Fall Of The Empire
Rating: T (for now.)
Disclaimer: I don't own this. If I did, the second season would have been out already, and I would be all over that like white on rice.
Author's Notes: Ah, fairy tales. How do I love you.
Getting closer and closer to the end. . . teeny tiny baby steps to the end!
Warnings: A few choice words, nothing to get too upset over though.
Around her, the forest exuded peace.
Gargantuan trees spread high above her, forming a tight canopy. In front of her, a small creek burbled along, lending a nice, meditative quality to the calm nighttime atmosphere. It had been about a week since their foray at the Sand Sea, and Echo had been more than glad to find their travels had directed them to the densely packed forest.
No more sand, no more heat, no more haunting fear of the ocean. Just wonderfully, deliciously calm forest. The scents of trees and plants gave off a pleasant smell, and the muted flashes given off by the fireflies made it all look like some fairy tale come to life.
Fairy tales. . . those sound familiar.
Seated against a tree, Echo opened her eyes and looked down at her journal, tracing her fingers over the pages. Since leaving Thundera, she'd been cataloging everything that had crossed her mind. Everything. Every dream, every thought, even when reality became blurred and memories surfaced. . . all of these things were like pieces to some vast puzzle, and slowly but surely, she was beginning to collect all the pieces.
She'd be able to put it all together when the right time came along.
A squeal broke her from her thoughts, and she looked up, finding Kit and Kat rushing by her. Kit was chasing Kat, a Froog clenched tightly in his hands, and Echo grimaced at the sight of the amphibian. She'd never seen one in person before, but. . . ick. They looked as ugly and slimy as the Thunderian texts had suggested.
"C'mon, Kit! Kiss the Froog! You love it! Wily Kit loves the Froog!" Kat sang as he ran after her.
"Do not! Get it away from me!" She shrieked, jumping on top of one of the thick tree roots surrounding them.
This, unfortunately, cornered her. Kat grinned mischievously at her, brandishing the Froog like a weapon. Kit looked nothing short of mortified as her brother and his Froog hostage slowly advanced, and Echo couldn't help it - she smiled. It was amusing. Better go save her. . . it's bedtime, anyway.
Tucking her journal back inside of her tunic, Echo came to her feet.
"Kit, Kat," She called, "That's enough now. Let's get you two back to camp. It's bedtime."
Both kittens turned to her, as if noticing her for the first time. Echo was surprised they hadn't taken note sooner - white hair like hers stood out pretty starkly against the green scenery.
"But-" Kat protested, and Echo planted her hands on her hips, hoping to look somewhat stern.
"No 'buts'. It's bedtime now."
"We're not even tired, Echo!" Kit said, hopping down from the root to land right in front of her, "How can we sleep if we're not even tired?"
"Yeah," Kat continued, still holding the Froog hostage, "We're not even tired. . . hey. Hey! I have an idea! Tell us a story. We love stories!"
Echo glanced between the two of them, taking in the eager expressions on their faces.
"A story?" She repeated, confused.
"Yeah! Like how the Cat army won against the lizards a really long time ago-" Kit said, eyes wide, grinning.
"Or El Dara. We really like El Dara more." Kat finished, and his sister nodded her head quickly.
Oh, it's that treasure city. The kittens were nothing short of enamored with it, and there hadn't been a day that had gone by that Echo wasn't regaled with tales of the legendary El Dara. She had to sit and bear their old, crinkled picture being shoved into her face. She had read about it, of course. . . in mythological texts. She didn't have the heart to tell the kittens that their fairy tale land of gold was just that. . . a fairy tale.
Kit looked at her and spread her arms wide.
"But you're a human! You have to know interesting stories, don't you?"
"Kit, I've told you both a hundred times, I've lost-"
The Froog in Kat's hands let out a deep fribbit, and Echo glanced down at it.
For the second time in a week, the world around her faded.
The gorgeous forest melted away, revealing the rubble of some destroyed city. Small fires and smoke clogged the air, and in the distance, she could hear the tinny, faraway sounds of pop pop pop.
Am I back in Thundera? She wondered.
No. . . No, the colors of the stones were all wrong.
Fights were still being waged elsewhere. Debris littered the streets, and there was blood. . . No. Don't look at it, she thought, fighting back her fear. The scene reminded her eerily of Thundera's fall, and her discomfort rose at the thought of it. A heated wind brushed across her skin, and on the breeze, she heard a voice.
She looked up and saw a cloaked figure sitting on a pile of broken concrete. They wore a cloak pulled low over their head, and two swords crisscrossed over her back - that's. . . that's me! That has to be me!
Echo could see the shadow of herself holding a somewhat large, weathered textbook in her hands. Even from a distance, Echo could see the pages were creased and dog-eared and fragile from time and use. This past version of herself was reading the book, brightly illustrated pictures a point of sunshine in the gloom.
This is the longest a memory like this had played out. . .
Is it a memory?
Echo took a step forward, intent on finding out, and the cloaked version of herself stopped reading. The phantom image of her turned, as if greeting her. The features of her face were lost to the shadows of her hood, but she knew her phantom-self was smiling widely.
"It's you," She said, her voice sounding just as faraway as the warfare, "I was waiting for you to get here-"
Her phantom-self began to grow distorted, flickering like static on a television set. No. No, concentrate! You can do this-
"Echo?"
She blinked, and the forest was back again, Kit and Kat staring up at her.
"You okay?" Kit asked, peering up at her.
No. No, I most certainly am not. She wanted to scream in frustration. What was it with getting interrupted right before she was about to find something out?
Still. . . she had another thing to record. And a story to tell. She remembered that book. More specifically, the story that had been on those pages. Tamping down on her irritation, Echo smiled, and gestured upstream, where camp laid.
"Perfectly. I'll make the two of you a deal. I'll tell you a special story while we walk back to camp, okay?"
The kittens eagerly agreed to fell into step. Kat reluctantly released his pet Froog, and Echo watched as the six-legged creature disappeared into the depths of the shallow creek.
"A very long time ago," She began, "There lived a king and a queen. The depths of their love knew no bounds. But, more than anything in the world, the queen wanted a child. As time went on, however, she wasn't able to conceive. One day, the queen was sitting in a secluded pond, bathing, when a slimy little Froog jumped up and said, 'I have seen your devotion, my queen, and your wish will be fulfilled. Within the year, you will have a child.' And, just as the Froog had promised, at the end of the year, she had a child. . . a beautiful baby girl."
