explained what they were planning and started packing. A half-hour later, they left in Anya's car, figuring they'd be there by evening if they hurried. At noon, Felina Feral woke up at her apartment in Katsylyan Towers. She looked at the clock and dropped her mouth when she saw the time. Good thing today's my day off. She got dressed and hurried through her breakfast, then picked up the phone and her picture of Mark. She dialed the number of one of her best friends, Julia Marek. The phone rang and she heard a yawn as someone picked it up. "Hi there Julia. Did I wake you up?" "Felina! You'd better have one heckuva good reason for calling me at this time of the day." "Julia, it's 12:30." "And we didn't finish filing reports until 1 AM." "Your watch is off. It was midnight. At any rate, you've had enough time to sleep. You crash at headquarters when it gets that late! I, on the other hand, have a twenty minute commute to get back home. Then I wind up spending the better part of the night getting to sleep. I've had enough time, and so have you." "Alright, alright already. I'm up now. What do you want?" "Well, I was thinking I could pick you up, then I could pay you back for that night last month. Remember? The Parthenon, followed by a mall crawl? I thought you'd be up by now, or I wouldn't have called." She could picture Julia smiling as she brushed her long blond hair out. "Okay partner. Let me guess, you thinking of picking up Jeff and Mark afterwards?" "Guilty! When should I pick you up?" "Give me an hour to get back to my place and change. I don't think I'd look that good in a day old uniform. See you then." "See you." Felina hung up and stretched out again. She picked out the best outfit she had for the occasion, and called her cousin up to make the reservation. Then she set up the date with Mark. Turned out that Jeff was out of town, visiting the famous actress Katrina Appleby. Felina smiled as she thought of what Julia would say if she found out about the specifics. Felina called up Harry Storm instead, and found out that Julia already had set up a date with him for the next day, but he'd call her and see if she'd be willing to move it up a day. He also promised not to put in the details of why Jeff wasn't available. An couple of hours later, Julia and Felina were out having a good time with Harry and Mark, wearing some of the new outfits they'd bought at the mall that day. By that evening, the day was over, for most. Chapter 2: That Evening That evening, James was pulling Anya's car into his beach house, 400 miles away from Megakat City. It'll be worth the eight hours of driving to get out here though. Anya was asleep in the passenger seat, and James had spent the last half-hour trying not to wake her while her head rested on his shoulder. He smiled to himself. I guess it's my turn to tuck her in. She must not have slept last night. He carefully managed to get her head aside and carry her into the main apartment without waking her up. He looked around the place as he walked into the bedroom. Everything's the way I remember it. The tenants have remembered to dust the stuff. He tucked her into the bed he had, making a mental note to pick up a larger couch as he brought in their luggage. He packed his stuff haphazardly in a corner, and left her two cases off in a corner of the bedroom. He looked in on her, sleeping peacefully. A slight smile came to her lips, and he wondered just what she was dreaming about. He turned around and got the couch ready to sleep on. He heard a sound from Anya's room and he looked in. She was tossing and turning about, and grabbed at her left hand. It came off, showing the bionic circuitry where Doc had fixed it up after somebody had shot her original hand off2. She calmed down, and James took a look at the bionic hand laying on the bed. It wasn't that heavy, something Doc had made sure of. It was definetly some of his better work, made out of a titanium alloy they got from Enforcer scrap-ships. If it was up to specs, there was a small compartment... A panel popped open along the wrist, and a small scrap of paper floated out. He took a quick look at it. It looked like a picture of Anya, and three other kats he didn't know. He was just closing the panel after replacing the photo when Anya spoke. "I don't suppose you'd be able to tell me what you're doing with my hand?" "You tore it off. I was making sure it hadn't been damaged." "I usually take it off at night. I found out that I take it off at night while I'm asleep, dreaming about the night my family was killed if I forget. I guess I fell asleep in the car and forgot to. I take it we're at the beach house?" "Yeah. I brought you up here from the car." Anya put the hand back on her arm, and propped herself up. "I take it you decided I should use the bed? I thought we'd decided that I'd take the couch or the floor on the trip." James smiled. "I changed my mind. Owner's prerogative." "I guess." She smiled. "You mind if I talk to you about something?" "What?" "Well, you've told me about your history. I suppose it's only fair if I tell you mine." "I s'pose. Maybe this should wait until morning, when we're both more awake." "Yeah. Good night James." "Good night Anya." He walked out while Anya shook her head slowly layed back down. She reached down to her arm and clicked the release switch that held her hand on. She looked at the bionic limb for several minutes, remembering those nights. She'd told Doc and Scott exactly how she felt about James that night, while she was still delirious with the anaesthetic. They'd promised never to reveal what she said, unless she asked them to. She had hoped that she'd get the chance first, and she decided that tomorrow was the best shot she'd get. She placed the hand on the table next to the bed, and drifted off to sleep. Meanwhile, in Megakat City, Felina and Mark had just gotten back to her apartment from the restaurant they'd stopped at. She opened the door to the main room, and Mark remarked about the lack of a lock. "Do you honestly think that anyone would be stupid enough to try