Disclaimer: I do not own Thundercats or any of the characters from the show; I am merely exploring an alternate story. All rights of the show and it's characters belong to their respective owners.
Oh yeah, for those of you that want to know where I got the idea for this, I suggest that you read "The Land Before Time: Retold" by Elise Lowing, but I also won't make any of you read it if you don't want to. It's your choice after all, and I won't influence what you want to read.
"This isn't OUR world, and you know it just as well as I do! So what if Third Earth is like a second home to you and Serena? None of us should be messing around with things we barely understand! We're going back home where we belong!" A male voice tried to tell his sister, but she just started glaring at him in response to his argument.
"What, so that gives you a right to choose mine and Serena's friends? All because you know that First Earth is our world? Well, at least on Third Earth, I can be myself without anyone teasing me, and Serena can actually have friends who don't care if our family is rich!" the girl shouted, starting to grow a bit frustrated with her brother.
"I guess I was wrong to trust you with something this major, especially you clearly don't know a thing about me like I thought you did!" the girl continued to rant, and her brother's eyes widened when his sister's words sunk in.
"Noelle, that's not tr-!" her brother tried to say before he was interrupted by Noelle.
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT, ETHAN! You don't know anything about me or Serena! You don't understand about the things I've been through with the ThunderCats ever since our arrival on Third Earth! You don't know what Serena has also been through since she learned about my friends! You don't get teased at school because you want to be an astronomer when you grow up, or because you work hard to get what you want! YOU get perfect scores! YOU'RE the team leader! YOU'RE the first-born sibling! I guess me and Serena are second thoughts to YOU!" Noelle shouted.
"That's enough, Noelle! Don't bring Serena into this, and don't allow this fight to get out of hand! Ethan said, clenching his fists with restrained anger, clearly not happy that she was trying to bring the youngest Gate sibling into the fight.
"You just want to go back to First Earth because we both know that YOU don't belong here on Third Earth and you know that!" Noelle shouted, strapping her quiver around her waist and grabbing her bow. "But I do! HERE I can be myself without anyone teasing me! HERE, our little sister doesn't have to worry about her friends caring if our family is rich! HERE I have true friends who don't care if I love to stargaze at night!" Noelle continued.
"So you'd prefer the ThunderCats that you've only known for a few years, and Serena a few weeks, over you're own FAMILY who have known the two of you practically you're entire lives then?!" Ethan demanded.
"They are OUR family as well! And I'm NOT leaving them no matter what you say! And I'm especially not leaving if you're going to tell on me and Serena when we get back to First Earth!"
"I HAVE to do it Noelle, and you know it! You and Serena can't even tell our parents yourselves without changing the subject, and it's not fair for them to be in the dark about this! I also want you to give Heart of Thundera back to Aunt Sabrina and Uncle Darius, and I also want Serena to return the music box as well!"
Noelle reeled back in horror. That was the most painful thing her brother could've said to her. Although he didn't say the words, the implication was clear: he didn't want her or Serena to come back to Third Earth no matter how much they tried to change his mind!
"NEVER" Noelle shouted out, her patience with her brother finally reaching it's limit. "You can't control mine and Serena's life! You can't stop us from coming back to Third Earth! How about you let me have the freedom to actually make a choice in what I want, instead of making it for me like you did my whole life, Ethan?! At least I could choose who I wanted to love, and not have YOU make the choice for me! Serena also deserves the ability to choose what choices she makes!"
"You just don't get it, do you!" Ethan shouted back at his sister, starting to grow frustrated at her stubbornness. "You're not the same Noelle I once knew! And it all started when you chose to keep coming here! Serena is also changing, and all because Uncle Darius gave her the music box!"
"People change, Ethan! Or did you forget that?!"
"Well, you've definitely changed for the worst! You've become such a huge brat!"
"Well, you've become a nosy brother who can't mind his own business! Especially when it comes to MY love life!Or when Serena decided to learn how to defend herself!"
"I'm trying to protect you, that's what older brothers do!"
