Chapter 3: New Friendships & Understandings
It was morning; the sun's light was shining in Lion-O's room through a porthole and beaming at his face. He wakes up but still felt tired from not getting enough sleep. It was going to be a rough day since Lion-O and the other Thundercats were going to have a guest; a guest not from their world. As he pulled himself up, he notices a sleeping Wilykit beside him. He remembers her request for wanting to sleep beside him.
He thought she looked cute when she was sleeping. Smiling, he places his hand on her head and, gently, rubs her scalp.
"Time to wake up, Kit, we've got a big day ahead of us," he whispers to her, smiling after hearing Kit groan.
Kit lifted herself up after lying on her stomach, sat with her legs crossed, and started rubbing her eyes. Her face turned red from seeing the king's smile.
She asks Lion-O in a tired voice, "Lion-O, is Elijah going to be staying with us, now?"
"Of course, he doesn't have anywhere else to go. Besides, I think he could teach us things that could help us against Mumm-Ra," Lion-O replied, patting Kit on the head and helping her out of his bed. "And don't worry, maybe, if we get to know him, he might turn out to be a good person."
Lion-O left his with Kit walking beside him, snatching his hand and clutching it in an affectionate way. Snarf woke up and followed the two as they walked into the control room. Cheetara and Tygra were watching the monitors for any sign of Mumm-Ra's generals. Kat was looking through his sack for his stash of candy fruit, and Pumyra was doing maintenance on her crossbow. Panthro was nowhere to be seen. He was still sleeping off the pain from being beaten by Elijah.
Wilykit released her hand from Lion-O's and sat next to her brother. Lion-O climbed up the latter and walked towards Tygra and Cheetara. He stood between the chairs they were sitting in and starts talking to his brother.
"So, any sign of the lizards?" Asked Lion-O; having Snarf sitting on his right shoulder.
"No, not yet, but I notice our 'guest' is still on the tank's hood," said Tygra. Lion-O noticed his brother staring at a monitor focused on Elijah.
Like a statue, Elijah has stayed in the same position and the only thing that's changed is the tear stains on his face.
"Wow, how long has he been sitting there?" asked Lion-O, amazed at Elijah's stillness.
"Not sure, probably all night," Cheetara answered her king, looking directly at him. "Do you think we should bring him down?"
Lion-O looks at Cheetara but looks away as his face began to fluster. Tygra but into their conversation and says while leaning back and placing his hands behind his back, "Why should we? It doesn't look like he wants to be disturbed."
Tygra was taking joy out of seeing Elijah baking under the sun. The three noticed the sweat pouring out of him and the tan he was getting. This was the part where Tygra's conscience kicked in. He gets up out of his chair and says "okay, let's get him down before he bursts into flames, little brother" with a calm demeanor. He and Lion-O climbs down and walks out but Wilykat tags along since he remembered that he ate the last of his candy fruit. It was a hot day outside. Lion-O, Tygra, and Wilykat stood in front of the Thundertank, looking up and staring at Elijah for at least 2 minutes.
Three climbed up on the hood; Lion-O and Tygra were standing on Elijah's sides while Kat stood in front of him, making faces to see any reaction.
"Hello, anybody home! Third-Earth to Elijah, we are here to take inside!" Asked Wilykat; waving his hand in front of Elijah's face. As Wilykat placed his hand down, Elijah's eyes, suddenly, opened, scaring the cub in front of him to fall on his bottom.
"Yes, I am home. Now, what do you want!" Elijah demanded, wanting to know why he was disturbed from his meditation. "Have you come here because you' all were worried about me being in the sun?"
Elijah stood up but felt pain coursing through his left leg. He starts shaking it, waking it up from sitting on it. Stretching and popping his joints, Elijah continues, "Well, if you insist on bringing me inside your armored vehicle, then I happily accept."
"Okay, and don't worry, Elijah, I'll make sure you'll get a warm welcome from the others," replied Lion-O, showing a warm smile to his new friend.
Walking to the control room, Lion-O notices that only Elijah's face was sweating and not his entire body, which made him curious. He became even more curious from the patches on the upper torso of Elijah's suit. Lion-O asks while walking into the control room, "Elijah, how are you only sweating on your face and not the other parts of your body?"
