When Razor came down for breakfast, he was surprised to see he was the only one. Frowning in concern, he sat down next Queen Callista and after trading warm good mornings, he asked, "I'm not certain why my companions haven't come down, my Queen. I could check after breakfast and find out." He said by way of apology.
"Do not concern thyself over Sir T-Bone and Sir Feral's absence Sir Razor. We will most likely not see them till mid-meal." She said with a small knowing smile.
Razor blinked at her in puzzlement for a moment until her smile clued him in then he blushed redder than his cinnamon fur coloring as he realized what his partner and Commander were doing. "Oh!" Was all he said then he remembered what the Queen had promised.
"Did you cast the fertility spell then?" He asked.
"I did indeed, Sir Razor." Callista said warmly. "Sir Feral should be with kitten as we speak."
"Okay, that's certainly good news and worth the hassle of being sent here. Thank you, we are very grateful." Razor said in relief.
"Thee are most welcome. Now, would thee like to accompany me as I do a progress through my subjects this morn?" She asked.
"I would be most honored, my Queen." Razor grinned.
An hour before mid meal, T-Bone groaned and slowly opened his eyes. Sitting beside him was Feral, who had apparently only awakened as well. The big tom was stretching luxuriantly and yawning. The tabby reached a paw up and caressed the dark fur on Feral's back.
"So, how do you feel?" He asked quietly.
"Sore and very sated, thank you. You are a very good lover." Feral said honestly, glancing down at the tom and returning the caress to the broad chest laying next to him.
"I do my best!" T-Bone smirked with a lopsided grin. Feral snorted and smacked him lightly.
T-Bone just laughed and got up as well. He climbed off the bed and looked out the window.
"Well, it looks like nearly lunch time. Guess we better get our tails in gear and go downstairs. We may be going home today." T-Bone said eagerly.
"I hope so, though I'm not too unhappy we ended up here. It was really a lifesaver for me anyway. I don't know how I can thank Queen Callista enough for what's she's done for me." Feral said, relief lacing his voice.
"Well, if it's a she kitten, we could name her after Callista?" T-Bone said only half serious.
Feral looked at him askance but answered civilly enough, "Maybe."
They took turns at the privy then dressed and went down to the throne room. The mid meal was just being served and they hungrily joined Razor and the Queen for a meal.
"I am certain, thee are anxious to return home now." Callista said as they finished eating.
"Yeah, not that we aren't grateful and pleased with the hospitality here but we've got a lot waiting for us at home." T-Bone said eagerly.
"Aye, I envy thy world's good fortune to have two such powerful and intelligent warriors defending them." The Queen said smiling.
Feral just rolled his eyes at the comment but said. "I wish to offer my eternal gratitude to you for your help in saving my life. I felt the spell you cast earlier, dare I hope it was successful?"
"Allow me to use my amulet on thee and I will see if the answer is what thee hoped for." The Queen said raising it from her breast.
"Of course!" Feral said sitting up straight and waiting. A green glow passed over his form for a moment then was gone.
Callista smiled warmly and said, "Good fortune smiles upon thee Sir Feral. Thee are indeed with kitten. Do you wish to know what sex it is?"
"Uh, no that's okay. I'd rather it be a surprise." Feral said quickly, blushing with excitement and anxiousness. It was what he needed but not what he wanted for his life.
T-Bone grinned with a mix of joy and concern. Though it was the outcome they had worked hard for still it wasn't a complete cause of happiness since he didn't know what the future held for the two them functioning as a couple much less as parents.
"Fear not, Sir Feral, all will go well for thee and thy little one. T-Bone you are right to be concerned but don't push and thee will be rewarded for thy patience." She advised them cryptically. "Now, let us go to my work room and send thee to back to thy home in the future." She said solemnly as she rose from her seat and led the way to her study and work room.
T-Bone and Feral held twin expressions of confusion by her last words as they followed her. Razor too looked a bit puzzled but was glad some of their problems had been solved and they were going home.
With a smile of farewell, the Queen sent them on their way. It was a rather upsetting and violent passing through the portal of time. When they arrived rather suddenly near the dimensional portal once more. Feral swayed dizzily on his feet before staggering a couple of feet and throwing up.
T-Bone and Razor stood still a moment until their ears stopped ringing and the spots before their eyes had faded.
T-Bone went to Feral's side immediately to make sure he was okay.