burglarizing a place filled entirely with Ferals, Briggs, and Clawsons? My parents owned the place awhile back, after they bought it from Freedan Katsylyan's parents, and let Uncle Ulysses and I live here rent free. When they died in a car crash, the place transferred over to a few other relatives. They moved in shortly afterwards, and make the commute to the Enforcer headquarters in whatever city they work at about every other day. I don't think anyone's crazy enough to pull a B&E job on this place." "So that explains the statues in the lobby." "Yup. The Fates, Furies, and Muses. Most apartments have a set of the statues built into a wall. My Aunt, no relation to Commander Feral, sculpts them in the copious amounts of free time she has. She doesn't work as an Enforcer, instead choosing to spend her days taking care of this place. Hey, you want to visit the Vault in my apartment? I usually keep the stronger stuff in there." "I came over here for a nightcap, not a shot of the stuff you strip varnish with. I saw that stuff work once. It stripped it down to the board!" "Imported from elsewhere in the world. Actually, I was thinking I could serve up some of the stuff my cousins brew. It strips paint off the walls, but only if you pour it straight on them." Mark smiled. "Sounds like some of the stuff Jess serves after a hard case. If you pour I'll drink. Just make sure I stay sober enough to find my way back home. Jess still hasn't forgiven me for that night." Felina laughed as she lead her guest in. "Yeah, I heard about that one from Linna. She used all the choice phrases she knew, and made up new ones after that." Mark confirmed it. Felina pressed a few buttons on the control panel inside the door, and a huge Feral family crest parted down the middle. She walked in ahead of Mark, who followed into the massive chamber. It had spotlights on certain areas of interest, and lights showing where the preferred path was, but that was it. Mark looked around at the walls, and nearly jumped through one when he saw what was surrounding him. Pale kats, white all over, seemed frozen in time in the glass cases. Taking a second look, he realized that they were statues of the Fates, Furies, and the Muses. They were all beautiful and graceful, but one in particular was terrifying. It was a young, savage looking kat digging in her claws, muscles tensed for a leap, a wild expression in her eyes and teeth bared for the attack. Felina came back with a bottle, and noticed the amazed look on his face. "That's Mileea, the Fury of Hate." "I recognize her. Oh, yeah! It's Jess after a hard night! That's where I saw her before!" Felina laughed. "Actually, you're not that far off. Aunt Kareena used your sister as her model for that one." Mark looked impressed as they left the vault and re-entered the main room. He pulled a couple of chairs up to the table while Felina worked on opening the bottle. She filled up two glasses, and explained that she couldn't find the bottle she was looking for, so she grabbed the nearest wine bottle she could find. Mark looked at the glass, and then took a better look at Felina than he could get with Julia and Harry around, comparing notes on some case. She was wearing a new blue dress, looked like something straight out of a fashion magazine. He'd seen it once before, on Tabby while she was flirting with Jonathan out at Vegas. It looks good on her. Wonder what the blazes she's thinking about right now. She looked very thoughtful, almost like she did that night about a month ago. She'd heard a scream then, and that led to the two of them finding a den of bandits. He hoped nothing like that happened tonight. He took a sip of the wine she'd poured, and waited for her to start the conversation. While he waited, he glanced around the room. He noticed a new photo on the cabinet, but couldn't quite make out the picture from that distance. He heard Felina start talking, and started paying attention. "You know, it seems almost like a month ago all of a sudden." Mark smiled. He'd noticed. "Yeah. Except this time you're wearing what looks like one of Tabby's dresses instead of your casual outfit." "Do you like it?" A few, interesting, phrases he'd heard as a guard in Vegas came to mind, but he decided to discard them. "It looks good on you. Better than it looked on Tabby, for that matter." Felina blushed. Oh boy, now I've gone and done it. Last time she was blushing like that... Oh well, what's done is done. "A penny for your thoughts?" Felina sighed. "It's just some stuff about what's going on between my Uncle and the Swat Kats. He has some good friends on their team, but he still thinks that they're as big a threat as when the Original Two were flying the skies. I wonder whatever happened to them... She trailed off into thought for a few seconds. "The main reason I supported Project Blade was because I thought that a vig' on the Enforcer payroll might convince him that the Swat Kats weren't a bunch of bad apples with a couple good ones in the barrel. So much for that thought, right? Yolanda Briggs was a bad choice, all things considered. She does things Commander Feral can't stand. Smokes on duty, refuses to wear a uniform, and won't bother practicing with her piece. Just uses that blasted sword of hers. Then there was a fiasco when she and Firebird had a fight in Enforcer headquarters. Blade lost. Finally, she's got a rivalry going with every major vig' in the city, trying to prove that having the Enforcers on their side would be a good thing. All in all, she's a good gal, just one that Ulysses S. Feral can't stand while she's on duty. Weird thing is, I think she has a bit of a crush on him. Hard to imagine, eh?" Mark nodded. "Yeah, but everybody has some quirks. Look at James and Anya! They left for his beach house on a whim this morning." He looked at his watch. It was reading about 10:00. Time for patrol. Crud. "I've got to get back home. Work at the `Yard and that sort of thing. Thanks for a great evening." Felina told him to call if he was ever interested in having another one, and he left in