ThunderCats

Bio-Booster Armor Guyver

Eye of the Storm

Episode 21

"The city that used to be here," Kyranna began as they ventured further into the tunnels, "had to be enormous!" The air grew more and more stale the farther into the shadowed underbelly they ventured.

"It was. Sho told us it was called 'Boston'."

"A strange name," Siberias offered. "It must have its roots deep in this planet's history."

"You smell that?" Torr asked, shining his light about the moisture-coated walls.

"As a matter of fact," Cheetara replied, "yes." Five pairs of eyes opened wide, all sharing a look as the realization hit.

"GAS!" Siberias shouted, yet it came too late. Before they could retreat, all five fell to their knees coughing as the fumes overtook them. Cheetara's last thought before the blackness came was that it was not anything natural.

The golden light was the same as Sho remembered from his previous visit to the White Pyramid. Their footfalls echoed in the cavernous space of Mumm-Rana's tomb chamber as they neared the scrying pool. The cream-skinned woman in Egyptian garb caused all three to pause in shock. She was clearly Thunderian, and had been expecting them.

"Why, hello," she said in honeyed words. "My name is Jagara."

"THE Jagara...!" Tygra choked.

"You know her?"

"Jagara was the name of the most powerful practicioner of sorcery in Thundera's history," Tygra explained, "But she died ages ago!"

"Grune did, as well," Jagara replied with a smile. "As Mumm-Ra returned him to this world, Mumm-Rana has returned me. Sho." Jagara strode up to the human, hips swinging inside the abbreviated skirt she wore. "I almost wish you weren't taken already."

"Um... Thanks?"

"Jagara..." Mumm-Rana said wearily.

"My apologies, but it has been a long time since I've had a living body, much less one so young. Lion-O," she said, "you cut as fine a figure of a king as any who came before you."

"Thank you," he replied, "your words honor me."

"There is one more in our little cabal," Jagara said. The ephemeral image of an old Thunderian man coalesced next to her.

"JAGA!?" Tygra cried out.

"Within the walls of the White Pyramid," Jaga began, "I am visible to all, not just to Lion-O. Thank you, Tygra, for all you have done for Lion-O's sake. The rest of the ThunderCats have served as fine mentors." A wall-eyed Tygra bowed jerkily at the praise.

"It's good to see you again, Wise Jaga."

"Sho," Jaga said, "thank you for all you have done for our people."

"You're welcome?"

"You seem nervous."

"I've never talked to a ghost before." Jaga laughed at that.

"There is really no accurate term to describe the state in which I now exist." Mumm-Rana, Jagara, and Jaga each moved to the side of the scrying pool opposite the three men.

"Events have been set in motion," Mumm-Rana said, "since your awakening on our world, Sho Fukamachi. Events that were prophesied long before your birth."

"Like?"

"Perhaps some background is necessary." Mumm-Rana thrust a hand over the pool of crystal clear water. Steam rose into the air, revealing the image of a circle. The top curving half was white with a black dot while the bottom was black with a white dot precisely beneath. "Do you know what this is?"

Cheetara awoke on a cold metal surface. Her mouth was filled with a sour aftertaste, minor aches making themselves known along the length of her body. She opened her eyes, quickly taking stock.

They were in a cylindrical metal chamber, she saw, everyone stirring with their arms behind them. A quick check with her fingers revealed the presence of rope wound about her wrists, but not tightly enough to be fully restraining. Experience took over, telling her that they were in great danger but whomever had captured them was either not skilled with knots or didn't care if they all got their hands free. She looked about, seeing a thick door securely shut on the far side of the room.

The top of the chamber, unlike the rest, was a metal grid whose openings were too small to get more than an arm through. Cheetara focused her eyes, making out the shape at the top. A dagger of fear ripped through her once she recognized what she was seeing.

"So, you're a survivor of Fortress Plun-Darr," she snarled as the others awakened. The Mutant, a Scavenger, remained silent as he glared down at them. Slowly, the other ThunderCats came to.

"Imagine this," the Mutant said. "I never thought you'd come back here."

