Liono and Tygra and Romance, Oh My

by ShadowFoxMoon

ThunderCats X INU Didn't Curiosity kill the cat? Seems Lion-O didn't really learn that lesson as a black feline crosses his path, attracting trouble wherever she goes. He wants to help her but the only problem is, she can't speak English. Lion-o/Kag/Tygra

3. Castle Plun-Darr

Hello Everyone. Sorry it's been awhile since my last update. My life is very busy, and in-between my full time job and trying to write a real book that I might be able to make some money from, i don't have much time to squeeze in Fanfiction like i use to.

I just bought a house, and I stick in one of my DVD's and watch ThunderCats every morning almost religiously. Lol. It just brings back nostalgia for me and makes my day a little better. Doing so helped bring back my interest in this story, along with a PM i got from someone requesting that I try and update the story for their birthday...

Hope you enjoy it.

Story

Kagome found herself waking up bright and early, unable to control her excitement. Just as she finished getting dressed in her usual outfit, Lion-O entered her room with a smile. "Good morning."

"Good morning." She repeated, returning the smile with one of her own.

Lion-O released an amused chuckle. "You ready to start your first day of school?" He teased. Kagome could only tilt her head at him, unsure of what he said, which only made him laugh more. "Come on." He extended his arm out for her. "What kind of chauffeur would I be if I didn't escort you?"

Feeling her excitement grow even more, she wrapped her arms around his and allowed the lord of the ThunderCats to lead the way to Tygra's lab.

.-

When they entered the lab, Tygra was writing one of his chalkboards, already preparing for the lesson. In front of the board was a single stool, obviously where she was going to sit.

Tygra noticed them when they took a few more steps into the lab—"Good morning." He greeted.

Kagome's ears perked up at the familiar greeting. "Good morning!" She almost shouted in pure excitement and ran up to the tiger.

He released a chuckle. "Excited I see."

Lion-O was also laughing. "I'll leave her in your care then Tygra, try not to give her too much homework." He waved over his shoulder to them as he exited the room.

Kagome turned to the Tiger, and asked her very first question: "What homework?"

She will forever regret that decision…

.-

"See Snarf run." Kagome spoke the words slowly as Tygra pointed to each one that was placed upon the board. "Snarf runs fast." She read the next one. "Snarf runs fast and jumps over the fence." She sighed, and when Tygra pointed to the next set of words, she just looked at him. "Tygra?"

"Hmm?" He turned to her, and pulled his hand away from the board, chalk still in his claws. "Yes Kagome?"

"I hungry. Can I go lunch?" She asked.

"I am hungry. Can I go and eat lunch?" Without thinking, Tygra corrected her.

"Tygra can lunch with me." She smiled at him. "I like Tygra."

"No that's not…" He sighed. "Never mind." He laughed and shook his head.

Kagome still had a lot to learn, but Tygra was very surprised at how quickly Kagome was picking up English.

.-

Tygra escorted Kagome to the dining room. On the way they ran into Wilykit and Wilykat. They waved in greeting to the two kittens, before continuing onward. When they arrived, Tygra noticed that there wasn't any fruit in the bowel on the table, so he walked into the kitchen. It was there that they ran into Snarf.

"If you both come to get something to eat, I'm sorry but—Snarf, snarf, we are out."

"Out?" Tygra repeated, surprised.

"Wilykit and Wilykat raided the fridge and ate the last of the Berbil-fruit. I have to go to the Berbil-village and get some more so I can make dinner." The cat grumbled beneath his breath as he removed his apron with a huff and threw it onto the countertop.

"Berbil-village?" Kagome looked over at Tygra, obviously curious. Is that were that sweet female robot-bear lives?

"They are our neighbors. They live close by." Tygra told her.

"It will take at least two or three trips to restock." Snarf was still complaining as he grabbed a large wicker basket, and was headed out the door.

"You know Snarf, you could take Kagome with you." Tygra suggested. Kagome's ears perked up when she heard her name. "She hasn't been to the Berbil-village yet and with her help it should only take one trip."

"I don't know Tygra…" Snarf didn't seem to like the idea. "Not that I don't trust her or anything, but I would rather do it on my own, Snarf, snarf."

Kagome understood a little of what they were saying, and she felt her ears and tail droop when Snarf disagreed with letting her tag along. "Kagome not go with Snarf?"

"Aw… don't give me that sad look." Her pleading tone along with the puppy-dog eyes was all it took for the small feline to give in. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to have her come with me…"

Instantly her sad expression flipped to a happy smile and she hugged the small cat to her chest. "Thanks Snarf!"