"Ick, what kind of story is this?" Kat stuck out his tongue, showing his displeasure.
Kit grimaced, agreeing with him.
"Yeah, Echo, this story isn't any fun! Where are the monsters?"
"Where's the treasure?"
"Monsters guarding treasure!"
Echo smiled down at them, picking her way gingerly over the forest floor.
"The king celebrated," Echo continued, "By throwing a grand party. He invited everyone in the kingdom, and never before had anyone seen such splendor. He also invited the most powerful clerics in the land. He had special plates of gold made for the twelve clerics. . . but he'd forgotten the last one. The thirteenth cleric was an old, powerful, and mean Cat. She resented that she had not been invited.
"Eleven of the clerics blessed the baby kittens with all manners of things. Beauty, wisdom, and grace - but the thirteenth cleric burst into the hall and snarled a curse: 'when the princess turns fifteen, she shall have her hand cut on a sword, and fall down dead!' Everyone trembled at her venomous words. The king feared for his newborn child, and set to panic, but the twelfth cleric approached him and said: 'I cannot undo a fellow cleric's curse, but I have not yet made my wish. If the princess cuts her hand, she will not die - she will sleep. A deep, deep sleep, lasting a hundred years.' "
The camp was coming into view, and Echo could see the cheery light of the fire dancing in the gathering dark.
Kit grabbed her hand, tugging on it.
"What happened? Keep going!"
"Thought you said you didn't like the story?" Kat taunted. Kit glared.
"I do now! Don't mind my brother, Echo, keep going!"
She chuckled, but obliged.
"The king decreed that every sword in the kingdom be melted. Every dagger, axe - every weapon. As the little Cat princess grew, she knew nothing of war. On her fifteenth birthday, she was left alone in the palace, and heard of sound coming from one of the towers. She entered a room to find a beautiful woman wielding a sword with all the grace in the world. 'What is that you wave around, and flashes so brightly in the light?' The princess asked. The woman turned to her and smiled, holding out the sword. 'It is a sword. Come, take it up in your hands.'
"And so the small princess did. Only she grabbed the blade, and cut her hand on it."
"Ah-ha!" Kat proclaimed on her other side, hitting his fist in his hand, "The woman was the thirteenth cleric! That rotten cat!"
"Thought you said you didn't like the story." Kit grinned, and Kat glowered at her.
"I don't!"
"Liar! Wily Kat loves the princess, Wily Kat-"
"Shh. Come on, into your bedrolls. I'll finish the story there."
Echo ushered the bickering kittens around the bend, right into their campsite. Tygra was gone, having accepted first watch, and Lion-O and Cheetara were seated by the fire. Echo almost faltered as she looked, finding the cheetah's hand laying over Lion-O's, and the cleric was leaning in close.
For some ungodly reason, Echo felt a twinge steal through her chest. The two ThunderCats hadn't even noticed they had walked into camp, despite the noise the kittens were making. Echo had to break her stare as Kit tugged on her arm.
"Echo! What happened? Is that the end?"
Her cheeks flushed, and Echo felt like she was a voyeur as she turned back to the kittens. Lion-O and Cheetara were sharing a moment, and there she'd been, openly staring at them. Had Kit not interrupted her, Echo had a feeling she would have kept staring at the two. And the kiss that was sure to be happening right then. . .
"Oh, no, there's more. Into the bedrolls, and I'll finish up."
She'd never seen Kit and Kat run so fast. Within seconds, they were wrapped up and comfy, looking to her expectantly. Echo crossed the camp to their sleeping nook, and, tucking her tunic underneath her knees, knelt in front of them.
"As the twelfth cleric foretold, the princess did not die, but slept. When the thirteenth cleric saw this, she was angry that her curse had been altered. She cast a new spell, weaving a dark and powerful magic. The entire kingdom fell into the same sleep as the princess. The cleric cursed a rosebush growing outside of the princess's bedroom, forcing it to grow. Within days, the briar was so thick, it covered the entire castle. Each vine wrapped around the castle and was thick as a full-grown cat. The thorns were thick and sharp as swords, threatening anyone who ventured near.
"The thirteenth cleric reveled in her victory. 'She will never waken,' She cried in triumph, 'nor will any of you. This is your punishment - to live forever, forgotten, as you have forgotten me!' "
Not quite how the story goes, but close enough. She'd had to change things. She couldn't explain to the kittens what fairies were, or what a frog was. And there most definitely hadn't been any cats. Trying to explain these creatures and image would have been beyond difficult.
"That rotten Cat." Kat mumbled. Echo smiled.
"The princess fell into legend. She had been named Briar Rose, after the vicious thorns that had wrapped around-"
THUMP.
Echo's head snapped up and she stopped, staring into the depths of the forest.
Almost immediately, quiet had fallen. The bugs had stopped chirping, and the fireflies had stopped flashing. The night no longer felt free and inviting and peaceful - it seemed heavy and smothering, like a wet blanket. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled, and she felt a shiver crawl down her spine. Her battle instincts began to rouse, warning her that danger lurked nearby. A moment later, she heard another strong THUMP.
The twins jumped out of their bedrolls, staring into the forest.
"What was that?" Kit asked curiously.
"Trouble." Kat replied.
Echo reached over and began to fluidly pack up their belongings. In less than a minute, the kitten's travel packs had been loaded and stored.
From the corner of her eye, she saw the kittens scampering up a large tree, following a brief golden flash. A heartbeat later, and a spiky red mane followed. Echo yearned to join them, but she knew she'd only be a hindrance. She wasn't as quick or agile at climbing as the cats were, and using her telekinesis to get up would be. . . inadvisable, to say the very least. So, instead, Echo set to packing up camp, practiced movements helping her get her gear stored.
Tygra dropped from the canopy as she cinched down her backpack, and Echo glanced over at him.
He looked pissed.
Cheetara alighted on the ground lightly a moment later, and Echo looked at her curiously.
"It's the entire lizard army." She informed the human, matter-of-factly.
Echo reeled in shock.
"What?" She asked, staring at the cheetah, "The entire lizard army?"
Lion-O landed on the ground next, and the twins slid down the trunk of the tree, rejoining the group. Both kittens wordlessly went over to their bags and shouldered them without being told.
"We have to move out." Lion-O said, looking pained.
