10
Leanne waded into the water, her fingers brushing the liquid as she walked into the small pool that she and the others had found just outside the tower. She sighed contentedly and sank into the small pool. She held her breath as she dunked her head, wetting her dark hair, and moving it out of her face as she came back up. She reached over to where she had put her clothes on a nearby rock, and picked up a bar of soap she had borrowed from Cheetara. Leanne was bathing in a river for the first time in her life, and although the water wasn't as warm as she'd like it to be, it was still pretty nice. She scrubbed at her skin, glad that she was finally getting a bath. She was really starting to stink. She looked around the area to see if anyone was watching before she swam to a more shallow area and stood up so she could wash her legs and lower stomach. She heard the snap of a twig breaking, and some rustling of the plants. Leanne squeaked fearfully and jumped back into the water. She looked up to see what had caused the noise, and made sure to keep all but her head above the water as they came up. She breathed in relief when she saw who it was.
"WilyKat, what are you doing here?" She asked him, "I told you and the others to stay at camp. I like privacy when I bathe."
"I know." WilyKat said, a strangely innocent smile on his face, "I just came to ask you something." He hopped up on the rock Leanne had left her clothes on, but Leanne didn't think he was up to anything.
"What's that?" She asked him, going deeper into the water to wash off the suds from the soap.
"Do you like us?" He asked.
Leanne gave him an odd look, "What kind of question is that?" She asked with a laugh.
WilyKat shrugged, "Just wondering."
"Well, of course I like you." Leanne said, "You're a fun-loving, sweet boy. What's not to like?"
"I mean all of us, though." WilyKat said.
"You mean… All of you guys?" Leanne asked, "Meaning you and Kit and Cheetara and Panthro and Tygra and Lion-O?"
"And Snarf, too." WilyKat asked.
Leanne laughed, "Yes, Snarf, too. I like you guys."
"But you and Tygra fight a lot." WilyKat pointed out.
"Tygra and I have a… strained relationship." Leanne said, "We don't hate each other, but we like each other enough not to kill the other."
"Oh." WilyKat said, Leanne looked around, seeing it was just her and him.
"Where's Kit, by the way?" She asked.
"At the camp." WilyKat said.
"Well, you should probably head back to camp, too." She said, "I still need to take a bath."
"Okay." WilyKat said, he jumped off the rock he was sitting on as Leanne dunked her head under the water. While she was under the water, he grabbed all of her clothes and ran, cackling, back to camp.
When Leanne's head popped back out of the water, she saw what he had done and scowled.
"KAT!" She shouted, getting out of the water and wrapping a towel around herself as she ran after him back to the camp. She ran through the woods, afraid that if she used her powers, she might accidentally flash someone. She ran after him all the way to the tower, where Panthro looked at the two of them with wide eyes, as did Cheetara, and Tygra. She walked over to where WilyKat and WilyKit were sitting down, seeming perfectly innocent. Leanne walked up to them, planting her hands on her hips, "WilyKat, give me back my clothes."
"I don't know what you're talking about." WilyKat replied, his sister giggled behind her hand at his mischief. Leanne scowled.
"Yes, you do." She said, she held out her hand, "And unless you want to get blown into the next tornado, I suggest you give me back my clothes." WilyKat looked up at her.
"You wouldn't blow us into a tornado." He said, Leanne narrowed her eyes, glaring at the small cat as she used her height over him to intimidate him.
"Try me." She said through gritted teeth. WilyKat glanced at his sister, and they both stood up from where they were sitting, revealing her clothes. She took them and went through them to make sure everything was there, but her eyes widened when she saw she was missing a very vital piece. "Where's my underwear?"
WilyKat shrugged, "I dunno."
"Yes, you do know." Leanne said pointedly, "Where's my underwear?" She looked over at WilyKit, who did the same shrug as her brother. WilyKat smirked and pointed his thumb back and she looked up, and blushed when she saw Tygra holding her white panties in his hand, playing with the slightly lacy elastic.
"These are a bit girly for you, don't you think?" Tygra asked. Leanne stomped over to him and tried to grab her panties from him, but he pulled it out of her reach.
"Tygra, give me back my underwear." She demanded, holding out her hand. Tygra dangled the underwear over her open palm, and when she tried to grab it, he brought his hand higher. Leanne reached for it again, and again, Tygra pulled his hand up higher with a smirk. She tried again, and Tygra pulled it away. Eventually, it got to where Leanne was on her tiptoes to reach for the undergarment, and Tygra held it up with one hand, using his height as an advantage. He laughed as she kept trying to reach for it. Leanne blushed, getting tired of playing his game, and she curled her hand into a fist and punched his stomach. Tygra let out a painful moan and bent over in pain. Leanne grabbed her underwear from his now lowered hand, "Thank you." She turned and began walking back to the small pool. Tygra glared at her back as she walked away from him.
Leanne came back a few minutes later, completely clothed and dried off, back to the camp. She looked around the group, noticing a significant person was missing from their group.
"Where's Lion-O?" She asked Panthro.
"Up there." He said, pointing to the tower. Leanne sighed.
"Still?" She asked, looking up at the tower. Panthro nodded.
"Can you blame him?" He asked, "We came all this way for a blank book." Leanne let out an agreeing hum and scratched the back of her head.
"…I'm gonna go check on him." She said, walking into the tower, "Make sure he's not doing anything stupid."
"Too late." Tygra said over his shoulder to her. Leanne rolled her eyes and walked into the tower. She went up the stairs, using her powers to go over the ones that had been broken off by Mumm-Ra and continue up to the top. On her way there, she could hear Lion-O talking to Snarf.
"All those years we believed the Book of Omens was magic," He began, "But, maybe it's technology." She got to the top of the stairs, and saw Lion-O going over the book, "Which means… if I want to read it, I need to power it up." He turned it on its side, trying to push down a small metal piece like a button.
"If you break that, we're all done for." Leanne said, the sound of her voice made him jump and he looked over at her. "I thought you might be getting lonely up here on your own."
