Episode 30 – Mumm-Rana
"Previously on Thundercats" (scenes from the last three episodes show, before the title finally appears within the show itself)
At first, the episode opens up with an overhead view of an unknown woodland area, complete with animals flying high above it. But soon, we are given a close up, and when that happens, we are shown the exact same scene that ended the last episode: Lion-O facing off with a mysterious older woman wearing a dark blue cloak. She was 2-3 inches taller than Panthro; she had bandages covering all parts of her except her hands and face, and she looked like she was roughly the same age as Jaga. Her eyelids had violet eye-shadow; her lips were regal purple, and the sides of her head were adorned by two golden wings. In a lot of ways (her robe and bandages), she almost resembled a female version of Mumm-Ra, but unlike Mumm-Ra, who looked like a recently uncovered corpse, this strange figure looked more like a perfectly healthy, living woman who was only wrapped up to look like she was mummified. Still, though, that didn't stop Lion-O from feeling slightly uneasy in her presence, as was made apparent by his backing away motions and his reaching for his sword.
"Welcome, King of the Thundercats; it is a true pleasure to finally get to meet with you face-to-face. I would have preferred it if this encounter had happened a lot sooner, but, as the old saying goes; better late than never"
Lion-O was somewhat unsure about how to respond to this, particularly because the strange figure's voice sounded so calm and collected; he might as well have just heard a mother talking to her infant child. This was quite the opposite of Mumm-Ra's voice, which sounded a lot more on the raspier side and a lot weaker.
"Who-who are you?" is what the young Monarch said; finally breaking his silence
The strange woman elegantly curtseyed at that point, right before saying "I am Mumm-Rana, the sorceress of the light: guardian of all nature and caretaker to all wayward spirits, no matter where they are…"
It was at that moment that Lion-O was hit by sudden realization "I've… I've seen you before; you're…you're that woman from that wall carving that I found…! The-the acolyte of the Ancient Spirits… the-the one that was supposed to be inside of that White Pyramid…"
"Oh, you actually noticed those fancy scratches on my wall, did you…? Good-" The mummified woman said rather smugly, right before she started circling Lion-O for some strange reason "-To be honest, I wasn't really sure if that was going to happen, this whole scheme of mine was a bit thrown together, after all. But, you're here with me now, so, I guess that means my Lizards played their roles to the letter…"
""Your Lizards"…?" said Lion-O "So you're saying that you really are working with them? That you really are helping their army?"
"Not exactly…" said Mumm-Rana, right after she ceased her pacing and right before she snapped her fingers nonchalantly
It was at that moment that Mumm-Rana snapped her fingers in a very casual way, and as a result of her doing this, a small number of Lizard troops began to appear out of nowhere. They even formed a circle around the sorceress and Lion-O as they all materialized out of thin air. The latter couldn't help but notice something strangely familiar about all this, though. In fact, while he didn't say anything at the time, Lion-O felt that the way these "Lizards" appeared was actually very similar to the way the Wily Twin illusions vanished during his Spirit Stone Trials. They even made the same funny noise.
"Granted, I was hoping to gain your group's attention via a few…um… "Lizard troops", your majesty, but…" Mumm-Rana started to explain, as the "Lizards" finished appearing all around them "…as you can see, the ones that I use are not exactly the same type as the ones that you and your friends are used to dealing with…"
The mummified sorceress might have been referring to the fact these "Lizards" were nothing more than illusions, but, at the same time, there was a good chance that she was referring to the goggles and visors that they all wore, which were all blue instead of red. (Not unlike the goggles worn by the very Lizards who sabotaged Mumm-Ra's fleet three episodes ago).
"Still, though, I suppose it doesn't really matter all that much, since, when all's said and done, they were only supposed to make sure that you and your group made it to the inside of my pyramid safely. And then disappear so that you could all enjoy your quick history lesson in peace…" Mumm-Rana continued
"Um, excuse me…?" said Lion-O, clearly taken back by what was just said
"Well, it seemed to me, little king, that you were bound to ask a few questions about me if we ever met: like, say; who I was and where I came from…" said Mumm-Rana "… So, in hopes of "ripping off the bandage early" as it were, I decided to give you and your friends a quick tutorial about myself and my history, mainly in the hopes of better preparing you all for when we actually did meet in person. It was a simple enough task, thanks to all of the wall-carvings that you and your friends found while you were all inside my pyramid, but, even so; it still seemed like a good idea that we took this one step at a time, hence why I felt it best that the two of us met in private for this one occasion. More one-on-one interactions that way, if nothing else…"
"…oh and where exactly are the other Thundercats during this "one occasion", hmm…?" Lion-O asked, with a small hint of impatience in his voice
"Oh, they're all safe and sound, in fact, they're probably all just chatting with that grumpy general of yours even as we speak…" said Mumm-Rana, still maintaining her nonchalant demeanor "… most likely about how strange it was for them to run through one of the interior doorways of my pyramid one minute and then wind up right back at that airship of yours, miles away, the next. Still, though, considering that you and your friends just recently flew into a massive storm cloud on a bright sunny day, I think it's safe to say that strange occurrences are quite common for your group today, wouldn't you agree…?"
"Storm cloud; how did you know that we...?" Lion-O started, right before he made another realization, one that was mainly brought upon by the mischievous smile that Mumm-Rana made right after his words. "Wait a minute; those "Lizards troops" of yours, they weren't just conveniently in the area when the Feliner crashed; they were waiting in the forest, specifically for that to happen. That's because you were behind that thunderstorm, weren't you? You used it to cause the Feliner to crash, didn't you?"
"Well, the green lightning did most of the work, but, yeah, that was pretty much my doing…" said Mumm-Rana, right before she rose up one hand and twirled her index finger around to magically create a small storm cloud, complete with thunder and lightning, which she then held right in the palm of the aforementioned hand. "After all, the forces of nature have always been my particular area of expertise for many years now…"
It was at that moment that the mummified sorceress blew the small storm cloud out of her hand and into Lion-O's face. He wasn't hurt by this, of course, but he was briefly blinded by it, and it even caused him to cough a little bit as well. What's more, it also kept him from seeing Mumm-Rana as she walked right passed him and approached the "Lizard troops" that were standing right behind him. As soon as Lion-O regained his vision, though, he was just in time to see that the mummified sorceress standing right next to one of those "Lizards", in fact, she was basically leaning on him.
"I'll admit that there was a great deal of deception involved when I was arranging this meeting between us, Lion-O, but…" Mumm-Rana started, right before she snapped her fingers and caused the "Lizard army" to vanish into thin air (think the faux Sword of Omens from "Between Brothers") "… even so, it still seemed essential that we met, especially when one considers the following fact; we share a common enemy…"
"… Mumm-Ra…" said Lion-O, upon realizing where the cloaked sorceress was going with this
"Yes…" said Mumm-Rana "… and although it is a long time overdue; I would very much like to join your war against that monster. I'll even prove my good faith in that regard, if you'll allow me the opportunity…"
""Prove your good faith"…?" Lion-O started "…how…?"