"Okay, okay! J-just put me down! Snarf, snarf."

.-

When Kagome got to the village, she was amazed at the small houses around her, along with the strange trees growing in the fence along the border. As she stared in awe, mouth agape, she was suddenly surrounded by robot-bears, all of them looking almost similar to—"Ro-bear-belle." She smiled happily when she spotted the female bear among them.

"Kagome. Snarf. It is nice to see you." The female greeted.

"Nice to see you again, Ro-bear-Belle." Snarf greeted. "I've come to get some fruit, and this one—" He motioned towards Kagome who stood beside him. "Decided to come with me. I hope you don't mind, Snarf snarf."

"Of course not." The bear shook her head.

"We are delighted that Kagome is with you. Now we can give her a proper thanks for saving Ro-bear-Belle." A male bear spoke up. "Hello. I am Ro-Bear-Bill." It extended his hand to Kagome.

"Hello." She reached out and gladly shook its hand with a smile.

"Come on Kagome. I want to show you the fruit trees, and the candy fruit—" The cat released a purr in pleasure. "Snarf snarf."

"Candy fruit?" Kagome repeated, blinking in confusion as the smaller animal wrapped its tail around her wrist, practically dragging her to the trees surrounding the Berbil-village.

.-

"This is candy fruit, Snarf." Using his tail, the small cat easily reached up to grab the candy cane shaped fruit hanging from its branches. "Its delicious!" The cat was purring loudly in delight as he stuck the treat in his mouth. "Mi itf!" (Try it!) The feline spoke with its mouth full as he reached out another stick for her to try.

"Thanks." Kagome took it with a small smile. Unlike Snarf, who practically stuck the whole thing in his mouth, Kagome broke a small end piece, testing it first. When the sweet flavor hit her tongue, she too was purring in delight. "Good." She nodded in agreement.

"Good?" The cat shook his head. "It's great!" He corrected her.

Kagome laughed. "Great."

"And here, look." Once again Kagome was dragged across the garden, Snarf wanting to show her something. "These are meat fruit. And that's bread fruit." Do they have a fruit tree for everything? She couldn't help but question. "These are vegetable fruits—" The smaller cat leaned towards her and whispered. "I don't like them that much…" Kagome blinked at the feline. She thought he was supposed to be the caretaker of the ThunderCats? Usually babysitters are always telling the children to eat their vegetables—Kagome laughed. Guess Snarf is one-of-a-kind.

As Kagome and Snarf continued to nibble on the assorted fruit, the female heard giggles coming from the bushes beside them. She turned to look, and her expression softened when she saw several small pairs of ears sticking out of the blushes. She quietly snuck towards the bush, before leaning over it with a fanged grin. "Hello." Her smile only grew when she saw the small robot-bear-children looking up at her.

So cute…

.-

"Roar!" Kagome released a loud growl as she stomped her way through the flowers in exaggeration.

"It's a Gigantor!" One of the small bears stood up, holding a stick.

Kagome made her voice deep and angry. "Berbil-fruit! I lunch Berbil-fruit~"

"It's going to eat all our fruit!" The other bears were surrounding the pile of candy fruit that was stacked in the field.

"Get it!" All the bears suddenly rushed at her, and she was surrounded. Several of the bears climbing her body.

She let loose a weak growl as her body became heavy and she crouched to the ground. The rest of the bears climbed her, encasing her entire body with their furry-robotic forms. "ROAR!" A thunderous roar released from her throat as she suddenly burst from the pile of robot-children. A few of them fell off, but several of the bears were still attached to her arms and back as she continued to roar out, yet the smile on her face gave away her enjoyment. "Spin attack!" The bears were also laughing as she spun around, the children trying to keep hold of her while still dangling from her extended limbs.

"Charge!" The other bears ran at her, sticks in hand. They started giving soft taps to her legs and a few even smacked her on the rear. One of the bears finally climbed up her back and was upon her shoulders—

"Oh no…" She gave a weak growl when it smacked her in the head with its robot paw. "Curse you—Ro-bears~" She shouted out just as she fell backwards, landing on the ground with a heavy thud upon the grass. "I give up." Yet the bears didn't stop and surrounded her, their paws tickling all over. "I said I give up~!" She laughed, a big smile on her face as a purr of enjoyment rumbled in her chest.

