Hey everyone!

I know you've been waiting a LONG time for this, so I'll save my explanation for after the chapter. Enjoy!


The End of the Battle

"Do you think Ferral and the Enforcers will be fine?" The human looked out the window at the shrinking ground.

"'Course they will," Chance replied, bringing the Turbokat higher into the air. "As long as they listen to ya, they'll be headin' back to Hackle. What about you?"

"What do you mean," Max questioned.

"Any flashbacks?"

The human hesitated, leaning his head against the headrest. "Not really," he confessed. "I'm kinda surprised I haven't. I've had moments, though… where I doubt myself or freeze, but I think that's just because I haven't been in a fight for a while." He laughed dryly. "Hope you didn't jinx me."

"I hope so too," T-Bone said. "But don't worry; we've got your back if somethin' goes wrong."

"It's not gonna happen." Max's communicator beeped, and he pressed the button on the side of his head. "Hackle? Any news?" He then became silent for a minute or two, listening to what the elderly kat was telling him. "Okay… thanks." He turned off the communicator, looking a little shaken at first before getting himself under control. "We… may have a problem."

"What now," Chance asked.

"Hackle's sensed some kind of anomaly with the time portals," the human explained. "Something about this world being in 2019 and yours being in 1997 is causing a strain on the space-time continuum… I can't explain it as well as he did. Basically, we need to get back to your world and close all the portals within the next ten minutes or else we're stuck here."

"Stuck here? Well that's fine with you, but the rest of us are kats."

"Exactly. So let's end this quickly, before something bad happens." Lonestar bit his lip, as if holding back something else. "And… I won't let you guys get stuck here. Not because of me."

"If we get stuck here, it won't be your fault," the kat informed him. "You're our friend, and if we were gonna get stuck in another world and time, we'd rather do it with you. Though let's not cross that bridge until we get there."

Max smiled ruefully, a plan formulating in his mind. "Thanks, dude. Now let's go save the world."

[][][]

"I see him," Jake called back to his friends. "Just a little bit farther."

"Good thing I'm only mildly scared of heights," Johnny said, holding onto the railing for dear life and trying not to look at the street far below. "You doin' okay, Anne?"

"Never better," she replied, a determined expression on her face. "Dr. Void's going down, and I'm gonna be there to report it!"

"As long as we don't die," Callie reminded them, climbing the metal structure next to Razor.

"We won't," the Swat Kat told her, pausing to look back at her. "I promise." He took her hand, giving it a quick squeeze before they resumed their climb.

They found Void standing at the hightest point of the tower, but their eyes were drawn to what hovered right over him. It looked like another portal, this one big enough to cover the entire roof of the tower. It floated several feet over the villainous kat, humming with energy and sending a mild wind blowing around.

"What is he doing," Anne asked.

"Whatever it is, we need to stop him," Jake said, climbing ahead of everyone. Void turned around as the Swat Kat approached him, a sadistic grin on his face.

"Ah, so nice of you to finally join me," he said, balancing on the metal poles that made up the very top of the Reunion Tower dome. "I'm glad you are here to witness the birth of a new world order."

"That's not gonna happen," Razor said, aiming his Glovatrix at the evil scientist. "Stop whatever you're doing and surrender!"

The villain laughed at that statement, stepping towards him. "I may keep you alive; I could use a fool to tell me jokes every now and then!" He looked behind Jake, spotting Callie, Anne and Johnny. "You are the only one that is armed, I believe. And just because they've managed to defeat my butler, it does not mean they will be any help defeating me."

"We're full of surprises," Callie retorted, glaring at him.

"Well, when the humans find your remains on the pavement, then we'll know for sure," Void said, bearing his claws and teeth.

The sound of a jet engine sounded, and all of them turned to see what it was. The Turbokat was hovering nearby, guns aimed right at the supervillain. The bottom of the plane opened, and Max glided down to the top of the dome, landing a few yards away from Void. He nearly slipped off the criss-crossing poles, but he managed to catch himself.

"Sorry I'm late to the party," he said, his own weapon drawn. "I see you've turned yourself into a monster too; now you're as ugly outside as you are inside."

"Ah, the other human who came to our world," the evil scientist said. "I would keep such taunts to yourself if I were you, seeing that I will soon be your future leader."

"You brought me there against my will," Lonestar said, glaring at him. "And you took that other man from his home and turned him into... You took him from his family… from his fiancé! He remembered her, and the life he used to have!"

