Ok, here we go. I'm actually pretty happy with the way the first two trials turned out. If you remembered 'Trials of Lion-O Pt One' you'll be surprised with this!
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Lion-O couldn't sleep that night; they all admit it would be difficult after losing a battle against Slithe and Mum-Ra's new Generals. And the worst part was having lost one of their own to them. Their defeat chased his mind all night long, guilt making him unwanted company in the dark space of his room.
After leaving Ro-Bear Bill and his friends back in their homes Panthro drove the Thundertank back and out of the gorges, were higher cliffs awaited them. There was more foliage there at least; with a tree growing here and there at the edges. Tygra moved to take the Book of Omens. "What are you doing?" The lion asked.
"I'm giving it to Panthro," Tygra said. "We've lost enough time already and we need to get going and find the next stone fast." He didn't wait for his brother to say anything. Everyone was concerned about their new enemies and some of them, like Tygra, didn't want to give them more of an advantage than Slithe and the others already won.
Lion-O thought that when Tygra said 'lost', he tried not to mean 'waste' their time because of following his plan and help the lizards. His evident lack of sleep and grey expression got Cheetara's attention. She left her seat and walked toward him. "I'm worried about you, Lion-O." A flash of unease covered her gaze. "I, too, am sorry for what happened to Pumyra but we need you focused."
"I took a bad decision back there, Cheetara. I faced the enemy unprepared and I dragged you all with me."
"There was no way you would've anticipated these new opponents, nor how powerful they are. You did it to help the lizards out, because you believed in your idea of unity between us." The cleric tried reasoning with him. "There's nothing wrong in standing up for what you believe."
Lion-O's face turned gloomier. "Well, Pumyra did not believe in that," He finally looked at the cleric in the eye. "…but she believed in me and I let her down. That doesn't say much about me being a good King."
Slithe and his new partners were travelling back for the second time to Mum-Ra's lair, after dropping their cat hostage to a location far away from the Storm Desert. But before that, Slithe had to sallow his venom after their master praising Addicus for his quick performance in the battlefield and capturing the right Thundercat for his most recent scheme. Slithe regretted expressing his discomfort to Mum-Ra after bringing Pumyra to the Pyramid.
"You did well, Addicus." Mum-Ra said as the monkey placed the cat before him, still unconscious. The nuisance in the scaly General was evident and starting to bother the mummy. "What is the problem, Slithe?"
The rasp in his voice made the lizard jump in fright. "I don't see how a cat will help us, Lord Mum-Ra. It'll just turn out like Grune," The lizard said carefully. "And he was even willing to betray you for his own benefit. Don't you think having this one serving you will—"
"Are you saying I am making twice the same mistake?!" Mum-Ra hissed angrily. "Do you really consider your master to be that negligent? Then you are making a deadly mistake, Slithe." The demon turned his back to his Generals and headed to his coffin-chamber. "Besides, you don't even know what having this cat here means, yet." He said in a less raged way.
"Ouh, story time already?" Kaynar asked humorously.
"I am aware of Grune's idea of seeking power beyond the one I gave him. He was a self-sufficient being and I knew, as the cat he was, his loyalty would waver sooner or later. It did not come as a surprise for me as it's happened before…" Mum-Ra said recalling Leo and the rebellion that imprisoned him in his pyramid in the distant past.
Slithe was more confused than before. Certainly Mum-Ra wasn't expecting Pumyra to follow Grune's steps, which cost him the Spirit Stone. So he waits silently for the demon to reveal more.
"Grune was arrogant and treacherous. His loyalty to me would only serve me until he would start seeking power of his own beyond what I could provide. I knew all along that if he could betray his own kind, why wouldn't he betray me? Ultimately he paid the price. On the contrary, this cat is an ally to Lion-O, trustworthy of him and she would not betray him."
"Then how can you be sure that she can help you get everything you claim?" This time Addicus spoke.
"Because she is a wretched soul, like you are, in a more basic sense. But still...she's different. Of course she won't cooperate willingly, so I intent to manipulate her—"
"Into betraying Lion-O?" Slithe asked.
"No," Mum-Ra said darkly. "Convince her that he betrayed her. To do that it is needed for her to see what happens to those that follow him and end up doomed to sorrow and suffering for doing so." He then commanded them to take Pumyra to Mount Plun-Darr—an ominous mountain with vast reserves of Thundrillium and a mining operation ran by rats—there they would know what to do with her. Mum-Ra assured his Generals he would take care of the rest after his own required rest and entered his coffin-chamber.
Once they arrived at the Black Pyramid, Slithe and the others found nothing but the dark pond and Mum-Ra's chair still empty. "Lord-Mum-Ra must be still resting." The lizard said.
"Not fair, I want a nap too." Kaynar pouted after travelling all night.
"There's no time for that!" Slithe lectured the jackal.
"There are more interesting things to do than sleep."
"What are you talking about?" Slithe turned to Addicus.
"Mum-Ra wants us to terrorize the Thundercats, does he not? We already gave him the one he wants alive; he didn't say anything about the others." A vicious smile appeared on the ape's lips.
Kaynar's face lightens up, a nap long forgotten. He still wanted to play with the cats some more. Slithe on the other hand could not allow Addicus become the one giving out the orders so he imposed himself and changed the plans to go after the power stones in the cats' possession and prove his master he was still worthy of a commanding position in this new-formed-army.
"Uh, you should come see this, Lion-O." Tygra called him and Cheetara to see the console where Panthro set the Book of Omens. The book powered up creating a holographic compass, when Lion-O and the blonde cat arrived, it finished calculating the coordinates and the needle pointing upwards. They saw a small beam of bright red light pointing at the ceiling of the Thundertank.
"Up? The book says the next stone is up?" Panthro questioned.
"How can that be?" Cheetara asked.
Lion-O went over to the console and activated the screens turned on showing a large range of view of a high canyon tower of sorts just ahead of them. "Why does 'up' have to be so high?" Tygra asked with a frown.
"The book can be cryptic at times." Cheetara commented. "Maybe we need to translate the message it's giving us."
Lion-O decided to trust the cleric rather than to take the lead himself and took Tygra and the Wileys for scouting and see if they could find another path around the canyon. Tygra suggested the kittens would go ahead on their hover boards while the two brothers crossed the jungle.
