T-Bone watched the strange glowing 'dragon' as they approached. It hadn't seemed to have noticed their arrival yet and was attacking Elena's army from above with it's fiery breath. "Y'know, they have way too many strange flying critters in this world!"
"Yeah, and that one's going to be a serious problem!"
The jet banked right, then angled downwards. Razor lined up the glowing beast. "Got him in my sights!"
"Make sure you get him, Sure-Shot. If you miss, Elena's troops will pay for it!"
All of a sudden, the beast looked up straight at them. It flapped it's wings and rose high into the air, flying straight toward the Turbokat.
Razor fired. The pair of missiles flew straight at their target, but the creature released a powerful jet of flame, exploding the missiles before they could hit it. T-Bone turned hard to avoid the explosion while the creature flew right through the flames.
Elena's voice came back over the radio. "That's a firedrake! Their body's burn with extreme heat. They can burn or melt almost anything! Don't let it get too close!"
"Well let's see what it can do against this." Razor hit a button and hatch opened, extending out the cement machine gun. He rotated it so that it would shoot behind them. "Keep her steady!"
"Trying!" The drake was close on their tail, shooting blasts of intense flame. "We're gonna have to close the heat shield!" Hitting a switch, the thick metal plating closed over the canopy, protecting them from the heat and flames.
Using the dimensional radar, Razor took aim at the creature behind them. "Locked! Firing!"
The gun shot numerous blasts of liquid cement in rapid succession. Most hit the drake full on. The drake's heat, usually it's greatest weapon, now turned into it's downfall as it caused the cement to instantly dry on impact, trapping it. The drake fell and smashed onto the ground. The SWAT Kats were thankful that they had led it far enough away from the army before shooting, as it exploded on impact into a large fireball, throwing chunks of cement in every direction.
The heat shield retracted back and they looked down at the smoking crater below. "Woah. Yeah, definitely way too many flying baddies here."
Elsewhere, Elena's sword dispatched another pair of koblins. The sword's silver blade now dripped black with the blood of uncountable opponents. Yet still the army was outnumbered. Many of her soldiers had fallen. Mau was some distance off, having been pulled from his horse and now was fighting from the ground with his magic. She only knew where the was by the bursts of magical energy. She had lost track of Birman.
It was difficult to see much now, as the moon was nearly gone, only a sliver of silver light which was beginning to turn red as the eclipse neared it's apex. They had to get those gates open, soon! A large fiery explosion caught her attention and she looked into the distance to see the Turbokat flying away from it, silhouetted by the light of the flames. She knew they had destroyed the firedrake. The talisman then glowed fiercely and bade her look up towards the castle walls. "Scatter!" She kicked her horse and the stallion plunged through the mass of koblins, getting out of the way as a massive boulder smashed into the ground and shattered in the spot where she had been only moments before. Kats and koblins both were crushed beneath it's impact.
"Razor!"
"I saw it! We've got to take out those cattapults!"
"Right!" Turning again, he now aimed the jet straight for the castle. Razor switched from the machine gun back to missile targeting. As they passed by the front walls of the castle, Razor fired. Four missiles in succession hit the top of the walls about twenty feet apart. Large chunks of stone exploded out from the impacts, and the cattapults and bastillas were blown to pieces. T-Bone brought the jet around to the opposite side of the massive iron gates and wooden drawbridge. Again Razor fired, and again four missiles exploded the artillery on the walls.
This certainly didn't go unnoticed by Elena and her army. "Nice going!"
The explosions gave just the opportunity Elena and Cymric were waiting for. Elena placed her free hand around the talisman and again sent a mental call. This time to Cymric, telling him to proceed. Cymric silently motioned to his rangers and they quickly moved forward. Their dark cloaks combined with their own skills of stealth kept them hidden in the increasing darkness. They threw their grappling hooks, every one catching hold of the wall above. Carefully, the rangers scaled the stone walls of the northern end of the castle. With the battle raging and explosions to the southwest, the northern wall had been almost abandoned. Only a few guards remained on the walls but were quickly and quietly dispatched with the bolt guns. The rangers spread out, some going along the tops of the walls, others down towards the large courtyard below, and still others into the castle itself.
Cymric and three others made their way quickly along the base of the inner wall towards the main gates. It would have been easy enough for the SWAT Kats to blow up the gates, but that still left the problem of the deadly moat. The drawbridge had to be let down if there was any chance of success to be had.
"Sir! Watch out!" One of the rangers threw himself forward into Cymric, throwing him forward. An instant later a small fireball exploded Where they had just been. The other two rangers didn't get out of the way in time.
"Thanks, Jirron." The two took aim with their bolt guns in the direction the fireball came from. A mage in red robes stood some fifteen yards away. His right hand was glowing red as he prepared another fireball. The rangers fired but the sorcerer threw his spell then dodged. They jumped out of the way just in time.
Jirron yelled to his Captain. "Get out of here, Sir! I'll take care of this guy!"
Cymric didn't want to leave his friend to the sorcerer, but he knew that the entire battle now rested on his getting that drawbridge down.
"Good luck, Jirron."
"I'll see you in the next life, Captain."
Jirron dropped to one knee and fired two more bolts at the battle-mage, one hitting him in the chest, but not before a final fireball was thrown.