.-

Noticing that Snarf had been picking fruit for a long time, Kagome when to check up on the small feline. "Ooooh~" And that is how she found him. "Ooooh~" Lying on the ground on his back, beneath a candy fruit tree. "My stomach~" His belly was swollen, and it was obvious it was causing him problems. "I think I ate too much…"

"Lunch too much candy?" Kagome crouched down beside him, laughing. "Bad idea."

"Prrr—" He released a pained purr. "Now you tell me."

She knew the cat was in pain, but she couldn't help giggling at his expense—Her ears perked up when a sound came across them. It was an odd noise, mechanical—but it wasn't the Berbils. It sounded more like a loud buzzing noise— A large shadow sudden went over Snarf and her, and she looked up.

Very high in the sky was a large red shinning bird, and two sliver mosquitos with it. What is that? She tilted her head at them, curious—Suddenly an alarm was blaring in the village, one of the Berbils sounding the bell.

"Attack! Attack!" The bear shouted. "From the sky!"

"Mutants!" Ro-Bear-Bill called out, and the children went into the huts, while the adults stayed outside, blow-darts in their hands.

A low growl rumbled in her chest when she saw the monkey and dog on top of the sliver mosquito, realizing that it was some sort of aircraft. The red bird-shaped one, obviously had a bird-man behind its controls.

"Mutants!? Quick! We have to protect the Berbils! Snarf snarf!" The cat quickly got on his feet. "Oooohh~" His stomach made a pitiful sound and the cat fell upon his belly and rolled around in agony.

Kagome looked down at Snarf for a moment, a look of worry in her eyes— A loud high-pitched whizzing sound caught her attention. A bright red beam of some sort suddenly launched out from the aircrafts in short bursts, attacking the small huts.

Seeing the children hiding in fear inside the smoking buildings, she released a growl as rage filled her. Her fangs came out and ears bent back. "Mutants!" Those creatures are like the plague! They are following her everywhere she goes, causing destruction.

"There she is!" She heard one of them shout, and all three of the beasts turned their attacks towards her, making her eyes go wide.

"Snarf!" She quickly scooped up her furry companion in her arms and jumped out of the way just as several dark red beams came at her. She ducked beneath the trees and hid herself. With their line of sight gone, the three mutants circled around the garden, trying to find her.

Staying in the shadows, Kagome maneuvered her way around the garden and back towards the village. She placed snarf down in front of an undamaged hut. "Stay." She commanded. "Keep Berbils safe." She patted the small cat on the head and smiled.

The feline purred out in worry. "What do you mean stay? What are you going to do?"

"Mutants want me." Kagome looked around. There were trees and a mountain close by. "I go away. Mutants follow. Leave village alone."

Kagome looked between her two options. The forest, or the mountain. While the trees had some cover, they could still maneuver between them. The mountain would have a cave for her to hide inside, and the aircrafts couldn't follow. The mountain was a better choice.

"Mutants!" She shouted at them, waving her arms to catch their attention.

"No." Snarf argued. "You can't fight them on your own, Snarf snarf!" Snarf tried to get up, yet he was forced back down when his stomach gave him more pain.

"Over there!" The monkey spotted her, catching the other's attention.

Once all eyes were on her, she ran towards the mountains. Like she predicted, the three mutants followed after her.

"Kagome!" As she ran, she heard Snarf calling her name in worry. "Come back!" She ignored the small aching in her chest at the sound.

.-

On flat ground Kagome was unmatched. Everything was going past her in a blur, and the aircrafts couldn't keep up with her speed. The mutants didn't even bother to shoot at her, knowing that they would miss.

When she got to the foot of the mountain she didn't slow down, instead she used her momentum and jumped up—She released a cry of surprise when she was suddenly launched straight into the air. Taken off guard by the reveal of her unknown jumping powers she didn't even know she possessed, her arms and legs were flailing around as she hovered for a few seconds, before finally falling. She landed on a ridge, halfway up the mountain, right upon her back. The air came out of her lungs in a powerful 'whoosh' upon impact.

"Ugh~" She coughed several times, trying to get her breath back as she slowly sat up—She heard the attack just before red beams shot and hit the mountain on either side of her. She cried out in fear and placed her hands over her head as she curled up. Several more red lasers hit all around her body.

"Stop you fools!" An order was shouted from the bird upon the red aircraft, and the attacks finally stopped. "Do you want to hit her!? She is supposed to be captured unharmed you idiots!" The sentence ended with a strange sound, as if the creature was hacking up a loogie.