"Before you killed him," Void asked, grinning at the human's furious expression. "I have a feeling you wouldn't leave my son alone if he was just unconscious."

"He was not your son," Max said. "And I will not let you do the same to anyone else on my planet!"

"We'll see about that." The villain looked up at the portal above him. "In a few minutes, the mutagen gas will come through and spread over this city. My following will grow by millions, and I will march them on Megakat City, to set up the capitol of my new empire! And once I have control of the kat world-"

A net suddenly shot out from the Turbokat, hitting Dr. Void and wrapping itself around him. He yelped with surprise, falling onto his side and nearly falling between the gap of the poles.

"That's enough monolougin' out of you," T-Bone said over the plane's speakers. "The rest of us, let's end this quickly."

Roaring, Void ripped free of his bonds, jumping to his feet. He shook the poles that made up the globe, causing everyone to start losing their balance. Johnny yelped, falling partway through one of the gaps before Anne caught him. His kamera slipped from his shoulder, falling to the roof beneath him. It was not a long drop to the top of the roof, but one wrong step and they were goners.

Jake attacked first, shooting a cable at the villain, wrapping it around his neck. He tried to pull the monster back off balance, but quickly found himself being pulled forwards instead. Void caught him by the neck, starting to choke the kat. Max ran forward, leaping onto the evil scientist's back, trying to choke him out. Void roared, trying to buck the human off of him while Jake tried to break free.

Meanwhile, Johnny slipped further, nearly taking Anne with him. Callie now grabbed her friend's arm, helping her hold her boyfriend up. Chance, at the same time, had parked the Turbokat by the side of the tower, setting it in hover mode [per Max's plan] before leaping out and climbing towards the fight.

Back at the top of the dome, Void finally dropped Razor so he could grab Lonestar off his back. Anticipating this, the human dropped off of him, catching the pole he was standing on and swinging on it. He quickly pulled himself up, now in front of the villain and shooting sleeping darts at him. They had little effect, but they caused the scientist to fall backwards, causing the dome to shake.

"Stay down," T-Bone yelled, finally joining the fight and firing a small missile from his Glovatrix. It exploded mid-air, releasing another net that covered the supervillain. It would not hold him, so Razor and Lonestar instantly shot similar nets from their own gauntlets before launching the next stage of their attack.

"Look," Johnny yelled, looking at the supervillain. "On his arm!"

Callie looked up, squinting to see what he was referring to. Void was wearing some kind of metal gauntlet with a few buttons and a small screen on it. "It looks like some kind of remote control," she said, soon raising her voice so the Swat Kats could hear her. "Get the remote away from him!"

"What remote," Chance asked.

"There," Jake said, pointing at the villain's left arm.

Max ran forward to grab it, and the evil kat turned away from him, shielding the gauntlet with his body. Splitting his bo staff into batons, the human started to wail on the sadistic scientist, hitting whatever he could in order to knock Void unconscious.

"You think that's hurting me," Void asked mockingly, pulling his arm free and punching Lonestar in the face. "You cannot hurt me. You cannot stop me!"

"Think again, furball," the human snapped, blood running down his nose.

Jake and Chance decided to attack next, jumping onto the kat and attacking him with their own claws. Void was going to punch them back, but Max ran grabbed his hand, using all his strength to pull the supervillian kat's arm back and away from his friend. Callie and Anne managed to pull Johnny back onto the top of the dome. As soon as they were sure they were fine, they started towards the fight, ready to help in whatever way they could.

"Got it," Lonestar shouted, unclasping the remote control from Void's arm, instantly heading back towards the Turbokat with it.

Where is he going with that, Razor wondered.

"GIVE THAT BACK," the villain roared, ripping through the rest of the netting, throwing the two kats off of him. He immediately ran after Max, bounding across the poles and causing the whole structure to sway.

"We have to do something," Anne said.

"But what," Callie asked. "He's too far away!"

The newskat got a sudden idea, taking her microphone out of her pocket. Knowing she only had one shot, she aimed at Void as he got closer to the human, and then threw the mic.

It hit the villain in the side of the head, making him snarl and fall off-balance. He finally fell through the gaps of the dome, hitting the rooftop several yards beneath them. Lonestar finally reached the plane, jumping into his seat and plugging the device into the computer.

"Hackle," he said, turning his communicator back on. "How much time do we have?"