"Would you stop sulking already?"
Lion-O looked up at the prince staring at him from the corner of his eye. "I don't mean to be." He said poorly.
"Of course you do, you're still sorry about Pumyra." Tygra said.
The lion frowned. "Aren't you?"
"Sure, like everyone else, but look at Kit and Kat," Tygra said, the two stopped walking. "They miss her as much as you do but they're doing the best they can to pull through…if they can, why can't you?"
Lion-O said nothing, just pondered. "Tell me something Tygra," He finally said. "If it was Cheetara they took—"
"Then you would've wished it was me they took with them." The tiger responded quickly. "Just tell me what's really bothering you: Having made a bad call and lost one of us in battle, or thinking something terrible could happen to her."
His brother's shoulders slumped. "She's probably being taken to Mum-Ra, wouldn't the answer be both?"
"The answer is that you care too much for her, and are afraid to make a bad decision again and having the same happening to any of us next time." Lion-O could tell his brother was lecturing him by the severe look on his face. If Tygra was trying to make him feel better it had the opposite effect on him.
"What do you know?" The young King asked with one raised brow.
"You are the King, Lion-O. I hate to admit," The prince said. "But I'm only gonna accept it when you stop feeling sorry for yourself and act like one." Tygra then calmed down, staring at him with patience. "If you're talking about what I know about 'you and Pumyra', why don't you tell me?"
"Oh, like you telling me about you and Cheetara?" Lion-O grumbled back.
"That's an old story, and it has nothing to do with anything right now." Tygra said.
Lion-O took a deep breath. "Right, you two are together…it's different."
The tiger took a moment to look at his brother intently. Still back in Thundera Tygra would notice the way he'd look at the brunette cat, he even used her to tease him once during a sparring session. But he only viewed it as nothing more than a teenager's infatuation, until now. The look on Lion-O's face, Tygra saw it before or rather wore it himself.
"You like her."
"What?" Lion-O stared at him. "Pumyra? That's not—"
"You do have feelings for her," Tygra insisted. "And you haven't even realized it!"
The conversation was interrupted when the Wileys came hovering back to them. "Uh, we're in trouble." Kit said frowning.
"What kind of trouble?" Lion-O asked, ignoring Tygra glaring at him.
"The whole mountain is surrounded by the river, it goes on a long way and we almost got lost." Wilykat said.
"The tank can't make it through." His sister said.
The lion looked at the canyon in front of them, there were passages carved into the walls wide enough to walk on them. "Guess up really is our only option." He ordered them to go back for Panthro and Cheetara. The kids took the lead on their hover boards while Lion-O saw Tygra still staring waiting for him to say something. "You really wanna talk about my feelings now? I don't need this, Tygra." He complained.
The tiger sped up his pace walking beside and past him. "Maybe you don't need it, but you'll have to deal with it anyway." He smirked. "Otherwise, that conflict of yours will just be another excuse for your poor judgment as leader."
The Thundercats engaged on their trek up the nature-made tower, with the tree-tops far below them they started to question how much higher, and how much farther 'up' could be. The Wileys were already dreading the long walk up, as was everyone else.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Cheetara said.
Tygra heard her and spoke to Lion-O, who was walking a few steps ahead of them. "Do you even know where you're leading us, Lion-O?"
The lion reserved his words afraid of his answer. All he thought about was that if the book wanted them to go up, then that's where they were going. "Right into Mum-Ra's hands if you ask me." He heard Panthro saying. "We're totally exposed to attack on this route."
Kit and Kat were at the end of the line panting, air growing thinner as they walked up higher. "How much higher can we go?" The boy cub complained resting his hands on his knees.
"I'm more worried about the way down." Wilykit said looking over the edge of the canyon at the river below. She could see they were very high up, a good two hundred feet at the least. She and her brother shared a fearful glance at the thought of falling down.
Cheetara noticed their expressions quickly. "Maybe we should consider turning around." She looked ahead at Lion-O. "What do you think?"
Lion-O looked over his shoulder at their worried faces; maybe Cheetara was right about the book being cryptic, but they've come a long way. Even he agreed with her it would all be for nothing and just another waste of time. He sighed, thinking about what Tygra said about acting like a real King. He looked up; his eyes widened at the sight of candy fruit trees growing a few feet ahead. "I think..." A good King should take care of his people. "We should stop here for a quick rest."
As he said that Kat looked up ahead, he and his sister cheered up at the sight.
"Yay!"
"Alright! Candy fruit!"
"I'm hungry." Kat said. They and Snarf hurried to the trees.
Tygra walked next to the lion. "About time you think about what we need for a change." Lion-O got his message, recalling how he worried about the lizards at the gorges instead of his friends.
Cheetara saw how bad he felt and approached the tiger with a sorry look. "Don't be so harsh on him," She asked him. "He hasn't recovered from what happened." The couple looked at Lion-O climbing up a tree trying to get his hand on a piece of fruit. Tygra meditated on her words and then his stomach spoke to him as well.
"Lunch will be easy compared to finding the next stone." The young King said grabbing a second fruit for himself.
Just when he was about to take a bite from it, Kat snatched the fruit out of his hand. "Too slow, Your Highness." The cub said with a mischievous grin before taking a bite. Lion-O was about to say something when the other fruit he collected was taken from him also.
He saw it was Wilykit who swiped it from him, wearing the same grin as her brother. "You really need to keep your eyes open." She said moving next to Kat and chewing on the candy fruit.
Lion-O let it slide, they were just hungry kids. He then found Tygra using his whip to pull the fruit from the higher branches. "Hey, Tygra! How about a hand."
The tiger stopped halfway of a bite. "Sure, your Majesty likes the food being served to him." He saw the lion's expression falling. And then met the sharp look Cheetara gave him which almost made him choke on his piece of fruit.
The cleric found some fruits on the ground and called Lion-O to jump down. "Here," She offered him one.
"Thanks." Lion-O smiled for the first time that day at her gesture.
After he walked away looking for more fruits, Cheetara saw Tygra jumping down the tree he was sitting on next to her. "Now it's not the time, Tygra." She said sternly.
"Sorry…"The tiger said with a frown.
"I know what you were trying to do," The cheetah stared at him. "A good leader should work hard on the things he wants, but it's just food. And there's nothing wrong in helping each other either."