He looks at Lion-O and explains it to him with a straight face: "Well, you see, the suit I am wearing, the stillsuit, was design by my people's scientists to preserve the moisture in my body if I, or anyone else, was to survive on any desert planet that lacked any source of water. It absorbs and recycles the moisture in my body, whether it's sweat or urine, and stores it in the patches on my upper torso. On inside of my collar, there is a plastic tube that I use to drink the moisture out of the patches."
"Ewww, you drink your own moisture? That's disgusting!" Kat remarked.
"It's all beneficial because I'm human and as a human being, my people must find any way to survive in harsh environments!" Elijah countered. "Besides, the suit breathes, nicely."
Tygra and Wilykat were disgusted to be around Elijah but Lion-O, on the other hand, was fascinated by him and the technology he possessed. Elijah was intrigued by the technology of the Thundertank, looking at how big it was on the inside and, yet, how small it was on the inside. "Amazing, I'm fascinated at how the size of this Thundertank defies the laws of physics. What do you use, some sort of Dimensional Module to rearrange the atmospheric pressure to make it appear, internally, larger?" Elijah acknowledged, placing his arms behind his back and looked around.
The words that came out Elijah's mouth were confusing to Tygra, raising his right eyebrow and exclaimed "what?" while looking at the human.
Elijah smirked, causing Tygra to give him the stink-eye.
"Your friend, here, seems to be unfamiliar to what a dimensional module is," Elijah commented, looking directly at Lion-O.
Lion-O replies with a shrug, "Well, Tygra wasn't that interested in technology. Back when we kids, many of our people viewed technology as a myth, that is, until now."
"So, you two are childhood friends?"
Tygra exclaimed, "We're brothers!"
Well, that was an awkward moment for Elijah. He examines the tiger, then the lion, and says "adopted?" while looking at Lion-O. Lion-O nodded his head as a response to Elijah's question.
Lion-O and Elijah left Wilykat and Tygra and walked to where Pumyra was, continuing their conversation but were interrupted by the puma, herself.
She was sitting down with her back against the wall, looking at the two as they stood in front of her. "You know, Lion-O, you and Elijah could sit down next to me if you like? I would like to hear what you two are talking about," she began in a flirtatious tone of voice. She seemed to have gotten over her anger towards Elijah, knowing he was just defending himself.
They did what she said, seeing it would be rude to object her offer. She leaned in to listen. Lion-O asks, "So what is a Dimensional Module, anyway?"
"It's a device that's able to expand the inside of a ship with a compact appearance. They were, largely, used by cargo ships, delivering goods to other planets or interstellar markets. However, they were, rarely, used by the Terran Armed Forces, installing it in our infantry ships," Elijah explained. "Oh yeah, Lion-O, I've been meaning to ask you, what is the name of your planet?"
"Third Earth," Lion-O answered.
"What a coincidence. My ancestral planet was once called Earth. We also called it Terra, Mondus, Gaia, and Midgard," Elijah added.
"Wow, that is a coincidence," Lion-O stated. "So was it like Third Earth?"
Elijah answered Lion-O's Question while rubbing the back of his head, "No. Well, sort of. There were a few differences, like landscapes, flora, and fauna but there may be some familiar things on this planet, I think? The only things I remember about Earth are from our history."
Once they heard of what Elijah said about his planet, everyone, including Cheetara, listened in. Elijah continues, "You see, 500-years-ago, humanity originated from the planet, Earth. However, by the year 2016, an event known as the 'Great Cataclysm,' which lasted from 2016 to 2019, destroying the entire planet, inside and out, causing mankind to scatter throughout the galaxy, colonizing many worlds. That event was known by us as the 'Great Diaspora of Mankind.'"
Tygra's stink-eye towards Elijah changed, turning from anger to pity. Everyone else started feeling the same way. Elijah made a weak smile, telling everyone that it's alright.
3-hours-later, everyone was in the living quarters, sharing conversations around a circular table when they noticed that Elijah was missing. He was at the crash site of his fallen ship. He remembered that he left something in the front compartment. He was only focusing on the sphere but now, he remembered other things that he forgot to take out.
From the compartment, he took out a brown bag filled with unknown items, and headed back to the Thundertank but before he could return, he did a few...'rewiring' to his ships' engine. He waltz's into the living quarters, saying "Well, I got what I was looking for" and placed his bag on the table. He sat between the cubs, separating them as he sat down.
