THERE BE DRAGONS!
Chapter 13: Explanations
Returning to Dark Kat's former hideout, Razor grunted in satisfaction. Their previous assault had nearly collapsed the mountain to half its original size, albeit, only on one side. It would take only a few more missiles to finish the job.
"Okay, buddy, let's clean up!"
"You got it!" T-Bone's voice held the same satisfaction and pleasure at being able to shut down a long time threat.
Some thirty minutes later, the mountain hideaway had been reduced to the size of a hill with the peak having collapsed inward leaving a dimple in its top like a bowl.
"That does it. Take us home, T-Bone."
"What about our passengers?"
"I'll be taking them back to the community...less problems that way. I'll send the jet back by autopilot as I probably won't be back myself until late tomorrow. Glad there's not much work waiting in the garage and, hopefully, you won't get more while I'm gone."
"No worries, I can handle it. I hope you don't catch too much flack for me being in the area of your sanctuary," his partner said, a questioning lilt in his voice.
"I'm an elder, buddy, no one messes with me nor questions my decisions too much. However, they will be upset enough to want to vent about it. They'll be even more unhappy when I bring up the other more serious issues to their attention. It will be a long evening." Razor sighed.
T-Bone gave a sympathetic grunt. "Don't envy you that. I have to admit, this has been an incredible day for me...learning Dark Kat was a dragon then turning around and finding out Feral is one too was a shock then finding out he's only about the age of a teenage kitten, just blew my mind. Hey...was Dark Kat young too?"
"No, he was about half my age and definitely no hatchling. But one thing he most likely had in common with Feral, though, was receiving terrible treatment by someone in his formative years that made him a rogue."
"But Feral isn't one!" T-Bone objected, confused.
"Yes, and that truly amazes me. We may not like him particularly, but, T-Bone, believe me when I say, it takes a really strong will and firm beliefs in right and wrong to produce someone like Feral. Over my centuries of life, I've never encountered anyone who resisted being twisted by abuse like he did."
"Really? Now I feel even more guilty for giving him such a hard time over the past few years and it sort of makes me sick to realize I've been nasty to what amounts to a kitten. I've prided myself on being the protector of kittens and females and here I go abusing a youngster...I'm disgusted with myself," the tabby admitted, unhappily.
"Hey, easy buddy! Don't do that to yourself. Neither you nor I was aware Feral was a young dragon. He behaved like an adult Kat and we treated him exactly that way. It's a testament to just how well he hid himself. I admire that."
T-Bone snorted then sighed, "okay, you're right, there was no way we could have known and yeah, he does have a lot of moxy for such a young dragon alright. I don't think a kitten the same age could have pulled off what he's done over the past twenty years."
"Exactly. What an amazing hatchling."
"Well now that I know he's just a youngster and that he's suffered abuse when he was even younger, I'm not going to treat him the way I've been all these years. I know its important not to appear to treat him any differently in the public eye but I just can't continue being so disrespectful to him in front of his own officers. He's worked hard to reach the rank he attained and deserves to be treated with respect. So no more belittling him...let his officers be a little confused...better that than continue feeling like some ill mannered bully."
"It's alright buddy, I can understand how you feel completely. I'm not so happy about how I've treated him either," Razor admitted.
There was silence for some minutes as T-Bone thought about all that had happened as he piloted the jet homeward.
"Too bad we don't know the story on Dark Kat's life. It sounds as if his wasn't so rosy either and as vicious as that guy was, his past must have been truly horrific," T-Bone mused.
"I'm afraid you may be right. Some of the things I've seen and heard during my life were truly nasty. The worst being used for experiments...hmmm...you know that is a real possibly as his Kat persona was so unlike a Kat in many ways. I need to give his body a closer look to see if he had been used that way. It would explain a lot, " Razor said, thoughtfully.
"Experiments? Razor, that's just wrong!" T-Bone blurted.
"Yeah, well a lot of things Kat kind did to us were wrong, buddy, that's just the way things were for a very long time."
"That's just...how could we have stood by and allowed that to be done?" His partner asked, truly upset that such an injustice could have continue for so long.
"Well, to be honest, T-Bone, only the hunters turned to such vicious and sick treatment. Most of Kat kind didn't know since by that time we were already in hiding. So Kats thought we were myths except for the hunters who passed the knowledge down from generation to generation," Razor explained, patiently.