"What the FUCK?!" Torr shouted.

"I take it," Siberias said groggily, "you are the one who helped Grune survive?"

"Huh?" the Mutant replied. "So, I was right. That bastard IS still alive."

"Release us!" Cheetara shouted, knowing it would do no good.

"Yeah. THAT'S gonna happen. Have you forgotten we're enemies?"

"How many more are there?" Laheela snarled.

"So far as I know, just me."

"I didn't know ancient sewer systems had come with prisons," Kyranna said as she tried to work her arms free.

"Don't ask me why it's there," The Mutant said. "Took me the better part of a year to repair it. I figured that if I could get a shot at Grune, I'd put him in it. But, five ThunderCats come stumbling into my home. How could I say no?"

"How did you survive?"

"Well, Miss Cheetah, when I saw those Guyver monsters slaughtering my buddies wholesale, I did the only sensible thing. I got the fuck out. I saw that giant beam, by the way. Holy SHIT!" The Mutant shook his head at that. "By the way, you weren't all that thorough with your carpet bombing. I was able to put a Nosediver together from spare parts. It's made getting food much easier. As a human farm found out."

"True to form," Siberias said.

"The women there, that wife and daughter? I bet it took THEM a while to walk straight again!"

"You built this for Grune?" Cheetara asked, hoping to keep him talking.

"Mostly to keep myself sane. See, thanks to Grune's WONDERFUL leadership, and your sneak attack, I lost all my buddies AND my way off this damned rock! To THINK I'd get to use it like this!"

"So, what's it for?" Laheela asked. A trail of rope fell down her back as her hands freed themselves. The rest followed suit moments later.

"See that pipe by the floor?" The Mutant pointed, and the ThunderCats took notice of it. "Did you ever figure out that this used to be a sewer system?"

"What are you getting at?" Cheetara asked as ice encased her heart.

"Water still flows through most of this place. I was AMAZED at the ancient engineering skills used to make these tunnels! Running pipes into this little place was easy enough."

Cheetara looked at the hollow pipeline near the base of the chamber, and all the pieces fell into place. She refused to allow her fear to show, yet could not ignore its grip on her heart.

"I've always heard that cats hate water. What better way to kill you than that?"

"We value water the same as any sentient species," Siberas calmly said.

"It's that drowning thing that's a real bitch," Torr added, visibly shaken.

"Noted," the Scavenger said before walking away. The creak of a valve being turned echoed a moment later followed by a rush of liquid. As one, the imprisoned ThunderCats turned back to the pipe as clear water began to gush into the enclosed space.

"It's the symbol of Yin and Yang," Sho said. "Yin represents death, while Yang represents life. It's actually a little more complicated that that," he added, "since everything has elements of both. Yin is the white part of the circle, and Yang is the black."

"Go on," Lion-O said, staring intently at the symbol.

"The basic principle is that Yin and Yang represent a continuous cycle. Things are born and live, Yang, then wither and die, Yin. The next generation represents the next Yang."

"Intriguing," Tygra said.

"It's kinda tough to explain in detal, but the basic gist is a cycle of life then death then life. It's mostly meant as two opposites that compliment each other, rather than oppose each other."

"Perhaps this symbol was incorrect?" Jaga mused.

"Not entirely," Mumm-Rana said. "This symbol reflects what is known as The Order. That is, the balance of two diametric opposites."

"Like Light and Dark," Lion-O said.

"Light and Dark," Jagara said with a wave, "Good and Evil, Substance and Oblivion, the list continues. In any event, life as we know it is the result of the struggle between the two. As there are times of light, there are times of darkness."

"This world has entered a time of light, but at great cost to the Order," Mumm-Rana said. "There is a third power at work." Within the mists, the symbol of Yin and Yang shrank to reveal a coursing sea of red. "What you see, men, is the Third Power. Chaos."

"There are representative powers of the three," Jagara said. The image split, showing Yand and yin separate and floating in a sea of Chaos.

"The Sword of Omens," Jaga began, "Will never obey a command given with evil intent."

