Thanks to all the new reviewers from Native Son, I'm very glad more people are enjoying this story. I hope to keep doing enjoyable for all of you!
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The Thundertank made it through the mountain range in half the time Lion-O and Tygra had taken to find the pass, from there, they continued southwest and it seemed to be a tranquil ride for them and even a nicer one once they were out of the cold regions of Third Earth. Panthro checked the Book of Omens, the arrow of red light coming from it still pointed upwards —to his chagrin— but at least now the red beam was slightly inclined to the west.
Tygra was sitting on his buck in his room, holding his now replaced whip in his hand. He had Javan's bolo whip attached to his belt. Thinking of what to do with the old one, he decided he wouldn't get rid of it just because he'd gotten a replacement and then he thought of what the late Chief of the Tiger clan had told him about his family tradition on the usage of the whip.
Maybe one day, he could pass his old whip down to his own child —considering there could ever be a time to have kids—. Thinking of the cat who gave it to him, he had no doubt about the cat that should keep it safe for him, until such time came. In the back of his head, it felt appropriate in both accounts, not that he would say it out loud. It simply was nowhere near the right time to bring up the subject of children. So, when he went looking for Cheetara and found her walking down the corridor he asked her to keep his old whip in his stead.
"I figured, Jaga was very important to you and this could be the only keepsake of him I have, so," He handed the weapon to her. "I would like for you to keep it."
The cheetah was at most surprised for his request. Nonetheless, she wasn't anyone to deny something that endearing to her partner; she couldn't help feeling touched he thought of her to keep something her late mentor gave him so long ago.
"This comes from the two most important cats in my life," She said humble, looking at the weapon now in her possession. Next she placed her hand on the tiger's cheek and smiled sweetly. "It'll be safe with me, don't worry."
"Of that I'm sure." Tygra smiled back unable to hide the hint of pick on his face at the fact that Cheetara referred to him the way she did.
Right then the gate behind him opened, his little brother came by with anticipation all over his face. "Good news, guys. Panthro told me we'll be heading into town in a few hours."
Cheetara nodded. "The kids will be happy they'll get to stretch their legs, I know I certainly will." She smiled sheepishly at the last part.
While Tygra accompanied the lion to the bridge, Cheetara headed to her room. Wilykit and Kat were sitting tight on their seats waving their tails like crazy while Snarf had some fun jumping between them trying to get his little paws on either one of their tails.
"Stop it, Snarf!" Kit chuckled taking her tail on her hand and away from the furry creature.
"Yeah, we promised to stay put until we were close to the next town." Wilykat said.
As gate opened again to let the two brothers in… "So you did, uh?" The tiger asked smirking.
Both kittens nodded affirmatively. "Well, Panthro was kind of mad that we messed up some of the instruments of the Tank's dashboard and he wouldn't let us set foot outside for our next destination." Kit told them.
"That was before we promised to not touch anything until we've arrived there." Her brother added. "And he accepted."
"And to see you two keep such promise shows how badly you want to get out of here." Lion-O said half joking.
"Of course!" Kit exclaimed. "Last time you were the ones to see a new place and chat with other people for a change." She said pouting. Of course, Lion-O and Tygra had made aware all the Thundercats about their misfortune, and yet fortuned, encounter with the lost Tiger clan.
By the time Cheetara joined them one of the screens next to their leader turned on, Panthro was on the other side. "We're approaching town now," He smirked turning the screen to get a look at the Wileys, still sitting impatiently. "Tell those two, they can get their tails moving."
"You heard the General." Lion-O smiled back at them. The twins jumped off their seats eagerly.
The Thundertank sped across the mountainous terrain as they headed to their next destination. Once they were close enough to the outskirts of the city, something cold ran down the driver's spine. Panthro's face darkened. "Oh brother…" He moaned bitterly in a whisper.
"Are you alright, Panthro?" Cheetara, who was the only one next to him in the driver's cabin, asked after noticing his sudden change of humor.
"Just perfect." He said, hoping she wouldn't notice the sarcasm, despite his best effort she did.
Yet, the cleric would not force him to talk and went to join the rest instead. The Thundercats filed out and walked into what looked like a very crowded city. The exclusivity of the citizens was more than clear as they walked in. Tygra's face frowned, but not as badly as Panthro as they looked at all the dogs sitting in groups around tables in a sector that looked like some sort of bazaar. Lion-O looked around, marveled at how similar that place looked to the slums back in Thundera, with the difference there were no common cats in sight, or any cats except for them. Snarf also looked around but with a completely different expression, he shivered and pressed himself against his master's leg.
He didn't wait to notice and reassured his pet. "Relax, Snarf. They look too busy to notice how cute you are." By cute he meant appetizing. Snarf picked on that, which didn't make him feel reassured at all. Lion-O was right, though. No one was really paying any attention to them since they've arrived.
Panthro approached their King. "Make your questions, we'll go find some supplies and then get out of here." He said walking in. "Got some real bad memories of this town. I don't wanna stay here more than we ought to."
"So, you've been here before." The blonde female spoke.
Her words picked the lion's interest quickly. "You have?" He asked, referring to the General. "What exactly happened here to hate it that much?"
"I try real hard to forget about it," The dark cat countered. "Sorry, but I don't want to give you nightmares."
"Something tells me, we'll find out sooner than later." The cleric mused walking side by side with her partner.
"He's probably just worried about catching fleas from the locals." Tygra said with a grin.
"I'm guessing you're not very fond of dogs either." The cheetah inquired.
"Like there's anything to like." She got as an answer.
"Come on, guys," Wilykit said, "Dogs aren't so bad."
"Yeah, we used to hang out with them all the time in the slums of Thundera." Her brother continued, a dreamy smile drew on his face as if reminiscing. "They made the best bone stew." And started sniffing around the air for the food in question.
"Hmm, bone stew!" The female cub agreed eagerly. "Let's find some while we're here! There must be someone around here that knows how to make it."
Cheetara stared at them, and noticed they were beginning to walk farther from the group. "Maybe you two should stay close." She recommended.
"We can take care of ourselves!" Kat insisted.
"Don't worry, we'll ask if anyone's seen Pumyra around here while we look for some tasty stew!" As soon as his sister finished that sentence both kittens were off into the slums and out of sight.
The cleric stared in the direction they went. "Don't worry." Lion-O said, standing next to her and knelt down, petting his furry companion's head. "Just make sure they stay out of trouble, Snarf." The little creature mewed in agreement and took off after the Wileys. "Let's hope they don't forget to ask for information while getting their bellies full…" The lion finished with a sigh.
Cheetara noticed his semi afflicted face. "Now I'm telling you. Don't worry." She smiled supportively. "Even if she isn't here, we won't stop looking."
