Chapter One

Protectors of the Prince

A young boy, of five years of age, ran though the palace, he didn't want to go to lesson today. The old priest, Solomon, was on his tail. He hated it when the prince tried to ditch his lessons; and he was getting too old for this.

The prince quickly jumped into a large clay pot and prayed that Solomon wouldn't find him. He heard the scuffling of footsteps and ragged breathing, then he heard Solomon call out, "Atem? You wait 'till your father hears of this! You'll be grounded for a week!" With that; the old priest left in huff.

The prince, Atem, waited until it was safe to come out; then took off running down the hall. He was about to head to the garden when he saw a door with a strange symbol in the shape of a cats eye. The little boy pushed open the door and gasped; the room was made of solid white jade, torches were lighting up the room, and at the end was a large pedestal. He walked numbly down the room; taking in everything. There were hieroglyphics on the walls telling a story about one of his anestors meeting a cat-like king of this place called "Thundera", and how helped defeat the evil warriors, that were sent to destroy Egypt, by controlling all the wild cats in Egypt. It also told about what happened to the kings two children, the prince and princess. To protect them from harm; the cat-lord had the pharaoh put them into a deep sleep and encase them in crystal. And used a spell to protect them until a person with a pure heart would awaken them.

Atem tore his gaze from the hieroglyphics and saw what was sitting on the pedestal, white stone statues; of winged cats. A lion, a jaguar. Also, they were eight statues of cat-people under the torches; five men and one boy, which were two tigers (one orange and the other white,) a panther, a lynx, and a fisher cat. The other three were two women (a cheetah and puma,) and one girl (a female fisher cat.)

The stone cats looked as if they were about to come alive any second. Atem walked closer until he was standing in front of the winged lion, reached up and touched the lions mane. The detail of the statues was incredible; they looked so real.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed the prince's shoulder making him yelp in surprise. He whirled around to see Solomon's stern face. Atem breathed in relief, and tried to calm his pounding heart. "Oh, Solomon; it's just you." He said. The old priest shook his head, "Atem, what are you doing in here? Only the pharaoh in allowed in this hallow palace."

The prince bowed his head, "I'm sorry, Solomon. But I just wanted to see what was in here and-"

"Well now you do." Solomon said, cutting the prince off. "Now let's go, your father will be furious if he finds out you were here without me." He began to drag the prince away when Atem said, "But wait! The hieroglyphics told about the prince and princess; but who are they?" He pointed at the other statues, which seem to smile at the boy's excitement and curiosity.

The wise priest sighed, knowing that Atem wouldn't do anything until his question was answered. Solomon looked at the cat-human statues lovingly, "Those are the warriors of Thundera; the Thunder Cats. Cheetara; the swift. Panthero; the deadly. Tygra; the master of camouflage. Bengali; Tygra's brother and a skilled blacksmith. Pumyra; the healer. Wily Kit and Wily Kat; the twins of mischief. And last, Lynx-O; the wise and blind.

"They were the ones who helped us fight against our enemies forces. Their king was named Claudis; he may have been blind, but he fought with the courage of a true warrior. We never had such strong allies; besides the Shadow Realm. But with our forces combined, we could achieve anything. But unfortunately, both the prince and princess suffered terrible wounds. So, the priests were called to place the two royal children into a deep sleep, encase them in crystal and then place them in a safe place where no one would find them. They did the same with the Thunder Cats; they hid them all together." He sighed. "But we descendants of the priests and pharaoh, feel their presence in the air, earth, the water...if you listen they will help you."

"Very touching, old man."

The two turned to see ten guards appear from the shadows; each holding a sword or spear. "Well, well." The leader taunted, "Look who we have here, Prince Atem. Do you know what we do to princes who step out of bounds?"

Solomon put Atem behind him, "Don't you touch him!"

One of the guards laughed, "Sorry, old lizard. But are master wants a few words with the prince. So, are you going to make this easy...or hard?"

Atem closed his eyes and prayed, "Solomon told me that if I listened you would help me; please! Tell me what to do?!"

He waited and a soft female voice said, "Summon your creature, little prince."

Atem, trusting the voice, closed his eyes and focused all of his energy, "Shadow Realm, please bring me my own creature."

A blast of light burst from the prince's body, and standing before him was a man in purple armor, lavender hair, and blue eyes. In his hands he held a large green staff. He bowed to the prince and said, /" My name is Dark Magician;I am at your service, my prince."/

Atem nodded and pointed to the guards, "Take them out!"

