It was twilight when they finally arrived back at camp, but plans were quickly made on how to unburry the SilverHawk and move it, in parts if need be, as well as the Turbokat, back to the camp. The next morning, a large portion of the northern part of the clearing, not too far from the smithy, was cleared out. Oxen and draft horses were harnessed and every bit of rope and chain in the camp was gathered. The first order of business way to get the Turbokat. It took almost the entire day, but finally they got it (not all in one piece unfortunately) back into the clearing. The SilverHawk was more difficult. It was further away, and through rough terrain. A small, temporary camp had to be made halfway between it and the main camp. It took 3 days just to remove the majority of the fifty years of rock and plant growth. Chance and Jake had switched their flight suits for more comfortable work clothes borrowed from some of the soldiers.

Once all the parts of both jets had been collected and assembled in the clearing, the real work began. For the most part, Elena ran the forge. Though she had several assistants to help her whom she had taught in the past years her methods of working steel. Even Chance helped with the reforging of the parts to rebuild the Turbokat, and found that he was actually quite good at it. Jake oversaw the majority of the reassembly, with Elena making suggestions on how to improve certain parts (such as keeping the heat shields more secure.) Working with the medieval tools was a real hassle, but with Elena's added knowledge, they were able to make it work quite well.
It took a long time (at least to Jake and Chance's standards), but they managed to finally rebuild the Turbokat. There was only one problem, they had no paint designed for use on a jet fighter!

Chance looked at his now rebuilt jet. "Only one more thing would make her perfect."

Elena chuckled. She seemed to know what he was referring to. "Allow me." She walked up to stand four yards away from the jet, and held up the talisman in her hands. It glowed brightly for several moments, then a powerful beam of bluish-white light shot from it, surrounding the Turbokat in a bright glow. It took almost 15 seconds, but when the talisman finally went dark again, the glow on the jet faded to reveal it once again as black as pitch, with it's characteristic red markings. Elena stumbled but managed to keep her balance. The spell apparently took a lot out of her. Chance and Jake looked up and the now completed jet, then back at Elena. Chance couldn't help but smile.

"Perfect..."

That night there was a great celebration in the camp. It had been almost three full weeks since the SWAT Kats arrived. The Turbokat had been completed, and all were in high hopes that soon the prophecy would be fulfilled and Shade Kat's rule would be at an end. There was much feasting, and drinking, around a massive bonfire. Kats sang and danced. Jake and Chance were enjoying themselves, but soon noticed that one kat was missing. Chance found Captain Cymric a bit away from the main festivities with his group of rangers. They were sitting quietly eating roast mutton and drinking plain water. Cymric nodded politely to Chance as he approached. "Hey Cymric, do you know Elena is? I haven't seen her in the past couple hours?"

"Preparing. She says 'it's almost time'. I'm sure she means to make the attack tomorrow night."

"Where?"

Without getting up, he turned and pointed up to the cliff looming above the camp. "There's a way up near the smithy."

"Thanks." Chance nodded to the Captain then turned and headed towards the smithy. He found the 'way up', which was actually a narrow ledge not even two feet wide that wound up the shear cliff. Carefully, he followed the trail, and found himself almost instantly back in thick forest at the top. Walking back in the direction to where Cymric had pointed, he came to where the trees gave way to a tiny clearing beside the ledge, overlooking the entire camp. There he saw Elena, a sword in hand, practice fighting. She was very good, he noted.

Elena mostly kept her eyes closed. She knew where the trees were. Knew where the ledge dropped away to the clearing far below. Knew where every rock poked out through the thin blanket of grass. She didn't need to see when her other senses were so acute. She could hear, smell, feel, everything around her. Her paws moved so lightly with each step that it seemed as if not even a single blade of grass bent beneath her. Something moved, her right ear twitched at the virtually inaudible sound. She turned swiftly, swinging the blade at shoulder height, arm straight, and stopped in mid-stroke.

Chance froze, the blade barely an inch from his neck.

Elena smiled and opened her eyes, lowering the blade slowly. "Never try to sneak up on me like that."

Chance put his hands up. "Got it."

She sheathed her sword and he lowered his hands. "What are you doing up here anyway? Your army is all down there celebrating."

She sighed and lowered her eyes. Turning, she looked over the cliff and the festivities below. "It's almost time." She then looked up to the moon, casting it's silver glow over the landscape. "Tomorrow night will be the full moon. That's when we will attack Shade Kat's citadel. The timing of the completion of your jet couldn't have been more perfect."

"When the moon's the brightest. The light should be to our advantage for a night attack."

"No, it's not light I want. It's darkness."

The confusion was obvious in Chance's expression.

"Tomorrow night there will be a total eclipse. That is when we will attack. The darkness will hide us while the Moon Talisman will be at it's strongest. Shade Kat's Sun Talisman is more powerful during the day. We will have a much greater advantage. I hope you are as good at flying as I believe you are. It will be very difficult in the darkness.

He couldn't help but smile proudly. "No problem. Jake's dimensional radar makes night flying a snap. I can see perfectly with it."

"Good." She sat down, her feet hanging over the edge of the cliff.

