Fall Of The Empire
Rating: T-17+
Disclaimer: I don't own this. . . or do I? Nah, I don't. So don't sue me.
Author's Notes: . . . I did not want to separate this into two parts, but I kind of had to. Because we're sitting at 10k again.
But rest assured. Pt. II is 75% written, done, finished, and edited. I've got to write a little bit more. I should have it out within a few days of having this chapter done. I'm not trying to string you guys along, promise. I had to tie up some lose ends before I could just write the good stuff.
But hello everyone! Did you know I almost have 45k views on this story. : o wow.
Also I'm so happy to see the fandom getting some new stories and people have been updating their fics! Go writers, go! What is dead may never die!
But anyway. Sidenote: I had a hell of a time getting line breaks to work with this chapter? This has never happened before but this chapter was ripe with them. They'd just disappear after I inserted them. Sorry if it's jarring. I just legit cannot figure out what is wrong with them.
But here's another chapter for ya! We're almost there. Wheeze.
I come back to America in 4 weeks and 19 days. My body is ready.
Walmart and that chip and ice cream aisle are sooooo not prepared for me. And so are a whole bunch of other things. I'mma buy out that whole store!
1.) Legacy: Redux Pt. I || Pt. II
2.) The Final Fight
3.) Epilogue
Warnings: Nothing, except for stylistic things FF loves to om nom. More blood and gore than normal. If you see anything with the first-person in it, it should be italicized. That is all.
I've adopted a lot of mannerisms from the South Koreans. I teach at an elementary school and my student's mistakes have become my own. I make grammatical and spelling errors much more frequently now. If you see anything that's incorrect, let me know and I'll change it!
. . . this text is here for a mysterious reason.
"What does Omens think of you now?"
That was what his greatest enemy had asked him.
Lion-O glanced down to the sword, and for once, he wished he knew. His grief had twisted him, his rage had changed him, and his bitterness had mutated him. Was he even the same anymore? Would the Sword of Omens still serve him? What would his father say, if he could see him now?
Would he look at him with pride - finally - for the king he had become?
Or would he turn away coldly, declaring him unfit?
Lion-O didn't know.
And he was scared to dwell on that.
But as he watched the scene before him unfold. . . as he watched her squirm, bucking and writhing and trying desperately to free herself. . . he felt. . . he felt. . .
He wasn't sure. He didn't know.
"P-Please," She begged, tone desperate, panicked. "Don't. D-Don't!"
He walked forward, stretching out his hand.
Erica looked at him, tears coursing over her cheeks, primal fear in her eyes.
"Please." She whispered, brokenly. "I c-can't."
"You can." Lion-O said, his tone as calm and even as he could manage. "You can. And you will."
She tried to smother the sound of her own sobs, but she wasn't very successful at it.
"Hurry." Another voice urged him on. "We're losing the window."
Lion-O breathed out slowly, feeling both Omens and the Spirit Stone flaring to life, buzzing with unrestrained energy. Wisps of their power began to float into the air, encompassing everybody in their sphere of influence.
"The Stone belongs to me." Lion-O said, staring at her. "And I will have it."
Seven hours earlier. . .
Thump.
Thump.
"Breathe!"
Thump.
Thump.
"Breathe, Lion-O! BREATHE!"
Thump.
Thump.
A soft touch at his lips.
Air.
Lion-O stirred, panicking. He was under the water. He was still under the water and he was going to die because he couldn't breathe!
Another solid push on his chest made him feel a very uncomfortable sensation of fluid travelling up from places where fluids most certainly did not belong. His lungs were burning, sore, and on fire, and as he opened his mouth to suck in precious air, water spluttered out. Lion-O felt his body working it out, pressing it from his lungs, clearing them, and then there was nothing but air. He sucked it in in deep drags, wheezing and coughing and hacking and feeling as though there wasn't enough air in the world to sate him.
Drowning sucked.
He remembered he first time he'd died because he drowned.
After a few long moments, he was able to breathe normally, and he cracked open his eyes.
His mind was sluggish to work, but memories finally began to filter into his brain.
Mumm-Ra.
Erica.
Leviathan!
He bolted upright, sitting up, a weight on his chest toppling down. A startled mewl had him wheeling, arms reaching out to catch whatever it was he'd knocked over. Lion-O blinked as he looked down at what he was holding.
It was Kit.
"Kit?" He rasped, his voice hoarse and scratchy.
She stared back at him, tears running down her cheeks, and with a watery sob, she scrambled up in his arms, bolting up and wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Don't ever do that again!" She sobbed, voice muffled as she pressed her face against him, "You weren't breathing! Don't ever do that again!"
"Shh, hey, hey. It's okay." He soothed, wrapping her up in a tight hug, "It's okay.I'm alright. I'm fine."
Kit appeared unconvinced. She buried her face into the crook of his neck, wetting his fur with her tears. Lion-O held her, comforting the distraught kitten, and looked beyond her. The ocean was lapping against the shore line, the sand disturbed by the feet of many animals. And he was staring at a ring of Sharks who were shifting from foot to foot, looking relieved and a little guilty at the same time.
One of them - Dusky, Lion-O remembered - sheepishly scratched at the side of his head.
"We. . . didn't know how to revive you. . . you don't. . . have gills. . ."
Lion-O shook his head. "It's okay. I wouldn't know how to revive a Shark. Kit brought me back."
The sand crunched next to him, and Lion-O looked at the sound, watching as a few Sharks passed by him, heading back into the water. He glanced around, looking up and down the beach.
Sharks were scattered everywhere, lost in different emotions. Some were crying. Some were pensively staring at the ocean. Others looked furious. It was decidedly strange to see them all standing on the shore. Some didn't seem as though they were grieving from their lost, destroyed home.
The younger Sharks were looking around with curiosity and wonder in their eyes, like they wanted to set out and explore the world right there. A younger Lion-O could definitely empathize with them.
"Lion-O." A familiar voice said to his left. "I'm glad to see you awake. We were worried about you."
"Mako?"
The Shark king was still alive, and dripping wet, as though he'd just come out of the ocean. He appeared from the crowd, and without waiting for an invitation, plopped himself down next to Lion-O on the shore. Tenderly, and still soothing Kit, Lion-O managed to extricate herself from her hold. Kit complied, but she sat on his other side and held one of his arms captive in her grasp as she sniffled next to him.