"The Sword of Plun-Darr," Offered Jagara, "has the same power, but only responds to commands of evil. The two compliment each other, even by being the antithesis of each other."

"The third power," Mumm-Rana added. At this point, the symbol of Yang had separated from Yin. The Sword of Omens hung above Yang, while the Sword of Plun-Darr hung above its opposite, "knows no such distictions." Above it resolved a circular object. A dormant Guyver. "The power of the Guyver."

"What?!" Sho exclaimed.

"The Guyver's power is the same as the power of Chaos," Jagara said. "It knows neither good nor evil. It is power that exists for its own sake."

"Okay," Torr said as the water gathered abotu their ankles, "What do we do about this?"

"We have to stop the water," Cheetara said as the idea came to her. It was repulsive, but all they had.

"How?" Torr asked. "All we've got are the clothes on our backs..." His eyes widened at the implication. "You can't be serious."

"Can it work?" The water inched its way above their ankles. She cast a look at the top of the chamber, noting the absence of the Mutant who had captured them, and estimated its total height at nearly twenty feet. Not an overlarge leap for a Thunderian.

"We got five sets of clothes..."

"Are you nuts, Torr?" Laheela shouted.

"Modesty aside," Siberias said, "I doubt it would even do much to slow the water down. There is simply too much pressure pumping it in here."

"But, our clothes are going to weigh us down," Kyranna said.

"Not by much," Cheetara said, eliminating that option. It hadn't been one she'd been looking forward to trying. "Torr, let's see if we can do something about crimping that pipe."

"One order of muscle, comin' up!" The water had reached their lower shins and sloshed in time with their legs. The pipe itself was wide, nearly a meter in diameter, but it had to have been ancient. The Lion wrapped his arms about the surface, leaving only room enough for Cheetara to join him. Their muscles strained with the effort, yet the metal of the pipe refused to so much as budge. "I'm good to go again," Torr snarled after they'd stopped.

"So, what you're saying is that my powers are neutral?" Sho stared up at the strange image above the scrying pool, trying to make sense of what he'd been told so far.

"Though it may not seem so, neutrality is the very essence of Chaos," Jaga said. "That is what makes it, and your power, so dangerous."

"How?" Lion-O asked, clearly as puzzled as Sho himself was.

"When Chaos becomes involved with Order," Mumm-Rana explained, "the Order itself is damaged."

"How so?" Tygra asked.

"Sho, make no mistake, I admire you," Jagara said. "You may have seen yourself as an agent for good, but the power you use makes you a force for Chaos."

"What the hell?!"

"Your actions have done much for the innocent of Third Earth. Too much."

"Jagara, I'm confused," Sho said, rubbing a hand over his brow. "How the hell can helping people be a bad thing?"

"I have to agree with him," Lion-O said. "What you're saying doesn't make sense!"

"There are ways," Tygra mused aloud. "Say, for example, when a more advanced race makes contact with a primitive one."

"Which, you'll recall, we DID!"

"Yes, and it worked out fairly well. One, the natives were peaceful and mostly trusting of us. Secondly, the Mutants landed with us. The locals saw that we had their best interests at heart, mainly because of the brutality of the Mutants."

"So, without the Mutants, the ThunderCats wouldn't have swayed over the masses," Sho said. "Stories on Second Earth told that tale a lot."

"Yes, Sho, but consider this: What if they had seen our advanced technology with jealousy? What if we'd had to defend ourselves? We would have been, in the eyes of the locals, no better than the Mutants even if they hadn't landed here."

"I notice you haven't used the more obvious sceneario," Lion-O said quietly.

"A personal bias," Tygra said with a nod.

Icy water had reached their knees, and escape was still no closer. Cheetara fought past the mounting fear as she desperately searched for a means out of the deathtrap they had found themselves in. She looked up at the grating which covered the otherwise open top of the tank. Why, she asked herself, was their tormentor not present? Was he THAT confident in his chosen method of killing them?

"Torr," she said, "think you can bend those bars?" She pointed to the grid overhead.

