ThunderCats

Trials of Lion-O

Part 1

The ThunderCats gathered at the bridge of the Thundertank. "How about we fire up the Book of Omens, Panthro? Find out where that next stone is."

Siber slid under the dashboard and began fusing wires together. "Give me a minute. This thing's wiring is close to impossible."

It didn't take long for the red jewel in the book to start glowing. "All set," the white tigress confirmed, crawling back out. The book showed a hologram of a globe-Third Earth, Siber assumed. There were lots of coordinates, but she couldn't make any sense of them. A beam of red suddenly shot out of the globe and into the ceiling of the Thundertank. "Up?" Panthro and Siber exclaimed in unison. "How can it be up?" Both General and soldier looked at each other in disbelief. "What the heck are you doing?" both asked. "Stop that!" Still at the same time. "Seriously, you're freaking me out!" Both paused to consider what to say next. "The samoflange is basically the most important part of a structure! Oh, come on!"

Minx-O laughed and put a hand on Siber's shoulder. "Well, I guess you're a panther on the inside." She caught her brother in a headlock. "Like you're one to talk! Uncle Grune didn't have a stub for a tail." "You're just jealous that I actually fit in with this family." The older soldier managed to get out of the headlock and gave her a noogie. "Break it up, you two," the General ordered. "There's time for sibling rivalry later." Minx-O reluctantly let her go. "Sir, yes, sir!" both replied.

"I don't know," Lion-O told Panthro, "but the book says the stone is up, and that's where we're going." He began looking up possible locations until the screens in front of them all changed to reveal a tall cliff-if Siber had to guess, about 100 foot-tall.

"Yes! Climbing!" both soldiers exclaimed.

Tygra sighed. "Why does up always have to be so high?" "The book can by cryptic at time," Cheetara agreed. "Maybe you're misinterpreting the message."

Siber rolled her eyes. All it had taken was a simple kiss to get Cheetara to go from 'I believe in you!' to 'You're doing everything wrong!'

"Wouldn't be the first time," Lion-O replied darkly. "But I've learned my lesson."

"Have you?" Tygra questioned. "Because heading up there feels like another wild goose chase."

The white tigress growled. "Shove off, Tygra."

"When you're king, you can do things your way," Lion-O added. "Now let's go."

With the older tiger still scowling, he jumped down the steps.

The rest of the ThunderCats talked quietly about the situation, trying to find the best route. Finally, Kit and Kat went down the steps. With a nod from their General, Siber and Minx-O jumped off the bridge entirely while Panthro took the stairs, watching them. Tygra and Cheetara were the last to leave.

Even after an hour, the ThunderCats still hadn't reached the top. The soldiers had happily scaled the cliff for a little while, until Panthro gave a gruff order for them to stay on the path with the others. Both Siber and Minx-O had their hands on their weapons the entire time. "We're too exposed!" the older soldier groaned. "With our luck, they'll be an ambush any second," the white tigress agreed.

Tygra, after overhearing them, finally asked, "Do you even know where you're leading us, Lion-O?" The young king grunted, but didn't reply.

"We're so dead," the soldiers sighed.

"Right into Mumm-Ra's hands, if you ask me," Panthro added. "We're totally exposed to attack on this route." On that note, Siber gripped her axe even tighter.

The twins had started panting a little while ago. "How much higher can we go?" Kat groaned. "I'm more worried about the way down," Kit replied, staring down at the river below. Both exchanged a look, then whimpered.

"Maybe we should consider turning around," Cheetara said after watching the kids. "What do you think?"

After looking back at the other ThunderCats and staring ahead to find a Candy Fruit tree, Lion-O spoke."I think...we should stop here for a quick rest."

The kittens grinned and cheered, running immediately to the tree.

As Tygra passed by, he growled, "First good idea you've had all day."

Siber and Minx-O didn't dare approach the tree until Panthro gave them a nod. The older soldier climbed on the branch next to their General, while Siber hooked up a bungee cord to the rock above and began to scale it.

