The entire day was cast in the strange red glow of the giant sun. The sorcerer, Mau, had explained that it would be best to attempt the rescue at night. Shade Kat's power was strongest in the day with his Sun Talisman, while the Moon Talisman's power was strongest after the red sun had vanished below the horizon. He, along with General Birman and Captain Cymric, who had first 'found' the SWAT Kats in the forest, gave the best details they could of Shade Kat's citadel and the surrounding area.
"The most likely point of entry would be here. "Cymric pointed to a point on the map near the rear of the castle. There's not much space between the moat and the wall, only a couple of feet. But there's a crumbled section of wall partially hidden behind some overgrown vines and bushes. There's also a fallen tree here, where you could cross the moat. It's best to stay out of that water."
"Fine by me." T-Bone didn't like the idea of crossing the moat at all. He knew Razor was a good swimmer, but he certainly wasn't.
"What sort of defenses are we looking at?"
"Koblins patrol the castle inside and out. They're tough, but not overly so. It's their numbers that's the issue. Best to just avoid them if at all possible. The Wyverns patrol the skies above. They're what you have to watch out for. If they see you, it's over."
"Wyverns?" Both spoke up at once, already having an idea of what he was talking about.
"Yes. Large flying beasts with crushing jaws and barbed tails that can slice through steel armor like nothing."
"Yeah, we had a run-in with them already." T-Bone growled. Those were the things that tore up his beloved Turbokat.
The other three kats all looked up sharply. "And you survived them?" It was Birman who spoke.
"Barely. Messed up our jet pretty bad." Razor didn't even notice the looks. He was still studying the map.
"Your 'jet'?
"Long story." T-Bone couldn't help a slight grin.
That evening, just after sunset, Captain Cymric led them to Shade Kat's citadel. He rode a chestnut war horse, which was surprisingly agile and quiet despite being such a large animal, as was the dark gray mare ridden by Mau. The SWAT Kats took their cyclotron. Stopping about a half mile away, Cymric pointed out the safest path through the trees to the castle.
"Take this with you. It will help hide you from the wyverns and koblins. It will also help lead you to Elena." Mau took the talisman and handed it to Razor.
As he took it, the talisman took on the same soft silver glow from the first time they had seen it. He put it around his neck. "Woah."
"Good luck to you. Please bring Elena safely back to us."
T-Bone nodded. "We will."
The pair left the cyclotron where Cymric and Mau waited, and made their way on foot the rest of the way to the back of the castle. Avoiding the koblin patrols was the easy part. Stealth was something they were very good at. At one point though a dark shadow swooped low over the crescent moon. Quickly they ducked behind a nearby tree stump, a most of the trees near the castle had been cut down.
"Did it see us?"
"I don't know."
The wyvern turned and came back, flying low and more slowly. It had seen something and was now searching.
"Crud." They were getting ready to use the mini-missiles in their glovatrix when the talisman around Razor's neck glowed again. The shadow of the large stump suddenly deepened. They could still see the wyvern drawing nearer, but couldn't see each other, or even their own hands in front of them. "What the...?"
They wyvern swooped low, passing only a few yards above them, then rose again, back into the sky.
"It didn't see us?" T-Bone glanced to his partner, who he could now see again, and noticed that the talisman had stopped glowing once more. "Did that thing save us?"
"Looks that way." The awe in Razor's voice was obvious. "C'mon."
The continued carefully but quickly forward again, finally reaching the fallen tree that partially spanned the moat.
The larger kat looked over the rotting tree. "Well, it doesn't go all the way, but we can easily jump the rest of it."
"Wonder why Cymric said to stay out of the water?"
"Who cares. Let's just hurry and get across."
Razor led the way, T-Bone cautiously following. The log was rotten and small chunks came loose under their paws, but they kept their balance. Razor paused, nearly causing T-Bone to run into him. "What is it? Let's go!"
"No, something's wrong." He laid his ears back. He had a bad feeling. Something made him turn his attention to the right. "There's something in the water."
"What? I can't see any... Ah!" Before he could finish his sentence, a large purplish tentacle came up and grabbed T-Bone by the legs, and pulled him down into the water. He dug his claws into the rotting log, fighting with all his strength not to get pulled under.
"T-Bone!" Razor took a breath and dived in. The talisman again glowed, this time much brighter, giving Razor plenty of light to see in the murky water. The moat was unbelievably deep and the tentacle seemed to go down to it's very bottom, much too far to see anything. Aiming his glovatrix, he fired two mini-blades, severing the tentacle. A cloud of black blood came from the severed stump as it pulled itself back down into the depths. He swam back to the surface and the two climbed back up onto the fallen log.
