Alluro's Revenge
It was a dark dreary day in Dark Side. The kind that Alluro was used to, and the kind he preferred. This day, however, not even the sweet scent of the Thundranium fumes, or the shrieks of some poor unfortunate creature caught by one of Dark Side's vile beasts could cheer the tall Lunattack up. A Snarf. He had been bested once again by a Snarf. The Lunattacks had been doing just FINE up until then!
Alluro kicked a rock as hard as he could, then yelled when it did not budge. "What in the name of Plundaar..." The Mind Clan Lunattack stooped to look at the "rock", only to discover that it was no pebble. Its shape was too regular, and it seemed to be only a small part of an object that was buried in the foul ground. "Hmm, now what is this?" Alluro had a very curious nature, and decided that he would dig it up.
After about twenty minutes of digging, Alluro had freed the object. It was a long, skinny crystal, which was transparent green in color, and was shaped like a prism. In the dim Dark Side light, he could see a faint rainbow on the ground as he picked it up. "A pretty looking bauble," he said quietly to himself. "I wonder if it has any value. It does have a few holes in it." The object had a line of holes along its side.
After determining that it was simply a trinket, he threw it to the side, expecting to hear the tinkling sound of breaking glass. He didn't. "Hmm. That's strange." The fact that it did not break, as it was very long, and made of glass, it should have at least broken in half, piqued his curiosity once more, and he picked it up. Suppose it was an object of power...he took the prism back to Skytomb for further examination.
In his small laboratory, Alluro scrutinized the object, and was very surprised to see that it had changed color. As he watched, it faded from green to red. Alluro frowned, not able to figure out what this object's powers were, as it was obviously not an ordinary prism. "I wonder..." He took his Psyche Club from his belt and passed it over the prism. Nothing happened. All right, no psychic powers. That was too bad. He could always use more power to his natural abilities. He frowned when he saw that there was an opening in the top...."Wait a minute..." He put his mouth to the top, and blew a breath of air into it, producing, to his surprise, a high, clear note. "A flute, huh?" Watching the glass instrument change color, he suddenly had an inspiration...clutching it, he ran up to the Control Room of Skytomb.
As soon as he walked in the door to the main room, Luna turned around and glared at the Mind Clan Lunattack. "Where have you been?" she demanded.
Giving her a baleful look, Alluro replied, "I went out for a walk, Luna, is that okay with you?"
"No, Alluro, it is not. The rest of us have been in here, trying to figure a way to defeat those miserable felines, and you are out there taking a stroll. Take a seat, Alluro!"
Grumbling, and ignoring the other Lunattacks' eyes on him, he sat down to listen to the plans. Plans, plans, plans. All they ever did was plan, and nothing ever worked.
After the meeting, which Alluro had mostly spaced out through, he took out his glass flute. He knew a little about playing such an instrument, and he put it once again to his lips and started to play softly. He had heard of some creatures, who had the ability to control minds by their music...and wondered if this had the same effect...if so, then it should work on the other Lunattacks, as they were also prone to mind control.
Moments later, he was very surprised to see Luna, toddling out of the next room, a dazed expression on her face, Amok running after her, asking in his primitive way where she was going.
"What the?" He had not been aware that Luna was capable of walking on her own...he stopped playing the song and looked at her...and she fell on her face. Alluro had to stifle a laugh. It seemed that his thoughts about this instrument were right, they exacted some kind of hypnotizing effect...but he noticed that Amok had not been effected, as dumb as he was. Hmmmm....
Luna, not quite knowing what was going on, glared at Alluro. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded.
Alluro gave her an unemotional look. "The meaning of what?"
Not really having anything that she could pin on him, Luna just gave him a dirty look. "Well whatever it is, knock it off!" And with that, she stalked out of the room
With a narrowed eyed grin, Alluro looked down to the flute. He would have to try this on the others...
In the Engine room. Redeye had gotten engine duty, about which he was not very happy. Alluro leaned casually against the doorway and started to play. Redeye looked up and gave him a dirty look. "Alluro. Caaan't you do that somewhere eeeelse?"
So it didn't work o Redeye. Well, maybe Chilla...
Chilla looked up from her scanning to give him a...cool look. "As if you weren't bad enough to listen to," She hissed. "Now you decide you want to be a musician."
Alluro frowned. He had the same general reaction from Tug Mug...apparently the only Lunattack it worked on was Luna. Why? What was different about her? The most obvious was her height....hmm.
Alluro had to laugh...it was worth a try. Last the Lunattacks knew, Snarfer had been left to guard the Tower of Omens alone, while the ThunderCats that lived there went off to gather some Thundrillium. Alluro went to the hangar, got on Chilla's Icerunner, and made for the Tower of Omens.
When he got there, the ThunderCats were still gone...and the small scanners on the Icerunner showed that the little wretch was alone. That was a double humiliation. Not only a Snarf...but a kid, at that! He grinned an unpleasant grin when he heard the little furball's voice over the radio. "Lunattack! I see you!! You had better leave before I open fire, yep! I'm gonna oooopen fire if you don't leave, yes sir, snarfer, snarfer." And to top things off, this Snarf had an annoying voice.