"I can give it a try," he replied grimly. She nodded once before kneeling down and soaking herself more. Cheetara laced her fingers near her knees. Torr immediately understood, placing his boot in her hands. She hoisted upward as hard as she could, and Torr grapsed the bars at the apogee of his assisted leap.

"Just gimme a minute," he said as he worked his way to the edge of the tank. Torr snaked his arm out through the nearest opening. "Damn," he spat. "This weld is solid."

"It should be," the mocking voice of their captor said as he walked back into view. "Keep trying, though."

"Let me outta here, and I'll make you EAT those words!" Torr shouted.

"Uh-huh. Sure. So you think I'm a complete idiot?"

"I would have thought you'd prefer to torment us one at a time," Siberias said.

"Maybe throw in a rape or two," Kyranna spat.

"Why the melodrama?" Laheela asked last.

"Rape and torture some ThunderCats? Yeah, I'd love to," the Mutant said, "But I'm a realist. There are FIVE of you in there, and just one of me. Not only do I NOT have the resources to control you all to my liking, one wrong move and I end up on the bad end of those odds. No, best to get rid of you all at one go. Hell, I'll still be entertained."

"GET OVER HERE!" Torr shouted. "Face me like a man, you twat!"

"Um, no. So, Miss Cheetah," he said, locking eyes on Cheetara. "How goes the drowning?"

"We won't die here," she said with far more confidence than she felt.

"Oh? Because it looks a lot like you will. Unless muscle-man over there is strong enough to break the reinforced welds I made to the top of this beauty. Which I kinda doubt he is."

"Bastard!" Torr shouted.

"I made sure this could contain Grune. You know, the most infamous betrayer in your history? Yeah. What chance do YOU have? Well, I still have some time, and I'm a little hungry. Think I'll get a bite to eat. It's not like you'll drown TOO soon, after all."

Water's up to our waists, Cheetara thought as the Mutant left once more. "Torr, any luck?"

"DAMNIT!" he roared. "The fucker's right, there's no way I'm breaking these welds."

"The door was no good, either," Laheela said, her voice cracking with fear. "Tight as a drum."

Cheetara took in a deep breath. "Then, if rescue is to come, it'll have to be from the colony."

"Which means Sho," Laheela said. "He's the only one fast enough to get here in time."

Which means that Lion-O has to be warned by the Eye, Cheetara thought, and he doesn't carry it much any more. She forced the dread away. There was one thread of hope, and she wouldn't dash it for the others.

Lion-O, she thought, PLEASE hear the Eye. It's our only chance. The water, much as she tried to ignore it, seemed to grow colder. She had been faced with death more than once, but this time it felt more real than before. Even having been captured by Safari Joe the second time hadn't brought such a feeling of finality as this.

"Though it's meaning from your cultural vantage point does not quite mesh with the meaning we have applied to it, it's basic nature is the simplest representation of Order." Jaga pointed to the image of Yin and Yang, having reformed in the swirling maelstrom of Chaos.

"I know now that you are not the Destoyer of legend..."

"Now, I'm getting really confused, Mumm-Rana," Sho nearly groaned.

"Sho, your actions as well as Lisker's have unbalanced Order," Jagara explained. "Not only have you dimished evil in the world, you have increased the powers of good."

"Bad thing, how?!"

"The Order is about balance," Jaga said, picking up Jagara's thread. "When Order restores itself, it will do so by increasing the prevalence of evil to match good."

"So, you're saying it might overcompensate somehow?" Lion-O asked.

"Grune," all three men said at once.

"He will have his part to play," Mumm-Rana said, "and that is all I know. Now, for the Prophecy of Destruction, which first led me to attack you."

"What, did you mis-read it?"

"In a sense," Mumm-Rana replied. "I did not have all of it in my possession. Your immolation of Mumm-Ra allowed more of it to fall into my hands." Sho wasn't sure, but thought he detected a hint of sadness in her words.

"So, he's dead?"

"In one sense, King Lion-O, yes. In another, no. So long as evil lives, so too will creatures like Mumm-Ra. If a way to forever slay him is ever found, his masters will simply choose another to replace him."

