Redemption
Chapter 2
Regret
By Fuuko no Miko
4/14/2012
Author notes:
Apologies for the delay, but real life gets in the way of the world where we wished we sometimes existed.
After watching the heart-wrenching episode 17…which I think should have been 2 episodes…it inspired me to kickstart this fic more.
Thank you to all who have read and reviewed chapter 1. That got a little too long…this might be one too. But as long as you are enjoying, it is all that matters.
This is an AU where the Tygra we know is non-existent. Nor is Lion-O. A prequel to In His Shoes and this chapter will contain excerpts from there, hopefully to guide those who can't read the adult material.
Here goes….
A dark, hooded figure stood over the precipice, his eyes sweeping the vision below him. An army, bigger than anything he had ever seen in his life armed with the most advanced, most dangerous weapons his eyes have ever laid witness to. Laser guns, shields forged from metals he had never even heard of, and vehicles that defy the law of physics with their ability to glide through the air despite their weight.
It was a beautiful sight.
"You think they're ready, Commander?" a lizard who stood by him asked.
"We've been preparing them for almost a year." The hooded figure replied. "They better be damn ready….they know who they are answerable to."
And he was not referring to Mumm-Ra., the lizard thought. The cold demeanor sent an icy tingle through his spine. Had he not known the commander before he first came upon the pyramid he would never have thought he used to be a Thunderan prince. The young royal they had captured in Cloud Peak Mine and the imposing figure whom stood before him now seemed like two opposite ends of a pole. What a difference 24 months have done to him.
Of course it wasn't without help. General Grune had made sure he was well aware of the legacy his biologic father left behind and how the king of Thundera tried to repress him. How much of that was true and how much of it was fabrication was up for discussion. He was also fueled by visions of the woman he loved shacking up with his younger brother whom he despised without a second thought. The lizard wondered if that was some trick Mumm-Ra had used to sway him to the dark side. The young commander was slowly introduced into the ranks, and fear of Mumm-Ra made sure that no one was going to second guess him. The fact that Grune was a thundercat made the transition easy for the reptiles to follow Commander Tygra's orders. That and the fact that the commander's bark was far less vicious than his bite, for the longer he stayed at the pyramid, the darker and more vicious he had become. The once reluctant prisoner had morphed into a strict officer who didn't bat an eyelash when it came to disciplining his troops. He had begun to lead raids, initially starting from small villages and later on bigger towns. He reminded the lizard of Grune when he first joined their ranks. He had a feeling, however, that the tiger was going to be far worse than his predecessor. He didn't just want to be a king or a conqueror, he seemed hell bent on destroying those who had pissed him off. He had been cold and callous during their invasions of the smaller villages, and after setting an example or two of what happened to those who stood up against him, no one dared to.
That he had three lieutenants who were no better than he was, added fear to anyone who would cross him. Three outcasts, a white wolf, a black cat and a scarred dog…all misfits from their respective tribes who had found their home under the tiger prince's wing. They had all shared a mutual hatred of their kind and had bonded with that despise. All of them seemed to have the same streak of viciousness and lack of remorse. This had made the lizard army fear them and regard them the same as they would Grune, Slythe and Mumm-Ra.
"I hear we're crashing a wedding?" Grune spoke, breaking the tiger and the lizard out of their personal reverie. A snarl came from the tiger's lips in response to it.
"The timing could not be any more perfect." The tiger took down the hood down, a sneer appearing on his mouth. He pulled out a tattered scroll that appeared to have been a wedding invitation. He had confiscated it from a small kingdom they had invaded but a few weeks ago. It was still smudged with the monarch's blood. "Hear ye, hear ye." He announced in his most sarcastic tone. "You are cordially invited to the union of Prince Lion-O and his beloved Lady Cheetara, to be held at sunset on the eve of the third moon. Please be dressed accordingly."
"Ooooh I love weddings!" a white wolf spoke up, interrupting the two cats. "Especially ones I'm not invited to."
"Can we all come?" a second voice piped in, it was the black cat, another of Tygra's sidekicks. "I promise to wear my Sunday best...not a smudge of blood on it!"
"I haven't had any good food in a while." The scarred Rottweiler spoke up as well. "I'm sure the bride and groom would be all nice and tasty."
"Be quiet, you fools." Grune hushed the three he had dubbed the trio from hell. "This would be Commander Tygra's call on how he would like to proceed."
"We will all be invited." Tygra winked, much to the squeal and delight of his three sidekicks. "And you three may eat, maim and destroy as you please….but…the lovely betrothed couple…" he paused to crush the invitation in his hand. "…is all mine."
The tiger had tuned down the ear-piercing merrymaking his psychopathic lieutenants were making. His focus had turned solely on the crumpled paper in his hand.
How dare they, he thought.
That his one true love had found solace in his brother's arms was one thing.
That they would be wedded, have children and rule all of Thundera was another.
How could she have replaced me so soon?"
Did she not love me as much as I did her?