Lion-O nodded after a while, returning the smile.
"Uh, you may wanna take that back." Both turned to see Tygra, who spoke while staring at something pasted on a column. "Take a look." The rest of the group went over to where he was and looked at a poster. They needn't too long to realize what, or rather who, was depicted on it.
Lion-O stepped forward staring bewilderingly at it. "That's…Pumyra."
"Why would there be an illustration of Pumyra attached to a wall in a city of dogs?" The cleric asked.
"Everything on that sentence sounds real bad, if you ask me." Tygra said seriously.
Panthro took a closer look at the poster; there were other drawings along with their friend's poster. Behind Pumyra's image was a circle, there was a crowd depicted at the bottom and the stadium-looking building they sighted earlier at the upper level of the city, at the top of the circle. It all seemed like some kind of advertisement. The panther almost growled in his throat at the memories that poster triggered. Lion-O's reached up and tore it off the wall of the column and stared at it, he couldn't believe after months of looking they've finally came upon the puma's whereabouts and he couldn't wait to see her again.
"Don't bother trying to make sense of that, kid." Panthro said over the King's shoulder pulling him out of his thoughts. "I'll save you the time. Pumyra being on that poster can only mean one bad thing. She's in The Pit." He said with a dark underlying tone.
"The Pit?" Cheetara asked, not liking the tone he used to say it.
Panthro sigh reluctantly. "Given where we are, I guess I should've seen this coming." He looked up and pointed in the direction of the stadium. "You'll have to see it with your own eyes, come on. But I warn you, ain't gonna be pretty." The Thundercats followed after him.
Soon they arrived at the entrance of the round building, the raucous cheering and barking of the dog citizens on the inside resonated to the outside. It got twice as loud as they went in. Once inside, they saw that it was, in fact, a stadium. Nothing like the arena at the square outside the palace of Thundera, this was much bigger. In the center of the building some kind of event was taking place —the cause of the entire racket—, but it wasn't a sporting event, no. Instead of a competition, a battle was about to start. The combatants were three dogs: a Rottweiler holding a shield, a middle-aged Colin who wielded a spear and a sturdy Bulldog armed with an axe, on one hand of the arena. On the other hand there was this giant…thing, that by its appearance one couldn't tell if it was machine or animal. That warrior was easily three times their sizes, its hands and feet were robotic, leaving a bare torso, biceps and thighs of what used to be a dog in flesh and bone, a very big one that is. The Thundercats walked up the steps at the sides of the stadium and found some empty seats. Panthro sat next to Lion-O while Tygra sat next to Cheetara, in the seat between her and his brother as they all watched the fight.
The cats were surrounded by the excited crowd, to some of their chagrin. There certainly wasn't any strength in number as the giant robot-dog detached its mechanic head from its body; the head was spherical, with lots of spikes, resembling a Morningstar. The headless warrior flung its head at one of its opponents, rolling at high speed, raking the ground in its wake and easily knocking the Rottweiler out and up into the air. The robotic head continued skidding through the arena until hitting the wall, where it used the leverage it got to thrust itself forward into another gladiator knocking his shield from his hand and him to the ground unconscious, while the body made a surprise attack on the remaining opponent and threw a hard punch at the Colin sending him flying and crashing against the arena's wall. The head rolled one more time back to the body it came from and into its hand while holding it up high as a sign of victory as something that looked like a coiling fuse attached to its back gave out sparks. The crowd went wild with howls, cheering loudly for the giant robot.
The Thundercats watched intently what just happened, with no words that would describe it. Except for Panthro, "This is The Pit." He said after the match was over. "Where slaves and criminals fight to survive."
"And to entertain…" Tygra spat out. "Like I needed another reason not to like dogs." Looking with disdain at the dogs sitting around them.
"This is barbaric, to say the least." Cheetara spoke up with a frown on her face, turning to look at the panther. "And you're telling us, Pumyra's been here, all this time, fighting for her life?" Her voice was a mix of worry and disbelieve.
"Well, they're advertising her match today so," The General said. "At least we know she's still in competition. Otherwise…" He left the last part unsaid.
At the same time Lion-O was getting worked up while grasping what was going on right then. For starters, Pumyra wasn't a criminal; he pointed out mentally, so she must have fallen in the slave category which caused to resurface some old guilt issues he's been keeping since Mum-Ra's Generals took her. How could have Pumyra survived in a place like that for so long? The lion couldn't help feeling in part responsible; they needed to find her fast. Looking over at the dog next to him he asked.
"Who's in charge?"
The dog simply pointed up at an elevated balcony towering over the bleachers, shaded under a tarp. The young King got up and started heading back down, the others followed, anticipating what he was planning on doing.
They passed by the guards without much trouble, making their way up the stairs to the top of the tower. Cheetara removed a curtain and saw a single chair resting close to the edge of the balcony, and some dog resting in it with his back facing them. Lion-O wasted no time marching up to stand next to the chair.
"I am Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats. I claim this cat as one of my subjects, so you can release her to us right now." The lion demanded while holding out the poster he took from earlier to the dog.
The dark dog turned his head to face him. "Thundercats?" He chuckled humorless. "I thought you were extinct. Tittles have no use in here." He said showing a line of small but sharp teeth. "Especially yours, cat. Lord of a fallen kingdom." The dog taunted him, so much for imposing authority. "About this cat you're talking about," The dog continued in a raspy deep voice snatching the poster from the lion's grasp. "She was sold to me as a slave, what is of her is none of your concern, she belongs to me now."
Lion-O's anger grew inside him. "She doesn't belong to anyone." He said sternly. The dog let a slightly terrifying smirk come into his face.
"That so?" He asked.
"Yeah, she's a free cat now." Lion-O countered. "So we'll be taking her with us."
A low growl sounded in the back of the dog's throat before he stood up, putting into view how incredibly tall he was, he was surely two heads taller than the lion. Tygra and Cheetara didn't take long to distinguish the Doberman traits of him.
He glared down at the young King. "Funny, you think you have a say about my fighter. As if it wasn't clear before I told you: you enjoy no privileges here but," There was his intimidating smirk again. "You're welcome to try."
Him and Lion-O held stares, the feline could tell by the dog's aspect he was a skilled, seasoned fighter himself, it made him question if he'd be able to hold his own against him. But with their friend on the line, he would try.
But before a fight between them could start, Panthro intervened. "Alright, that's enough!" He said aloud coming between them. "Pumyra haven't done anything to be here, Dobo. Listen to the kid and hand her over to us before things get ugly way sooner than the next bell rings."
Cheetara and Tygra exchanged matching expressions of confusion. Lion-O blinked twice and whispered to his friend. "Panthro, what are you doing? I have this."
"Clearly." The panther whispered back and returned his attention to the taller dog.