Lion-O eventually joined them, climbing up a branch of his own. "Lunch should be easy compared to finding the stone." He picked a yellow and blue fruit from the tree. As the young king was just about to bite into the yellow one, the fruit was suddenly snatched from his grasp. "Too slow, Your Highness!" Kat teased, then bit into it. The blue fruit was taken away by Kit, who climbed up next to her brother. "You really need you keep your eyes open!" The two burst into laughter.

"Thanks. I'll try to remember that," Lion-O grumbled, going up a higher branch. Panthro and Minx-O were having no problems grabbing food. Below, Cheetara picked up a fruit from the ground. She sighed when she spotted Lion-O reaching for one desperately. "You always do things the hard way, Lion-O."

Before he could grab the fruit above, Siber jumped from off her perch and grabbed it. "If you really want something, you've got to be a little brave, Lion-O." The young king flashed her a smile. "Only problem: you're kind of bravery usually gets people-" he was cut off by Siber's scream as the bungee cord launched her back into the rock. "Hurt." She jumped back down to the tree. "That was awesome! I'm so doing that again!" Before she could reach the rock wall again, a stretchy arm blocked her path. "Will you stop with the climbing?" Panthro sighed. Siber took another step towards the wall when he added, "That's an order, soldier." She groaned, but obeyed, taking a seat on one of the branches and biting into her fruit softly. Lion-O merely went for another.

He almost had the fruit in his grasp when Tygra's whip looped around it and pulled it to the waiting tiger. "Hey!" "A king should never eat before his people," the older prince jeered. In anger, Lion-O shook the branch until his brother fell to the ground. "Or lose his temper."

Lion-O jumped down and growled, "Oh, is that it? You're all against me?"

"It's not us, kid," Panthro replied, stepping down the trunk of the tree with ease. "You're your own worst enemy."

"You won't be able to beat up enemies if you're too busy beating up yourself," Minx-O agreed.

"He's right, Lion-O," Tygra added. "You may be the king, but that doesn't mean you can't learn something from us."

The young lion gave his brother a hard look.

Suddenly, the sound of whistling projectile all caught their attention. A missile- small, sleek, and silver- exploded onto the rock behind them. "Ambush!" Lion-O cried. The area around them also sent shards of rock everywhere.

Tygra brought out his whip-only to have it caught from behind by Addicus. "Not gonna hide this time," he snarled, then sent the tiger flying with a punch to the face. "Tygra!" Cheetara called, then tried to race over to him. Kaynar jumped down before she could, however, and caught her in a headlock. "You run like a girl," he retorted, then burst into maniacal laughter. The kittens and Snarf tried running as well, but were faced with a squad of lizards with blasters pointed straight at them. After dealing with Tygra, Addicus had no problem taking down Panthro and Minx-O. Siber managed to evade the hulking monkey, but was tackled to the ground by Kaynar. "Ooh, goodie! A new face!" He leaned in closer, took her axe, and grinned. "I've heard all about you...Siberiana, is it?" The white tigress blew a strand of hair out of her face. "H-How do you know my name?" The jackalman flashed her a smile. "I have my ways. Naturally, I'd want to know everything about...my soulmate." "You're nuts!" she protested, trying desperately to squirm free of his grasp. "But don't you see, dear? That's why we're meant for each other!" "Because we're both...mentally insane? That makes no sense!" "Exactly." Siber was thrown against the wall with the others. "Urg. I think I'm gonna throw up."

Lion-O pulled out the Sword of Omens and prepared to fight the lizards facing the twins first, when he was shot in the back by none other than Slythe. The lizard General grinned and grabbed the Sword of Omens and its gauntlet as Addicus and Kaynar put the young king into a full body lock. Siber recognized the move-it was nearly impossible to escape. "We have the sword and gauntlet," Slythe confirmed. "Now, give us the book." Lion-O replied,"I'd rather die." This earned him a slap from the lizard General's tail. "You're willing to risk your life for it. But what about hers?" Kit gasped in horror as all attention was turned to her. You better not hurt her, Slythe!" the lion growled. "I would never harm such an adorable creature," he said. "Addicus, on the other hand..."