Tygra knew she was right. Though he always thought that just because Lion-O was their King, it didn't mean he couldn't learn something from them. But once again Cheetara made him see that his wasn't always the best approach when it came to lessons. The prince exhaled, his gaze relaxed as he took one of her hands in his, admitting with gestures that she was right.
Tygra started making his way toward Lion-O when the sound of something whooshing through air got everyone's attention. Panthro got up and saw a rocket coming their way. It shot into the canyon side above of where they were and exploded. "It's an ambush!" He cried and everyone ran for cover.
The Wileys leaped down the candy fruit trees, but Kit stood behind when either of them could see Snarf. The two cubs split up. As staying in plain sight was a problem, the tiger quickly took his whip but a strong grip stopped him. "Not gonna hide this time." With a bit of laughter Addicus had Tygra's arm pulled back while holding the whip. Then the monkey punched him in the face with such straight he flew back onto the ground.
"Tygra!" Cheetara started running to his aid, when something grabbed her from behind, she looked to see it was Kaynar who captured her.
"You run like a girl…" The jackal said snickering; the cheetah struggled to get out of his grip.
The kittens found Snarf running back down the tower escaping from the explosions, but their path was blocked by lizard soldiers pointing their laser riffles at the three of them. Lion-O enraged wielded the Sword of Omens, he was on his way to help them but a laser shot knocked the sword out of his grip. He turned around and found Slithe grinning maliciously. Lion-O was at gunpoint and soon had Addicus restricting him from behind.
Panthro got caught in a landslide caused by the rockets, yet he was making his way out as he punched rocks out of his way. He got distracted when he saw Slithe taking the Sword of Omens from the ground and he almost didn't see the giant boulder rolling down to him. Seeing it could destroy the ground they were all standing, the panther had no other choice than to stop it with his arms and shoulders. As he struggled putting it down carefully, Slithe then preceded taking the gauntlet from Lion-O's belt.
"We have the Sword and the gauntlet," The General said. "Now give us the book!"
"What have you done with Pumyra?" The lion asked through clenched teeth. "Where did you take her, Slithe, tell me?!"
Slithe lifted his tail and knocked him with a slap scowling at him. "She's lost to you," He hissed. "Where is the book?!" Lion-O slowing got in one knee, refusing to say a word; Kaynar came next to him making sure he could do nothing to defend himself.
"You're gonna regret it, believe me." Lion-O warned the lizard.
"I see you're concerned about that cat," The scaly General said with a sick grin. "But maybe you should worry about the friends you still have around."
Wilykit gasped as she realized it was her Slithe was talking about. Lion-O watched warily as Addicus moved closer to the kitten, club in hand, pounding it against his other hand. "You better not hurt her, Slithe!" He snarled.
"I would never harm such an adorable creature," The reptile said. "Addicus, on the other hand…" He let the sentence unfinished. The psychotic gleam on the monkey's eyes and bare teeth spoke for themselves. Kit stared fearfully at him.
Luckily, Lion-O noticed Kaynar's attention drawn to the scene before them; he took that opportunity to snatch the gauntlet from the lizard's grasp. Slithe looked at his now-empty hand and shouted. "Grab him!"
As the lion run to the cub's aid, Addicus made a fast turn and slammed his club in front of his feet. Lion-O barely dodged it and moved out of the way. Unfortunately, because of his rapid motions he ended up teetering at the edge of the canyon that, should his balance fail him, he would plummet down to his death in the river below.
"Lion-O!" Wilykit cried, seeing how his arms were reeling back. But just when he was staring to get his footing back, Kaynar came up behind him and pushed him over the edge of the cliff.
"Oopsie." Kaynar said with a pleased smile as he watched him plummet down, a few rocks detaching from the cliff followed him into the river. "Think he'll land on his feet?" The Jackalman asked to no one in particular. Addicus, who found more entertainment in watching the lion perish, looked down the edge with him.
Thundering clouds overflowed the sky above Mount Plun-Darr. Enormous, jagged crystals of Thundrillium pierced the mountain through and through. The repeating sound of pickaxes and shovels forced Pumyra to open her eyes; she was lying in the middle of a wide open cavern. Her head was buzzing, her side aching, but at least her blurry vision was starting to clear. Everything around her looked somber. There was some kind of gallery outside the cavern; cautiously she stepped outside and looked over the edge. Train rails raked the ground entirely at the party below; in and out caves which continued in tunnels leading to only God knew where. Lines of carts stuffed with rocks of many sizes were pushed toward large containers, two or three rats guarding each one. There were rats everywhere but they were not the outnumbering species there, Pumyra took a good look at the miners, more like slaves, and her blood was boiling. Cats, thousand of them, of common races but even so, dressed up in rags, slim, expended expressions in each of their faces, and shackled. Under different circumstances Pumyra would've not fitted in herself seeing all of them alive; but far from that, the lashing sound brought her down to reality, her eyes fixed on a rat giving lashes to a cat for letting a cart slide out of his grasp and fell to the ground in the process.
Pumyra leaped down each level of the mine to the lowest party where they were. She reached for the rat's collar and threw him away crashing against a tattered tent. "Can you stand?" She asked the cat, taking his arm and putting it over her shoulder.
"Why did you do that?" The cat asked faltering, looking fearfully at where the rat landed. She felt the cat's hand trembling, as his arm dropped from her shoulder. Her eyes moved to the rat she just threw.
"Guards!" The rodent shouted, in a snap the puma was surrounded, rats outnumbering her ten to one. They groaned at her, showing their sharp teeth, whips in hand. Nonetheless, she was still twice their height.
Pumyra reached for the pouch tied to her belt but it was gone. They must have taken it from her at her arrival. Fortunately, or not, she still got her wrist-crossbow, though it would do her no good without ammo, she realized. She tried to attack the two rats in front of her but she was pulled backwards when one of the guards behind her tangled his weapon around her arm. There were some chuckles and cocky laughter that only made her growl at them. The rats pounced at her but she kicked them away one by one. Using all the strength she could she threw her arm forward tossing the rat holding the whip in the same direction making it fall on its face. The cat slaves watched the fight; more guards came around closing in on the puma and one fist got to hit her somewhere in her ribcage making Pumyra let out a muffled snarl. They weren't very physically strong but the blow reminded her of her injury— courtesy of Slithe— bringing her down on her knees with worked up breathing.