The Doberman snarled angrily at the panther. "Does this mean you think you can take me on a fight? Don't make me laugh."
They stood there, glaring and growling waiting for who would budge first; instead, they both reached out and tightly grasped the other's hand, the glares gave way to a smile on each of their faces.
"Been a long time, Dobo." The General greeted.
"A lifetime, Panthro." The dog replied. "Good to see you still enjoy intimidating others."
"Well, looks like I lost my touch with you, old friend." Panthro said in return, patting his shoulder.
"You two are friends?" Tygra asked, looking at the pair with wide eyes.
"Not the very friendly kind, I presume." Cheetara said just as surprised, recalling their glaring contest from before.
"Like I said, a lifetime ago, perhaps." Dobo turned to Lion-O. "You wanna see your cat? Well, you're just in time." He turned his head down at the arena, still looking at him. "She's up against Gormax next."
The cats looked down and saw the giant dog half machine from earlier waiting in the middle of the arena. "That robot is Gormax?!" The lion rose up his voice.
"He's a cyborg, actually." Dobo corrected. "In fact he's yet to be beaten along with your cat girlfriend; this match will be one for the books."
Downtown, the Wileys followed their noses to a food stand that, in fact, was serving their desired bone stew made themselves with a bowl full for each of them, even Snarf. They sat at a table ate to their hearts content but once done with their meal it was time to get to work, they promised after all. But none they asked at the food stand knew a thing about a female puma around those parts. Not letting it discourage them they walked farther into the city until Kat's foot got stuck with a piece of paper lying on the dirt, his eyes snapped seeing a picture of their friend, Pumyra on it. That paper was another poster, like the one the Thundercats found.
"Kit, look!" He handed the poster to his sister.
"It's Pumyra! She's here!" The female cub exclaimed happily. "We have to tell the others."
Suddenly Snarf jerked his ears, turning his head in many directions; his senses told him something was coming their way. He mewled to warn them and just after that, someone clearly in a hurry, shouted.
"Pardon, coming through!" He reacted too late and collided with them. The kittens fumbled forward almost falling on their faces. Looking up they saw an animal they've never seen before sitting on the ground while massaging his head.
"What a funny looking dog." Wilykat said.
"You should look where you're going," Kit spat. "Running like that with lots of people around is dangerous."
The animal in question shook his head and stared at the two with sheepish grin. "You're absolutely right, my hear. My most sincere apologies." They noticed a strange accent from him. He had a short white beard, thick gray eyebrows —like the rest of his fur— and big black markings around his eyes simulating a domino mask. His clothes indicated his poor status in this city. "The name's Tookit," He introduced himself. "And if I may, young sir, I'm no dog. As you can see, I'm a raccoon." He explained twitching his rather large fluffy tail which was circled by three rings of darker fur.
"Tookit?"
"What kind of name is that?"
The raccoon looked baffled that his name was all they picked up from his introduction but opted to speak no more. He then darted his eyes past their shoulders, his expression almost lighted up in alert. "Since no grave damage's been done, I'll trouble you, children, no further." He said cheerily dusting off his outfit. "Have a good day!"
"What a weirdo." Kat commented.
The three felines stood flabbergasted at his quick take off as he disappeared from their sight. A short moment later, Snarf turned around at the scandalous barking of a bulky mutt running in their direction, Kit and Kat followed his line of sight looking at the dog running toward them, shouting something about his wallet and a raccoon thief.
"Thief?" Kit thought for a second, when Tookit crashed with them. Both kittens reacted at the same time searching through their pockets. "Hey, my flute's gone!"
"My flank too!" Kat snapped.
The robbed dog and their missing stuff being related rang disturbingly in their minds. "Tookit!" Both exclaimed, getting the meaning behind the name.
"You!" The dog called them getting closer as he ran. "Stay where you are!"
"Uh-oh!" They Wiley realized the dog caught them talking with Tookit and mistook them for his accomplishes. Snarf was the first to run. The twins followed him into a crowd to lose their pursuer. After running through the bazaar and turning a corner, the three stop to recover some air.
"Now, where could have been gone?" Wilykit panted.
"Wait till we get our hands on him." Her brother sighed just as tired. "No thief steals from another thief! We have rules against that." Kat said indignant, boasting their status as thieves, which they gained living on the streets of Thundera.
"Yeah! We'll find the others later." His sister agreed as they mingled with the slums dogs, searching for the raccoon's trace. Snarf whined wishing they would have chosen to go with Lion-O and the others, but remembering his orders from his master, he followed reluctantly after the kittens.
Lion-O and the others moved over to the side of the balcony, looking down at the arena. One of the two gates opened up, an abnormal feeling of relief ran through them at seeing their friend, Pumyra stepping out into the Pit, like Dobo announced. That relief died down faster for Lion-O as his eyes turned to look at her opponent.
"She doesn't have a chance against that thing…" Lion-O muttered, he knew how good of a warrior the brunette was but after Gormax's demonstration of his great endurance and power in the previous combat couldn't shake the thought of her fighting one on one with the giant out of his head.
But Pumyra didn't seem fazed at all by her opponent, although if it was her freedom what was on the line, Lion-O reasoned she couldn't afford getting 'cold feet' about any fight she was involved in. The match started, Gormax made the first move pulling his head off and hurled it at the female cat but she leaped out of its way dodging it quite easily. The head began to turn around furrowing the arena, with life of its own it took off from the ground and flung back at her, even when she was still hanging in mid air she did a back flip and again dodged the head as it rolled back into the open spot where it connected to the body, spitting sparks everywhere. Again, he reached for his head and threw it, and again, she jumped out of the way. The cats watched in awe, Pumyra's movements were swifter than they used to be, her reflexes had improved notoriously. Panthro wondered what she could have gone through during her time away from them. At the same time the young King had to eat his words mentally, the puma clearly had the upper hand from the start; her tactics reminded him of his assault against the Duelist at the Swordsmen Town.
Before the rolling head returned back to its body, Pumyra grabbed some pellets from her pouch, loading it to her wrist crossbow and fired it straight into the opening where the head and body of Gormax connected. She continued shooting a few more pellets until sparks and flames gushed out of the hole in an explosion and Gormax collapsed on the ground from the break down. The crowd cheered wildly after such entertaining display between their most famous fighters, as she jumped on top of the body raising her fist in victory, already used to the pit's customs and the part she played as a gladiatrix.
The other cats looked at her with wide eyes. Their friend did in less than five minutes what three slave dogs couldn't in the previous match.
"Incredible." Cheetara murmured but not as surprised as the guys of the group.
"Not bad, uh?" Tygra's eyes were fixed on the arena but his words where to his brother, who just stood speechless.