He'd have to properly thank her for saving his life later.
Mako offered a few objects to Lion-O, which he accepted gratefully. Relief poured through him so thickly it may as well have replaced his blood. Mumm-Ra didn't have everything. Lion-O still have the Spirit and War stones and Omens. They still had a chance. Sliding the gauntlet onto his hand, Lion-O paused when he saw something glittering in the sun.
The computer chips he'd seen in Maui Nui were wrapped tightly around the talon of his middle finger, knotted and threaded tightly around it so as not to be washed away. Had the water deposited them there. . . ?
"These were next to you on the beach. I figured I would keep them safe. I knew you'd want to see them when you woke."
It was an immense stroke of luck that Mumm-Ra had not managed to recover them. Lion-O stared down at them. . .
. . . and watched as his tears fell, hitting the gold metal and sliding off.
"Mako." he said, his voice thick and weak. "I'm so. . . I'm so sorry. I failed. I failed you. I failed everyone. Your city-"
"Is gone." Mako replied clinically. "Maui Nui is no more. We watched it implode in the water."
It was delivered in a detached, emotionless way, and Lion-O feared what he'd see when he lifted his head to look at the other king. Hundreds (maybe thousands) of years of organic growth, rock, and hard work. . . gone in mere moments because he wasn't strong enough. Lion-O sat there, Mako at his left, Kit on his right. The kitten's tears hadn't stopped, but they had slowed, and Lion-O felt her thread her hand through his, squeezing it tight as she could.
Lion-O would be lying to himself if he said he didn't want to hug her again.
"It's because of me." Lion-O grated out harshly. "Because I'm not suited-"
Mako hummed next to him, cutting him off.
"No." He said, just as calmly.
"You did everything within your power, Lion-O. Leviathan itself tried to protect us, and died an honorable death in battle. For that, we do not grieve. It is sad that Maui Nui is gone, that our homes were destroyed, but the ocean is just part of our home. My people will take some time to adjust on land, and no doubt there will be hardship, but we will make a new home. Perhaps one that is both part land and sea. We always knew this day would come. When Leviathan trusted us to care for the Soul Stone. . ."
Lion-O felt the Shark tenderly grip his bicep.
The Cat looked at him, and he was startled at what he saw.
Mako was smiling.
"Homes. Tools. Things. These are replaceable," Mako told him steadily, holding his gaze, "But animals are not. A life, Lion-O, is so amazing and indescribably precious. And look at all the animals you've saved today. Without your warning, I never would have called that council. We lost Maui Nui, yes. But I still have my people. We still have our lives."
Hadn't. . . hadn't Kit said something like that to him when Avista had fallen?
"Look at what we've gained. The animals of Third Earth, working together for the first time. Because of you, Lion-O."
Lion-O breathed out a shaky breath, trying to make his tears stop. Why did he feel like such a failure, though? A greater king, his father would have been able to stop Mumm-Ra before he'd destroyed Maui Nui. He wasn't even half the Cat his father was. He still felt terrible guilt that Maui Nui had been purged.
"W-Where are all the Sharks?" Lion-O asked dumbly, trying to distract himself from his thoughts. He scrubbed at his face with his gauntlet, embarrassed and undeserving all at once.
Mako wasn't mad at him.
Why were animals so understanding and kind to him? He didn't deserve it.
"In the water." Kit said, pointing. "They told me they were looking for everyone. The last current swept them all away. I'm not even sure where Kat is. . ."
Kit's voice wavered a little, and Lion-O squeezed her hand all the tighter.
Mako nodded to himself, and then stood. "There is no time to waste, Lion-O. While we try and scour the water for your lost party members, you must leave. Leviathan imparted on me that your quest is not yet complete."
Mako began to walk away, but Lion-O jumped up to his feet.
"M-Mako! Did. . . Did you know? About. . . About Leviathan?"
Mako paused, turning back to Lion-O, and then shook his head. "No. It was as much a surprise to you as it was to me. I can't say I agree with Leviathan's choice, but. . . I'm sure it had its reasons."
Lion-O glanced down at the computer chips in his hand. The water had managed to dilute Erica's blood, which marred the surface and was quickly drying to a strange brown color. There was writing on the chips, but he could not understand it. With a start, Lion-O realized that they were written in Erica's language.
What did that mean?
Erica had cracked open the Stone, had found these chips inside. . .
Mako trekked back into the ocean, followed by most of the guards surrounding Lion-O.
These chips, his gauntlet, the way they'd been swept away from Maui Nui. . . it was a message from Leviathan.
And if he had any hope of atoning for his sins, he had to see that request through.
Find the human.
There was no time to waste feeling sorry for himself. Mumm-Ra lacked only one thing: the final Stone.
The Soul Stone.
The things he'd seen. . . Lion-O was confused.
A call came up from the lower side of the beach, and Lion-O perked up, listening to stern, panicked shouts.
Sand exploded in a flurry, as though there had been an explosion.
Lion-O jumped into action, urging Kit to stay behind him, and he took off at a dead sprint. As he ran, the Stones in his gauntlet began to hum, practically vibrating against his skin, but they urged no warnings to him. If it wasn't Mumm-Ra making a fuss, then who was it? Another plume of sand exploded into the air, some Sharks running from the scene, others formed into a semi-circle of sorts to defend themselves on the sandy strip of beach.
Lion-O skidded to a halt in record time when he drew close enough to find out what had happened, and he reeled in shock at what he saw.
Erica was there.
Well. . . I found the human.
She lolled on her feet, staggering, her weight unbalanced.
Lion-O grabbed Omens, whipping it out of his gauntlet.
He had to defend these people.
He had to-
"What?" He breathed.
Omens. . . Omens wasn't. . .
"K-Kill. . . S-Stop. . . can't go. . . w-won't run. D-Don't do it." She slurred. She spun around, like somebody had called her name, but her eyes were hazy and unfocused.
If Lion-O wasn't so shocked about Omens refusing to extend, maybe he would have been startled.
As she took another step forward, a flurry of sand exploded into the air close to her foot.
Growling, Lion-O sheathed Omens. Blade or not, he had to take her down. When he prepped to engage her, run at her, intent on grappling her to the ground in much the same manner as Grune had done, the air encased him in a thick syrup and held him trapped there.
