Forgotten
Chapter 1: In The
Memory You’ll Find Me
***
”In the memory you’ll find me
Eyes burning up;
The darkness holding me tightly
Until the sun rises up”
Linkin Park, Forgotten – which is indeed what our crossover character is.
***
“So, any idea why Hackle called us out here?” T-bone muttered from the
front of the Turbokat’s cockpit. It was early in the morning, the sky was
overcast, and the two had been woken up quite rudely by an overexcited phone
call.
“No
idea.” Razor sounded as if he could definitely use a few hours sleep…then
again, T-bone felt the very same.
Still,
the Turbokat would seemingly disagree; with her usual speed and agility, she
soared high across
As
they arrived at the remote laboratory, T-bone set the jet down with the bright
yellow VOTL thrusters; the two then made their weary way indoors, the fur on
their feline bodies barely keeping the early morning’s icy edge out. The
professor was, surprisingly enough, wide awake and waiting for them at the
door. Greeting them briefly, he ushered them inside and sat the two uniformed
men down on the couch in the living room of the lab – since it also served as
his home.
“Anything
I can get you before I show you what I’ve found?”
T-bone
had zoned out for a moment…it was three in the freaking morning. Razor nodded
wearily, resting his chin on his palm – the elbow of the same limb, in turn,
was resting heavily on the arm of the sofa. “Warm milk would go down well.”
A
moment passed and the professor returned with two glasses of warm milk…with any
luck, it would keep the two boys awake long enough to unveil this marvellous
new discovery. Eventually he managed to drag the sleepy Kats into the
laboratory, and to an operating table at the far end of the small technological
mini-world.
“This
will shock and amaze you…”
Surprisingly,
it didn’t. T-bone and Razor found themselves staring down at a tomkat, lying
unconscious on the bed. Sure, he was quite startling to look at, but other than
that, nothing seemed particularly special about him. He was around T-bone’s
height, five foot eleven, but more muscular, yet at the same time, slender like
Razor. There was not an ounce of fat on his body; he was clearly a professional
sportskat of some kind. A patch of fur on his broad chest was darker than his
ginger-brown fur, a result of scarring or a birthmark, so it would seem. By the
looks of it, since it tore wide across his chest diagonally, and almost down to
his waist, it would have been caused by a painful wound long ago. To make
things more interesting, he had a full head of thick raven hair…an interesting
breed, to say the least.
“So,
uh, what’s so amazing about him?”
The
professor beamed. “He was once an alien…”
That
got their attention. T-bone’s face soon changed to one of scepticism; “Alien?
How do you mean?”
“Well,
that’s quite a story. We’d been experimenting with temporal technology believe
it or not. We managed to open a portal between our dimension and another; on
the other side was another laboratory, abandoned, so it would seem. Katrina,
one of my assistants, insisted on crossing over to investigate…she went
through, and found nothing of value or interest except for a stasis unit of
some kind.
“After
a little discussion, we decided to bring it across. After all, the laboratory
was abandoned and the life support for the unit was starting to fail. We
discovered that the creature inside was not a Kat at all, but some sort of
almost ape-like creature, only with highly refined features, and was bipedal,
just like us. He’d also been infected with a virus similar to the one that
caused a little havoc a few years ago…we were able to cure it and bring him
back without risking contamination…
“We
opened the unit after that…as soon as we did, a remarkable change happened. A
remarkable change indeed…” He paused a moment, seemingly drifting off into a
dream state, staring down at his little science feat, his alien. After a moment
he resumed his tale, brushing some of that thick black hair out of the kat’s
eyes. “As we released the heavy glass, he immediately reverted to our form…he
mutated into a Kat, as if being exposed to the air or environment or something
triggered a biological and physiological change to adapt to the new
surroundings…the whole time, he’s remained unconscious.”
Razor
let his brows rise beneath his mask, then glanced at T-bone, who was staring at
the Kat on the bed in fascination. “So, do you know anything about him? Besides the fact that he was some sort of ape-thing?”
The
professor shrugged. “I know little, but I can tell you he’s physically fit,
very fit indeed. He seems to be around the same age as the both of you, but
with more physical prowess than anyone I’ve ever seen. He must have been a
warrior of some kind.”
That
was saying the least, thought Razor to himself. If anything, he could predict
the professor was going to ask them to take this creature in until they could
find out more about him…or until they could get him home.
“T-bone,
Razor,” As predicted, the professor was about to ask the question. “Would you
two be willing to give him a roof over his head when he wakes up? I know you’re
able to handle almost anything he could throw at you…”
The
two glanced at each other, then back at the stranger
lying on the bed. T-bone let out a sigh after a prolonged silence of thought.
“I suppose so. But let’s bring him around first, shall we? He looks kinda
dangerous.”
***
After they’d lain the large Kat down on the sofa in the living room, Razor sat
down with a deep sigh on the armchair at an angle to it, and T-bone got a glass
of water…to dump over the newcomer’s face in the hopes of waking him. After
all, he had no intention of lugging him around any further; he weighed almost
seventy five kilograms…he was no light-weight.
The
professor had since lost the energy from his adrenaline high, and had taken up
residence on an adjacent sofa, watching the saga through old, half-lidded eyes.
Without warning, the blonde tabby upturned the glass over the raven-haired
beast’s face, dumping the half-glass of icy water right over him.
Of
course it worked; after a flinch, followed by a lot of coughing and
spluttering, the big Kat finally sat up, wiping his face with both paws. It was
only then that the three noticed something bizarre; his paws had five digits
rather than four; four long, slender fingers – almost unnaturally thin – and a
long thin thumb to match.
With
a deep growl, the alien ran his paw through his hair, slicking it back out of
his face and over the back of his head. The obsidian eyes, now open and alert,
caught the looks of the three watching him…and froze.