She lifted her gaze, glaring at them looming over her, when the snap from another whip brought everything and everyone to silence. "What's going on here?!" A rat she hadn't seen before asked.
It was a white-furred rat with a black parch over his right eye. His clothing, although covered in dirt showed his higher rank. The guards stepped away from her murmuring the name Mordax. "You're the one in charge here?" Pumyra groaned. "How dare you treating them like this?!"
The cats staring at them from the higher levels whimpered as the guards slammed their whips against them ordering them back to work. "I am Mordax," The white rat said. "…now, you'll do as I say or suffer the consequences, cat."
Pumyra huffed under her breath. "I'm a Thundercat; I don't listen to rodents." Mordax's brows briefly rose up in awe.
"We'll see about that," He said. "Look around you, none of you has much of a choice." He added pointing at the cats slaves with the hilt of his leather whip. "Take her to the cells!" He ordered, two rats bounded her wrists behind her back and took her some levels above the mining sector.
They pushed her inside a dark cell; the interior was deep, unreachable for the scarce daylight. Pumyra stood up near the bars where she could watch the cats as they were forced to work. Mordax stepped close to the cell from the outside, grinning maliciously. "Welcome to Mount Plun-Darr. Don't cause any trouble and this could be your last resting place." His eye narrowed as he walked away and laughed sinisterly.
Pumyra fought with her ties until they gave in and her wrists were freed. She did a quick analysis of the visible levels and security, it frustrated her realizing that there was no possible escape as she had no clue to where she was and even less possibilities if she attempted to take the Thunderian slaves with her.
"Fools!" Slithe pushed through the two psychopaths. "He had the gauntlet!" He shouted.
The Thundercats stared in shock at where Lion-O had been standing, seized by Slithe's soldiers. "…You killed him." Tygra said.
"Lion-O…" Cheetara murmured. The Wileys' expression grew sadder as they stared, while Panthro stood there with clenched teeth and glaring at the Generals.
"He has the gauntlet and the Spirit Stone." Slithe snapped at the jackal and monkey, lifting himself from the edge of the cliff. He turned to face some of the soldiers with them. "Get down there and find it!" They ran down the pathway, hoping to find wherever the place Lion-O had fallen.
Underneath the water, Lion-O struggled against the weight of the pile of rocks that fell on top of him. Trapped on his back with no way to get air the pressure of the water level was crushing his lungs. He had no choice but to release the little air he was holding onto. Desperate for some oxygen, he drowned very quickly. The lion didn't notice at that moment, the Spirit Stone glowing brightly, and with a flash of light his soul was no longer in his body but somewhere else.
Lion-O inhaled and exhaled a few times, getting up while supporting his weight on his arms. "I'm…alive?" He breathed.
"No, Lion-O," A familiar voice sounded in the big room. The young King looked up to see Jaga's soul standing before him. "I'm afraid you're quite dead."
"Jaga…" Lion-O murmured. "Dead?" He let that word sink in, he was dead. After all he and the other cats' been through, his life was over just like that. Now he would never stop Mum-Ra. He would never help his friends again, or safe Pumyra. "Then I failed."
"Not yet, Lion-O." Jaga told him. "The Spirit Stone had deemed you worthy of another chance to walk amongst the living." As he told him this, the lion stared at the gem on his gauntlet.
"I'll take it."
"It's not that simple, Lion-O." The jaguar said. "While your first life was given to you, your second life must be earned."
"What do you mean?"
"You must complete a series of trials."
Lion-O scowled. "Slithe has the Sword of Omens and has probably captured the other cats. I don't have time for this right now!"
"Your only other choice is death." Jaga said grimly. Lion-O grimaced. He didn't have a choice; the soul of Jaga saw it in his face and lifted up his staff creating a red beam of light that tore open a portal. "Pass through this door, and you'll begin a series of trials designed to test if you can overcome your greatest weaknesses. To see if yours is a life worth saving."
Eager to get back to his friends, Lion-O went through the portal, ready to get these trials over with.
The Thundercats were being shoved into the lizards' hovercraft. Kat looked around when noticed his sister wasn't with them. "You! Get back here." One of the soldiers shouted at the girl cub that had been drawing something on a rock. "We're leaving!"
Kit joined the others being taken prisoners as they took off on the hovercraft, most likely on their way to Mum-Ra's lair. As they flew, Wilykit budded at her eyes wiping away tears. "First Pumyra," Tygra murmured. "Now, Lion-O…" He knew things were looking bad and worse for them by the minute.
"We're gonna find Pumyra," Kat said stubbornly, not believing that something terrible would have happened to her. "We'll get through this, and get her back with us, somehow."
At the same time, Kit wiped some more tears from her eyes. "And Lion-O can't be gone…" She said. "I won't believe it." The adults stared at them with sorry looks.
Cheetara bent down and spoke quietly at the cubs. "There'll be time for mourning," She promised. "…as soon as we take care of them." She nodded at Slithe and the others.
"But how?" Tygra asked her. Their weapons had been taken from them, and they wore shackles.
"You always wanted to be King," Panthro said, with the cleric standing between him and the tiger. "Well, now you are. Just hope you got a plan."
Tygra frowned as he scowled, not wanting to be reminded of his brother's death.
Lion-O stepped through the portal, he immediately recognized the place. It was Thundera's throne room. And just when he thought he would never set foot in that place again. It looked just like he remembered it.
"Not the first time you keep someone waiting in the throne room, Your Majesty." A voice said. Lion-O stared ahead of him to see Panthro standing in the middle of the room.
"Panthro?!" Lion-O gasped. His eyes widened when a shocking thought crossed his mind. "You're not—"
"Dead?" Panthro finished. "Hardly. I've just taken a form you'd be familiar with."
Lion-O stared at him intently and figured he was right. This Panthro had his natural arms instead of those the Berbils gave him. "Wait, then, are you…?"
"I am your first trial, kid: a trial of strength. You'll have to beat me in a fight." The panther said. The dumbfounded look on Lion-O face made him smirk. "Don't look so scared, this one's an easy trial."
"Easy?!" He was joking right? The young King thought. "How can it be easy?"
"Simple," Panthro said. "This trial is the only one you can try as many times you need to complete it. The others, if you pass this one, are a one-shot thing."