Chance walked over and sat beside her. "There's something I don't quite understand though. Why don't you want to go back to your own world? Why stay here?"
She cast her eyes down sadly, and remained silent several long moments. Chance was about to apologize for asking something that so obviously pained her when she finally spoke up. "As I told you before, in my world I lived in what was strictly a military government. They ruled everything, and everyone. There was no freedom. For anything. My..." She hesitated, the bad memories finally welling back up from where she had buried them so long ago. "My parents were killed when I was young. In an 'accident' I was told. The army raised me, trained me to build and to fly. They saw my potential as an aeronautics and weapons designer very early. To be honest, I don't think that what had happened to my parents was an accident. I think the military wanted me for their weapons program and my parents refused. What the military wants, it gets, no matter what."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "No wonder you won't go back..."

"It gets worse. It's not just that I won't go back, I can't. To do so, is my own death."

"What?"

"I vanished, with my prototype jet. If I return, especially without the SilverHawk, I'll be hanged for treason. It won't matter what I tell them. No judge, no trail, just execution."
Now he understood. No-one would want to go back to that. Not when they could make a new life, as they wished it, elsewhere. For a while they both just sat there in silence, looking down at the celebration below. At length, Elena stood up. "I guess it's time to get back." She had a faint smile on her face, and almost seemed a bit more at peace now that someone else knew her long kept secret.

Likewise, Chance also stood up, and the two made their way carefully back down the cliff to the camp below.

Once they got back down to the camp, Elena went to go speak with Captain Cymric while Chance rejoined Jake near the bonfire.

"Where've you been?"

"Talking with Elena."

"Oh..."

"Stop that!"

Jake snickered.

"She was telling me a bit more about her world. And why she won't go back. I don't see how anyone would."

"What's wrong with it?"

"The question is, 'what's isn't?'".

About that time, General Birman walked over to them. He had removed with metal breast plate and coverings, now wearing simple leather armor. He also brought with him three mugs of mead, two of which he handed to Chance and Jake, then sat down on the log next to them that served as a bench. Chance sniffed it curiously. "What is this anyways?"

"Mead. It's made from honey, and we add a bit of cream into it as well for extra flavor."

He took a slight sip. It was stronger than he expected. "Not bad."

Jake tried it as well, and was pleasantly surprised at the strange medieval drink.

"I want to thank the two of you."

"For what? We haven't done anything yet?"

"Yes you have." He nodded towards the multitude of celebrating kats. "You've given them hope. Even Elena seems different now. It's been a long time since I've seen her this way: content, almost happy."

Chance took another sip of the mead then paused, looking at the group of kats dancing around the bonfire. At one in particular, slightly obscured on the other side of the flames. Jake and Birman both noticed and followed his gaze. Elena was there, her dark blue skirt and raven hair flowing as she danced.

Birman smiled. "In fact, I've not seen her like this in a very long time. Since I was a kitten, before Shade Kat. She's dedicated herself so much to this cause of protecting the people and defeating Shade Kat that she's become a stern warrior, almost emotionless. I don't think she even remembers that she is still just a she-kat. A beautiful she-kat."

Jake smirked and leaned over to Chance's ear. "A very beautiful she-kat, isn't she?" He snickered.

Chance raised his hand and was about to knock his friend off the log, hard, when the sudden silence made him pause. No-one danced or sang. All were now either sitting or kneeling, looking at a small table not far from the bonfire.

Elena sat upon the table, a fiddle in her hands. As she touched the bow to the string, the soft music that came from it burned it's way into the hearts of all who listened. Slowly, other instruments joined in, creating a beautiful and enchanting song. Then, she sang. Her voice rang pure and clear over the encampment. Her song was a ballad, a tale of a young peasant girl who could touch the minds and souls of wild beasts, and how she and the animals stood alone against a band of powerful sorcerers intent on enslaving her people.

Chance was enchanted by her beautiful voice. 'Dang... engineer, pilot, blacksmith, warrior, dancer... is there anything she can't do?'

When the ballad ended, the music slowly faded away back into silence. No one dared make a sound to break the mood set by their leader's song. None that is, but her. Without warning, she touched the bow to the strings again, and the music that came was fast spirited, showing her true skill and mastery of the instrument. She began a new song, of a woman who challenged the Faerie Queen herself to a duel of fiddle playing to win back her lover, who had enthralled by the Queen. Chance would almost swear she was looking at him as she sang. The song was fast paced and Elena stood upon the table, dancing as she played.

This song, unlike the first, brought a fury of cheering and applause once finished, including from Chance and Jake.

She put up the fiddle, but then someone nearby began to play a guitar. The final song was short and also fast-paced, and the gestures she made along with the lyrics quite amusing. A warrioress, witch, and wolf had traveled in disguise to trick and defeated a hoard of bandits, then took revenge on the traitorous guard who set up the ambush. This final song sent everyone to fits of laughter and applause as she finished it then lept lightly off the table. Grabbing a mug of mead she made her way through the crowd, which had resumed the festivities from before her performance. Elena partially sat, partially fell onto the log in between Chance and Birman, still laughing from her own song. Birman had to place a hand on her back for fear she might have fallen over backwards.

Jake was first to speak. "That was amazing! Where'd you learn to do that?"

"A few decades of practice." She was still laughing a bit as she spoke.

Chance still couldn't speak, he was completely enthralled by the amazing she-kat sitting next to him.

Note: For anyone who recognizes the three songs mentioned in this chapter, yes I am a big fan of Mercedes Lackey, Leslie Fish, Julia Ecklar, and Heather Alexander. This is a bit of my version of a homage to their beautiful pagan music.