"So, what's in the bag?" asked Kat.
"Well, I'm so glad you ask," he took out what was in it and presented them to the other Thundercats. "In this sack are things I brought from home."
These were the items he took out: Books, a case full of music chips, a first aid kit, and a communicator wristband. Kat picks up one of the books and reads the title out loud: "The Complete History of the Human Race."
Kit picks up another book and reads the title out loud, as well: "The God-Emperor of Dune" but places the book down after becoming frightened from seeing the image on the cover: An image of a gigantic worm with a human face being worshiped by people dressed in white.
"What's the matter?" Elijah asks Kit.
"N-nothing; it's just the picture on this book scared me a little," Wilykit said, softly, handing Elijah his book.
Elijah let out a small chuckle. He, gingerly, takes the book from Wilykit's hands and gave an amusing smile, patting the kittens' head to show that it's okay.
"'The God-Emperor of Dune,' Now, this was my favorite out of all the other six originals," He says to Kit.
"Originals?"
"Yes, you see, this book is part of a series of books, taking place 21,000 years in the future where my species had scattered across the known universe, forming the Padishah Empire, a quasi-feudal empire that governed over a million worlds. Well, that's the setting of the series," Elijah explained. Kit seemed very interested, smiling and listening to every detail. Elijah continued, "Actually, come to think about it, my people are in the same situation, as well."
Lion-O, as inquisitive as always, asked Wilykat for the book he was holding. Kat handed Elijah's history book to his king, seeing it as boring since it was too long for even him to read. As he opens it, a picture falls out of it and onto his lap. Lion-O picks it up, recognizing who was on it. It was Elijah but with short, combed hair. Elijah saw what Lion-O was holding and, quickly, stood up and snatched it out of his hand. It was personal and didn't want anyone else, but him, to see it. Elijah's eyes glared like fire.
"This picture must never be looked at by others; not even by me, as well!" Elijah snaps.
"Elijah," Kit murmured.
"What!" Elijah roared directly at Kit. Looking around, he started to notice how the others started to react, showing fear and anger. The Wilys huddled in fear, reacting to Elijah's outburst, making him regret what he had down.
This was the side that he didn't want anyone to see. He left the living quarters, muttering to the others, "If you need me, I'll be in my room." He walked down the hall to his assigned room, leaving his stuff behind, excluding the photo, which he was still holding in his hand.
Lion-O's eyes were filled with anger towards Elijah for snapping at Wilykit but that anger turned into concern. He wanted to talk to Elijah, ask him what was wrong. He stood up but was stopped by Cheetara who said to him while her hand was on his shoulder, "No, Lion-O, I'll go talk to him."
Elijah was in his room, sitting on the edge of his bed, facing the door. He was staring at the photo, even though he, specifically, said that he didn't allow anyone else, or himself, to look at it. Seeing it brought horrible images; images of the past that he had been repressing for years.
Cheetara walks into his room, crossing her arms and stared at Elijah. She looked at his face, looking like he was about to cry. Frowning, she was worried about the human, just as much as Lion-O or Kit.
"You know, you didn't have to yell at her. She's just a kid," she said. "Tell me, Elijah, why did you snap when Lion-O saw that picture?"
Looking up, he gives out a small sigh and hands Cheetara the photo. She looks at it and sees a young Elijah, combed hair & all, with other people around him. She, also, notices the girl standing on his right him, wrapping her arms around his neck, and the guy standing on his left, giving a peace sign to the camera.
"This is what made you mad? We don't care how embarrassing you look in this picture," She says to make him happy.
Cheetara still didn't get it. Elijah responds with another sigh, "Look closer; on the right."
She did what he said and looks at the right side of the group in the photo where she noticed one person whose face had been completely scratched out.
Elijah looked down at her feet, feeling depressed and unable to look up.
"Vincent."
"What."
"That's the name of the man whose face I scratched out… Vincent," Elijah explains to Cheetara. He continued, "That man, whom I once called 'brother,' committed an unforgivable act that, even now, has been placed in our history books."
"What is it?" asked Cheetara.
And with that, he looks up at Cheetara with a stern expression and says the word "Xenocide" but the word was unfamiliar to her.