"Well, now that's reassuring." Lion-O said. "But still, I can't beat you, Panthro. You're the strongest cat I know!"
The fake panther just stood there. "Flattery won't win you this test. Now; I trained you when you were a cub, so let's see what you picked up along the way. No other choice here." He engaged in a combat stand.
With no option but to go forward with the trial, Lion-O took a deep breath and did the first thing that came to his mind. He tried running while taking force for a high jump and kick Panthro down. But the dark cat easily caught his foot and threw him back down to the ground. The lion skidded across the floor for a moment before getting up again.
"These trials are gonna kill me…again." He huffed and ran toward his opponent one more time. Panthro expected him throwing a fist in his direction, surprisingly, Lion-O ducked it and held him by his waist pushing and trying to make the panther lose his footing but it was in vain. Panthro lifted his arms and slammed them down on his back. The lion fell to the ground with a grunt full of pain. He lifted himself up again and charged forward but was tossed back down when the panther struck him across the face with his fist.
Getting up was getting harder with each attack he received, but he continued trying. One more attempt for an air attack landed him a kick from Panthro, and he was back on the ground. His body was aching. "How can it hurt this much? I thought ghosts could not feel pain." Lion-O grunted while slowly getting up.
"Well, this is a spiritual plain; so technically, when you're a spirit you can feel pain…." Panthro smiled tauntingly. "Does that make sense to you, Your Majesty?"
His comment gave him an idea. Panthro was causing all the pain, but Lion-O needed to find a way to hurt him back. Yet how could he hurt a cat three times his sizes. "Wait—" The lion exclaimed, his eyes widened. "This isn't a fair test, Panthro." He told him.
"Not fair? What do you mean?" The panther asked curiously.
"If this is a trial of strength, then I want you to fight me with all of yours." Lion-O requested.
"So, all the beating 'till now wasn't enough, uh? Very well." Panthro straiten himself up. "As you wish, King."
It was Panthro's time to charge toward him. Lion-O waited, with a plan in his head. He threw his fist—just as the young lion expected him to—and Lion-O jumped to the floor, rolling past him through the space between his legs. The red maned cat twirled around and climbed up Panthro's back, fastening himself with his legs around him, his arms wrapped around his neck.
"What the—" The panther struggled to get him off of him but Lion-O fought with all his might to stay where he was. Panthro then ran backwards toward the wall, attempting to crash him between the wall and his back.
Another move the lion expected.
Lion-O supported himself on the General's shoulders and jumped off of him just in time for him to slam himself against the wall. The powerful impact cracked the wall and stones from the ceiling detached and fell on top of him. The young King stared at him now under a pile of rocks. He only had time to let out a relief sigh, when Panthro got up throwing the rocks out of his way.
"You thought that could make you stronger than me?" He smirked, patting some dirt off his brown trousers.
Lion-O was desperate now, Panthro was still standing and he was running out of ideas. If being stronger than his opponent was the only way to win that trial, then Lion-O thought he had lost. He heard a cracking sound again. "Look out!" He shouted when a large portion of ceiling fell over Panthro. The dark cat was now holding the ceiling, literally, over his shoulders; or he'd be crushed otherwise.
"I…didn't see…that coming." Panthro grunted as he used all his strength, unable to throw the weight off of him. The concrete cracked again, falling and hurting him on one shoulder.
Lion-O stared fearfully at what he caused. He needed to do something or things would look really bad for the panther. With his eyes tight closed Panthro was now supporting the ceiling with only one arm, getting heavier. His eyes shot open when the weight got lighter, he looked next to him and found Lion-O standing there, holding the large piece of concrete with him. "Com'on, Panthro." Lion-O moaned. Together they pushed the weight aside, now both finally were out of danger.
Panthro rested on one knee, massaging his bad shoulder. While Lion-O tried to get his breathing back to normal. He chuckled, tiredly. "Well, that was an epic failure…"
"What makes you so sure?"
"I'll never be as strong as you. So I tried using your own strength against you." He stopped to take one more breath.
"Clever thinking." Panthro pointed.
"Perhaps," The lion said poorly. "But I ended putting you in danger; tell me, what kind of King does that to his subjects?"
"Well, if it weren't for you, I'd be buried down there now." The panther gestured to the pile of rubble behind them.
"Wouldn't have been easier if I just suggested you to forfeit?" Lion-O joked sarcastically. "Would've saved me a lot of bruises."
"Yeah," Panthro smirked. "You should've tried that, Your Majesty." He returned his humor while his hand rested on his sore shoulder. Then he took a key out of his pocket and offered it to his King. "You passed." He said.
"What— Why?" Lion-O asked in shock. He stood on his feet.
"For instance, your muscles may not be bigger than mine, but there's still strength in you as a leader. And a good leader makes up for his mistakes. You proved you could do that when you saved me." The General explained while getting to his feet. "That's the kind of strength that made you win. Try not to forget it."
Lion-O nodded and smiled humbly, realizing there is more than physical strength. And that he could be stronger than the biggest opponent if he relied on his heart, rather than muscle or sizes. He then took the key from him and walked away as the portal showed up before him. He introduced the key inside and moved on to his next trial.
Pumyra didn't spend much time resting in her cell and was quickly put to work with the other slaves. Being among them, it still felt like a dream to know the cats survived the fall of Thundera, but it did her little good as they had been deprived not only of their homes but also their freedom. Seeing her people be treated like that enraged her more than anything possibly could. As she worked in the tunnels, she learned that the cats were not there to mine for Thundrillium but to dig tunnels that went dipper to the underground. But she still had to discover what where they digging up for, and to whom? After hearing the lowed rank rats whispering about their master waiting to get their reports on the excavation, she figured Mordax wasn't the biggest rodent behind this operation. The puma had seen him keeping an eye on the slaves and sometimes on his own comrades, so she thought he had to be the slaves' warden or something.
Her ear got the sound of a pain-filled cry. She put the rocks she was caring down and went to see the source of the sound. Turning around on a tunnel, there was a young female cat sitting on the ground, clenching her leg. Pumyra rushed to her side. "You're hurt, let me see." She said without introducing herself. She assumed that if it was a cat, she would know she had no intention to hurt her.