"That still doesn't make it right. Do these hunters still exist?" T-Bone asked, a self righteous anger resounding in his voice.
Razor couldn't help but smile though his partner couldn't see it. This was so like T-Bone to feel so strongly for the underdog that he wanted to badly set things right again, all on his own. No wonder he admired and loved the tabby so much.
"Yes, some are still around but not in the numbers they used to be nor with the power they used to hold. Now, its just pockets of dying families that still hunt us but with our coming out they will be easier to find as they won't be able to resist hunting us when we're out in the open."
"Then, we'll just have to add them to our list of bad guys and keep an eye out for them."
"Good idea, T-Bone."
Silence fell as they had reached their hangar and T-Bone was guiding the jet down the hidden runway. As the jet rose on its turntable for the hangar's main floor, T-Bone felt the need to add something else.
"You know buddy, you're really in for a lot of heartburn being Feral's mentor. I don't envy you trying to teach him. He's so stubborn and has had too much time being on his own to be willing to listen to anyone now. Also, he's so used to treating you as a trouble maker that he is having difficulty switching gears," he chuckled, lightly as he remembered the horror on Feral's face when he learned how old Razor truly was.
"Oh yeah, that much was already obvious to me. I can see lots of punishment tasks in his future," Razor said, ruefully.
"Oh but...you're not going to physically punish him are you?" T-Bone asked, concerned. "He's apparently suffered so much at the paws of his family, I'd hate to think he's looking at more of the same to make him tote the line. Don't misunderstand me, I know why you had to slap him down on that first meeting, but..."
Razor quickly cut him off. "His punishments will never involve painful or emotional mistreatment, buddy... promise. We use onerous tasks that need getting done to teach a hatchling to never repeat whatever his or her mistake was," he soothed and reassured his friend.
T-Bone's shoulders relaxed and he sighed in relief. "Okay, that's good to know but I suspect Feral is going to really hate you more than he already does."
"I have no doubt of that," Razor snorted, amused. "If you have more questions to ask me, I'll be happy to talk when I get back. Right now though, I've got some dragons to get home. I'll see you later, buddy."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow, sometime." T-Bone said, leaping from the cockpit and waving farewell, before turning away and heading for their changing area. Razor got out of his seat then went down into the cargo area to speak to his friends.
"Hey, guys! We're in our hangar and T-Bone has left so I can take us home. It will be a short flight."
"Uh, where would your hangar be?" Byron asked.
"It's better you don't know. However, so Comack doesn't have to create a scene to get my attention again...," Comack laughed. "... I'll be leaving a special communicator with Trimaris. There may be another time when this jet is the only thing between our home and death and I want you to be able to reach me in seconds to prevent what happened today from occurring again."
"Godess, I certainly hope this doesn't happen again," Meris retorted.
"So do I, Meris, but, unfortunately, it very well could as we still have other omegas out there. The reason I say that is this black dragon was the worst omega of our time and the one who attacked our sanctuary...that is Dark Kat," Adair said, looking down at the dead dragon.
"What?" Was the shocked reaction from all of them.
"Yeah, stunned me as well. And whose to say another omega might not be a hidden dragon?" Razor shook his head. "We can't take that chance so it's important we know everyone's Kat persona so we are able to seek a fellow dragons help when its needed."
"I actually agree with you on that. I've been watching and listening, and I have to say keeping our Kat persona's secret is actually contributing to our decline. To reverse it, we need to unveil completely to each other," Sushimi agreed.
"Good luck convincing the rest of the community to accept that," Byron commented, acidly.
"No different than revealing us to Kat kind. I feel very strongly that this is the path that will lead dragon kind to a happier and brighter future and this is only the first step," Razor's voice rang with certainty making the others eye him thoughtfully.
"Then may the Goddess assist you in your mission, Adair," Meris said, softly.
"Thank you. Now I'll get us home." Razor left them to their thoughts as he returned to the cockpit. The trip was made in silence and less than twenty minutes later, he brought the jet down in a small clearing at the back of the mountain range where their hidden citadel was located.
Leaving the engines running, he jumped down into the hold. "Okay, guys were in a clearing not far from the citadel. Can you fly or do we need to get more help?"
