CHAPTER ONE:

It was a fine spring afternoon on New ThunDera and a young lioness is sunning herself by a rushing brook in a remote forest. Her thick scarlet mane trailed across her shoulders as she lay on her stomach, trailing a finger through the water. She wore no clothing, save for a pair of dark brown boots and a body suit that matched her fur colors of cream and white. A belt of dark brown leather circled her slim waist. Her eyes, a rich topaz in color, were thoughtful as she studied her reflection in the water. She had started out wearing a dress of light purple years ago, but had shed the clothing upon landing on a foster planet and discovering she had outgrown it while in suspension. Baroness Rella had had to teach her everything once the young lioness got out of suspension and that had been difficult at best. No one knew why Lioness-A had grown, but they had suspected a malfunction.

"This is proving to be a slow day," the lioness murmured to herself, rising to her feet. "Ah, well, I like it this way," she added. "Lioness-A, you know now what you have got to do and so let's go," she went on quietly, thinking back to a long-forgotten time.

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It was a slow afternoon at Cat's Lair in the capital city of Calora. Lord Claud-Us was in his office taking care of paperwork while Snarf watched his two cubs, Lion-O and Lioness-A, both aged seven, play in a playroom up the hall. Suddenly, the quietness is broken by a shrill scream. Claud-Us leaps to his feet and heads toward the playroom to find Snarf unconscious and a cougar carrying off his daughter while another cougar tried to catch his son.

"Lion-O! Over here my son!" Claud-Us called out, which startled the kidnappers. Lion-O ran over to his father and hid behind him. Claud-Us turned to see if he was all right and then turned to the cougar holding Lioness-A.

"Drop her and we'll go easy on you," Claud-Us growled even as Jaga and Bernados arrived behind him.

"Lion-O go wait in the conference room. We'll take care of this," Bernados said to the frightened cub, who nodded and took off. Meanwhile, the cougar holding Lioness-A had refused to give up his prize and he was clearly not going to leave without her.

"Baron Ternas wants her to live with him and his mate and there's nothing you can do about it!" the cougar snarled. "Your mate promised Baroness Rella that one of your cubs would go to her for fostering two years ago. Or have you forgotten?" the cougar asked as Claud-Us gasped. Behind him, Jaga and Bernados looked at each other with worry clearly evident on their faces.

"Daddy help me!" Lioness-A cried out.

"What can I say," Claud-Us said dejectedly. "Leave her here for a few days and I will send word to you when she is ready," he added as the cougar handed Lioness-A over to Jaga standing nearby.

"We will be back with the baron," the cougar added as he and his companion withdrew from the room. Claud-Us walked over to his daughter to make sure she was all right about the time Lion-O ran back into the room. Snarf by then, was slowly coming awake.

"Lion-O and Lioness-A stay here with Snarf and make sure he's okay. Then come to my office," Claud-Us said to the cubs, who nodded quietly. "Jaga, Bernados, come with me."

Once in his office, Claud-Us sat down at his large desk and sighed. He then looked to a picture that had him, his mate Claudana, and the twins taken a year before Claudana had died.

"Claud-Us what is this fostering that cougar was talking about?" Jaga asked.

"Claudana and Baroness Rella were best friends before Claudana and I married. They always said that they would remain in constant touch with each other and after Claudana died two years ago, Rella told me that Claudana had said that Rella could foster one of our cubs once they were old enough to be separated. I didn't like it, but then I didn't have much choice. Lioness-A will have to leave here to go to Baroness Rella. There's nothing I can do to prevent it. Lion-O must remain here for his lordship training," Claud-Us said and sighed.

Some two weeks later, after many tears and good-byes, Lioness-A was sent to the Cougar Clan home in Bersona. Those first few weeks were horrible away from her family but time had taken care of that. The explosion of ThunDera five years later didn't help matters any further, since Lioness-A knew that she had lost her family forever.

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That had been one rough time, Lioness-A reflected as she hiked through the woods back to where the Baroness had made camp earlier in the week. Lioness-A was hoping the baroness would let her go to find her twin and anyone else of her family that was still alive. Besides, for some unknown reason, she was seeing things that didn't quite fit with what she was used to seeing. They were visions of someone she couldn't see but appeared to be in constant communion with him. She wanted to know more about these visions and who the mysterious male was.

Once in the camp, Lioness-A went to the tent where Baroness Rella was inside. She stooped under the tent flap and went inside.

"Lioness-A, you're back already. How was your walk dear?" Rella asked. She was reclining on a couch set up in a corner of the tent. Her features were of the cougar clan with a thick brown mane with black tips. She was dressed in a gown of light green with a wide violet belt.

"I'm fine Rella, but I was wondering if you could help me with something," Lioness-A said as she sat down on a cushion.

"What would that be?" Rella questioned her gently. She knew something was bothering the young lioness and had wondered what it was.

"Well, I keep having visions of someone that I can't see but he seems to be a part of me somehow. I want to find out who he is and how he's related to me," Lioness-A said as the baroness blinked in surprise. She decided then to tell Lioness-A what she knew of Lioness-A's history.

"Lioness-A, the young man you keep sharing visions with is none other than your twin brother Lion-O. You already know that you are Lord Claud-Us' daughter, but you didn't know about your twin brother. I believe he is the Lord of the Thundercats now," Rella said gently and watched Lioness-A's face for a reaction. It wasn't long in coming.

"My twin brother?" Lioness-A asked incredulously. Rella smiled and nodded. "Unbelievable. Where can I find him Rella?" Lioness-A asked then.

"You may be able to find him at the new Cat's Lair in the rebuilt city of Calora. Go Lioness-A. Go find your brother and the keys to your past. I release you from your fosterage," Rella said softly reaching down to pick up a small bag from the floor. She handed it to Lioness-A who took it with an odd look on her face.

"What's this?" she asked opening the pouch to find a locket inside. Upon opening the locket, she found two pictures inside. One was of her mother and the other was of her father. Both looked young, happy and in love.

"Those are your parents Lioness-A. Lion-O, your twin brother, resembles your father," Rella said softly. "Take it with you and show it to Lion-O when you see him," she added. "Go now." Lioness-A got up and gently hugged the old Thunderian and quietly left her tent to begin packing for the long journey ahead of her.