"Noelle...Noelle! C'mon sweetheart, it's time to get up!"
Noelle shouted out as she shot up into a sitting position, her long fiery red hair falling gently over her face and landing in her lap. Breathing heavily, she turned her crystal blue eyes up to the person who woke her; which had been her mother, who noticed she had been having a nightmare again.
Her mother, Melissa Gates was Hispanic by birth but immigrated to the U.S. in her early twenties, where she met Noelle's father a few years later. She stood at 5'10'' and has red hair that all her children inherited, but she green eyes; which Noelle's older brother Ethan and her younger sister Serena had inherited; while Noelle got their father's blue eyes.
Why had Melissa immigrated? She said it was because she wanted to get away from her parents, and that she just had the unexplainable feeling she needed to do it; or at least, that was what she told Noelle when she asked her.
"Did you have another nightmare, sweetie?" Melissa asked, her emerald green eyes showing nothing but concern for her daughter. Noelle nodded in response, moving some of her hair out of the way.
"Sí." Noelle murmured in her mother's native language. Melissa had taught both English and Spanish to her children, but if Noelle was scared or upset, she sometimes had a slight habit of reverting to Spanish without meaning to.
"English, dear. You know I don't care which language you speak, but not everyone can understand you whenever you revert to Spanish." Melissa gently reminded her daughter. "Have you finished packing for the trip yet? We're going to be leaving pretty soon, so I don't want you, Ethan, or Serena to forget anything."
"I finished packing for the visit to Aunt Sabrina and Uncle Darius's place just last night, but it wouldn't hurt to make sure I have everything, Mom." Noelle replied, causing Melissa to nod in agreement before she walked out of the room.
"Let me get changed and then I'll come downstairs for breakfast!" Noelle shouted at her mother from inside her room.
"Alright, but you might want to hurry since I'm making your's, Serena's and Ethan's favorite today, so I don't know if he'll let you have anything if you don't get down here in time!" Her mother shouted back in reply.
"Mom, I heard that!" Ethan's voice called out, and Noelle rolled her eyes when she realized her brother was still in his room, and she had a feeling that Serena was still getting ready as well.
Noelle just sighed and and got changed before heading downstairs for breakfast. Just as she made her way into the kitchen, she was grabbed by her wrist and pulled into the side hallway that lead to her parents's room, the living room and the laundry room.
Reacting on instinct, Noelle reached back and grabbed the person's wrist and elbow, twisted around and threw the person down the hall. Her attacker landed with a loud thud, and moaned in pain. In response, Noelle just crossed her arms.
"Nice try, Ethan. Oh, and maybe you should think twice on who you want to attack." she said. Her brother just groaned in response, and stayed slumped on the floor. Noelle shook her head in amusement and entered the kitchen, knowing that her brother would no doubt join her once he finished picking himself off the floor.
Almost as soon as she did, Noelle heard her sister laughing in amusement, and she gave a small smirk.
"Let me guess, you decided to try and scare Noelle again? Even I know better than to mess with her in the mornings, Ethan." Serena's voice said, and Noelle chuckled before she sat down at her usual seat.
When everybody had finally settled down at the dining table, Noelle smiled when she realized what her mother had made for breakfast. Blueberry pancakes (with whatever toppings they could choose) with a side of jelly toast and a glass of milk; which was definitely hers, Serena's and Ethan's favorite type of breakfast.
Both Serena and Ethan took their seat next to Noelle, while their parents sat across from their three children. It wasn't long before the family began chatting with each other, something they always did while eating together.
"Ethan, we're going to be leaving in a few hours, so I want you, Serena, and Noelle to make sure that you have everything packed for the trip. We are going to be staying with Darius and Sabrina for two weeks, after all." Melissa said.
"I know, Mom." Ethan replied. "I promise that I'll make sure I have everything ready for the trip."
"Noelle, don't forget to take Calypso over to the Robinson family once you're finished checking to make sure you have everything packed. They've agreed to watch her until we come back from our visit to Sabrina and Darius's place." Noelle's father said.