And then the pressure started to increase unevenly. Lion-O gasped as he felt like parts of him were being crushed, invisible hands smashing into his body, bending his bones, threatening to break them. He couldn't even wheeze out her name in an attempt to get her attention.
"Stop. F-Fire. Fire everywhere. Ready. Aim. A-At will-"
Lion-O wheezed, and Erica drunkenly turned her head in his direction.
". . . f-fight. . . must. . . s-survive. . ."
She grabbed a sword. Lion-O coughed, body shaking as he tried to throw off her mental hold, but her power was going haywire. Rocks and sand were drifting into the air, rising and falling. He'd seen her lose control before, but never like this. Unfocused blue eyes tracked around him, glassy and faraway. It looked like Erica was drunk.
Her blade swung through the air as she struck.
Or. . . more accurately. . . she cut the air.
She looked like a kitten handling a sword for the first time. Lion-O was completely flabbergasted. Where was the human that he'd been locking swords with? This certainly wasn't her.
One of his bones began to creak, and Lion-O let out a pained sound.
"Don't!" A young voice cried. "Stop it! Stop hurting animals! Please, Echo!"
Kit ran into the fray, and as much as Lion-O reeled in silent horror, trying to cry out to her, to get her to stop, he couldn't. His throat was locked up, and he was quickly becoming dizzy. The squeezing pressure there was almost unbearable. Kit, however, didn't look as affected. Her face was pressed in discomfort, and it appeared as though she had some issues moving, but she hardly looked frozen in time.
Erica's head rolled to the new source of the sound-
And she froze.
Clarity - or something like it - crawled into her eyes. In a millisecond, everything was calm.
Lion-O dropped to his knees as the air refused to hold him in place.
And then Erica let out a frightened sound, something like a panicked mewl - and the sand exploded all around her, fiercely shoving them all back. Lion-O rolled with the blow, sliding to a halt in the hot sand. He came to his knees, watching as a head of white hair high-tailed it into the forest, quickly disappearing from view.
What in Thundera. . . ?
Instead of pressing her attack, instead of trying to kill him, she'd. . . she'd gotten scared and run away?
And by the way she'd been muttering. . .
Lion-O got to his feet, and locating Kit, helped the kitten right herself as well.
"What happened?" Kit asked, clearly just as confused as he was. "She. . . didn't look good."
"Maybe it was the 'almost drowning bit.' You okay?"
Kit nodded.
Lion-O urged her to a run again.
"We gotta go. C'mon!"
Lion-O led Kit into the forest, chasing after Erica. The sand quickly gave way to vegetation, and it wasn't hard to track her. She was still sopping wet, leaving water on the leaves she brushed through, and she wasn't bothering to conceal any of her tracks. Lion-O crested a hill when he heard a rather technological whine, machinery powering.
He crested a ridge and that was when he spotted Erica, zipping away on a stolen hoverboard.
. . . and. . . away from the Feliner.
Cursing under his breath, Lion-O skidded down the slope, and after a cursory inspection of the Feliner, deemed it untampered. Ushering Kit inside, he threw himself into the cockpit.
"But what about camp?" Kit cried over the sound of the engines.
"We'll buy new supplies. There's no time!"
Lion-O flew through the pre-flight checklist in record timing, pouring energy into the engines and having the Feliner take off.
Running his hands over the Book, Lion-O prayed that it would respond to his most desperate hour, his greatest need.
And thank every holy diety above, it did.
But. . .
"Whiskers." He spat.
.
Five hours later. . .
"We're going too fast!"
"I know!"
"We're gonna crash!"
"I KNOW!"
Alarms were blaring, panels were flashing, and lights were blinking on and off. He was cursing all of his luck that he wasn't able to disable or mute the annoying machine that was oh-so-helpfully telling him that he was coming in too hot and too low to land properly. It certainly wasn't helping matters that Kit was buckled in next to her and panicking. While Lion-O could fly the Feliner, he wasn't nearly as good as Tygra or Panthro. But he'd make do. He'd have to. Gritting his teeth, and trying to stay calm despite Kit's infectious panic, Lion-O pulled back on the yoke as hard as he could, levelling out the Feliner as much as he was able.
Trees and brush grated against the belly of the Feliner. Lion-O swore his fangs were going to shatter from the pressure of clenching them, and he was repeating a prayer over and over in his mind. It was one hell of a bumpy ride from start to finish, but Lion-O felt the wheels touch down, thankfully, and not a moment too soon. He reached over and yanked on the thrusters lever, pulling it down as hard as he could to switch it from full throttle to reverse. The engines whined in protest, metal creaking under the strain.
Thank bank of trees that were quickly approaching warned Lion-O that things were about to get a lot worse if he couldn't stop in time.
Next to him, Kit let out a frightened squeak and threw her arms up to protect herself, cowering in her seat.
Lion-O wished he could follow suit.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" He urged, wishing the Feliner could hear him.
Inch by precious inch, their aircraft dragged itself into the dirt, slowing down second by second.
Too fast, though.
Lion-O closed his eyes when the trees neared, and sucked in a breath before the Feliner hit them.
Both Lion-O and Kit were jerked forward by their restraints, and the resounding boom the Feliner made had Lion-O's ears ringing. Thankfully they weren't going full speed, but it still wasn't a pleasant experience. The Cat was fairly certain that both he and Kit were going to have some impressive bruising on their chests over the next couple of days. But it had worked. His harebrained idea had worked. Sucking in a few breaths of air to re-inflate his crushed lungs, Lion-O looked to Kit. The kitten was coughing and hacking next to him, but she seemed alright.
A quick glance at the control panels proved that the Feliner, while it had sustained some damaged (and a cracked windscreen), still appeared to be operational.
Just. . . crashed into the thick forest. That was all.
"C'mon. We gotta go." Lion-O said, unbuckling himself and reaching over to help her.
Kit didn't argue, but she certainly didn't look happy about it. Lion-O slammed his fist into the control panel as he extricated Kit from where he'd helped her buckle in. In the next room over, he could hear the hangar door hissing open. Giving Kit no time to get her bearings, Lion-O grabbed the kitten's wrist and started running, shouldering open the cockpit door and not even pausing for the hangar door to open all the way.
He just jumped through it, and when he landed in the field, he only paused long enough to check that Kit was on her feet before he took off at a dead sprint through the knee-deep grass.