"Ohhh..." Feral moaned. He felt like he'd been turned inside out and his stomach was still churning. A strong pair of arms wrapped themselves around his waist and steadied him as he continued to sway. Someone was rubbing his wrists hard and he frowned and started to pull away when he realized the nausea was receding.
He blinked until he could see again and saw it was Razor rubbing his wrists and T-Bone who was holding him. "Wha..." He said inarticulately.
"Shhh...it's okay...probably being pregnant caused you to suffer more from the passage then us." T-Bone said gently.
"This is a trick a friend of mine showed me to ease nausea, looks like it working for you. You feeling better?" Razor asked as he ceased his actions and released Feral's wrists.
"Yes, thank you!" He managed to finally say, a bit hoarsely, his throat sore.
"Commander, SWAT Kats...you're back!" Came the voice of the Deputy Mayor. They turned and saw her striding across the lawn with Lt. Commander Steele and the Sergeant walking with her.
"Yeah! We got lucky. Pastmaster actually did us a favor by taking us to Queen Callista's time period. She helped us solve two of our problems but the last one..." Razor told her pointing at the portal. "She said only the spell built in the portal would know for certain if Feral is not what it wants now that he's pregnant and we won't know that until the next full moon." He finished on a serious note.
"You're pregnant?" Steele blurted in surprise. "But you weren't gone that long...uh...or were you?" He said in confusion.
"No not long. How long were we gone from here?" Feral asked.
"Oh! You've been gone only thirty minutes, sir!" Steele answered.
"Well, we were only there forty-eight hours. I came into heat naturally and the Queen used a fertility spell to insure the mating would 'take' on the first try." Feral said bluntly though he blushed a little having to explain something so private.
Steele found himself blushing as well at the sensitive subject, "Ahh, well...good then. So you should hopefully be free of the spell."
"That's what we hope alright, but we're going to have to wait until it tries to take him. There's nothing more we can do right now." T-Bone said with a shrug. He turned to Feral and crooked a finger to indicate he wanted to talk to the Commander privately a moment.
Frowning, Feral followed as T-Bone moved further away from the others. Once they were far enough away no one could overhear he halted. He studied the Commander for a moment.
"Well, thanks to the Queen we don't have to be together every three days. There's only a week left until the full moon. I take it you would like us to be near when that moment arrives?" He asked quietly.
"Yes! There's always a chance it didn't work and I'll still require Razor to keep his promise." Feral said grimly.
"Yeah, he will be but it will be harder now since he'll be taking an innocent life who has no say in the matter." T-Bone said unhappily.
Feral swallowed and looked away. T-Bone was right and it made him feel worse about asking what he did of the smaller SWAT Kat. He turned back to the tabby who was technically his soul mate. "Bloodnor will nearly kill me when he learns I'm pregnant. He won't hesitate to kill the kitten even though they are against that sort of thing. He won't abide another's kitten in his consort...I...I won't be able to stand that!" He whispered, his throat tight.
T-Bone felt sick, he reached out and pulled Feral into a commiserating hug. "I am soo sorry, Ulysses. I wish to God I could do something about it but I'm just as helpless as you and I hate it but I will make sure, if it's at all possible, to grant you your wish." He promised, his own voice choked with anguish.
"That's all I ask for. Until then, I want to be alone, alright?" Feral requested softly.
"Whatever you want. Just summon me when you need us." T-Bone said heavily then released him and walked back to his partner. His face was grim as he continued on to the Turbokat. Razor said nothing as he followed behind silently.
Steele and Ms. Briggs were puzzled by T-Bone's look and even more by the look of depression on Feral's as he approached and moved on to his own vehicle without a word. Giving each other a confused look, Steele with the Sergeant trailing him, followed Feral and Ms. Briggs went back across the park to City Hall.
The flight home was silent and it was with relief they landed in their hangar. Jumping down and walking to their lockers, Razor couldn't help but note the tension and unhappiness in his partner.
"Okay, buddy! What's wrong?" Jake asked his friend when they had changed their clothes and were heading for the ladder.
Chance halted and looked at his best friend sorrow in his eyes. "The portal could still take him Jake. But it isn't just Feral you'll be forced to kill."
Jake froze as he realized what Chance meant. A cold feeling of grief flowed over him. "I hadn't thought that far. I guess I just didn't want to. He...he still wants me to..." He couldn't finish.