"Well, everyone helped heal most of my wounds so I should be able to fly," Sushimi said, raising and testing his wing.
Meris also gave a positive nod. "I'm good to go!"
"Okay then..." Razor signaled the cargo door to open and they all filed out then he took his dragon form and dragged the dead dragon from the jet. With Byron and Comack's assistance, he carried the body a short distance from the Turbokat with the others following him.
Returning to his Razor persona for a moment, he used his glovatrix to signaled the cargo door closed then engaged VTOL to raise the jet to the height it needed for level flight. Once it was high enough, he put it on autopilot and the Turbokat roared off toward the city once more.
He returned to his dragon form and they all waited until the jet couldn't be seen nor heard any longer before flying in a group toward the citadel. Sushimi and Meris were sore but were able to fly under their own power and using the mountain thermals to stay aloft, sparing their damaged wings. Though awkward, Adair, Comack and Byron managed to airlift the black dragon's body homeward.
Once inside the citadel, several anxious dragons waited for them just inside the entrance point. Adair hushed them, saying, "I know everyone wants to know what went on and I'll gladly brief them but only after everyone has arrived. I want a special session called...so begin the notification process."
The head of security, Procter, nodded in obedience to the order and hurried off. Adair also ordered the body be taken to their morgue/forensic lab. Security immediately obeyed, taking the black dragon from its bearers.
It was nearly seven o'clock in the evening when the emergency session of the dragon community met. When Adair entered the chamber with his friends in tow after getting some rest and eating a meal, he was greeted with anger, fear, chaos, bickering, and various demands for explanations.
He ignored the yelled demands, nodded at friends, and soothed the frightened, as he made his way to the top tier of steps to sit with the rest of the elders. His closest friends took seats just below them.
When it looked like all that could be there had arrived and taken their seats, Adair stood up causing everyone to go silent and turn their jeweled eyes on him.
"Our attacker was Dark Kat! However, he was no Kat at all but a lost one," he began without preamble. His announcement was met with cries of shock and anger.
"Being the worst of Megakat City's omegas and a dirty fighter, I was dismayed to learn he had somehow discovered our location. His purpose was to annihilate us. Most likely, he thought we would be a dangerous roadblock to his plans for taking over the city. I'm afraid it was most likely our unveiling that made him seek us out at all," he went on grimly then paused a moment for that to sink in.
"I went to the morgue to look at his body and was dismayed and angry to discover Dark Kat had been experimented on...probably from a young age. His body had been seriously mutilated. To me this would be the reason he took such a mutated Kat persona and why he was such a vicious rogue. From his cruel treatment, he must have decided to abandon his dragon shape which explains why he never attacked as anything but a Kat with some formidable technology. We are fortunate he made this move so he could be taken our permanently. His hideout in the mountains north of here has been thoroughly destroyed."
That announcement was met with a mix of cheers from the younger set and rumbles of anger by the older dragons...many upset by the report of such heinous treatment done to one of them that had created a rogue more deadly than they'd known before. Learning he had lived so close to them was a frightening shock.
"It is mixed news you bring us Adair. It is good to know this threat has been dealt with though very unsettling to know such a one had lived so close. Another problem has us concerned though, the appearance of the SWAT Kats near our home. Though, we are grateful for their help in drawing that creature away and destroying him, having them within the vicinity of our citadel at all, has now compromised our safety," Elder Shursay pointed out, worriedly.
"No, it has not though I don't blame you for thinking so. It so happens, one of the SWAT Kats is fully aware of where our citadel is located," Adair said, quietly.
A roar of dismay rose from the attending dragons at the thought of a Kat knowing their home's location. Some panic was beginning among the more fearful of them when Adair belched flames toward the ceiling to regain their attention and to show his annoyance with their loss of control. Silence fell.
"You need not be afraid. Listen and I'll explain. Our ingrained habit of not revealing the identity of our Kat personas to each other has nearly cost us our home and lives. Comack wasted precious time trying to find me by making a spectacle of himself to attract my attention. If he had simply known who I was, help would have arrived much more quickly and so many would not have been grievously injured."
"Forgive me, Adair. Even though you are an elder, aren't you being a bit arrogant to claim only you could have dealt with this enemy," Elder Brightlight pointed out, archly.
