Lion-O stirred, his turquoise eyes fluttering open. His face showed bewilderment when he realized he was in a boat being rowed by the cats he was fighting with earlier, rowing down a dark tunnel. He shifted, only to find his hands tied. The others were with him in the boat, tied up as well, still unconscious.
"Tygra." He kicked his brother awake.
Tygra jumped in his seat. "Ow! Lion-O! What was that for?"
"To wake you up because my hands are full."
Tygra frowned and shifted his attention to his mate. Lion-O turned his attention to the lynx girl and the pup sitting in front of him, both awake.
He smiled warmly at them. "Don't be afraid. I'm Lion-O, lord of the ThunderCats."
The lynx bowed her head. "Your majesty. My name's Lex-A."
Panthro woke up with a snort. "Lex-A? As in Lex-A, Lynx-O's granddaughter?"
Lex-A nodded eagerly. She turned her head to the pup. "This is my friend, Dobby."
The pup smiled shyly. "Hi."
As soon as Kat woke up and saw Lex-A, he grinned lopsided like Tygra. "Hi there." His flirting made the ThunderCats' fur stood up. "My name's Wilykat. It means 'Wild Cat'."
The cute lynx gave him an unamused glare. "Really? Mine means 'Defender'!" She sassily bared her sharp teeth at him, making him recoil.
All stares fell on Tygra.
"What?" The tiger snapped, looking like a naughty child being scolded.
"Look what you done, Tygra. You corrupted Kat!" Lion-O teased.
The ThunderCats, Lex-A and Dobby laughed whereas Tygra grumbled.
"Quiet!" One of their capturers snapped.
The laughter stopped. At Lex-A's feet was that bundle she was holding earlier. The fabric slipped off, showing a surface of shiny gold. The golden glint caught the ThunderCats' eye, especially Kit and Kat. Lex-A noticed the ThunderCats looking at the object and pulled it behind her feet, looking nervous. Lion-O raised a brow when sunlight shone behind him, the boat ride coming to the end of the tunnel, pushing draping long vines. As the boat entered a larger body of water, the ThunderCats realized there was a city, buildings gleaming shiny like Lex-A's object…gold!
"El Dara!" Kit and Kat exclaimed, extremely overjoyed, jumping in their seats. "We found it! We finally found it!"
"Technically, it found us." Cheetara said.
"Look at all that treasure! Look, dessert!"
Lex-A and Dobby stared at the overexcited twins.
"Yeah, it's all 'ohh' and 'ahh' at first." Lex-A moaned. "Then comes the reality…"
"What?" Lion-O asked.
"Just wait and see, your highness."
Lion-O made a quizzing face, getting an uneasy feeling about El Dara.
The boat settled near a temple and the native guards took the ThunderCats inside the temple. Once inside, they were brought onto their knees before a mountain lion, looking like Panthro's age and male, wearing Aztec-like clothes.
"Can we get dessert?" Kit asked.
"And some treasure?" Kat added hopefully.
"Silence, scum!" The mountain lion snapped harshly. He glared at the ThunderCats. "You are trespassing sacred land."
"I'm sorry. We didn't know." Lion-O apologized.
"By the law of El Dara, I, high priest of El Dara sentence you all to immediate death."
"Death?" Lion-O, Cheetara and Tygra repeated.
"Death!?" Kit, Kat, Lex-A and Dobby shrieked.
"Hell no!" Panthro yelled. He stood up and knocked some guards away. He tried to get to his king, but gave out a grunt when a blow was delivered to his head, a guard responsible.
"Panthro!" Lion-O shouted. He turned to the high priest. "You don't understand, we-"
But the mountain lion won't listen. The guards came on the ThunderCats, spears at the ready…
"Stop!" Lex-A cried. "They're the ThunderCats, from Thundera itself!"
"ThunderCats?" The high priest gasped. "Is that true?"
Lion-O tried to stay calm while having a dagger pressed against his neck. "Yes."
The high priest made a gesture with his hands and the guards released the ThunderCats. Lion-O gasped for air.
Then the high priest grabbed Lex-A and Dobby by the necks, making them whimper. "At least you two will be punished for your theft."
"No!" Lion-O shouted. "She's the granddaughter of my father's general!"
"Please…" Lex-A choked out, going on a short supply of air. She even shred tears.
The high priest stared stoically at the young ones he held in his hands by the throats. Lion-O was struggling to break free to save Lex-A and Dobby.
Then the high priest dropped them down. Lex-A and Dobby gasped deeply for air. He gave Lion-O a smirk before going inside the temple, leaving him and his team outside. Lion-O was torn between angry and confused. The guards then forced him onto his feet and shoved him, pushing him away. One of the guards was fondling Cheetara's bicep too much for her comfort. She couldn't shake him off, making him tighten his grip on her. Tygra, furious, snatched his mate away and kept her close as they led away from the building.
They didn't know that they were being watched by mysterious green eyes.
Once the guards left the ThunderCats alone, the anger exploded.
"That guy is crazy!" Panthro snarled, rubbing his head after getting a whack.