"THAT would be why he said to stay out of the water!" Razor said as he climbed out, the talisman's glow again vanishing.
"Yeah. Another good reason to get this over with!"
They quickly made their way across, leaping the last two yards to the opposite shore.
"Alright, now where's that hidden entrance?"
Razor placed a hand to the talisman, then pointed to a nearby section of overgrown vines. "There!"
"You sure that's it?"
"I know it is."
Pulling the vegetation out of the way, they saw that there was indeed a loose stone, the mortar that held it in having crumbled away. Carefully they pulled the stone out, revealing a dark, narrow passage.
"You first, bud. You're the one with the magic necklace."
"Thanks a lot." The smaller kat carefully crawled through the hole, followed by his partner. They dropped down into a passage lit by dim torches along each side. There was no sign of koblins, or anything else for that matter. They were at the end of a long corridor, rows of wooden doors along each side.
"Okay, now what?"
"We came right into the dungeon. Elena's nearby behind one of the doors a little further down."
"How the heck can you know that?"
"I don't know. I just do."
"It's gotta be that necklace."
"I think your right. Mau said it would lead us right to her."
They made their way down the corridor. The talisman started glowing again, the glow getting stronger as they continued on. Finally Razor stopped and look to a door on the left. The glow was now pulsating. "There!" They ran over to it and Razor used his glovatrix to pick the lock. Opening the door, the only light in the damp room came from talisman and the torches in the hall beyond.
On alert for traps or enemies, the two cautiously entered the cell, finding a she-kat in the center of it, hanging from her wrists by a rope coming down from the ceiling. Her head was down, face hidden beneath long black hair with streaks of red, like blood, down the sides of her ears. Her body was limp, she didn't even seem to be alive. Her clothing was simple, not at all what they had expected for this 'Lady' who was the leader of such a large army. A blood-soaked shirt with a deep "V" neck lined with a short ruffle and loose long sleeves, brown leather breeches, and a dark blue wrap skirt trimmed in silver.
The talisman pulsated strongly. "That's her!"
"Alright, let's cut her down and get out of here." T-Bone moved to hold the she-kat while Razor moved around behind her, ready to cut the ropes with the tiny buzz saw in his glovatrix. Suddenly he froze, wide-eyed."
"What is it?"
"You've got to see this."
T-Bone moved around behind the she-kat and he too stared in shock at what he saw. The back of her shirt had been ripped open, the long hair pulled away over her shoulders. Her back was covered in uncountable gashes, some still oozing blood, other somewhat older ones clearly infected. She had been badly whipped and tortured.
Anger filled the tabby. "How could anyone do this?"
"We're definitely going to have to find a way to stop this guy!"
"Agreed. This Shade Kat is certainly going to pay for this!"
"Right. But later. For now let's just get her out of here. Maybe Mau knows a way to heal some of these wounds. They look pretty bad."
Carefully they cut her down and carried her back to the end of the hall, then out the hidden opening. Once outside, they had to be careful getting back across the moat, the log was now almost ready to give way beneath them.
They made it back across safely, but a loud screech above caught their attention. A massive black shape angled swiftly down out of the sky straight at them. They'd been spotted.
Both took off running, T-Bone carrying the unconscious Elena. About half-way to the trees, Razor suddenly stopped and dropped to one knee, taking aim at the creature with the glovatrix. "Keep going!"
"C'mon Sure-Shot! Take that thing down!" T-Bone called over his shoulder as he kept running.
Razor took aim, then the talisman glowed brightly again. He fired a mini octopus missile, which glowed with the same silver light as the talisman as soon it he did. The aim was perfect, it hit the wyvern square in the face. The glow brightened to blinding silver light that surrounded the wyvern. The beast screamed, then disintegrated into a black mist. All went dark again, but they could hear koblins not too far off, heading their way. Somewhere near the top of the castle, a dark figure watched in silence on a balcony.
Razor managed to catch up to T-Bone, the koblins close behind.
"Good shot! I'm glad that necklace is on our side!"
"Me too, buddy. Now let's get our tails out of here!"
The koblins caught up to them just as they were reaching the tree-line. They fired their crossbows, but luckily they all missed. It was as if they couldn't see their targets very well despite the clear night, and they hesitated going into the dark forest. The kats were out of breath by the time they reached where they had left the cyclotron. Mau and Cymric where still there.
