In an incredible display of strength, Panthro reached out and seized Tygra's ankle, his other three sets of claws still wedged into the cracks running through the column, arresting the tiger mid-fall.

"Yeah!" WilyKat and Kit cheered.

Muscles burning, Felline scuttled closer and helped the shaken Tygra right himself. Now, with the twins, Tygra, and Snarf, Panthro was carrying four. She and the big cat shared a look of determination, and slowly, agonizingly, they crawled higher. Lion-O was alone up there. There was no one to stand between him and Mumm-Ra.

With a roar, Mumm-Ra reached the top a split second after Lion-O. Although they couldn't see what was happening, they could hear it. "The Book of Omens and its power belong to me!"

Lion-O's response was, "ThunderCats, ho!"

Blue-white lightning sought out every dark shadow in the tower and banished it. Clinging to the stone so far below, Felline went rigid. Next to her, the others did the same. The Sword and the Eye were speaking to them. She could hear their otherworldly voices, feel their need in every bone of her body. Questing. Querying. Rejecting.

And then they released her. The Sword had made its choice.

Still clutching Jaga's lantern so far below, Cheetara woke and stood. For a brief moment, her eyes flashed yellow-gold.

If they'd thought her fast before, it was nothing compared to what she did next, in thrall to the Sword.

Bypassing the column and its rotten pegs entirely, Cheetara began to run around the rotunda. Quicker than lightning, she angled for the sanctum wall and ran up it as if gravity was something she could turn on or off at will. Spiraling upward, she shot by Felline and Panthro without glancing at them. Felline and the kittens cheered her on, laughing. The Sword had chosen its best champion. Mumm-Ra couldn't beat that. They were going to win. They just had to.

"Close that mouth," Panthro rumbled suddenly. "You're drooling."

Surprised, Felline looked at him. He was grinning wickedly at Tygra, who, hanging from the panther's shoulder with eyes as huge as a kitten's, closed his mouth.

Kat and Kit burst out laughing, and even Felline smiled. Poor Tygra. Mumm-Ra's attacks had probably scrambled his brains a little.

She soon sobered, though, and resumed her painful climb. Had Bastien felt that way about her? She would have given anything to find out.

"There," Panthro grunted a few minutes later.

"I see it," Felline responded. She hefted herself onto one of the intact pegs at last. Holding out her arms, she beckoned to the kittens. Kit hopped into her embrace first, and then Felline caught Kat. Tygra climbed up next, and finally Panthro. They all began running again, toward the bangs, booms, and crackles. Darkness and light strobed off the walls. With a shout, Cheetara skidded to the edge of the column and tumbled over the side, barely catching herself on the brink. Her arms were empty. Watching her dangle above them, Kit froze and let out a squeal of fright.

"Go, move!" Tygra yelled, taking the lead. With his longer legs, he was able to take the pegs two at a time. He disappeared around the curve.

"I've got you!" Lion-O called to Cheetara.

He didn't make it to her. The sound that tore out of him then was so full of pain that it frightened Felline like nothing else ever had. Worse, it stopped. Abruptly.

Felline listened, straining her ears, hoping for – what? A breath? A groan? More screams? Anything to indicate that he was still alive.

Mumm-Ra laughed.

"You are much like your father," he said.

"What do you know of my father?" Lion-O gasped, his voice raw.

"Only that I killed him!"

With that, Lion-O's screams resumed.

Calling his name, Felline unknowingly stopped running. His agonized yells went on and on. Whimpering, she threw her arms over her head, trying to block her ears. Tears flowed unchecked down her face.

What could they do against this? How could they win against such evil, which laughed delightedly while it inflicted pain? How badly would the fiend hurt them before he killed them?

She was so scared.

Then, suddenly, the screams changed. A bright light blinded Felline, but it was different than the trap on the other side of the canyon, less artificial, less cold. There seemed to be a presence behind it, kind and wise, offering wordless comfort.

The screams belonged to Mumm-Ra.

"The light!" he howled, his voice laced with terror. He kept shrieking, the sound pitching ever higher, and then it cut off with a pop. An avian cawed.

"The Book will be mine!" Mumm-Ra screamed in a much smaller voice, and the avian's cawing grew fainter. Then it vanished.

He was gone. And so was the light.

Feeling strangely empty, Felline reached the top of the column as Lion-O helped Cheetara to sit. A piece of glass fell, tinkling, and Cheetara's face broke. She looked as if she might cry.

Surreptitiously, Felline scrubbed her cheeks dry. He was okay. Lion-O was all right, if a little mussed, but his blue eyes were big and young again. The lantern had been smashed.

"Jaga," he mourned. In his voice, Felline heard what no one had thought to tell her. That the old cleric had been more than a guardian for him. More than a teacher. A mentor. A friend. Another father to take the place of the mother he'd never known.

Ever so gently, Cheetara gathered the broken lantern in her arms and sat there hugging it, her face dry but her voice full of tears. "He sacrificed himself for you," she said quietly. "For all of us."

They bowed their heads, Lion-O, Panthro, Tygra, and Felline; the kittens were holding hands. Kit picked up Snarf and rubbed her face into his fur.

"Hey," Kat said.

A tiny yellow light, like a firefly, drifted out of the shattered glass globe. Twinkling, it rose between Tygra and Panthro. Then it floated back down to hover in front of Cheetara.

"Look," Tygra whispered, and Cheetara opened her eyes.

The tiny light bobbed around Felline and then drifted past the kittens. Finally, it moved toward Lion-O.

Then, as if it had greeted them all and was satisfied, it rose up. There, suspended in a stone chandelier or cage, a red book floated like a fish in water. The firefly light merged with it, the structure shuddered, and then the whole thing lowered without a sound.

Everybody looked at Lion-O.

Squaring his shoulders, the young king approached the cage-like chandelier, reached in with both hands, and lightly lifted the Book out. The red jewel set in its cover flashed as if in recognition and then went dark.

With a smile, Lion-O turned back. "At long last," he said, opening the cover, "we have all the answers."

He said nothing for a full minute, eyes trained on the pages.

"Well?" Tygra demanded eagerly. "What does it say?"

"It says –" Lion-O started, and then stopped. His brows knitted. He lowered the Book, horror shining in his eyes. "Nothing. It's blank."

A/N: Greetings, Dear Readers! Psst. CHRISTMAS IS COMING! I do celebrate it, and I'm very excited.

Reviewer Thanks! Darwin (Thank you!), Blacktiger93 (Thank you! I do hope I can do some more before the holiday . . . "Legacy" is going to be tricky, I haven't decided how I'll handle that yet, to tell you the truth. Hmmmm . . .), Naiko20 (*sniffle* I'm sorry! I did try, but it just didn't feel right. BUT, glad you liked my description of Mumm-Ra - purple vomit, HO! :3), Heart of the Demons (Yeah, she didn't. LOL. Useless girl! :3 Heehee), KelseyAlicia (Thank you, you too!), Momochan77 (Thank you so much! :3), Mooncloudpanther (Thankies! :3), Night Whisperer (*hides* No, see, I failed in that. Felline just didn't have it in her this time. However, the fact that she didn't will definitely crop up again next chapter, so I hope that's a nice balance. Anyway, I'm thrilled you liked the chapter! :3 Thank you!). Happy Saturday, my friends! Thanks again!

I know I still have some more reviews to catch up on. :3

Anne