T-Bone helped Feral clean up the kitchen, the mood a bit somber after their earlier conversation. There was nothing he could do about the past and they were already doing everything they could do at the present moment so he wanted to steer the Commander away from dwelling on it. They made their way to the living area and Feral flicked the TV on by mutual consent.
Feral had been about to sit in his recliner but opted for the couch so that T-Bone could sit close. The tabby took advantage of that by sitting next to the dark tom and putting an arm around his shoulders. As they settled on a movie to watch, T-Bone gently scritched Feral's neck and shoulders. Feral relaxed under the massaging fingers and let all the disturbing thoughts move to the back of his mind for now allowing him to just vegetate.
They sat companionably for a couple of hours then shut the TV off and went to bed. Another hour of gentle love play and they fell asleep spooned together.
Feral woke first and felt the ever present nausea try to overtake him. He rummaged in his bedside night stand for the package of crackers he kept there. He fished one out and munched on it slowly hoping it would soothe him. It hadn't worked yet but he kept trying. The crinkling of the package and Feral's movement woke T-Bone who yawned and cracked an eye open to see what the tom was doing.
Seeing the crackers and Feral's slightly green complection, it didn't take a genius to guess what his problem was. Sitting up carefully, T-Bone reached over and took one of Feral's wrists in his and began to knead the pulse point hard.
Feral blinked at him in puzzlement and was about to speak when he realized his feeling of nausea had eased. "What did you do?" He asked in surprise.
"Old trick I learned from my sister who had a terrible problem with morning sickness. I don't know why it works but it seems to for some pregnant she-kats so I thought to see if it would help you. I take it, it has?" He asked in amusement but not stopping his massage.
"Yes, surprisingly. The doctor suggested the crackers but so far they haven't worked and I just hate throwing up every morning." Feral said in relief.
"Yeah, I wouldn't be too keen on that either. All you do is find your pulse point and massage as hard as you feel me doing." T-Bone told him, stopping the massage.
Feral carefully sat up and was pleased when his stomach stayed calm. "Thanks, that's a real relief." He said quietly as he climbed out and made for the bathroom.
"You're welcome!" T-Bone called to his back as he stretched and waited his turn.
They had a quiet breakfast together, T-Bone making sure Feral ate some dry toast and fruit, no coffee, then Feral sent T-Bone back to his hidden base while he dressed for work. He paused a moment as he realized he had teleported T-Bone without having a clue as to his location. That shouldn't have been possible. He guessed it had to do with the bond. His magic obviously knew where T-Bone was and simply did as he asked of it. Interesting!
He was in a surprisingly good mood. Despite being a necessity, it had been a really wonderful period of mating and recovery that didn't make him feel ashamed or uncomfortable. He shook his head at that but didn't dwell on it or the odd abilities of his magic as he made his way through traffic and arrived at Enforcer Headquarters.
The days passed more swiftly than Feral would have wanted. If it weren't for the periods of tender loving care T-Bone gave him he might have begun to go crazy with worry. He didn't push it all away though. He gathered the parties that knew what was going on together in the Mayor's Office. He had spent the past two and half weeks thinking seriously about what he was about to say. Waiting to the last moment would have been too hard so now was the best time.
Mayor Manx eyed the group with trepidation. He had no clue why Feral wanted them all together and he didn't think it was going to be good news. He sat nervously as everyone settled. Ms. Briggs and Dr. Sinian sat on the couch, the SWAT Kats leaned against one of the many windows, the Sergeant and Steele stood behind Feral in nervous tension.
Feral stood before them all, uneasy and unhappy but determined as he began to speak, "I asked all of you here because there is something that must be addressed and can't wait until it's too late. Though everyone is doing everything they can to help me stay here, all our efforts could still fail. If that should happen and the portal takes me, I adamantly insist that I be killed before I vanish completely into it."
There were explosive sounds of shock and dismay from all parties in the room. As soon as breath could be found a cacophony of sound struck him as everyone voiced their strenuous objections.
He waited them out, standing stoically, making no effort to calm them or ask for silence.
It was Callie who over rode everyone. "Commander, we can't just kill you in cold blood!" She said upset and angry.
"There's always hope, Commander!" Dr. Sinian chimed in. Distress on her handsome face.
"Sir! It's wrong to commit suicide!" Steele blurted in outrage.
The Sergeant and the SWAT Kats said nothing. Their faces grim. They could guess what Feral faced if he returned and though they didn't want to face such a choice, they understood only to well why Feral demanded this option. Mayor Manx was too stunned to find his voice on the matter.
"Listen to me carefully. If I were to be returned, King Bloodnor would immediately scent that I was with another male. He's not stupid and would guess I would have to do this to keep my sanity and health intact. That said, his male pride would still be hurt, it would make him furious that another lay with me and would waste no time returning the spell binding to him then he would set about insuring I never forgot who was my master. I would be punished to near death for my transgression. The most he's done to me is whip me bloody. This time I can expect to be whipped, raped repeatedly, and have every bone in my body broken and not healed for whatever period of time he deemed wouldn't kill me outright. Then he would heal me and do it all over again until he felt satisfied I had learned my lesson. And to ensure my humiliation was complete, he would do this in open court and in front of the harem for days on end. Since he values my mind and skills he wouldn't go so far as to break my spirit or mind but he would make sure I wouldn't soon forget how much he could hurt me." Feral said dispassionately.
