Commander Ulysses Feral was not the kind of tom that one wanted to fuck with.

There were several reasons why of course, but the first one was that he was a highly capable machine of ass-kick when it came down to it. Line after line of blade-wielding foes came after him and the other five kats on his specific team, but he simply mowed them down with his M4A1, giving them a nice round of melee attacks with the butt stock when they got too close.

Lined up and in formation, his team charged upstairs headlong, plowing through one obstacle after another like a freight train straight out of hell.

Now, one should not forget that thirty floors was a long way up. It was most likely tiring, and in a very large way, with all that gear on. But damn it, they were the Enforcers! They would get up these stairs at whatever speed was required and pound these bastards back to the era they came from. His main concern, besides the arrest of the Pastmaster, was Felina.

Damned if he would let her die in this nightmare, if she was indeed dead. Right now, he thought of her not as an Enforcer, but his niece. It would most likely end in her being locked at Headquarters for a while, or even sent back to his brother for a week, but after this he would make sure she was safe, no matter what she thought of him after.

'Hate me all you want, but I'm going to protect you. It was wrong to let you on the force.'

"Move it kats," he said as they continued charging onwards, "We have no time to lose!"

Of course, once they reached floor twelve they heard a violent battle cry from behind the door. Before they knew what was happening, the door was punched through by a grappling line that hooked into the metal. After a few more seconds, the door was torn off of its hinges, as if some kat had yanked it clean away.

It turned out that was exactly the case. Standing in the doorway was all two hundred and ten pounds of T-Bone. And he looked pissed.

"What the hell are you lookin' at, Commander? We got ass to kick," he said as he retracted his grappling line. "Either you help, or you move."

Feral grimaced and said, "Do I have a choice in the matter?"


Kanto the Slayer presents

A SWAT Kats Fanfiction

SWAT Kats: Endgame


There was no laughter.

No demonic cackling, no planning or plotting aloud, no ranting about the glories of past times.

No, there was just quiet, an odd, unsettling kind of silence that seemed more like a quiet before a storm. The only sound was the gears winding, creaking; counting the hours until the end. The Pastmaster was silent, and this was not a good thing. His silence was the kind that was spent in deep concentration and focus, his eyes boring into the pocket watch in his cold, almost lifeless hands.

The pocket watch glowed faintly, a sign of the impending end of his mortality. He did not hope to do this so suddenly, but the plan called for it now. They were coming, and he could think of no other resistance to put forth than this. Yes, the constant streams of his hired army from the Dark Ages, the one he had been building over the past few years, would act as a minor deterrent, but now the SWAT Kats and the Enforcers were galvanized.

It would not be enough of a deterrent for his purposes.

Their mayor would have to turn from a sacrifice to a temporary hostage, and that was not in the cards.

The watch began to pulse and thump, as if it had its own heartbeat. Finally, it was done. He felt a small thread of his energy connected to the watch that acted as a second heart, a container for his soul. Indeed, he still lived… but he lived inside of the watch. His personality and memories were still intact, and they would most likely stay that way until someone figured out how to eradicate the now much tougher watch.

The watch looked… almost new now, refurbished. That alone was a problem. There was a coating of extra magical energy around it that acted as a barrier of sorts, which made it bullet-resistant up to a .300 Remington. And the fact that it was a container for his soul would be… difficult at best. Thus, there were now too many complications to even think about destroying the time piece.

And thus, control of the clock tower would potentially be his for an indefinite period of time.

That was of course, unless they tried something crazy. He didn't discount that fact- these were the SWAT Kats. The fact that they could break his illusion so easily was not lost on him, and thus this part of the plan had to be advanced quite suddenly.

It would be worth it, though. He would see the Dark Ages rise again, if only from the confines of a pocket watch.

'The beginning of the end,' he thought to himself, 'is at hand.'

He looked towards Mayor Manx, his facial expression dull and almost lifeless. He wasn't just mad now- he was mad in a cold, rational way. He who has no soul has only a mind, and without a moral compass or even a heart, the mind was an overwhelming force. This mind, though now entirely based on logic, was still twisted by the ages and by magic.

"…Your usefulness it seems has not yet ended. I have one more task for you, Mayor Manx."