"Five minutes and thirty-one seconds," the elderly scientist replied. "Max, my records indicate that your belt had been-"

"Nevermind that now! How do I shut down the portal over the tower? I don't know which button on this remote control of Void's will shut it down."

"Plug it into the Turbokat's dashboard and transmit it to me." The human did so, waiting with bated breath as his friends outside soon faced another problem.

"Is everyone okay," Jake yelled, walking over to Callie, Anne and Johnny.

"We're fine," she replied. "Is Void-"

"He's still alive," Chance yelled, pointing down at the rooftop. The evil kat was indeed up and moving, and they watched in horror as he started to destroy the poles that supported the dome they were standing on. "Though we won't be if we stay here!"

"Everyone get off the roof," Lonestar called over the Turbokat's loudspeaker. "Get onto the plane, I got an idea!" The kats did not mean to be told twice, and instantly made their way to the plane as the dome started to tremble beneath them.

[][][]

"-and pressing the bottom-most button will shut off the portal," Hackle finished explaining. "But Max, if you do not have one of my belts than you can't-"

"I know, I know! Just get ready to bring everyone back!" The human quickly took out his phone, going to the Map app and pulling up his home address. "And don't forget what else I said!'

"I won't forget."

"YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME," Void yelled up at them as he ripped up more of the supports. "AND YOU CANNOT STOP THE MUTAGEN! THE TIMER WILL BE GOING OFF MOMENTARILY, AND WILL KILL YOU KATS AND TURN EVERY HUMAN INTO MY SLAVES!" He laughed maniacally, continuing to rip up the restraints.

"Everybody on," Razor yelled, helping the Deputy Mayor and the newskats before he and Chance climbed onto the Turbokat.

"Take this," Lonestar said, handing his phone to Johnny. "My password's 2112; remember that!"

"Why would I need-" Johnny started to ask.

"No time for that! We need to get out of range of the portal! T-Bone, get us a hundred feet away from the Tower but keep us hovering!"

"Got it," the kat replied, not questioning the human [it was probably part of the plan Max had briefly mentioned he had]. He pulled the plane away from the Reunion Tower, keeping it hovering in the air. "Whatever it is you've got planned you better do it now!"

"It's ready! Hackle, do it now!"

"Do what now-" Callie started to ask, before she vanished into thin air. Johnny and Anne quickly followed, leaving the three Swat Kats in the plane.

"Callie! What happened to them," Razor yelped, looking around with surprise. "Where did they go?"

"They're back at Hackle's lab," the human explained quickly, punching in new commands into the villain's remote control. "So is Feral and all the Enforcers; they're fine if not a bit bruised. You two are going next."

"Us two," Chance asked. "What about you? You're comin' with us! No Swat Kat left behind!"

"I can't! My belt got destroyed; I don't have a way of travelling through space and time! Besides, this is my home, and I need to stay and make sure that Void doesn't destroy it before the portals close!"

"But Hackle said-" The kat's eyes widened as he realized the truth. "No! No, don't you dare-"

"I'm sorry," Max said, a few tears in his eyes. "Remember today's date; come back for me at five PM Central Standard Time."

"What are you talking about," Jake demanded, not understanding why T-Bone and Max were so upset. "Why would we need to remember today's-"

"Please forgive me," he whispered, not just to them, but to God as he took a deep breath. "Hackle, now!"

The two kats vanished into thin air, leaving the human alone on the plane with only a minute to shut down the portal.

[][][]

Jake and Chance landed in Hackle's lab, both out of breath and covered in sweat.

"Kat's alive, you're here," Callie yelled, running forward and helping Jake to his feet before hugging him. "We thought something had gone wrong!"

"Something did," he replied, looking at his best friend, who looked enraged and sad and shocked all at the same time. "Chance-"

"Hackle, send me back," the blond Swat Kat demanded, storming over to the Professor, who was typing furiously on his computer. "Send me back right-"

"SHHH! I need to focus or else Max and his world are done for," the elderly kat snapped, typing furiously as various energy levels and diagrams appeared on the screen. Nearby, Feral and the other Enforcers were being treated by some of Hackle's medical bots, watching the newcomers with curious looks.

"Chance, what did Max do," Johnny asked, sensing that he knew something no one else did. "Why did he send us here? Is he coming?"

"No, his belt broke and he's about to be stuck in his own time," the Swat Kat yelled angrily.

"Chance, buddy, that's a good thing," Razor said, walking up to his friend and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I mean, sure, we… won't get to say goodbye to him…" He swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "But at least we now have a portal to go see him."

