Eric turned his head left and right. It felt like someone had used it for a punching bag and there was the feeling a slab of metal was pressing into his back. Trying to get more comfortable he rolled over and landed face first on, what felt like, a carpeted floor.
"Ok that hurt…uh...wait a minute!" He moaned then realized he was unbound.
Slowly rolling to his side, he blinked then gradually sat up. When he realized he was generally alright, he got to his feet. "Man, I must have been really drunk...what a dream," Eric said groggily, holding his head.
He shook his head, trying to clear it. Looking around his apartment, he noticed something odd, " "I don't remember buying that plant," He muttered as he began to walk around the couch he had obviously fallen off of only it was still occupied.
'Humph! She must have spent the night' He thought blearily, taking hold of a blanket at the end of the couch and laying it over her.
Turning away, he headed for the kitchen to get a drink but paused in confusion and looked back at the couch. 'Wait a minute, I don't keep blankets on the couch.' He thought, bewildered before shaking it off as not important right now.
He continued on into the kitchen and made for the fridge. Opening it, he recoiled in shock, "Since when do I buy this much milk?' He thought then bent down to pick one out while staring at the two racks full of canned milk. 'And since when does milk come in cans. These don't look right!' He frowned as he stared at a strange label on the can he held.
"Help yourself why don't you," Drawled a voice behind him.
Eric stiffened then reacted swiftly when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He quickly hooked his arm up and around, locking the strangers arm in place before spinning around and kicking the guy across the chest. He doubled up as Eric spun the other way dropping down into a crouch to sweep the guy's legs out from under him.
His opponent now down on his back, Eric dropped his body on top and pulled a fist back to slam the stranger in the face and that's when he got a good look at the guy.
The stranger was as tall as Eric but much more muscular and broader in the chest. What parts weren't covered by a mechanic's coverall were covered in sandy-colored fur. The face that stared at him angrily was that of a cat with green eyes wearing a red ball cap facing backward with long pointed ears sticking up on either side of it.
The shock hit his brain seconds later and he leaped off the cat-like creature and slammed into the open fridge, falling to the floor screaming. "AAAAAAARRRRRAAAAAGGGGGGG!" He yelled. The cat person sat up and covered his ears, wincing.
In the living room, Cassie jerked awake and sat up when she heard the scream. Before she could find out who was making the noise, her eyes fell on a stranger standing before her. The person, if that what you would call it, looked like an biped cat-like being wearing a mechanic's coverall. It had a lean built and, what wasn't covered by clothes, showed long cinnamon-colored fur. It's face was definitely cat-like with brown eyes and wearing a red ball cap backward on its head. It had long ears sticking out the sides of the cap.
"Chance is everything, ok?" The cat person standing in front of Cassie spoke for the first time causing Cassie to shriek. The poor cat placed his paws over his ears in self defense.
In the kitchen, Eric heard Cassie. He looked down at the cat on the floor, who lowered his hands from his ears eyed the standing person carefully before speaking.
"Good! You're done with the yelling. I thought I was going to go deaf. By the way, those were some sweet moves you used on me, where'd you learn them?" The cat asked easily as he stood cautiously, keeping his hands at his side, making it clear he was offering no threat.
When Eric just stared at him then looked toward the living room and back again while still standing defensively, the cat sighed and raised his hands out in a placating gesture.
"Look, relax! We're not going to hurt you!" He started to say carefully.
Still on alert, Eric reached out and grabbed one of the guys hands...paws?...and flipped the cat into the fridge. The cat landed back first into it causing the shelves to collapse and spill milk all over the floor.
Out in the living area, Cassie flipped over the back of the couch and took a defensive stance against the slim cat facing her. It looked at her in surprised dismay. He held up his paws? in an attempt to appease the female. They both looked toward the kitchen when they heard the crash.
Moving quickly, Cassie made for the door and saw Eric standing rigidly to one side while slumped inside the fridge was another much larger cat. Behind Cassie, the other smaller cat exclaimed angrily.
"Hey, we just filled that!"
Cassie jumped at the voice behind her and rushed over to Eric's side so they could have a united front against these two creatures.
Annoyed, the big cat struggled to his feet, covered in spilt milk. The smaller cat went to his friend's side and offered a towel.
"Crud! What a mess!" The big cat growled as he mopped the milk off his fur.
Eric gritted his teeth as he moved to protect Cassie. "What! Has everyone been bitten by a radioactive cat?" He asked no one in particular.
"What are you talking about? Just what are you? Kats that shaved their fur off and cut off their tails?" The big cat asked sarcastically.