The female slave had an ugly-looking bruise below the knee; she probably scraped her leg against the rocks around her. Grunts of pain were all the sound she made, Pumyra looked over her shoulder, hoping there would be no rats nearby and helped her up. She supported her weight on the puma as she carried her deeper into the tunnel, hiding from the guards. The brunette cat saw a big stone and used it as a chair for her companion, ripped a piece of cloth and wrapped it over the bruise—sorry that it wasn't cleaner—.
"Thanks." The cat slave said gratefully.
"Don't mention it." Pumyra said. "How can you stand be treated like this? Don't you, as Thunderians, have some pride?" She spoke of the slaves in general.
The ashy-furred cat stared at her surprised, as if she just came from another world. Then she noticed the righteousness in the puma's gaze, her trained built. Pumyra was a slender cat, yet it was easy to see she had the toned figure of a fighter, too. "You're a Thundercat…" The female realized with relief, but the relief was quickly replaced with renewed hopelessness. "We're not warriors like you; we're nothing now that our Kingdom is nothing but ruins. We lost hope that anyone would fight for us since the royal family disappeared, along with their clerics. Only us, that were in the shelter survived but, we're not soldiers and the rats had stripped us from all of our possessions. To die in here, as slaves, is our only fate," Pumyra listened to her words and it broke her heart. "…even if we try to escape, they would make sure only a few would succeed, but they would just end the rest of their lives wandering the desert."
"You're wrong." The brunette said. "Lion-O is still alive; he's the King now. Prince Tygra is with him and so are the other Thundercats. You may be trapped here shoveling rocks for a group of swamp dwellers against your will, but not all hope is lost." Pumyra assured her, when two guards finally found them.
"There you are," One of the rats said.
"Enough break time for you two," The other spoke holding a lit torch over them and dragged them back to the mining ground.
They tried to force the ashy-furred slave back to her labors but her injured leg wouldn't allow it. This earned her an angry whipping from the rats.
"That's enough!" Pumyra roared as she let the whip wrap around her own forearm so they would not hit the slave anymore.
With smug grins on their faces, the two rodents were already aware of her as the newcomer with the rebel attitude. One of them gave a signal and many more rats formed behind them. "We say when enough is." The boss of them said with a mocking expression. This time Pumyra stepped back, but the rats made her take the other female's place dragging the carts of rubble.
Everyone rode on the hovercraft through the gorges, soon a second hovercraft caught up with them with the lizards Slithe sent to search for Lion-O on board. "Nothing?" The General hissed.
"No trace, General Slithe." One of the soldiers answered. "He was probably washed out to the Great Sea."
Wilykit heard the lizards discussing and gasped. Kat leaned next to her trying the best he could to comfort her placing his handcuffed hands on her shoulder.
"Mum-Ra will not be pleased." Slithe grumbled.
Kaynar walked over to the cats. "But surely these cute kittens will cheer him up." He turned to the Wileys with a crazed look on his face while making his signature laugh.
"If there's anything left of them." Addicus said with a savage grin, taking his club and ready to start mangling.
As much as Slithe wanted to please his master and bring the cats to them, he was getting tired of all his plans being sabotaged by the Thundercats. "I assure you, Addicus…" The reptile hissed, picking up his riffle. "There won't be."
The Thundercats stared at the Generals apprehensively. Snarf hide between Panthro's feet while Addicus and Kaynar flanked them letting Slithe walking straight to them. He went for Tygra. "Yours will be the shortest and last reign of any cat King."
Tygra looked away, murmuring. "I rather die a King than live forever as a mindless lackey."
Slithe heard him, and hissed angrily. "What's that, cat?!"
"I said," The tiger's face showed his hatred towards the reptile as he looked straight at him, almost shouting. "I rather die a King than live forever as a mindless lackey!" His cockiness got Slithe smacking him on the face with the end of his riffle. "Well, you've got one thing going for ya," Tygra grunted bringing his cuffed hands to his sore cheek. "You hit harder than the monkey."
Addicus took great offence in his statement. "You wanna see how hard I hit?!" He grabbed Tygra and held him in the air before throwing him out of the hovercraft onto the rocky terrain below. With a roar, the ape jumped after him and started punching the prince across the face with his large fists.
Kaynar let out a high-pitched laugh. "Can I play, too?" He jumped off the hovercraft and moved Addicus aside to punch the tiger like he's been doing, while laughing gleefully. "Seems he likes getting hit as much as we like hitting him!"
Kit and Kat start fidgeting with their shackles, a small air of relieve escaped them when their hands got free. As the soldiers were distracted watching the Generals' assault on Tygra, the Wily twins continued to free Panthro and Cheetara. Meanwhile the tiger prince bravely enduring the beating got Kaynar to stop his attack to check if he was still breathing. Underestimating the tiger's endurance, of course.
"Want some more, kitty?" The jackal snickered.
One of Tygra's eyes met with Kit and Kat's; his beaten expression brightened. "Actually, that was enough," He smirked. "I was just buying some time to the kids."
The two Generals twirled around and saw the two cubs holding up their handcuffs and the others' in the air, with mischievous smiles. Out of the blue Panthro jumped from above and landed with his foot on Kaynar's back while punching Addicus with the back of his robotic fist. Cheetara used her high speed running past Tygra and destroyed his cuffs.
"Lizards attack!" Slithe shouted, anxious to keep his prisoners with him. As Cheetara continued running, she quickly disarmed all of the lizards with her incredible speed. The scaly General watched flabbergasted when a blow to his jaw diverted his attention. Tygra, who has been invisible for the first hit, reappeared in front of the lizards. "That's for me," He grunted and threw another powerful punch while saying, "…and that's for Lion-O!" Knocking Slithe to the ground.
But just when he got rid of the lizards, Addicus showed up from behind, locking his arms about his shoulders and grabbing him by the head. Tygra was only able to escape his grip by a head-butt to the ape, then turned around throwing a kick but Addicus grabbed his foot before he had the change. Yet, the prince was stubborn and jumped up blowing one more fist to his face. The two separated, with the ape General making a bigger jump to gain some distance to charge again after him and throw him down to the ground with one of his bigger fists.
While Panthro and Kaynar wrestled with a back and forth of punches. The jackal finally got the cat General on his back against the ground. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" He asked cynically and laughed.