The mayor's eyes widened in sheer terror as he heard the deadpan voice of the Pastmaster pronounce that it was not over by a long shot. This would not be pretty.


Downstairs, it was quiet. The battle outside had stopped as the final ogre fell with a crash, splintering the pavement below. The final M1A2 tank and its crew were victorious, but it was a long, painful fight. The last of the HEAT rounds had been spent on it, and it was heading back to headquarters for a resupply. This left the six kats that were told to hold position to fend for themselves.

The elevator had indeed, not been working for a few hours now. Some of them wasted time; throwing pebbles from the rubble at the call button, while the others were watchful, ready for anything that came from around the corners or through the front doors.

What they were not expecting however, was one of the pebbles to hit the call button… and actually get it to work. The button was hit square with remarkable accuracy, and simply lit up.

"Guys, it's online!" one of them said triumphantly.

Well that was good news. Now all they needed to do was wait for it and get in so they could finish this. Unfortunately, the elevator was already on its way up. They waited with a newfound patience, watching the numbers climb to thirty.

But then to their horror, after a few seconds of being stuck at the top… it came plummeting down.

"Holy fucking SHIT!! There could be people in there!"

There was no real way to get the doors open without accessing the wiring, and that could take hours. This was not going to end well as the elevator raced toward the bottom. Some of them closed their eyes, not wanting to watch, others braced themselves for impact. The noise would be deafening.

The sound of the elevator's rapid decent stopped about fifteen seconds later. They opened their eyes, unclenched their teeth, and checked the number. It had stopped at nine.

Still, they were watchful. They carefully observed the elevator doors, listening for any signs of the cacophony starting up again. The only sound that was made was that of a stone falling from a pile of rubble. And then, to their relief, the elevator began moving at a fairly normal pace again one minute later.

They sighed and waited again. Whatever had happened up there, it was done now.

But of course, what they saw when the doors finally opened made some of them gape.

It was the Deputy Mayor. And right beside her, or rather slumped against her as if she were entirely exhausted, was someone that looked just like her. EXACTLY like her, except that the other she-kat wore a dress instead of a business suit. They were confused for quite some time as they exited the elevator, but Callie took care of that quickly.

"Well don't just stand there, help her out! Move it!"

Used to taking orders, they quickly got to work in securing Callista away before she stirred in unfamiliar arms. Looking towards the Deputy Mayor, she smiled weakly.

"It appears that I used more energy than I expected to."

Callie rushed towards her counterpart from the past and followed alongside her. "Don't push yourself so hard. I never asked you to put yourself in danger for me."

The queen's smile widened. "It appears that both you and I have many that are willing to throw themselves to the wolves for our sake. Even I am not immune- you have an aura about you that few others possess. One day, you will understand what it is."

Callista closed her eyes again and said, "But not now… right now, you must go where I cannot. Sir T-Bone needs your aid, and I fear it will be soon. The top of the clock tower is where everything will end."

The Deputy Mayor raised an eyebrow and said, "I think he can handle himself… he always has. Maybe I'm better down here, looking after you."

Callista shook her head and said, "Is that what you think, or is that truly what is in your heart? Come now- you know yourself better than that, Calico Briggs. Search yourself as you did before. You will find the answer."

The queen's head began to pound- too much talking. "Go. He is waiting."

The Enforcers that were supporting her realized that something was wrong, and immediately began moving Callista to safety. As Callie watched them go, she considered her options. Callista was safe, and they would get her as far away from this building as they could. At least, she hoped so.

As she stood amidst the rubble and ruins that used to be the entrance to City Hall, she wondered if she could tap into this newfound intuition for longer periods of time than just a few seconds. She figured she would give it a try- it wouldn't kill her. So she breathed, simply moved into her natural pattern.

This time it was easier. Less discursive thoughts got in the way. She asked the question: was T-Bone all right? And then, she held it in her mind, without concentrating, yet while remaining attentive. This all happened in a matter of moments, a few blinks of an eye.

The answer came twice as fast.

Images flashed in her mind: T-Bone and Razor heading upstairs, to the clock room; Felina's tear-stained face as she watched whatever horrors played out before her; The Pastmaster, dead on one of the gears. That did not help any. Somehow, she wasn't quite sure he was dead. No, there was something else.