When he had ripped that invitation from the hands of the bleeding king who had held it, he had a sense of doom seeing the Thuderan royal seal on it. When he had read what it said, he felt a pain more excruciating than a sword repeatedly thrust and twisted into his heart.
Cheetara, his Cheetara, was marrying her brother.
And his father…no, not his father, King Claudus approved of it.
Not only did the lion monarch think him not fit enough to be king, he didn't think of him fit to wed Jaga's best cleric. He thinks his blood son deserved all of it and he did not.
There will be hell to pay.
He was going to make sure of it.
"How is the invasion plan going, General?" Mumm-Ra spoke to the sabertooth as he watched in the background, observing Tygra as he stood still in silent fury. "I can feel Commander Tygra's rage all the way up my spine." He laughed.
"An understatement, if I do say so." Grune chuckled, noting the same of the tiger. "I feel we will be more than successful. The commander will make sure of it."
Cheetara smoothed the skirt of her gown for the infinite time. Her hands were visibly trembling.
"Nervous, my lady?" one of the handmaidens who was assisting her in getting dressed noted.
"Getting cold feet is but normal when one is to wed." another lady in waiting piped up. "Especially when you are getting married to a future king." She winked at Cheetara who laughed nervously in response.
"As long as it doesn't make you run away from the altar." Another handmaiden spoke as she weaved the pearls in Cheetara's golden locks and attached her paper thin veil to it. "After all, I'm sure Prince Lion-O will be eagerly awaiting the honeymoon."
All three handmaidens laughed raunchily at the last suggestion, and though Cheetara did so with them, she couldn't help this nagging feeling in her chest.
As though something was going to go wrong today.
Terribly, horribly wrong.
She had felt that way the last few days and had come to Jaga for advice. He had reassured her that it was due to her change in status after all has been said and done.
"The responsibilities of a future queen are not to be taken lightly." He said. "You bear the weight of the crown as much as your husband will. You shall be together in this endeavor until the end of your days. That you feel uneasy with that burden is understandable."
She had chalked it all up to that.
Still….
"My lady, your prince awaits."
The voice by the doorway was that of Nikolia, Lion-O's personal cleric and confidante, a young snow leopard who rose rapidly in the cleric ranks due to his skills and cunning. He had taken over the position Cheetara had left when she had become engaged to the prince of Thundera. Lion-O was good friends with him and trusted him with his very life.
Cheetara smiled genuinely at him. She nodded to the ladies in waiting and they proceeded to help her with the delicate train that cascaded at the back of her wedding gown. She put her arm on the cleric's and allowed him to lead her to the temple where the ceremony was to take place.
Lion-O fidgeted.
His father had been glowering at him from across the aisle.
His best man, Nikolia, had taken to his side after escorting his bride from the palace to the temple. He was a little envious that the cleric had a glimpse of his bride to be before he did, and he wouldn't say a word on how she looked no matter how much he had badgered him.
"Your highness, you're not supposed to see the bride before the wedding. It's bad luck supposedly." Nikolia had reminded the lion after he asked for the infinite time.
"But I'm not actually seeing her, I just wanted to know how she looked."
"Give it a minute or two, the wedding march is starting."
He couldn't wait until the whole wedding party had cleared. Then his eyes feasted on the vision he longed to see the most.
His bride.
And a vision she was indeed. Dressed in the finest fabrics the best seamstresses of Thundera could find, she looked like a goddess that descended from the heavens. Her gown was a body-contouring ivory gown with red and gold embellishments that glimmered under the sunlight that filtered through the windows. A sheer train embroidered with flowers extended ten feet from her waist. A modest veil covered her face and a bouquet of freshly picked astrids were in her hand.
She was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes upon. When Jaga handed Lion-O his bride, he felt as though his breath had been taken away.
"I love you." He murmured when she placed his hand in his.
"I love you too." Cheetara smiled under her veil. She felt her pulse racing on her throat. Her groom was dressed in his regal best, his princely attire in the colors of the Thunderan flag and decorated with military honors.
Nikolia nodded to his senior cleric when she glanced at him. His head was covered in the cat's head and all she saw were his eyes but she could tell he was smiling warmly at her, something the laconic young cleric rarely did.
Something doesn't feel quite right, Nikolia thought. While the security measures were personally checked by him for this wedding, and he made sure everything would be perfect for the couple, something felt amiss. He just couldn't put a finger on it. Katerina, his wife, had lectured him many times over that everything was going to be fine and that for once he should just relax and enjoy the festivities. It was hard to relax, with his job as personal protector to Prince Lion-O, but for her sake and his sanity, he was certainly going to attempt to do so.
"Oh, oh, do we get to interrupt when they ask if anyone wants to object to this wedding?" Ylva, the white wolf excitedly rubbed her hands as Slythe looked through his scope.
"Sit still you mangy mutt." The reptile barked, 'You're shaking the tank."
"But I love weddings!"
"I prefer the reception better." The scarred dog, Askal, muttered through a yawn. "Wedding ceremonies are sooooo bloody boring. Why can't they just do the ceremony in the middle of dinner? It's less tedious and less expensive."