Lion-O made a sudden lunge and grabbed the gauntlet from him, then bolted towards the monkey. "Grab him!" Slythe snarled. Addicus swung his club at the young king, but he dodged and ran to the edge of the cliff. So close to the edge, he swung his arms in a desperate attempt to keep his balance. "Lion-O!" Kit cried. Kaynar merely pushed him over, sending a few boulders down with him. "Oopsies," he retorted. "Think he'll land on his feet?" Lion-O cried out in terror as he fell into the waters below, the rocks falling in after him. "Fools!" Slythe hissed. "He had the gauntlet!" Everyone tried their best to peer over the edge, hoping the young king would resurface.

He didn't.

Tygra stared at the calm water in shock. "You...killed him." "Lion-O..." Cheetara and Siber breathed in unison.

"He has the gauntlet with the Spirit Stone!" the evil General growled to his soldiers. "Get down there and find it!" The lizards scampered off without another word.

"Those fools will never get it back!" Addicus roared.

"Why don't we use our new prisoners to fetch it," Kaynar suggested with a wicked grin towards the remaining Cats.

"Not bad idea, Kaynar," Slythe agreed. "Even if some die, we will have lost nothing." The three approached the captured cats. "Let's see...I hear you're good with water, General." Panthro turned a little green on that note. "But he can't go alone," Addicus added. "What about...him." The monkey's finger settled on Minx-O. "Soldier and General," Kaynar commented. "I like it."

Despite the handcuffs, Siber immediatley took an attack position in front of the two. "You touch my father, or you touch my brother, and I will tear off your arms and feed them to you!"

The jackalman let out another laugh of insanity. "You're a feisty one, aren't you? Well, since you put it so nicely...you can go in their place." "Gladly," she growled.

"Siber, no!" Minx-O cried, but Addicus pushed both him and Panthro back against the wall. Kaynar pushed her to the edge of the cliff. "So sorry to see you go," he told her. "Hopefully, you'll survive."

The white tigress turned to look back at the other Cats. She flashed them a smile. "Father?" Siber called. "Take care of Minx-O and Snowmeow for me?" "Of course," he replied shakily. "I love you," she told him. "I love you all."

"Say goodbye, Daddy's Girl," Kaynar whispered, then shoved her off. At such a high drop, Siber couldn't help but scream. She plunged straight into the river, a few loose rocks coming down after her.

The first thing she saw was Lion-O, pinned underneath the boulders on the river floor. Her instincts told her to swim, but the rocks knocked her next to the young king. Siber struggled against the boulders that were keeping her under, but just didn't have the strength. It didn't take long for Lion-O to run out of breath.

It didn't take her long, either.

Lion-O woke up next to a marble statue in a small room-decorated, naturally, as if it was in the Palace. "I'm...alive?" he breathed.

"No, Lion-O," a new voice said. "I'm afraid you are quite dead."

"Jaga," the young king greeted. "Dead? Then I failed."

"Not yet, Lion-O," the elder cleric replied. "The Spirit Stone has deemed you worthy of another chance to walk among the living."

"I'll take it!" he said immediately.

"It's not that simple, Lion-O," Jaga explained. "While your first life was given to you, your second life must be earned."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You must complete a series of trials."

"Slythe has the sword and he's gonna kill the other Cats! I don't have time for this right now!" Lion-O protested.

"Your only other choice is death," Jaga reminded. He used his staff to create a pink portal. "Step through this door, and you will begin a series of trials, designed to test whether you can overcome your greatest weaknesses; to see if yours is a life worth saving. Good luck."

"Wait, Jaga," the young king spoke. "What about Siber? I was sure I'd seen her sinking before..."

The cleric merely motioned to the statue. From behind it floated a skinny, light blue, see-through ghost. "Greetings, Your Highness." Siber curtsied in the air. "Good to see you'll be returning to Third Earth."

Lion-O attempted to grab her hand, but his merely passed through her. "What must I do to bring her back with me?" he asked Jaga.

"I'm afraid Siberiana must remain here," he replied, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Please, Jaga!" the young king cried. "Siber, what about Minx-O, or Era, or Panthro? Don't you want to see them again?"

"Of course I do," she answered in an echoing tone. "But...Jaga...may I?"