And then she saw it. Like a flash of lighting, the problem, the main trigger for all of it, was revealed.

The pocket watch. And from what she could see, it did not look old. Rather the gold was new, the hands were moving smoothly on their own power, everything seemed to shine and glow. Such beauty, and yet it held a trepidation for her that she could not name, a sort of dread.

A gloved hand reached to pick it up. Somehow, she didn't want that hand to take hold.

"NO!!"

Callie's eyes snapped open in a panic. Her senses were on full tilt, ears twitching, tail swinging wildly, fists clenched. The watch- they mustn't touch the watch! Something bad would happen if they did- she had to warn them, immediately! But how!?

Wait, what was that sound?

Callie looked up towards the sky just in time to see the Kat's Eye News helicopter overhead. She grinned as she raised a hand and waved for them to pick her up. She had no idea of how things seemed to turn out exactly the way she wanted them to, but she didn't care. Right now she needed a lift, and she would get one if it killed her.


Twenty-sixth floor.

Things went faster than expected, now that there were twelve instead of six. Radio contact was still dead, and so was radar. Still, they made good time. While relieved that Felina was all right, Commander Feral was disturbed by the fact that she was working with the SWAT Kats. Still, desperate times called for desperate measures, he supposed.

He had never directly worked with these two before- a part of him hated it even now, that they were forced to this. But personally, he wanted to see how they operated, just out of curiosity. He knew how they flew, now he wanted to know how they fought.

'At the very least, I'll know how to counter their tactics.'

He noticed the gauntlets that they wore on their right arms, though he didn't know what exactly they called them. They most likely had more than one pair of those, with different load outs to switch out in different situations. For a moment, he wondered how they made the ingenious little things when, before they knew it, they happened upon the top floor.

"Last stop," T-Bone said as he halted in front of the door.

Razor was not all that sure he liked this. It was entirely too quiet on their way up and now they were here already? No, there was something wrong. He held up a fist towards the Enforcers without looking, and they stopped cold. Ulysses raised an eyebrow. Apparently, they knew what they were doing- perhaps they didn't call themselves the SWAT Kats for nothing.

Pressing a panel on the right side of his helmet, a black-tinted, bullet-resistant visor dropped over his eyes. Hoping that something still worked around here, he switched to the true-sight mode, and for a good while all he got was static.

"Shit… work, you damn thing."

Feral wanted to laugh. They were as blind as anyone else.

But then…

"Huh? Oh hell yes; there we go. Hey, check your radios, kats. T-Bone, check for Callie's signal."

They did.

"Razor, Callie's downstairs. Matter of fact, she's outside!"

Their equipment worked. Technological advantage was back.

"This is Feral- give me a SitRep, five minutes ago. And keep it down- we're in enemy territory."

He was almost silent, not wanting to have anyone hear him. As he received updates to the situation, Callie's situation changed as well. T-Bone grimaced as he observed the movement of the Deputy Mayor's signal transponder. She was… headed back in, for God's sake! Would she make up her mind already?

"Awww, shit…"

Everyone looked toward Razor as he motioned with his hand for everyone to quiet down. The true-sight mode could peer through walls and observe the action that went on behind a door or check for weaknesses in infrastructure. Sure enough, behind the door there were baddies. And a whole damn bunch of them.

"They're expecting us," he said as he raised the panel again. "They just don't know we're here yet."

He looked toward T-Bone and raised two fingers on his left hand. The bigger kat nodded and reached into one of the pockets of his flight suit. He looked towards Razor with a grin as he pressed the button atop the smoke grenade. As soon as he let go, the firing pin would release and… well, instant smokescreen.

Razor pulled one out as well before gently opening the door, nudging it open with his right foot. The metal door swung open silently, just enough to toss their grenades in before closing it again. The sound of the door shutting was not unnoticeable, but by the time a few of them turned around, it was over.

With an audible pop, the smokescreens were activated, spewing out their concealment.

Shouts of confusion and curses filled the hallway, and they knew it was their cue. "Enforcers, do your thing!"

Secretly, Feral was impressed. This wasn't your every day tactic- it was something that Felina would have used. He would have just opened the door and started shooting. The Commander was all for open-ended battle, and did not rely on any sort of crafty tactics unless he was forced to. Most of the time, brute force was his method instead of concealment.