Darien Gates wasn't an immigrant like his wife, but he did know a bit of Spanish due to how long he's been with Melissa. He was the only person in the family that actually had blonde hair, but had the same crystal blue eyes as Noelle, and stood at a height of 5'11.
Noelle opened her mouth to say something, but paused slightly when she heard a soft meow coming from the kitchen doorway. Calypso was the family cat, but she always stuck close to Noelle for a reason that the sixteen year old didn't understand at all.
Sabrina, when she heard about Calypso sticking close with Noelle from Melissa over the phone, simply said there was a good reason for it that Noelle must find out on her own.
"I just wish that Calypso can come with us. I know the Robinson's are great friends of your's, but I don't know if they had any experience with taking care of cat's like we do." Noelle sighed, earning a soft smile from her father.
"Actually, they do have some experience with pet sitting. I asked Jack if he ever took care of an animal before, and he told me he and Tiffany used to own a cat named Nyx a few years before we moved next door to them." Darien said with a smile.
"What happened to Nyx, Dad?" Ethan asked curiously, and Darien gave a small frown.
"She passed away from old age, according from what Jack told me. He really doesn't like to talk about her that often since Tiffany and Nyx were pretty close." Darien said, causing Ethan to wince in sympathy.
"I hope that doesn't happen to Calypso anytime soon. I can't imagine living without her." Noelle whispered softly, earning a nod of agreement from Ethan.
"I know what you mean, sis. Calypso is apart of this family just as much as we are, so of course it wouldn't feel right to think what life would be like if we hadn't of met her." Ethan said, and Noelle laughed slightly as a sudden memory hit her.
"Didn't she use to hate you at one point? It took her a month to get her to stop trying to scratch you every time we both got into an major argument and you said something that caused me to go straight to my room in an upset state." Noelle giggled, and Ethan shivered slightly at the memories of him struggling to deal with those scratches by himself.
"Please don't remind me. It was difficult enough trying to bandage those scratches alone." Ethan said with a slight shiver of fear, making Noelle laugh even harder.
"Hey, it's not my fault that Calypso liked me a lot better than she did with you at first. I'm still a bit surprised that it took another month for her to actually start getting along with you, but then again you barely did anything to get her to slowly start liking you." Noelle snorted in amusement, earning a glare from her brother.
"That's because I didn't know what she liked to eat almost as well as you did! I only learned what her favorite food was after you told me!" Ethan said firmly.
"Okay, that's enough you two. Noelle, go and take Calypso over to the Robinson's since you're done eating, and Ethan, I want you to start making sure that you and Serena have everything ready for the trip." Melissa said when she noticed the way Noelle was starting to glare at her brother.
"Fine, but don't think this conversation is over yet, Ethan. Once we get settled at Aunt Sabrina and Uncle Darius's place, we're going to be having a little "chat" when we can, and you're not going to skip out on it this time." Noelle hissed, earning a wince from her brother at her words.
Ethan knew what Noelle was like when she grew mad, so that's why he wasn't going to look forward to that conversation when the time came for it. If there was one thing to describe about Noelle whenever she got mad, all he could say was that she definitely got their mother's temper.
He could also say that Noelle had somehow inherited her father's love of reading, since she was almost never seen without a book in hand. The only reason she didn't have a book with her right now was because her mother had to actually ban her from reading at the table when she kept bumping into things by accident.
Serena also loved to read, but not to the same extent as Noelle did. No, she was much more interested in fashion designing than reading or listening to music like her older siblings. In fact, even Noelle liked wearing some of Serena's designs, but only if it wasn't a dress; which she only wore on special occasions.
This chapter was officially edited on 6/25/2109 with slight changes and Grammar corrections.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading, and I hope you all like the edited chapter of "The Heart of Thundera" as much as some of you like the old one. The Gates siblings from oldest to youngest are: Ethan, Noelle and Serena.
See you all next time!