"Will you all just shut up? They will hear us." Bastet the black cat silenced them as she saw Snarf approach the crystal encasement they were in. All four of them sat still, making sure the little creature didn't notice their movements. It wasn't until the cat walked away that they took another breath.
Tygra on the other hand, was sitting so unusually still he could have been mistaken for a statue as opposed to a living, breathing object. He took a seat amongst the hundreds of guests in the temple, on the groom's side of course. It was the best way he could get a glimpse of the bride. Grune had opposed to him coming to the wedding with him, but he had insisted. One part of him regretted that decision as he watched her looking more radiant than the Thunderan sun, his brother across her, beaming like he had won the biggest prize in a contest.
He seethed inwardly. He felt that pain sear through his chest once and again, like a raw knife ripping through his insides repeatedly.
She's supposed to be marrying me, he all but screamed.
He had covered himself in black dye, pretending to be a panther with facial injuries so severe they would visually scar whoever dared look at them. That he had come as General Grune's guest also deferred him from being questioned, although he could swear Nikolia, Lion-O's annoying sidekick had given him more than a once over when they went into the temple. Luckily the cleric had been called away to fetch the bride before he could interrogate him.
"Are you alright?" Grune whispered to him. "I told you, you needn't come."
The tiger managed a smirk under his facial cover. "I'm fine." He responded with a sneer. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."
"You are one masochistic little prick, you know that?" the sabertooth laughed under his breath.
"You don't even know the half of it."
"I now pronounce you husband and wife." Jaga announced, eliciting a thunderous applause from the hundreds of spectators. Lion-O took this as a cue to lift the bridal veil and kiss his radiant bride on her lips. Cheetara welcomed this and kissed him back with just as much fervor. It took all of the tiger's self control not to pounce on the altar and rip her away from his so-called brother.
I hate you.
I hate all of you.
You shall all feel my wrath.
"Come on. " Grune elbowed him. "The food at the reception I'm sure is going to be outstanding." The older cat whispered to him as they were ushered out of the temple. "Make sure you let me fill my belly before you signal anything."
"Glutton." Tygra managed to chuckle under his breath. He could not resist but cast a longing glance at the bride who was stepping down the aisle assisted by her new husband. That word seemed to echo in his head as he took a little too long staring at her, and she looked up to meet his gaze from all but twenty feet away.
Cheetara froze.
Is that…
But the figure under the black cloak that she had caught eyeing her had rapidly been dragged away by Grune before she could take but a few seconds to look at him.
The swagger was almost unmistakable.
But then again….perhaps her nervous mind had been playing nasty tricks on her?
"Everything okay?" her husband had whispered in her ear. His reassuring voice seemed to calm her nerves.
"Yes, of course." She smiled tentatively at him. "I just thought I saw someone familiar."
"They should all be familiar." He laughed. "I don't remember inviting strangers to the wedding."
"Right."
That incident was put behind as she chose to focus on the task at hand.
They had a reception to go to.
"Slow down." Grune snapped at Tygra as he gulped his third glass of Thundera's finest wine in less than fifteen minutes. "I can't have you slobbering drunk."
"You forget I have a liver of steel." The tiger chuckled as this statement was an undisputed fact. He had learned that alcohol to some degree helped numb the pain he suffered on a daily basis during his months of captivity, and just as he weaned himself off of it when he got used to living in the pyramid, he found himself indulging in it again when he read that invitation.
Tygra paused. He was no out of control drunk. He knew his limits and he could not afford to be an emotional wreck right now. His men deserved better than that.
He wasn't going to let himself down, nor was he going to do Lord Mumm-Ra a disservice.
The ceremonies passed like a blur before Tygra's eyes. He had tuned out everyone else and focused on the object of his affection.
It's funny how he still carried a torch for her despite not seeing her for two years. His feelings for her were just as potent as they were the first day he laid eyes on her…except now it was tainted by his anger and resentment. That which had stemmed from her treachery, replacing him with his brother no sooner had the blood dried from his wounds. Had he meant nothing to her at all? Were her words of affection back then nothing but fleeting expressions whispered in the heat of the moment? He could still recall their first night together when she had given her the gift of herself, proclaiming her undying love and devotion to him. Had she just been taking pity on him, seeing how hopelessly in love he was with her?
Gods I feel pathetic, he thought to himself. With that he took another swig of the blood colored wine before him, wiping his mouth afterwards. Part of the dye had come off of the lower half of his face and he quickly pulled the cover he had on to conceal it.
"Where is Nikolia?" King Claudus murmured as the toast by the best man was supposed to take place. The young cleric had seemed to have disappeared. Lion-O was informed briefly by the young cleric that he had something to look into, and that was half an hour ago.
"Well, seeing that the best man is nowhere to give us a toast, how about we get one from someone who knows just as much about our groom?" The king announced as he turned to Grune who was seated not too distantly. The general was about to stand up when Tygra blocked him with his arm and stood himself.
"Allow me."
Cheetara's eyes widened as that voice made its way to her ears.