Alluro brought his flute to his lips and started to play, assuming the little wretch was listening for his reply....
Snarfer had, indeed been listening for the Lunattack's response, but as soon as he heard the haunting tune from the strange flute, his eyes glazed over, and he walked dazedly out of the Tower, leaving it unmanned.
Alluro let a triumphant laugh, as the little shrimp who had managed to humiliate him the first day he had met the little furball, cam walking towards him, much as Luna had done. When he laughed, however, Snarfer stopped, shook his head, and looked up at Alluro, less than three yards away. His eyes widened, and he yelled in startlement.
Before he could run away, Alluro started once more to play on the flute. 'This Snarf follows me as long as he hears this,' Alluro thought, as he played. Snarfer climbed up into the Icerunner, once again under the spell of the music. Alluro narrowed his eyes, thinking about an old fable he had read, of a man who rids a town of rats with his pipes. He almost stopped playing to laugh, as he thought about it working on Luna. She was close enough to a rat, he supposed, though in the fable, it had also worked on children...
Once Snarfer was on board, and Alluro had him secured to the wing, tying his hands to one of the rails, he stopped playing and lifted off.
Snarfer looked around, and was considerably more alarmed than last time, as he was in the air, and captured by a Lunattack. It looked like they were heading for Dark Side, to make matters worse. "Alluro!" he looked downward. "You had better let me go, or the ThunderCats are gonna come and then you'll be sorry!"
Alluro let the young Snarf rant all he wanted, until they reached Dark Side. Then, at Snarfer's insistence that he be let go, Alluro shrugged, the Icerunner hovering over one of the Thundranium pits of Fire Rock Mountain. "If you insist," he sad, and took a dagger to sever the Snarf's bonds. Snarfer let out a yell as he fell...which was abruptly stopped as he hit the bottom, over a hundred feet down. Snarfs may not have been affected by Thundranium...but that was a long way down.
Alluro laughed, and wondered if it would work on the Thunderkittens...but first, one more Snarf to take care of. Alluro turned the Icerunner around and headed for Cat's Lair.
Meanwhile, Lynx-O, Pumyra, and Bengali had returned to the Tower of Omens to find Snarfer gone. Alarmed that he would leave the fortress unguarded, they contacted Lion-O, who left the Lair along with Snarf, to help them figure it out.
Alluro hovered, just out of sensor range, using the small but advanced sensors in Chilla's vehicle to monitor the movements of the ThunderCats inside. Snarf was pacing back and forth nervously, as the other ThunderCats discussed what could have possessed his nephew to abandon his post. "I'm going after that scalawag!" Snarf declared, as he stalked out. He didn't want to admit it, but he was worried about his nephew. he knew he would not abandon his post without good reason.
Lynx-O started to go after him, but Lion-O stayed his old friend by the arm. "No, let him blow off some steam. You know what a temper he has." Lynx-O nodded, and went back to scanning for the missing Snarfer.
After he had waited a long time, Alluro smiled as Snarf stalked out of the Tower, headed straight towards him! He waited until he was close enough to hear...and played his alluring song.
Snarf's eyes glazed over, and he walked to the Icerunner, just like his nephew had. Alluro secured him to the wing, as he had Snarfer, and took off.
When Snarf woke, however, he did a little more than yell at the Lunattack. He knew now that it must have been Alluro that had taken his nephew, and he was not happy about it. "Why you-you-Lunattack!" He kicked Alluro in the side, but there was no force behind it. Alluro just laughed, making snarf even more mad. "You're going to be in big trouble over this!" Snarf looked to the rope binding his hands, and started to gnaw on it.
Alluro glanced at him, wondering why he had quieted, and growled when he saw what he was doing. "Hey! Stop that!" He reached over to smack Snarf to make him stop, but the Snarf just bit Alluro's hand, making him yell and lose temporary control of the Icerunner. "You miserable rat!" Fine, he wanted to free himself...let him. Alluro brought the Icerunner up a few hundred feet, and grinned at Snarf's alarmed expression. He had freed himself, but all he could do now was hang on, as it would kill him to drop. It didn't matter to Alluro; they were almost at Dark Side.
Snarf saw where Alluro was headed...but nothing he said, no matter how he threatened the Lunattack, Alluro still ignored him. He swooped down low...over the Thundranium pits, where Snarf could get a good look in. Alluro chuckled at his reaction to seeing his nephew down there, who had died instantly upon hitting the ground. He turned, infuriated, ready to attack Alluro with his claws, when the Lunattack suddenly shoved him off the wing...and he fell, screaming.
Not waiting to see him land, Alluro sped away to Skytomb, laughing nearly maniacally. He would have to try this on the ThunderBrats someday. But for now, the two Snarf were enough. Never again would they humiliate him. Never again would he run from a weapon wielding Snarf.
Back in the pits, however, Snarf had been able to break his fall, clutching at outcroppings of rock. By the time he reached the bottom, he was too weak to climb up, as he had hit the wall several times, and it was hot down there. He mourned his nephew's death...and then he looked up determined. Alluro would pay for this. The first ledge was too high for Snarf to reach, so he trudged on, looking for another way out of the hellish canyon. And when he did, Alluro would pay.