Cymric took off running towards the main gates. A small group of koblins, attracted from the sound of the fireballs, came quickly at him. He drew his sword and fought his way through. Cymric was a skilled fighter as well as woodsman and he knew Elena had full trust in his skills for sending him on this mission.
He reached the gates and part ran, part jumped, up the stairs leading to the guard tower above. Most of the upper section of the wall had been destroyed on both sides of the gates by the SWAT Kats' missiles. Cymric threw himself at the heavy wooden doors of the guard tower. His shoulder smashed into the door, throwing it open. He landed on the ground and rolled, coming up fast with the bolt gun in hand, searching for any koblin what might be waiting for him. There were none in sight. He listened, and heard nothing, save for the battle outside.
Getting up, he sheathed his sword and ran to the massive set of wooden spokes that held the bridge and portcullis. He pulled the lever on the first one, releasing the lock that prevented it from moving. Holstering the gun, he pushed his full weight against the wheel, slowly turning it. The portcullis began to lift. He turned it several times, until the portcullis was high enough to allow the cavalry riders to enter underneath it. Pushing the lever back in to secure it, he then moved to the second wheel.
A movement caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. The ranger turned and drew his gun, but not fast enough. The heavy crossbow bolt pierced his leather armor, into the lower left side of his chest. The force of the impact threw the ranger back several feet, his back hitting the wall behind him. "Not... that easy!" He fired the bolt gun, it's final arrow hitting it's mark in his opponent's throat. The koblin fell forward, dead before it even hit the ground.
Coughing, Cymric spat out a gob of blood. His left lung had been pierced. He could see more koblins coming. He could fight, but there was a chance he would loose. The ranger did the only thing he could. He turned, his back to the oncoming koblins, and pulled on the lever to the second wheel. Three more crossbow bolts pierced his back, but the lever gave way. Cymric slumped to the ground. The wheel turned quickly, the drawbridge was on a counter-weight. The heavy wooden bridge fell, landing with a loud slam on the gravel path on the opposite side of the moat.
The loud sound of the drawbridge falling turned Elena's attention sharply to the main gate. "He did it!" Kicking her horse, she rode hard back toward the tree-line. About half-way there, away from the battle, but still close enough her cavalry would see her signal, the black stallion skidded to a sliding stop. The stallion then reared and Elena raised her sword high. The talisman glowed, and the glow moved to the sword. It shone brightly through the black night, a beacon in the darkness. Above, the moon was now a deep red color, a red that was fading into pure shadow.
The cavalry riders saw the light. The commander raised his sword and yelled. "CHARGE!" Two hundred heavy horses thundered out of the trees and across the open land towards the now open gates. Most of the riders were armed with swords, but some carried spears. The spears were held up, Elena's standard flying from the tops of their shafts. The silver hawk soaring in front of the crescent moon.
Elena turned her horse around as the riders approached her, and took up position on the far left side of the charge. In a heavy line five horses wide, they plowed through the now confused koblin army, cutting a bloody path of bodies trampled under the thundering hooves, straight towards the gates. The head of the cavalry crossed the bridge, the sound of the hooves pounding on the heavy wood echoed like thunder.
The warrioress then turned her stallion and kicked him into a full gallop, faster than even the charge of the cavalry horses. The black stallion tore a new path through the koblins and away from the battle once again, then turned and ran parallel to the rear lines. She sheathed her sword, the spell that had caused it to glow having also cleaned if of the black koblin blood. She pulled out the communicator once again. "T-Bone! It's time!" Carefully Elena hopped up off the stallion's back and brought her paws underneath her. With all the balance and skill of an expert trick-rider, she stood up on the horse' back as he continued on at a dead run.
T-Bone brought the Turbokat low over the battlefield, slowing it's speed down as he did so. The pick-up rope, with it's looped end, was lowered from the hatch under the jet. He lined it up with Elena as she rode.
When the jet flew over her, Elena jumped off her horse and grabbed the rope, placing one paw onto the loop for balance, and was pulled back up into the jet through the hatch. T-Bone increased the power again and shot back up into the air well above the battle.
Elena checked the bolt gun at her hip, making sure it wouldn't fall out of the holster during what she was about to do, yet could still be quickly drawn and used once inside the citadel.
"You sure about this?" T-Bone made a loop around the castle, making sure of which tower they were supposed to aim at.
"Yes. If you can get me inside that tower, I can take care of the rest. It's time to finish this, once and for all."
Razor glanced back at her. "Well, if T-Bone lines the just up just right, I'm pretty sure it'll work."
"Oh great. Looks like that might be a little easier said than done. Look!"
Elena and Razor both looked to the south where a group of winged creatures were making their way swiftly towards them.
"Oh no. The wyverns. How many?"
Razor checked his monitor. "Four. And we're almost out of missiles"
"Perfect. More big flying lizards, and almost no missiles left. Déjà vu, anyone?"
"Well, we could always try attaching a sword to the end of the last one." Razor chuckled a bit.
"I don't think that's going to work this time, buddy."
Elena looked at them curiously as she got herself prepared. "What are you two talking about?"
"Long story. Maybe later."
"Right."