"The system here is definitely corrupted." Cheetara
"Not to mention the guards." Tygra growled.
Lion-O said nothing but his emotions were clear on his face. He didn't trust the priest. His only concern was Lex-A and Dobby after the choking torture they went through. He turned to Lex-A, laying an arm around her, bending down to one knee and looking tenderly.
"Are you two ok?" He asked.
Lex-A nodded. "Y-Yeah." She winced, her throat still sore.
Dobby coughed heavily, helped by Kit patting his back. He gasped. "Whoa…Muta spares no mercy for anyone!"
"Muta?" Lion-O said.
"The high priest who tried to kill us. He only let us off because you're the ThunderCats."
"He's really mean, isn't he?" Kit asked timidly.
Lex-A's eyes threw her a pointed look, her ears angled to the side. "You have no idea."
"But El Dara is supposed to be a paradise!" Kat protested. "It's supposed to be the Jewel of the World!"
"Yeah, that what I thought…until we found out what it's really like."
Panthro towered over Lex-A, looking down on her. "How did the granddaughter of the general of the Thunderian army ended up in a so-called paradise?"
"When Thundera got overwhelmed by the invasion, all Grandpa could think was getting me out. He got me to the slums and told me to run." Tears threatened to fall from her spring-green eyes. "That was the last time I saw him." Lion-O gently rubbed her shoulder. "I ran into Dobby and we stuck together since."
"The natives capture anyone in the jungle and let no one leave El Dara. Ever." Dobby finished on a grim note. "We've been trying to leave but we keep getting caught!"
"Crazy priest, crazy city, I won't blame you to wanting to leave." Panthro said.
Lion-O stood up. "But we can't stay here. We have to find the last stone."
"The book of Omens is back in the Feliner." Cheetara said, worried.
"Back in the jungle." Tygra remarked, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder.
Then Lex-A sniffed, her ears pointed up.
"I see you got a strong sense of smell like you grandpa." Panthro said.
"I can smell anyone a mile away! Like now!" She breathed in deeply and grinned. "Leopera!"
The name threw Lion-O off. "Did you say-"
But Lex-A already ran off.
"Hey, wait, Lex-A!" Dobby wailed before dashing off.
"Did she just say what I think she said?" Tygra said, his voice low with disbelief.
Without warning, Lion-O sprinted after Lex-A and Dobby, finding them running into an embrace of a cat.
"I came as soon as I heard." The cat hugged each of them and gently caressed their necks with her hands. "That was very dangerous of you to run off like that. We were so worried."
Lex-A and Dobby gave her cute faces, with their eyes big and ears flopped. "We're sorry."
Though she was stern, she smiled softly and hugged them close. "Don't scare us like that ever again."
Lion-O felt like he couldn't breathe. She seemed so kind and compassionate, so gentle and caring with the kitten and puppy.
"…Leopera?" He said. The stranger went rigid. "Is it really you?"
The stranger straightened up, breaking away from Lex-A and Dobby. Then Lion-O's breath cut short.
She was a leopardess, a very beautiful one. Her body was tall, slender, statuesque figure with narrow hips and nice curves. As a leopard, her body was golden-yellow with a white muzzle, patterned with black rosettes. She had long, blackish-dark hair with a soft navy hue falling in soft waves past her broad shoulders. Her cute round face had a small smattering of rosette freckles across her cute nose, strikingly clear and bright light-blue eyes bordered with black eyelashes-like markings, thick black eyelashes and eyebrows and soft-red lips. She wore a cyan short dress that tightly hugged her body perfectly, with long slim sleeves running over her elbows and a wide neckhole exposing some of her cleavage, black leggings with yellow leopard spots on her thighs and forelegs, and black stripes of cloth wrapped around her hands and her feet, leaving her clawed toes. A long dark-red headband was wrapped around her head, under her smooth hair and knotted at the nape of the neck.
"It's me…Lion-O."
She slowly advanced towards him, taking her time in examining him. Their eyes were locked, turquoise staring into light-blue. When she got to arm's length, she carefully brought her clawed fingers down the side of his face, almost like she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"Lion-O…?" A pause. And then her red lips formed a big smile. "Lion-O!"
Lion-O returned the smile, grabbed her and spun her around, making her squeal out happily. He laughed in happiness, overjoyed of finally seeing her again.
Tygra was flabbergasted. "I don't believe it. It's her."
Cheetara grinned. "Who wouldn't think a miracle like this would happen?"
Lion-O set Leopera back down. The lion and leopardess held onto each other tightly in a hug, after years of separation. Wrapped up in each other's arms, Lion-O breathed in her hair and Leopera had her face buried in his shoulder. They were lost in their own world, just like when they were kittens.
Eventually, the joyous reunion ended with the couple breaking apart. They held onto each other's arms as they burst with excitement.
"I can't believe it's you!"
"I can't believe it's you!"
Lion-O grinned. "You're…you're not dead!"
Leopera let out a giggling laugh. "Clearly not!"
"It's just that I haven't heard from you since you left, I don't what exactly happened to you. Then, what are you doing here?"