The figure in the black cloak beside Grune started marching towards the newlyweds. Guards rapidly surrounded the table, their spears aimed towards the approaching cat. King Claudus put his hand on his sword, ready to strike when the hooded figure pulled off the cloak.
That voice.
That unmistakable stride.
Most importantly, that unique scent.
Cheetara's mouth fell open.
Could it be?
"Tygra."
Lion-O was the first to speak when the tiger started wiping the dye off his face, revealing the stripes on them. The whole ballroom fell into a deathly silence.
"You're alive." King Claudus exclaimed, breaking the quiet and approaching his adopted son without a moment's hesitation. He took a few quick steps and embraced the tiger. "You're alive…."
Tygra would have welcomed this show of affection about a year ago, but things have certainly changed in his mind, his heart and his soul. He returned it with a weak, barely perceptible hug as his eyes wandered to the newlyweds, savoring the shocked expression on their faces, trying not to laugh out loud at their surprise and possible horror.
"Congratulations, to my brother and my new sister in law." He spoke as he released himself from Claudus' arms. He picked up a wine glass and filled it with his favored liquid and held out a toast. The guards had withdrawn their stance when they realized it was Prince Tygra and gave him room to stand in tangent to the newly married couple. Lion-O's surprised look was replaced with the happy smile he had on before his brother made his entrance. His bride, however, could barely conceal her continued aghast expression.
"I apologize for my ill-timed return." The tiger spoke as he raised his glass to the crowd. "But my resurrection should not be the focus of our attention today." He paused before tilting his head as a salute to both Lion-O and Cheetara. "We have a wedding to celebrate." He turned towards both of them before speaking again. "I've known Lion-O for well, all my life, save for the last two years of my absence….and Cheetara a little less than that. They are both kind, respectable and easy on the eyes. That they make a perfect match, is no surprise to all of us." His eye glinted at the concealed sarcasm under his voice. "To you brother, and my new sister, a toast to long life, prosperity, happiness and plenty of heirs to the Thunderan throne…"
With that a resonating tinkling of glasses cheered the newlyweds. The merry crowd seemed to have rebounded from his sudden appearance and the music starting playing once again. Tygra gulped what would be his fifth glass of the evening and approached his brother, giving him a tight hug as he murmured a congratulatory remark in his ear.
"Best wishes, brother." He tried not to snarl in the lion's ear after giving him an embrace that may have been too hard, but the lion was too jovial to notice.
"Thank you brother!" the lion replied. He sounded somewhat relieved.
He then turned to the cheetah. Her expression was now replaced with a smile on her lips but her eyes betrayed her by the perplexed expression in them. He managed to plant but a light kiss on her cheek. "Much happiness to you, Cheetara."
She could barely mouth out her reply to him. "Thank you Tygra."
Tygra didn't even allow her to finish that sentence when he turned on his heel towards the merrymaking crowd.
He sat down next to Grune who also had a somewhat shocked expression on his face.
"You handled that better than I thought." The saber toothed general remarked as he stuffed another piece of mutton in his mouth.
"The alcohol helps." Tygra mumbled under his breath as he poured himself another drink. Realizing the alcohol had begun to burn in his belly, he shoved a piece of roasted lamb after it. "They sure spared no expense with the food." He complimented as he delved into his plate with enthusiasm. "Too bad it's all going to waste."
"Tygra, Grune." King Claudus voice boomed over them, making the two cats turn their heads. The king of Thundera took a seat across them, his eyes switching from one to the other. He turned to the tiger first, putting a large hand over his shoulder. "My son, you don't know how happy I am to see you. And on the day of your brother's wedding! It's like the Gods have smiled twice on me today!"
If you only knew, Tygra thought, smiling to himself. "I apologize for my lousy timing, father." He admits, saying the last word was something he had forced himself to do. "Had I known today was their wedding, I would have waited another day or two to make my appearance. I certainly didn't want to upstage them."
"I very much doubt that." Grune laughed. "Unless you look more beautiful than the bride…which you don't…you would never upstage anyone."
The king then turned to the general. "Grune, how long have you known about my son's reappearance?"
Grune was not expecting that question.
"He didn't." Tygra came to the rescue of the sabertooth immediately. "Grune was as surprised as everyone else. I will tell you about my misadventures later…father." The tiger then motioned to pour the king a drink. "Today is Lion-O and Cheetara's day, let's celebrate that for now."
The Thunderan king seemed to accept that explanation and had a toast with the two before having to leave to attend to the other guests.
"After the reception, my son." He had said before he took leave. "We have so much to talk about."
Tygra ignored the eyes burning holes behind his back. He knew they were coming from every other guest who knew of his disappearance, but he knew that the most questioning glance thrown towards his direction came from one particular person.
Cheetara.
And as tempted as he was to rush over to the main banquet table, take her in his arms and beg for her to take him back, he used all his willpower not to.
After all, she was officially Lion-O's wife now.
That thought stabbed at him again, and in a moment of rage he cracked the wineglass he held in his hand, shattering it into a dozen pieces. One of them scratched his palm and made it bleed.
"Careful with those hands." Grune barked at him as he handed him one of the table napkins. "You're going to need them."