The Dark Magician nodded, and sent a blast of energy at two guards; knocking them out. The others called forth their creatures and soon the Dark Magician was out numbered. "So old man," The leader said. "Are you going to hand over the prince? Or this going to get ugly?"

Solomon opened his mouth to respond, but low growl stopped him. The guards turned to look behind them and there, in the shadows; were cat-eyes. The leader of the traitorous guards, sneered and as he approached Atem saw that the statues were of the and the winged lion and jaguar...were gone!

"What can a couple of little cats do?" A guard asked, laughing. But he stopped once the 'little cats' were in the light. They weren't normal cats; but winged wild cats! Atem gasped as the lion and the jaguar snarled at the guards; who ordered their creatures to attack. But before they could touch them, the lion blew fire from it's mouth! The guards saw this were shocked when their shadow creatures were destroyed. The jaguar stepped up as new wave of creatures stepped forward. She flew up into the air and flapped her wings so fast that a whirlwind kicked up; sending them into a wall. The creatures disappeared, and the traitorous guards backed away as the winged lion and jaguar roared; making them run in terror. The Dark Magician smiled and went back to the Shadow Realm. Atem and Solomon turned to the two creatures, who were glowing with heavenly light. Solomon bowed low and whispered, "Thank you, prince and princess of Thundera." Atem walked over and touched the lions red mane; in return for the gentle stroking, the lion licked the five year-olds face. Atem laughed as the lions warm tongue bathed his face. The jaguar was the next to kiss his cheek, and let Atem stroke her wings.

Then, both bowed to the old priest and prince then flew back to the pedestal; where they became statues once again. Atem stared at them and stood in front of them. He was so absorbed in them that didn't notice his father behind Solomon. "What happened here, old friend?" The pharaoh asked. As Solomon told the pharaoh, Atem felt sleepy; having used much of his energy by summoning the Dark Magician, so he laid down at lion and jaguars feet and his eyes closed. The pharaoh smiled at the sight and quietly picked up his son in his arms. Then looked up at the statues, "Thank you for protecting my son, I only wish that I could see you in flesh and bone than cold stone." With that he bowed and as the three humans left the winged cats and the Thunder Cat statues seemed to smile at them.

Five years later...

The sun had began to set.

Atem, now ten at the time, tossed and turned in bed. He couldn't sleep; he was too worried, for his father had fallen ill. The healers had forbade him to see his father, since he'd catch it too. Since he wasn't feeling tired, the young prince climbed out of bed and went to the special chamber. He hoped maybe the ThunderCats would listen to his sadness; since no one understood him. Once there, he sat at the winged lion's feet and hugged the carved lion. "Oh; brave brother lion, sweet sister jaguar. I wish you could speak to me; no one understands me. I'm so worried about father, he's so ill and the healers say he might not live." At those words, tears fell down his face. "Please let him live, I love him!! Please let him stay with me!!" Soon he felt a pair of warm arms wrap around him and through his tears, Atem saw a man in place of the stone statue. His skin was fair and his arms were well muscled. At the his fingertips were cat-like claws and his flaming red hair stood up; defying gravity like a sideways flame. He wore a blue spandex and blue boots to match. On his right thigh was a claw shield with a sword in it. And what startled Atem was that the man had the very same eyes as the lion that saved him five-years ago! Atem would have said something, but the man put a finger to his lips making a 'Shh' sign. Then winked and carried Atem back to his room. Atem snuggled under his blanket as the man gave him a smile then turned to leave.

"Wait," Atem whispered to him. The man turned to him, "Are you the prince of Thundera?" The prince asked, hopefully. To his joy the man nodded and slowly disappeared.

Night had fallen over the land, the moon shown like a pearl. Nights in Egypt was usually peaceful; but not tonight. A high priest by the name of Akhenaden paced in his room. His fury was completely untamed, his brother's son was now at the age of ten; and would be soon learning how to use Shadow Magic. He had to find a way to abolish that little brat; and quickly. He soon came across a the history of Egypt's faithful allies; the Thunder Cats. And he decided to do the one thing that had been forbidden to do. He would awake one of Claudis's children. Quickly, he gathered all the things for the summoning and chanted; "All the powers in my Millennium Eye, send me the princess of Thundera to do my bidding!"

White smoke swirled around creating a large sphere, and once it cleared a young girl of sixteen stood before Akhenaden.