Echo was still lost in surprise. A battalion she could understand. Hell, maybe even two to be on the safe side. But every single lizard? Echo stood there, watching as Lion-O and Cheetara packed up their meager belongings, and in the distance, she could hear more muted thump thumps.
Technology. This isn't good. We're so outgunned. What are we going to do?
Tygra bristled at his brother's words, a barely-suppressed snarl on his face.
"ThunderCats do not retreat!" Tygra barked, eyes narrowing as he glared at his younger brother.
"We stay here," Lion-O shot back, "We die. We're leaving." His words were stern, as though daring his brother to challenge him. But Echo saw him take a peek down at Omens, uncertainty flashing through his eyes.
Echo thought she understood in that moment. Omens wasn't connected to him like it normally was. That past week, Lion-O had been steeped in. . . despair? Was that the right term for it? She didn't know. They had set off for the Book of Omens, but she'd seen how Lion-O had stared off into the night, had watched him when he let his guard down. It had been hopelessness mixed with despair and anguish.
Lion-O as experiencing his grief. The sorrow he'd stalled for weeks was catching up to him.
Echo had wanted, more than anything, to reach out and speak with him, but she hadn't known how to approach the matter.
How ironic was that? For days, her best friend had sat beside her, mere inches away, and on all those occasions, it had felt as though a gaping canyon had separated them.
Lion-O had lost hope. He had pulled himself away from the sticky mire of his revenge, but it had only transformed him into a hollow shell of a leader.
If you don't trust yourself to lead us, Echo had wanted to say, then how can we trust you?
Tygra snarled, and Echo shook her head, shouldering her pack.
"We are not cowards! We stand our ground and fight!" Tygra pressed.
Lion-O got to his feet and turned to his brother, gauntlet catching what remained of the firelight as Cheetara kicked dirt over it.
"With a situation this hopeless, I'll make an exception." Lion-O bit, staring down his brother.
At least some things never change, Echo thought, staring between them. Lion-O may have lost his hope, but he and Tygra still butted heads.
"Hope comes from action," The tiger said, looking as though he wanted to sock Lion-O a good one in the jaw, "Don't you remember? That's what father told us!"
Lion-O's eyes visibly darkened, clouding over with rage. He took a step forward, and so did Tygra, hands forming fists at his sides. Echo bounded between them and placed her hands on Lion-O's breastplate, jumping in front of them before anything could get out of hand.
"Argue later! Do I have to remind you two that lizards are coming to kill us?"
Both of them glared daggers at one another, but eventually Lion-O turned and began to walk away. Tygra stalked up to Echo, giving her a fierce glare of his own.
"You can't take his side, Echo! Not all the time-"
"Run and talk!" Cheetara said, urging the kittens into a sprint. Echo followed after the cleric. They all settled into a good clip, and Tygra stepped into stride beside the human, opening his mouth to give her a piece of his mind. Echo beat him to it.
"I know," Echo said, "I know. This isn't about taking sides - I swear. Tygra, Lion-O doesn't have any faith in himself. We'd all die in a matter of minutes."
Tygra looked at her, calculating her words, and hopped over a large root.
"So. We run. And we hide. And then we die. Does this sound like a better plan to you?" Tygra asserted. "In either scenario, we die! I say we go out fighting!"
Echo hated their stamina. She was having trouble talking and running, but Tygra seemed to have no problem with it.
"Would you rather your last living image be. . . of Lion-O's death? While he calls your name?" Echo wheezed.
Tygra lapsed into silence almost instantly. Fight with his brother as he would, Echo knew that they both cared for each other tremendously. . . they just liked to cover it up with fights and hostile words.
"It's still no excuse to run." He muttered under his breath. Despite the severity of their situation, Echo flashed him a cheeky smile.
"Your wounded. . . pride's showing."
A growl was her response.
During the course of their argument, the lizard's tech had gotten louder and louder, and the need to be fast, to elude the danger, was making Echo's skin crawl. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she breathed laboriously. She did her best, determined not to fall behind or pose a hindrance to the group. A stitch was beginning to develop in her side, but she didn't say anything. She just needed to focus on running. . . but it was quickly becoming apparent that their group wasn't going to outrun the lizards.
A glen spread before them, and Echo ducked underneath a thick tree branch, grateful for the opening. As she entered the clearing, however, she was taken back by the huge dome of thorns that stood before her. Echo stared, absolutely spellbound at the thorn structure before them. Massive thorns jutted out, warning away intruders.
"They won't be able to follow us in there." Lion-O asserted.
Echo glanced at what he was pointing at and spotted a tiny, cramped opening set into the thorn dome. Beside her, Tygra visibly rippled in anger.
"You're asking us to, what," He growled, "Hide among the brambles and wait for the lizards to just walk away? Lion-O, this is not how we'll win the war!"
"I'm not asking." Lion-O replied coolly. Before Tygra could get another word in edge-wise, he made for the opening. Cheetara gave Tygra a warning look as she guided the kittens inside after Lion-O, and Echo stood there, still awestruck at the vines.
"You may be king," The tiger protested, "But I'm still older than you!"
Echo smiled secretly.
Yup. There's that wounded pride again.
Echo had to thank every holy deity on Third Earth she wasn't claustrophobic. Hydrophobic to the extreme, yes, but that was another fear for another time. She wouldn't have lasted long in the briar. The thorns and vines pressed deeply against the group, creating a sharp, cramped environment. What little light the moon gave off had dimmed, and then dissipated altogether as the brambles quickly gobbled it up.
Echo picked her way over the vines gingerly, determined not to get cut to ribbons. Ahead of her, she could see Lion-O using Omens to clear the way, hacking and slashing at the roots.
The sight of it pained Echo, and made her heart sink.
He was treating Omens like it was some hunk of metal! Omens was so much more than that and-
Why am I thinking like this again?
. . . because I have a connection to that sword, that's why.
She almost stumbled as she thought, but quickly regained her footing. Cheetara uttered a sharp warning for her to watch her step, something which Echo ignored. Her mind whirled as she thought processed itself. She traced it back to Thundera's fall, when she'd taken Omens in her hands. She'd felt something, something she hadn't been able to explain. . . but it was almost as though the sword were sentient, and it fed off the emotions of its master.
Which explained a lot, actually.