"Uh… Thanks." Lion-O said with a smile as she came over to him. "Do you think it could be technology, though?" Leanne took the book from him, looking over it curiously.
"It's not impossible." She said, "We've had books with technology in them before. No reason to assume this doesn't have something in it." She looked at the metal piece he had been trying to push down, and she tried to pull it out, but she couldn't. "What if it's, like, password activated or something? We have passwords back home to protect everything technological."
"Then what's the password?" Lion-O asked, taking the book back and going over it, his fingers going over the spine, "And where do we put it in?" Leanne shrugged, and then she pointed to the part of the book where the pages were shown.
"What about here?" She asked, "Maybe we write it on the first page." Snarf mewed uneasily as the two of them kept going over the book.
"Oh, relax, Snarf." Lion-O said, "We're not gonna break the Book of Omens." The two of them both reached for the lock that kept the Book shut at the same time, and were suddenly zapped by a powerful bolt that knocked them both back, laying side by side. The Stone embedded in the cover of the Book of Omens glowed brightly and bluish white tentacles slowly came out, attaching themselves to different parts of Leanne and Lion-O's bodies. When they retracted, they seemed to pull out manifestations of their souls and dragged it towards the book and sucked them inside. Snarf looked worriedly between the two bodies and the Book of Omens once they were both gone.
Lion-O and Leanne were sucked through, and their destination was a strange place. There was no land, yet they could stand just fine. They looked around as something traveled near them and Leanne was shocked to see that it looked like an ocean of computer data. She reached out and tried to touch the nearest stream of data to her, but it shied away from her hand, as if saying it shouldn't be touched.
"You have both entered a strange realm, Lion-O and Leanne." A familiar voice said to them. They turned to see a small blob of data was talking to them, "The Book is neither magic, nor technology." The data took on a form they both recognized right away, "But, rather, a fusion of both."
"Jaga!" Leanne exclaimed when she saw the old man.
"You're alive?" Lion-O asked in shock.
"The rules of life, death, and reality itself are different within the Book, Lion-O." Jaga explained. Leanne and Lion-O floated through the data around them closer to Jaga.
"Can it tell me what Mumm-Ra's after?" Lion-O asked, "And how to stop him?"
"The answers lie in the Book's all-seeing record of the past." Jaga said, "But to truly understand them, you must re-live the events that led us here, long ago." He raised his staff and brought it down, causing little bolts of lightning to shoot out at something, "Far beyond Thundera's skies, and the reach of your imagination." Waves of data suddenly turned into a tunnel that pulled Lion-O and Leanne in. There was a blinding light, and they couldn't see anything for a moment, and once it had disappeared, they saw they were traveling through space towards a diamond-shaped ship. They went through the walls and saw two figures standing in front of a huge machine. One was a red-haired lion cat, and the other was a dark haired, slender human girl. "From within the bodies of your ancestors, Leo and Erica." They both flew down, Lion-O going into the cat, and Leanne going into the human, "You will face the same challenges that they did." When they were both in the bodies, they jumped, looking around them, suddenly seeing the ship from that person's point of view. "But I warn you both, if you fail, the Book will be closed to you forever." Jaga's voice disappeared, and the two of them looked at each other curiously.
Leanne looked over herself confusedly, then looked to see her reflection on a smooth, metal surface.
"Holy freaking mother of God, I'm my Nana!" Leanne said in shock as she looked at her reflection. She shuddered and wiggled uncomfortably, "This is so weird! I feel so old!"
"You're the same age you are now!" Lion-O said, taking notice that Leanne's grandmother's young face was slightly longer than Leanne's, and a bit sharp, but the dark hair remained, even if it was a bit longer than it was on Leanne. It seemed they also shared the same pair of pink lips and chin. Her eyes were a deep brown, and not the same, sparkling silver that he remembered.
"Yeah, but I'm my Nana!" Leanne said, she writhed again, "This is too weird."
"How do you think I feel?" Lion-O asked, looking at his body, "I think I'm shorter than I was before." Leanne walked over to him and noticed that, unlike back on Third Earth, she was the same height as he was.
"I think you're right." She said, comparing their heights, "Either that, or my Nana was way taller than me." Lion-O looked in front of them, seeing rows of buttons that controlled the machine in front of them. Leanne saw that it was the Book of Omens displaying the buttons and Lion-O went over them, pushing a few and seeing what popped up with wide eyes.
"Whoa…" He breathed, watching as a picture of a square, red stone came up, "Never thought the past would look so much like the future." Leanne looked over the stone on the screen curiously, and was about to compare it to the Jewel of Omens around her neck, but was shocked to find she wasn't wearing it. "That looks like the Eye of Thundera."
"Beautiful, isn't it, Leo?" A raspy, gravelly voice said from behind them. They turned to see Mumm-Ra, in his true form, coming towards them.
"I serve… Mumm-Ra?" Lion-O asked in surprise.
"And you will do well not to forget it." Mumm-Ra said, he came up to Lion-O/Leo, "Once I have the War Stone in my grasp," He reached into a huge, black gauntlet and pulled out a dark sword, "I will amplify the power of the Sword of Plun-Darr, making it the most formidable weapon in existence!" He held the sword to the picture of the Eye of Thundera, looking through a hole made specifically for it.
War Stone…? Leanne and Lion-O thought quietly as they looked at the stone.
"Tell me, Commander," Mumm-Ra said, turning to him, "Has the Book of Omens pinpointed the Stone's energy signal?" Lion-O went over to the Book hesitantly.
"Um… let me… check." He said, he warily pushed different buttons, not sure which one would tell him what he needed to know. As he tried to figure it out, Leanne noticed how Mumm-Ra seemed to glare at her, and she stiffened, shuffling closer to Lion-O to feel a little safer.
"I am curious, Commander," Mumm-Ra said, "As to why you insist to keep your pet around."
"Pet?!" Leanne hissed angrily, Lion-O grabbed her wrist and squeezed it, subtly telling her not to do anything stupid.
"She's… good company, sir." Lion-O said, he pushed a couple buttons and a screen popped up, showing Third Earth, "There." Mumm-Ra nodded once and turned his attention to something beyond the machine.