his fancy car. She slammed her head into the table. "Oh, great move Felina." Yolanda Briggs was at the door to her apartment. "First you invite the guy into a nice romantic situation," she took a drag on her cigarette, "and then you start pointing out every problem I have." Felina looked up. "You heard the whole thing? Why didn't you speak up?" Yolanda crushed her cigarette out in the ashtray. "Because with you painting such a nice picture of my career, I didn't want to stop you." She turned around on the heel of her old boot. "Oh and, uh, by the way? I wouldn't criticize my love life if I were you, considering how the guy you're interested in just walked off without the slightest idea just how interested you are in him." She walked off towards the stairs, and left for her apartment. Felina cursed herself for not making sure Yolanda wasn't in the building. I should have known she'd be around here somewhere. She always is at the worst time. Sometimes I wonder if our being friends is going to work out. Hope she's okay. She followed Yolanda into the hallway, and found her walking off. She ran after her, and caught up on the next floor down. "Yolanda! I'm sorry about what I said back there. I didn't know you were around." Yolanda had just reached her apartment's door, and she was standing in the frame, looking back at Felina. Her haggard eyes seemed to be brimming. "Oh, I suppose you would have preferred to list the problems you and your uncle have with me to who- whoever that guy was without me around. So sorry for being on my way down from my patrol while you and he were discussing me." "Yolanda, I am sorry. That was one of the biggest mistakes I've made in a long time." "Yeah, well, not as big as the mistakes I've made lately. Not the least of which was refusing to listen to my real friends out on the streets. The mistake that had me thinking that any vig' could trust an Enforcer, especially a Feral. Now, if you don't mind, I have some thinking to do. Good night, sir!" She slammed the door in Felina's face, and Felina thought she heard something from her friend she never thought she'd hear. Crying. Felina went back up to her place slowly, trying to sort out everything that'd happened. What is it that got Yolanda so worked up? I didn't think that having someone mention what her problems were would get her to the point of crying. And her eyes... Like she hasn't had any sleep in days... Her thoughts drifted off to ones of the past as she reached her room again, and took down another photo. This one showed Molly Furlong and Yolanda, just after Project Blade had become reality. Yolanda had her arm draped casually around her partner's neck, and they were both waving to Felina, who was taking the picture of her two roomies from Academy. Felina had graduated a few years ahead of them, thanks to taking the classes year round. She'd become Lieutenant-Commander after Steele'd gotten himself fired. Her two pals had continued in their classes for two more years, until Project Blade came up. Eight regular Enforcers had been chosen out of the hundreds who'd applied. They, and the two best recruits for the job from the Academy, had entered the training. Despite rumors that Yolanda Briggs and Molly Furlong (Yolanda's partner, and Chance's other sister, for those keeping score) had been chosen because they were the friends of the Commander's niece (who had plenty of rumors to deal with herself, having risen from the position of Sergeant to Lieutenant-Commander on the day of Steele's firing), they were the only two who got through the training in one piece (the eight others having been weeded out through the combat training). They explained that they'd been street fighters during their Academy years, trying to pay off their bills. Anyone who saw them fight (especially together) believed it. Blade, as Yolanda was called, was trained in Kenjutsu, and was very good at it. Nomad, as Molly was called, proved to excel at running, and was almost as fast as that Turbo vig'. But not fast enough it turned out. The two were out fighting some of Sheba's goons, when Sheba did something totally unprecedented. She managed to hit something alive (besides her own foot) with one of her laser guns. Unfortunately, she'd been aiming at Blade. Nomad was the only person about ten yards away, and she was hit. The thugs had scattered afterwards (their mainly unidentifiable remains were found in the bay later, riddled with shuriken). Despite Blade's desperate attempts to save her partner's life, Nomad died before she could reach a hospital. That photo had been taken about a month before that happened. After Molly Furlong died, Yolanda was a different person. She started smoking because she knew she'd probably be an alcoholic if she drank. She needed to find something to calm herself down, and she thought that was all she could find. Now she was a chain smoker. She'd been totally shattered inside, as the staff psychologist said after her mandatory psychological check up (before she got herself made exempt). She had customized her hat, slashing the word "NOMAD" on it in red chalk letters. She said that she couldn't let Molly be forgotten. Not likely, as the statue of the two of them proves, but she was obsessed with "seeing Molly get the recognition she deserved". The statue had been commissioned by a local business to prove that the Enforcers were caring about other people, and the sculptor had decided to use the tragic rainy day scene. On the bright side, if it was the bright side, it looked almost like it could be happening again when it started raining. On those days, Yolanda Briggs could usually be found standing in the corner of some alley, looking at the statue with only the light of her cigarettes. Yolanda had indeed shattered inside that day, and that was what her problem was, Felina realized, having it spelled out to anyone that Blade, the Enforcers' best officer, had cracked just because her partner'd been killed in action. Felina understood, knowing how she'd feel if Julia was killed on patrol. She thought that the worst part