"No we don't," Hackle said, still typing like mad at the computer. "I discovered an anomaly in Void's portals and let Max know about it. The portals were meant to only transcend space and time, but not an excessive amount of time like the 22 years between our world and Max's. We must close the portals in the next thirty seconds or else the continuum will rip, and destroy both our universe's with it!"

"Wait wait wait," Anne said, trying to wrap her head around this. "So we won't be able to use the portals afterwards?"

"Not unless our dates are exactly the same," the Professor explained. "For instance, if we wanted to travel there now, we would arrive at 2:04 PM, 1997. So you see…"

Callie understood immediately, gasping with shock. "But that means…"

Jake got it next, the horror dawning on him as he suddenly realized his best friend's anger and sadness. "No… No no NO!"

"We're can't go see Max… until our world reaches 2019," Johnny finished, right as Chance gave a roar of rage and hurt.

[][][]

Back in his world, Max was crying his eyes out as he punched in the last command and hit 'GO.'

When Hackle had told him about the timeline issues, he immediately knew that he needed to do something. He could not let his friends be stuck in his world while theirs wanted to catch up to 2019. Also, he knew that, even if he had a belt, he could not go back to the Kat world and wait until 2019, growing into a middle-aged man. How could he face his mother and not have her recognize him?

No. The only option was for him to stay in his time, and send his friends back… let them grow older as they waited for their world to reach 2019. Then they would come for him.

Max knew it would hurt them, when they realized they could not see him again until they were in their forties-to-fifties, and he would still be twenty-one. They would be angry at him for doing this without telling them, without saying goodbye or telling them about what Hackle had told him. But if he had told them, they would have stayed, and he knew that Megakat City needed the Swat Kats more than Dallas and the human earth needed them. He hated to do this to them; they were his best friends, his rescuers... and now he was about to lose them.

"I'm sorry," he whispered again as more tears streamed down his face. "Please know it's for the best... I'll see you in twenty-two years."

However, there was still the problem of Void to be dealt with. The villain was currently tearing up the dome of the Reunion Tower, and pieces were falling to the ground below. So, under Hackle's guidance and assistance, Lonestar strengthened the pull of the kat's portal and reversed the polarity.

The portal grew brighter as soon as he hit the button. It started to shake, along with the top of the dome. Seconds later, the pieces slowly started to lift up, now being pulled into the portal.

"NO!" Lonestar could almost hear the villain's roar of rage and confusion, and spotted the speck of the kat fly up into the portal. It was then that he shot an missile towards him, which flew up into the portal. He had to close it soon, but not until both were in there; the missile was to blow up the mutagen, along with the toxins he had prepared to release, but he did not want the top of the tower damaged.

Ten seconds… nine… eight… seven…

The kat and missile flew in right as it hit two, and Max shut down the portal. At the same time, he felt himself slipping into the past one more, his body rigid as the flashback hit him in full-force.

And there was no one there to help him.

[][][]

Forgotten by everyone else, Void's butler had been tied up on the roof the whole time, watching the battle unfold; he had been unable to escape. And, as he floated up towards the portal, all he could think was-

I should have gotten that raise.


Oh my gosh! I got a crazy adrenaline rush writing this, but know that this is not the last chapter.

As to why I haven't posted a new chapter in so long... I have no excuse. I got back home after school for Winter and Christmas Breaks, and kind of focused on spending time with them. I still updated my other stories, but kept putting off this one for one reason or another. The next thing I knew, its the last couple days of January, and I realized how long you all had been waiting. So, thus is the ending of the Battle of Reunion Tower.

I know this was a long time in the waiting, and I apologize for not updating sooner. Rest assured I will be updating the last chapter of this story [for the next chapter IS the last one, I'm afraid], along with my final author's note within the next twenty-one to thirty days. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope it is not too sad or confusing to any of you. For those that ARE confused...

Max is in 2019 while his friends are in 1997. They cannot use the portals again unless they travel to a time that is exactly the same in each world, meaning the kats have to wait until September 2019 before they can return to Max's time. They could hypothetically travel to the human world before that, but like Hackle said, it would only work if the times work [ei. Kat world on Oct. 12, 2004 can only take them to the human world at that same date].

See you again REALLY soon [per my message about updating the last bits of this story within the next month], and I hope you all have a great weekend.

Also, forgive me for the lame joke at the end with the butler. I kind of forgot about him, and wanted to make sure he was defeated as well.