"Tygra's going to be so mad." Kit said.
"I'll make it up to him later." Lion-O replied.
He was telling himself that he didn't care, but he still couldn't resist a glance back to the Feliner.
. . . yeah, that sight didn't look too pretty. Lots of dings and dents. But it still appeared flight-worthy.
"Actually," Kit continued, "It'll be Panthro. Panthro's gonna kill you!"
"That's alright. He can get his turn right after Mumm-Ra."
Lion-O followed the path of destruction he'd made. Flying the Feliner so low had not come without consequences. He'd made a pretty good cut into the trees from where he'd descended, and the wheels had plowed huge swaths into the ground from his desperate attempt at slowing. But there had been on time for caution, no time for planning. It was all action. Here. Now.
It was just seconds before they were out of the field and onto the well-worn path that led to the town he'd first met Drifter.
Immediately, he knew he was in the right place. The gates to the town had been. . . blown inward, as though somebody with the Thunder Tank had driven right through them. Warped scraps of metal were all that remained of the gates. Or, Lion-O knew more accurately, not a Tank, but a certain human with telekinetic abilities that just happened to be on the fritz. Ensuring Kit was safely behind him, Lion-O ran into the town, his mind tingling with recollection of what had happened last time he'd been there.
"What am I to you?!" That's what she'd screamed at him, all those lifetimes ago.
An enemy.
Nearby, an animal let out a startled scream, cut short by a loud bang. Lion-O shook his head, forcing himself to get back into the game. Drawing Omens, he skidded around a corner, and sure enough, the sight that greeted him was what he expected. A little better, actually, given that he could see Thundera's general and his brother, there, too.
Erica was in one of the town's markets, and though normally it was cramped, she seemed to have destroyed several of the stalls to give herself more room. Both of her swords were drawn, her chest heaving, as though she'd been running for miles.
Panthro and Tygra were circling around her, both with their weapons drawn, but neither approached her.
Erica's head was hung low, her hair falling into her face and covering it.
"Stay back!" Lion-O shouted at the swordsmen of the town, "Get out of here! She'll kill you if you get too close!"
Warning delivered, Lion-O turned his attention back to the task at hand. He'd told them what would happen if he approached her. But he could make no guarantees to himself that they'd listen. He knew what kind of people this town attracted - he'd fallen prey to it once himself.
"Took you long enough!" Panthro snapped.
"Panthro, watch out-!" Tygra called, raising his gun and firing shots in rapid succession.
A sheet of metal came off of a room, screaming as it was rent from the bar that was housing it. It shattered into several pieces, and the large chunks of metal flew at Panthro, whistling as they hurtled through the air. Tygra's lasers threw some of them wide, but Panthro still jumped back, striking out at a few pieces, only just barely managing to avoid being speared.
Erica laughed, throwing back her head. It was a sick, disturbed sound, not at all like anything Lion-O had ever heard from her.
"You're thinkin' this is the end, aren't ya?" She said, her voice sounding more coherent than last time they'd met, "That's a fuckin' joke. Goddamn hilarious!"
Erica tilted her head, and when they made eye contact, she smiled.
In his grip, Omens rasped as it extended, and Lion-O breathed out a steady breath. Finally. He was going to put a stop to this.
Tygra leveled his gun at her head.
He fired.
Erica didn't even look as she lifted up a sword and deflected the shot.
"I'm in this room. Your lil' control room. Havin' fun yet? I am. Can't you hear me laughin'?!"
The houses began to quiver as her mind reached out, intent on shredding them all to pieces with chunks of metal she sheared off them. She laughed, like it was the funniest thing in the whole world.
Lion-O knew that it was now or never. If he didn't do something, he was going to see innocent animals die as Erica sought to kill them with dealy shrapnel. He raced forward, the Spirit Stone aiding him, helping him to see her mental influence. Tygra and Panthro followed suit, speeding forward to begin their assault on Erica.
And it was downright terrifying.
Because it was utter chaos.
She was touching everything, her influence stronger in places and weaker in others. It hardly looked like the methodical, uniform attacks he'd come to know from her. It looked like she had hands, hundreds of hands, clawing and ripping and tearing at whatever she could see.
Not anymore.
With a solid prep, Lion-O let out a cry of effort as he swung at her.
Her swords connected with his, her laughter tapering off to a chuckle as she looked at him, locked blades with him.
She grinned, insane and hysterical.
'Every button I press kills ya a lil' more, don't it? Acid. Gas. Zap zap. Well guess what - you fucks did this to yourselves!"
Buttons? Zap zap? What in the blazes was she talking about?
Lion-O felt the air around him thickening, locking him in place. Those blue eyes of hers widened as she smiled, malicious and cruel. She lifted her blades away from his own (his arms held captive), switched her grip on her hilts, and cackled as she brought them down, spearing-
Or, she would have stabbed him.
Had Tygra not shot her hands.
And Panthro gave her a fierce body check.
Erica went tumbling, and Lion-O pressed the opening, her control dropping. He sliced through the rest of her telepathy, Omens flashing as he severed it as though it were a puppeteer's thread. The very air itself shivered as she got onto her hands and knees, her swords still somehow miraculously clutched into her hands. Lion-O drew back a second time, swinging Omens-
But time froze him again.
And Omens shrank, receding back into its crossguard, the Eye of Thundera dulling, becoming only a sleepy murmur.
"WHAT?" He snarled.
"I c-can't." Erica said, her voice weak and willowy. "I can't go back there again. Please. Not again. I signed an oath to heal, not to harm! I'm murdering people!"
Lion-O bucked and writhed in the air, making a slow, but steady progress. Tygra and Panthro were growling in equal measure, proving that they were caught fast. Lion-O twisted around, somehow managing to half-turn himself away from Erica, who was openly crying on her hands and knees.
"Kit!" He called. "Kit, get over here!"
"Are you insane?" Tygra demanded.
"She'll tear that kitten apart you damned fool!" Panthro snarled.
Kit, oblivious to their argument (or choosing to ignore it), jogged forward. She'd been hiding behind a house, surveying the fight, as Lion-O had instructed her to. Lion-O bit down on his tongue, stopping himself from screaming, 'stay back!' and prayed that he was right. He held his breath, blood in his mouth from chomping down so far.
The first time couldn't have been a fluke.