"Yes Mother." Tygra replied sarcastically. He glanced at the main door hallway and saw a lingering black cat clothed in a golden cloak. Her slanted green eyes met his and she raised her claws in a mock salute.
"Ladies and gentlemen." He announced, raising his arms in welcome, "I present to you all, my gift to our beautiful newly wedded couple."
The black cat struck her staff at the banquet doors twice. An ear shattering blast blew a massive hole through the middle of the door, eliciting screams of panic and fear. A flying vessel made its way through the gap and a few dozen lizards jumped out of the vehicle. All hell broke lose as panicking guests tripped and attempted to make their way out as lizards started firing their laser guns at whoever or whatever came their way. The guards took a while to recuperate from the sudden onslaught and started counterattacking.
Grune had rapidly moved towards the main table where the bride and groom were seated. "Your highness, come with me." He beckoned to Lion-O who had ducked under the table. The lion looked around for his wife and saw that she was gone.
King Claudus, all taken aback by the whole scenario drew out the sword of Omens and quickly engaged in combat, his eyes searching the chaos for his sons.
The guests that have taken to the outside of the banquet hall were greeted by an even bigger surprise. A massive lizard army had come out of the mountainous crystal that Grune had brought in the day before, and they were heavily armed. Widespread panic ensued with guests and local townsfolk all making a run for it in random directions.
From the chaos and the melee, a young cleric came forth.
He had a nagging feeling that something was off when he greeted General Grune earlier and his mysterious cloaked guest. There had been rumors of lizard armies being led by a cat invading neighboring kingdoms, but the sources were never verified and apparently have strangely vanished once a word or two leaked out. That was why he had excused himself from the festivities and investigated.
Nikolia knew something was wrong…but he didn't expect…this. Devastation and chaos surrounded him as his mount carried him through the burning city. Nikolia had to steel his heart. He could not go out to the rescue of individuals. There was no time. But if he could protect the royal family, and re-organize the counter attack, more people will be saved than lost.
He had to reach Jaga immediately.
Nikolia rode on, his mouth set. But the cries for help still rang in his ears. "How can we possibly get out of this?"
The cleric would be the first to admit: Prince Lion-O was right. Technology did in fact exist, and now it was destroying their city! So did that mean everything they saw as magic was just lost and forgotten technology? Did that mean Jaga's staff, and his sabers, were technology as well? If that was so, maybe they had a chance!
"Run! Run!" Voices were raised against the sound of the heavy bombardments. There were screams and sobs, desperate please for help, for means of getting out of the beleaguered city, as the lizard metal giants smashed through the last wall.
"Please Gods they do not breach the palace before our own forces have had a chance to get them out!" Nikolia thought, and thought he could hear the explosion of one of the lizard giants smashing through the city.
The cleric reached the gateway of the palace when a mighty explosion threw the palace's massive wooden gates aside, hurling the defenders into the courtyards, below where Nikolia stood on the battlements, backwards and killing many.
As the smoke and dust cleared, Nikolia discerned a group of people standing in the gateway. It wasn't until all was settled when he was greeted with an ominous sight.
A young rottweiler dressed in black, and a black mask partially covered his vicious face. An insignia of twisted serpents were on his armor. Nikolia recognized the scars running across the mutt's face. He shuddered inwardly. Flanking the dog in black were two others, a beautiful black cat with a cruel smile and a white wolf, also dressed in black, stood apart and a little to the side. She held a bloodstained falchion in her right hand. Her other hand held a chain that was attached to a heavy collar around his wife Katerina's neck. Bound and gagged and stripped of her armor, her eyes flashed unquenchable rage and defiance.
There was no mistake whom he was confronting. The cleric was aware of the world outside Thundera much more than his fellow protectors of the crown. It came with the territory of being Prince Lion-O's personal bodyguard.
The more naïve of the Thunderan troupes thought that they were mere figments of the other kingdom's imagination. The rumors of the bloodthirsty three…now appear to ring true.
Nikolia's heart stopped - he couldn't believe that just this morning he was holding his beloved, and now she had been captured by these vile commanders. How could this be happening? His eyes met hers for an instant across the courtyard, sending her a promise that she would not be a prisoner for long.
With no time to figure out all that was unfolding around him, Nikolia's cleric's instinct took control. He must act now - or lose everything. He strode forward, closed his eyes, and stepped off the battlements, his ragged cape flowing out behind him it was a leap of faith to the courtyard below. With practiced grace he landed on his feet, and he stood tall to confront his enemies, cold determination etched on his face.
The armored staged up, struggling with a wounded leg, and stood by Nikolia. "Who are these beasts?" he breathed.
"Oh," said the rottweiler. "We haven't introduced ourselves. How remiss of us. But of course we know you….the commander warned us about the prince lion's little lapdog…or should I say…lapcat?" he laughed derisively. "Such a pleasure! At last we shall be able to remove the biggest thorn in our side."
"Step back Askal!"
