ThunderCats vs Masters of the Universe
Chapter 2: The Masters of the Universe
The great cat bounded across the rolling hill of grass. Its great bounds carried it from one crest of a hill to another. The shoulders bunched and stretched to carry the mighty cat along with the warrior that sat astride his back. The warrior leaned back and then forward matching the strides. His hands held onto the heightened saddle the great cat wore. His face was split by a smile as he enjoyed the run. Normally he and the cat were forced to race to trouble spots, but today, they were just enjoying a run together. It was a great day for it too. The sun shone brightly in the blue sky, the only clouds were white and fluffy and hung in the air as the winds shaped them for anyone who took the time to imagine what their shapes would be.
The cat did a final leap and landed on top of a great hill. "Oh this is just grrrrrrrreat He-Man! We should do this morrrrre often."
The blond man nodded his head as he slide off the saddle. He stretched his overly muscled arms and shoulders. "Yes Cringer we should. If only the fates would let us."
"Please He-Man, don't call me Crrrrrrrrrrringer while I'm BattleCat. Makes me wonderrrrrrrr if I'm me orrrrr Crrrrrrrrrrrringer."
He-Man, reached his hands into the air and then twisted a bit to each side. "But you sort of are. Both Cringer and BattleCat. It's really still both of you. Though I suppose you're not quite the same in personality."
The great cat simply shook his head from side to side and ignored the comment as he looked out over the landscape.
He-Man found himself wondering and not for the first time, what exactly happened with the transformation of his feline friend. He knew that Cringer was akin to his own alternate persona of Adam. Both Cringer and Adam were supposed to be more or less cowards and pretty inept when it came to the fighting arts. Still it was sometimes hard to accept that with a simple spell and a few words, such a dramatic change in personality could occur. The physical transformation was quite the change, but how much of the physical change affected the mentality.
His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed that his companion was standing perfectly still and didn't seem to be breathing. He-Man watched his companion for a second and was relieved to see that the great cat was still breathing. "BattleCat?" He inquired.
"Shhh He-Man," the cat said softly. "There's someone overrrrrr therrrrrrrre."
He-Man lifted his hand to his brow to shield his eyes from the sun's glare as he gazed out in the direction his companion was looking. "I don't see anyone."
"I can't see them, but I can smell someone out therrrrrre."
He-Man peered more seriously but still couldn't see anyone. "Are they behind a hill?"
BattleCat took a step forward. "Perrrrrrrrrrrrrhaps. Shall we go see them?"
He-Man leapt up to land in the saddle that rode on BattleCat's back and they were off. The great cat's bounds ate up more distance this time in a need to find the target of their search in case they were needed.
Their run continued for only a small way til the cat slid to a stop with his claws raking the grass on a hill. He looked down into the little valley and issued a soft growl to indicate they had arrived. He-Man looked down into the valley to follow the gaze of his companion.
Down in the valley a small figure lay huddled under a piece of blue fabric. The fabric moved only a small bit that led He-Man to believe whoever it was, he or she was at least breathing. He-Man eased his way down into the valley a bit to stand next to the blue clad person. He reached down to gently lay his hand onto what he thought would approximately be a shoulder under the blue fabric to gently shake the person.
"Excuse me, are you ok?" He asked as he gently shook the person. "Do you need assistance?"
The lump under the blue cloak muttered softly before it unfolded itself a bit to expose a head. The head was like nothing He-Man had ever seen before. It was a human man, he was sure, but he was covered with a fine tawny fur. Around his eyes was a distinctive circular pattern of darker fur compared the tawny fur around the rest of the face. A series of spots could be seen along the hair line as they made their way down the skull and over the neck. The eyes opened to reveal a pair of emerald green eyes with a narrow slit at first but slowly widening as the eyes focused on him.
"Who, who are you?" The cat man managed to sputter out.
"I'm He-Man," He-Man responded. "Are you injured?"
The strange cat man closed his eyes a bit more and then opened them again. "I'm very tired. I'm also lost and don't know where I am."