"Yeah and his reasoning is even more right then before. He said Bloodnor would nearly kill him but he would save him before death but not the kitten. Ulysses said he couldn't bear that. It would be the last straw." Chance said thickly.
"Oh God!" Jake gasped in sick horror. Swallowing hard, he said in a shaky voice, "I'll do what he asked."
"Thanks Jake. I know how hard this will be for you. I'm going to pray that it won't be necessary." Chance said. He turned and quickly made his way up the ladder. He couldn't bear talking about this any longer.
Jake stayed where he was feeling sick at heart.
The week passed far too swiftly and when the final night arrived they met in Feral's office.
Everyone that had been there from the start were there. Dr. Sinian, Ms. Briggs, Lt Commander Steele, the Sergeant, and the SWAT Kats.
"Why are we here instead of near the portal, Commander?" Callie asked.
"I'd rather be here Ms. Briggs. It doesn't matter where I am, the portal will come to me." Feral said flatly moving away to stare out the window at the city as night fell. The moon was expected to rise at eight pm, in just twenty minutes.
Razor had moved to stand by himself near another window. He felt empty and cold. What he had to do weighed heavily on his heart and mind.
T-Bone wanted to comfort Feral. He could feel the tension building but he didn't know if he would be making it worse. His own feelings were confused and his heart was filled with pain.
Callie felt helpless as she watched the two trying hard to be strong in the face of their real fear. She didn't know how Razor was going to be able to handle killing Feral and his unborn kitten when the time came. She prayed hard that he didn't have to make that decision.
Dr. Sinian leaned against Feral's desk feeling helpless as well. She and her assistants had searched for weeks until they were exhausted but had not found a way to disperse the portal. She had been truly glad that Queen Callista had removed the obscene binding spell on the pair and succeeded in helping the Commander get pregnant. What would be the height of unfairness was it would all be for nothing if he was taken by the portal anyway. She shivered and rubbed her arms and prayed hard that it wouldn't happen.
Steele and the Sergeant were lost in their own private thoughts. The situation was like nothing they'd dealt with in their careers and they felt totally out of their depths in handling it. They stared at their superior in concern.
The clock ticked down and Feral began to pace anxiously. Suddenly the portal appeared at one end of his office. Feral's face paled and he shuddered in fear. Outside the moon peeked over the horizon.
A blaze of light snatched Feral, who barely had time to utter a strangled cry of terror. Despite Razor having his glovetrix aimed and ready, it was just too quick. The portal pulsed with a brighter light then vanished. Where it had stood was Feral. He was frozen in shock.
T-Bone rushed to his side and wrapped his arms around the large torso. Feral finally let out a shuddering sob of relief and leaned heavily into his mate's comforting arms.
Everyone else gave various sighs of relief. It had been a near thing.
When he had recovered his equilibrium he pushed away from T-Bone who reluctantly released him. Feral walked up to his pedestal and sat down heavily.
"What happened?" Razor finally asks.
"It seemed to 'taste' me than rejected me violently." Feral said thickly, still stunned.
"Well, thank God! I'm truly glad it's finally over. Now maybe we can get back to normal again." Callie said in grateful relief.
Feral frowned unhappily. "Maybe you can but now I have to deal with being pregnant and soul bonded to a SWAT Kat." He snarled, putting his head down into his paws.
The others except for T-Bone and Razor stared at him in shocked surprise at that information.
Finally, T-Bone rumbled, "We'll handle it Commander, just give us a chance. Besides think of what is happening on Galanon at this very moment. I'm sure King Bloodnor is really furious about now." He said in grim humor.
Feral raised his head up and managed a nasty smile. "Oh yeah! He's going to be frothing about the loss of his consort." He said with a look of cruel pleasure.
On Galanon, the King paced anxiously in his throne room. Suddenly there was a flare of magic as the portal opened then just as suddenly a blast of reverse magic slapped out and knocked Dantre against the nearest wall where he slid to the floor unconscious. The king felt the portal collapse and vanish.
The denizens of Celestor Castle shivered in mortal fear as the very walls rocked with the King's roars of fury and grief. They had had to suffer the consort's absence with a King who was always short tempered and easy to anger. His wizard Dantre had managed to soften the binding spell somewhat but the harem didn't think it was enough as they were violently used to ease his suffering. Now with the consort lost forever, there was no telling what life was going to be like around here. Those that could, quietly sought other places to be while the king nursed his pain.