One eyebrow went up and the dark eyes blazed in the fearsome, flawed face. "Oh - how flattered I am that you have guessed my name correctly. But let me present my fellow warriors Lieutenant Bastet, General Slithe; and last but not least, my indispensable right-hand wolf, Ylva. What would I do without my friends?"
As Askal spoke, his troops moved like ghosts into the palace. Nikolia was powerless to stop them as his own garrison - hopelessly outnumbered - were swiftly overcome and disarmed.
"But I'm a good soldier, and part of the fun is choosing efficient support," Askal continued. "I must admit I didn't think you'd be quite the pushover."
Nikolia said evently. "We will wipe you and your kind from the face of the earth."
"Not today you won't," said Askal, smiling.
As the cleric leapt forward, Bastet, having her own laser rifle, shot him in the shoulder. Nikolia staggered back, choking…holding his injured arm as it bled profusely.
"I am a protector of the crown of Thundera." The wounded cleric transferred his staff to his good arm and defiantly moved forward. "I lived as such, and will die as such."
Apart from the crackle of the flames and the isolated moans from the wounded and dying, things had gone ominously quiet.
It had all been a blur.
The last thing Cheetara remembered was Tygra getting up on the podium, announcing his "present" to the bride and groom followed by a loud explosion. Screams. Lion-O's voice telling her to get down. She remembered something striking her forehead and everything had been black after that.
When the cheetah opened her eyes, she saw the ceiling of what she recognized was Tygra's old bedroom. It was not too long ago when she remembered seeing this very sight, under very different circumstances. She blinked a few times, and when she lifted her hand to rub a wet spot on her forehead, she noticed her hand was bound in shackles.
What on earth….
"Remind you of something?"
The familiar voice was there. But the hostility was not something she had been familiar with.
"Tygra…" she let out a croak as she sat up. She was in his bed, her wedding gown torn in certain spots and soiled by debris and what appeared to be droplets of blood.
He turned around. His face still contained smudges of coal he had rubbed on them to disguise his appearance. He still had that hood that concealed his appearance at her wedding, but beneath it she could tell he wore a black armor with a red logo in the middle. It was the insignia of two coiled snakes. Once she had been able to focus she met his challenging gaze. In his golden eyes she could tell a maelstrom of emotions brew in them. Tygra had never been a difficult person to read. In his eyes brewed a mixture of despair, anxiety but most of all, rage.
"I'm sorry it had to be the day of your….wedding." He spoke the last word quite firmly. "I should have let you have your honeymoon first."
"Tygra!" she detected the sarcasm in his sentence. Her own eyes filled with anger. "What have you done?"
He smirked, an all too familiar one to her, but this one seemed more tinged with malice, one that she had never seen. "Claiming what should have been mine." His eyes raked her up and down. "Everything that supposed brother of mine took from me…which I rightfully deserve more than he ever will."
Her eyes widened in horror.
This was not the Tygra she knew.
Not the prince she had given her heart to a few years ago.
Her vision was drawn to the melee occurring outside his bedroom window. She stood up and looked out the window, the shock registering on her features as the chaos unfolded before her. She could not bear to look at it for more than a minute and closed her eyes, turning a deaf ear to the cries for help and the sounds of destruction. When she looked at the tiger her eyes were brimming with tears.
"How could you?" were the first words out of her mouth. "How could you do this to your people?"
His brows furrowed, his face contorted in fury, and for the first time since she had known him, she did not recognize the cat before her. He took a few quick strides before her, stopping but a mere foot before her. His raging eyes met hers. His voice was subdued but it was filled with an emotion she knew was on the verge of explosion. "You might mean to say how could they do this to me?" he seethed. "How could they abandon me? Leave me in the hands of traitors and enemies? Leave me to suffer in that blasted pyramid? Treat me like I have never existed? How could they?"
"They searched for you!" she raised her voice at him. "The king was relentless in looking for you for months on end!"
He laughed derisively. "Sure he did." His voice then turned bitter. "I'm sure he was happy to get his adopted child out of the way so his son can have everything." He paused before adding. "Including you…."
"Tygra!"
"You're all I had!" he screamed, his eyes now filling with tears. "I could not have the sword of Omens…not the Kingdom…nothing! I had you! And you were all that mattered to me….forget everything else…and they took you too!"
Cheetara was rendered with silence.
"I was never good enough for them. Never! No matter how hard I tried. No matter what I did, what I sacrificed, what I gave up! I was NEVER going to be good enough for anything! Now you prove that I'm not good enough even for you!"
"You know that's not true!"
"Really?" he derided. "Then how could you leave me too, Cheetara?"
"I thought you were dead!"
"And that gives you reason to marry my brother?"
"Did you think for a second that I forgot you just like that?" it was her turn to lash out. "You don't know what I went through when I thought you had died. I just about died too!"
"You replaced me like a spare blade on a sword!"
"If you think it had been easy to get over you than you're underestimating your own worth." She spoke firmly. "I loved you with all I had, Tygra. It destroyed me when I had thought you had perished."
And for a few minutes not a sound was heard in that room.
The background of the chaos outside the predominating sound that reigned by them. Tygra turned his back to her, moving towards the window, his hands gripping the ledge so hard that his knuckles turned white.