"Captain Tygus." The face of a one-eyed tiger cat showed up on a large screen.
"Yes, Lord Mumm-Ra?" He returned.
"Prepare your pilots and the rest of the invasion force to move in once the Stone is located." Mumm-Ra said, he turned to Lion-O, "To that aim, Commander, see that the animals are deployed for the initial planetary sweeps." Lion-O bowed once.
"Yes, My Lord." He said, feeling a little strange calling him that. He took Leanne's hand and began to take her with him, but Mumm-Ra spoke again.
"And Commander," Mumm-Ra called, making him stop, "I'll have one of the guards take your pet back to her quarters. Leave her here." Leanne gulped nervously and looked to Lion-O worriedly. He shrugged, not knowing what he should do, and released her hand. Only a second after Lion-O left the room did another cat man come in. He had grey fur, and reminded Leanne of a tabby cat, he had big grey eyes, and she thought she saw him smile at her, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. "Lieutenant, take Leo's little pet back to her room." The man bowed.
"My Lord," Was all he said before he gestured for Leanne to follow him. She did so and the doors to the room closed with a mechanical hiss behind them. She walked behind the tabby through the halls, not completely sure where to go, and kept falling a little bit behind when he tried to keep in-step with her. She saw him frown, but eventually, they came to a room, and he opened the doors for her and she stepped in. She looked around seeing the room was a simple place, with just a bed and only a single desk with a light on the ceiling. What caught her attention was all the notes on the desk. She went over to them, picking up a page, seeing it was written in her Nana's slightly legible scribbles, with pictures of strange circles in corners, or in the middles of the pages. When the door shut with a hiss, Leanne looked up to see the tabby cat was still there, looking slightly crestfallen. "Erica, is everything alright?"
"Huh?" She asked him in surprise.
"You're unusually quiet." He said, "Are you alright? The Commander didn't say something to you again, did he?"
"Um… No." Leanne said hesitantly, "I'm fine. I'm just tired." She kept her attention on the strange pages, going over them curiously. She jumped when the tabby cat's shoulder brushed hers and she looked up at him. He gave her a smile any girl would have found incredibly dashing if he was human, "What is it?" He reached over, picking up one of the pages from her grasp and looked over it.
"I'm just wondering what you plan on doing with all these old notes." He said, his eyes scanning the writing on the page.
"I… haven't told you yet?" She asked, trying to seem inconspicuous about the information before her.
"Not any more than you usually tell me." He replied, putting the page back down on the desk, "To improve that spell of yours, right?"
Spell…? Leanne repeated in her head, "Right…" She kept her attention on the paper, not noticing how the lieutenant tabby cat smiled amusedly at her and shook his head. She jumped when he kissed her cheek. She turned to him with wide eyes and flushed cheeks, holding the spot his lips had touched, "W-What was that for?"
"No reason." He replied, he reached up and brushed some of her hair back behind her ear with a soft smile, "You need to stop worrying so much. You're stronger than you think you are, Erica." His hand wrapped itself around her waist, putting them in a very intimate position, "Just promise me something."
"…What?" Leanne asked, blushing and turning her head away shyly as he leaned closer.
"Promise me you won't leave until this is all over." He said quietly. Leanne was about to ask until what is all over? but was interrupted by his lips touching hers in a kiss. Her entire face flushed a deep red at the touch and she dropped the pages she had been holding, all of them fluttering away onto the floor. She never imagined this would happen to her in her life. Maybe she would kiss a cat on the head back home, just to be cute, but this was a ThunderCat. They're like humans in so many ways, that it was like she was giving this cat, no, this man, her first kiss. Although, given how close he was to her, her Nana had probably kissed him multiple times. Does this mean my Nana was in love with a ThunderCat? Leanne asked in shock while she was still in lip-lock with the cat. She was both grateful, and a little disappointed when an alarm started to go off, the light in the room changing from its usual white to a light red. The lieutenant cat pulled away with a curse under his breath.
"A riot?" He said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her out of the room, "Now, of all times?" He pulled her through hallways into a room where she saw a huge group of animals all fighting each other. Leanne was amazed at the sight of them all, for in all of her time on Third Earth, she had only seen the ThunderCats and the lizards, with the occasional other race and some strange creatures. She never imagined to see monkeys, birds, fish, and even elephants all battling it out with the lizards and the cats. The lieutenant turned to her, "Try not to kill anyone!" And he dove into the fight.
"How would I kill someone?" Leanne asked in shock, she may be able to punch and kick right now, but without the Jewel of Omens, she wasn't able to use her powers. She didn't realize how much she relied on its power until that very moment, and she felt completely useless. How was she supposed to fight any of these animals when almost all of them were twice her size, or had sharp claws and teeth? She was about to step away from the fight, when she spotted Lion-O being held to a wall by a rather large lizard. Suddenly unable to remember that she couldn't do any wind-based attacks without the Jewel of Omens, she lifted up her hands, and was surprised to see fire shooting out of them towards the lizard. He screamed and jumped back in shock, trying to put out the flames on his clothes. Lion-O looked at Leanne with wide eyes, and her gaze shifted from mirroring his face to looking at her hands. Lion-O instantly jumped into action when he saw the lizard that she had accidentally covered in flames started charging towards her. He lifted up his foot and kicked him back, and started fighting the other animals that came at him. Leanne did the same, dodging a blow from a monkey, and punching him back. Soon after they started fighting, the animals were detained, and two specific animals were placed in electric cuffs.
A cat with dark hair and purplish fur came up to the guard who had bound the two. One of them was the lizard they had fought, and another was a dog that reminded Leanne of something she might see out in the Sahara. Maybe a jackal.
"We'll take it from here." She said to the two guards, and they nodded, showing their respect to their superior officer as she took them away, Lion-O and the lieutenant tabby cat from before following them. "Let's take the leaders to isolated holding." Leanne came up next to Lion-O, and he looked back at her.
"What were those flames about?" He asked her in a whisper so the others wouldn't hear them.