"Follow me-" Mumm-Rana replied as she walked passed Lion-O again and started heading towards the forest "—and all will be made clear to you soon, my young feline friend, especially when we reach our next destination…"
The Young Lion was still, understandably, skeptical about all of this, though, and it showed in the way that he looked up at the towering older woman. But when Mumm-Rana took notice of this, she simply replied with-
"Hey, I can understand your suspicions, young one; honestly, I can, but, make no mistake; if you agree to do this, if you agree to follow me now, then, one way or another, you'll be glad that you did so later on… very glad…"
Now, at first, Lion-O wasn't entirely sure how he should react to that last statement, and it showed in the way he hesitated during the next few seconds. However, as soon as those seconds passed, he finally let out a light sigh of defeat and allowed his sword to slide right back into its golden holster. Then, he (begrudgingly) approached the tall, elderly woman and stood on her right side, with the next words to come out of his mouth being-
"I must be out of my mind for doing this…"
"I wouldn't be so sure about that one, little king…" said Mumm-Rana, after a brief chuckle "… I wouldn't be so sure about that one…"
The elderly sorceress proceeded to lead the young Thundercat further into the forest after that, but, while she did so, a mysterious trio was watching the two of them from afar; on a nearby tree branch to be precise. It was Queen Willa and her two Warrior Maidens: Zera and Ewa, who were doing all of the watching, and since they were all crouched down on a nearby tree branch, it was safe to assume that they heard every single word of Lion-O's first meeting with Mumm-Rana; from beginning to end.
"So, that's the "very important Thundercat" that Mumm-Rana just had to meet, is it? Hmm, well, you can consider me unimpressed by him…" said Willa
"Don't be so quick to judge, my Queen, remember what Mumm-Rana told us about this particular Thundercat…?" said Zera
"I believe her exact words on that subject were that this young lion was a 'definite breath of fresh air' when compared to the other members of his species…" continued Ewa
"(Scoffs) considering what I've heard about the rest of his kind, that's hardly saying much. But, in any event, we've done our chore, and that means we can finally return to our own home now. So, let's go find my sister, Nayda and the other warriors and then, get back to the Treetop Kingdom, we have other things to take care of there…" replied Willa as she got up and started to leave
"Yes, my Queen" said Ewa and Zera in unison, as they bowed their heads to their Amazonian monarch, right before she started leaping off to other tree branches
The other two Warrior Maidens followed suit and while they did so, they got to talking—
"I just hope that we did enough to waylay that undead monstrosity back there, Ewa-" Zera started "-he was definitely more of a problem than we gave him credit for…"
"Perhaps-" Ewa replied "—but, considering the type of condition that this Mumm-Ra was in when last we saw him, Zera, I really don't think that he'll be causing us any further problems today, do you?"
"Yeah, you're probably right…" said Ewa
It was at that very moment that the scene suddenly changed to the lower levels of a tree canopy somewhere else. More specifically, it was the very same tree canopy where Queen Willa and the other Warrior Maidens had their final conflict with Mumm-Ra in the previous episode. There, we are shown the undead warlord himself, while he was still in his Ever-Living form no less, as he flew downwards in a very weak and very wobbly manner. No doubt because he was still feeling the after effects of his previous encounter with Queen Willa and her mysterious magical green talisman. Once Mumm-Ra finally found his way back to the ground, he reverted back to his frail mummy form and collapsed to his knees with a mildly loud and raspy groan. He struggled to get back up on his feet for a minute or two, but as soon as he was up, his weak and raspy moaning was replaced by a deep and angry growl.
That was when the evil Mummy noticed his four Generals as they were walking up nearby. All of them were limping in some way, however, or holding some part of their body in great pain (Kaynar was actually using his weapon as a crutch).
"General Slithe!" is what Mumm-Ra called out as he approached the battle weary Animals
As expected, Slithe was just a little bit wary about seeing Mumm-Ra right about now, as the next words to come out of his mouth were-
"Oh… Lord Mumm-Ra, there you are. We were just, um, uh, coming to look for you, way out here…"
"Oh, spare me all of your pathetic prattling, Lizard; I'm in no mood to hear any of it at this point…" said Mumm-Ra as he moved in closer while holding his right arm in pain, pain that he wanted to hide "As a matter of fact, my dear General, the only thing I want to hear from you four beasts right now is the results of your battle with those other annoying treetop dwellers from before. Their leader was able to escape me, due to some feeble magic trick that she had on hand, but, I trust that the four of you were able to make the remaining ones suffer for causing us such a delay with their pathetic ambush, yes…?"
"Oh… well, um…we… fought as ferociously as we always have, Lord Mumm-Ra, and we… had them at our mercy a few times as well…" said Slithe, obviously nervous, right before he chuckled uneasily
"But…?" Mumm-Ra added, sensing that something was wrong
"…The…um… warrior women proved to be a little bit more…um… f-formidable then we initially believed…um…my Master" Slithe finished, unsure of what was going to happen next
"So, you mean to tell me that a quartet of physically superior Animal Generals failed to defeat a mere pack of tree-branch leaping savages?! Pathetic…" said Mumm-Ra
"You don't understand, My Lord; those "savages", as you call them; they give new meaning to the word, I can assure you of that...!" said Addicus in an almost hysterical fashion, while trilling ever so slightly in between a few words
"And I can personally vouch for it too, no doubt about that-" groaned Kaynar as he limped up closer to Mumm-Ra "—those ladies were all like animals in the way they fought back against all of us, and not in a good way, I'm inclined to say…"
Kaynar attempted to chuckle insanely right after saying that last part (for whatever reason), but, he was forced to stop in mid-chuckle when he felt a searing pain in his right side. That was when Vultaire walked up to Mumm-Ra, with his palm on his face (no doubt in response to Kaynar's antics), and right after he let out a light scoff, he faced Mumm-Ra and said-
"Suffice it to say, my Lord, I do not believe we were…um… prepared to deal with all of those treetop dwelling women this time around, not whilst within their own territory at any rate. But, it's probably just as well, though, anyway, your greatness. I mean, after all, we only came here in search of your ancient enemy, and near as I can tell; she is nowhere to be found. That seems to be as good a reason as any to leave this filthy forest behind us, would you not agree, my Lord…?"
"No-" the wicked Mummy replied "—because you are wrong, Vultaire, my ancient enemy is most definitely within this "filthy forest", as you seem so fit to describe it, and, thanks to those foolish followers of hers and their feeble excuse of an attack; I now know that we are growing ever closer to her with each passing second, (chuckles ever so slightly) it is only a matter of time, really, only a matter of time…"
"Uh, pardon, Master?" said Slithe, right after he share a look of mild confusion with Vultaire
"To put it simply enough for even you to understand, my dear General Slithe; the savage leader of those so-called Warrior Maidens was in possession of a very powerful magic talisman, which she used during our earlier battle within the tree canopies of this accursed forest. A talisman that only my old nemesis could have provided her with, I am most certain of that fact, and since we are encountering so much resistance during our search for my dear old foe, my Generals, that can only mean that our grip all around her is only tightening, which means we must continue on our way. (Chuckles ever so slightly) she always did behave like a cornered animal whenever I was growing too close to finding her in the past, as I recall, (chuckles ever so slightly again) and she was always so afraid of me as well, I have always been so certain about that one (chuckles one more time)…"
Mumm-Ra just turned around and started walking in a different direction after that and his words even warranted a brief look shared amongst his battle-scarred generals. But that didn't stop him from continuing with-
"Well then, come along now, my Generals, every moment we waste is a moment when…"
But before Mumm-Ra could finish that sentence, he came to a realization
"Wait; we seem to be missing someone in our little group… where is that wretched soul, Pumyra…?"