Adair eyed his constant critic with a cold stare. "It is not arrogance but knowledge. I have battled Dark Kat before and knew his capabilities so was fully aware our natural weapons would be of no use against him."
"And how is that possible? Are you an enforcer?" Brightlight snorted, questioningly.
A small smile tugged at Adair's mouth. "Not exactly." In the blink of an eye, he became Razor. The outcry was loud and stunned as well as outraged.
"You fool! How could you break our most important rule and how is it you took this ridiculous position as a SWAT Kat?" Brightlight cried, furious.
Flicking back to his dragon form Adair glared at Brightlight. The elder frowned but backed down as he was no match for Adair. Turning his attention back to the room of disturbed dragons, Adair continued his explanation.
"I was an enforcer but fell into problems with the Chief Enforcer who put I and my partner out of the military. To continue protecting this city, T-Bone and I went on to become the SWAT Kats to do what we felt was right. If Comack had only known how to find me right away, T-Bone and I could have responded faster."
Stunned eyes stared at him.
"What I'm trying to get you to understand is hiding from each other is failing to protect us. Too often one of us has run into trouble and because we didn't know where to find a member of our community close at paw, the problem either didn't get solved or a more serious consequence occurred. Think about it! If you needed a doctor for our kind for a sick hatchling, you would have to transport it all the way here for treatment which might cause the condition to worsen. But, if that same parent knew of a doctor just a few blocks away, the outcome would have been better. That is just one example, I know some of us have encountered," he said bluntly.
Holding out his paws he pleaded, "Look! With these modern times threatening our secrecy, hiding from each other only exasperates our difficulties in communicating with each other, especially since a very large portion of us live in the city. We need to be able to speak to and/or seek assistance from each other when we're in the city for our safety and well being."
"That isn't a good enough reason to give up a rule that has protected us for centuries," another elder objected.
"Wake UP! The world has changed much in the past century. Technology can find us and may even one day be able to see through our Kat disguise. This was one of the reasons we are trying to 'come out' in the first place. But it isn't enough to protect us because we're our own worst enemy for holding to rules that are outdated and are already failing us. We must change with the times if we are to survive. We hide from each other because we were afraid of being killed by one of our own...now there are too few of us and we can no longer afford to be afraid of that threat since other enemies will pick us off anyway. The hiding must stop and I'll be the first to make a step toward a brighter future. I've already begun this journey by outing dragon kind. Now it's time to bare all my identities!" Adair announced passionately as he altered again but this time as his civilian Kat self.
"I am called Jake Clawson aka Razor. I work with my partner and best friend Chance Furlong aka T-Bone in the Megakat Salvage Yard."
The room erupted with more cries of angry denouncements. Jake simply stood there with his arms across his chest and waited them out. Violent arguments for and against what he proposed went on for more than an hour. Sighing to himself, Adair took back his dragon form and sank down into a reclining position on the stone bench to rest.
"You certainly stirred up a hornets nest, Adair," Trimaris said, mildly amused.
"It had to be done. They'll argue and fight against it but in the end it's the only decision left to make," Adair grunted, accepting a cool drink from Trimaris' mate. "There's one more thing I didn't get a chance to say, what if another of our omegas is a hidden dragon?"
Trimaris gaped at him in horror. "Oh Goddess! That is a horrifying thought and quite possible as well. You are right, we can no longer hide."
"Yeah, but being in the open could make it easier for hunters to find us," Sushimi objected lightly.
"Yes that's certainly possible though not as likely since they are fewer in number now, however, with the advent of technology, those few could find us just as easily as regular Kat kind with devices that can see through our disguises. It really is only a matter of time," Adair said, soberly.
His friends sighed and nodded gravely that Adair had a valid point and one that really couldn't be ignored any longer.
Tremaris shook his head sadly. "It is very hard for such a long lived species to accept that times are changing so quickly. It is that speed that has so many afraid, Adair. It will take them time to try and accept the need to do this."
"Believe me, old friend, I'm very aware of that," Adair sighed, sipping his drink and watching the chaos.
It was getting toward midnight and the arguing continued unabated. Telling Trimaris he had an appointment to keep and would be back, Adair left the lair for the city...he had a lost one to meet.