"Definition: Xenocide is the genocidal act of eradicating an entire alien species" is what he said to her. Her eyes widened, he continued explaining more about Vincent and his unforgivable act, saying his belief on human supremacy and his deluded philosophy that mankind should exterminate other alien species and dominate the galaxy to survive.
Silence fell in the living quarters, waiting for results from Cheetara. The cubs were training with Pumyra in combat while Tygra tried to see if he could do the 540 kick, like Elijah, but he failed and fell to the ground many times, making him furious in every attempt. Lion-O was reading Elijah's history book. He was reading the first chapter: 'The Beginning of Man' when Cheetara walks in and asks Lion-O to turn it to page 10,191. He did what she asked and turned it to that exact page.
"I don't believe it," Lion-O murmured.
Lion-O, Tygra, Pumyra, and the cubs didn't believe what they were seeing. In the nineteenth chapter: Vincent's Mutiny and Insubordination were photographic images of Elijah & Vincent. These pictures were showing them saluting to their superiors and being in group photos, however there were also courtroom sketches of Vincent's court-martial and, also, sketches of his xenocide.
Lion-O started reading the first paragraph that talked about the xenocide: "It had been two weeks as the diplomatic ship, the T.S. Henry Kissinger, floated above the newly discovered planet, Voxtoros. The planet was first thought of to be uninhabited but that opinion was proven false when a tribe of humanoid, albino-like natives were discovered by a scouting party. The natives were shown to have a society—"
"—based on Stone Age sophistication that appeared to be on the verge to the Bronze Age," Elijah interrupted Lion-O, walking into the living quarters and standing in front of everyone, displaying the normal, stoic face he, usually, displayed. "You know, if you keep reading, you'll only know bits and pieces of the truth."
When they saw him, everyone, excluding Lion-O and Cheetara, started giving him the stink-eye. Wilykit grabs Lion-O's right arm, now afraid of Elijah's temper. He what yelling at the kitten was wrong.
"I would like to apologize to all of you for my outburst. I didn't mean to lose my temper but I just didn't want anyone to see those pictures," Elijah began apologizing, making the others feel less tense. "So let's begin our history lesson, shall we?"
Waking up, Panthro could still feel the pain throughout his body. He, barely, got up out of bed, noticing the trey of food on his nightstand but saw that he was cold. "How long have I been asleep?" he thought his head, scratching his chest while he stood out of bed.
He walks down the hallway, slouching as he moved his legs. His abdomen, upper torso, and shoulders were covered in bandages. He rubs the back of his neck, feeling the crick in his muscles that appeared from taking a long nap. Walking into the living quarters, everyone started turning their heads towards Panthro, even Elijah did so, as well, to see what they were looking at. He notices a new face standing in front of him and from putting 2 & 2 together, he realizes who Elijah was.
"Ah!" Panthro screams, showing fear in his eyes.
Eyes widened, even if he wasn't wearing that piece of crap of a helmet, Panthro could easily see who Elijah was. Panthro ran in front of the others, protecting his king by blocking the human, putting up his dukes and was ready to fight.
Lion-O stood up to stop his general from bashing Elijah's face. "Panthro, it's okay, everything is settled, now. You don't want to do anything you might regret," Lion-O ordered, placing his hand on the back of Panthro's shoulder and explaining his general. "The whole battle was just a misunderstanding. Elijah's not our enemy; he's our friend."
Panthro settled down, lifting his right hand up to shake Elijah's hand as a sign of peace. "Glad to see I didn't kill you," Elijah joked. Panthro continued while shaking hands, "Yeah, glad to know I'm not dead. Even if everyone is okay with you sticking around, I'll be keeping an eye on you."
"Your paranoia is normal, Panthro, but, rest assure, I will not endanger your people in any way."
As they both stopped shaking each other's hands, Panthro sat down with the others while Elijah continued his story.
"Now, where was I. Oh yeah, now, I remember," Elijah murmured to himself. "You see, before I became of captain, I was once a first lieutenant aboard the T.F. Henry Kissinger. Now, we knew that there was life on Voxtoros before we sent our scouts but what we didn't know is that the natives were large in number. I viewed them as formidable allies but, for Vincent, he thought of them as a nuisance for our attempt to colonize the planet and that they should be wiped out."