Kagome felt the ground around her shake, and she looked around in worry. She glanced up and her eyes widened when she saw a large boulder, as big as the ThunderTank, shifting loose high upon its spot at the top of the mountain.

"The village-!" She looked down at the Berbil-village, then back up at the boulder—She heard it, as if thunder had struck right beside her, then the entire mountain began to shake. Before Kagome had time to react it had rolled past her, down the steep mountain.

Kagome gave a cry in horror, before she jumped to her feet and chased after it. She was already so far behind it—The only thing she could do was jump and pray. If she could jump that high, maybe when she landed it wouldn't break every bone in her body-

She landed with a powerful 'thump' on all fours, her whole body shaking on impact. She ignored the way her whole body was wobbling, and pushed off with her feet, going as fast as her legs could move. The boulder was already halfway to the village, she feared she might not make it, but as she began to push herself, she noticed everything around her practically slowed down to a crawl.

She was moving in large leaps, and it felt like she could fly…

She suddenly passed the dangerous rock, and she turned on her heels and braced herself. She had no real idea what she was doing, but as she stood there, her feet planted in the ground, and her arms stretched out as if she would actually catch the massive death rock—She screamed out as loud as she could, as if the sound would release some kind of hidden magical power, and she wouldn't be simply rolled over—

The rock hit her open palms and she felt the shot go up her arms. Miraculously enough, instead of her arms breaking, the area around the bolder cracked from the force. She put her weight into her shoulders, but it wasn't over yet. The momentum of the rock hadn't completely stopped, and she was sliding back, her feet scrapping against the hard ground as she was pushed.

She couldn't let this beat her. All those innocent lives—she couldn't—she will not let this rock move another inch!

She snarled, her fangs coming out as she roared. Closing her eyes shut she put all her power down into her legs and lifted up. She snapped her eyes open. Fierce crimson red was bleeding over the white in her eyes, and she looked almost monstrous as she held the boulder high above her head.

Even so, everyone looked on in amazement—even the mutants—"Mutants!" Her voice sounded deep and was pure animal, the shout was the only warning they got before the boulder suddenly was launched in their direction-!

The smaller crafts were lucky and moved out of the way, but the red one was too large and couldn't maneuver fast enough. Its backend was taken clear off—"I'm hit! I'm going down!" The bird cried out just as its craft went down into the forest somewhere, leaving a trail of smoke behind it.

The monkey gave a loud hoot in disbelief. "Let's get out of here!" Within seconds the money and jackal were flying off, leaving their crashed friend behind in the forest to fend for himself.

Then, it got quiet. She stood there for several seconds breathless.

All at once shouts of praise and victory were surrounding her as the Berbils left their huts and ran up to her. She closed her eyes, and when she slowly opened them again, the red was gone, replaced by white. Her legs and arms felt like jelly, and with a groan, unable to keep it together anymore, she collapsed onto her rear with a thud.

"Good going Kagome!" Snarf, now able to walk around, weaved between the bears legs and was beside her, smiling. "Just like we planned! Snarf snarf." The feline placed his hands upon his hips and puffed out his chest proudly.

Kagome smiled and released a weak laugh, before she forced her tired and aching arm to reach up and pat the small cat upon the head.

Then, out of nowhere, she was suddenly attacked by all the Ro-bear-children. With the sudden pack attack, she fell over onto her back with a thud, but you could hear her pleased and muffled laughter from beneath the pile of fur and metal that was on top of her.

.-

Kagome had just sat down the last plate of food, when the doors to the dining room opened up. "Wow! It looks great!" Lion-O smiled as he walked over and sat down beside her. He smiled in greeting, and she returned the smile and nodded.

"Look at all the food!" Wilykit spoke next amazed.

"What is all this stuff? I've never seen it before." Wilykat questioned, even thou drool was dripping from his lips.

Panthro was next as he plopped down into his chair with a pleased grin. "I don't know, but it smells great!"

Next was Tygra. "What a feast!" The tiger sat down on Kagome's other side.

Then last, Cheetara. "You did a wonderful job on dinner today Snarf."

"Yeah! You out did yourself." Lion-O praised him.

Snarf gave a purr beside her. "It wasn't me, Snarf snarf. Kagome made all of this."

Everyone stopped moving and looked over at her. With all eyes on her, she felt rather nervous. "I make Lunch for everyone."

"Lunch?" The kittens repeated. "But it's dinner."

"She thinks every food is called lunch." Tygra explained. "I'll just teach her about the other meals of the day later."

Kagome looked between Tygra and the kittens. "Something wrong with lunch?"