It didn't matter. They couldn't see, and that was an advantage.

He didn't give the order to fire; he just strode forward with his troops behind him and opened the door with one hand, retrieving his Glock 20 with the other. The others still had their rifles on them, but he had to let his go for a moment. He was lucky that he had put it away earlier on his way up- otherwise, there would be a delay. And delays were not good at this point.

Many of them went down before they could even get a sword swing in, and those that did not… well they couldn't see. They swung wildly, unprepared for the sudden influx of smoke. As an effect, they ended up running each other through, lopping their own heads off, and causing a general mess.

And the combined force of the SWAT Kats and the Enforcers continued pressing forward, running headlong out of the smokescreen. It was a head of steam that was just about indomitable. With the SWAT Kats leading the blitzkrieg rush, their enemies were entirely offset as gunfire and shield blows rained on them.

"Don't stop," T-Bone yelled over the noise of battle, "We're almost there!"

They headed right past the Mayor's Office just as Calico Briggs arrived, heading past the expansive windows towards the balcony just outside the clock room. Thanking Ann Gora for the ride as she headed back inside City Hall, she headed towards the door that led towards the clock room with that same trepidation beating in her heart.

The watch was all she could see- it filled her thoughts and clouded her senses.

'I have to get it from him before someone else takes it.'

Oh yes, it was a crazy plan. She had no idea what would happen when she took hold of it, but she had to make sure that no one else touched it. She didn't even have an idea why she should be the one to hold it, but she just did. A part of her wished that Callista was still here, but she was exhausted- it had to be the Deputy Mayor.

'It always has to be me, doesn't it?'

She laughed for a moment, running a hand through her blond hair. It was now or never, she supposed. She opened the door, just a crack, to observe the situation.

She could see the Mayor on one of the cogs, turning and winding. It looked like he was bound and gagged, but she couldn't see the rope or what silenced him. The Pastmaster was nowhere to be found, at least not yet. She didn't want to be caught, but then again she didn't want the SWAT Kats to come in and find her.

'They would tell me to stay back.'

But maybe… maybe that was a good thing. Maybe she should indeed stay back, wait for them to come. With backup, she could take the watch from him without a problem. As the plan revised in her head however, a part of her could sense that something was wrong… there was that itch between her shoulder blades again.

'Oh, no…'

The door opened. The Pastmaster was indeed in the room.

"Hello, Callista. Glad you could join me for my shining moment."

The watch flashed. Callie screamed before the violet bolt of energy shocked her system, running along her nerve endings. Pain wracked her, made her writhe. She couldn't take the stress, and soon enough she was knocked out cold. The wizard looked at her unconscious body coldly, even as the watch pulsed a staccato.

He still cared for her, sure enough. Well, not exactly cared… more like lusted. She was beautiful, striking, a treasure that would most likely be kept sacred, even in this time period. He didn't care for her… but he did want her. She was a jewel, and he wanted her as the centerpiece of what would be his crown.

Taking hold of the collar of her jacket, he lifted the watch and focused. It took less than a second for time to twist and distort before he vanished entirely. Soon, he ended up in a different part of the room- in fact, on the same cog that the Mayor was sitting on. Manx's eyes widened as he saw the comatose Calico Briggs placed next to him.

"And now, all the pieces are in place."

The Pastmaster smiled, for once.

"The SWAT Kats will meet their end, and you two will have front row seats."

He warped again, leaving the Mayor to wonder what was going to happen to his city… and to Callie.


The scream was heard from the stairs leading to the clock room hallway. T-Bone gritted his teeth as he moved faster than he ever had before, his heart racing wildly. Callie filled his head, stifled his senses. All sorts of reason flew out of the window at the very thought of her in pain. There was no real place for subtle tactics now- they were there at the top.

The door at the end of the hallway was thrown wide open. Something had happened here… something that should not have happened at all. He stood at the entrance, seeing Callie there on the central cog with the Mayor. From what he could see, Manx was restrained by something or other while Callie was…

He growled fiercely, eyes scanning for his adversary. If he was angry before, he was positively livid now.