He could only pray he was right, or else. . .
Kit looked scared, but determined, as she scurried towards the human, who was digging her fingers into the dirt.
"I'm a doctor," Erica continued, "A surgeon. Do you know how many I've failed on? I'm not doing it again! I'm not!"
"Echo!" Kit called, edging closer. "Echo, it's me. It's Kit!"
The telekinetic field that held the other Cats captive, like flies trapped in Spidera's web, didn't seem to be affecting Kit. The kitten walked forward, unimpeded, and several stones that were hovering in the air sharply dropped before she could make contact with them.
For a long, tense, pregnant moment, nothing happened.
But then the human's head snapped up.
And again, unfiltered fear flashed in her face. Erica jumped up to her feet, damn near falling over, and shook her head, her entire body trembling.
She spun around and ran, incomprehensible words leaving her mouth as she disappeared around a corner. . .
. . . and was again, airborne on Kit and Kat's stolen hoverboard.
But her telekinesis faded, dropping the trio to the ground.
"Echo!" Kit called after her.
Lion-O shook his head and seized the kitten's wrist in his own. "Next time, Kit. I promise. Next time we'll get her. Tygra! Panthro - c'mon. I'll explain on the way. We gotta go. Now!"
The four of them took off, Lion-O leading the pack as he ran through Drifter's town, passing through the destroyed gates almost as quickly as he'd come through them.
"What in the blazes was that?" Panthro demanded, "Sending a kitten into-"
"It was my idea!" Kit snapped, glaring at the general, "Lion-O and I already met Echo on the beach when we washed up! We talked about it on the way here. She's scared of me and I don't know why. But she doesn't hurt anyone when I run up to her. It's making her stop!"
"It's the only solution we could come up with." Lion-O said. "Omens isn't working all the time, as you saw. It deems her a threat sometimes and then it doesn't. And in case you haven't noticed, she's not exactly the way we remember."
"What in Thundera did you do to my baby?!" Tygra shouted, taking in the damage as the Feliner came into sight.
Lion-O rolled his eyes and jumped into the hangar bay, urging Kit back into the cockpit. Lion-O gestured to the Book of Omens.
"I had to make an emergency landing after it decided to tell me she was here and I was already flying over it."
"No excuse. . ." Tygra grumbled, sliding into the pilot's seat. "Just be lucky we're too tired to beat you black and blue. We got washed into some kind of river and it spit us out here."
"She'll fly." Panthro said, flipping switches and adjusting levers, "Little rough, but she'll fly."
Lion-O was happy to hear the Feliner's engines start up somewhat moodily. They coughed, spluttered, but then roared with power. But at least they worked!
The Feliner jerked as Panthro and Tygra guided it out of the grove of trees, and with more expertise than Lion-o could manage, did a swift turn and began to take off in what limited space there was for them. The pair made it seem effortless, as opposed to his very clumsy landing.
His stomach dropped as they went airborne.
"What is that?" Tygra demanded.
Lion-O pressed his lips into a thin line.
"That's what got me worried." He replied grimly.
The Book projected a messy, half-glitched hologram into the air. It displayed countless maps and continents, flipping through languages, settling on one for just a moment before it shifted to the next. Every once in a while they'd get a clear signal, but the red, blinking dot (indicating the Stone - Erica's - presence), wasn't always there. And when it was, it might only be on the map anywhere from three seconds to an entire minute.
". . . did your hackjob landing break it?" Panthro asked.
Lion-O rolled his eyes again. "Ha, ha." He said. "But no. It was doing that when I took off the first time. Something's out of whack and I don't know what it is."
Kit settled herself in, buckling up. "It's okay. We're going to be alright. We just have to find Echo before Mumm-Ra does and find out what's wrong."
Yeaaaaahhhhh. . . . like that wasn't enough of a challenge already.
Three hours later. . .
.
The Book put out its semi-accurate signal so rarely that it was driving Lion-O insane. He began to believe that the Book was doing it on purpose, just to mess with his head. They'd been in the Feliner for a little over three hours, flying in one direction, changing course, backtracking, and then flying another way. They signal wasn't reliable at all. Tygra had requested that he use Omens to see what the Stone thought about this whole mess, but when Lion-O had tried Sight Beyond Sight. . . all he got were distorted, staticky images.
Omens wasn't cooperating either.
And then, to make matters worse, the Book had decided to turn off altogether.
That had been ten minutes ago.
They remained airborne, waiting, aimless drifting overhead, looking for any kind of fight or indication that Mumm-Ra was on the move, but so far. . . nothing.
Which was why Lion-O was, in fact, very happy when he received a transmission on the comms feed. Even if the identification revealed the caller to be somebody from the animal council. At least it would break up the tension in the cockpit, if nothing else. With a ragged, stressed sigh, Lion-O jabbed at the ACCEPT button, though he had half a mind to just rip out the comms panel altogether.
To his surprise, Annet was the one to appear on the screen.
"Ah! Hello, LionCats. How are you this pleasant day?"
Lion-O decided not to honor that with a response. If he replied, he knew it would be acidic and nasty. He chose instead to stare at the screen, hoping that Annet could pick up on his incredibly subtle body language.
And, much to his pleasure, he did. The elephant coughed. "I'm sorry. I foresaw that you would be in an angry mood, and I hoped that I would be able to make you a little less-"
"Annet." Lion-O said, unable to restrain his impatience or anger, "Now is not the time."
"I know! But I come bearing some important news, Lion-O! I forgot it last time I called you, but now I remembered!"
"And that would be?"
"It. . . is. . . uhmmm-"
Lion-O heard a faint voice shouting something like, 'give me that!' and then there was a scuffle. At first he feared the worst, because the camera went spinning wildly, but he heard a familiar robotic chirrup. An angry murmur filtered over the line. It took Lion-O a moment to realize that the sound was coming from a Berbil. What was it doing with Annet? For that matter, when the camera hit the ground, the land he was looking at certainly didn't seem like it was Cat Town. It looked. . . different. More green. And kind of rocky? Familiarity tugged at his memory.
"Annet, you're hopeless!"
Kit perked up.
"Kat!" She called, scrambling out of her seat.
Lion-O wasn't able to ward her off as she all but crawled onto his lap to smash her face against the screen. "Kat, are you there? It's me!"