was probably that only a statue of tragedy served as Molly's memory to most people, except Felina, Yolanda, and Chance. Felina resolved to apologize to Yolanda in the morning, and slowly drifted off to sleep. In a room on the next floor down, Yolanda Briggs stopped crying and picked up the phone while she lit another cigarette. She dialed her sister's number, and waited as the phone rang. She got the answering machine, running the voice of that stinkin' brother-in-law of hers. She slammed the phone down without leaving a message. Nobody around here to talk to. Nobody at all. God, I wish you were still around Molly. Then I'd have somebody besides that little jerk Felina and her uncle to talk to. The nerve of her, pretending to be my friend and laughing about me behind my back. I only wish there was somebody around here I could talk to. Thoughts like that ran through her mind while she rhythmically ran the whetstone along her katana, until she put out her cigarette and finally cried herself to sleep. Chapter 3: The next morning... Anya was sitting on the deck attached to the old beach house that morning, sitting out in an old tank top and pair of jean shorts. Her tail twitched while she sat and watched the sun rise as she sipped a cup of coffee. A flock of gulls were circling above, crying out in their gently harsh voices. The waves were gentle upon the beach, and a mild breeze was blowing the salty ocean air up towards the house. A door opened quietly and the tall form of James Jonathan, the house's owner, came out. Anya stood up and looked down towards the beach, about 400 miles away from Megakat City. She knew that the beach ran for hundreds of miles, and bordered Megakat City on the east edge. She started at the feel of two strong arms slipping under her slender ones, but leaned back once she realized it was James behind her. The two swayed side to side, watching as the scenery about them unfolded. "You know James, you seem to have calmed down a lot since we got here. I guess that all you really needed was a trip home." "Maybe. Or maybe," he turned her around and looked into her eyes. "Maybe I just found someone to fill the hole that gunman put into me those years back." The waves crashed upon the shore as the Anya turned to look back on the ocean. "James, it took me more than a year to get on friendly terms with you. Then we had a huge argument. The very next day you invited me out to this beautiful place. Why?" "I didn't want to come back to the very spot where Anne died alone. I wanted to have someone with me. Someone who I knew could be trusted with a family secret. And Scott suggested you when I asked him about people like that. You were my first choice, of course, I just wanted to know if Scott agreed with me." "Why didn't you take Scott?" James laughed. "Because I knew that trusting Scott with something like this would be risky. And a total break of family tradition. I knew that I could trust you more. And I wanted to get to know you a bit better, away from the others. Linna and Yolanda never did get along too well with Firebird, and those two do know who you really are. Yolanda drops by every day, trying to prove who the Swat Kats are, and I don't think she'd be overly receptive to discovering that Firebird worked with them rather frequently. Do you think she would?" "You're right. What is it that Linna has against me? I know that Yolanda had a broken jaw, but I don't think I've done anything to Linna." "You're the only other person on the face of the Kearth who can handle Francois for more than a couple days, besides that Soren fellow. Linna's really interested in him since he kept going after her, despite a few scars on his face, but isn't sure if she can risk her image by actually showing it. That would risk making her seem somewhat more normal." "I don't think she has to worry about her image. Or me and Francois getting involved with each other." "Well I hope she doesn't have to worry about that!" Anya smiled. I never thought I'd make him jealous. Maybe I'm getting to him. She worked her way out of his arms and walked back into the house. He followed her in, and she turned around to face him. "Don't worry. She doesn't. And neither do you." She suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and raised herself up to kiss him on the cheek. Then she turned back around and walked briskly off towards the kitchen, leaving him standing there, looking slightly embarrassed with his hand to his blushing face. When he caught up with her, she was pouring him a cup of coffee. "Now, do you want to hear my history first? Or give me your secret?" James managed to stop blushing. "Your history. My secret can wait." Anya sighed and refilled her cup. "Okay. I wasn't that much involved with Megakat City until recently. Had more to do with Russia and Moskat. Then my parents were killed. The other person in my picture was my brother. He started working for Kin-Corp after he and I travelled to this country. The two of us became citizens in short order. He fell in love with Ms. Laura Kincaid. I found out something though, something I couldn't tell him. Now, you know that I fell in love with, and almost married, Jack Kincaid before he married Josie Amese and snapped, forcing her to kill him in self-defense. I found out that his sister was Mind Kat, and that it was she, not Dark Kat, who'd ordered my family killed because my parents discovered her secret. I was going to go and settle my debt with her when my hand was shot off by one of her spies in the Enforcers. Gregor, my brother, was nearly destroyed when he had to choose between the two women he loved. His boss, or his sister. He chose both. He gave me a head start, and then sounded the alarm. He didn't have a choice. Later, when he found out the spy's plans for Gregor and KinCorp, he killed the SOB in self-defense, after he tried shooting Gregor." "I understand. You hate Mind Kat the same way I hate Dark Kat." "No, I don't. Sometimes I think you'd give anything to kill Dark Kat. Me, Scott, anything. I know that I would never sacrifice Gregor, or any other innocent life, to settle with Mind Kat." "I suppose that's the only difference between our hates." "I suppose it is. What was the secret you'd like to show me?" James smiled. "Follow me." He led her into a group of underground tunnels, and a set of Zoom Tubes, the same RTS (rapid-transit-system) used by Manx to get his butt out of trouble as a last resort. 