"Wait. How was he able wipe out an entire species?" questioned Tygra, crossing his arms and legs.
"Let me explain. While Vincent was more open to his beliefs of human supremacy, there were others who shared the same idea but were too afraid to speak out. So, he started a mutiny, using the other supremacists as his own foot soldiers, manipulating them at his will," he explains to Tygra, continuing to the xenocide part. "While his drones were guarding their leader while he was in the bridge, the captain and I led our loyal soldiers to stop Vincent's insubordination but by the time we got there, he launched a powerful neutron bomb on the planet's surface, exploding and covering the entire planet in fire."
Elijah felt the stress of telling his new friends this story, covering his eyes with his left hand, looking like he was about to cry.
Cheetara notices the stress, saying, "Elijah, you don't have to torture yourself by telling us this story. What you went through must have been horrible, being betrayed by your own brother."
From saying that, Lion-O stares at Cheetara and Tygra, sternly, but looks back at Elijah, listening to his response: "Vincent was really my brother, though. Like the rest of the super soldiers that were created, we shared a relationship similar to that of siblings." He continued, "Also, we weren't just brothers, we were the very best of friends, fighting side by side in many wars."
Panthro knew how it felt being betrayed by the very person he trusted. Pumyra then asks Elijah what happened to Vincent, in which, he answers as a tear fell from his left eye, "Last time I heard was that after his court martial, he was sent to the jungle planet, Guilty Breath, a penal colony established by the Terran Federation to send their most dangerous criminals, you know, murderers, thieves, thugs, rapists, and lunatics, to die."
Now that was the end of his story. Elijah went back to his room, listening to the conversations of the others from behind.
oooooo
In the deep, dark regions of space, a ship, a military starship, was floating around, following the Tiberium particles from Elijah's ship, leading them to Third-Earth. The ship's demented appearance was terrifying to those that would petrol the sector of space they were floating in. It had a cylinder shape with four wings attached on the front and back sides. The front of the ship was like a gaping mouth with sharp, teeth-like objects, sucking in the debris and other material for fuel.
Piloting the ship were the helmsmen. They were dressed in dark cassocks with crimson sash around their waist. They were tall yet hunched with a disfigured face covered in scars.
"Oh, I found him, I found him!" said one of the helmsmen, excitingly. "I must tell my master."
the Helmsman runs through the corridor to his master's chambers where he was greeted by two praetorian, blocking the helmsman from entering. These heavily-armored brutes held pole-arms made from the strongest steel. Their faces were covered in a metal mask design to resemble a dragon's face.
"I'm here to see the master, to see the master. I have important new regarding the location of Elijah, regarding the location of Elijah," the helmsman started shaking and rubbing his hands. He, like the other helmsmen, was afraid of the Praetorian Guard.
"No one is allowed to see the master!" the first praetorian guard roared. "He's too preoccupied in his work, come back lat-"
"Oh, just let him in!" the order came from behind the master's chamber. The guards moved aside, allowing the helmsman to enter. As the doors closed behind him, he was now in the presence of his master.
The chamber was designed to resemble the inside of a sultan's palace:The helmsman stood there, watching his master sharpen and polish his kindjal. His master was a slim, yet muscular man with eyes similar to Elijah's, except for the scar on his right eye, wearing black, imperial attire with two shoulder blades resembling wolf heads and a bandana covering his face. He was sitting on a throne of Arabian design made of gold in the center of his chamber, facing the entrance.
"What is it that you want, helmsman!" he placed his dagger back in its scabbard and stood up out of his throne. "Governor Abdul-Muhib, I bring you good news, good news. I have found the location of Elijah, of Elijah," Answered the helmsman.
Now, there was silence. The governor's left eye widened. He walks to the bridge with the helmsman following him but it was more like limping than walking. The helmsman pressed a few buttons and up on the monitor was a map, a map leading to Elijah. He laughed. He, finally, found Elijah and was prepared to hunt him down on the unknown planet he was on.
"Tell the crew to prepare for hyperdrive," ordered the governor.
"But, master, shouldn't we ask permission from the Imperium, first?" the governor then smacks his helmsman in the face, flinging him to a few inches to the ground.