Why she'd been able to just know why it hadn't worked when Lion-O had been using it against the Ramlak, and even now, when the jewel sat in the cross guard, dead as a doornail. And that fact that she had even managed to wield it in the first place, much to her surprise and Mumm-Ra's.
But why did he call it War?
"Okay, Echo," She whispered to herself, "Just stop. You're not -ow!"
She snatched her hand back, sucking in air through her teeth as her pain escalated. Echo grimaced as she looked down at her right hand, and found a nice cut there, framed by several smaller thorns. Blood welled, and began to drip over the sides of her palm. Great. Just what she'd needed. Now she was bleeding, injured, and-
Hands grabbed her own, eliciting a fresh wave of pain. Echo hissed again, and glowered at Tygra.
"You are the clumsiest human I know." He griped, bu produced a roll of bandages from a pack on his leg. Echo tried to tug her hand back, but he held her wrist firmly, refusing to let go.
"It's not - ah! - my fault, I just - ow! - wasn't looking."
"Stay still." He ordered, staring at her hand intensely.
He was picking out the tiny thorns with ease, using his claws like tweezers. After a moment, he inspected her hand, examining his handiwork, before he set to wrapping bandages loosely around it. Echo was slightly uncomfortable with the action. Tygra had treated her with disdain since the first time he'd laid eyes on her. And only recently, six months later, was he now being somewhat amiable. To be honest with herself, it would take Echo some time to get used to the change.
Kit chose that moment to appear at Echo's side, scaring a good three years of her life. The kitten looked at her, and then to Tygra, and finally to her hand. Her face brightened.
"Briar Rose! It's perfect!"
What? N-No! No, Kit, no!"
The kitten didn't know the end of the story.
How Briar Rose was finally freed from her curse.
"Briar Rose?" Tygra asked, and Echo jerked her head to him.
He was still holding her hand in his own, and Echo stared, images flashing through her mind. Her, falling over, enchanted in sleep, and Tygra, leaning over, cupping the back of her head and-
Nope. Nope nope nope!
Echo yanked her hand back as her cheeks heated furiously. She felt like she was running a fever as she grabbed Kit, hustling her along.
"A bedtime story for the kittens. . ." She mumbled.
The kitten protested, but Echo ushered her along as they hurried to catch up with the others. Lion-O had paused, having found a semi-passable trail through the brambles. And Echo moved ahead of him, she saw him glance at her curiously. Echo hoped he didn't notice the furious blush on her face as she pushed Kit forward and muttered, 'cut my hand.'
Lion-O probably said something as she passed him, but if he did, Echo ignored it vehemently. She'd chalk her blush up to allergies. Lots and lots of suddenly-accrued allergies.
Kit finally danced out of her hold, facing Echo.
"What was that for?" She demanded.
Echo spluttered, trying to come up with a good reason. All that emerged was a stutter.
And then she paused.
"Well?" Kit continued, "Why did you-"
"Shh." Echo said, placing a hand over the kitten's mouth. At first, Kit was outraged, and struggled. Echo finally wrestled her into her hold, and kept a hand firmly clamped over the girl's mouth. She felt Kit opening her mouth, and knew a tongue lick was imminent, but then the kitten stopped, her ears perking up. Echo let her hand fall away, and Kat joined them, ears standing attention.
"Hey, I hear it too!"
The kittens led the way, drawn by this new sound. The humming got louder, and quickly morphed into a beautiful, intricate song. She and the kittens approached a small light, guarded by thick vines. Leaning against it carefully, Echo peered in, and was astounded at what she saw.
Before her was something words had no way to describe. Tiny people stood in a circle, swaying and singing. A stump resided in the middle of their circle, and a withered-looking plant person was laying a tiny seed inside of a cotton-filled nutshell on top of the old wood. Fireflies danced around them, and a gentle light emanated from pores that swirled in the air. If this isn't suddenly a fairy tale, I don't know what is.
A golden gauntlet rested next to her hand, and Echo jumped as she felt Lion-O pressed up behind her, ducking slightly to see into the little glen. Another flush developed on her face, and her throat clogged. There wasn't anywhere else for the lion to go. Asking him to move, or just moving herself, wasn't feasible.
Cheetara, Tygra, and the kittens had taken over what other available space there was, and unless somebody wanted to contort and twist their spine and lay over thorns, she'd have to deal with it. Why are you even acting like this? He's interest in Cheetara, girl. Get your act together.
Echo shifted her weight, trying to edge out, but her foot landed on a twig, and it snapped. Quite loudly.
The plant people's song broke off as they gasped, startled, and faced the group. Echo could see the fear in their eyes, and she bit the inside of her cheek, ashamed.
"What are you? I've never seen people like you before! Are you from here, in the briar? What that in your hand? Did you make it?"
Echo blinked and stared down at the tiny plant. Fearlessly, he had climbed through the thorns and was staring at Omens. The child was talking breathlessly, hardly pausing to breathe as he continued his endless barrage of questions. He ascended the briars and grabbed a strand of Echo's hair, looking into her eye.
"You're not the same as the others. Are you some kind of pet?"
The small child slid down her hair and jumped back onto the thorns, stopping in front of Lion-O's gauntlet and letting out a surprised gasp.
"What's that red crystal? It's pretty! It's the same color as your hair! Why are you covered in hair, an-"
Lion-O covered the kid's mouth with his pinky finger gently, so as not to knock him down.
"Okay," Lion-O said, amused, "Slow down. You sound like me when I was your age."
Echo couldn't help herself. She laughed. She hadn't known Lion-O in his childhood, but she knew full well that, as a teenager, he hadn't stopped asking questions. Hell, even Tygra and Lion-O both laughed at the statement, and Echo sighed. The plant people began to relax, the fear in the atmosphere dispelling. More of the plants waved for them, beckoning for the group to enter the glen, and Echo accepted happily.
The plants had them sit down and make themselves at home, and although the danger of the lizards lingered in the back of Echo's mind, Echo was quite alright with taking a break.
"We are the Petalars," One of the elderly plants said, after they'd all seated themselves, "And we come from a far-off paradise called the Garden. One day, a terrible wind, like none recorded in all our history, whipped through our homeland and swept up our entire race, carrying us across the sky and bringing us here, to Briar Woods. And here we have remained, stranded, for generations."
I guess a wind swept us to you, too. Funny how things had been happening like that lately.