"The Order," Tygra said simply.

"Yes."

Bouyancy was beginning to take effect as the water neared Cheetara's breasts. Torr had come down from the grating up top, having failed to make the grid above their heads so much as budge. Kyranna was in his arms, and the fear she saw in the other woman's eyes broke her heart. Here she was, the most seasoned ThunderCat aside from Siberias, and there was literally nothing she could do but hope. It was a familiar feeling, but one she had never come to like. No one spoke, each having realized that there was nothing to say to change their situation one bit. All of their options had fizzled. Even if they had been able to force the door, it opened inward. The water pressure would have made it impossible to open.

To keep her mind away from the mounting fear of drowning, Cheetara allowed herself to ponder why a chamber such as this had been built so long ago. It's purpose was obvious. An out of the way corner of a series of tunnels most would only venture into for a clear reason, and then only for as long as necessary. Someone had built this for the express purpose of killing in this exact manner. Someone who took lives because it was pleasing, and who enjoyed the suffering of the victims.

Fitting, she thought, that a Mutant would discover it.

"There shall descend a king from the heavens," Mumm-Rana began, "bearing a sword in whose hilt is an all-seeing eye. The king will encounter the demon, and shall face him in battle again and again." The image of Yin and Yang was gone, and she began to pace about in the flickering torchlight. "Vexed by the king and his court, the demon will summon an army of the king's ancient foes from the very same stars."

"Sounds familiar," Tygra breathed.

"In the first battle of the war, the First Knight shall rise," she continued. "He shall know not who he is, nor the power at his command until the battle finds him.

"The next shall rise from the ashes of his past," Mumm-Rana continued. "Defeated once by the First Knight, the demon will recruit him along with a monster whose body is as the earth itself, and one who betrayed the people of the king."

"Sounds VERY familiar," Lion-O said.

"In battle with the demon's familiar, the demon himself shall fall, along with the monster of earth and the evil of a distant moon."

"What the..." Tygra gasped.

"The betrayer shall gain command of the horde, and the second warrior shall find the path to redemption through the love of a woman not of his folk. Through this, he shall stand at the king's side as the Second Knight."

"Wait," Sho said. "Lisker is going to side WITH me?!"

"The nature of prophecy is that it often reveals that which we think to be impossible," Jagara replied.

There were freely floating, and the overhead mesh was inching closer. Cheetara ignored the cold and focused her mind on Lion-O. The water slowly rose to the grid above their heads and with each second, the hope of rescue became more and more faint. She refused to give up hope, not until the very end.

Even so, she could not ignore reality. A timely rescue at this point would involve a miracle. Despite herself, she began to replay the tender moments she had shared with Lion-O. The touches, the looks, the nights of passion.

"Torr..."

"I'm here, babe."

Cheetara looked over at them, holding each other and staring into each other's eyes with only a trace of fear. They might have been rookies, but they controlled their emotions as well as seasoned ThunderCats. She was proud of them, and despairing all at once.

"Lion-O," she whispered.

"The Third Knight," Mumm-Rana said, "shall rise from the king's own court."

"WHAT?!" all three exclaimed at once.

"Empowered by the First Knight, the Third Knight will stand with the others about the king as he realizes his full potential."

"Wait, what the hell?!" Sho shouted.

"Sho," Tygra said as he placed a hand on his shoulder,

"How do I give this power to..."

All present turned to Lion-O as the Sword of Omens growled at his hip.

Lion-O snatched up the Sword and brought the crossbars to his eyes.

"Sword of Omens, give me sight beyond sight!"

He saw them, floating in rising water, staring up at the bars that would spell their doom. The vision faded, and Lion-O's heart skipped several beats. "We have to leave," Lion-O said, fear running rampant.

"I will transport you," Mumm-Rana said as she thrust her hands skyward.

Jagara blinked as she retrurned to her feet. "Should you not have told them more?"

"I told them what they needed to know. The struggle against the inevitabe is what will give them the strength they need." Mumm-Rana sighed. "The fate of this world is on that boy's shoulders."