He grabs the helmsman by the collar and starts shouting in his face, "Know your place, helmsman! On this ship, I'm in control and what I say, goes! I do not need permission from the emperor! This is my ship and I get to do whatever I want!"
Standing up, the helmsman, terrifyingly, nodded his head and did what the governor ordered; pressing a few buttons and spoke through the intercom, telling everyone throughout the ship to brace for hyperdrive. Engines rumbling, a portal opened in front of the ship. Then, next thing you know, the ship disappears through the fourth dimension, sending it to the coordinates of where Elijah's ship had disappeared to. Through hyperspace, he could feel every organ in his body deteriorating and reconfiguring, but as his ship exits out of hyperspace, he stares out into space and sees a planet with a similar appearance as Earth, except for the different land masses.
When the governor walks over to get a closer look, he steps in a pile of goo and from the looks of the cassock, it was his helmsman. He thought to himself: "Oh well, his kind can always be replaced."
"Clean up in the bridge," he said through the intercom. It's going to take away for that puddle of melted flesh to be mopped.
After the bridge was cleaned up, Abdul-Muhib continued staring at the planet, contemplating on which continent Elijah was on. "I know you're there, brother, and when I find you, I'll be the first to kill you and drain your blood, just for fun," he started talking to himself, smiling at the twisted thoughts that appeared in his mind. There were only three words that would describe him: He was insane.
oooooo
The sounds of rails moving could be heard throughout the forest. The Thundertank was moving to a new area; one with a town. The Thundercats needed to get more supplies. Elijah was in his room, sitting on his bed, staring out the window and watching as trees passed by. In his hand was a small, detonator. He presses it, setting off the bomb he implanted in his ship's engine. The Thundertank was too far away to here the explosion.
Pantro was in the control room, driving the tank. Tygra was sitting beside him.
He looks at the general and says in shock, "Did you hear that?"
"I didn't hear anything," Panthro replied, focusing on the dirt road and not turning his head to the tiger.
Lion-O was still in the living quarters, practicing the Sword of Omens on the same practice dummy Tygra used. Pumyra was standing behind her king, watching him spar in amusement. Legs crossed, the puma felt excited. Lion-O turned around and jumped back a little, finally noticing the puma behind him.
"Pumyra, how long have you been sitting there?" asked Lion-O.
She smirked, standing up and walking towards the lion king. She replied, "Long enough to see how well you are with that sword. Maybe, when you're done, you could teach me some moves?"
Her flirtatious gestures made the young lion blush a little. They were interrupted by Elijah, walking into the living quarters with both hands behind his back. Elijah changed out of his stillsuit, knowing that it was uncomfortable, but kept the gauntlet, the one that produced the energy shield. He was dressed in a white tunic and brown pants with a black belt.
"Your manner of courtship intrigues me but I have no time to observe," he said, walking towards the dummy.
When mentioning 'courtship,' Lion-O and Pumyra moved a couple of inches away from each other; blushing, with Lion-O rubbing the back of his neck while Pumyra rubbing her upper right arm.
He stares at the dummy and asks, "If it's okay with you, Lion-O, could I try out my skills on this practice dummy?"
"Sure, I don't mind," Lion-O replied. "Do you need a sword?"
"No need, I have my own sword," he presses a few buttons and out of his gauntlet was an energy sword. Lion-O was amazed but Pumyra was annoyed since she never understood technology.
With just one swing, Elijah sliced the dummy in half. Then he walks back into his assigned room. Pumyra sternly, look at Elijah as he walked away. Lion-O looks and says to Pumyra, "You still feel uncomfortable around him, don't you?"
Arms crossed, Pumyra responds, "No, it's not like I feel uncomfortable but just edgy. I've come to trust him but his personality seems a little...off and, maybe, it's just a human thing or something."
"Well, if we see anymore humans, then we can see if it is a human thing," Lion-O added.
"Why? Are you hoping to see human females?" Pumyra started teasing him. "I didn't know you were that kinky."
"N-no, that's not what I meant!" Lion-O exclaimed.
"Don't worry, Lion-O, I'll keep your dirty, little secret," Pumyra's flirting became more seductive. She walks down to the control room but not before caressing Lion-O's face. "I'll see you in a little while."
All alone, Lion-O stood in front of the sliced dummy. Panthro was not going to be happy when he sees what happened to his dummy.
To be concluded.