Panthro let out a small whistle but it went unnoticed by his group.
"And Pumyra wins again." Dobo said, pretty satisfied by the sound of it. "Got to hand it to you, Panthro. You cats train your soldiers well. That warrior is making me a fortune!" Although he was aware she wasn't a full trained soldier, her fighting skills said otherwise.
The General shrugged directing a side look to his old friend. "I had nothing to do with that one," Notably referring to the brunette, at that point she was being handcuffed and escorted back into the stadium and to her cell where they kept the slaved in an underground level. "These two on the other hand…But it was a long time ago." Panthro completed motioning to the two royal cats.
Dobo eyed Tygra and Lion-O critically. "Ah, they seem to have the muscle for it…" His voice filled with airs of superiority. "But there's no doubt they've been born in golden cradle and fed with silver spoon. They wouldn't last a day."
His words earned him the brothers glaring eyes. Tygra growled from the back of his throat and stepped forward over his brother with his pride hurt. "Then maybe I should feed you your words with that spoon and put you in your place!" He was refrained from getting closer to the Doberman by Lion-O holding his arm up in from of his chest and Cheetara's hands around his right wrist.
"Easy, Tygra." The lion said warily and cooled down himself, turned to Dobo, going back to the reason they were still there. "If you won't release Pumyra willingly then let us buy her freedom."
"With what?" Dobo asked humorously. "She'll earn her freedom if she survives one hundred fights."
"It'd be a shame if she escaped before that." Lion-O let out with a hint of warning.
Dobo let out a feral growl with the same intention. He turned his back on him and addressed the only one he was acquaintances with. "Make sure your friend doesn't do anything stupid, Panthro. You better explain to them what happens when you don't follow the rules of the Pit. I'm sure you still remember them." His last words felt full of resentment on Panthro's end as he watched him walk out of the balcony.
Lion-O glared at the dog's back and began to march after him, but he was stopped by Panthro's hand on his shoulder.
"The lizards are bad enough." He said. "We can't afford a war with the dogs, too."
"In this city we are the outcast," Cheetara stepped forward. "And so, we're subject to their laws. We can't go against them without endangering our situation while we're here…or Pumyra's." She spoke delicately trying to make the young King understand how important was to keep a low profile in front of an unknown civilization, like Dog City was for them.
Lion-O knew he ought to be cautious. Her words were not strange to him; they couldn't afford to be the cause of trouble. At the same time, he was King and one of his subjects needed him, the last thing Lion-O wanted to do was sit by and watch as Pumyra fought for her life with the uncertain possibility of getting killed. He stared down at the gate the puma disappeared into, thinking of how hard must be to be put away and get out only hoping to remain alive over another slave with no choice but to fight for the enjoyment of others. Pumyra didn't deserve such barbaric fate; no one deserved it. His mind was set.
"If it weren't for me, Pumyra wouldn't even be here." Lion-O said more to himself than the others.
"You're playing guilty again?" Tygra questioned.
Lion-O shook his head rethinking things over. "You think I don't remember the moment when Mum-Ra's Generals took her?! It was because of me that we ended up in a fight with them, just because I ignored all of you telling me it was a bad idea." He clenched his fists against his sides. "If you don't want me to feel guilty, then let me do something about it!"
"Lion-O…" Tygra took some air in and let it out, trying hard to put himself in his brother's place. "I know it's not just guilt you're going through. You're worried about her, and I get that. But maybe you should let someone else take care of this particular problem." The tiger's eyes shifted for a split second at the panther as he said that.
"What?" Panthro noticed his gaze.
"Tygra's right." Cheetara smiled. "Obviously Panthro and that Dobo have some history; he may be able to reason with him. All indicates the Pit will close for the day…" She said watching all the watchers leaving their seats. "What a better moment to do some catching up with an old friend?" She dragged the pronoun they used to refer to each other previously. "Maybe using some diplomacy would help to spare Pumyra's staying here."
Panthro looked dumbfounded at the cleric for a moment. "And obviously you haven't realized where we are or heard anything of what I said from the moment we got here. There's nothing diplomatic about this city!" He paused. "The last time I reasoned with Dobo, I whacked the reason into his head but I don't think it'll work this time since he runs the place now…I can't pick a fight with the Pit's Master."
"Then we'll go talk to him." Tygra said with confidence. "I can be the diplomatic one."
The General crossed his arms, regarding the Prince with a judgmental look. "No offence, kid, but you're delusional if you think I'm taking you with me after you told Dobo you were going to feed his own words to him."
Cheetara was quite entertained watching her partner and Panthro's banter but as fun as watching them was, she grew a bit worried after a while when she noticed she was the only one doing so. "Guys!" She called the two males; they stop talking and turned to look at her both with the same puzzled look on their faces.
"Lion-O's gone."
It felt like hours chasing the Wiley twins throw the streets of Dog City, after being duped by the raccoon thief the kids went off looking for him hoping to recover their important belongings. But the streets looked clear of the sneaky masked character, but after running pass three different people claiming to have been robbed they knew they were on the right path. Snarf stopped for a moment to rest and sat next to a bunch of dusty old brooms from one of the many stands in that part of the city, he found the softest one and massaged his little claws against to get comfortable as he went to lean on it when the broom hissed painfully.
"?" The red-yellow pet looked curiously at the bunch of brooms, that's when he noticed the darker rings around the one he was leaning on. His green eyes darted up and saw Tookit's paws coming around his face covering his mouth with one while holding a single finger of his free hand over his own lips.
The thief was about to make his funny exit when, as luck would have it, the kittened returned to check on their tired friend. "Tookit!" Both shouted for the second time.
"Oh dear!" The aforementioned one exclaimed and escaped as fast as he could.
"Told ya we were on the right path." Wilykit shouted while the three felines gave chase to their fellow crook.
Tookit saw them going after him then looked up and saw some tarps hanging from stakes on the top of the buildings with an idea in mind. He searched inside his vest and took Kat's Flank. He twirled it expertly while moving and threw it to the tarps, the end with the metal claws got hooked on two stakes as he pulled and the tarp came down. He ran ahead while the piece of cloth fell over those who were next. The Wileys struggled to take it off of them and by the time they clawed their way out of it the raccoon thief was gone again.
"Where did he go?!" Kit questioned moving her head in all directions.
"Argh!" Kat protested, slamming his fist against his open hand. "He used my Flank against us!"
"No time for that… Over here!" His sister called him from behind a wall. "I bet he went down through here."
There was a tall structure behind the wall, perhaps another building, they couldn't tell. On the inferior part of that structure was a big hole, there were some bars leaning next to it, like they've been removed from the opening.
"Nice work, sis." The male cub smiled with a thumb up. "You stay here, Snarf!" He ordered pointing to the ground.