Eric stared the two cats and frowned angrily. "Hey buddy, we ask the questions and the most important one is...WHERE THE HELL ARE WE?" He shouted.
The cats traded glances then the slim one answered, "You're in our home located on the outskirts of Megakat City."
"Say what?!" Eric blurted in disbelief. "You expect me to believe that garbage." He said angrily.
Cassie continued to stare at the pair as she asked cautiously, "Ah! Are you guys aliens or something?"
The cat guys recoiled slightly then looked at each other before looking at us again. "No! But we have met some. We belong here but you...I would have to say you're the ones that are aliens." the smaller cat said positively.
Letting that statement sink in, Eric traded a look of growing horror with Cassie. Not wanting to believe what they both were beginning to be afraid happened to them, he asked, "What planet are we on?"
"Well we call it Earth," The big cat said shrugging.
Eric let out a huff of air. "Buddy I don't know what you're on but this is not Earth!" He growled with certainty.
The big one frowned and stepped forward. "What are you talking about what else would it…" it bristled in anger and moved forward but it's friend halted it with a paw on it's arm while looking at the pair before them.
"I think I know what's going on. This is not your earth but it is ours!" It said, a look of sorrow for them on it's furry face.
Eric blinked in confusion at that statement. "You've lost me," He said.
The slim cat sighed and gestured toward the living area. "I think you'd better sit down while I try and explain my theory. I promise, we won't hurt you," It said gently, leading the way to the other room. After only a moments hesitation, it's friend did the same.
Cassie and Eric looked at each other in uncertainty.
"What do you think?" He asked, glancing at the doorway.
"What choice do we have? We have no idea what's going on." Cassie said helplessly.
"Yeah! You're right. Come on, let's see what the cat has to say." Eric said with a tight smile.
They walked into the room. The two cats had taken chairs facing the couch and waited for them to sit down. They did so and listened as the smaller of the two began it's explanation.
Ten minutes later, Eric and Cassie mouths hung open in shock at what they were hearing.
"…so you see the two of you must be from a different dimension where your race is apparently the dominate species while on our Earth our race is." It concluded.
Eric let his head fall into his hands which were propped up on his elbows resting on his knees.
"We are definitely not in Kansas anymore!" Cassie muttered.
The big cat clapped it's hands together lightly. "Well at last you see the light. Look! We've all gotten off on the wrong foot here. How about we introduce ourselves and start from there, shall we? My name is Chance Furlong and this is my best friend and partner, Jake Clawson and you are?" He asked politely.
Sighing in resignation, Cassie agreed with the big cat about trying to be friends and introduced herself. "I'm called Cassie Morioka." She said quietly.
"Erik Slater's my name. Now do you know how to get us home?" He asked tightly.
They looked at each unhappily then Jake said sadly, "We don't know Erik."
Eric sighed bitterly. "Well, do you know how we got here?" He asked spreading his arms out to indicate the apartment.
"ahh… a couple of friends of ours dropped you off for medical attention," Chance said easily, pointing at Eric' arm.
Eric looked down for the first time and noted a bandage wrapped around his elbow and one on Cassie's. "Oh, it definitely wasn't a dream then. That's where this big cat in a cloak..." He began to explain when Jake interrupted sharply.
"Crud! Dark Kat!"
"What?" Eric asked, startled by the smaller cat's reaction.
"His name is Dark Kat," Jake said, his face twisted with hatred.
"Really, that seems to fit him. Anyway, he injected Cassie and I with something." Eric finished his explanation.
"Oh that's not good. Do you know what it was?" Jake asked in concern.
Cassie shook her head. "We don't know. All that creepy cat said was he needed us but that we needed to change first. Whatever that meant." She said shrugging.
The two cats stared at each other with a heavy look of worry. Jake turned back to them and said, grimly, "I think you two had better stay here with us for now."
Eric gave a bitter smile. "Where else are we going to go looking like this?" He said pointing at themselves.
Chance nodded. "Good point," He acknowledged. He got up from the couch and headed back to the kitchen. "Well, this mess has to be cleaned up." He grumbled.
"We'll help. After all, I caused it." Eric said, having followed the cats to the kitchen trailed by Cassie.
As they cleaned up the mess, Eric let all that had been said over the last hour filter through his mind. Mopping the floor clean, he looked up and asked Jake, "Who were these friends of yours that dropped us off? Wouldn't they tell someone about us?"
"No they wouldn't. They call themselves the SWAT Kats." Chance grunted as he finished repairing the fridge shelves.
Cassie and Eric jolted at that information and said at the same time, "The SWAT Kats?"
Jake nodded. "Yeah they're local heroes and do what the enforcers, our local military force, can't. They bring down the super criminals and keep the katizens of this city safe. Why?" He asked.