Razor and the other Enforcers entered just behind him as he stepped onto the walkway, searching for any signs of the Pastmaster. Thus far, there were none, but there was something in the air that didn't smell right. This whole room in fact, didn't smell right at all. It should smell dead, lifeless, but there was an almost tangible energy in here.

Razor could feel it too, but to less of an extent.

"Something ain't right here, T-Bone."

The bigger SWAT Kat nodded and said, "I know, buddy. They're right there, out in the open… but the Pastmaster is nowhere to be found. He'd be gloating at us by now, seriously."

Commander Feral shook his head and said, "We don't have time for this. Someone get out there and retrieve the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, now!"

Two Enforcer officers nodded and leapt out onto the cogs, traversing from one to the next. They managed to keep their tails out of the clockwork, but before they reached the center of the machinery… a violent beam of purple energy shot out from the metal itself, just a few inches to the left of one of the Enforcers. They were both caught in the blast, which had enough power to tear them both in half.

Feral gritted his teeth as blood and entrails flew, staining the gears.

The door closed behind them, locking with a click.

"Incredibly easy to get here, wasn't it? To think that none of you realized I wanted you to come here in the first place. And now, you will all feed my engine of destruction."

T-Bone's eyes narrowed as he said, "Why the hell do you have to hide yourself? We got you cornered- there's nowhere left to run. Show yourself so I can tear you apart with my bare hands!"

The Pastmaster chuckled and said, "It appears I have hit a soft spot in the indomitable T-Bone. I trust then that you enjoyed my little slide show of your memories? I believe I will show everyone what makes you so weak."

T-Bone knew that he was egging him on. He knew that once he stepped on those gears, it would probably be over before it even started. He had to stand firm. Sure he was angry, and yes, Callie was right there. But he would be damned if he'd let this pathetic little runt outdo him again.

"I see… so that's your only trick? You suck, you know that? You can't fight me personally, so you have to use the clock tower to do it. See, that's why I'm stronger than you- because I face my enemies head-on instead of getting others to do it for him!"

For a few moments, there was silence. Then…

"A duel it is, then! I cannot wait to be rid of you pests once and for all!"

With a wavering of the air in the middle of the clock room, just above the captured Mayor and Deputy Mayor, the Pastmaster appeared, his watch shining an unnatural shade of purple. He was floating a good two feet in the air, and grinned maliciously as he pointed the now deadly watch towards the SWAT Kats.

"And now, it is time to die, peasants. Bow before your new ruler!"

He opened fire. T-Bone rolled to one side of the walkway as it was torn apart, separating him and Razor, along with the Enforcers. Feral shouted immediately, "Return fire!! Find us some cover, Lieutenant!" They began attempting to gun down the Pastmaster, who seemed to be entirely too agile for his own good. He floated around, zipping here and there as he attempted to shoot Felina through the side of her head.

A bullet managed to actually reach his position, but once it did… it harmlessly bounced off of an energy field. The Commander cursed as he noticed the faint outline of the Pastmaster's shields. This was going to be near-impossible unless they got that taken care of first.

Felina, meanwhile, had found a reasonable spot of cover. She peeked out every once in a while to take shots at the Pastmaster, with little to no effect. She hissed and said, "Dammit, this is not going to end well…"

Then, she saw them; the hostages. The Pastmaster was not guarding them very well, was he? She furrowed her brows and said, "Now or never, then. This might be the only chance we have!" The she-kat began her nimble trek towards the center of the clockwork engine, leaping and dodging this way and that as the attempts at suppressive fire kept the Pastmaster busy.

The sound of gears turning filled her ears as she approached the center of this mess, and it started to become annoying.

"Piece of history my ass," she said as she approached the Mayor's position. For a moment, she saw him shake his head, as if to tell her to stay away, that she couldn't come any closer. She raised an eyebrow as she said, "I come all this way and now you don't want me to save you? Fuck that."

She jumped towards the central cog… only to find herself knocked back by yet another barrier. Landing hard on the platform from whence she came, Felina bounced once, looking as if she would slip in between the meshing gears. Then she fired her grappling line, and as it hooked around a metal pole, she reeled herself in before she did indeed meet that fate.

After deftly landing upon the gear that was attached to said pole, she looked up and grimaced.

"Little fucker's planned this out in advance, hasn't he?"