"You're in the fields of Eternia."
"The fields of Eternia? Where is that? Is that anywhere near the Forest of Enchanted Unicorns?"
He-Man looked up a bit at BattleCat to share a look of confusion and possible help. BattleCat shook his head a tiny bit to indicate that he didn't know either. "I'm afraid I don't know of any such forest. Do you know another landmark maybe?" He-Man offered as he held out a hand as an aide for the strange cat person to sit up.
The cat person took the offered hand and nodded his head a bit "Thanks" he said softly. "I had crossed the Bridge of Light and was walking through the Forest on my way to the Cat's Lair."
"Cat's Lair? I'm afraid once again that I don't know of any such place, stranger."
A frown appeared on the stranger's face for a bit and he sighed dramatically. "Then it has already begun. I'm too late."
"Too late? Too late for what?" He-Man asked. "Is there some way maybe I can help?"
"I don't know," the cat man said. "I don't know if anyone can help."
BattleCat uttered an odd combination of a purr and a laugh. "You'rrrrre not from arrrrrround herrrrr strrrrrrrangerrrrrr. This is He-Man, greatest warrior in the universe."
The stranger's eyes widened as he turned his gaze from He-Man to BattleCat and back to He-Man. "Is this true?"
He-Man smiled and said, "Well, I don't know about all that, but yes I'm He-Man. What's your name friend?"
"I'm Cheetor. I worked at the Tower of Omens as a watcher." He said.
"The Tower of Omens? I must be really unaware of this part of the world. I'm not recognizing any of your landmarks."
Cheetor shook his head slightly. "I'd be surprised if you had." He took a deep breath, "you see I'm not from your world at all."
Both He-Man and BattleCat pulled up in shock. "What?" He-Man managed to get out.
Cheetor leaned his head back to rest a bit against the grassy ground he was leaning against. "It's hard to explain. I don't fully know what is going on either. I only know what I saw and tried to report."
He-Man nodded his head as he listened. "Perhaps you should start at the beginning."
"It all began while I was on duty the other night. Lynx-O had retired for the evening and left me in charge of watching the instruments and the sky. The instruments were quiet and we hadn't received any responses from our earlier broadcasts out to the galaxy for any more of our kind so that they could find their way to us. I decided to take a small break and ventured out onto the balcony. As I stood there looking up into the sky, I noticed the moon. Astronomy is a hobby of mine and I used to spend many a night looking up at the moon. This night though, the moon was different, very different. In fact it seemed more like a lunar eclipse! At first I got really excited and thought of all the great data I could get just by turning a few of the sensors in the Tower towards the moon and hitting record. As I dashed back inside to start the process of realigning the sensors, it occurred to me that there wasn't an eclipse do for nearly a year. I quickly realigned the sensors towards the moon and discovered something that shocked me." Cheetor coughed a bit and swallowed. "Sorry my mouth is very dry, have you seen, oh never mind," he said as he pulled a canteen out from under the blue fabric that he still had over himself.
He-man and BattleCat listened intently as the story was told to them. "Sounds unusual but despite the popularity of the myths, an eclipse isn't a bad omen."
Cheetor swallowed some water and recapped his canteen. "No, you're right there. I'm not sure where that old wives' tale comes from. That wasn't what had me going. In order for a lunar eclipse to happen, the Earth moves between the sun and the moon. So I wasn't sure what it was. That's why I wanted to get the sensors to focus on it. Once the sensors were pointed at it, I started to get the data. The data though, made no sense what so ever. It told me an impossible tale. There was another moon that was colliding with ours. Normally this would be a huge sight in the sky. There would be dust, rocks, meteorites, and quite frankly I'm not sure what all. Something like this has only been hypothesized and never really seen, to my knowledge at least. But this was different. Both moons were colliding together but instead of an explosion, they were simply merging together peacefully. I completed my sensor scans and went looking for Lynx-O. When I found him and awoke him, an endeavor I don't wish to do again, he's quite grumpy when he first wakes up, I told him about what I had seen and showed him the data from the sensors. He looked it over and handed it back to me, he then told me that I needed to take it to the Cat's Lair and show it to Lord Lion-O. That's what I was doing when I lost my way and somehow ended up here."