The pet whined in denial, sticking to his Master's orders to look after them.
"We need you to keep a lookout, in case Tookit comes out this way." Kit pleaded.
Although he was there to protect them, Snarf also wanted to help catch that cunning animal for what he did to them. Against his better judgment he nodded in agreement and stood put. They thanked him rapidly and then they were gone through the hole. They slid down and landed on a pile of crates, looking around there was no signs of the raccoon, but what they saw was completely intriguing all the same. They climbed down the crates and walked into a large chamber, poorly lighted by a few hanging lanterns strategically placed around the room. The center of the chamber was supported by big pipes placed vertically; along the wall were five large indentations blocked by gates made of scrap rods and stripped pieces of metal panels. Looking around they noticed most of that place was coated with things that could be found in a junkyard.
"What is this place?" The girl cub asked. "Some kind of prison?"
"More like a torture chamber…" Her brother said critically. "Look."
On the other side of the room were some racks holding all kinds of weapons, built from scraps, too. Next to the rack, a water pipe licking into a big bin, the structure was adjacent to a chimney oven.
The next thing they noticed made them gasp in shock, scared to be heard each hurried to cover the other's mouth to keep quiet. Two bulky Bulldog guards rested peacefully on their chairs in front of a wooden table cover with pieces of half-eaten food.
With Tookit out of their minds, they started sneaking their way out when they almost tripped with a rusted rod lying there; they flinched at the clanking of it hitting some pieces of metal that made the guards contort in their seats. The Wileys let out the air they were holding when the dogs didn't woke up.
"Who's there?" A hushed voice coming from one of the cells made their tails to stand on end, turned around they stared inside the cell. And the one inside recognized them. "You two?! How did you get here?" The female prisoner kept her voice above a whisper.
"Pumy―!" They lowered their voiced. "Pumyra!"
"You have to get out of here, now!" She said sternly looking at the sleeping guards.
Kat crossed his arms over his chest using his best offended voice. "Gee, it's good to see you, too."
"Don't worry; we'll get you out of here." Kit said looking at her brother, he nodded and searched into one of his many pockets.
Pumyra's expression relaxed slightly seeing them on the other side of the bars. She was, indeed, so relieved to see them after so long but couldn't deny wishing it could have been under different circumstances. By the time Kat grabbed a piece of wire, which he twisted to use as picklock; they looked closely at the bars and their expression feel.
"They've got no lock…" Kat said, putting down his wire.
"How are we gonna open these bars, then?" His sister wondered worriedly.
"You can't." The puma told them. "These bars are too heavy; they can only be lifted by them." The twins looked in the same direction she did and noticed the guards. "Maybe General Panthro could try, but…"
Kit and Kat exchanged looks. "Yeah, good luck getting Panthro in here." The boy cub scoffed.
While thinking what could be done to free their friend, she looked over their shoulders and spotted a shadow coming down the stairs of the entrance. "Someone's coming, you have to go! Now!"
This time they obeyed and went to hide behind the crates over the side of the room they came from. From that side it was darker so no one would see them.
"Pumyra." The intruder came out of the shadows.
"Lion-O." She replied, instead of surprise she spoke his name with anger and a little bit of annoyance. "Get away from me!" Her voice became forceful, close to a roar.
"Keep it down, the guards are close by." He wondered why she wasn't surprised to see him there, or just see him after so long. But stranger was the way she was talking to him.
"I don't care! Either way, you're gonna pay for what you've done!" She wouldn't lower her voice, still threatening. Her attitude turned the opposite from the way she treated the Wiley twins.
Lion-O blinked in shock at her reaction and words. "What are you talking about―?!" From behind him, a large muscular arm wrapped around him hindering his movements. He tried fighting out of the guard's grip but it was useless because of his sizes and brute strength.
The Bulldog dragged him away from Pumyra's cell, the lion looked toward the entrance, his eyes widened seeing Dobo stepping out of the shadows. The Doberman came closer and detached his gauntlet from his belt, along with the Sword of Omens, leaving him completely disarmed.
"You care so much about her? You can join her." Dobo taunted the young King at the same time the guard tossed him into the cell next to Pumyra's. The Pit Master stared into his cell with a vicious grin. "In fact, you can be next in line to fight her."
After they saw Dobo completely leave the dungeon Kit and Kat came out of their hiding. "Don't worry, Lion-O. We may be able to help you two out of there." The male cub cheered casually.
The lion was about to ask how they got in there, but the girl cub interrupted him, explaining they've heard what Dobo said and that they were going to find the others for their help. Lion-O agreed, while Pumyra said nothing, expecting just the worst to happen, but since she also caught the Doberman words, that they would have to fight for their survival in the Pit, an obscure feeling clouded her thoughts telling her that maybe she could get something out of that match after all. After the kittens exited the dungeon as well, through the air shaft, the two adult cats uttered no word. Lion-O was most likely scolding himself for getting caught but also relieved that Kat and Kit weren't. At least that was one thought he and his cellmate shared in common.
After calling Panthro and the others back to the stadium, Dobo beat the Wileys to finding them and informed them of their friend's predicament, while giving the claw shield and the sword to the General. "Lion-O should've known something like this would happen." Cheetara lamented, with closed eyes.
"Well, he kinda deserves it…" Tygra commented lightly. "He did telegraph what his actions would be." He added, recalling his brother comment on Pumyra's escape after her fight.
The cleric shot him a scolding gaze, indicating it wasn't the time to recriminate their friend. Still, she had to recognize the Prince's valid point.
"Whatever." Panthro interrupted their conversation. "He's Lion-O, always getting himself where nobody's called him." He looked at Dobo with a stoned face. "In any case, he should be our concern, not yours. That's our King you've got in that cage!"
"Oh but he ismy concern. He tried to steal from me, Panthro." The dog said as a fact. "Would you rather I turn him over to the authorities? In The Pit, at least he's got a chance of getting out."
"After a hundred victories." Cheetara scoffed.
Dobo leveled her with unusual patience. "Since Panthro's a friend, I'll make an exception. If Lion-O wins, he's free."
"And if he loses?" The blonde cat asked tentatively then turned to Panthro. "Remind me again how you know this friend?" She directed her fuchsia eyes back at the Doberman as she said the last word. "I think it's about time you told us that story."
Panthro closed his eyes reading himself, like she said that part of his past was a story long overdue. "Dobo and I met in The Pit a long time ago, sometime after Grune and I drifted apart. I ended up as a prisoner of war, he was a thief. For matches we were usually paired as a team." Images of the countless fights he and the dog endured back to back crossed his mind. "Guess they thought it was funny to see a cat and dog fighting together."