Too distracted was Kaynar, that he didn't avoid Panthro's fist throwing him off of him. "Not as much as I plan hurting you!" The panther shouted.
Just when he was getting back up, Slithe and the hovercraft appeared behind the jackal. "Forget the cats! The Sword is all that matters." He ordered with the Sword of Omens in his hand. Kaynar let out a threatening growl and he and Addicus returned reluctantly to the hovercraft. "You have your lives," Slithe said looking at Tygra. "But they are of little good as long as I have this." He said pointing at the sword.
Trying to stop their getaway, the tiger shot at their vehicle with his laser pistol, but the hovercraft was leaving them quickly behind. Tygra continued shooting until they were finally out of sight. Cheetara ran next to his side. "Your brother would be proud if he could see you now, Tygra." She said putting one hand on his shoulder.
"This isn't over yet." Tygra said looking back at her with a serious gaze. "We're getting the sword back." He ran off in the direction of the hovercraft. The others fallowed their new leader, and after Wilykit was done drawing some quick sketch on a rock, she followed right behind.
The portal opened up mid-air, Lion-O fell through it, shouting all the way down. He didn't recognized the heavily forested area, which didn't change much as he fell through the thorny briar branches breaking his fall as he hit the grassy floor. He let out a small grunt as he pushed himself up hearing the calls of some birds that flew above him.
"Ouch." A feminine voice said. "Although you seem to have passed the Trial of Strength, that certainly hurt."
The lion looked up and saw Cheetara resting on a briar branch in front of him. "So this trial isn't supposed to hurt? Good." He let out a weary sigh.
"I wouldn't be so sure." The cheetah said and jumped off the branch. "This is a trial of speed; the key to pass to the next trial is far away, at eight miles from here, you'll only win if you get to it before I do."
Lion-O's eyes widened as she spoke. "A race?" He looked at her. "How am I supposed to run eight miles faster than you? Even if I had the Thundertank, I couldn't outrun you!" If this spirit posing as Cheetara was as fast as the real one, he saw the task already lost.
"You'll only fail if you give up," The fake cleric told him. "…before you even begin."
"There's no way I can beat you in a straight flat out race." Lion-O exclaimed.
The cheetah smiled conspicuously. "I know…but don't worry." She said calmly. "There're two paths to the key, one shorter than the other."
"Then I'll take the short one." Lion-O rushed to say.
"Are you sure that's what you want?" She asked carefully stepping in front of a road heading west. "It's the most difficult and dangerous route."
Lion-O stopped to think for a moment. "But it'll save me time you already have in your favor." He decided. Cheetara nodded and stepped out of his way, the lion took the path to the west as she stared running through the other one heading straight north.
Lion-O ran as fast as he could through the briar forest, encountering some thorns along the way; but he ignored the stinging. He ran past some huge bulbs covered with leaves, he stopped to analyze where to go from there, the sound of running water told him the river wasn't very far from there, he followed the sound, when those bulbs spread open and the pistils inside speared at him grabbing him by the waist pulling him back. He growled and grunted as the bulb seemed like it ate him trapping him inside. He fought with tentacle-pistils, pulling them off of his body using his claws against the petals encasing him.
"This would be easier if I had my sword." He grunted, his claw slipped against the slippery leaves as he clawed. With time still running, he persevered until finally prying his way out and ran off as fast as he could but the tentacle trapped him again. This time, Lion-O clutched the large pistil and pulled with all his might, the plant doing the same to the opposite direction. The lion's muscles tensed with pain but didn't surrender. He took a deep breath, and pulling one more time he yanked the bulb off the ground; the grip on his waist losing all strength. Lion-O exhaled with relief and headed to the river.
Once out of the forest, the Lord of the Thundercats met with the river, its waters flowed with rage, too dangerous for him to simply swim across. "I need to find another way." He looked around and found a few pods hanging from some branches. He walked over to them. "They seem strong enough to hold me." He smiled at his luck; jerking one down to the ground he cut the pod open with a sharp rock next to his feet, thinking he could use it as a boat to cross the wild river. He jumped into the water on the pod, the current carrying him. "Cheetara must be miles ahead. I gotta move faster." He said with a huff and eyebrows frowned.
Cheetara, who had taken a straight route, passed through the grassy plains. Leaving the forest long behind her, her ears caught the chirp and tweet of the giant birds flying above her. But something was odd about them, she noticed as two of them dove toward her at high speed. She jumped forward letting them hit the ground, hoping to keep them behind but they came out of the cloud of lifted dust, still charging at her with their beaks open. Cheetara stared back at them for too long and almost didn't see the rocky terrain starting in front of her, or under her feet, for that matter. In a novice mistake, she tripped over a stone that, mixed with her high speed, launched her in a straight line across the rocky ground. She huffed and exhaled in surprise when the two giant birds still chased after her. She renewed her running trying to lose them as a few meters ahead the ground seemed to end in a cliff, Cheetara looked down and saw her portion of river running below. Looking over her shoulder and back down at the river, the cleric dove into the water out of the birds' sight. She swam until they were flying back to the forest and jumped out of the river. Now the cheetah was searching for her route back to the finish line. Up ahead there was a mountain wall with a narrowed but easy path, she sped up that way. It took her a few minutes to get through, but once out, she realized she was already half way to the finish line and the key. She continued through a sterile field with red-colored ground, the air was hot and arid. And there were the weather conditions in that spirit realm; that affected her since she was a spirit herself. At least that kept both cats in equal conditions, she thought with a smile, but she was still to test Lion-O and she wasn't going easy on him no matter what.
Meanwhile, the lion King continued down the river. He focused his attention forward. A whoosh through the air got his attention. "Ouch!" He shouted and ran his hand over his arm, a spike twice the sizes of a toothpick stuck to his fur-covered skin. He pulled it out and more spikes came whooshing his way. "What— Aah!" There were lines of purple flowers at both sides of the river spitting the spikes at him; Lion-O suffered a few more bites before turning the pod around and jumping into the water. This created an air bubble under the pod which helped him cross the river while avoiding the hostile foliage above.
But Lion-O almost suffered another kind of bite when a small piranha almost jumped over his nose. Shocked, the lion held his breath and looked under the water to see a whole school of them swimming after him.