He stroked his beard thoughtfully. "True, it wasn't your time to pass on, Siberiana...I suppose. You may help Lion-O with his tests, but you'll need to face a few trials of your own."

"Gladly," she replied, smiling.

"Now, go," Jaga told them.

The two ThunderCats didn't hesitate to step into the portal.

Meanwhile...

Minx-O watched as Kit pressed harder into the stone with her black chalk until the circle was complete. He took a small step back to look at her drawing- a calm-looking face with a small tuft of hair at the top. He assumed that the figure was supposed to be a rough sketch of Lion-O.

"You two!" one of the lizards called. "Get back here now!" Minx-O and Kit ran unwillingly back to the hover-vehicles Mumm-Ra's army was currently using and joined the other captured ThunderCats at the front.

Kit did her best to wipe away her tears. "Lion-O can't be gone. I...I-I won't believe it!" "It's okay, sis," Kat soothed. "We're gonna get through this." "There will be time for mourning," Cheetara agreed. "As soon as we take care of them." The cleric cast a glance at the three triumphant Generals standing behind them.

"There's no way Siber went down that easy," Minx-O told himself. "She's a soldier. She's tougher than that!" "Face it, soldier," Panthro said shakily. "She's gone."

It was then that the minx noticed the tears in his eyes. "Panthro, are you...crying?" "No!" the hulking panther protested. "I'm just...just..." he trailed off. Minx-O put a hand on his shoulder. "I miss her, too. Maybe we can get her axe back once we get past them."

"But how?" That was Tygra.

"You always said you wanted to be king," Panthro replied. "Well, now you are. Just hope you've got a plan."

Tygra gave him a look of agreement and began to think.

The portal took them to a dirty place with worn-down stone buildings and scraps of food and fabric scattered all over the ground.

Siber instantly recognized the place as the Slums. She's been down here often, looking for spare parts and sometimes scraps of food.

"The Slums of Thundera?" Lion-O breathed as the portal closed behind them.

A familiar female voice retorted, "I'm surprised the big fancy king even knows what the Slums are."

The two looked up to see Kit and Kat sitting on the edge of a roof.

"What are you two doing here?" the young king asked them. "You're not-"

"Dead?" Kat finished. "Hardly. We've just taken a form you'd be familiar with." The kittens jumped down from their perch.

"We're your first test," Kit explained. "But don't worry. This one's easy." "All you have to do is steal this key," Kat added, holding out a golden key with the ThunderCats symbol on it. He then handed it to Kit. "And it'll open the door to your next trial," she purred. "But be careful." Lion-O made a lunge for the key, but Kit pulled her arm back. He tried again, but the cubs disappeared entirely.

"Teleportation," Siber commented. "Nice."

"I thought you were going to help me!" the young king sighed.

"I can't really help with this one," she replied. "I can scout them out for you, but I can't get the key. If I try, it'll just go through my hand."

Lion-O groaned and looked around. "Not everything is as it seems," came Kit's voice. Suddenly, three pairs of the twins appeared. "You really need to keep your eyes open," they all said. Each pair took off in a different direction. Lion-O chose to go after the cubs that were sitting on the stairs close to them. "Because only one pair of us is real." The young king dove for them, but they disappeared.

Another pair was watching from the roof, and laughed when Lion-O became frustrated. After they raced off, Siber and Lion-O climbed up and began chasing after them.

They made it to the edge of a building to find three Wikeykats, each one holding a key. "Oh, brother," the white tigress sighed. The young king went for the one in the middle, but flew straight through it. That one disappeared, along with the one on the right. The remaining Kat noted,"You never look before you leap," then jumped off the edge. Lion-O jumped after him, while Siber flew down. "When you're a ghost...you can fly? Wicked!"

Kat kept running until Lion-O tripped over a piece of red string tied between buildings, sending the young lion flying into a few barrels.

"You never look before you run, either," Kit commented, retrieving her string. "That's how you led us into that trap."

"I was only following the book!" he protested.

"C'mon, Lion-O!" said one of the two Kats next to him. "You can't just follow blindly. You have to trust your instincts!" Enraged now, the young king went for the key, when Kit kicked him in the back. Lion-O fell to the ground.