It seemed his words triggered the same memories and Dobo continued the story. "We beat everything they threw at us, no matter how nasty." Tygra and Cheetara started to understand the kind of friendship they've forged through those matches. Since Panthro was a soldier, they were aware of how important is in an army to trust those beside you in the battle field. The Pit was a place with you fought for your life everyday of the week, no wonder they became friends.
"While most warriors die here, Dobo somehow rose up to run the place." The panther said denoting how impressed he was.
"I'm the only slave that's ever done that." Dobo said looking away and turned to the cats again. "But in fact, I owe it all to Panthro. He was like a brother to me, I wouldn't have lasted a day if he hadn't taught me how to survive."
"That's not true," Panthro protested feeling he didn't deserve all the credit he was receiving. "We only survived because we did it together."
"Indeed." Dobo glared at him as another memory came, one that made his resentment show on his face. "Until one morning I woke up and found out you had escaped."
"I always regretted leaving you behind like that…" The dark cat said solemnly.
The dig turned his back on him, looking up at the walls of the Pit. "No, it was the best thing you could've done. It opened my eyes actually…" Dobo added heavily. "I was naïve to have expected loyalty from a cat. I learned that day I was going to have to earn my freedom myself." He looked back again regarding all of them this time. "If your king wants his freedom, he can fight for it, too!"
Tygra saw him about to take his leave but stopped him raising his voice. "If you owe so much to Panthro, it's only fair that you spare Lion-O from fighting completely!" As much as he wanted to refer to both the cats imprisoned, he was sure the Doberman wouldn't be that generous, not by a long shot. And from the two of them, as calculating as it was, Lion-O was a more important piece on their mission of defeating Mum-Ra permanently.
Dobo let out a humorless chuckle. "You're a Prince, right? Then you should know that a ruler is subject to his own laws just as or even more than his people." He paused. "Well, I am the authority of this place, and trust me when I say that letting your friend off after one fight as all the benevolent I can be." The cats remained in silence after his explanation. Seeing there was nothing left unsaid, the Pit Master walked off to prepare the fight for the night.
After a while Cheetara let out a sigh. "There's nothing we can do, now, is there?" She and her partner turned to Panthro, noticing how troubled he was. In the silence the cats heard footsteps going up the stairs and saw the heads of the Wiley twins, Snarf jumping the steps close behind. "Where have you been?" The cleric asked while Kit and Kat recovered their breathing.
"Long… story…" The boy cub sighed. "We were looking for you guys…" The adults didn't even wonder how they got pass the arena's security.
"Yeah…" Kit paused and breathed deeply. "You won't believe it… Pumyra's here!"
"She's in a cell…"Kat continued. "Lion-O appeared and some dogs capture―"
The twins stopped talking when they notice Panthro was holding Lion-O's gauntlet and the sword, which they saw Dobo taking.
"But you… Already… New that… Right?" Wilykit asked puzzled. Snarf comforted her by rubbing his paw against her leg.
"Sorry, kids." Cheetara said smiling sympathetically.
"Guess we'll have to wait for tonight's match." Panthro spoke, handing the gauntlet and Sword to the cleric for safekeeping. "Let's just hope Lion-O won't need these."
"I wouldn't worry too much," The group looked at the tiger. "Pumyra just took out their best warrior, remember? And Lion-O had survived worse things than this. I'm sure he can handle himself against some rabid mutt…"
The kittens looked at each other with frowns on their faces then turned to the adults. "Here's something you don't know…" Wilykat said warily.
"Lion-O's fight…" Kit paused making sure she got their entire attention. "It's against Pumyra."
Panthro's frown deepened as Tygra and Cheetara's eyes widened in surprise.
Back in their cells Lion-O couldn't figure out what to say to his friend. He knew a simple apology wouldn't make up for all she must have suffered, he just wished she would tell him but he supposed behind bars and about to face each other in combat wasn't the best time.
"What did you mean," The lion started slowly, anything to break the uncomfortable silence between them. "…when the guard caught me?"
He got his answer in an angry hiss.
"I don't understand why you're acting like this!" Lion-O said. "We're supposed to be friends!"
Pumyra thought of her staying at mount Plun-Darr, of all the cat slaves and their hopeless faces, and the one that did nothing to prevent their situation. "You were never my friend." Her voice tainted with hatred.
He thought he couldn't blame her for saying that but was determinate to prove her wrong. "We looked everywhere for you. Even after finding out Mum-Ra didn't keep you in his base, you can't imagine all we've been through…" He stopped abruptly before continuing.
"I should be the one to say that!" Pumyra spat. "All the pain, suffering and hopelessness…you don't know what it was for me… Orthe others that endured abuse for much longer than I did! And because of you!"
"Others?"
Pumyra leaned against the wall separating her cell from his. "The Thunderian refugees, your subjects..." She said mordantly. "When Thundera fell everyone that survived was sold into slavery after you abandoned them! And you had many opportunities to go back and save them but did nothing. For each day I spent as a slave, the more a realized the poor excuse of a King you are―" Her darkest emotions surfaced with each word, her fur heated by anger, she stopped before her mind started to feel clouded by them. "A real King should have done something for them by now."
"I had no way to know they were still there!" The lion excused himself but regained his composure and tried to reason with her. "You were there, too. What good could have made if we got captured like them, or worse! We needed to move on so we could fight another day!"
She felt divided for some reason; a part of her before getting separated from the Thundercats understood his point of view. She couldn't deny something that happened before her eyes, and she wanted to believe his actions were justified at the time but the other side of her, the one slaved for months and felt betrayed by her own King refused to believe in his words, she couldn't see reasons not to trust Pum-Ra, Lion-O was responsible and he had to pay the consequences.
"And how many more days do you need before you free your people?!" Pumyra snapped, now clutching the bars of her cell trying to get a glimpse of him. "So many waited for you to save them from their torment, and until their last breath, they waited!"
"I can't change what's happened!" Lion-O snapped. "But I've changed, Pumyra. I'm trying, everyday, to be the King my friends deserve and the same goes for you! I promise that I'll do my best not to let anyone down again," Lion-O knew his next words were setting the bar a bit too high, but he decided to take the chance. "…starting by getting us out of here."
Instead of buying into his words, the puma scoffed. "Ha! I stopped believing you'd rescue me a long time ago, Lion-O." She paused to highlight her next words to him. "I will earn myself the freedom my King could not give me. We're still getting in that arena together and mark my words …" Her voice became hostile; an unnatural twinkle of red displayed in her eyes that went unnoticed to Lion-O from the other side of the wall as she threatened next. "You're gonna pay for your mistakes."
The young King slid down his cell's wall sitting on the ground, feeling nothing, no matter how hard he tried, would turn out the way he wanted. The brunette sounded like a different person to him but he wouldn't blame her after the things she said. All those experiences would change anyone if they had someone to make responsible for their misery and he was aware Pumyra had given that role to him.