"Wha-? Oh, hey sis! I missed you!"
"Are you okay?"
Kat finally managed to right the camera and point it at his face. . . almost. Half of him was out of the frame.
"Yep! Cheetara too!"
"Where is she?" Tygra called out from the pilot's seat.
"Scouting around. She's been itchy since we got here. Annet found us in a river after the Shark people thing. He said he saw us wet and dripping and he knew where we'd be. He had to take a Berbil so he wouldn't get lost! Beebil musta been crazy after having to remind Annet so many times! He said he came because he forgot something important and he needed to give it to us."
Lion-O swore he felt his eye twitching. "Those elephants. . . We do not have time for this-"
"We're making time." Kit hissed, whirling around and glaring at him, "We're not leaving my brother!"
"I didn't mean it like that," Lion-O said, holding his hands up in surrender, "I meant Annet. Of course we're getting them."
"We better." She warned, and then turned back to the comms screen, "Where are you?"
"We're only a few miles outside of Thundera."
"Well, isn't that a coincidence." Tygra chirped. "We're only a few minutes away ourselves."
"Changing course," Panthro announced, flicking switches, "Tell them we'll be there in less than five."
Lion-O felt the Feliner dip and pick up speed, his ears popping.
"We'll be there in a few minutes." Kit said. "Okay? Hey, brother. . . Echo's. . . strange. Something's weird about her."
"What? Like what?"
Kit shook her head. "I don't know. She's confused. She says a lot of crazy stuff and she cries a lot, too."
"She said crazy stuff before."
"I mean crazy crazy."
"Oh."
A beat of silence passed in which Kat fiddled with the camera.
"Huh. . . oh, duh! Before I forget - Annet's making me forget things now, too! - he has this doohickey-thingy for us. I don't know what to do with it. He said it was important. And it brought stillness to chaos?"
There was a beat of silence as Kat adjusted the camera, trying to show both Kit and Lion-O the 'doohickey-thingy' but then Annet let out a cheery 'hello!' in the background.
Kat stopped, the camera aimed at the dirt.
"Cheetara? You're. . ." He trailed off.
"Hello, Snowy!" Annet said cheerfully.
Lion-O felt his stomach drop.
"I also foresaw that you would be here! Now. . . wait, Cloud, there's no reason for weapons. Come, let us meditate! You do seem quite distressed-"
"Annet, NO!" Lion-O shouted, pressing against Kit to try and be seen through the comms screen. He wished he could jump through it, but as it were, the only thing he could do was lay his hands on it. He wished he could pull Kat to safety, the screen a portal allowing him to do so.
"Kat, get away from her! She's not stable-"
A loud noise blasted through the speakers, sounding rather like roaring wind, and then the camera went flying. Lion-O wanted to scream as it smashed against something and the feed cut out.
"Tygra!" Kit begged, "Please, hurry! I have to stop her!"
Tygra hadn't waited for the kitten to beg him. Lion-O could hear the engines running at full throttle. He was anxious to simply land the Feliner, but Lion-O knew that if he grabbed the controls, he'd likely crash it for real this time and then where would they be? But they had to hurry. He had no idea what Erica was doing with Annet and Kat, but he didn't trust her. She had cracked and gone completely insane. Lion-O held Kit back from physically launching herself at Tygra, because the kitten was convinced that they weren't going fast enough.
"Kit, calm down, please." Lion-O said, holding a squirming kitten in his arms. "I thought you said she wouldn't hurt you?"
"She won't." Kit said, her conviction strong. "I'm worried about what you'll do!"
Lion-O opened his mouth, wanting to reply, trying to come up with something to say, but nothing was coming out. Luckily, however, he was saved by the sound of the engines powering down.
"Landing now. We're seeing a lot of activity. No signs of Annet or the Berbil, though."
"Cheetara probably chased them away. She's gettin' a workout right now." Panthro said grimly.
Kit finally wrestled herself free of his hold and glued herself to one of the cracked windows of the Feliner. Lion-O stood, mirroring her actions, and found that there was a fight transpiring. A fight he just barely got a glimpse of before Tygra and Panthro pitched the Feliner down, cutting power to the engines. Instead of crashing into a bank of trees like Lion-O had done, they trusted the shock absorbers instead. Lion-O felt every one of his bones jar against each other as they fell, dropping from the air and onto the ground.
Lion-O heard the Feliner cracki, but thankfully, she held together. Warnings were flashing on control panels, a voice broadcasting, 'warning: hull integrity damaged. Warning: hull integrity damaged. . .' But there was no time to listen to any kind of suggestion. It was only seconds before they were pouring out of the Feliner, Omens coming to life in his hands, the War Stone humming.
When he made it outside, Lion-O wasn't sure what he was prepared to see with Erica.
But it certainly wasn't. . . that.
It took a few moments for his brain to process what he was seeing, but when he did, his mouth dropped open.
Erica had Cheetara by the throat, and had forced the cleric to her knees.
The scene was even stranger to look at considering the fact that she was standing in front of Thundera's battle-scarred gates. Lion-O remembered all those months ago when the lizards had destroyed Thundera. It was a fateful night that was forever engraved in his memory as the night of his father's death. And the ascension of Mumm-Ra.
Omens crackled in his grip, humming a warning.
Tygra was the first to rush off, Cheetara's name a battlecry as it fell from his lips. His lasers peppered the air around Erica, the first two going wide as he tried to find his error of margin, but the rest were dead-on to her. And they would have connected, had they not been reflected by an invisible shield.
The hair on Lion-O's neck prickled, and he shouted a warning as he slashed with Omens just moments before a freakishly strong wave blasted through the area, packing so much force it was enough to send a few wayward boulders rolling over.
Panthro, muscling his way through the blast, ran up to Erica, nunchucks drawn.
And he would have connected with her. . .
. . . had Erica not caught it, and without even looking at the general, deflected the blow. A flick of her wrist had him hurtling backwards, too.
"Listen, child." Erica said, staring down at Cheetara. "You squander your potential in the Black Pyramid. He trains you, but he does not trust you. This is why I am his second-in-command. Here, there is no room for mercy, no room for your innocence. Only obedience. Strength."
Lion-O ran at her, slicing through waves of her telekinesis, cutting them through just as quickly as Erica could cast them. Omens snarled at her, craving her blood.