More of the Petalar children crawled into her lap, and she watched as the Petalars used her knees as a diving board. Their leaves caught the air, giving them a gentle parachute to ride down to the ground.
"Generations?" Tygra parroted, "Is the Wood so big that you couldn't find your way in all this time?"
"We've got a map!" The first Petalar to greet them interrupted, "It's very, very old. But it will lead us out of the Briar and to the Cliff of Winds! If we can find it, we'll be able to ride the winds all the way home! And I'll go down as a hero. Emerick, hero of the Petalars!"
Lion-O's expression softened, and Echo smiled wryly. She knew that look. She'd seen it a hundred times before in Thundera.
The king held out his hand and gently picked up the map.
"We'll help you," He said, "And together, we're both going to find a way out of her, Emerick. I promise."
The Petalars exploded into cheers. Emerick, ecstatic at the news, grabbed onto a lock of Lion-O's mane and began to swing back and forth, smiling.
"Hooray for Lion-O! He'll be our hero too!"
Beside her, Tygra grumbled in displeasure, but Echo ignored him. Because. . . because in Lion-O's eyes, she could see the beginnings of hope stirring again. And even with the impending threat of Mumm-Ra and his army, Echo wanted to cherish that look in his eyes.
It was refreshing to see that spark of ambition again.
"It's okay!" One of the Petalars assured her, "This won't hurt a bit!"
Echo nodded.
The Petalars, upon noticing her injury, had asked to see it. Echo had been hesitant, weary of infection, but after a few coaxing smiles, she had relented. The bleeding had stopped, but she still had a decent cut over her hand, and the dark red stains stood out against the white bandages. Several of the Petalars touched the blood in awe, but even more stood atop her palm and were humming.
Within moments, pollen spores dotted the air, letting off a serene glow. They fell onto her skin (which made her spine stiffen - had the Petalars never heard of infections?) and the pain began to wash away, replaced with a pleasant warmth.
And, much like the magic the clerics had once commanded, the wound sealed shut.
"Echo? You look kinda sleepy."
"What?" She asked. Next to her, Kat was grinning.
"You're not officially the rose princess - you're Briar Rose!"
Oh. Oh, no. Not you two. Echo leveled a finger at Kat's face, eyes flinty.
"I am not a princess. Keep it up, and I won't tell you how the story ends."
Kat pouted, and looked ready to say something, but the Petalars on her hand gave a quiet titter.
"You're a princess?" Said one.
"And you didn't tell us?" The other accused.
"Oh, but your hands are so calloused! And you have swords! You must be a fearsome warrior princess indeed. A Princess of Roses! So beautiful, but your thorns are so deadly!" Yet another sighed, looking up at Echo, lost in a daydream.
More of the Petalars tittered, exchanging gossip on how they had just healed a wound belonging to a warrior princess. Echo groaned as she slowly got to her feet, holding the Petalars.
"Hey, slackers, come on. Time to move out."
Obediently, Echo began walking, Kit and Kat at her sides. Tygra brought up the rear. Ahead of her, Cheetara and Tygra led the procession. At first, Echo was hesitant to walk quickly, fearing she might step on the Petalars, but they were much quicker than what she'd given them credit for. The Petalars she was holding, a trio of girls, hopped up her arm and seated themselves on her shoulder.
"Show the Princess some respect!" One of them scolded Tygra, "Royalty is not to be reproached."
". . . Princess?" Tygra repeated.
Echo coughed lightly.
"So, how about a bit more of the story now, yeah?"
"Yes yes yes!" Kit and Kat cried ecstatically.
"Okay. Where was I again. . .?" She asked, trying to jog her memory.
"The cleric made the rosebush wrap around the castle, and the vines buried everything!" Kat rushed, nearly tripping over his words in a bid to get them out.
"Ah, yes, I remember now. Let me see. . . the princess was asleep. She had been sleeping for many years. She never aged, and, unlike everybody in the palace, she was aware. In her dreams, she could see the landscape of her kingdom, and she wept bitterly at what the cleric had done. She couldn't wake from her enchanted sleep, so she sought out somebody who could. The princess gathered up her strength and entered the dreams of neighboring princes. In them, she begged them to save her. 'Come to me,' She told them, 'There is a castle forgotten among the thorns. I am inside. Please, wake me. I will marry you in return for your bravery.' And so, the princes of many lands came to her aid-"
"What kind of a story is this?" Tygra groused.
Kat gave him a vicious, "Shhh!"
"-but all met with failure. One prince stumbled into the briar, was caught fast, and died. Others tried, but all met with the same fate. With every prince, every drop of blood, the thorns grew longer and sharper, feeding off of the princess's despair. She kept trying over the years, but the bones of the failed princes lingered on the edge of the briar patch, warning them away. The years continued to slip away from her, and the princess lost hope that she would ever be rescued. She feared she would be forced to sleep forever, lost among the vines and thorns. And the years still kept passing her by."
That wasn't at all how the story went, but Echo was having far too much fun relating somebody she knew to Briar Rose. I hope Lion-O is overhearing this somehow.
"That's a pretty morbid story." Tygra observed, and Echo smiled.
"Yeah, that can't be the end, can it?"
"It can't!"
The sharp screech of a bird split the air, stopping everyone in their tracks. With Petalars on her, it was impossible to drop and roll, her first instinct. A large bird swooped overhead and left a harsh wind in its wake. Echo braced herself against it, shielding the trio of Petalars on her body. She glanced up to find Lion-O running past.
"Emerick! Fight back!" He yelled, giving chase.
And so the prince searches for his lost hope again.
The bird was quickly growing farther and farther away, and she had to tamp down on the urge to go running after it herself. Emerick was a kind, energetic kid. He didn't deserve to be eaten by some overgrown vulture! Much as she longed for it, however, she knew. . . Lion-O had to do it. It wasn't her place to interfere, much as she desperately wanted to.
The only person who could dispel his grief was himself.
No matter how painful it gets. I just have to let him do this. . .
Echo shook her head mentally, surprised at the morbidity of the thought. It's the Briar Rose story. It's rubbing off on me. Ugh.
The group came to a standstill, waiting for Lion-O to return. Cheetara looked alarmed, and moved to go after him, but Tygra grabbed her arm and shook his head.
"No. This is Lion-O's fight."
"It's my duty to protect him, as one of the clerisy's last-"
Tygra released her arm and stared. Echo was somewhat taken aback as she looked on. There was something in the tiger's eyes that she couldn't quite place, reflecting some unknown emotion swirling in the depths.