"Time for me to go," Jagara said. "But are you sure this was enough?"

"I told them what they needed to know. The rest is up to them. And you."

"So," the Mutant said he came back into view. "Almost there." The water was near the top of the tank, the metal bars of the grid within easy reach. "I wonder how you'll sound when you die. Won't be long now."

The Mutant was right. The water was up to her jaw, inches from the bars that lined the top of the tank. It was down to minutes, now. She could almost taste the gallons of water that spelled her doom, feel the bars beginning to press against her face. There was not much time left. Mnutes, if that. She looked to her left to find Torr and Kyranna sharing a kiss as death raced toward them all. Cheetara wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all as the water neared her mouth and the Mutant leered down.

The blur of blue wrapped about the Mutant's neck, resolving into Tygra's bolo whip.

Mumm-Rana's teleport hand landed them on a metal catwalk just above and behind the Mutant who was crouching on the metal grid atop the tank of rising water. Tygra was none too gentle about yanking on his whip, snatching the Mutant off-balance with a strengled cry. Lion-O and Sho had leapt down at the same time, both landing and rushing him. Tygra released his whip as Lion-O, who was wearing the claw shield, smashed the Mutant in the head while Sho launched a punishing thrust kick to his spine. The Scavenger tumbled head over heels to roll off the edge of the tank.

Lion-O didn't allow himself to recoil from the sight of water now covering their noses. He merely acted on instinct. Drawing the Sword of Omens, he swung it in a circle which sent the blade sailing through the metal bars. Sho caught one side of the circular section, Tygra landing and catching the other. Both pulled it up and back and he leaned down to take Cheetara's hand in his.

"C'mon!" Sho shouted as he pulled her out of the water. "Everybody outta the pool!" Lion-O pulled the soaked Cheetara out of the water and held her close while Tygra grapsed Laheela and Sho did the same for Siberias. Torr hoisted his wife up for Lion-O to grasp about the arms, then pulled himself out of the water.

"That's it," he spat, "my swimming days are OFFICIALLY over!"

"Bastard got away," Sho spat as he leaned over the edge of the tank. "Want me to find him?"

"No," Lion-O replied. "More important that we get out of here. Everyone else is soaked to the skin, and it's not exactly a tropical paradise down here." Lion-O himself felt a bit chilly. The ThunderCats who'd been in the tank were feeling it far worse.

"Speakng of," Torr said, "does anyone know where we are?" Just he finished, a gentle glow suffused the area about them, and the dingy confines of the tunnels vanished.

"It was generous of Mumm-Rana to bring us back to camp. Complete with a raging bonfire," Cheetara said as she slid beneath the blanket next to Lion-O. The priestess had appeared in the reflective hull of the Feliner on their arrival.

"Sorry to cut the rescue so close," he said as they wrapped their arms about each other.

"I hope you're not up to anything exciting tonight."

"Right now, I just want to hold you."

"Same here. So, what did you all talk about?"

"Later. This is something everyone needs to hear. It's... kinda big."

"Big enough for her to bring Jagara back to the world of the living. What is she like?"

"Myrlha might want to watch out."

"Oh. I'd hate to see those two come to odds."

"I've been thinking," Lion-O said as he pulled her against him.

"About what?"

"I want to marry you. Now."

"Not that I object..."

"No. This is the third time I've almost lost you since we started seeing each other.

"I'm still here. But, I see your point." Cheetara decided not to point out the political aspects of them officially mating.

Torr sat nude beneath the blanket with Kyranna beside him. She snuggled her body against his, in the way he knew so well.

"You sure about this?" he asked.

"I'm sure." The rest of the night, for them, was filled with the moans of passion.

Tygra sat in the tent wth Laheela at his side. She was nude escept for the blanket she wore.

"Thank you," she said. Her lips met his, and other thoughts vanished on the winds. There was no doubt in her mind, her heart, or her body. Tygra stiffened at first, then relaxed into her embrace and let the moment sweep him away.

In the Feliner, Sho answered to the best of his ability Siberas' questions regarding the Bio-Booster Armor.