"I don't know." She whispered back, "I thought the Jewel of Omens gave me that power?"
"So did I." Lion-O replied. They walked to doors that led to a triangle-shaped cell, and Leanne assumed this was isolated holding. The purple-furred cat glanced around the hallway once, seeing two guards walking by, and she grabbed the two leaders and shoved them into the wall.
"If you so much as twitch, it'll be the last move you make!" She threatened, and then threw them into the cell. She waited until the two guards were gone before she shut the doors, putting them inside with the two leaders. She went over to the two of them with a soft smile as she undid their binds.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Lion-O demanded in shock of her actions.
"I think they've spent enough time in these cuffs." The other replied, standing up once they both had been released. The lizard rubbed at his head, where a bruise was showing from Lion-O's kick.
"Nearly took my head off!" He hissed angrily at Lion-O as he stood up, "You cats will take any chance you get!" Lion-O jumped back from the angry lizard. Then he turned to Leanne, "And you! You almost turned me into a lizard-filet!"
"I'll say it was quite a convincing performance." The tabby cat said, turning to Leanne and smiling.
"Right… performance." Leanne replied hesitantly.
"My apologies for the unplanned riot," The jackal said, "But it seemed we should meet. Mumm-Ra will have the stone soon."
"And when he does," The female cat said, "There won't be a force in the galaxy strong enough to free us from his dominion. So, the question is, are you prepared to join the rebellion?"
"Our people are willing," The jackal said, "But some question if the jackals can really trust you cats." He looked over at Lion-O, and gestured to Leanne, "And whatever you are."
"Human." Leanne said.
"What choice do you have?" The tabby asked, "To stay in your chains?"
"Even if we could trust you," The lizard said, "Do these two really believe that they can defeat Mumm-Ra once they have the Stone?" He gestured to Leanne and Lion-O when he said this. They both jumped slightly at the news of it.
"Us?" Lion-O asked, "Oh, yeah, sure. I mean, probably."
"Definitely." The purple cat said, looking at them, "But they can't do this alone." She looked back to the two of them, "We'll need all the animals to unite in order to overwhelm Mumm-Ra's defenses."
"Of course, if they fail," The lizard said, "We all die."
"Yes… ironic." The jackal said, "Our cat oppressors turn to the slaves for salvation. If they get the Stone, we'll consider it." The purple cat opened the door and let them leave. When they were gone, the purple cat walked over to Lion-O with a soft smile.
"Don't worry." She said, "I have faith in you, Leo." She kissed his cheek and walked away. Leanne blushed and looked away as the tabby cat smiled at her. She looked up at Lion-O once he had left, and she couldn't help but giggle at the dopey grin on his face. At the sound of her laugh, Lion-O stopped, and a horrible realization hit him.
"I'm so dead." He said, he looked out the open doorway where the cat had left, "But at least I have a girlfriend."
"Seems we both have significant others here." Leanne said, Lion-O looked at her with wide eyes, "Lieutenant tabby cat over there had a thing with my Nana, apparently."
"But… You're two completely different species!" Lion-O said as they walked out of the cell.
"I know!" Leanne replied, walking beside him. "It was weird." She touched her lips, "I've never kissed a cat before…"
"You kissed?" Lion-O asked, for some reason unknown to him, anger pooled in the pit of his stomach. Leanne nodded, and Lion-O jumped when a thought struck him, "You don't think you two have…" Leanne quirked an eyebrow curiously at his words, then blushed a bright red when she realized what he was talking about.
"No!" She said quickly, "Oh, God, no! At least, I hope not. No, no. Definitely not. I think… No! No, no, no. If we had, I think it would be…" She waved her hands in undistinguishable circles to try and make a point, "More… Well, you know." Lion-O nodded, getting the gist of what she was saying. "I don't think we've… yeah, we haven't." She sighed, running a hand through her Nana's dark hair, "I think I'm just going to go back to my room." She looked over at Lion-O, "I found some pretty interesting stuff in there."
"Like what?" Lion-O asked.
"To be honest, I'm not completely sure," Leanne said, "But when I talked to the lieutenant guy, he told me that my Nana had been working to improve a spell or something. I think she's trying to figure out how to get back home. How, I'm not entirely sure…" She put her hand to her chin thoughtfully, "But I will figure it out. That much, I promise you."
Lion-O curiously looked over the complicated mechanism the Book of Omens produced in front of them, wanting to find out how it worked. He jumped to attention when Mumm-Ra came into the room, pressing down on a button.
"Captain Tygus! I want a progress report!" Mumm-Ra ordered.
"Yes, Lord Mumm-Ra." Tygus's voice sounded from a communicator, "I have good news." Different surveillance videos popped up on the screen, "After searching the planet's vast oceans and desolate plains, the Stone was located inside a well-armed city. Our forces are working to retrieve it as we speak." Mumm-Ra nodded once, his eyes scanning over the videos that were displayed. One was of a group of jackals and dogs running to the city, armed with spears, another was a video of shark people swimming through the water, a third was of tanks infiltrating the city.
"Every species has its place, Leo." Mumm-Ra said to him, "Some meant for greater tasks than others. But your own kind has proved most cunning, and ruthless." He turned his attention to Lion-O, "You inspire fear in the other animals. They hate you as much as they do me. I suspect in a rebellion, you would be the first to die." Lion-O felt slightly nervous at the mention of it.
"A rebellion…?" Lion-O echoed, "That would… surely be the work of fools, My Lord." Mumm-Ra nodded once.
"Indeed." He agreed.
Leanne went through page after page, trying to make out her grandmother's handwriting next to the pictures of the strange circles. She could only make out a few words every now and then, but when she did, she had no clue what they had to do with the circles. She sighed, rubbing her eyebrows, needing a break from all the reading. She looked down at her hands, remembering how fire had shot out of them instead of the wind she was so used to. Although, this wasn't really her body, this was her grandmother's. Still, she was curious as to why the flames came out of her palm. She jumped when she heard some papers fluttering to the floor and she sighed. She reached down from her chair and picked them up one by one. She paused on the last page, the circles that had been drawn on it looking unbelievably familiar.