"If you're worried that a stupid bird can take him out, then you seriously need to consider who you're protecting."
"Woah." Echo murmured under her breath. That wasn't an accusatory statement if she ever heard one. Tygra's tone was bitter and angry, but hell, his little argument with Lion-O earlier surely shouldn't have warranted something like that. Echo watched as Cheetara faced Tygra, calm and collected, but stern.
"Lion-O is fully capable of protecting himself. It's not outside of my boundaries to leave him unprotected, and had the clerics remained with the king, we may not be in our current situation. . . it's the cleric's fault that Mumm-Ra regained a foothold in this world. I'm going to ensure it doesn't happen again."
Without another word, the cheetah turned on her heel and began to walk away. Her dialogue had been delivered calmly, without a hint of anger in her voice - Echo was impressed. She had a way of letting her emotions get the better of her, she knew. Had she been in Cheetara's position, she would have yelled at Tygra.
Tygra looked at Cheetara's retreating backside, that same, strange emotion in his eyes, but then it was gone. Echo stiffened when he looked at her.
"What are you looking at?" He snapped.
"Nothing." Echo answered quickly. She kept walking, hoping to catch up to the twins, who had remained blissfully unaware of the little tiff.
They didn't have to wait long for Lion-O to return, and Echo was supremely happy that he did. Tygra had grown surly in his absence, and Echo had been walking on eggshells around him. The ThunderCat king appeared on the trail behind them, expression. . . somewhat shell shocked. Emerick was running along beside him, but. . . Emerick didn't look like Emerick.
When Echo had seen the Petalar last, Emerick had been a child. And the Petalar at Lion-O's side was much older.
"I'm back!" Emerick chirped, "It's been so long!"
Echo understood Lion-O's disbelief. She was having a hard time grasping it herself. Lion-O stopped beside Tygra, the kittens, and Echo, and she looked at her friend, trying to discern his emotions. He appeared as lost as she felt, if that were at all possible. The Petalars on her shouldes eagerly jumped off, using their leaves as parachutes, to go and welcome Emerick on the ground.
"As an ancient Thunderian philosopher once said," Cheetara said, bending down to let a small Petalar bounce out of her hands, " 'time is relative.' This child was just a seed hours ago. Their entire existence seems to pass in the course of a single day. But from their perspective-"
"-it's a lifetime." Lion-O breathed.
Echo stared at the three Petalars that had been on her shoulders, and realized with a start that they were older. Just a few minutes ago, she would have sworn that they'd been children. But. . . when had they. . .? God, how self-absorbed am I?
During the time with the Ramlak, she'd only cared about Lion-O. Sure, she had cared for the twins, and she'd talked with Cheetara about her grief, but she'd done it only to make herself better. To preoccupy her time until Lion-O came around. Even now, in the company of the Petalars, she was completely blind to everyone around her but Lion-O.
I'm acting obsessed. This has got to stop. The entire time this journey started, I haven't even asked Tygra, 'how are you holding up?'
. . . Not that he would answer me seriously, but it's the thought that counts.
The procession moved forward, and Echo jumped to join them. She really had to stop getting so lost in her mind. The Petalars marched on, eager to get to the Cliff of Winds. Tygra, disappointed by their lack of progress, hawked the leaf-map from Cheetara and took point. As they resumed their trek, Echo simply walked, mulling over her recent epiphany. I. . . I just have to leave it for another time. Let's focus on the Petalars right now.
All around her, the plant people were rapidly aging. She and the ThunderCats must have seemed like godly beings, giant and tall and able to live entire lifetimes.
"Are we making any headway?" Cheetara asked a few minutes later.
"If the map is meant to lead us into every single thorn bush, then yes, we're doing great!" He replied, chipper, sarcasm dripping from every word.
Tygra's back to normal.
"My old nemesis! We meet again!" Emerick shouted, and Echo looked up to discover the bird swooping down again. As it landed, she finally got a good look at it. Large, black, and ugly, it looked like a nasty hybrid between a hawk and a vulture and a raven. Emerick rushed it, small thorn-blade drawn, and looked to be faring quite well.
Echo grabbed the hilt of her sword, about to draw it, but that same feeling stopped her a second time. Her fingers tightened, her muscles aching with the need to draw her blade. . . but she couldn't. It wasn't her fight.
This wasn't her lesson to learn.
Almost numbly, her hand fell from the hilt, and a beat later, Lion-O jumped in, deflecting the bird away with Omens and scaring it off.
As the hawk/vulture/raven flew away, Emerick ran up to the king, anger on his face.
"What are you doing?!" He demanded, "I had him!"
"That was dumb, Emerick!" Lion-O responded, sheathing Omens, "You could've gotten hurt!"
"You're not the boss of me, so don't tell me what to do!" The young Petalar shouted angrily, and before anybody could stop him, he ran into the thick thorn bushes.
"Teenagers." Lion-O muttered, shaking his head and sighing.
"Hey, pot. Kettle says hello." Echo jibbed, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
Lion-O stared at her, looking utterly confused, and Echo laughed. The dumbfounded expression on his face made the lame joke worth it.
"He'll be back, Lion-O," She continued, "Don't worry."
In response, the lion shook his head and walked away from her.
Teenagers, Echo thought, slightly exasperated.
Sometime during their hike, the sun had risen. And, unbeknownst to Echo, it had begun to fall. The entirety of the day had slipped away through her fingers, and she hadn't even noticed. Despite the lack of sleep, she felt oddly. . . energized. She wold have to ask the Petalars for more of that pollen. Who knew what kind of weird side effects it could have on a human?
The only sad event in their parade to the Petalar's salvation. . .
With every passing hour, more and more of them kept falling down, dead.
The Wily twins were ahead of her, enjoying Tygra's and Cheetara's company. The twins had been given free range of the map, in a last-ditch effort to finally find the Cliff of Winds. Lion-O walked beside her silently, chewing on his thoughts. Echo glanced at him when she heard him heave a tired sigh.
"I just. . . I don't see the point in it all. Is there a point?" He asked, eyes dropping to the ground, "Kingdoms rise and fall. . . lifetimes come and go. . . are any of us here long enough to make a difference?"