"I will show you. This demonstration is for you. I want you to take your sword and place it here. Drive it in slowly-"
Lion-O swung, aiming for her neck.
And his sword clashed against three of hers.
Her arms hadn't moved, but too late, he realized, the boxes on her back were open. And her sword hilts were hovering in the air around her, blending in well with the twilight rapidly settling on them.
Her grip on Cheetara tightened, her lips turning to a frown.
"You cripple yourself. Your argument is meaningless. In this life, it is either us. . . or them. And I have long since chosen us." She lifted a hand, grabbing at a holster on her hip, and produced a small knife.
Tygra went ballistic, lasers and whips peppering and cracking the air, but Erica's mind kept him at bay. Panthro even managed to get close enough to her a second time to lash out, but instead of reeling him back, she sent two swords his way. Lion-O was on the offensive himself, but her three swords were more than enough to keep him away. Regardless, he pushed harder, because in the fading light he could see that dagger approaching Cheetara, and he was tired of failing, of feeling helpless, and Tygra deserved happiness-
Erica's hand jerked back, metal gleaming in the light.
The swords he was parrying bodily shoved him back, and Erica dropped Cheetara, the cleric coughing as she hit the ground. Kat stood behind her, his flank in her hand, holding her tightly.
"Erica, stop! That's enough!" Kat yelled.
She turned away from the cleric, and looked at her hand, bringing it up to the light and twisting it around, watching the metal glimmer.
". . . I have to teach the hard way. Permanently. You never seek to do anything easily, do you?"
It wasn't working.
It wasn't working!
Why wasn't she scared of the kittens? Why wasn't she reacting like she normally did?
"Kit! Kat! Get back!" Lion-O shouted, rushing forward to try and strike her down, but her swords refused to let up their assault.
Kat stared at her, refusing to obey his commands, and Lion-O uttered a few dark curses as he watched Erica walk forward, grabbing a gun off of her hip-
And Kit landed on her back.
Lion-O's mouth dropped open when he saw a small knife flash in the light. The kitten grabbed at the wires that connected those boxes to the back of her neck. Kat manipulated his flank, withdrawing it and casting it a second time, using it to try and keep Erica as steady as he could. Kit started sawing at the thick cables that ran down to the boxes, and Erica began to flail wildly, attempting to wrest the kitten off.
Two more swords came to her aid, aiming to stab the kitten-
But Kit sliced through one of the thicker wires, and the swords flopped onto the ground, useless.
Lion-O breathed out a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived.
Erica's telekinesis went haywire, the same chaotic force he'd seen before returning to it.
There was no way for him to guess how it would appear. The only thing he could do was stand there as he and the other Cats were caught up in its whims, battered around like rag dolls. They were up in the air one moment, and then smashed onto the ground the next, only to be rolled over and then thrust back up again. Lion-O grit his teeth, somehow freeing his arm from a force that had it pinned to the air itself, and slapped a hand against the Spirit Stone.
It hummed to life, capturing them all in a safe, pink bubble, cutting them off from Erica's influence. They collapsed onto the ground, something Lion-O was grateful for, to get their bearings. The shield was large enough to permit them some room to move around in, too.
"Cheetara!" Tygra yelled, running over to the cleric's side.
She was coming around, rubbing at her head and her throat. "I'm fine. Where are-"
Lion-O watched through the shield as Erica and the kittens (who weren't affected by her telekinesis), struggled through Thundera's gates, Kit still on her back, Kat digging his heels in and attempting to stop her.
And she fell, the kittens falling with her, disappearing behind a bank of what had once been a tower.
A scream split the air before abruptly silencing a moment later.
Omens and the Spirit Stone quieted at the same time, and Lion-O gaped down at them, watching as the sword receded, and the pink bubble around them faded from reality.
Erica's swords all clattered to the ground.
The air was still.
But the kittens.
The kittens!
Whipping his head to Tygra, Cheetara, and Panthro, Lion-O opened his mouth to beg them to hurry, but Panthro shoved him, damn near sending him face-first into the dirt.
"Go! We'll catch up! What are you waiting for? GO!"
He didn't need to be told twice. Lion-O sprang forward, claws digging into the dirt to help propel him and give him some extra speed.
The kittens couldn't come to harm.
They just couldn't!
If. . . if they met the same fate as Pumyra. . . !
Lion-O didn't allow himself the luxury of finishing that thought.
She wasn't hard to find.
When she'd stepped through Thundera's gates, her foot must have slipped on a lip created by a missile. Erica and the kittens had tumbled down into a street just about eight feet below him. His eyes searched, accessing the scene. Kit and Kat were both moving, Kat wrapping his flank, and Kit bleeding, blood scattered all over the front of her shirt. She flopped down, eyes wide, breathing heavy.
NO!
Erica was there.
Right there.
She was laying on the ground in front of him, completely prone. She looked sickly and pale, her chest moving in quick pants, and she hardly seemed to realize there was a world around her at all. Upon hearing his footsteps draw closer, however, Erica picked up her head, body swaying almost drunkenly, her eyes looking-
And Lion-O didn't let her do anything else.
His rage and anger and grief bubbled to the surface in two seconds flat, and he was on her in the next heartbeat. One of his hands fisted tightly in her shirt, and the other cocked back, curling into a fist. He was vaguely aware of the bloodthirsty snarl in the air, and it took him a moment to realize the sound was coming from him. He could barely hear it over the roaring in his ears, couldn't see her blood through the red tint covering his sight.
He could feel it, though. The gross, warm stickiness of her blood.
He knew he punched her.
Once.
Twice.
He stopped counting at five, took satisfaction when her nose snapped under his hand, the warm gush of blood that coated his fist. Just like Maui Nui, except this time she wasn't smirking up at him. She had no hidden ace tucked up her sleeve that time. Erica just laid there, limp and compliant underneath him.
And that pissed him off even more, knowing that she wasn't taking responsibility for her actions. She was just asking for it, like she was trying to atone for her sins, for murdering Pumyra. A hand grabbed his wrist, and Lion-O growled dangerously at his interrupter, but the sound tapered when he saw Kat staring back at him.
"Lion-O. . ." The kitten said, softly. "Don't."
"Please." Kit said.
She's alive?
Lion-O blinked, the world returning to focus, and he saw the kitten standing on shaky legs.