But Snarf interrupted by jumping in and scrambling into Leopera's arms.
"Hi, Snarf! I miss you too!" Leopera cuddled him. Snarf happily licked her face, making her laugh. Lion-O just stared at her, smiling. She twirled around, caught up in bliss when she saw the other ThunderCats and her bubble burst, bringing her back to reality. "Hello."
"…Hi." Tygra grunted after a moment of stunned silence.
Cheetara sighed at her mate and went forward, offering the new girl a hand. "I'm Cheetara. Nice to meet you."
Leopera took it in a friendly handshake. "Pleasure."
"Hi, I'm Wilykit!" Kit introduced herself, her brother at her side.
"I'm Wilykat!" Kat grinned widely. "You're pretty!"
Lex-A scoffed and rolled her eyes. Leopera smiled, finding the twins cute.
"Name's Panthro." Panthro grunted in greeting. "So you've been hiding out here?"
Leopera nodded. "More like stuck here…" Her voice went low, slightly depressed. She nuzzled Snarf closer, burying her face in him.
In a second, Lion-O went to her side, asking her questions. "What happened to you? How did you get here?"
Leopera sighed. Her eyes opened up to him, her long eyelashes batting. She shot Tygra a brief glare before she started talking. "Tygra got me so scared out of my skin, I kept running. I didn't stop running until-" But she stopped. She twisted her head around, her eyes dangerously flashing, canine teeth bared.
Lex-A and Dobby jumped into defensive stances. Confused by the three's sudden mood swing, Lion-O looked and realized what the problem was.
The cruel guards from before were coming toward them, acting more arrogant and obnoxious than Tygra. They pushed and shoved innocent villagers.
One of them pushed Lion-O off from Leopera, giving the pretty leopard a not-so-friendly grin. "Leopera…Muta wants a word with you."
Leopera glared fiercely at him. "I'll be there shortly."
"Are you sure you don't want an escort? I'll be more than happy to…"
That made her scrunched her nose. "I know where he lives."
"You better get ready for the party tonight." He fondled her shoulder, to which she immediately shrugged off. "I can't wait to see you dance…"
Leopera looked away, creeped out. Lex-A and Dobby pretended to gag behind her. A growl rumbled in Lion-O's throat. The guard gave her another creepy grin and then walked off with his buddies.
The ThunderCats were disgusted by what they saw so far about El Dara.
"The death threats aren't the worse thing in El Dara."
"Each second passed as we see this isn't a paradise." Cheetara stated.
"It stink we can't fight back or else get punished!" Lex-A complained.
Lion-O turned his attention to Leopera. She was still holding Snarf.
He attempted to change the subject. "You're a dancer now, huh?"
He remembered how he first met her dancing on the street, trying to make money. He gave her his one and only coin. He remembered the spark once their eyes met and that one meeting led to a short yet strong friendship.
Leopera turned to him, her fierceness fading away to sometjing more soft and shy.
"I guess…"
But Tygra decided to interrupt. "You're a dancer? I remembered you as a shy kitten."
"Obviously, I'm not shy or a kitten anymore. I'm not scared of you anymore, Tygra. I realized there are scarier things than a bad-tempered tiger."
The ThunderCats laughed for the second time for that day and Tygra grumbled for the second time, annoyed. Leopera innocently smiled and her body was arched, but there was a playful glint dancing in her eyes.
She smiled upon Lex-A and Dobby. "Lex-A, Dobby, how about you two take the ThunderCats out for gold and dessert?"
"Gold? Dessert?" The wilykittens piped, immediately bursting with excitement, becoming so hyped up without candyfruit. "Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go!"
Panthro growled in extreme irritation. "Alright, alright, we're going!"
Cheetara laughed at their antics, hand in hand with Tygra. Lion-O still had his gaze on Leopera, who was giving him Snarf. But their hands touched and they felt like they had been electrocuted. Their eyes snapped up, locking on a hold with each other. Their breathing stopped for a second.
It ended by Leopera retreating her hands, fiddling with her nails while her eyes hid an unexplained emotion.
"Well, then…Bye." She bid him one last smile and then walked off, taking a path where the sunlight dawned on her fully, making her look more glorious…
Lion-O sighed heavily as he watched her go, noticing how grown up she was now, seemingly not the insecure and bashful she-cat he once knew…
"Come on, lover-boy!" Tygra grabbed him by the collar and pulled him along.
"Tygra!" Lion-O shook him off. He then noticed that Tygra was giving him a look of a cross between a knowing smirk and an irritated frown. Cheetara and Panthro were sharing knowing grins. "What?" No reply, just the expression got wider. "Never mind." Lion-O walked ahead, reaching up to Lex-A and Dobby. "Lex-A, those guards back here…do they always harass Leopera like that?"
Lex-A nodded. "Yep. She's the prettiest girl in El Dara, but some cats told her the wrong way."
"It's kinda gross when they do. Besides, she never gives them the time of day so I would never do that to a female." Dobby said.
"You better."
Lion-O took a glance behind him. Thoughts of Leopera took over his mind. He thought of nothing but her.