"Say the word…Cheetara…" he spoke but above a whisper that she barely heard it. His head lowered, he turned to her, the anger seemingly taking a back seat to a look that pleaded. "Say you still love me…and come with me…I'll pull out all the troops from Thundera…I'll make them stop this destruction…please…just say it….they fear me…they will listen to me…"
Her jaw dropped. "Is this what this is all about?" she spoke in aghast. "Tygra… are you mad?"
"No…" a look on confusion now registered on his features. "But…I still love you…I do….and I would do anything to win you back…"
"Tygra…" her voice lowered. "I will never regret what we had…." She spoke softly. "But I love your brother….I wouldn't have married him if I did not."
"You will abandon your people for the love of my idiotic brother?" his tone had changed to one of anger once again.
"I did not abandon Thundera, Tygra." She spoke firmly. "You did."
And at that moment the door crashed, revealing an injured Nikolia and Lion-O. Tygra rapidly pulled out his whip and aimed for the cleric. Lion-O freed Cheetara as the young leopard tried to fend off Tygra's attack.
"Go your highness!" Nikolia barked as his back was against the wall.
Lion-O grabbed Cheetara by the hand and took off.
Nikolia winced as the tiger whipped him. He had barely escaped the assault of his three lieutenants but he had freed Katerina and that was the more important goal. He had managed to fatally wound both the dog and the black cat but the white wolf escaped. He had then set out to find prince Lion-O and together they had teamed up against the traitor General Grune. They were, however, too late to save King Claudus as he perished in the hands of Mumm-Ra.
"What is it about my little brother that earns your loyalty, you imp?" Tygra snarled as he grabbed the cleric by the throat and start to choke him. "You know you don't have to die tonight, cleric."
"I will lay my life for my kingdom and my king." NIkolia sputtered as he started to spit out blood.
"You and your misplaced loyalties!" Tygra threw Nikolia against the wall. The tiger lunged on him, missing his jugular by a hair. Nikolia had blocked the attack with his staff, pushing with all his might to keep the blade the tiger held against his throat. "You are fine warrior Nikolia…don't waste your talents on this fallen kingdom. Why don't you be one of my lieutenants and conquer the world?"
"Over my dead body."
"As you wish!"
That had seemed to be the beginning of the end…or the end of the beginning. Which is which, he could not tell.
Tygra turned over in his metal bed. It was hard to believe it had already been ten years since then. Ten years of chaos, pain, misery. He had been the aggressor the first few years of that decade, and when Mumm-Ra's forces had been defeated he had gone on the run. His former allies have either abandoned them or were obliterated by the united forces of the animals. His last stand had been a hidden fortress in the mountains west of Thundera. He fought well and good when they tried to capture him, but he had been severely outnumbered.
When he woke up he had chained from his neck to his feet and had found himself in front of his brother and his former flame. He may have been on the run, but he had known that Lion-O and Cheetara had children, and had lead Thundera into prosperity, the only blemish in that happiness was his presence and continued elusion of the Thunderan military. Living on the run had become a chore after a while, and Tygra had figured that subconsciously he may have given it up by the time Panthro and Bengali had him cornered.
Tomorrow he faces the guillotine.
Am I ready to die?
Countless times he had asked himself that when he led Mumm-Ra's forces into battle. He had promised himself that he was going to live, no matter what, and that fueled his passion to keep on fighting, even with the mass desertion from the lizard army, with Grune's death, with the coming of the new generals. He was going to live and conquer. That determination was the fuel to his fire, chasing down his brother and their makeshift team of Thunderan misfits. Racing after the stones, retrieving the sword of Plundarr, steamrolling any ally of the Thundercats that came his way. He was the scourge of third earth, and he knew at times that he struck fear in some inhabitants of the planet even more than Mumm-Ra did. He was driven by a desire to show he was more than an orphan tiger that lions had taken pity on, that he was mighty in his own right and that he, more than Lion-O deserved to be a ruler. He was not going to be second fiddle to someone he thought was neither his equal nor his rival.
That was what kept him going, that he was going to be one great leader, have his own kingdom, his own queen. Ten years later he was none of that, and had nothing to show for it.
Was it all for naught?
In the time of his solitude he spent hours thinking if he had made a mistake.
Did I?
Have I wasted a decade of my life for nothing?
Chasing after a dream that wasn't meant to be?
Running after a woman who wanted nothing to do with him?
What has become of me?
Tygra didn't feel like he wanted to hear the answer to that question.
They say that your entire life flashed before your eyes at the moment of your death. Tygra surmised that maybe at that very second he may have realized what his life had meant, if any at all.
But when he had gotten to the guillotine he realized he didn't want to go down this way. Kneeling in front of the race he had once tried to destroy and idly fall to his fate in the hands of a masked executioner. That's when he found himself challenging his brother to a duel. He found himself still bearing hatred for him who he felt had taken everything away from him and when he raised his borrowed sword, Tygra had meant to plunge it straight into his brother's heart. Maybe Lion-O's death would fill the empty space in his chest where his heart had been.