There was no possible way past if the Pastmaster were not neutralized. And since he still had his energy field up, that wasn't going to happen any time soon. And what else was not going to happen any time soon was her standing in one place for too long, because soon a purple beam of energy shot upwards from below her.

The only clue she had of its coming was a faint purple glow where the shot would be coming from. It was just a brief flash, nothing more. Thing was, it was enough for her to widen her eyes and flip backwards, the energy shot nearly missing the soles of her boots. She thanked her reflexes from training at that very moment, but at the next, another beam shot outwards from the very gear she was standing on. She rolled to her right as two more barely missed her, and by then she knew that she was not welcome on the clockwork.

She made her way out through the maze of meshed gears, purple streams of death bolting towards her from every possible angle. She threaded and bent, leapt and danced, trying her hardest not to get impaled.

Fortunately for her, she made it… the bad news was that she now knew every angle they could possibly take was covered.

That said, they had only two options. Take down the Pastmaster's shielding somehow, or blow apart City Hall. The second one would probably be the option here, but the bad news was that they wouldn't be able to make it out. Still, if it were to keep MegaKat City in the present era, she had no choice.

Still, she was holding out for a miracle of some sort. She did not want to make that call.

'Whoever is up there listening, I could use a bit of divine intervention right now…'


The Enforcers were currently waiting for the ambulance to arrive. It had been a good twenty minutes since the call had been sent out, and some of them wondered if it would ever get here. One of them checked her pulse every now and then, and she treated him to the sight of her smile. But of course, like all of these things, they had to end sometime.

She shuddered, suddenly having a bad feeling, as if something were wrong or amiss. The constant flow of intuition that she maintained acted as her radar for trouble, and right now it was pinging off the charts. She knew not what it was, but there was something going on at the top of the tower that required her attention.

'Calico…'

As soon as she thought of her, the ping turned into a whine. Her eyes widened and she stood up, none too slowly. Her head… it pounded so much. But not from pain or fatigue- no, that had left her a while ago. It pounded from the grave realization that had just come upon her.

"I must go, now."

They looked at her in slight alarm. "But ma'am, you're not well yet. You've gotta get some rest."

She shook her head and said, "I have had enough rest, but thank you brave ones. I must get to the top of the clock tower- something terrible is going to happen."

With that, she strode forward, entirely on her own strength now. Her energy reserves had returned to her in full force, and the amulet shone brightly in the city lights. Looking up towards the top of the thirty floor tower, she channeled her energy through her arms and toward her hands, bending her knees as she did so.

Icy-blue tendrils of sheer power spiraled around her forearms, building upon itself until she released it seconds later. The magical forces hit the pavement, and she pushed off of the ground on the moment of impact. The result was her upward ascension into the heavens, a trail of her magic behind her. Within the space of a minute and a half, she was at the balcony to the clock tower, lighting herself delicately upon solid ground once again.

She wasn't worried about whether it would work or not. She was worried about the people inside that needed her.

Confidently moving toward the balcony door, and then the one that led to the clock room, she heard the sounds of fighting. Not bothering to hesitate, she opened the door and without looking, pointed two fingers toward the Pastmaster's exact location.

Utter, sheer surprise passed along his features as a sudden rogue energy shot hit his shield. Blue mixed with purple as the two forces warred for dominance, and he attempted to warp to another location.

As soon as he did so however, it was evident that Callista knew most, if not all of his tricks. Another precise shot of her magic hit him dead on, weakening his shields further.

"I will not be denied my DESTINY!!"

He let loose a chain of energy blasts at her, his magic meant to kill instead of save. She repelled it, rejected it, and sent it back toward him. Explosions rocked the clock room as the battle of mages commenced, and it was all the Enforcers and the SWAT Kats could do to keep their heads down.

"You have no destiny but the void, foul wizard," she said coolly as she let off another blast from the palms of her hands. It hit his shields again, and now they were fragile enough for just about anything to pass through. Yet and still, she continued her barrage, until he was forced to begin warping from place to place just to evade her. Sure, with his connection with the watch he had a near unlimited source of energy, but… he was on the defensive. That was never a good thing, no matter how much power one had.