"Dark Kat said he snatched us because of them," Eric told them bitterly.
Chance closed the fridge door and frowned at them. "Why the heck would he want you to take on the SWAT Kats?" He asked.
Eric shrugged in confusion. "We don't know for sure. It could have something to do with the fact I used to be a Navy pilot," He said, guessing.
"Navy, what's that?" Jake asked.
Cassie explained, "It's one branch of our military that guards our oceans and seas. I was his co-pilot." She turned her face away after that last comment.
As if sensing the tension in the air, Jake looked at Eric and asked "So you guys meet in this Navy" He asked gently.
Cassie shook her head and answered instead. "Actually we knew each other most of our lives. We kinda grew up together. He was at my home so much he was practically a member of the family," She said.
Chance nodded. "Is that where you learned those cool moves?" He asked Eric.
Eric nodded. "I came over to her house from school one day with a black eye from…..anyway after her parents put an ice pack over it, I asked her father if he could teach me to fight. At first he wouldn't. When I asked why, he just said '...because you just want to hurt people. Before I'll teach you to fight, you will learn to heal people first.' So that's what he did, both Cassie and I." He said.
Chance nodded then the sound of a car horn floated up from downstairs. "Callie..." Chance said abruptly, leaving in a hurry for the stairs. Jake on his heels.
Surprised, Eric and Cassie went to the stairs and listened to the conversation drifting up from below.
In the garage, Chance walked up to Calico Briggs' sedan that was sitting at the door to their repair bay. He pulled his cap off and licked his paw to smooth his hair before putting the cap back on and greeting the beautiful she-kat. Jake rolled his eyes at his partner as Callie climbed out of her car.
"Hi Chance, hi Jake" She said, smiling at them both.
"Hi Callie," they said in unison.
They looked at each other and grimaced at such a juevenile response. Jake coughed to cover the moment and asked, "So Callie, what's wrong with your car? Didn't we just change the oil in it the other day?"
She blinked and looked at him. "Oh...ah... I felt a slight shifting on my way over here and I think the tires are slightly off," She said casually.
Jake nodded and went inside to get a roller as Chance gathered up the tools they would need to check the car. They returned and Jake laid on the roller and pushed himself under the vehicle as Chance laid their tools on the hood ready to hand whatever Jake needed. At that moment, Callie dropped a bomb on them.
"So who was that I caught sight of in your kitchen window when I drove up?" She asked innocently.
Jake banged his head on the undercarriage while a ratchet Chance was holding began to fall from his shocked paw. Callie watched as Chance caught the tool in mid-air and Jake slid out from under her car, rubbing his forehead.
"Uh...what?" Chance stuttered, not sure what to say.
Callie's smile was not friendly and her voice was cold when she said, "Chance I'm not dumb! Do you have a fem here or something?" She suddenly walked past them, through the break area, and began to make for the stairs of the apartment.
Jake and Chance shook off their shock and scrambled after her. "Callie, there's no one here but us. Besides, there's no she-kat but you here." Chance tried to tell her.
She halted on the stairs and turned to glare at them. Crossing her arms over her chest, she said angrily, "Now the two of you are insulting me by saying I'm dumb and blind. I can assure you, I'm not. I practically run Megakat City after all, and I think I can handle you two having a pair of she-kats here." Snorting in annoyance, Callie continued on up the stairs.
Eric and Cassie hurried back up the stairs but didn't know where they should hide. While they tried to decide, Callie came into the room. She made a gasp of shock and her eyes widened.
They whirled back around and stared in fear at the she-kat staring back at them.
Swallowing her shock, Callie said, "Okay, they're not she-kats. So what are they?"
"We're called Humans. Ah...are we going to end up in a giant fish tank or a lab table or a big plastic bag?" Erik asked shakily.
Hearing his voice, Callie fell straight back in a dead faint.
Erik looked at Jake and he shrugged. "That went better than expected," He said.
Chance had caught the she-kat before she hit the floor. He gathered her up in his arms and carried her to the couch. She was only unconscious for a minute or two before groggily waking, seeing the two weird creatures staring down at her and shrieking in fear as she practically leaped into Chance's arms.
After they finally managed to calm her down and Jake brought her some water. She listened as they explained what had happened to them and how the SWAT Kats had dropped them off here for there protection. Callie sipped her water and stared at them in bewilderment.
Finally she asked, "That's some story but why would Dark Kat want you two?"
Cassie and Erik looked at each other before she answered. "Well before you arrived we had theorized he wanted us to take on the SWAT Kats for him."
She frowned pointing at us. "You two are pilots?" she asked.