This caused the four Generals to all give an "I don't know" look to their master, with additional "Uhs", "Wells" and "Ums"
"Oh, where has that accursed shade of a Cat gotten herself off to this time?"
(Commercial Break)
Meanwhile, back in another part of the forest, far away; Pumyra was still facing off with the same hooded figure that she was blindsided by when she was chasing after Nayda and the other Warrior Maidens in the previous episode. The very same hooded female had already revealed herself to be another Pumyra by this point, and that was much to the shock of the armored version of Pumyra, to be perfectly honest about the situation.
"You're…y-y-you're me? B-but how-h-h-how-how is that even…?" stammered the Armored Pumyra in disbelief
"First of all, Miss "Pumyra"; I'm not actually you, I was never once you, in fact, I could never in my whole life allow myself to become the same type of horrible Cat that you've turned out to be, you treacherous shade…!" said the Blue robed Pumyra, right after she hissed a little bit at her armored counterpart, and right before said counterpart began to look somewhat angry at her statement "Although, I can bring myself to give credit where credit is due and this little talk that we're having right now has actually helped to remind me of something else that I've been meaning to go over with you for quite some time now, and I believe it goes something like:-"
Then, without any warning at all, Blue robed Pumyra delivered a swift and savage kick to Armored Pumyra's torso and sent her flying backwards into the tree trunk.
As one would expect, Armored Pumyra was none too happy about what just happened, and it showed in the way she growled as she got back up and then unsheathed her wrist blades. The armored Puma then came charging at the blue robed Puma with her wrist blades swinging, but Blue robed Pumyra dodged the attacks rather easily and then delivered two of her own: a swift knee to the ribs and savage punch to the face. Armored Pumyra quickly recovered from this, though, and then came at her counterpart again. But just like before, Blue robed Pumyra handily dodged her counterpart's attacks and then delivered two of her own: this time, it was an uppercut to the lower jaw and then, four kicks to the torso. Now these were the moves that almost made Armored Pumyra lose her balance and almost made her fall off the tree branch as a result. But she was able to regain some of balance before that could happen, which was when Blue robed Pumyra called out to her and said-
"That was for all of the Birds who suffered because you came to Avista City, by the way, and this next one…"
- Right before she ran up to her armored counterpart and delivered another swift and savage kick to the torso-
"…is for all of the Thundercats that you betrayed!"
Now that was the move that actually sent the Armored Pumyra flying clear off of the tree branch, and, given the sheer height said drop, had she not sunk her claws into the tree bark while she was falling, her inevitable landing from the fall would have been a lot more painful than it actually was. But, as it stood, the tree bark move was definitely able to slow down her descent quickly enough for the Armored Puma to safely climb herself onto a much lower tree branch, unharmed. However, just as soon as the Armored Pumyra finally was safely onto said tree branch, she was just in time to see her Blue-robed counterpart leaping, cautiously, down right after her.
"Thundercats, huh…?" said Armored Pumyra as she got back on her feet "So, if they're the ones who were actually responsible for this little attack, then what exactly are you supposed to be anyway, stranger; the end result of some sort of strange trick or a spell that the Thundercats came across during their aimless travels, one that they saw as a means to exact some sort of ironic type of revenge against me or something…?"
"(Scoffs) I should be so lucky, witch…!" said Blue robed Pumyra in a very angry tone "Maybe if I was only just the end result of some sort of spell or something, then maybe I wouldn't have had to deal with all of this guilt that you've left me with! The guilt of having betrayed those whom I should've been working with right from the very beginning; the guilt of having truly hurt those who were actually willing to give me a chance; like the other Thundercats and even my very own king-"
Blue robed Pumyra's voice sounded rather sad during that last part, but it quickly turned back into anger when she extended her claws on both hands and continued with-
"—which, now that I think about it, actually makes this next move that I'm about to make somewhat long overdue…!"
-Right before she came charging at Armored Pumyra with the intent of slashing her face to pieces.
However, Armored Pumyra was able to counter this move by dodging it just in time, and then, by grabbing her blue robed counterpart by the collar and left wrist, so that she could throw her into the tree trunk with a significant amount of brute force. When Blue robed Pumyra landed back onto the tree branch, she fell right off of it a mere few seconds afterwards, thanks to a combination of both the way that she landed and gravity itself. Fortunately, just like her counterpart, she was able to save herself by digging her claws into the very bark of the Tree trunk itself, thus, slowing down her descent by a considerably great amount. Unlike her counterpart, though, Blue Robed Pumyra only did that after using some of her agility during the fall, which allowed her the chance to sink her claws into the tree trunk's bark in the first place. What's more to tell is the fact that Blue Robed Pumyra's fall was actually stopped when she was still a few feet away from a much lower tree branch, prompting her to get down by performing a well-executed and planned jump, which ended rather excellently in terms of the landing. However, Armored Pumyra soon leapt down right after her and while she was doing so, she said-
"Oh, cry me a river, you pathetic excuse for a she-cat imposter! If anything, it's your disgraceful displays of emotion that prove that you were right about us not being the same Cat. Because, if we were the same being; then you would have understood why I was within my every right to do all of those things that you mentioned. Especially after everything that I've had to endure in the earlier parts of my 'life'"
The Blue Robed Pumyra could only growl very angrily after hearing that last statement, and while she did so, the Armored Pumyra extended both of her wrist blades yet again and then came directly at her blue robed counterpart at this point, all while she kept on saying-
"I mean, really now, imposter, where, exactly, is the villainy to be found within my desire to avenge myself upon the very same Thundercats who left me behind when Thundera fell, hmm? I'm also not seeing the evil in me wanting to take my revenge against the very same King who ignored my cries for help and then, left me behind to die underneath a very heavy pile of rubble, helpless and alone no less, as I should probably be adding as well!"
Suffice it to it say; the Armored Pumyra was repeatedly swinging her wrist blades ferociously at her blue robed doppelganger during the entirety of her speech. She even tried to throw in quite a few vicious kicks at her counterpart's body as well. But, fortunately though, Blue Robed Pumyra was able to dodge each and every single one of these attacks with relative ease. Then, just as soon as the opportunity to do so presented itself to her; she even delivered a swift yet ferocious kick of her own to Armored Pumyra's back, thus causing the latter to stumble forwards for the next few seconds afterwards. All of the way up until she finally collapsed altogether, which is actually when the blue robed Pumyra took the opportunity to say-
"You really just don't get it; do you, "Pumyra"? Our king was not the same horrible monster that destroyed an entire city just because he could. Nor was our king the same vile creature that would enslave the soul of a fallen Cat soldier simply because he wanted his own personal servant. And our king most assuredly was not the same heartless villain who would use that very same lost soul to endanger the lives of thousands of other animals solely for the sake of retrieving yet another one of those precious stones of power of his! Oh-no, no, no, no, no; that was all the handiwork of your beloved Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living, my dear! Remember him, hmm; the very same monster that you actually have the gall to refer as your 'Master', hmm…?"