“…What
are you?” His voice was a deep, sharp rumble, though slightly higher pitched
with nervousness or fear – which was evident from his ears, which were lowered
and drawn back against his skull.
Jake
was the first to answer that. “You probably wouldn’t believe us if we tried to
explain.”
The
Kat turned his gaze sharply toward the smaller, slimmer SWATKat. “Try me.”
Well,
that was an unexpected reaction. All three had been expecting just a little
more fear and apprehension…or at least, for it to last a little longer.
“Well,
it’s a bit of a story…apparently the professor here,” he motioned with a clawed
thumb towards the tiring older Kat, “Had been messing around with temporal
portals of some sort. He and his team found you in a stasis unit of some kind,
and resurrected you…as soon as you came into our world, though,
you changed into one of us too…”
At
that point, his dark eyes darted down to his hands…they widened even more than
before, and his slightly squared-off jaw dropped. “…what have you done to me…?!”
The
professor leaned forward after a moment, catching the alien’s attention. “It
happened spontaneously, there is little we can do…but we’ll find a way to
change you back into your rightful form…and we won’t stop until we succeed.”
The
expression on his face was dubious for a moment, but then he sighed. “Well, if
that’s the way it is, I’ll have to make the best of the situation. I’m an
opportunist, after all.” Again, he glanced down at his changed body, and shook
his head. “So I take it evolution was a little different here…”
“Indeed.
Your people evolved from apes, so it would seem…ours developed from the large
Kats of prehistoric Earth.”
Just
as the old man mentioned it, the alien discovered his claws…and smirked. “Hm. I think I could get to like this.”
T-bone
shifted in his seat somewhat. “So, what’s your name?”
A short pause, then the truth. “Kazuya. Kazuya
Mishima.” He glanced from one to the other. “I don’t believe you’ve introduced
yourselves either.”
“For
now, just call us T-bone and Razor…we’re the SWAT Kats.”
***
Though
the trip back in the Turbokat had been cramped – since they’d forced three toms
into the already tight cockpit rather than two – the three had miraculously
arrived back at the salvage yard without cramped tails or legs...though their
guest had slightly ruffled fur from the experience.
Jake
chuckled as he pulled off his mask; it was okay to expose their identities to
this Kat, the two had decided, since he knew nothing of their past or Feral,
let alone the politics within their situation...and he’d clearly been a little
disoriented by the short flight back in the jet.
“You’ve
never flown before, have you?” Chance didn’t bother looking over his shoulder
as he threw the ‘T-bone’ getup into his locker.
With
a shaky sigh, Kazuya leaned back against the nearest wall. “Not in a fighter
yet I haven’t.”
Jake
shoved his arm lightly, and motioned for him to follow the two upstairs. Looks
like they’d found a use for the spare room...though it would have to be tidied
first before use. For now, there was the couch. “Don’t worry; there’ll be
plenty of time for you to adjust to a more active lifestyle.”
The
obsidian-eyed Kat snorted indignantly as he followed them upstairs into the
house. “More active, you say. Sure, I’ve been training for three hours a day on
average since I was three, and I’m not active enough...”
“Three
hours a day? You’re really dedicated aren’t you?” Chance muttered as he dug
around in a cupboard for a spare blanket and pillow for the couch.
“More
or less...it’s more of a matter of survival where I come from.” Kazuya caught
the bed linen as it was thrown his way.
Jake
perked a brow, and peered over his shoulder from the kitchen. “I take it it’s a
rough world where you came from...”
The
tall Kat shrugged his shoulders and sat down on the couch. “For me it is, but
most people don’t have a past quite like mine.”
Smirking
at his smaller buddy, Chance decided that tomorrow would be spent sharing
stories with their new friend. “Tell you what, since we have a rather...hectic
past too, hows about we catch a few hours sleep now, and talk in the morning?”
A
wide yawn escaped Kazuya’s throat...though he’d only been woken less than an
hour ago, he was exhausted; the virus he’d just recovered from had taken a toll
on his system. “Good idea.” As he curled up on the couch with the blanket and
pillow, the other two headed toward the hall to their respective bedrooms to
resume their sleep. After a thought, he sat back up again.
“By
the way,” He began, smirking ever so slightly, “Domo arigatou, for your kind
and generous hospitality.”
Not
really understanding all of that, Chance just shook his head and smiled...Jake
saluted him casually, and flicked the light off.
Left
in darkness, Kazuya came to realise swiftly that Kats had brilliant night
vision...he could see clearly, even though there was almost no light in the
room at all...it was eerie, to say the least. In a way, he was glad he’d left
the old Earth behind; this new form was in a few ways superior to that of
humankind, though it would take a lot of getting used to the furry body. He
felt much younger too; what seemed like yesterday, he’d been fifty-eight years
old, though somewhat fitter than most twenty-five-year-olds, and healthier
too...speaking of which, that’s exactly how he felt right now. Young, fit and
healthy; it was bizarre, he’d never noticed how he’d aged before. Damn the
G-Corporation and their stuffing around.
The
thoughts swirling about in his head were frustrating and confusing...the
feeling of loss and being lost; thoughts of the remnants of his family, now
probably long gone; thoughts of his old self and the reputation he’d gained as
the CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu. It would seem, that
when the pros and cons were weighed up against each other, he’d be better off
with a new beginning here in Megakat city. No one knew him, he knew no one, and
no one would make any bizarre judgements about him before meeting him as people
often did back at home...it was better that way.
Finally,
exhaustion won the battle between vivid thoughts and sleep, and his obsidian
eyes drifted shut after time. In the morning, he would face this new world. For
now, he would take a little katnap...almost literally speaking.