Then he remembered the last thing he told his brother, he would do something about it. Lion-O told Pumyra the truth, he had changed and he would keep his word and his promise to her.
As the evening came, the Thundercats reunited at the Pit as Dobo allowed them onto his balcony to watch the match. Lion-O and Pumyra stepped into the arena from different gates; the crowd cheered and howled as usual, particularly thundering that night.
"It's a rare treat to see two cats tear each other apart." Dobo said. "The crowd's excited."
"You don't know those two." Cheetara spoke up looking at the back of his head. "They're on the same side and they have no reason to fight each other."
Dobo let out a laugh, "Ha! In the Pit you're on your own." He glanced at Panthro. "I have yet to see your species display such loyalty." The dark cat said nothing.
It gave a strange feeling to Lion-O, to be standing in front of Pumyra with no bars between them. To make it fair, they provided him with equivalent weapons to fight, giving him a metal shield and a curved axe of medium size for easy handling.
"I know I failed you, Pumyra. But we're on the same side, we don't have to fight!" He said, unknowingly repeating the cleric's words.
"If you're not going to fight, then I'll just beat you up!" She warned and loaded up her wrist-crossbow then firing at the lion, to the Thundercats' surprise. Lion-O blocked her fire with his shield made of scrap metal.
From his balcony the Pit Master scoffed watching the match taking place after all. Tygra looked over at his partner; her eyes were fixed on the arena clear disbelief on her expression. Pumyra, who she regarded as a friend was opening attacking their King with no hesitation.
"Why is she doing this?" She let out in a thin voice. The tiger said nothing as he placed his hand supportively around her shoulders, in his mind his brother was probably right, in the end the puma did hold a grudge against him for what had happened to her.
Pumyra leaped into the air to shoot from an advantage point making Lion-O raise his shield, blocking his view, while she came down and got close enough to throw physical attacks at him. A little out of focus he took his time holding his defense up again, losing his footing slightly. The female cat continued throwing kicks against the shield until finally hitting it out of the way. Her opponent lost his balance and fell back; Lion-O stared at her, starting to realize that she was seriously looking to hurt him. Pumyra came up in front of him while still half sitting on the ground, he rose up his shield again as she untied her bolas from her belt and made them spin with the cord in her hand building speed, that gave the lion time to get back on his feet. She threw the bolas at him, but this time making sure to aim for the weapon in his other hand and knocked it way out of his grasp.
"I wasn't gonna use it, anyway!" Lion-O shouted in advance, and looked at the flying weapon turning around in the air, like a boomerang, coming after him. Timing correctly the moment the bolas would impact, he jumped out of their way. He landed back on the ground and fixed his gaze on Pumyra, eyes filled with determination.
"Fine…" His voice rasped. "If that's what you want." The shield in his hand fell to the ground.
"What are you doing?" The puma asked confused.
"I'm keeping my promise." He just said. "If you have to win to be free, the last thing I intent is to be in your way."
Pumyra stared at him with clear commotion. His words and conviction made her want to stop the fight as well, right there and then. Unconsciously she aimed her crossbow at him but her pulse betrayed her, shaking her head in frustration she ran toward him and fisted him across the face. The crowd shouted satisfied watching the show; the same couldn't be said for the cats.
From the balcony they watched the two cats standing still, Lion-O bent over with Pumyra's fist still pressed against his left cheek.
"What does she think she's doing?!" Tygra growled furious. "He won't fight back!" He had his fists tightly shut, making the knuckles turn white.
Lion-O opened his eyes when the brunette removed her fist from his face, leaving a red mark behind. "This doesn't change anything…" She said and threw another blow with the other hand making his body jerk and fall to the ground supported on one knee. She didn't let him get up as she kicked him in the face and knocked him over. He received each hit openly and each time he got back up along with more bruises from all her attacks.
"Very well," Pumyra saw him holding his side with a pained expression, but he continued to stand up. "Here's hope you can suffer as your people did!" And punched him in the face again. The crowd was starting to shout angrily, wanting the lion to put up a fight.
Cheetara turned to Kit and Kat making them look another way. But Wilykit moved from her blocking her afflicted vision. "Why is she hurting him?!" Her eyes began to fill with water.
Seeing his sister in pain, Kat looked up at the Doberman with a serious pout on his face. "You're in charge, aren't you?" He asked. "Make it stop!"
Dobo ignored the little boy and smiled smugly at his old friend. "You shouldn't have brought them here; this isn't something kids should be allowed to watch."
Although, Kit and Kat came with them on their own, Panthro and the tiger Prince knew he was right. Tygra stepped next to Cheetara and knelt down before the girl cub, patting her head tenderly. "Come on."
"No," Kit said wearily with a tight grip on the railing. "We can't leave them there. Lion-O―" She stopped midsentence to keep tears from coming out.
"You've seen enough, kids." Cheetara insisted leading her out of the balcony.
Kat walked by his sister's say. "Don't worry sis. He'll get through this…like he always does." He smiled reassuringly, showing the same faith in their King she had.
Tygra exchanged glances with the General as he left the balcony with Cheetara and the kittens.
With them out of sight, Panthro threw a glare at Dobo. "Does he have to be punished for what you think I did?!" Gesturing down at the arena. "If you caught him sneaking around in the first place was because he would never leave one of his friends behind. That kid down there is braver than I was when I escaped this place."
"Maybe so, but let me tell you, old pal. When you ran, you didn't just leave me behind. You left behind all the enemies we had made together." He said full of self righteousness. "I had to stand alone against that bloodthirsty horde."
"I ran because I learned my fight the next day was a death match!" Panthro explained.
"So? It wouldn't have been your first." Dobo pointed out.
"It was going to be between you and me." The dark cat countered
"You were afraid you couldn't beat me?" The Doberman scoffed.
"No…I was afraid I'd have to." Panthro replied dryly.
Dobo's eyes widened again, his mind clicked.
Both turned their attention toward the arena at the familiar sound of Lion-O tumbling over the gravel on the ground. Once he stopped, he began to push himself up with some difficulty, his arms shaking from exhaustion; he stopped half way with Pumyra firing two consecutive warning shots that passed close to his face.
"Why do you keep getting up?!" She growled out of breath from the effort she put in the fight.
Lion-O pushed himself back onto his feet with a groan. "I know… You don't want to do this."
Pumyra stared at him as if he'd received too many hit on the head ―which she knew for a fact was true―.
"The first time we met you only saw me as your Prince, treated me like any subject would…" Lion-O's breathing was worked up. "A just King should be willing to give his life for his people― I said I'm trying to be a good King…" He panted. "And I intend to." He stopped talking 'cause of the acute pain on his side.