The Armored Pumyra simply made a low volume growl after hearing all of that, right before she quickly leapt back onto her feet, so that she could engage her counterpart in a fierce hand-to-hand combat fight. The two of them fought rather viciously for a little while, but for every single blow that either one of them made, it was countered rather easily by the other. For example; for every time that the Blue robed Pumyra tried to deliver a solid kick, it was blocked just as easily by the Armored Pumyra in a short amount time. In fact, even when the Armored Pumyra tried to use her wrist blades to tip the battle towards her favor, her blue robed counterpart was still able to dodge them without even gaining so much as a single scratch. However, just as soon as the Blue robed Pumyra had so much as a single open blind-spot during this fearsome one-on-one fight; the Armored Pumyra was able to quickly make her move and thus swiftly knocked her blue-robed counterpart down to a much lower tree branch that was found even further down below. Now then, this was the part when the Blue robed Pumyra was just barely able to grab onto the tree branch's bark just in the nick of time, and while she dangled for dear life, the Armored Pumyra simply leapt right down to the tree branch right after her and then looked down at her so that she could say-
"May I remind you, my dear counterpart, that it was only because of Mumm-Ra and his immense power that I was even able to return to the world of the living at all? Or, are we just going to keep on ignoring that fact and continue to fault my great master for, not only granting me a whole new living body, but for also granting me a whole new chance at life itself as well, hmm…?"
"A cursed life is what you really mean, isn't it, you pathetic excuse for a…?" Is what the Blue-Robed Pumyra said, after a brief scoff, while she struggled to pull herself back up onto the branch "A life without anything even remotely resembling actual choice or real free will, a life without anything but an eternity of servitude to look forward to in the near future, and all of it was wrought because of one foolish She-Cat who was too stupid and blind to see the difference between a real leader and a monster who would gladly toss her aside if she had served what little purpose she initially had!"
This, naturally, made the Armored Pumyra very upset; so upset, in fact, that she then tried to knock her blue robed counterpart clear off of the tree branch using nothing but her own feline foot. But, just as soon as she attempted to do so, the Blue robed Pumyra quickly grabbed said foot with the use of only one hand and then moved it back upwards, thus sending the Armored Pumyra stumbling backwards as a result of this action. Once the armored Puma was lying flat on her back, the blue robed Puma pulled herself back up on to the tree branch, and then faced off against her armored counterpart, just as soon as she got herself back up on to her feet.
"Well, now, I think that it's past time for me to rectify this horrible situation, and that's exactly what I intend to do, regardless of the effort!" is what the blue robed Pumyra said, right before she came right at the Armored Pumyra and tackled her.
This caused the two of them to fall down to a much lower tree branch and then resume their fighting way down there.
Meanwhile, somewhere elsewhere, Lion-O was still, reluctantly, following Mumm-Rana around, as she continued to lead him through the deep, thick forest. But, all of the while, Lion-O was clearly not very pleased about any of this, and it showed all the more when the young Lion started to have trouble keeping up with the tall, blue-robed woman—
"Well, this has certainly proven to be a most interesting chain of events, to say the least, now hasn't it…?" is what the young monarch said as he continued to follow Mumm-Rana "I mean, first: I get 'lucky' enough to get dragged all of the way out here, to the middle of nowhere, by some crazy old sorceress wearing some sort of a sky bluish robe. And now, here I am; actually 'fortunate' enough to be heading down a forest path that leads to, Jaga only knows, where. (Sighs) Are there are any more surprises waiting to jump out at me this point, any more at all…?"
"Mmm, well, actually, my robe is more of a shade of Navy blue, to be perfectly honest. Sky blue clashes too much with the color of my eye shadow, you understand…" said Mumm-Rana in a very casual manner, as she showed off her robe, obviously ignoring the fact that Lion-O was doing a soliloquy "But, hey, what's life without the occasional need for a slight sudden change in our plans every once and a while, am I right, little king…?"
"Um, I, um, uh-uh, beg your pardon, miss…?" said Lion-O confused
"Oh, come on now, my dear feline friend; let's not try to deliberately fool ourselves with this one, shall we? I mean, after all; the road through life is, undoubtedly, filled with an endless variety of twists and turns, you understand…" replied Mumm-Rana in a tone that became far more serious than the one she had earlier "So many, in fact, that one can never truly predict where they're all going to lead to in the long run, which can often lead us to some big problems to deal with and some long hardships to endure…"
"Tell me about it" Lion-O replied in a very solemn manner, after mildly scoffing
"But, there is a bright side to this seemingly sad fact of life…" said Mumm-Rana, much to the sudden confusion of Lion-O "… for you see; while these occasional surprises can often lead us to some great troubles from time to time, they can also lead us to some great good fortune as well, usually when we weren't even expecting that to happen in the very least, if you know what I am currently getting at, my dear little king…"
Lion-O was not sure how to react to that, but that didn't stop him from responding with—
"Keep talking…"
"Oh, I will; after we reach our next planned-out destination, that is, of course…" said Mumm-Rana after a brief chuckle "… in fact, I dare say that we should only be about a half a mile away from there, right now. So, we should probably keep pressing onward, if you don't mind, my dear little feline friend…"
"Press onward to where…?" said Lion-O, as his angry voice started to return "There's nothing to be found around here for who about knows how many miles, Mumm-Rana, not even a single other living creature for us to talk to, besides ourselves, okay? I'm telling you; there's simply nothing around out here, at all…!"
Now, Mumm-Rana's facial expression implied that she was about to say something in her usual casual manner. But instead, something made the mummified sorceress suddenly stop in her tracks and widen her eyes in mild shock, before she finally replied with-
"I wouldn't be so sure about that last one, if I were you, my young feline monarch, especially not right now, at any rate; that is for certain…"
"What, why, what-what's going…?" is what the young Thundercat asked, right before Mumm-Rana gave him a hand gesture to stop talking
"Someone is close by, I can feel it, and it's definitely not someone who should be around here right about now, I can most certainly tell you that much…" said the Blue-robed sorceress
"Is it… Mumm-Ra…?" Lion-O asked
"Hmm, that one I'm still not quite sure of just yet, your majesty. But, just the same, I'd still better go and investigate it, if only to play it safe, if nothing else. So, um, (clears throat) just keep on walking forward and I'll meet up with just as soon as I can, alright, my dear little king…?"
"Uh, excuse me, 'just keep on walking forward'; are you kidding me with that? Mumm-Ra could be right here within the immediate area and you want me to just keep on walking forward? Uh, no, no, no-no-no-no, I'm coming with you on this one, Mumm-Rana, I have to, I….!" Lion-O replied
"Whoa (x8), easy there, my dear little feline monarch; just trust me on this one, okay? A face-off with my nasty and hideous-looking counterpart is nowhere near as good as what's awaiting you at the very end of this exact path that you're currently on, I can assure you of that one, personally, my dear little king…" said Mumm-Rana, cutting him off
"Uh, shouldn't I get to be the judge of that one for myself, Mumm-Rana? I mean, don't I at least get to…" Lion-O replied with a very annoyed expression on his face, only to receive Mumm-Rana's gentle hand on said face, when she caresses it and replies-
"Look, just keep heading down this very specific path that lies right up ahead of you, your majesty, and I promise you that you will find something far more beneficial to you in the long run than any simple settling of an old score could ever possibly hope to be, my young feline friend. Of that, you can be most certain, my dear little king, of that you can most definitely be certain…"
And with that, Mumm-Rana essentially disappeared into a bright flash of blue light and left Lion-O alone to silently growl to himself. He was obviously trying his very best to be mature about being left behind. But, right afterwards, he looked forward towards the path that was right ahead of him, and decided to take a deep breath and follow Mumm-Rana's instructions. But not before sighing and saying—
"I must be out of my head for doing this…"
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Slithe and the others were all standing at the edge of a nearby cliff, while Slithe was surveying the area with a pair of binoculars. Kaynar then stepped up to Slithe and said-
"Okay, so; explain to me, again, what we're actually doing all the way out here, Slithe, hmm…?"