"Instincts," he muttered, getting back up. "I have to learn to look." Suddenly struck with an idea, Lion-O closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of the Thunderkittens. "But that doesn't mean I have to use my eyes."

Getting up again, the young king found four Kats and three Kits waiting for him. Carefully sniffing out each pair, Lion-O was able to figure out which ones weren't real. The minute he turned away, the fake cubs would disappear. "Isn't this what you're looking for?" one of the Kats asked him, holding up a key. Lion-O smiled. "Yeah. But you don't have it." The phony kitten faded away. "Look!" Siber pointed to the top of a building where two figures sat.

The real Kit and Kat had chosen to sit down on the edge of yet another roof and watch. "This is taking longer than I thought it would," Kit admitted. "Do you think he'll ever get the key?" Kat asked her.

"I already did," said Lion-O from behind them, holding up the key. Siber smiled. "Silly cubs. You can't beat the king." Kat reached down for his flank, but nothing was on it. "Gotta keep your eyes open, Kat," he teased. "And if those deceive you, you can always trust your nose."

"You did it!" "Good job, Lion-O!" "Very impressive, my king!"

Another pink portal opened up, and the young king stuck his key into the small hole the portal had this time.

Without a moment's hesitation, they jumped in.

Meanwhile...

The hover-vehicles flew high above the river below. A second vehicle approached the side of the one the ThunderCats were being held on.

"Nothing?" Slythe hissed in frustration.

"No trace, General Slythe," one of the lizards answered from the craft. "Probably washed out to the Great Sea."

Kit gasped in horror.

Slythe let out a hiss that Minx-O assumed was supposed to be a sigh. "Mumm-Ra will not be pleased."

Kaynar approached the captured Cats. "But surely, these cute kittens will cheer him up."

The twins and Snarf stared in terror, mouths gaping.

"if there's anything left of them," the monkian added nastily, brandishing his spiked club at Minx-O's neck.

"I can assure you, Addicus," Slythe replied. "There's won't be."

The ThunderCats merely prepared for the worst.

Lion-O and Siber found themselves falling. Both let out terrified screams as they fell into a huge dome of briars-the old home of the Petalars. Siber merely floated to the ground, while Lion-O smacked face-first into a tree. "I gotcha!" the soldier called. But when she held her arms out to catch the young king, he merely slipped through them.

"Sorry," she said. "I'm still a bit new to this whole 'ghost' thing."

He got back up to see Cheetara laying on a branch. "You sure took the hard way down, Lion-O," the cleric purred.

"Well, I didn't see an easier one!" the young king protested.

"There's always an easier way. You just never look for it. That's how you got us caught in the first place." She jumped off the branch.

"I took that mountain pass because we had to!" Lion-O argued. "I don't choose where the book points, Cheetara!"

"But you're the king, and it's up to you to choose how to get there," the cheetah cleric reminded. "And if you want to win this trial, you'd better choose carefully."

Right in front of them stood a huge maze with walls of brambles and thorns curving every which way. "Great Jaga," Siber muttered.

"There's only one way out," Cheetara explained, "and you've got to find it and get to the key before I do."

Even from there, Siber could spot a long, gangly tree with a key tied to its one bending branch.

"A race?" Lion-O said in disbelief. "That's impossible! This place is a labyrinth, and I couldn't outrun you if I had the Thundertank!"

"If you believe that, then you've already lost," Cheetara replied. "But don't worry. Just to make it fair, I'll give you a head start." A pause. "Oh, and Siber?" The Siberian girl focused her attention on the cleric. "You have a few...limitations in this trial." "Like what?" she asked. "First off, you can't use your Navigation Lessons from military camp." Siber stared. "How'd you know about that?" Cheetara ignored her question, then continued, "And you can't fly above the maze and tell Lion-O which way to go." The soldier groaned. "You're killing my loopholes here!" "And just to make sure..." With a wave of the cleric's hand, Siber's mouth disappeared entirely. She tried to say something, but all that came out was a muffled cry.

The young king didn't budge.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" she asked.