"Now where have I seen this before…?" Leanne questioned quietly as she held the page, putting the other ones back on the desk. She looked intently at the circle, a memory from her childhood surfacing in her mind.
Leanne held her teddy bear tight against her little body as she walked into her mother's bedroom. Her back stung from the previous day from when she had been kidnapped by the next door neighbors, and she was hoping her mother could help make her feel a little better. She wasn't there, however, and Leanne sighed unhappily. She walked over to the bookcase in the room, looking for her favorite book to have her mother read it to her, and she was about to reach for it, when a book with a red cover caught her attention instead. She cocked her head to the side curiously and reached out and took it. She opened the large tome up to a random page, and looked in awe of all the pictures of unusual circles on it. She picked up the book, looking at the elegantly written cover. What she didn't know was that the cover read 'Rune Circles: Magic for the Modern Witch and Warlock'. She picked up the book and went downstairs.
"Mama!" She called, hoping she would call back.
She did. Instantly.
"Yes, Leanne?" She asked, coming into the room, wiping her hands on an apron. After the incident, her mother had always been right there for her, never once letting her out of her sight, but the second she was gone, she had the police on speed dial. Leanne held the book up to her.
"Mama, can you read this book to me?" She asked her with a hopeful smile. Her mother's sweet smile fell as she looked at the book's cover. She took the book from her, trying to keep that smile on her face.
"Now, why do you want to read this book, honey?" She asked.
"It looks cool." Leanne said, for that was what she thought of the book, even though she couldn't read. Her mother shook her head.
"No, it's actually very boring." Her mother lied. "You wouldn't like it at all." Leanne pouted.
"But you always tell me you don't know if you like something unless you try it." She said.
"Not this time." Her mother said in a sharp voice, she started walking away, half talking to Leanne, half muttering to herself. "No, I need to get rid of this book… Of all those books… All of them…"
That night, Leanne could see her mother burning a small mountain of books in a bonfire in their backyard. She never took her eyes off the flames until the books were nothing but ashes that mixed with the dirt.
Leanne's eyes widened, remembering the circle she held in her hands was one of the ones she had seen in that strange book. She put her hand to her temple as a barrage of questions began to barrel through her mind. What did that mean, exactly? Did those books have some kind of hidden meaning in them? What are these strange circles? Why wouldn't her mother tell her about them? Or any of those other books, for that matter? Did this have something to do with a way to get home? Or did they just mean a bunch of gibberish? Did this have something to do with the flames coming out of her hand?
Her eyes flashed as a sudden thought came to mind. Were these circles… magic? Was her family really filled with witches and wizards like everyone thought? Was her Nana a witch? Was she a witch? What about her mother? Or her aunt and uncle? What about her cousins? Leanne groaned as she felt a headache begin to form inside her skull, and her stomach began to churn, as if she was going to throw up.
No, wait…
She was going to throw up!
Trashcan, trashcan, trashcan…! This word repeated itself again and again in her mind. She found the nearest one and started puking into it. She was so caught up in her sudden illness, she didn't see the door open, or see Lieutenant tabby cat come in. When he saw that she was sick, he rushed to her side.
"Erica, are you alright?" He asked, rubbing her back comfortingly. Leanne couldn't answer as she kept barfing, but once she was done, she took in a deep breath. The tabby cat offered her a handkerchief, and she took it, wiping away the vomit from around her mouth. She handed it back to him, but he grimaced and shook his head, and Leanne put it in the trashcan where her vomit was. "Are you okay?"
"I… I think so…" Leanne said, she moved to sit back in her chair. She rubbed her temples, "That was weird." She looked over at the lieutenant, and saw his smile, "What is it?"
"Erica… You know what this means, don't you?" He asked. Leanne gave him an odd look.
"What what means?" She asked him.
"Well, you told me the other day about human pregnancies." He said, Leanne's eyes widened.
"You think that was… morning sickness?" She asked, a sudden sense of dread filling her. The lieutenant grinned widely, and leaned over, taking her face in his hands, and giving her a passionate kiss.
"I'm so glad, Erica." He said with a smile, "Our own child." He embraced her. Leanne felt her face flushing and she put her hand over her mouth in shock. She was… pregnant? No, her Nana was the one that was pregnant. Did this mean her Nana had a half-cat baby? She almost shuddered at the thought. The lieutenant pulled away and sniffed the air, which had now become quite rank from Leanne's vomit in the trashcan. He reached down and picked it up, "I'll just empty this out for you." Leanne nodded slowly as he walked out of the room. Leanne kept her hand over her mouth as she stared at the floor below her, her eyes still wide.
"Oh my God…"
A beeping sound was heard and Mumm-Ra looked up as Captain Tygus's face appeared on the screen.
"We've procured the War Stone, My Lord." He said.
"At long last, it's mine." Mumm-Ra said, he turned to Lion-O, "Bring it to me!"
He bowed once, "Yes, My Lord." Then he turned and left the room. The first place he headed to was Leanne's room. The doors opened before him and he walked in, "Hey, the stone is…" He trailed off, seeing her face. She looked pale, her hand over her mouth, eyes wide, and she seemed to be completely unresponsive to him, "Leanne?"
"Hmm?" She turned to him, just noticing he was there.
"You okay?" He asked, Leanne sighed, running her hand through her hair.
"Um… Sort of." She said, "I guess… Not really, no."
"What's wrong?" Lion-O asked, temporarily putting their mission aside for her.
"I… You know that… thing that we talked about earlier?" She asked him, "With Lieutenant what's-his-name?" Lion-O nodded, "Well… turns out, he and my Nana did… that. And… now, I'm pregnant."
Lion-O's heart came to a stuttering halt. "…Pregnant?" Leanne nodded solemnly.
"Oh, God, this is too freaky." She muttered.
"How… how is that even possible?" Lion-O asked. Leanne sighed.