"Lord Mumm-Ra's orders, Kaynar; he specifically commanded that we were to head to the nearest cliff side that we could find and then remain on high alert there until given further instructions…" Slithe replied as he lowered his binoculars
"Those sound, suspiciously, like the type of orders one would give to someone playing the role of bait, don't you think so, Slithe?" said Addicus after growling silently
"Perhaps, Addicus, perhaps; but, even so, brutish barbarian, they were still Lord Mumm-Ra's exact orders…" said Slithe "… which means we must accommodate him on this plan of his to lure his ancient nemesis out into the open, no matter what our personal opinions of it might be…"
"His plan…? Is that what you call all of this nonsense, General Slithe, a plan? Him simply ordering the four of us to all go to some randomly given location, out in the wide, vulnerable open, with the hopes of being spotted at any randomly given moment…?" said Vultaire, after and before scoffing rather loudly, "Why, if Lord Mumm-Ra honestly believes that such an obviously desperate ploy will succeed, then, I dare say that our mighty leader has begun to lose a few steps to say the least, would not you agree with me on that point, hmm…?"
"I would agree, Vultaire, that you need to learn how to be bit more respectful when it comes to speaking about our master in the future, do you understand me, you miserable Bird...?" said Slithe in response, after holding Vultaire at gunpoint for his impudent words "Because, believe me when I tell you this, Vultaire; you do not want to have someone like Lord Mumm-Ra as your own personal vengeful Arch-enemy, not even the loosest sense of that phrase..."
"Ha, I can personally vouch for that sentiment being the truth, General Slithe, believe you me…" said a mysterious voice that, apparently, came out of nowhere
The four generals all looked around for the true source of the voice and, eventually, they found out that it was none other than Mumm-Rana herself. She was leaning up against a tree in a very nonchalant-type manner and the look that was currently occupying her face indicated that she was not the least bit worried about the fact that the Generals all saw her.
"Ah, greetings, my fine four animal Generals, a delightful treat to finally get to meet with you all, no doubt about that one…" Is what she said at that point, right before she cleared her throat so that she could say "Please, allow me to introduce myself; I am known as Mumm-Rana, the sorceress of the light, and I do believe that I am also the exact same person that your master is currently hunting for, am I, uh, correct on that point, hmm…?"
Slithe, Kaynar and Addicus all growled at the mummified woman after that, but Vultaire just remained calm and said-
"Huh, "Mumm-Rana" eh, (with a sarcastic tone) well, isn't that just the most original name that I have ever heard in my entire life? Ha…"
"Hahahahahaha and this from the bird-man who calls himself "Vultaire", am I correct, huh…? Hahahahahaha…" Mumm-Rana joked as she walked all the more closer towards Vultaire and the other Generals
This was when Slithe began to ready his Laser rifle as fast as he could, and he aimed it right at Mumm-Rana almost immediately, right before he said-
"I warn you only once, you withered up, old witch; if you so much as take one more step closer towards us, then I'll make sure that that'll be the last thing that you ever do with your life…!"
But Mumm-Rana was far from being intimidated by that comment, actually; in fact, the next few words to come to out of her mouth were -
"Go right ahead, my fine, stubby little reptile general; by all means, go right ahead…"
-as she chuckled ever so slightly and left herself completely open to Slithe's possible long-range attack
Now, this was the comment that made General Slithe angry enough to fire his Laser rifle weapon right at the mummified woman. But, when that very same blast actually made contact with Mumm-Rana's (supposedly) unprotected body, nothing appeared to happen to her as a consequence of that. The mummified woman did not even so much as flinch in the slightest after feeling the impact of that laser blast. It was as if Slithe had just fired his laser weapon straight at a solid brick wall that was at least two feet thick. Now, this was, of course, more than enough to make the Lizard General feel, just a teensy-weensy bit, flabbergasted. But, that still did not stop him from trying to fire several more laser blasts directly at Mumm-Rana, with none of them actually succeeding in causing her even the slightest form of actual pain or damage. And because of all of that; Mumm-Rana was free to move in ever closer and closer towards Slithe, as he continued to fire his laser rifle directly at her, and then, just as soon as she was close enough, Slithe then attempted to attack her by using the axe-blade attachment to his rifle. But, fortunately, though, Mumm-Rana was able to simply grab the blade with the use of only one single hand, and then lift the entire weapon up high up into the air, with Slithe still hanging on, so that she could simply swing it all around until Slithe was simply tossed aside like a common rag doll.
Now, this, of course, made Slithe, considerably, angry about what had just happened to him, to say the least. But, at that exact moment, all the Lizard could really do was just sit back and watch as Mumm-Rana casually looked over his weapon and said-
"Ugh, you know; I never really was all that fond of the technology that Mumm-Ra armed his followers with. I mean, for heaven's sakes, just look at these terrible things. And the sheer amount of violence and destruction that you people all tend to use them for (makes a shuddering gesture), I can most definitely assure you, that that is most decidedly not my cup of tea…"
And then, after all of that was finally said, all Mumm-Rana had to do was simply hold out the rifle with her bare hands and then it just simply glowed brightly green, right before it began to fall apart into little tiny pieces. Now, this was, of course, more than enough to make our dear General Slithe just a little bit nervous. But that didn't stop Kaynar from showing off his spear/ax weapon and saying-
"Well, alright-y then, my dear pretty lady, perhaps you'll like this weapon a little bit better then. I mean, it is a rather low tech type of weapon, after all, and yet it's always worked for me in this exact type of situation…!"
The crazed, orange Jackal then came charging directly at the mummified woman at this point, with an insane chuckle to go with his attack, I might add as well. But, before he could actually do anything to her, Mumm-Rana simply outmaneuvered him with the greatest of ease, grabbed his spear/axe weapon and then knocked Kaynar away, just like she did with Slithe.
"Really, now..? Huh, you'd never know it, the way that you use it, to be quite frank, my good jackal…" is what Mumm-Rana said, in a very smug tone, as she tossed the spear/axe weapon aside.
However, what she didn't appear to know was the fact that, while all of this was going on, Vultaire and Addicus were both sneaking up on her on both her right and left sides. Or, at least, that's the way that it appeared to look like, up until the Vulture and Monkey actually both took a swing at her. Because when they did, Mumm-Rana simply held up her right and left wrists in response, and not only did she succeed in defending herself from the attack, but Addicus' mace and Vultaire's Energy spear were both snapped into two upon impact. This left the two of them both flabbergasted long enough for Mumm-Rana to zap them both with green energy blasts, and she didn't even have to turn around to actually face them until after the deed was actually done. She then looked directly at the two generals with her arms crossed and a semi-fiendish smile forming on her face, and when that happened, Vultaire flew away like a scared little pigeon and Addicus actually leapt over the cliff's edge and started to climb down as fast as he could. This allowed Mumm-Rana the chance to turn around and look at Slithe and Kaynar right afterwards, and when that happened, the Lizard General and his Jackal friend were both shown to be just as fear stricken as Vultaire and Addicus, and they too ran away like scared chickens as well.