Echo bit her lip. Hard. Words, soothing and comforting, kept wanting to leave her, but she couldn't. She just couldn't. One of her hands, the one closest to Lion-O, crept behind her back. She grasped the bottom of her sword sheathe tightly, with enough force to bruise.
If she let go, she'd touch him. She'd wrap him up in a hug and tell him everything would be alright. But that. . . she couldn't.
She would be lying to her best friend if she told him that. She would be protecting him, sheltering him in the worst way possible.
"You sound like an old man, talking like that."
Echo breathed a secret sigh of relief. Emerick emerged from the shadows of the thorn bushes. The clock on his life was quickly running out, Echo noticed, and a pang of sadness struck her. Gone was his youth. . . and here he was, a man. He'll die. When night falls. We don't have much time left. . .
"Emerick?" Lion-O asked, hesitantly.
"With so many great adventures ahead of us, we still have a chance to make our marks." The Petalar said, "Come on. We have to find the Cliff of Winds."
The smile on Lion-O's face was filled with bittersweet knowledge. He must have been well aware of the same fact Echo was - he was watching the plant die.
"Yes, my friend," Lion-O said gently, "Many adventures, I hope."
Emerick grinned up at him before he looked at the path ahead of him, and stopped.
"It can't be!" He exclaimed.
With surprising speed, the Petalar ran forward and snatched the leaf-map out of Cheetara's claws. His entire body began to tremble with excitement.
"This is it!" He proclaimed to the growing Petalar crowd around him, "The gateway to the Cliff of Winds! Once we get through this pass, we'll be free!"
The Petalars cheered, and Emerick led them to an open gateway made of fern arches. Echo felt a mixture of excitement and relief coursing through her.
Finally. Finally! They'd found the Cliff of Winds, and Emerick and the Petalars would be able to return home.
"Then let's go!" Lion-O agreed. Echo smiled, happy to hear a cry of the old Lion-O in his voice. The friend she knew, full of hope and a sense of adventure - he wasn't quite back, not yet, but when the Petalars got home, he would be.
The king picked up his pace, eager to be with Emerick.
Echo felt the wind next to her shift, and before she could turn around, a laser streaked through the air and struck him in the back. Lion-O let out a pained cry as he fell, and in her chest, Echo's heart seized.
"Lion-O!" Echo cried.
She wanted, more than anything, to rush to her friend's side and check on him. It took everything she had in him and more to turn away from him, to face the threat. She drew her swords, widening her stance and gripped her hilts tightly. On the vines, a lizard decloaked himself, chuckling, and fired a few more rounds.
Echo deflected the lasers with her blades, dancing out of the way. Behind her, Echo could hear the sounds of a scuffle, the twins crying out in pain - oh god, that sound was like a knife to her heart.
"Last pet standing," The lizard sneered, "Or maybe not."
She didn't even have time to question what he was chuckling at. One moment, Echo was standing, and the next, a heavy weight crashed against her back and sent her sprawling on the ground. The wind left her in a noisy rush, and she laid there, wheezing and coughing as she tried to suck air back in. A giant mammoth of a lizard had landed on her, heavy foot pressed against her back. Echo maneuvered her wrist, intent on swiping her sword at him.
He ground his heel into her, keeping her from breathing, a wordless threat.
Echo dropped her swords, and the pressure lessened. She cracked open her eyes and saw the lizard with the invisibility shield leaning down, grabbing Lion-O's mane and grinning in his face.
"You were fools to try and outrun your fate!"
We were. We shouldn't have run. Tygra was right, now we're going to die in the thorns, forgotten-
"Outrun this!" A voice cried.
It was Emerick. Emerick.
"N-No!" Her small protest was cut short as the lizard on top of her leaned down and crushed her chest to the dirt. No. No, all the Petalars are going to die, and it's all our fault. I'm so sorry-
"Leave the Princess alone!" An old voice declared. The lizard above her reeled, coughing and hacking, and Echo found the pressure on her chest completely fell away.
Cheetara and Tygra bounced up to their feet, using the Petalar's distraction to their advantage. Though her head was spinning, Echo snatched up her swords and slashed at her captor. The mountain of a lizard fell backward with a noisy crash, and Echo dropped to her knees again, breathing in deeply, feeling as though her lungs were on fire.
Glowing pollen floated, drifting down to her, turning from a mustard yellow to a serene blue. Her throat and lungs relaxed in her chest as she breathed in the tiny spores.
It took her a moment.
A long, long moment, but when she figured out what was happening, tears pricked at her eyes. The three blue pollen lights began to fade away, and though there wasn't time, Echo reached out and touched them tenderly with her hands.
"Thank you." She whispered.
Then the spores were gone. Swallowing back against a thickness in her throat, Echo got to her feet, able to breathe again, and flipped her swords in her hands. They were out of time, the lizards had found them - it was time to fight now.
"Now, the Cliff of Winds awaits!" Emerick shouted.
Echo brought up the rear as the Petalars raced through the sword fern gateway. When she emerged through the other side, she was greeted with crestfallen expressions. She searched for an answer, and eventually, Kat looked at her.
"There's no wind." Kat said, confused.
Beside him, Kit licked her finger and stuck it up in the air.
"Or winds. Just more woods."
The golden orange glow of daytime fell away completely as night set in. Echo felt her hope sink. The despair hanging in the air was almost tangible.
"Maybe I misread the map." Tygra offered, looking at the leaf a second time.
"Or. . . maybe. . . there is no Cliff of Winds," Lion-O interjected, taking the leaf-map from his brother's hands and staring at it, depressed, "Maybe the map was a lie. But why?"
On the ground, Emerick craned his neck back to look at Lion-O.
"Perhaps our forefathers wanted to provide us with hope? So we've never stop looking for our way back home."
"Is that all hope is, then?" Lion-O shook his head, "An illusion?"
Maybe. . . maybe it is. Echo stared at the ground, trying to wrestle with her own sorrow. The three Petalars that had called her princess. . . they'd died for nothing.
Something glowing hit the ground near her foot, and Echo looked up, just in time to see embers falling, and a heavy smoke clouding the air around them. The orange glow returned, along with a hot, dry heat of a fire.
"Things are about to get a little more hopeless!" Tygra offered. Echo wanted to snap at him, because then and now was most definitely not the place for cynicism. Emerick, however, hopped up to his feet, glee on his face.
"We have to go to the flames! Can you feel it, Lion-O? Do you know what this is?"