"Well… we're of different species," She began, "But, technically, a human and a cat are both mammals, so… we both have the proper, um…" She blushed, "Equipment… for that sort of thing…" She looked up at him, "But… The baby's probably not going to make it. I mean, if you combine human DNA with cat DNA, there's a good chance the child might get a little screwed up. So, the baby's probably going to be stillborn… right?" Lion-O shrugged and Leanne sighed again. Although Lion-O seemed calm, the very idea of Leanne being impregnated, even if she was in her Nana's body, infuriated him. "So, um, what were you saying?"
Lion-O snapped out of his thoughts, "Oh. The Stone is here." Leanne got up and followed him out of the room. They went to where Leo's girlfriend had set up a meeting place for the animals that were making the Sword of Omens, and the necklace that would soon hold the Jewel of Omens. It was a place that was hidden from any surveillance cameras on the ship, or any guards. They had to go past a few pipes, and crawl in between a couple lines, until they arrived there. Her Nana's boyfriend (and baby daddy) was already there, and he smiled at her. Leanne smiled uneasily back, still unsure of how to treat the situation she was in with him. Leanne smiled when she looked at the animals who had made the sword, and saw that they resembled lemurs. They smiled at them as they presented two items covered by a drape. A female held the smaller one, while the male, presumably her husband, held the larger one. Leanne and Lion-O shared a glance before they pulled the drapes off, revealing the Jewel of Omens, minus the jewel, and Lion-O's gauntlet with the miniaturized Sword of Omens inside it, minus the Eye of Thundera in its hilt. Leanne took the necklace and easily put it on her neck, while Lion-O took the gauntlet and put it on, pulling out the small sword.
"The Sword of Omens." He said with a smile.
"Forged from the same enchanted metal as Mumm-Ra's sword and gauntlet." Leo's girlfriend said.
"Isn't it a bit… small?" The tabby said, seeing the blade's size.
"That'll change once I add it to the Eye of Thundera." Lion-O said.
"And what about Erica?" The female asked, gesturing to Leanne, "Are you sure the War Stone will amplify your power?"
"Yeah." Leanne said, poking her finger through the hole of the necklace, "Definitely." She looked up at the others, "Let's go."
They waited until the Captain's ship docked itself inside. They waited until he came out before they approached him, the lieutenant and the purple cat armed and ready.
"Thanks for finding the War Stone, Captain." Lion-O said, "But we can take it from here." Leanne stood beside him as he spoke. The Captain gritted his teeth.
"You'll never be able to unify the animals behind you, Commander." He said. Leanne reached over and took the container that held the War Stone from him. She handed it to Lion-O, who took out the stone.
"A tiger underestimating me," He said with a grin, "I'm not surprised." He took the stone and, using the blade of the small sword, cut off a small piece of the cubed stone and handed it to Leanne. Once that was done, they both put in their part of the stone in their places. They grinned as the stones automatically fit into the holes. They both glowed brightly as they fused into the metals. When the stone was completely fitted into the sword and necklace, they grinned at each other.
The purple cat came over, putting her hand on Lion-O's shoulder, "Now all you have to do is use the Book to shut down security, free the slaves, and beat Mumm-Ra." She kissed his cheek as she pulled away.
"Well, when you say it like that, it sounds so easy." Lion-O said dryly. Leanne looked over at the tabby cat when he tapped her shoulder.
"Promise me you won't get hurt." He asked. Leanne put her hand over his.
"I'll do my best." She said, he smiled gently and she smiled back.
Leanne and Lion-O walked into the room where Mumm-Ra waited for them.
"You have the Stone, Commander?" He asked them when he heard their footsteps.
"Yes." Lion-O said, "But you're not getting it." Mumm-Ra turned around to face them.
"Your betrayal comes as a surprise." He said, not sounding very surprised at all, "Even more surprising is that you sincerely believe you'll succeed." Lion-O pulled out his sword, ready to fight as Leanne reached for the stone around her neck.
"You said yourself it was the most powerful weapon in existence." Leanne said, glaring at him.
"One of the most powerful weapons in existence." Mumm-Ra specified, "And I have the other three!" He held up his gauntlet, showing off the three jewels embedded in the dark metal.
"Other three…?" Lion-O murmured quietly, looking at the stone.
"Certainly you didn't forget about the three stones we already collected?" Mumm-Ra asked tauntingly, showing how power flowed through the gauntlet from them.
"Believe it or not, that somehow slipped my mind." Lion-O said.
"Now having brought a planet to its knees for that stone," Mumm-Ra began, "I expect taking it from you two will be a far easier task!" He pulled out his blade, and it quickly turned into a much larger, much fiercer weapon. It was a staff of sorts, with a pair of blades on opposite sides. He spun it in the air expertly, and then slammed it on the ground. Surges of lightning came from it and Leanne and Lion-O used what they could to block it, but they were still pushed back. Mumm-Ra lifted his weapon from the ground, and the two ran at him, Lion-O going at him straight on, and Leanne heading around him, holding up her hands, imagining flames shooting out from them. It was easily accomplished, and Leanne instantly knew why. Yes, her grandmother was some kind of magic-wielding witch, and the Jewel of Omens amplified the power, and let her control all four elements if she so wanted, which is why she could do all four elements when she was training with Jaga. Without it, it was only one element. Her Nana's element just happened to be fire, not air like hers was.
Mumm-Ra deflected the flames with a wave of his gauntleted hand, and lifted up his weapon just before Lion-O was able to strike him. Lion-O swung the sword again and again, powerful streams of lightning flowing from it with each blow. After a second or two, he jumped back, and Leanne appeared just behind him. She put out her hand, a huge stream of water producing from it and hitting Mumm-Ra's gauntlet when he put it up in defense. The stream was so powerful, it knocked off one of the stones from Mumm-Ra's gauntlet, flying through the air. Lion-O ran out and caught it in his gauntleted hand. He glared up at Mumm-Ra.
"Stripped of all your stones, you'll be nothing more than a withered sack of bones." Lion-O said. Mumm-Ra roared angrily, and flew up into the air.
"The two I still have are more than enough to defeat you!" He shouted, Leanne and Lion-O watched in awe as the two stones glowed, and armor began to form around Mumm-Ra, the design reminding Leanne of a grim reaper costume. "Perhaps I underestimated you, Leo, but not as drastically as you underestimated me! I can harness the powers of these stones in ways you can only dream of!"