1200 MPH, thanks to a newer technology that allowed it to slip into another dimension. He explained that he had a place about 400 miles away, 20 minute ride, that he wanted to show her. They got in the cramped compartment, and took off. The system made it feel like they were moving at only 12 MPH. The trip stopped abruptly, and James led her into a damp tunnel. He explained that it was carved out of the rock under the ocean, where they now were. It led to a huge hall. "I introduce you to the Hall of Jonathans. Long ago, my ancestors built this place using sorcery. They had a manor house attached via permanent teleportation nexus, but I covered it years ago. In this hall, there's a portrait and souvenir from every member of the Jonathan family. Including, today, the last member who died." He walked to a single portrait. Anya recognized it immediately. It was Anne, James' dead wife, killed by Dark Kat's men in an attempt to kill James himself. She'd leapt in front of the gunkat at the last second, and sacrificed not only her own life, but the life of their unborn child in that last moment, to save the life of her husband. James placed a small box on the pedestal beneath her portrait. He looked up at the portrait, taking in her features again, as he hoped he wouldn't be coming down here alive at any time in the future. He looked at her soft face, her long raven tresses, her fine, high cheekbones, and, at last, at her eyes, intense and gentle at the same time. He sighed and opened the box, a gold ring with a single star-sapphire on the crown was shining almost as if it had its own light. He backed off, and made a slight bow towards the portraits in the hall, then collapsed into tears as he looked upon the coffin under the portrait of his wife. Anya helped him back into the compartment, and started it back towards the beach-house. After the arrived there again, he stopped crying and returned to the salty seashore. He then realized that he would never be truly at home here again. He walked into the beach house, and got ready to enjoy the rest of his vacation. Anya was walking along behind him, thinking of how she had been about him before. She realized just what it was she was up against for a rival: His wife's ghost. She sighed and resolved herself to the task ahead. She caught up with him and turned him around. "James, I know how much Anne meant to you." "Yeah, I guess you might. Don't worry, I don't think I'll be killing myself over her any more." Anya's jaw dropped. That's all you have to say?! I hauled myself out here, went with you while you did that, and all you have to say is that you won't be killing yourself over her anymore?! "James, you're unbelievable." He smiled. "I know. And you won't believe this either." He suddenly lunged towards her, lifted her up in his arms, and kissed her. He put her back to the ground about a minute later, and was right. She hugged him and leaned her head into his fur. "I take it this means you won't be expecting me to have to be a ghost's rival, James?" He smiled, and replied. "You're right about that Anya. And call me Jim." She laughed, and suddenly he tensed up. She turned to see what he'd noticed, and saw what he saw. A group of kats in wet suits, with creeplings alongside them. They were carrying blast rifles. James yelled out some choice phrases as they fired a shot and caught Anya's left side. His guns were out of their holsters before he'd finished his first yell, and the gunkats started dropping as the gunshots rang through the crisp sea air. The creeplings, along with the last of the kats, retreated. Anya was laughing, while she cradled her shot up left hand. James saw what had been damaged, and almost laughed while Dark Kat's goons were running like their tails were on fire. Afterwards, James and Anya were sitting in the kitchen, talking over what had happened. Anya was somewhat impatient. "I still don't see why you're so worried about what happened today James!" James sighed and tried explaining it again. "Anya, it's obvious that Dark Kat has it in for one of us, if not both. He doesn't know who we are, but he managed to find out that Razor 2 and Firebird would be out here today, and get his men out after us. I don't know if it's simply because we've been under surveillance, or if there's a mole inside the Swat Kats! For whatever reason, it's too dangerous for you to stick around the Scrapyard as much anymore. I still have an apartment in town you could have. If Dark Kat was to find out where the Swat Kats are based... I don't want to risk losing you to Dark Kat's men." "By the Furies! James Jonathan, I thought we were over the point where we'd have to argue over whether or not I could handle myself! If Dark Kat, or Mind Kat, ever were to attack the Scrapyard, you'd be needing every gun you have there. Only two kats know how to use Bob's Stun Cannon, and I'm one of them! If you haven't forgotten, I am the only kat to have broken into and out of Mind Kat's tower. I can handle the idiots he has!" James thought this over. "Anya, I'm not trying to say you can't take care of yourself. What I'm trying to say is that I couldn't handle losing you to Dark Kat's men. I almost put a bullet in my brain after Anne was killed. I don't know if I'd do that if you were killed, but there's a good chance I might. And even if I didn't, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near me after something like that happened. I've lost too much in my life to risk losing you." "James, try looking at it from my point of view, will you? You're saying that I, Anya Fortunati, Firebird, should run and hide just because Dark Kat may want me, or you, dead. I think I can handle having a powerful enemy