He-Man listened as Cheetor went on. "Why would this Lord Lion-O be told of this event? Is he some kind of king of your lands?"
Cheetor nodded a bit and smiled slightly, "That's one way to put it. There's a bit more to it and I'm not sure we loyal subjects are supposed to repeat the idle gossip of the land, even if it is true."
He-Man raised his eyebrows in curiosity. "Oh?" he asked, "What do you mean?"
Cheetor swallowed and looked about to check to be sure they were alone. "Well for years the rumors had been that Lord Lion-O killed his father so that he could be king. He didn't want to be just a prince anymore. So he killed his father and claimed the throne. I was taking the data to him, because we trust him to save our lives. I'm sure he would've too, at least after he got his own ship away."
"This Lion-O doesn't sound like a very good king. A king's first responsibility is to his people and their welfare. Does he not think the same?"
Cheetor shook his head sadly. "Alas, no. Lord Lion-O's first concern is himself and then those of his compatriots. They most do what they want and the rest of us have to suffer. But in general they're not bad people, most of the time though; they do take care of us. That's not the major news though. I have to tell him about the moon's convergence with another moon. I wondered what moon it was combining with, and given the current situation, I'll guess it's your moon. But I still don't understand how I got here exactly."
"I don't either, and not to worry, I think I know someone who can answer that. Come with me and we'll talk to the Sorceress about the situation." He-Man said as he offered his hand to help up Cheetor.
They were soon bounding towards Castle Greyskull to confer with the Mighty Sorceress. Cheetor clinging tightly to He-Man's massive back as the great cat bounded over the hills.
As they approached the legendary castle, they stopped in front of the markers for the location of the drawbridge. He-Man reaches back and unsheathed the mighty sword that rested on his back. He pointed the sword at the big dark wooden drawbridge that seemed to form the mouth as the rest of the castle resembled a face. "By the power of Greyskull" he intoned in a booming voice. Cheetor held his hands to his ears and frowned a bit. But the drawbridge creaked and groaned as it lowered slowly down until the end rested against the ground opening up the way into the old castle. The great portcullis stayed up high almost as if they were teeth above the throat that served as the entry way.
"Enter freely and without thoughts of harm or maliciousness," He-Man said as the group rode in.
He-Man felt a slight shiver behind him that caused him to turn his head back to regard his passenger. Cheetor merely smiled, "Sorry, I can just feel the magic in this place. There's a lot concentrated here."
"Are you mage then?" He-Man asked, his own memories working against him a bit. Of all the magic users that he knew, only one seemed to be on the side of good. He always wondered if there was something about magic that slowly drew people to the side of evil. That thought always brought another companion with it. Would the magic that powered him draw him into evil too? Was he strong enough to resist the temptations of evil?
"Not really," Cheetor said. His voice pulled He-Man's thoughts back to the present. "My mother dabbled in magic and I think I inherited an ability to sense magic from her."
"I didn't know such a thing was possible."
"Well maybe it's a racial thing of my race." Cheetor supplied helpfully.
"I'm sure that's it," He-Man admitted, not really being an expert on such matters and not being familiar at all with Cheetor's race. "The Sorceress resides in the main hall. She should be able to help us."
The three made their way down the hallway and into the main hall. There was no real courtyard, just the main hall past the gate. It was clear to any who entered the place, this wasn't the traditional castle. It seemed to serve more as a fortress than a home. Most wouldn't think there was difference, but to the trained soldier, there was. Castle Greyskull served as a fortress, a place to gather and clash against armies. There was no civilian places inside that would distract the defenders from their war duties.