Her hair was the color of the earth after the rain, and it touched her thighs in waves. The color of her skin was fair, with jaguar markings on her arms. Her cheeks were pink and her lips were red as hearts blood. She wore a red dress with robe-like sleeve on the left arm, leaving her right shoulder bare, and skirt that touched her knees; it was trimmed with gold braid. A gold belt was around her waist and the insignia of Thundera was on her chest. On her right arm she wore a gold armband and a gold bracelet on her left wrist. Boots made of brown leather that touched her knees were on her feet. And on her head was solid gold circlet, showing proof that she was the princess.
Before Akhenaden could speak, the princess's cat-eyes snapped open; revealing their ocean blue color. "Who awakens me from my slumber? Who dares awaken me with dark magic?!"

"I do." The evil priest answered.
The princess glared at him, "The law says that anyone who uses evil magic, must be punished."

Akhenaden laughed, "You could never punish me!"

"Is that so?" She asked, and then threw a ball of pale-blue light at the priest. It sent him tumbling into a wall, the priest got up as the princess's body began to glow with heavenly light. "Haven't had enough?" She asked. "Very well, so be it." She bared her pure-white cat teeth, and slowly spread her fingers. A large beam of yellow light burst from her hands and sent Akhenaden into a statue of the Sun God Ra. "Pitiful," She said as the priest called a creature from a stone slab. "You rely on others to do your dirty work for you; just like last time."

"What are you talking about?!" He demanded, as the princess blasted away the creature with clam gesture of her hand. "Don't you remember the poor souls you killed at Kul Elna?" She asked. Akhenaden flinched at the name, and his body began to tremble. "How...how do you know about that?" He asked. She rolled her eyes, "I've may been asleep for Jaga-knows how long; but I can see anything in this world through my mind as I rest. I saw what YOU'VE done to those poor people."

Akhenaden saw her eyes glow white, "For your punishment of killing innocent people and summoning me with evil magic; you'll face the fury of the beast that courses through my veins." As she spoke her body began to change into a jaguar with a ruby collar. It reared back it's head and roared so loud that it shook the whole palace; wakening everyone up...

When the others found Akhenaden, his back, arms, and neck were covered in deep bleeding scratches. He kept trembling as if he was under someone's terrible gaze, the guards tried to find the cat; all they found was paw-print in the garden.

Later that morning...

Atem played with Manna and Joey in the garden, and told them about the strange thing that happened to his uncle. "...And my uncle said that it was a jaguar with wings. Do you suppose it was the princess, Joey?"

"No. There's no such things as winged cats; it defies all the laws of gravity. And I think your uncle drank too much wine and stumbled in the rose thorns." He gave Manna the red leather ball they were playing with, "So how was your first day of magic lessons?"

Atem sighed, it had been fun but for some reason something didn't feel right. "It was ok, I guess."

Joey looked at Manna who looked confused, "Why the 'I guess', Atem?" She asked. He shrugged, "I don't know, I just have this strange feeling that somethings not right." At that moment, a jaguar with white wings appeared out of the bushes. The friends were afraid, until Atem remembered her. "Princess!" He cried happily, hugging her. Joey and Manna were still shaking as Atem beckoned them to come closer, "It's ok; she's a friend." Both kids walked up and petted her soft golden black-spotted fur coat, which almost felt like silk. "Why are you here, princess?" Atem asked.

"Making sure you're alright." Came the answer.

All three of the children's jaws dropped, "You can talk?!" Manna asked.

"Yes. When I choose to." She replied. "Now that I know you'll alright, I'll be going back to rest in the temple."

Atem threw his arms around her, "No! Please stay a while longer?"

She thought a minute, then nodded. "All right. How about I stay for ten minutes, then I need to leave."

Atem hugged her, "Thanks, princess. By the way, what's your name?"

"It's Jaguar-a, my little prince." She answered. Jaguar-a looked at the sky and smiled, "Do you know how to ride my prince?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Hop on my back." She said. "All three of you."

Less persuaded, the three friends got on her back; Atem in front, Manna in the middle, and Joey in the back. "Hold on tightly, children." Jaguar-a said, as they took off into the sky. The breeze greeted them as Jaguar-a flew them though clouds, over the pyramids and the Nile. Atem laughed as Jaguar-a did a loop-de-loop in the air. Soon they pasted over the palace and soon landed back in the garden. They got off her back and the prince put his arms around her neck. "Do you really have to go, Jaguar-a?"

"Yes, my prince. I must; but don't worry, my brother, friends and I will always be watching you. And one day, maybe, you'll find a place where we can be awakened."

He nodded as he let go and she disappeared.