hunt me down. I've gotten along just fine for years with that same threat looming over me. You're starting to sound like Gregor for kat's sake!" "Maybe I am being over-protective, but can you blame me?! Nobody outside of the Swat Kats knew where the two of us were going. Dark Kat found out somehow. I don't know how, but he managed to discover where I am. Unless he has the Scrapyard bugged, I only see one way that could have happened. A spy." "What are the odds we have a spy in the Swat Kats?! Most of them hate Dark Kat nearly as much as you do. Scott hates him more, actually. I don't think any of them would work for Dark Kat if their lives depended on it!" "Then maybe they aren't really them. Dark Kat's had cloning and robotics technology for longer than we have! That's several years to build a robot of any of us. Plenty of time. I can't protect you from anybody there if you're that close to the danger!" "Like I said. I can bloody well take care of myself." Anya was bristling with rage. "Now, James Jonathan, I'd like to thank you for a lovely vacation. But I think I'd relax better going back to Megakat City. I'm sure you won't mind if I take my car. Goodbye!" She walked out, grabbed her (still packed) bags, and slammed the front door. James was just running out and opening it as her car squealed it's wheels and took off with her at the helm. James slammed his head against the door frame and walked back into the kitchen. He sat down and thought it through. Maybe I am just being overprotective. But she doesn't know just what I've seen Dark Kat do. She doesn't know who he was. For kat's sake, I don't even know if it's the same kat under those robes. Mind Kat seems to act as though he is though. I wonder who Dark Kat is now. Judge Kincaid hasn't shown up again since then. I only wish Jake and Chance were still around to help us find out. Jake's got his own life, and Chance seems happy to live on his pension from his haul as an Enforcer and his girlfriend's gifts. At least he still works at the `Yard. I wonder how he's doing. I wonder how Anya's doing. He packed up his things, and went down to the Zoom Tubes. Only a few minutes back to Megakat City. I'll talk to her when she gets there. I'll tell her she was right, and I'll fix this all up. Then we can get on with our lives again. He took off for Megakat City, and explained what had happened to the others. They said they'd watch for her, and he went up to his apartment, just in case she'd show up there. Hours passed, and Anya didn't show. That morning, Felina Feral was getting ready to apologize to Yolanda. She walked down the stairs, and her friend's apartment. She knocked on the door, and waited for an answer. When none came, she tried the knob. The door was unlocked, so she went in. The place was a shambles. Yolanda wasn't in the main room, but enough was to suggest a more serious problem than anyone had ever thought she had. The walls were almost covered with black and white pictures of Yolanda and Molly, a couple had Felina in them too. Felina looked around at the walls, and noticed that under each picture was a caption about what the day had been like. On a poster on the back of the door was a picture of the statue, with the words "Never Forget!" scrawled across it in red marker. Felina walked into the next room, and was totally shocked. It looked like a shrine to the accomplishments of Blade. The walls were covered with newspaper clippings with side notes scrawled on them. Felina heard a voice behind her, and turned. "How do you like my wallpaper?" Yolanda was in her Blade outfit, smoking another of her cigarettes. Felina noticed that she looked haggard, like she'd just gotten a very short night of sleep, and few with any sleep at all. "It's, uh, interesting." Felina's eyes took in the scene. "Yeah, in the negative sense. This is the life of Yolanda Briggs. The only Enforcer Vig', and the only psycho Enforcer. Those are the two names I'm called by on the streets. Only my contact calls me Blade. The vig's call me the Enforcer Vig', and the crooks call me the psycho Enforcer. Of course, I can't blame `em. I'd call me psycho too! The shrink did down at the station." "Listen, Yolanda? I came down here to try and apologize again for last night." "Don't worry about it. I was tired. If I'd gotten more sleep, I'm sure I wouldn't have said a thing. I should be apologizing for snapping at you like that." Yolanda was acting stranger than usual. She'd never apologize for her attitude, something that never endeared her to her comrades in arms at headquarters. "How'd you like to see the rest of the place?" Felina wasn't too sure she'd like to, but it was probably best to go along with Yolanda at this point. "Sure." Yolanda led Felina through the huge apartment. Each room was wallpapered with some reminder of her job, Nomad's, or the two of them together. One room was devoted entirely to pictures of the criminals they'd brought down, and another to more clippings with vengeful remarks on them. Remarks about who had been hurt, and how "Justice" had been meted out. A couple rooms were totally bare, Yolanda explained that she was still working on them. One entire room was devoted to Sheba's crimes. The last room showed the reason for Blade's refusal to use a gun. The room had swords or other oriental weapons hung on three of the four walls. The fourth wall showed her secret reason for never trusting to modern weapons. She had the statues of the Fates, Furies and the Muses, but strangely twisted in appearance. The Furies, including Hate and Vengeance, were all armed with ancient ninja weapons. The Fates were heavily armed with modern weapons, especially Death, who carried what seemed to be exact an replica of Sheba's laser pistol and was manning a mounted PBR3. The Muses seemed to be moderating, carrying about Enforcer issue cuffs, memo pads, and bureaucratic tools. They were locked in a war, with the Furies winning despite their inferior weaponry. In the middle were the casualties, the only recognizable ones being Molly Furlong, Calico Briggs, and... Felina