Then, once they were all gone, Mumm-Rana began to look particularly pleased with what she had just accomplished. At least up until she started to look all around her and said—
"Hmm, I can most definitely sense your vile presence being very close by, Mumm-Ra, so I know that you are around here someplace, you monster. Just like how I knew that the only reason that you sent your miserable Generals all of the way out here was to serve as a means to draw my attention. But, what I don't know is why you weren't here physically, joining the battle right alongside your vicious followers; just what exactly are you planning to do right now, Mumm-Ra, what…?"
The elderly sorceress silently began to ponder this mysterious matter for a few seconds or so. But, ultimately, she decided to simply shrug it off completely and then, walked all of the way over to the edge of the cliff so that she could transform herself into her blue-eyed dove form and then fly away off into the sky. However, what she didn't know was the fact that there was actually another bird watching her from afar and it was a dark colored raven with a pair of bright blood red-colored eyes. It was Mumm-Ra in disguise, of course, and then, once he was absolutely certain that Mumm-Rana was finally out of range; he then began to say-
"So, Mumm-Rana, I can see that you are still just as powerful as ever, hmm? No matter, all I need to know is where, exactly, you're disappearing off to and how I can make that very same place the site of your final tomb"
And with that, Mumm-Ra then began to fly off straight after Mumm-Rana in her dove form, as she, swiftly and gracefully, flew off into the wide open skies
(Commercial Break)
Meanwhile, somewhere elsewhere; Lion-O was still, gradually, making his way down the forest dirt path and, so far, he has been approached by no danger or resistance of any kind whatsoever. But that didn't stop him from complaining a lot for most of the whole way-
"(Sigh) I still don't get it; Mumm-Rana told me that it would be far more "beneficial" in the long run to simply keep on heading down this mysterious path of hers, but, beneficial in what way? I mean, there's nothing to be found all of the way out here and there's nobody to be found all of the way out here either, and this forest path; it feels like it just keeps going on and on forever…"
It is there that Lion-O suddenly reaches the, supposed, end of the forest path, and when that happens, the next few words to come out of his mouth are—
"I stand corrected"
Yes, after walking through the forest for what seemed like a so very long time, Lion-O was now standing in front of a truly massive prairie. It was incredibly vacuous, it had multiple flowers in it and, as near as Lion-O could tell, there were no signs of any dangerous creatures to be found anywhere at all. Still, though, the young Lion was not entirely satisfied-
"Well, alright then, if all that Mumm-Rana wanted me to do was to find this large empty prairie, then, I guess I've succeeded in doing just that. But, I fail to see how doing so was supposed to be all that "beneficial" for me in the long run, like she said that it would be" is what Lion-O said as he entered the prairie, but his complaining soon came to an end when he looked straight ahead of him and noticed the second woodland area a few miles away "Hmm, well, I supposed that she could have meant for me to head over to that forest way over there next. But if there's nothing over there, then, I don't care what Mumm-Rana says, I am done with all of this, completely done with all of it"
Then, once all of that was finally said, the young Lion then proceeded to walk forward once again and, for a good long while, he encountered no resistance or trouble on this trek of his whatsoever. In fact; the most noise that he was hearing around time was the sound of the wind that was howling all around him, and the most opposing force that he was met with was the aforementioned wind blowing directly in his face. However, while all of this was happening, the young Thundercat was quickly treated to a truly strange occurrence; a string of mysterious visions that essentially came from out of nowhere.
First, we are shown a brief flashback vision of the missiles that were fired by the Lizard Army during the Fall of Thundera. But, when they actually made contact with Thunderian Royal palace, Lion-O immediately came out of this little flashback of his and was at a complete loss about what had just happened to him.
"Huh, what the…?" is what the young Lion said, as he looked all around him and saw nothing "O-o-o-o-okay, th-th-that was…weird…"
Then, just as soon as the young monarch was starting to feel the wind blowing straight over him once again, Lion-O was suddenly treated to yet another vision, and this time, it was of the Lizards' Warbots, as they were being used to destroy most of Thundera. Once Lion-O finally came out of that vision, he was, once again, left at a complete loss.
"Huh, what…? Wha-wh-wh-wh-what is going on around here, exactly…?" is what he said, as he began to look all around his current surroundings yet again.
But, just like before, though, he saw absolutely nothing, nothing except the tall grass that was being gently blown over by the nice cool breeze. However, just as soon as that very same aforementioned cool breeze began to blow right in his face yet again; this time with considerably more force, the Young Lion then began to look in the opposing direction of the wind and was suddenly treated to yet another flashback, only this time; it was considerably much longer than the last two, in terms of length.
Now, this time; we are shown the exact same Warbots from the most previous vision, as they were all on the march during their ferocious attack on all of Thundera. They were still being used to destroy things, of course, but, this time around; the vision included a young female Cat who was desperately fighting for her very life. The young Cat could easily be recognized as Pumyra upon further inspection, and she looked every bit as fierce and aggressive as she did the day that Lion-O first came across her while he was trapped within the Pit with her not so long ago. But, in any event, the vision then showed Lion-O, in excellent detail, how Pumyra met her untimely demise; he saw how she was blown away by that one explosion, he saw how she landed flat on the hard, cold, stone ground right afterwards, and he saw how she was almost immediately crushed by that large piece of falling building debris. The vision even fast-forwarded right to the next morning, when Pumyra noticed that the Lion-O, Tygra and Cheetara of that time were all walking away from her while she was still trapped underneath the crushing pile of rubble. The injured Puma then used what little amount of energy that she could to muster out call for help to Lion-O and the other Thundercats, but when they kept on walking, without even showing the tiniest signs of hearing her, she died within the next few seconds afterwards, just like it was shown in the flashback during "What Lies Above".
This was when our dear young friend, Lion-O, was suddenly brought back out of his vision for some strange reason, and, since as it was right after he had just seen that last part of the vision, it most definitely left quite the impact on him.
"Pu-P-P-Pumyra…? But, how-h-h-how did I just…?" is what he said, right before he looked all around himself to make sure that he was still alone (you never know who could be doing what after all) "Why-wh-wh-wh-why am I being shown all of these things…? H-h-h-how am being shown all of these things…? And wha-wh-wh-wh-what does it all even mean anyway…?"
Now, there was no one around to give Lion-O an actual, verbal response to any one of his questions, of course. But, within the next few seconds or so right afterwards; there was a much lighter type of breeze that was suddenly starting to act up right out of nowhere. And, when that happened, Lion-O couldn't help but notice that there were several tiny little flower petals of at least three different colors caught up within this very same wind, which then began to fly all around him for a brief moment or two. Up until they all began to fly up much higher and higher up into the air, which is when Lion-O then took notice of them briefly glinting within the sunlight at that point, and was treated to yet another strange vision as a result of it.
This time, he was shown the interior of Mumm-Ra's pyramid, and when we are finally shown the evil Mummy himself, we can see that he is standing next to the Well of Souls, watching an image of Pumyra's spirit-
"Oh, and what exactly do we have here today, my dear, dark Well of Souls, hmm; a little lost ThunderCat spirit crying out from deep within the confines of your mystical limbo? (Chuckles slightly) a casualty from the most recent fall of Thundera, I would no doubt assume. And she appears to be bound to this plane of existence by her own feeble emotions, no less, how very befitting for a member of her weakling excuse of a species" is what the undead figure said, before his look of wicked joy turned into one of deep thought "Hmm, perhaps it is finally time for me to actually make use of this fatal flaw found within all of Cat kind, especially if those very same powerful and controlling emotions of theirs can be used as the perfect chains to control them. Hmm, only one way to find out, I suppose"
And with that, the evil mummy then began to raise up both of his decrepit hands high up into the air, which then caused the Well of Souls to glow, and then he said-
"Ancient Spirits of Evil, I call upon you to grant me the power to resurrect this wretched soul that you see before you today and imbue it with thy very own dark magic…!"