"And just when we were starting to win." Leanne mumbled when she saw him. Mumm-Ra lifted his hand and a powerful blast of energy shot out, sending Lion-O over the edge of the small platform that was elevated above the bottom of the ship.
"No!" Leanne shouted once he had gone over.
"Your rebellion is over, Leo!" Mumm-Ra declared. Leanne glared at him, gritting her teeth.
"You bastard!" She snarled, she held up her hands, ready to use her powers to cut him in two, but she stopped when she heard a grunting sound, and saw Lion-O climbing back up.
"I'm not done yet." He growled, he quickly got up and ran towards Mumm-Ra. Their blades clashed together and more lightning flew off of the blades. Lion-O roared, and the Eye of Thundera began to glow. It shot out a bright light that blew Mumm-Ra back and down into the depths of his station where he had tried to send Lion-O. Once he was gone, Lion-O sheathed the sword and ran to the Book of Omens, punching in different keys quickly.
"What are you doing?" Leanne asked him as she came by him, "Mumm-Ra's not that easily beaten! He'll be up here any second!"
"If I don't get these animals loose, this will all be for nothing!" Lion-O said, Leanne watched as he kept typing in command after command on the keys, and she saw the electric gates that were holding all the animals in begin to open up. She watched as a few animals walked two steps out, looking around them for guards that would throw them back in their cells, but a majority of them were too scared to come out, afraid of what they might face if they do. Punching in a few more keys, Lion-O had his face appear on a holographic communicator to all of the animals.
"I realize the cats haven't earned it, but I'm asking for your trust." He said to them, "Trust in me and in a future where we are not enemies, but brothers. Today, let's put aside our differences, because together, we can be free!" Leanne, who was visible beside him, held up her hand, which was engulfed in flames that did not hurt her.
"Unite or fall!" She shouted. Lion-O followed her example and pulled out his sword, holding it up. They heard the animals cheer loudly and saw the jackal from before, as well as Leo's girlfriend and the lieutenant appear before the animals.
"Come!" The jackal shouted. The animals ran out, taking out any guards that appeared before them. They watched as they charged through the halls on surveillance cameras. Lion-O looked up at the purple cat when she came into view.
"So, how'd I do?" He asked. She only answered him by blowing a kiss through the communicator. Lion-O smiled at Leanne, and she smiled back.
"You think you've freed them," The two gasped when they saw Mumm-Ra had made his way back to them, "But you've only doomed them to die for your rebellion!" He shot out a blast of lightning at the two of them, and they both jumped back.
"They're not fighting for me!" Lion-O shouted, "They're fighting for themselves!" Mumm-Ra ignored his words as he shot a bolt of lightning at him, and Lion-O was sent flying back. When Leanne tried to go to him, Mumm-Ra blasted her as well, and she cried out in pain, suddenly having a flashback of when she first met Mumm-Ra. When they had both fallen to the ground, Mumm-Ra picked up Lion-O and threw him against a wall. He spoke to him as he picked up Leanne's suddenly limp form.
"Even if you had my power, you wouldn't know what to do with it!" He said, Lion-O glared at him, his eyes going to the two stones in his gauntlet. His eyes widened as he remembered he still held the stone Leanne had taken from Mumm-Ra. He opened his gauntlet had and looked down at the little green stone.
"Maybe not." He said, standing up, "But I just figured out this gauntlet holds more than my sword." He put the stone on his gauntlet and watched as it fused to the metal. Only a moment later did his own armor begin to form around his body, resembling something like a lion, which Leanne would have found quite fitting, if she wasn't so terrified she could barely move. "A light to end the darkness." Lion-O charged at him, and Mumm-Ra dropped Leanne so he could block his blow.
Leanne fell to the floor with a thud, her body quivering too much from the fear she had initially felt from when she had first met Mumm-Ra. She watched as Lion-O and Mumm-Ra battled it out, the strikes getting so much fiercer and stronger than usual that Lion-O actually sent Mumm-Ra through the wall and out of the ship into space. She couldn't see what was happening outside, but she tried to get up in order to be ready to face whatever was coming. She jumped when Mumm-Ra came crashing back into the room through the opposite wall, Lion-O not far behind him. Mumm-Ra was considerably weakened, and Lion-O took advantage of this, raising up his sword and bringing it down on his gauntlet.
"The stones!" Mumm-Ra cried as they fell out. As he reached for them, his armor, and his body began to dissipate into a purple smoke, leaving a very familiar withered form behind. Lion-O's armor retreated from where it had come, and he made his sword smaller.
"Now that's the Mumm-Ra I know and love." He said, he reached down and picked up the other two stones, putting one in his gauntlet, but hesitating before putting in the third. He looked over at Leanne, offering it to her, "Want one?" Leanne smiled at his casual question, as if sharing stones of great power was on the same thing as two kids sharing cookies at lunch. She shook her head.
"No, I'm fine." She said. Lion-O shrugged and put the last on his gauntlet. When it was done, the gauntlet glowed brightly. Cheers were heard from around them, and Leanne saw that the animals had gathered through the front entrance without her noticing. The purple cat moved through the crowd, as did the lieutenant, and they came up to them.
"You just accomplished the impossible." The purple cat said with a smile to Lion-O. He smirked back. The moment, however, was broken when the entire ship suddenly lurched and alarms began to go off. Leanne grabbed onto the tabby cat, having nothing else to hold on to, and he held her close to him as he went to check what the damage was. He pressed a few keys on a computer to see what was happening.
"The ship's instruments are going haywire!" He said, "Some kind of magnetic storm is fighting the gravity of this planet's moons. We're on a crash course for—!"
"Third Earth." Leanne and Lion-O said at the same time, not realizing it. They looked up through a window to see the magnetic storm taking place on the planet. Everyone was so distracted by it, no one noticed Mumm-Ra getting up.