"Whiskers!" He coursed mentally. The piranhas seesawed passing dangerously near him, but Lion-O moved as fast as he could against the pressure of the water to avoid being their lunch. It came as a surprise for him when the shoal of fishes stopped going after him and rather swam away from him, up river. The young cat stuck his head out of the pod and discovered why. The river grew wider and the water started running in strange waves and knots, his eyes widened at the sight of the cause.
"It's a whirlpool!" He exclaimed. There was no virtual escape as he fought the undertow but still got dragged by the current and trapped into the whirlpool. His eyes closed tight, and held on to some air before sinking.
The next he knew, from another side of the river, the whirlpool rose off the ground level and spat the red-maned cat into the air making Lion-O hit the ground, hard. As much as he was regretting having chosen the shortest path, he calculated his odyssey through the river had probably saved him more than half the race, but there were still three miles to go and the path before him had no obstacles or shortcuts, just straight stretches of desert. He hoped it was enough to beat Cheetara.
After running one mile against the dry wind and fighting the resistance of the sand under his feet, Lion-O stopped to regain his breathing, the wind ceased blowing, the sound of stopping feet made him look at his right. "Cheetara." He exhaled.
The cleric saw him resting his hands on his knees, clearly exhausted. But she wasn't one to talk, although Lion-O wouldn't notice from his place far from her, her chest was raising and falling rapidly having given everything she got in the race. But she knew she would still run this final length. Yet, by the work the lion put into his own breathing, she couldn't say the same for him.
"Why are you standing there?" She broke the silence between them. "Are you conceiving defeat?"
"No," Lion-O panted and straitening himself. "I haven't lost until you win, Cheetara."
They were now standing next to each other, both turned to look ahead. "At the count of three, then." The cheetah said. "One," Lion-O gulped a dry lump down his throat. "Two," Cheetara smiled tiredly. "Three…" Both readied themselves.
"Go!" And they were off.
They stared running side by side, but the cleric took quickly the advantage. Seemed there was still some strength in her legs to go faster. Lion-O saw her running farther ahead disappointing him. There were still two miles to go and she was getting way ahead of him. "It's no use," The lion panted. "I knew I couldn't beat her like this."
Cheetara reached the end of her super speed, but she remained calm as she was twenty-five meters ahead of him, a yellow gleam caught her eye in the distance. She and the lion King saw the outline of the Sand Sea and with it the finishing line. Lion-O's eyes fixed on the key hanging from a single branch growing from the shore.
The goal was so close, but his body was spent as much as his breathing, he then focused on the reason he was doing all this. He wanted to get back to his friends but even if he didn't succeeded, he still needed to know he had giving his best until the end. "I may lose this trial," He huffed, "But it won't be because I gave up!" He pushed his legs to go as fast as they could once more.
Cheetara, on the other hand was dangerously slowing down. "I wish there was a bit more of race in me," She let out, working her breathing like the lion earlier. As soon as Lion-O caught up with her, she looked at him beside her from the corner of her eye. She smirked, sated with her performance until then. The branch with the key was at arm's length, they both reached for it. Only one hand snatched the key out of the branch.
Lion-O, who just jumped to get to the key faster rolled across the sand, splashing some water as he fell over the sea shore, Cheetara skidded to a halt in front of him, trying to look not as exhausted as she felt. "You win." She said while the young King got to stand before her.
"Or to put it another way," He sighed, holding the key in his hand. "You lose. But I thought no one could be faster than you. And even after it happened, I still can't believe it."
"That's true," The cheetah said. "But since Cheetara is my avatar, like her, I can only maintain my top speed for two miles straight. The distance we ran was too much for me."
"It was certainly too much for me." Lion-O laughed lightly, his chest still sore for the hard intake and outtake of air throughout the race.
"But you didn't give up. Even when facing an impossible task, you stuck to your path and confronted it against all the odds. You believed in yourself and with sheer perseverance you accomplished the impossible. That perseverance it's part of what defines a true leader." Cheetara bowed her head in congratulations.
"I'll try not to forget that." Lion-O smiled. "So, how much farther the trials go?" He asked sheepishly, feeling ready to take a break from them.
"You're only halfway through." She said staring at him with a serious gaze and stepped aside where a new portal opened up in front of them. "Good luck, Lion-O."
The young King introduced the key inside the portal and it grew again, he walked through, getting onto his next trial.
Night had fallen on Mount Plun-Darr; Pumyra endured her first day among the cat slaves. Hungry, tired, and with her muscles stiff from the mining she was carried to her cell where a bowl of water and a few chunks of dry meat awaited her. The physical fatigue felt nothing compared with the hopelessness the air carried around the mines. The slavery of her people drained the will from her, but she held on to it as much as she could. She thought of Lion-O and the others, her friends would safe her and the slaves. She had to believe that if she wanted to survive her present tribulations.
She took a sip from the water, her cheek stung from one of the lashings she earned that day for standing up of one of the slaves, again. She had bruises all over her arms and legs, and that was only day one. Only when she thought about it, she wondered if she would truly see her friends again.
"Lion-O…" She said above a weak whisper.
"…you know, Prince Lion-O?" The puma's head turned to the darkest said of the cell, where her eyes couldn't see.
"Who's there?" She asked.
"Only a slave, like you, child." The voice was a male's voice, old and rough with tiredness.
"He's King Lion-O, now." She corrected him. "Show yourself."
"Ah, he's no king." The slave said as he stepped slowly out of the darkness. "He's a traitor. The reason why the Thunderians ended up in here." He spoke with a rasp gained by his apparent old age.
Her eyes scanned him. He had light brown-fur, with matted, short dark mane and a long gray beard. The old cat was dressed in rags like the others, with a wine-colored robe over one shoulder.
"Who are you to talk about Lion-O like that?!" She grunted at the old cat. How could another cat refer to Lion-O as a traitor of all things?
"I am…Pum-Ra."
.
Oh, I'm enjoying these cliffhangers so much! Probably yes, you found Cheetara and Panthro's trials very different from the actually episode, but that's because I wanted to pay a little tribute to the 80's series with them, the next two trials will be as well. AND we've got Pum-Ra as I promised to pay tribute to the classic Mum-Ra as well…this cat is going to be really bad news for Pumyra, trust me. But no spoilers about her voyage inside Plun-Darr or afterwards for that matter. I'm eager to know what you guys think about this one!