Steele, Callie, and Dr. Sinian had the blood drain from their faces in horror. Razor, T-Bone and the Sergeant were tight-lipped and Mayor Manx simply fainted.
"He would truly do this to you?" Callie finally asked in a low, horror-strickened voice.
"Yes!" Feral said flatly. "If I don't die before that thing takes me then I will spend every moment on my next return ensuring I don't survive to repeat it. You would only be delaying the inevitable by allowing me to leave alive." He said grimly.
"I hope that won't happen but I understand your need to ensure this is spoken of and planned before it could happen." T-Bone finally spoke in a firm, quiet voice.
"I knew you would, but could you do it?" Feral asked sadly.
T-Bone shook his head. "You know I can't. I'm too bound to you now and I don't know what will happen to me if you do die."
"Oh no! That's another problem with this. How do we ensure T-Bone doesn't die with you?" Callie said in dismay.
Razor looked grim having already thought of this difficulty. "We have to look harder for a way for Feral to break the spell before he's taken or we will lose two lives instead of one. Even if Feral doesn't die before he leaves, T-Bone will still be affected by the spell." He said tightly.
"I'll keep searching. There has to be something somewhere. I refuse to give up hope." Dr. Sinian said tautly.
"W-w-what can we do? We don't know magic and it's hard to just stand by and not be able to do anything?" Steele finally blurted out helplessly.
"You have to be ready to take over Steele. You'll have to go over all the projects I'm involved with and I have to farm out the others to ones I think can handle it." Feral said grimly. "Sergeant! You could help Dr. Sinian in her search and I'm sure you can enlist the aid of all your assistants at the museum, doctor." Feral suggested.
"Of course, Commander. I didn't include any of them because we were trying to keep this confidential but they need to know a little of what's going on to make the search go faster." She said hesitantly.
"I understand. My secret won't help me if I die anyway so do what you need to and ask for their discretion." Feral agreed understandingly.
"Naturally, I'll get right on it. Please excuse me!" Dr. Sinian said as she left the office in a hurry.
"I feel so useless in this endeavor now." Callie said unhappily.
"Dr. Sinian may have need of you when she requires things that others might have in their possession, Ms. Briggs so I suggest you keep yourself available to her." Feral said encouragingly.
"Yes, you're right I can do that. I'll let her know, excuse me." Callie said feeling more useful as she left the office.
Mayor Manx had recovered with no one paying him any attention and had been listening. "I guess all I can do is ensure no one prevents Callie from getting what she asks for, Commander and hope for the best that everything comes out well in the end." He said carefully looking at the rest left in his office.
"That will be appreciated Mayor. I guess that's it for now except for my last request. I will talk to you in private," Feral said indicating the SWAT Kats. He turned to Steele and the Sergeant. "Go back to the office and wait for my return, Steele. Sergeant, go to the museum and do what you can for Dr. Sinian." Feral ordered.
"Yes sir," They both said, saluted and left.
Nodding at the Mayor, Feral turned and left as well, trailed by the SWAT Kats. He turned and headed for the roof where he knew the Turbokat was parked. Standing in the clock tower room, he stopped and looked at them both.
"I don't think I have to ask who can aid me in the end. My only question is can you do this for me? You are the marksman I know will succeed and you are my hope for a clean end." Feral said softly knowing it was a lot to ask of someone he knew didn't deliberately hurt anyone if he could help it.
"I know what you're asking of me. I...I've never killed anyone in cold blood before...I'm not certain I can do it but knowing what you face and that you wouldn't ask lightly for such a thing I can't in good conscious deny you that last request. You understand that I truly hope I won't have to do this?" Razor asked tightly.
"I do and wouldn't think well of you if I thought you could do it without feeling remorse. But if anyone besides myself could time it just right and succeed it is you. Thank you!" Feral said quietly, satisfied Razor would do it.
Razor could only nod then left for the Turbokat unable to face Feral any longer.
"It will mess with his head you know." T-Bone said heavily.
"Yes, I know. I'm sorry for that and for what will happen to you as well. I wish there was something I could do about that 'loose end'." He said bitterly.
"Hey! Who knows, perhaps Dr. Sinian will pull a rabbit out of the hat. She's done it before!" T-Bone said trying to be upbeat.
"Humph! She has...yes...I pray her record doesn't break this time." Feral said still feeling depressed.
Not able to say anything else to ease both their uneasiness on this subject, T-Bone did the only thing he could, offer comfort. He stepped up to Feral and wrapped his arms around the brave Kat's waist. He had gained a lot of respect for Feral over these past few weeks. They had overcome their animosity and found a budding tolerance for each other and a deeper understanding for what each other stood for in this moment in time.
All that overcame T-Bone's last reticence with regards to his odd relationship with this Kat. He pulled Feral's head down and kissed him gently. Feral was surprised and held still while the kiss grew to something deeper and more passionate. When they finally pulled away they were breathing fast.
T-Bone gently nuzzled the other's heavy jawed face before pulling away completely. "I'll see you later," He said quietly then turned and made for the Turbokat.
Feral stood there in confusion as he reached up to his face and stared after the jet as it lifted into the sky.