But then the lightning struck.
And everything had turned black.
He was quite sure he had died and gone to hell.
When he opened his eyes to see soldiers preparing him for burial, he realized this was not how he wanted it to be.
To be thrown upon the merciless seas like a common criminal.
So he summoned all his strength, and fought back.
He sustained injuries, felt weak, wounded himself so severely he didn't think he would make it past the gates. But he did. He gave good chase, finding his invisibility handy in taking down both Panthro and Cheetara when they came upon him. Ironically, the weapon he used was an old present from her. He had held on it throughout those years, hoping against hope that she would come back to him. Alas that was not meant to be.
Some days he wondered if his feelings for her were still of love, or merely that of holding on to what good memories he had when life was a little simpler.
Memories…is that all there is?
He gave one last battle with his brother. And when he did, we wondered.
This Lion-O, this one who he had faced in the arena….the one he confronted in the forest…seemed different. Different from the brother he had known before he had crossed to the other side. Perhaps in the ten years that he had not been with him, he had changed? As though he hesitated in battling him? He had faced his brother in combat in those ten years, but something about their recent encounters was something he could not put a finger on. Perhaps he had a change of heart? He had known that his brother at one point had been jealous of his accomplishments and his relationship with Cheetara…and had apparently been verbal about it. But this one…he didn't appear to be such. Then of course he now had all of what Tygra used to. Of course he would not be jealous. Then again, he didn't rub it in Tygra's face either, which he would have expected.
And then he asked for forgiveness.
That was the biggest puzzle of all.
It then dawned on Tygra, in what he thought were the last few breaths of his sorry life that it was not his brother's fault.
It was not he who chose to be born or be king. It was not the lion's fault that Claudus had taken favor upon him and disregarded Tygra. Nor did he mean to steal Cheetara from him. They had thought he was dead and had likely fallen in love in the midst of their grief.
Yet he asked for forgiveness for that which he had done wrong.
You did no wrong, Lion-O. I did.
He had wanted to say that to him but his lips had been too weak to move.
Then Panthro had that laser trained on him.
Perhaps, this was the best thing.
He was bound for hell, and he knew it.
There was no redemption for him. He felt he had nothing to live for anyway.
No kingdom, no crown, no queen.
Not even a memory of any of those.
He came into this world with nothing, and will leave it with nothing but the sins he had committed.
Is it too late to ask for forgiveness?
Too late for repentance?
Too late to right the wrong?
In this case that's what it felt like.
And in this case he will accept his fate.
The loud explosion followed the bright blast of light.
Forgive me, Lion-O. Cheetara. Father. People of Thundera.
It sounded moot, but those were the last few words he uttered before the world disappeared before his eyes.
7/14/12
It took me a while to get this written, but here it is.
Many thanks to The New Mandalord for writing the action scenes! Goodness knows it would have taken longer if I wrote them myself.
And since for some weird reason this fic was written backwards, the next chapter was actually written before this one and the one before it.
I hope you enjoyed this, as depressing as it is, LOL. That was truly intentional, thus the subtitle of the chapter.
This was a prelude to In His Shoes, a background of why Tygra had morphed into the evilness we knew and the latter part delves into his mind during his captivity.
Many thanks to the friends who supported me in writing this fic. Tygra's lieutenants are a nod to them, Blanca and Toni. Nikolia is a morphed OC from The New Mandalord's fic It's Good To Be the King and Assassin of Thundera. I'm in this fic too, as Askal, a tribute to my Filipino roots. Askal is slang for "asong kalye" which means street dog.
Cheetara: Wow, this story was….erm…sad.
Tygra: *glowering* But…but..you love me! Where's my happy ending?
Me: That comes in chapters 3 and 4…which ironically have already been written before this one ^_^.
Nikolia: Do I get a happy ending too?
Me: Nikkie, I've written so much smut about you, you've had more happy endings than you know what to do with.
NIkolia: Where is it then?
Me: Ask your boss The New Mandalord. It's likely in his inbox. LOL.
Lion-O: What about me?
Me: Fercryinoutloud Lion-O, go back to In His Shoes. There's a chapter 4 to that…hopefully before the year ends. Everyone else, please read and review! And should this fic not please you for one reason or another, there's a lot more out there you can read, k?
These lyrics are from the song "Crying" by Roy Orbison and K.D. Lang. This was the one that played in my head while writing this. It's a beautiful version, do look it up on You Tube if you have a chance.
I was all right for a while, I could smile for a while
But I saw you last night you held my hand so tight
As you stopped to say hello
Oh, you wished me well, you couldn't tell
That I've been crying over you, crying over you
And you said, so long
Left me standing all alone
Alone and crying, crying, crying, crying
It's hard to understand but the touch of your hand
Can start me crying
I thought that I was over you
But it's true, so true
I love you even more than I did before
But darling, what can I do
For you don't love me and I'll always be
Crying over you, crying over you
Yes, now you're gone and from this moment on
I'll be crying, crying, crying, crying
Yeah, crying, crying over you