Then, all of a sudden, once the eyes of all four of the Ancient Spirit statues suddenly began to glow bright red, the Well of Souls itself then began to bubble and swirl at a very rapid pace, up until the new reborn Pumyra was at last raised straight from out of the mystic pool's eerie looking waters. She even had a very sinister looking grin across her face, and that was much to the wicked joy of Mumm-Ra himself. But, at that exact same moment, the vision itself suddenly began to shift straight from that particular scene and right to a very misty looking area of some type, where we see our dear old friend, Pumyra, once again. Only, this time, she was not exactly smiling wickedly at this point. No, this time; she was in a state of shock because of her new surroundings and she didn't quite know what to do at this particular moment, especially not when she was suddenly approached by what appeared to be a long, black vine of some kind. It was quick to try and attach itself right onto her by wrapping itself all around one of her two wrists, and, while she struggled to get herself free, the young Puma soon realized that even more black vines were beginning to show up as well. They kept on coming right at her, up until she was, at last, completely and hopelessly entangled by all of them. Then, once she completely bound and tied up, Pumyra could then only just sit still and watch as a mystical window of some sort began to form right in front of her. It was showing her the POV of somebody else, oddly enough, and she was only able to tell that because she saw Mumm-Ra himself staring right at that someone else's face as he then began to say-
"Ah, welcome back to the world of the living, my dear little lost kitten (chuckles ever so slightly). It would appear that you have been blessed with yet another chance at a very long life, my young and fortunate new friend, which you will now be dedicating in servitude to me. Is all of that quite clear, my new little feline slave girl, hmm…?"
That was when Pumyra heard yet another voice coming from the mystical window, a voice that almost instantly responded to the question by saying—
"Oh, absolutely, My Great and Powerful new Master, absolutely…"
-and she recognized it (almost instantly, in fact), as the exact same voice that she herself has always used
This left the imprisoned Puma at a complete loss to be certain, and it showed in the way that she had a look of considerable shock on her face at this exact moment in time.
"Ah, yes, good-good-good, and as an added reward for all of your 'services', my dear little Cat servant, I can also guarantee you that you may yet have your chance to exact your revenge upon the ones who betrayed you and left behind to die. Particularly their own young Lion Monarch, who was the one to ignore your final cries for help, am I correct in assuming that one, my dear young fallen Thunderian, hmm…?" Mumm-Ra continued
It was, actually, that exact same comment that really made the imprisoned Pumyra feel all the more confused about the way that things were going. But, what really managed to get her upset the most was the fact that the mysterious voice that sounded just like hers actually responded to it all by growling ever slightly and then saying-
"Oh, yes you are, my wise and wonderful lord and leader, and make no mistake on this one, O' powerful master of mine; I will make that former 'King' of mine pay dearly for his betrayal of me and the rest of his people, with his very own life and blood being the only type of payment that I will accept…"
Now that was, in fact, the very same statement that was not only enough to make Pumyra look all the more shocked and confused, but, was also enough to finally bring Lion-O right out of his long extended vision. He then looked all around him, once again, to see if he could find the source of all of this, but when the young Lion found nothing, yet again, he, instead, took a moment to let what he just saw sink in. Only for him to hear a familiar voice say-
"It's all quite a lot for one person to take in all at once, isn't, Lion-O…?"
This, naturally, took Lion-O by surprise, if only to a certain degree. But, once he looked right in the exact same direction as where he heard it come from, he saw that there was no one else around, save only for a small, white dove that was coming in for a landing. However, within a mere few seconds or so, that very same small dove suddenly began to glow bright blue and then, it transformed itself right into Mumm-Rana, in all of her glorious majesty, complete with her cloak waving dramatically and everything.
"… But, then again; I suppose that that's just something to be expected when you're dealing with such strange and mystical visions in the first place, am I correct, my young feline friend? You never know just how overwhelming that the information that you're about to receive can be right away…" is what Mumm-Rana said, completing her earlier sentence
"Mystical vis… w-w-wait a minute there-wait a minute there, h-hold on there-hold on there for just one second there, Mumm-Rana; are you trying to tell me that every single one of those weird… 'visions' that I just saw, every single one of those strange images that I was just shown, that was all you're doing, again, this whole entire time, in fact…?" said Lion-O in an almost angry sounding tone
"Oh, nope, not me, my dear little king, no, not me; I'm afraid that that honor goes to our current choice venue or, rather, more specifically, this very same grassland that you and I are both currently standing in right now…" Mumm-Rana replied after shaking her head with a brief chuckle
"W-w-wait, w-what, w-w-what are you trying to say, exactly, Mumm-Ran…?" Lion-O asked
"Welcome to the legendary Plains of Was, my dear, young Lord of the Thundercats…" said Mumm-Rana, cutting Lion-O off before he could finish "It is an ancient and mythical grassland that has, for many years now, been able to show anyone who traverses it visions of what was, what might have been and what may one day be. Though, no one is really quite sure of how any of this could be, to be perfectly honest. In fact, some people simply believe that this grassland merely possesses its own unique type of powerful magic; while others believe that there is actually something else going on around here instead. (Chuckles slightly) but, personally; I say that it's just another glorious mystery of this big, beautiful natural world that we all live in. Nature is just filled to the brim with so many mysteries and wonders after all (chuckles ever so slightly again)…"
"Um, uh, o-okay, but, um-um, that still, um, uh (clears his throat briefly), that still leaves me with at least one last question of my very own to talk about and that would be why I was given all of those particular visions that I saw in the first place…?" Lion-O asked "I mean; I'm still not quite clear on why the 'Plains of Was' decided to give me all of those visions that it did and, to be perfectly honest; I'm also still not quite clear on what I was supposed to be told by any of them either. So, um-uh, care to, um, fill me in on what all of it is supposed to mean, hmm, Mumm-Rana, hmm…?"