What most people didn't know was that Castle Greyskull also served as a nexus point for the planet's magical energy. The builders knew this and incorporated small ancient secrets into the walls and inner sanctums to take advantage of this. The magical energy was focused and stored in the main hallway. This was why it was such a fought over location between the forces of good and evil. Whoever possessed the Castle would have awesome power at their command. This power also is what empowered He-Man and his magical transformation.
The current lone occupant of the castle knew all of the Castle's secrets. Some considered her to be almost a part of the Castle itself, as timeless as the stones themselves.
"Sorceress, it's me He-Man! I'm sorry to disturb you but we need to talk!" He-Man yelled as loud as he could which caused the walls echo with his voice.
"Yes, He-Man" a calm and unruffled woman's voice echoed back from an unknown location. "I can hear you. What do you need and who is that with you?"
"This is Cheetor; he has some distressing news for us. I think Skeletor is up to something, but I don't understand what it could be, and I think he's found some new allies."
A woman floated down from the shadows. She was dressed in a white and blue body suit that simulated feathers. She wore a head dress that mimicked a bird's head. He-Man was sure that it was supposed to be an owl of some sort, the pay tribute to her legendary wisdom. She continued floating down to the ground, the feathers of the wings she wore along her arms. Her landing was full of grace as she allowed her gaze to linger over Cheetor, as if she was studying him.
"Pray tell, what is it you have to tell me that has He-Man in such a state," she said softly but still managed to create an echo of her voice in the room.
Cheetor coughed and looked a bit nervously a bit at He-Man. When he got the nod from He-Man to indicate that he should tell his tale, Cheetor did. He told the tale exactly as he had told He-Man only moments before, including the details of his interaction with He-Man. As he told his tale, the Sorceress listened closely, as she took in his tale. Once Cheetor finished, all three stood there silently for a few seconds.
"It must be Skeletor! We have to stop him before he and his new allies take over Eternia!" He-Man broke the silence finally.
The Sorceress raised up a hand to idly stroke her chin as her gaze drifted down to the floor as her mind contemplated all that she had been told. "It is certainly possible that Skeletor could find a spell to do such a feat, but I can't really think of what he hopes to accomplish with this. Surely there is a risk that he would destroy Eternia in his attempt."
"You forget Sorceress, Skeletor's main goal is to capture Castle Greyskull. Maybe he thinks that this will weaken us. Then he and his new allies could attack and take over Castle Greyskull while we were busy battling his new allies." He-Man argued.
"Excuse me," Cheetor said softly, "but who is this Skeletor you keep talking about?"
"Skeletor is the servant of evil and possibly the source of most of the evil in the universe. We try to stop his influence on the rest of the universe." He-Man explained.
"He-Man is a perhaps too generous," the Sorceress smiled. "There are many sources of evil throughout the universe. Skeletor is just a local source. That and He-Man forgets that even Skeletor had a teacher."
"A teacher you say," Cheetor paused. "So there's someone more powerful than him, then. That is interesting."
"Why do you say that Cheetor?" He-Man asked.
"Oh nothing, just that maybe there's a chance that Skeletor's teacher is involved possibly? Could that be the source of the power necessary to cast the spell?"
"It is possible," Sorceress said in her soft voice, "though, I doubt it. This seems to be more or less something in addition to what Skeletor is able to do on his own. I suspect there is much more to this than what we know currently."
"What about his allies Sorceress? What do we do about them?" He-Man asked.
"If indeed they are his allies, they too must be stopped. However He-Man, we technically don't know if they are in fact Skeletor's allies and we should proceed with an open mind."
"What do you think Cheetor? You know this Lord Lion-O best. Could he be an ally of Skeletor?" He-Man asked as he turned to face Cheetor.
Cheetor looked from He-Man to the Sorceress and then lowered his head and sighed. "I suspect it is indeed possible. Lord Lion-O and his companions the ThunderCats are an incredibly selfish bunch and most do things for themselves. Most of the time, they are more concerned with their own comfort and personal glory. I don't think though they are like this Skeletor and are so evil. Doesn't fit in their personalities. It may possible that he found a way to bribe them or he is paying them like a group of mercenaries. They've done that before too."