"No." Tygra smiled down at her and patted her on the head. "You did a great job, Kagome." The affection caused her to unconsciously release a pleased purr.

"Now, let's enjoy this wonderful meal that Kagome made for us, uh?" Lion-O stretched out both his arms, before signaling it was time to chow down.

All at once everyone began to gather pieces of each plate onto their own. The kittens were being extra greedy, she noticed. Their eyes bigger than their stomachs as they piled on the food.

Kagome had placed just a modest amount of her favorites on her plate. She put her hands together and bowed her head. "Itadakimasu." When she pulled her hands away and looked up, she noticed everyone had stopped eating and was staring at her.

"What was that?" Wilykit asked.

Tygra began to explain. "Well it's—"

"I thanks for food—" She paused in the middle of her words as she tried to remember Tygra's lesson that day. "and for one who made it."

"Ah, I see." Lion-O nodded. Then he glanced around the table and all the TunderCats nodded as well.

Suddenly they all placed their hands together, and her eyes widened—"Itadakimasu." They all spoke at the same time, and Kagome felt tears of joy enter her eyes, happy.

.-

"Then, Kagome lifted up the boulder that was as big as the ThunderTank and threw it at the mutants!" Snarf was excitedly telling everyone at the dinner table about the grand adventure they had at the Berbil-village. "She hit Vultureman's ship, and it crashed into the forest!"

"Wow, that's pretty amazing." Lion-O glanced over at her and Kagome could feel her cheeks starting to heat up in embarrassment. "You might be small, but I guess you are pretty strong."

"Kagome strong. Big muscles like Lion-O." Kagome laughed and raised her still sore arm up, flexing it.

He laughed. "Yup. Almost as big as mine." He too flexed his arm, placing it next to hers. The lion's muscles were practically growing muscles of their own. In reality, her arm looked like a stick compared to his. The small display made some of the ThunderCats laugh.

"Hey, wait a minute." Wilykit spoke up. "Where were you during all of this, Snarf?"

"Well, I was fiercely protecting the village, Snarf snarf." Snarf puffed out his chest. Everyone just looked at one another, unsure. "You don't believe me? Tell them Kagome." He motioned for her to vouch for him.

Kagome nodded her head in understanding. "Snarf lunch too much candy fruit. His belly hurt, so I left him to guard children."

She heard Snarf give a huff of disapproval and gave her a funny face. Kagome blinked, not sure what she did wrong.

"Yes, you 'fiercely' protected the village alright." Wilykat teased, and suddenly everyone at the table started to laugh.

Snarf gave a purr of denial, and his cheeks were stained red in embarrassment. His reaction only caused the cats to laugh louder. Kagome's ears twitched at the sound and she smiled, then took a bite out of her food with a hum.

"I wouldn't laugh." Snarf huffed. "Kagome was supposed to help me carry the food from the village back here, but after that fight she couldn't even do that." He growled. "So actually I did a lot of work, I'll have you know." He tried to make himself seem important and boasted.

Kagome's ears lowered a little. He wasn't supposed to tell them that! "Snarf-!" She gave a hushed warning in his direction, but it was already too late.

"I had to carry it all by myself, and even the Berbils had to help instead." Snarf continued.

"What do you mean?" Lion-O asked.

"After the fight, Kagome was too weak to carry anything!" He explained. "She couldn't even lift her arms like this—" He lifted his arms halfway up. "And she wobbled too much when she walked. She even stepped on my tail a few times."

"Kagome, is that true?" Lion-O looked down at her. Her ears drooped, feeling guilty.

"Does it still hurt?" Tygra reached out and gently touched her arm, and she flinched. "I was wondering why you were eating so slowly…" He mumbled to himself as he placed his hand under his chin. "After you eat, I'll check you out in the laboratory."

Hearing his words, Kagome sighed and her shoulders deflated. She glanced over at Snarf, sending him a heated glare. The cat just scratched the back of his head and gave a nervous chuckle...

.-

"By Thundera, that was some meal." Panthro leaned back in his chair and groaned, patting his stomach. "After all that, I won't have to eat again for days!"

"You can say that again Panthro." Lion-O agreed as he stood up from his seat. "I'll have to put a new notch on my belt if Kagome keeps cooking like that."

"Thank you Kagome, the food was wonderful." Tygra smiled down at her. She nodded her head and gave a smile of her own in return.

"Yeah!" Wilykat patted his own stomach. "I'm stuffed!"

