All that following day, Chance had been getting real worried when Jake never came out of his room. It really wasn't like him at all, even with everything that had been happening with the nightmares. Around noon, the tabby finally decided to find out what was wrong. "Jake? You okay, bud?"

He reached for the door handle, only to find it locked, which was another surprise. Chance knocked on the door. "Jake? Come on, you can't stay hidden in there are day. We need your help down in the garage."

When there was still no answer, he pounded on the door even harder. "Jake! Come on!"

Elena walked over at hearing him. "What's wrong?"

"Door's locked and he's not answering."

"Let me see."

Chance backed up a few steps so that Elena could put her ear against the door. She waited for a moment, listening, before pulling away, her ears going back. "There's no sound. No breathing or heartbeat."

"What? You don't think that..."

"No, but something's not right. Open the door."

Without any hesitation or argument, Chance put his shoulder to the door and forced it open. Once he did, they both stepped inside. There was no sign of Jake, though they both gasped at what they did see. The place was a disaster, with papers, books, and clothing scattered everywhere as if having been blown about by a strong wind. Elena walked over to the pentagram of chalk drawn on the floor and knelt down, looking at the components in and around it. Chance came over and stood behind her, staring down at the symbol, and the amulet in the center of it.

"What did he do...?"

Elena shook her head. "These are all the components of a summoning spell. He must have been trying to bring back Star."

"Bring her back? But... she died?"

"She's half demon. The amulet can summon demons. I doubt she's completely dead, more likely trapped in Malfeas."

"Malfeas?! How the Hell would he even know how to do a summoning spell."

"The only thing I can think of is that Star told him."

"Huh?"

"She has the ability to control dreams, remember? Including to speak through them. Somehow she must have found a way to do so from there, and told him what to do, though I don't understand why."

Chance shook his head and looked around the room, noting how everything was a complete mess. "It looks like a tornado hit in here."

"Probably did."

"Okay, so if this was meant to summon Star back here, what happened?"

She was still looking over the components and how they were arranged, then her ears suddenly went back. "Oh no..."

"What is it?"

Elena picked up a thick-leafed plant piece with strange white berries along the stem part, resembling some type of coniferous plant. "Hemlock. Star didn't tell him to do this."

"What?"

"Hemlock isn't a a component for a summoning spell. It's not a spell component at all. Star knows this. She would never have told him to use it."

"So who did?"

"Good question, but by using it, the entire spell would have backfired. This wasn't a summoning spell, it was a trap..."

.

Star groaned softly, shifting a bit as she began to wake up. Her slight movement also woke up Jake, who was still laying against her, one arm draped over her. He smiled softly and kissed her shoulder. "I love you, Star. And I would give anything for you to stay with me. To be mine."

"Even your soul?"

"Like my heart, it already belongs to you."

"But what of Chance? He's your partner, and your best friend?"

"Just as Elena is yours. Chance has fallen in love with Elena, and she was staying with us, with him, for these past months. I know that she is falling for him as well."

"My Love, you've see what it is like. The way we live. We face constant dangers, never knowing what the morrow will bring."

"So do we. Chance and I... have protected our city as the Swat Kats for several years now, but it can't last forever. Not with our being mortal."

She gave a soft sigh. "Very well. I shall give you one more day to consider this, though you must consider all the consequences of it... Then, if you still wish it, I will turn you."

"Alright. But I still don't get why your father..."

"Gevaudan."

"What?"

"Don't call him my 'father'. I don't need to be constantly reminded of that. His name is Gevaudan."

"I thought it was Arawn?"

"That's just one of many names mortals have called him over the ages. Here in Malfeas, his true name is Gevaudan."

Suddenly Star's ears twitched at hearing a faint sound. She gasped and got up quickly, rolling Jake aside as she did so. He looked up at her in surprise and confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Come on! We have to go!"

She tossed him his pants, Jake catching them as he got up as well, his years as a Swat Kat having conditioned him to waking up quickly and fully alert in sudden emergencies. Star then put her own minimal clothing back on. Jake was about to ask her why the sudden rush,but then gasped when he also heard the baying, now somewhat louder and closer than when Star had first heard it. "What are those things?"

"Hellhounds!"

They left the cave and ran quickly through the dark swampy forest. The baying and snarling of the hounds got louder as they quickly closed the distance to them. Star snarled and shifted to her demon wolf form, turning to face them. "Get into the trees, Jake! They can't climb!"

"You can't take them all by yourself!"

She turned and snarled viciously at him, her eyes glowing brightly in the darkness. "GO!"

He hesitated, reluctant to leave her, but knew that he stood no chance against the beasts, especially not having even so much as a glovatrix, and so quickly began climbing up one of the large black-barked trees. Just as he did so, the pack of hellhounds burst out of the foliage, their eyes glowing, lunging to attack Star. A few of them spotted Jake in the tree, circling around the base and jumping up, snapping at him.

Jake climbed higher, away from their powerful jaws, and was forced to watch helplessly as his lover had to fight them alone. Though they were much smaller than her own massive form, they still greatly outnumbered her. Despite the fact that she was able to kill several of them with her own powerful jaws and sharp blade-like claws, they were still able to do a fair amount of damage to her as well, her thick pelt again becoming stained in her own blood.

Star and Jake both looked up sharply at a sudden loud screeching from overhead. Three massive winged beasts, about half the size of the dragon that the Pastmaster had summoned in the Dark Ages, swooped down out of the ash-laden clouds. Their talons wide, they dove straight toward Jake.

He tried to climb back down out of their reach, but several of the hellhounds were still waiting for him at the base of the tree. Star howled out fiercely and tried to lunge at the hounds keeping Jake trapped, only to be blocked by the others still attacking her. Jake tried to jump over to another nearby tree, but the winged beasts smashed straight through the upper branches, trying to grab him.

Despite his attempts to escape, one of the giant wyverns managed to snatch him in it's talons. Jake cried out as the sharp claws dug painfully into the flesh of his torso. The beast beat it's wings hard, lifting back up out of the thick canopy of trees and back up into the dark sky. Star roared out in rage, but was unable to do anything as Jake was carried back up through the volcanic clouds out of her sight.

She continued to fight, full of rage and vengeance, loosing control of herself in the blood-lust. Though she slew several more of the hellhounds, in the end her own wounds and loss of blood became too great, and unconsciousness took her.