"Perhaps then, we can bargain with them?" He-Man said hopefully. "Maybe we can find a way to convince them to fight on our side. What do you think?"
"That sounds like a good idea He-Man," Sorceress said. "And I must say that I am happy to hear that you are using your brain instead of just charging off into combat."
He-Man smiled at the Sorceress. "Maybe you're finally rubbing off on me Sorceress. What do you think Cheetor, is it possible?"
Cheetor made some show of thinking it over. He walked in a small circle and he tapped his chin with the index finger of his right hand, he left arm across his chest. "I don't know. Lord Lion-O is a prideful man. If he accepts a job like this, it would have to be quite the enormous pay off. I dare think he wouldn't be all that interested in listening to a sales pitch. Plus to be quite honest, these ThunderCats are a bit egotistical and think they're the best warriors in the universe and that they are the only ones who can effect change for the good of the universe. I doubt they'd listen.
"I'm not really sure but something just occurred to me and it might be helpful. I remember some time ago that I read about a situation like this one. Two worlds from near opposite sides of the universe tried to merge together, thanks to a spell cast by a powerful demon sorcerer. The only way the people were able to save their planet from being absorbed into the other world was to fight for their world."
"Fight for their world? What do you mean by that?" He-Man asked while the Sorceress merely listened.
"They selected a group of champions from the best warriors they could find. Each of these champions traveled their world and fought a series of battles in order to stop the merger. I know it's just a myth and a tall tale to entertain the people around the camp fire, but I can't stop thinking that it sounds so familiar and close to what is going on now."
"Is that possible Sorceress?" He-Man asked.
The Sorceress closed her eyes as her quiet voice replied, "I am asking the Castle now."
"Asking the Castle? What does she mean? It's just a pile of rocks isn't it?" Cheetor asked confused.
He-Man smiled and waved an arm around the room as if it represented the entire Castle. "This Castle has more secrets than answers my friend and twice as many mysteries really. The Castle, I think, has a consciousness all of its own. The Sorceress can talk to it and learn what it wishes. Relax, though, the Castle is always a force for good."
"I see," Cheetor muttered and turned away from the group as he made a show of looking up at the walls and the construction of the columns. They couldn't see him pull a small object from his robe as he began to rub it and mouth a few words.
In the meantime the Sorceress' face grew a bit troubled. Her forehead creased a bit and then finally relaxed. She opened her eyes and regarded the two men. Her gaze shifted to Cheetor a bit as she softly said, "I'm afraid, He-Man, that the Castle doesn't have an answer currently. I will try to talk more with the Castle and find our answer. Until then, I did manage to find out that such a spell is possible. It would take the effort of two extremely powerful magicians. Cheetor is right though, a way to stop the merging is to select a few champions and have them fight their way towards the focal point of even one of the soldiers and simply interrupt the spell."
He-Man nodded, "That's simplicity in itself. I'll get Teela, Man-At-Arms, and a few others and we'll simply fight our way into Snake Mountain and stop Skeletor's spell."
"I'm sorry He-Man," the Sorceress continued, "but I simply do not detect any magic emanating from Snake Mountain that would be powerful enough for this. Skeletor is hiding it well, if he is indeed behind this or even is partly responsible. My suggestion at this point in time, is to gather your friends and be ready to fight the champions of the other world. We must save Eternia."
He-Man nodded and reached back to pull his great blade free of its sheath. "By the power of Greyskull, it shall be done!" he yelled as loud as he could, his voice echoing off the stones.
Cheetor covered his ears and looking imploringly at the Sorceress. "Must he always be so loud?"
The Sorceress merely smiled and nodded. "I'm afraid he does. Now go quickly to gather your allies."
"Come Cheetor, I have to go find my friends! Then we shall put a stop to this spell!" He-Man yelled as he turned and ran from the room, pausing long enough to grab Cheetor by an arm and drag him with him.