Everyone in the crowd watched on the edge of their seat waiting to see what would be the match's outcome; meanwhile Pumyra was going through some serious conflict right now. She asked herself, how come the cat that left his people to be slaved and the one before her could be one in the same? Deep inside she was certain that selflessness he was showing wasn't an act. She was conflicted, remembering Pum-Ra's final words, the images he showed her. But then, she also recalled her oldest and dearest friend and mentor…
What would Lynx-O had thought if he saw the poor state of Lion-O and knowing she was responsible. She felt like she had failed herself and him in that moment, the young lion could tell the suffering going through her face as he stared back at her. Pumyra couldn't recognize herself.
"As Thunderians, from the moment we're cubs, we swear our loyalty to our King—"
Her own words from before the fall of Thundera echoed in her mind. She just attempted against her King's life and she didn't want to know if she would be capable of carrying that behavior any farther. With all those thought running wild, her head hurt but she made up her mind. Realizing she's been holding up her mounted crossbow, Pumyra opened the hand loading her ammo dropping in instead of firing it and tucked the weapon away back into the band on her wrist. Next she turned to look up at the balcony where Dobo and Panthro stood watching.
"I will not kill my King, Dobo!" She announced out loud.
"And I will not hurt a fellow cat!" Lion-O shouted as well.
Dobo looked at the two. "The penalty for forfeiting is death." He spoke the rule, testing further their commitment to each other, with the crowd shouting against their execution echoing all over the stadium. When both cats nodded in acceptance to it, the crowd already started chanting the words 'Let them live! Let them live!'
Dobo obliged with satisfaction and a small grin on his face. "It seems loyalty is not only a trait of the dogs." He said to Panthro and turned back facing the Pit, raising his voice over the audience and to the two combatants standing. "You have earned my respect! You both can leave this arena as free cats."
The crowd cheered wildly, Lion-O and Pumyra walked toward the exit. The red haired cat almost tripped when the puma reached out and helped carrying in him on the way out. She got surprised he did not refuse her as she draped his good arm around her shoulders. Panthro met them outside the arena and offered giving the lion a hand on their way out of the city, him and Dobo parting in good terms, now.
The General didn't address the brunette, but she knew she preferred it that way. "That was a brave stunt you pulled back there, kid." He said with slight surprise, looking down at their King. Then he went back to his usual daunted self. "Don't do it again."
Lion-O smiled. "I'll try—!" The smile disappeared into a wince from the sting on his cheek doing that gesture provoked.
Past the outline of Dog City, Tygra and the others were waiting outside the Thundertank. When the others arrived the Wileys were the first to run up to them, and greeted Lion-O with a light hug. When Pumyra came into their view, they acted hesitant to approaching her, she couldn't blame them. Instead she offered Lion-O to check his wounds and to give them the proper treatment.
"Thank you." He said with no irony.
She dismissed his words. "It's the least I can do…"
Cheetara offered to accompany her back into the tank for the medical supplies she would need. The two did so in heavy silence. Nothing had change in there while she was gone; actually everything was is she left it in the medical bay, not to her surprise. The cheetah watched her intently as she gathered the bandages, some alcohol, cotton and middle and thread —just in case of stitches—. The cleric felt something different about her friend but didn't know what it was, she thought about it on their way out.
"Someday," The tiger Prince began goodheartedly. "You'll have to tell me how is it that all your bad ideas turned out right in the end." His brother tried to laugh but his side bothered him to do so.
Tygra's smiling expression changed badly when Pumyra showed up. After she laid out the supplies and came close to Lion-O with a piece of gauze in her hand, He stopped her by grabbing her by the wrist. "I'll do it." The puma felt the stern in his voice.
"Tygra!" The young King called patiently. "It's ok. She knows what she's doing."
Tygra looked at him then glared back at her but said nothing, reluctantly but respecting his wish anyway, he stepped aside and let the puma do her work. But he would be watching closely as she did. Cheetara came to stand next to him while he kept watch, the discomfort in his eyes didn't go unnoticed by her, but she understood.
"At least she's helping him recover." She interrupted the silence around them.
"Simply out of guilt." He let out stubbornly, his frown still on his face.
His partner thought what her next words should be. "I know Pumyra's actions were—"
"Unforgivable?"
"…hard to get pass from…" Cheetara corrected and added in a serene tone. "But we'll get use to her again; we will forgive her, just give it time."
"I'm not so sure…" Tygra said.
She posed her hand over his arm and smiled at the lion sitting on a rock as he was being treated. "Looks like Lion-O already have…" She said hopefully. "It's a start."
Tygra wasn't entirely convinced, but the cleric's judgment was rarely wrong so, like she said, time would tell.
Pumyra was finishing wrapping the bandages around the lion's arm. She looked at him in the eye for the first time since leaving the Pit and said softly…"You were right, maybe you will become the King we deserve." After giving it some thought, she believed in her words. What happened that day showed her he wasn't the same Lion-O she remembered; all she hoped was to be able to leave those vengeful feelings behind.
Lion-O felt like smiling at her apologetic voice but he showed seriousness instead. "Pumyra," He waited for her to look him in the eyes again. "You told me about the Thunderian refugees been slaved. Where are they?" He asked.
Her features darkened just thinking about it. "At a mining operation there, in Mount Plun-Darr." She looked beyond the dunes and pointed off to a high mountain in the distance, surrounded by thundering clouds in the dark.
.
Man! I intent to do these chapters shorter but they just get larger! XD
I know, I know…just like in the original episode, the plot involving the getting their important belongings from Tookit was left unfinished in this chap. But don't worry it'll end in the next one.
Spoilers: It will be no trigger of the Forever Bag episode, since I decided not to expand on the character of Tookit very much and since that was a worse filler than SotF (at least we got the Wileys back story from that one).
This chapter was a lot of work I admit, but I was eager to write it since chap 22! (A long time ago.) So I feel a bit of accomplishment with this one. Tygra was definitely my favorite to write this time, he went from second best-tragic brother, to best over protective brother in the last minute! Pumyra was easily the hardest! I had to play real hard with her reaction in many moments through the chapter, since she's not the same Pumyra from the 2011 show. Her emotions and thoughts are different and my biggest concern is to have been able to let show like she was dealing with a 'double personality' sort of thing…courtesy of Mum-Ra. Expect to see some crazy behavior from her in future chapters…
Last but not least, all hail Lion-O! Lord of the Thundercats! He forgave Pumyra too soon? Well, love makes you do crazy things. But he's a believer of forgiveness; so, either he's lovestruck or really growing into his role as a ruler… Take whatever you like. I'll just say, he didn't went through those Trials for nothing ;)
Read you all next time!