Echo felt the air stir, blowing hot and burning into her face - and she understood.
"The updraft." She murmured.
"It's creating wind!" Lion-O exclaimed, understanding dawning on him.
"This is why you never give up hope!" Emerick proclaimed, confidence ringing in his voice, "Everyone, we're going home!"
Echo busied herself, as did everybody in the clearing, to help the Petalars climb on top of a broken tree stump. One by one, the plants hopped into the air, spread their leaves, and used the updraft from the fire to sail through the opening in the dome above them. Sweat began to drip down her face as the heat increased, but Echo strove to remain calm, helping each of the Petalars onto the stump and into the air. The number began to dwindle, and eventually trickled to a small few.
Task finished, she turned. . . and her heart sank a second time.
What little Petalars remained began to sing and glow, chanting a final goodbye for Emerick. She had missed his final moments, his tiny body dissipating away to nothing. The Petalar's remains floated up, swirling around the embers. . . and it was beautiful.
Lion-O straightened from his crouch, back to the group, and Echo moved over to the twins, whom were openly sobbing. She spread her arms and they clutched at her, tears streaking down their cheeks. Kit was openly sobbing. The Petalars above them glowed from the light of the fire and the moon, and another song carried itself on the wind. . . and despite the fire, Echo looked up and smiled.
She'd be lying if she said she didn't cry.
"What now?" Tygra asked.
"We can try to find another way out of this briar. Escape into the woods using the smoke." Cheetara suggested, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.
"Retreat?" Lion-O echoed.
A smile spread on Echo's face. She knew that tone.
He was back.
"ThunderCats never retreat," Lion-O stated, wiping the tears from his eyes before facing the group, "I say we face the lizards. . . and hope for the best." He flashed them a trademark, cocky, confident, 100%-Lion-O smile. This was the Lion-O she had known. The one that was needed to lead his people.
"We're all leaves passing in the wind - here, and then gone. But while we're here, we live to the fullest!" Grabbing the hilt of Omens, the sword extended as he drew it, the metal rasping against his gauntlet with deadly intent.
Power crackled through the air, and Echo could almost hear the sword cry out in joy. Her friend - the king - was back to normal. He was fighting for his people - no, no that wasn't right. He was fighting for Third Earth.
"Thunder! Thunder! Thunder! ThunderCats, HO!"
The energy around them condensed, spiraling up into the sky, projecting the ThunderCat insignia. Echo closed her eyes as she felt Omens thrumming in the air around them. You will not destroy me, it seemed to whisper, for I am hope incarnate.
Echo heard the whine of Tygra's laser gun as he powered it up. Echo drew her swords as he aimed it at the wall, and blew a hole in it.
"Stay behind me!" She urged to the kittens, and began to run, rushing out with the ThunderCats. Mech units greeted them, unguarded as the lizards lounged about. None of them had expected the Cats to run out of the briar. The Cats ran at them, all weapons and fury. The element of surprise didn't last for very long, however, as one of the lizards finally managed to clamber into a mech unit. A high-powered laser fired at them, disrupting their attack.
Echo was on the offensive and defensive. The kittens were behind her, and she ruthlessly took out any lizard that so much as dared to point a gun in their direction. But thee were too many lizards, too much technology, and, as she'd noted last night, they were severely outgunned.
"Regroup!" Tygra shouted.
Echo was by his side in a heartbeat, spreading her stance wide to protect the kittens as much as she was able. The ThunderCats stood at her back, forming a circle, but Echo knew they didn't stand a chance. From behind her, she felt a hand grab onto her tunic at the small of her back, a tiny motion to get her attention.
"Echo. .how did the story end?" Kit asked.
"A prince arrived," She murmured, "Strong and resolute. He had hope. He had no fear. He approached the briars and commanded them to part-"
"There are too many of them." Lion-O bit out.
"-and they did. Roses bloomed, and not a thorn dared touch him-"
"Father would have been proud of your bravery, Lion-O."
"-he made it through the briars, but the cleric appeared, angry that somebody dared to dispel her curse-"
"A glory I'm honored to share with all of you." Lion-O's smirk was evident in his voice.
"-but he took up a sword, and fought her. Her powers fed on fear and hopelessness. She had no power over him-"
"My service to the crown has always been a cherished privilege." Cheetara said respectfully.
Above them, the canons were whirring to life as four mech units aimed their guns at them. They would be obliterated in a heartbeat. . . a small consolation. Nobody would feel any pain.
"-so he ran her through with his sword. She died. The prince ran up to the princess's tower. . ."
A mech leaned over, placing a hand on the ground to give it extra support. Echo held her swords up, determined to shield the twins until the very end.
". . . and he-"
A shot rang out in the night, hitting the mech in the side. Echo recoiled in shock as it exploded, and a deep guttural roar filled the air. More shots streaked from the darkness, hitting more of the mech units. The lizards, completely taken aback by this turn of events, began to run into the forest.
"Hold your positions, you MISERABLE COWARDS!" The unmistakable voice of Slithe bellowed out across the battlefield as he tried to rally his troops together, but chaos and panic had claimed them. From the forest, a. . . a thing shot out, intimidating and formidable.
"What is that thing?" Tygra asked, staring at it in surprise.
"It's a tank!" Echo gasped. She. . . she remembered! She'd seen them before, of that she was positive. But where? How?
Why is it everything I remember is only about fighting, death, and blood?
In a rather showy move, the tank used an explosion to go airborne, flip around, and flank them. It landed on the ground, shuddering from the impact, and behind it, the last mech blew up. . . as if on cue. Echo stood in front of the twins, Kit still clutching to the back of her tunic.
"Hope that's on our side!" Kit said fearfully.
The hatch to the tank popped open, and a figure emerged, highlighted by the moon. Echo stood, swords out in front of her, prepped for this newcomer to begin attacking. Something in his hands flashed - a pair of nunchucks - and smacked against a hissing, invisible lizard. The creature fell to the ground, defeated, and Echo stared up in awe at the face she saw.
It was a Cat. A huge cat. An absolute mountain of a cat. He faced away from the moon, but heavy shadows fell over his features, completely blacking him out.
"Who are you?" Lion-O demanded.
"Name's Panthro." He replied, voice deep.
Echo stared, and then peered at the wreckage he'd strewn about him.
Alright. I give.
Apparently, you're our prince tonight
.