Erik raised his hand. "I'm the pilot she's the copilot and now we don't know how to get home," He said.
She nodded standing up and starting to pace with a finger wrapped around her chin. "So Dark Kat brought you here to battle the SWAT Kats, huh! Well I'm not surprised since they've been ruining his plans for conquest ever since they've been active. However, its obvious he planning something major by bringing you two here. We've got to act fast before either of you are spotted and cause a panic that could put lives in jeopardy." She said thoughtfully. "Then there's the unknown stuff Dark Kat injected you with. We should get your blood analyzed as fast as possible to learn what it's going to do to you because I doubt he's bothered with an antidote if I know him." She continued, still pacing.
Erik looked at Cassie who smiled back at him. "You know I could learn to like it here," She said. Eric could only gape at her.
"What are you talking about I mean these are nice guys and all but we don't belong here. We belong back home on our Earth," He blurted out in dismay at her attitude. The others looked at them questioningly.
"What do we have waiting for us back there Erik?" She asked him becoming more serious. "My parents passed away a couple years ago. You were shafted and blacklisted as a pilot by the Navy so you'll be lucky if you get a job as a aircraft mechanic much less be allowed to fly again."
"You may want to stay here Cassie, but I don't! Just because you had a tuna fish sandwich for breakfast does not mean you can last in a world of Cats, no offence." Erik said, glancing at his hosts. They just waved it off.
"That's not the point… wait a minute how did you know I had a tuna fish sandwich for breakfast? You left before I did," She said, her anger morphing into shock.
He shrugged. "Are you kidding, no offence, but you reek of it! I'm surprised you can't smell it, am I right guys?" He asked, turning to look at Chance who nodded, but Jake was beginning to have a worried frown on his face.
Cassie glared at him then whipped around at a slight scratching sound. "Did you hear that?" She asked sharply and all but Eric, nodded.
He frowned. "Hear what?" He asked in confusion.
Starting to panic, Cassie demanded, "What's going on?" She could hear a rumbling in her chest, then suddenly she and Eric were doubling over in discomfort.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Cassie muttered, turning pale.
Concerned, Callie, Chance, and Jake gently pushed the pair to the floor so they could sit and watched them worriedly. As time past, both humans got sicker and sicker. Suddenly the pair began screaming and thrashing about on the floor in severe pain.
The three couldn't hold onto them without accidentally hurting them more so they sat back and watched helplessly.
"What's happening to them?" Callie asked, worriedly.
"I don't know...wow! Great Kats! They're changing!" Chance shouted.
Before their eyes the poor humans were altering. Fur began to appear over their limbs and face, their clothes ripped as their bodies widened, their faces began to alter to a cat and their ears vanished from the side of their head and began to appear at the top. The change took several minutes and was extremely painful. When it finally stopped, the pair looked like Kats. There bodies twitched for minutes more as the lay there stunned.
The pain had finally stopped and Eric slowly pushed himself to a seated position. He helped Cassie do the same. His arm that he'd used to help her didn't look like his anymore. He gaped at Cassie as she did the same to him.
Eric stared at a human version of a Siamese cat, with a dark mask on her face, dark ears, hands, and tail. Tail!! His mind boggled at the sight of it.
Cassie was having the same problem as she stared at Eric who looked like a cat version of a white tiger.
They both patted their faces and felt the whiskers, long canines in their mouths, and long ears on the top of their heads and behind each was a tail. It was almost too much to take in.
Looking up at Callie whose mouth was open wide enough a cue ball could fit in it, Cassie demanded, "I know you've got a mirror on you somewhere, let me see it...quick!"
Shaking herself the blond she-kat quickly searched her purse and came up with her compact that she handed over to the former human. Trembling, Cassie opened the compact and looked at her image. She moaned when she saw her Siamese image topped with long black hair. Her eyes's pulipals had reshaped themselves but still held their aqua blue. She reached up to touch her ears that were on top of her head and traced her new cat image as if in a dream.
'Oh God! This just couldn't be happening to us!' She thought in horror, looking up at Eric again and seeing a cat instead of the human she remembered. Dropping the mirror, she dropped her face into her hands.
Eric took the dropped compact and began to study his new features.
After a long silence, Cassie raised her head, tears falling from her eyes, she asked plaintively, "What did he do to us?"
TO EAVERYONE OUT THERE THANK YOU FOR READING THIS SO FAR AND PLEASE SEND ME YOUR REVIEWS AND I'D LIKE TO THANK BETA READER ULYFERAL FOR HER HELP AND I RECOMEND HER FOR EVERYONE WHO NEEDS HELP WITHG THEIR STORIES