"It's not mine." She said, looking at him, "Lion-O. She didn't hurt us!"
Erica wheezed under his grasp. Lion-O took a moment to compose himself. Kat was right. He had to-
A soft, tentative hand wrapped around the wrist wrapped in Erica's collar, and he jerked his head down to her in surprise. She was looking up at him, her face a bloody, pulpy mess, her right eye already turning a nasty shade of black, her nose broken and gushing. She seemed to be missing a tooth or two -
But she was. . . She was smiling.
Lion-O looked her in the eyes, and what he saw there made him pause. Erica's eyes had been a bright sky-blue color, almost freakishly bright and blue. But these. . . the color seemed to be leaking, draining out of her eyes. There was a dark, not nearly as stark, shade of green underneath. It was like the blue was being scraped away - it looked even more freakish on the human than normal.
Like she'd been born with some kind of defect.
"It's okay." She said, her voice unusually soft.
She sounded like Echo again.
"I know. It hurts-"
Lion-O shook free of Kat's grip, cocked back, and punched.
He hit her so hard she was dislodged from his grip, and Erica slapped back down against the ground.
"You don't know!" Lion-O snarled, readying to punch her into the dirt.
Strong arms, much bigger than Kit or Kat's, wrapped around him, bodily hauling him off of Erica and restraining him.
Tygra.
Lion-O struggled against his brother, but Tygra held him fast. He knew it was wrong to do what he was doing, that Omens had already judged him as being on thin ice, but he had to. He had to. He wanted to punish her for what she'd done. Somebody needed to hold her accountable for her sins. he wanted to kill her for taking everything from him!
"You did this!" He shouted, his voice raw and hoarse, "You caused all of this! You are the reason! You're just as bad as your master - you. Are. EVIL!"
Gingerly, Erica moved, slowly rolling over onto her side. She could barely stand, and she looked pathetic as she used a rock to help prop herself up into a sitting position. Her hair looked crimped around her head, like there was something there. What had Kit done? But whatever the kitten had done (severed those strange tubes, maybe?) had been effective. There was not a single shred of telepathy in the air. Her breathing was short and choppy again, her pants wet and wheezing.
"Yeah." She said, after a moment's hesitation. "I am. After everything. . . I really am. I'm sorry."
Those words she spoke, barely more than a whisper.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Pumyra flashed in his mind, and he relived her death again. It was enough to reignite his rage, and with barely-suppressed fury, he shook his brother off of him and ran at her, intent on clawing her eyes out. She didn't deserve to say that! How dare she!
"No!"
And Kit was there in front of him, spreading her arms out, his talons gleaming in the light from where they were sure to strike her-
And Erica moved, hand latching onto Kit and bodily grabbing onto the kitten.
His talons sliced through skin.
Blood hit the ground.
Erica's blood.
Lion-O stood there, time seeming frozen around him, Tygra's arms still locked around his waist.
Erica knelt there, her arm flayed open, her body wrapped around Kit protectively. Lion-O stared.
What. . . what was she. . .
Small, lithe footsteps drew closer, and Lion-O looked up, finding Cheetara standing in front of him.
The cleric stared down at him, eyes flinty.
"Were I not a Guardian of the Crown, I would strike you. Compose yourself!"
The words were like ice on his rage.
He stared down at his gauntlet.
What have I done?
"That's enough." Panthro said, quietly.
He moved forward, stepping beside all of them, and approached Erica. Kit wrapped herself around her, staring at Panthro with wide eyes, and Kat slid to his knees next to her, grabbing onto her shirt.
"Don't hurt her!" Kit said, "She protected me, see?"
"Yeah! She didn't hurt either of us!"
"I'm not gonna hurt her." Panthro said, stopping in front of the trio. "Nobody's doin' nothin' 'till we can talk about this. But we do need to see that arm tended to."
"You promise?" Kat asked.
"On my honor as a Cat." Panthro replied evenly.
There was a moment of deliberation between Kit and Kat before they finally nodded, seeming to trust the general, and pulled away from Erica. Without hesitating, Panthro reached down and picked up Erica, careful to not aggravate her wounds any further, and carried her to a semi-destroyed house, not more than thirty feet away. On the way, Lion-O got a good look at Erica's backside. And he was confused at what he saw. The wires and tubes that connected to the black boxes rigged to her back were gone, yes, the ends frayed from where Kit had sawed them through. But there was something else there, a halo that laid flush against the back of her head.
The thing Annet had meant to give them?
What purpose did that piece of technology serve? Did it stop Erica's telepathy?
The house was hardly that. It was just some slats of wood stacked against more planks of wood, ravaged by Mumm-Ra's attack on Thundera, but it was enclosed and provided no escape. The back of the house was sitting against a large boulder, and the sides were too thin to permit Erica exit.
Panthro disappeared into the hut, the kittens sighing as they stared after him.
Lion-O straightened, breathing in deeply. He turned to Cheetara.
"I saw Kit covered in blood and I assumed it was hers."
"No, Lion-O." Cheetara replied. "Again, you have let your grief and rage bind you. Do not pretend what you did was out of concern for me or anybody involved. I expected so much more of you."
Lion-O stood there, feeling. . .
He grit his teeth.
"And what of the agreement that she should be put to death?" He ground out, glaring at the cleric. "Everyone agreed it should be done. Even you."
"Things changed, Lion-O-" Tygra started, but Cheetara held up a hand, cutting him off.
"You misunderstand what I am saying. I am not defending her. Her crimes have been written in blood. There is no mistaking this. But killing even the lowest criminal in such a dishonorable way? That is no way to rule your people. If the other Cats were here, if they had witnessed what you had done, Lion-O. . . they would have recoiled in horror."
The blood on his gauntlet burned him.
Above them, beyond their line of sight, a shadow waited.
He had been patient long enough.
Soon, he told himself. Soon.
He simply had to wait for the other Cat to leave the house. . .
Yes!
Minutes passed before Thundera's last remaining general exited the house, leaving its sole occupant unguarded.
Everything was going according to plan.
Now. . . Now it was his.
The figure crept down, years of experience giving him the stealth he needed.
He slipped past the defenses, dropped and unguarded, and slipped inside of the hut.
There.
There she was, laying on a flat surface.
Weak.
Defenseless.
Now. . . now he would. . . he tried to ignore the way his hands were shaking.
It was his.