"Mmm, that one, I would assume, is mostly dependent upon you yourself, my dear little king…" Mumm-Rana said "…I mean, after all, when you get right down to it; your visions could mean something very, very, very important to you and your future, but, at the exact same time; they could also likely mean absolutely nothing whatsoever at all. That's really all dependent upon how relevant they seem to you in the absolute long run, your majesty. (Chuckles a little bit) you see, I told you that you would get more out of continuing on with this trek than you would have battling Mumm-Ra…"
Now, Lion-O suddenly felt the need to look at the mummified woman in a somewhat angry manner for a brief moment after that. But then, he looked a little bit sad as he began to say-
"Oh, they were all relevant to me alright, Mumm-Rana, on that point you can most definitely be certain of, believe me. I-I-I saw a young Thunderian female in my visions, one that I used to know a little while ago or, at least, one that I thought that I was just starting to get to know, and I also saw just what happened to her during the most vicious attack ever launched against my once beautiful home and kingdom. I-I-I saw just how she got hurt in the midst of that horrible invasion, and… I also saw how she fell into the worst possible hands imaginable… I-I-I saw it all just so perfectly, Mumm-Rana; i-it-it was as if I was actually there to witness it all for myself, in person, even if it was just a-a simple vision and all and nothing more…"
"Mmm, that last one actually makes a great deal of sense to me, if you want my honest opinion on the subject matter, your majesty. I mean, after all, you were the one who actually came across the She-Cat known as Pumyra in the first place, were you not…?" Said Mumm-Rana "You wanted to help her, to be her friend and ally in her time of need, but she had a great deal of anger directed towards you because of what had happened to her during the tragic Fall of your kingdom of Thundera. And, then, just when it looked like you were just starting to get through to her and win her over, if only by a little bit, you found out that it was, in fact, her anger that led her right into the hands of Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living. So, now, you're just not entirely certain about how you should be reacting to this horrible betrayal to you in these recent days: I mean, should you be feeling angry or sad or betrayed or just plain heartbroken because of all that had happened to you in the floating city of Avista…hmm…?"
"Try all of the above for an answer, hmm…" Said Lion-O, after a brief sigh, in a slightly depressed tone
"Ah, it is true, my dear little Lion-O, you have endured a great many hardships in the past. But the source of all your misery is not just in the hardships themselves, you know. It also lies within your own personal inner turmoil as well, if you know what I mean…" replied Mumm-Rana
"What exactly are you going on about now, huh, sorceress?" the young Lion asked
"Well, as you may recall me saying just a mere short while ago, your majesty; the road through life is, and always will be, filled with a variety of twists and turns that we can never truly predict in the absolute long run…" said Mumm-Rana "But, the problem that you and a great deal many others all seem to have is that whenever something bad happens during these random moments in life, you tend to dwell on them for much longer than you really should in the grand scheme of things. You even blame yourselves for certain problems that occur, including the ones that you had absolutely no control over, do you understand what I am saying now, my dear little king…?"
"Yes, I do, Mumm-Rana, but, don't forget; I am the current Lord of all of the Thundercats, which means; if anything bad happens to my people during my reign, then it is because of me and my decisions. And that makes everything bad that has happened to Pumyra my responsibility to deal with…" Lion-O said
"Mmm, true, but a king must also always be willing to look at the much bigger picture, Lion-O, and unless you understand and acknowledge that there are things in this world that are beyond your complete control; that will only become much more harder and harder for you to do, my dear little king…" Mumm-Rana replied, before clearing her throat "Take your feelings in regards to this Pumyra She-Cat for an example, my dear little feline friend: you blame yourself for her current condition as much as she herself used to blame you way back in the day. But, you must ask yourself this; were you the one who caused the disaster that claimed Pumyra's life in the first place, were you the one who told Mumm-Ra to resurrect her just to use her to begin with, and are you really responsible for every single trick and horror that that monster tries to use against you? Hmm…?"
All Lion-O could do at that point was look a little sad and say-
"No"
"Exactly; no, you had no control over any of that, my young royal, there are things in this world that you couldn't possibly have any control over" said Mumm-Rana "And the sooner you come to terms with this and accept it, the sooner you'll be able to find the peace with yourself that you deserve."
"Yeah" said Lion-O "And how, exactly, do I do that, hmm…?"
"Well, personally, I'd recommend one of the two following solutions, my dear little king: you could either A.): let all of that pain and grief that you carry along inside of you just flow away, like a leaf in the river, completely forgotten, or B.): take the very thing that has caused you so much pain in the first place and turn it into something that could be the possible solution for any of your other currently existing problems…" Mumm-Rana replied
"Hmph, you make both sound so very easy, Mumm-Rana" said Lion-O
"They're not, trust me. But, then again, let's face it, very few things in life really are" said Mumm-Rana after a brief chuckle and before another brief snicker "Now then, come along, my young feline friend, we are now very close to the end of our current journey, and there is something in the next forest that you simply must see, believe me, my dear little king…"
And with that, the young Lion decided to keep following the old mummified sorceress, as she proceeded to walk straight forward towards the other side of the 'magical plains', in a very nonchalant manner, no less, as well.
But, meanwhile, back at someplace elsewhere, the Blue robed Pumyra and the Armored Pumyra were both still facing off against one another while they were both still high up above in the very high treetops. And just when it seemed like the Armored Pumyra was starting to gain the upper hand over her opponent, due to a very swift uppercut that she managed to, somehow, get in, the Blue robed Pumyra was able to turn the tables back in her favor by delivering a very sound punch and a well-placed kick of her very own. These two blows, along with the initial weight of her very own armor, caused the Armored Pumyra to lose her balance and fall off the tree branch that they were both on (yet again). She ended up landing flat on her back on a tree branch that was found a little ways down below, though, she was not dead. Instead, she was, undeniably, out cold, and it showed in the way that she moaned in pain, and yet barely moved any parts of her limp body.
That was when the Blue robed Pumyra looked down upon her unconscious counterpart and said-
"Okay then, enough of this, it's time I finally put an end to all of this madness, once and for all…"
-right before she leapt down all of the way after her evil armored doppelganger.
Meanwhile, back at the Plains of Was, we are shown, almost immediately, that both Lion-O and Mumm-Rana have, at last, reached their initial forest destination and were just about to start entering it, as well. However, as fatigue began to hit the young Lion monarch rather hardly, our dear old friend, Lion-O, decided to look directly at his mummified guide and say-
"Alright, Mumm-Rana, I'm starting to get a really fed up about this whole "Woman of Mystery" act of yours, you understand. And, it's quite glaringly obvious that brought me all of the way out here for some strange yet still very important reason. So, I think it's finally time for you to come clean about all of this and just tell me what this is all about…"
"Oh, I quite agree, my young feline friend, but first, may I just ask you this one last question before I do, hmm: do you remember when I told you that the natural world was just filled to the brim with all sorts of mysteries and wonders of all kinds, hmm…?" said Mumm-Rana
"Um, y-yeah, but, um, w-w-what does that have to do with anything…?" Lion-O replied
That was when Mumm-Rana removed a little bit of the foliage that stood in her way at the time, so that she could show Lion-O something that left him completely speechless.
"Well, my dear little feline king, I do believe that what I am about to show you right now is, undoubtedly, one of the greatest natural wonders that this big ol' world of ours has to offer within it…"
And with that, the young Lion Lord of the Thundercats was, at last, shown what appeared to be some sort of strange, mildly tall hill found far off in the distance just ahead of him. One that was, apparently, 'blessed' with a very large stream of water that was, steadily, coming up from straight out of it at its very tippy-top, not unlike a geyser, to be perfectly honest. What's even more so is the fact this very same stream of water was also not only going straight upwards as it flowed out, but, it was also, apparently, forming the very same mist that was currently surrounding the entire hill itself, all around. Now, suffice it to say; this was enough to leave Lion-O in complete and total awe, to say the least. In fact, he was just so enamored by what he was currently seeing that he failed to notice that he and Mumm-Rana were both being watched from afar by Mumm-Ra in his bird-form. And as the evil bird continued to get a good enough look at the two of them, his eyes began to glow a bright blood-red color and the episode itself quickly faded to a black screen soon enough after that.
(Episode Ends)
Notes: Just so you know, I'm well aware that the consistency of this story is a little sketchy and the dialogue might not seem all that good, but please understand that this isn't easy