Soon, she pointed towards him… and he warped without her firing a shot. With a triumphant cry, Callista fired on his next position as soon as he popped up, and his barrier shattered like glass. The magical force rammed into him, but did not pierce through. Soon however, he managed to warp again, the air suddenly wavering and sucking inwards where he once was before he popped up again near the Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

"You are all fortunate that Callista came to save you, but it is quite bad luck that she will not be enough!"

With that, he pointed the watch towards the Mayor and began building his energies. The watch shone and sparked, trembling in his hand as if it couldn't wait to be used. He grinned and said coldly, "Cease your attacks or you will watch your foolish, cowardly mayor die before your eyes. And then, the she-kat is next."

There was just one problem with that request- someone had a clear shot. The one that did however wasn't exactly an enforcer, so he didn't have to say jack about it.

A grappling line shot towards the Pastmaster and wrapped around his neck, yanking him off of his feet swiftly. The energy was released on reaction. It barely missed the Mayor and Deputy mayor, by a hairsbreadth.

"RRRAAAAAAGH!"

That was the sound of T-Bone as he swung the quite demented kat through the air, towards one of the walls. The grappling line tightened, squeezed on the arteries and veins before he rammed into a wall head first, causing the stone to burst and fly in all sorts of directions.

Another animalistic battle cry tore the air asunder as the Pastmaster was literally ripped from the wall he was imbedded in, only to have himself slammed against another. And yet, he had a death grip on the watch, as if his very existence depended on it.

Truthfully, it did.

"Just shut up and DIE!!"

This third, final yell was the lynch pin for what happened next as T-Bone whipped the Pastmaster through the air once more, ramming his head into a third wall. Of course, the third time is the charm, and his skull caved inward. So powerful was the impact that the watch flew out of his right hand, skittering on the portion of the walkway that was not torn apart.

Reeling in the grappling line with the Pastmaster still attached, T-Bone grabbed him by the neck as soon as he was close enough and said, "That was for torturing me."

He was about to deal some more damage when he looked at the villain's eyes for a moment, and realized that he was already far gone. "Too bad I can't give you one for Callie, though."

He removed the grappling line from the Pastmaster's neck before tossing him toward the clockwork. The wizard's hood caught on one of the gears, and T-Bone and the Enforcers watched with a sort of satisfaction as he was buried by his own so called engine of destruction.

With that, the Enforcers began making their way towards the central cog, and this time there was no barrier erected. Callista smiled warmly as they retrieved the two that they were looking for, and began to leave the clock room again when Razor noticed her.

"Hey, wait!"

The queen stopped and turned towards Razor, that same smile on her face. "What is it, Sir Razor?"

He shook his head and said as he walked forward, "You knew exactly where he was, without even having to look. That was nuts. You got some sort of ESP along with magic?"

Callista blinked and said, "ESP? What is that?"

Jake smacked himself on the forehead, remembering that she was from the Dark Ages.

"Extra Sensory Perception. You know, mental flashes, psychic abilities, intuition-"

She nodded at the last one and said, "Exactly, intuition. It does not have any special name for it- I simply listen to the voices within- quiet my mind and allow them to speak to me."

Razor nodded and placed a hand on his chin. "Interesting… how do you do that, exactly? I mean, it's not like it's rocket science or anything, but there's a trick to it, right? Some kind of switch in the mind that flips whenever you get a hunch?"

Callista chuckled and said, "There is no… switch… in the mind. In fact, it does not require rational thought at all. It requires a clear mind, free of discursive thoughts and distraction. When the mind is at rest, the spirit is awake and alive… and it speaks to you. There is no thought process or explanation behind it, it simply is."

Razor, being the analytical thinker that he is, shook his head and said, "I don't get it, but it's pretty awesome!"

Meanwhile, the Mayor was himself again, for the time being. Seeing as he had just avoided a one-way ticket to the otherworld, he decided to make with the grateful speech.

"Ah, the SWAT Kats! I was expecting you a tad sooner, but circumstances don't always agree with us!" He stood and straightened his coat before calling towards them, "You and the Enforcers have saved my life yet again. You deserve medals, all of you!"

T-Bone was surprised that he didn't mention anything about a parade.

Groggily, Calico Briggs stirred, holding a hand to her forehead. That was the second time she had been knocked unconscious, and she was starting to hate the aftereffects. As her vision swam, attempting to get back into focus, she swore that she saw Felina Feral in front of her.