Feral?! "This is my monument to those who are going to die at the hands of the gun-toting maniacs who I'm struggling to beat down before it's too late." Then Felina noted the figures for Death, Learning, and Vengeance. While all the Fates were dressed as thugs, and all the Furies as vigilantes, and all the Muses as Enforcers, three were recognizable. Death was Sheba, Learning was Commander Feral, and Vengeance was Blade. Felina's eyes widened as she realized just how deep Yolanda's obsessions ran. "Yolanda, come with me." Felina reached for her cuffs, which she'd grabbed while slipping into her uniform before coming down here. "Why should I? I've committed no crime. I'm perfectly fine. I'd wonder about you though, getting ready to arrest me. Remember, only you and dear Ulysses are higher than me in the Enforcers. Why don't you just do what you do best? Lose me in bureaucracy." Her hand slipped towards her hip, and her sword came out. She assumed a ready stance. "I'm not going into that office in cuffs Felina." "Yolanda, I'm asking you to come with me as a friend. For kat's sake, please listen to me! I'm not ordering you to come along. But I will have to take you into custody if you won't come along." "For what crime Felina. I haven't done anything." "Assault and battery with a deadly weapon, Yolanda. There's always that. You may think it's your job, but we usually expect people to follow some of the rules." "Oh well. I don't think Ulysses would be overly pleased to see you hauling me in there in cuffs, now would he? You're already on pretty shaky grounds for getting a civ' involved in your little bandit escapade. This would pretty much end your career." "Yolanda, I won't use the cuffs unless I have to. But you are coming in to headquarters today. And I will make sure you see that shrink." "Yeah, right. I'm not seeing any of those psycho-babble spoutin' idiots! All they do is plant their idiotic little notions of letting go, of forgetting the past! What did they always say when someone asked about the Academy unit on the Three Forces, huh? If we don't learn from our past, we're doomed to repeat it! Remember that Felina?! If I let myself forget, that," she motioned towards the statues, "that is our future, Felina. That travesty. I can't go in there. They tried stopping me once before, and I stopped them. I'm not going to let you ruin all my work!" She lunged for Felina with her katana, who rolled back and let Blade fly over her. Blade somersaulted in mid-air, and landed on her feet. She readied her blade again as Felina reached for her gun. She swung her blade in a flashing arc, cutting into Felina's leg. She shifted it over to her left hand. Blood flowed freely while Felina put her hand over the wound, and grabbed her gun with the other. "Blade, if you don't drop that sword right now, I'm going to have to take it from you." She levelled her sight on the handle of Blade's sword. Blade's face, once concerned, was now a mask of rage. She pulled the blade back into both of her hands, and spun about. She twisted to the left just as Felina's gun barked with a single shot. Felina heard Yolanda cry out as she was knocked back to the ground and her blade dropped from her hand. Felina threw her gun aside and rushed to help. She called for help on her two-way and, shortly afterwards, an Enforcer EMS team was helping Yolanda and Felina into a medical chopper, and taking them off to a hospital. Chapter 4: Two evenings from then... James was just returning to the Scrapyard, two and a quarter days after he and Anya had the fight and she'd driven off. He arrived just in time to see Scott snapping off the evening news in the middle of a story. "Scott, what was on the news? Burke and Murray'd moved all the furniture out of my place, and I never got around to moving it back. I need something to take my mind off of Anya." Scott looked a little nervous. "Well Jim, seems that Blade snapped and attacked Felina Feral. They're in the hospital now. Not too many details. That's about it." "You're a lousy liar Scott. What was on the news? Something about Anya?!" James charged forward and pinned Scott, who'd just gotten up to go to home, against the wall. "What did they say? Why'd you snap it off all of a sudden? Tell me Scott, or by the Fates I'll-" "Okay, okay Jim. I'll tell you. Just put me down." James backed off. Scott took a couple deep breaths and continued. "They found a maroon four-door in the river a couple miles from here. It looked for all the world like Anya's car, and they did give the license plate number. It had two bags of luggage in it. It was her car. I'm sorry about this Jim. I was trying to-" James collapsed into the chair. "You were trying to what? Protect me? You can't keep me from the death that follows me around forever Scott. Anything else?" "Yeah. There was no body in that car. They said that the Enforcers are looking at it as a kidnapping case, and it's possible that the driver abandoned the car. She's not dead Jim. At least, not for sure. Mark called Harry before he went to see Felina. The Enforcers know whose car it is, and they were going to question her brother about it." James calmed down a little. At least she might be alive. Scott poured his friend a glass of the tea he'd had brewing, and suggested he drink it. "Listen. I know how Anya felt about you, and that you felt the same way. I don't know where she is, or how she is. But you can trust us. We'll help you find her." James smiled a little. He knew he should turn in for the night. He said goodbye to Scott as he went up to his room, and fell into the bed. Scott pulled out of the driveway as his friend fell fast asleep. At the hospital... At the hospital, Felina was anxious to get out. For once, Mark and Commander Feral agreed on something, that she was going to stay in there until her leg healed. It turned out that Blade's sword cut deeper than anyone had thought, possibly causing permanent damage to the muscles. Ulysses Feral was furious. "To think I trusted that woman. I can't believe I let that project through. I could have stopped