"Yours is a fleeting victory." He said to Lion-O and Leanne's backs, he chuckled darkly, "I will live to collect what's mine." He went over to a machine and pressed a few buttons, opening a type of containment unit. With all the cold streams of air suddenly flowing from it, Leanne assumed it was a cryogenic freezing chamber of some kind. She and Lion-O ran to stop him from getting inside, but the doors shut before they could Lion-O tried to pull them open, but it was no good.
"If we can't pry it open," The purple cat said, going over to the device that Mumm-Ra had used to get in, "Let's make sure he can't either!" She slammed her fists down on the device, effectively breaking it and putting it out of use. The animals cheered again.
Leanne turned her attention away from the celebration, knowing that Mumm-Ra would return eventually, and looked up at the magnetic storm. She felt someone put their arm around her shoulders, and she looked up at the tabby cat lieutenant. He kept his gaze on the window like she had when he spoke.
"What do you think we should do?" He asked her. Leanne took one glance at the storm, then back at the cat.
"The only thing we can." She said, "Brace for impact." He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Leanne kissed him back, putting her arms around his neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
As the ship got further and further into the atmosphere, the ship began to build up in heat from the friction it was making as it fell. A bright, blinding light suddenly encompassed her and Lion-O's sight and they found themselves back in the ocean of data that they had started in.
They looked around in confusion, wondering what the heck had just happened, as Jaga's form appeared before them.
"The impact of the crash disrupted the Book's record." He explained, "But left enough of the crew alive to begin civilization anew here, on Third Earth."
"Then Mumm-Ra's after not just the Eye of Thundera," Lion-O said, "He's after all the stones. But where are they?"
"Scattered by the winds across Third Earth." Jaga said, "The Book will be your guide to them." Lion-O and Leanne nodded in understanding, "But remember, it will take more than that power alone to defeat this monster."
"We have to bring the animals together against him." Leanne said, "We unite or fall." Jaga nodded once.
"Go now, Lion-O and Leanne." He said, they felt themselves being pulled away from Jaga and away from the book.
"Wait!" Lion-O shouted, "I have more questions!"
Jaga said nothing as he disappeared into the waves of data and Lion-O and Leanne were pulled away from it.
Their eyes flashed open and they looked to see all of their friends around them, looking at them worriedly. They both slowly sat up and met their gazes, assuring them that they were fine. Lion-O stood up, and Leanne followed him. Lion-O looked at the others seriously.
"I know what we have to do."
"…That's quite a story." Tygra said once he and Leanne had finished telling them what they had seen in the book (Both of them leaving out the parts of their ancestors significant others). It was nightfall, and everyone had finished their supper a long time ago, and they were all close to getting ready to sleep.
"It's true." Leanne said, "All of it really happened five hundred years ago."
"I'm not saying I doubt you." Tygra said, holding up his hands, "I'm just saying that's quite a story."
"So… We need to find these other stones before Mumm-Ra?" Panthro asked, "That doesn't sound too hard."
"It probably will be, seeing as we have no idea where to start." Cheetara said.
"Jaga said that the Book would be our guide." Lion-O said, "I bet if Mumm-Ra could hook that book up to his machines, we could just as easily hook it up to the Thunder Tank."
"It'll probably be like putting in a new navigation system." Leanne said to Panthro when he saw his grimace at the idea of hooking up a book like a piece of technology to his tank. He nodded in agreement when she said this. Leanne felt someone tugging on the back of her clothes, and she turned around to see WilyKat and WilyKit looking up at her. "I thought you guys went to bed already."
"We can't sleep." WilyKit said, rubbing her eye tiredly.
"You mean you were eavesdropping." Leanne said with a grin, showing them that she wasn't mad at them for it.
"Maybe." WilyKat replied slyly. Leanne smirked and reached out, ruffling the little kitten's hair. He laughed and swatted her hand away to get her to stop. "But could you do something for us?"
"What?" Leanne asked, turning around to face them fully from where she sat, turning her backs on the others as a result.
"Could you sing us a lullaby?" WilyKit asked, "It'll help us to fall asleep."
"A lullaby?" Leanne repeated in surprise, "Aren't you guys a little old for lullabies?"
"Our mom used to do it for us." WilyKat said, "It always helped." At the mention of the two kids' mother, Leanne's expression softened and she nodded.
"I think I know a little tune." She said, she stood up and followed the two kids to where they had put their sleeping bags. She sat down in between the two bags, smiling at them, "All settled in?"
"Almost." WilyKit said as she wiggled around in her sleeping bag, "Okay, ready." Leanne smiled.
"Okay," She took a deep breath in and out, "Let's see if I can remember all the words…" Lion-O's ears pricked up as he waited to hear her sing, wondering if she was any good.
"Before Lord God
Made the sea or the land,
He held all the stars
In the palm of his hand.
And they ran through his fingers,
Like grains of sand.
And one little star fell alone.
Then the Lord God hunted,
Through the wide night air.
For the little dark star
In the wind, down there.
And he stated and promised,
He'd take special care.
So it wouldn't get lost no more.
Now a man don't mind if the stars get dim.
And the clouds blow over and darken him.
So long as the Lord God's watching over him,
Keeping track how it all goes on.
But I've been walking,
Through the night and day,
'Til my eyes get weary,
And my head turns grey.
And sometime, it seems,
Maybe God's gone away.
Forgetting his promise,
And the word he'd say.
And we're lost, out here in the stars.
Little stars,
Big stars,
Blowing through the night.
And we're lost out here in the stars.
Little stars,
Big stars,
Blowing through the night.
And we're lost, out here in the stars…"
Leanne trailed off from the tune at the end, seeing the two kittens had fallen asleep. She smiled gently and got up, stretching her limbs. She waved to the others, silently telling them that she was going to bed as well, and walked over to her sleeping bag. Lion-O watched her every step.
He was amazed, he had no idea that such a wonderful voice came from her. Sure, sometimes when she spoke, it was soft, and a little melodic, but he had no idea her singing could be so… beautiful. Almost as much as she was.
Lion-O's thoughts came to a stuttering halt. Did I just say that Leanne was beautiful…?