"You made it! Thank the Gods!" Cymric ran over, Mau right behind him, and carefully took Elena from T-Bone. His jaw dropped when he saw her back. "They've tortured her near to death! Mau, can you heal this?"
"Maybe. But not now. Look!"
He pointed to where the koblins, now more than three dozen of them, where running through the trees after them, wielding swords and flails.
Mau and Cymric lept onto their horses, Cymric holding Elena in front of him, and took off at a full gallop. The SWAT Kats gunned the cyclotron and likewise took off, keeping their pace with the swift horses. Despite what T-Bone considered to be a slow pace, they left the koblins well behind.
They made it back to camp in less than two hours, Mau and Cymric keeping their horses at a run straight through the multitude of tents. They didn't stop until they reached the command center where they took Elena inside another dark blue tent between the command tent and Mau's. T-Bone and Razor parked the cyclotron outside the tent next to the sweating horses just as General Birman ran out of his own tent. "How is she?"
"Badly wounded. Mau's going to try to heal her." Razor took off the talisman, no longer glowing, and the three walked quietly into the tent. Cymric had set Elena on her stomach onto the cot and was now standing back out of the way while Mau knelt over her, his hands glowing silver. The talisman lit up again with light and burned in Razor's hands. "Ow! What's going on?"
Birman looked to him. "The talisman! Give it to me."
Razor handed it to him and the large kat hissed with pain as it burned into his palms. Quickly he moved beside Mau and placed it onto Elena's wounded back. The glow spread over Elena's entire body, and the group watched as the wounds slowly began to heal and close. Soon there was nothing left but a few light scars. The glowing stopped entirely and Mau fell over, completely exhausted. Cymric helped the wizard up and assisted him back out of the tent. As they passed by, Mau turned to T-Bone and Razor, and nodded weakly. "Thank you. You not only have saved her, but may have just saved us all as well..." With that he left, helped by Cymric.
General Birman picked up the talisman, now cold and dim again, and set it on the small table beside the cot. He then gently pulled the blanket up over Elena while she slept. Turning, he left and tent, motioning for T-Bone and Razor to follow him.
Once outside, they saw the horses nearby, unsaddled and being tended to by a group of teenagers. Birman was solemn, his voice soft and eyes downcast. "I don't know how to thank you. You don't know how great a service you have done for us in returning her. If anything happened to her, I could never face my father and grandfather in the afterlife."
"Huh?" This caught them both by surprise.
Birman looked up, his eyes betraying the pain hidden behind his tough visage. "The talisman, it prevents her from aging somehow. She came to my grandfather's village nearly fifty years ago."
"Fifty years?" They both yelled out simultaneously.
"Yes. My grandfather was the magistrate. She was wounded and fatigued, wearing clothing similar to yours. She would never say where it was she came from. The village's blacksmith had been recently injured in an accident, so she took his place. She could work steel like no-one had ever seen, folding it to be both lighter and stronger than any other blacksmith had dreamed it could. With her tools and her knowledge of how to make mechanical things, the village thrived. The day that Shade Kat appeared, she fought alongside my father and grandfather to protect the village. My grandfather was killed, and in his dying breath, put her in charge of our people. For the past twenty-two years she's kept us safe from Shade Kat, and her army slowly grew as more and more towns and villages fell to his power. Mau says there is a prophecy, that there would be those who come not from our world, chosen of the Moon Talisman, who would defeat Shade Kat and bring again an age of peace to us. We always knew it would be her who led us. But now that the two of you are here, we believe the prophecy may be close to fulfillment. Your coming to our world was no accident. The Moon Talisman had summoned you."
They listened to the kat's story. It was all a bit much to absorb. Finally T-Bone shook his head. "Okay, hold it, hold it. You're saying that, that necklace summoned us here? To this world? And Elena before us, to help you defeat this Shade Kat?"
"Makes sense to me!" Razor was starting to get used to them being the 'saviors' in more worlds and times than just their own.
"It would. Anyway's, we certainly have no problem in kicking Shade Kat's tail for keeps, but how are supposed to accomplish this? I mean, our biggest weapon is completely useless right now."
"Yeah, unless you guys have an aeronautics repair station around here somewhere, I think we're kinda screwed there." Something then occurred to the smaller kat. "Hang on, what did you mean that she wore clothing similar to ours?"
"Just what I said. Her clothing was very similar, except of course for your gauntlet weapons. That and, of course, she didn't have a mask."
"She's a pilot?"