all of this if I hadn't been such a fool." Felina was getting even worse listening to him rant. "Uncle, I'm okay! Why won't you realize that?! Yolanda has some problems because her partner died. She'll be okay after the therapists get done with her. I hate to think of what could have happened if I hadn't been there!" "I suppose you're right." "Did anyone call Speedy? I thought he'd be here with the kids by now if someone had."4 "Yes, I called him. He should be here any minute now." As Commander Feral spoke those words, three kittens stuck their heads around the corner of the door and were ushered in by Speedy Cerviche. He greeted Mark and Commander Feral warily, and turned towards his ex-wife. He kissed her on the forehead and lifted the kittens up with the help of Mark and Commander Feral. After they had been reassured that their mother was fine, they were sent out to the car. Speedy lingered a couple minutes while Commander Feral left discreetly5. Felina introduced him to Mark, and the two started talking. "I've heard a lot about you from Felina." Mark blushed slightly. "I hope it's not that bad." Speedy grinned. "Nah, she says you're a great guy! And believe me," Speedy winked at him, "she usually has pretty good taste. I'd say you're a lucky guy. See ya `round sometime." He walked out to the car after his children. Mark was turning a beautiful shade of red, usually only seen on color patterns, under his fur. Felina was too. Mark turned towards her. "Any idea what he meant by me being a lucky guy?" "That's just Speedy. Never could keep a secret." "And what would that mean? I don't mean to upset you while you're still mending, but, to use the words of Mik Jonathan, what in bloody `ell are you talkin' `bout Sheila?" Felina laughed at Mark' impression of James' cousin (whose personal psychosis is covered in He who Looks Death in the Eye: Editors...), and sighed. "Well, I think you're about the only person in Megakat City who knows me and doesn't realize it. As Yolanda put it: You have no idea just how interested in you I am." His red face found a way to get brighter, and Felina laughed some more. "I'm glad I amuse you. I suppose you think it's funny that the only kat up at the Scrapyard who blushes easier is James?" "Actually, I don't think that's what's so funny. What's funny is that you used to be a guard down in Vegas! You'd imagine you wouldn't be blushing that easily yet." Ulysses Feral walked back down the halls towards her room. "Tell Jess and the others that I'll be fine as soon as you guys let me out of here. Bye!" Mark gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as he left, and Commander Feral soon followed suit, returning to headquarters. The End... For now... Author's Note (Okay, it's a chapter all its own. So sue me (no, please don't, not until it's published, which it can't be): I realize that there are plenty of loose ends to tie up here. That's not very uncommon for my stories, but it's something that a few English teachers I've had hate. What happened to Anya? Will Blade's therapy work, or perhaps drive her even further into insanity? What will happen between Mark and Felina now that they realize just how much they really love each other? Do they really realize it? What about the on-going relationship between James and Anya? Who is Dark Kat, after Judge Kincaid moved out of the picture? If it's not him, then why is Mind Kat getting along with him so well? What about the possible relationship between Linna Scratchlin and Francois Montgomery Kattenburg (yeah, right)? How will Mark's discovery that Felina has three loving children affect any relationship they get into? Will Tyler marry Rhonda?!!! (Sorry, lapse into soap opera questions. My mistake. At this point, Tyler and Rhonda do not exist in my SK universe, nor are they engaged or planning to be.) You may also be wondering why this is so different from my normal stories. I am too. If you figure it out, please tell me. (Sorry, just kidding again.) I was getting sick of writing all sorts of stories that were strictly tragedy, war, vengeance, and that sort of stuff. It fills my grim moments, but I was a bit more cheerful this time. I was trying to get into the heads of my characters, including the psychosis of Blade (a touch that was, to me, reminiscent of too many people on TV, but it worked out and the Swat Kats were on TV at one point), and the hidden past of Chance Furlong (which came into play in my game (ouch), but not any other stories, yet). I also wanted to get some quality time alone for Anya and James, and introduce Speedy and his kids back into the setting (once again, they were more in my game than the stories). I basically needed the same thing Bob did. A break from death and crime. I hope you liked it! 1 As detailed in the story: A Friend Well Met (if I remember right), found (once again, if I remember right) on the fan-fic accessed from the archive run by DJClawson, just consider Marcus to be Mark in this case (parallel dimensions work wonders, don't they?) 2 As detailed in Family Ties. 3 PBR: Particle-Beam-Rifle 4 Long story. The short version: Felina Feral had a short romance with one Speedy Cerviche (in other words, I used the character from Strike's game and from another one). She married him, had one child and adopted two others, and managed to get divorced from him. The two of them are still involved with each other as friends, and their children (who are under their father's custody, in light of their mother's occupation) still see a lot of both sides of their family. Felina waited a few days to have someone call him because she wanted to hear how Yolanda was. 5 Another part I forgot to mention. Speedy and Commander Feral managed to develop a distinct dislike for each other. They never were able to handle the other's attitude (Feral's no-nonsense Enforcer training chafed with the laid-back Speedy, and vice-versa). In case you're wondering what he did here, there were rumors of a couple new holes being punched in the walls of the waiting room. The maintenance man plastered over them quickly. ??