"Hey… you all right there, Deputy Mayor?"

Callie smirked and said, "I feel like I just got run over by a subway train, but I'm fine other than that. Could you help me up, please? I don't think I can stand on my own two feet right now."

And of course, the Commander, seeing as he had already given his orders, began walking towards T-Bone.

"This doesn't let you off the hook in my book. Just because you've done some good for the city doesn't mean I don't think you're part of the problem instead of the solution."

T-Bone, without looking towards Commander Feral, said, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. You wanna keep being at odds with us, that's fine. Just as long as you realize that your constant attrition tactics are going to get you stomped, time and time again."

The Commander gritted his teeth. The goddamn cocky bastard was right- he didn't have the best track record as far as protecting the city. But he had an equally stinging retort.

"All right, fine. But as long as you two hotheads take the law into your own hands, we will always be at odds. Hell, you're good enough to be Enforcers if you would only take off those masks and go through the regular channels."

T-Bone smirked confidently and said, "The regular channels are slow as hell, and you know it. The system doesn't always work, and most of the time the bad guys get away. That, my good Commander Feral, is where the SWAT Kats come in. They don't play by the book, Feral. Neither do we, and that is why we can kick their asses better than anyone. Including, but not limited to you."

With that, T-Bone walked towards Razor, who was busy talking to Felina now. Commander Feral gritted his teeth again as he headed towards the pocket watch.

'So, this is the source of all the trouble, is it? Doesn't look like much.'

He stooped to pick it up.

Suddenly, the space between Callie's shoulder blades began to itch. She remembered, now of all times, what she was here for. She turned around and shouted "Don't touch that watch!!"

Feral stopped. It was already in his right hand.

"What's wrong with it, Miss Briggs? It's just a-"

He screamed in pain and buckled to the floor.

Felina suddenly turned in the direction of the scream, and her eyes went wide with shock. She could do nothing but stare as her uncle looked as if he had been struck with such a blow that he seemed incapacitated. He twitched and growled as his right hand shook, fighting with the watch. It seemed to be… no, it couldn't be.

"Eyes forward, grunts! It ain't over yet!!"

She pointed her F2000 towards Commander Feral as his twitching stopped, the sounds of pain tapering off before he went entirely quiet.

After a few moments of an eerie silence, Commander Feral stood slowly.

"…Sir?"

There was silence for a while yet, and the Enforcers guarding the mayor tightened their defenses.

Then, it happened.

Commander Feral was not an enforcer for nothing. His reflexes in combat were at peak condition thanks to intensive training. Thus, without looking at where he was shooting, he raised his Glock 20 and fired, in one smooth, fluid motion. It looked like his left arm was a blur before there was a sudden bang.

The bullet bounced harmlessly off of Razor's Glovetrix shield.

With the realization that her hunch was right, she growled, baring her fangs. Her fur bristled; her ears were low in sheer aggression. A tear fell from her eyes as her body froze entirely, unwilling to pull the trigger on her own flesh and blood.

"You bastard…"

Commander Feral laughed, and it was a laugh filled with madness. And all Callie could do was stare in horror- everything had happened as she had seen it.

Callista was gone yet again, and now there were few options remaining.

Either she got that watch from him… or they would have to kill Ulysses Feral.

Time Remaining: 6 hours, 5 minutes, 43 seconds.


Chapter 7: The Bell Tolls (Part 4) - The Pastmaster's Finest Hour

Well that sucks. Just when you thought it was over, things get twisted. And in the worst way, too.

You know, for a while I didn't think I would make it to ten reviews- this was a crazy as hell idea that came from my love of SWAT Kats and my subsequent obsession over how they never released the third season. How many battles could have been seen, how many relationships could have blossomed, how much glory could have been obtained!

But no, they had to cut it.

So I decided to do something about it.

But here we are, at ten reviews, which is much more than this author could have imagined. I want to thank you guys for sticking by me through this- you are all the reason I write, besides getting this madness out of my head. No, no reviewer's comments issued today, just one big-ass shout-out for all my peoples who posted something.

The next chapter will emerge sometime during the week. Hang in there for the finale of The Bell Tolls!

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.