"You can say that again." Wilykit agreed. "The hoverboards might not hold us up anymore."

Cheetara then spoke up. "I might have to push myself even more during my morning run tomorrow just to get rid of all the food I ate." Kagome's ears perked up at her comment. Morning run? That sounds like a good idea…

As most of the cats started heading towards the door, Kagome began gathering all the dishes out of habit—Suddenly the dishes in her arms were taken away from her and she blinked. "Don't worry about cleaning up." Lion-O's handsome smile came into her view and she felt herself blush. "It would be rude to make you both cook and clean after us. You are our guest after all."

"That's right." Snarf agreed, a few dishes in his hands as well.

"Me and Snarf will take care of it." Lion-O nodded his head. "Besides, if I'm not mistaken its Wilykit's and Wilykat's turn to help with the dishes…" The cat turned and looked, catching the two kittens trying to sneak out of the room.

When they were spotted, the two cats froze—"Run for it!" Kit shouted and they both took off towards the door—

"AH!" They gave a scream of surprise when they were jerked backwards.

"Hold it you two." Tygra looked down at them while he had a firm grip on their collars. "Don't think you can run off that easily."

"Aw~" They grumbled beneath their breaths and crossed their arms over their chest.

"But we wanted to go to the forest while there is still some daylight left." Wilykit started to explain.

"Yeah." Her brother continued. "We found this cool tree that we wanted to climb…"

"Well then—" Tygra easily lifted them up by the scruff, and turned them back around to face the table. "If you hurry and finish your chores fast enough, you can go into the forest and climb the tree before nightfall." Lion-O and Tygra just laughed as they watched the two kittens slowly walk into the kitchen, acting as if it was the end of the world. "Come on, we can leave it to them." Tygra patted Kagome on the shoulder gently. "We should head over to the lab so I can take a look at your arms and legs."

Kagome wanted to object. She doesn't like the way Tygra poked and prodded her sore muscles—It always hurt. Even if she didn't want to, she knew she didn't have any choice in the matter, so she just nodded her head and reluctantly followed the feline back to his laboratory.

.-

Tygra gave a hum as he inspected her legs. He still possessed the magical ability to squeeze the exact areas that were sore, causing her to flinch. "Odd…" The tiger mumbled to himself as he removed his hand to place under his chin in thought. "Kagome?" Hearing her name she blinked at him and tilted her head. "Have you gone through a drastic change in your body recently?" He didn't even bother to wait for her answer as he began to look over her arm with interest. "It's as if your body has transformed somehow—Like when children go through sudden growth spirts…" At this point Kagome new the tiger was just talking to himself as he gently prodded and examined her arm. "Your body couldn't adjust to the rapid change and is taking time to catch up." He slowly lifted her arm in the air. "Which is why you are having problems and easily exerting yourself—" He lifted her arm higher than her shoulder, and pain shot through her.

"Ow!" She gave a small hiss, her ears bending back.

He gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry." He lowered her arm back down. "Is there anything you can think of that happened to you or your body that would have made such drastic changes?" He looked down at her inquisitively. After a moment she looked away from him and at her newly made clawed hands. He spoke again when she didn't answer, placing his hand over his chest. "Do you understand what I am saying?"

"I understand." She admitted. "I no want…" She couldn't even speak her thoughts and she turned her head away when she felt the familiar sting of tears invading her eyes. "Sorry." She found herself sighing as she reached up with her hands to rub her eyes.

"It's alright." She felt a reassuring hand placed on her shoulder. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." His voice was soft and sincere. "You know, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be here." He crouched down in front of her and placed his hand on her knee. She nodded her head, unable to say anything. "I'm done with examining your arms and legs now. The only thing I can say is to stop taxing yourself so much." He warned her again. "But a goodnights rest should be all that you need. In the morning you should be back to normal." He gave her knee a pat before standing back up with a smile.

"Morning?" Kagome repeated, her ears perking up. "Tygra?" She shifted in her spot, nervous. He gave her a small hum in reply. "Can I run like Cheetara—" She paused and shook her head. "With Cheetara?" She corrected herself.

"You want to go with her on her morning run tomorrow?" She nodded her head. He placed his hand under his chin. "If you really want to I guess we can push our lessons later on in the day." Kagome smiled, pleased—but then he added. "Just make sure not to overdo it." Kagome nodded her head excitedly, her tail swaying back and forth. He gave a small laugh at her enthusiasm.

"T-Tygra?" Her voice was soft and her ears were drooped down. She could already feel her cheeks becoming hot.

"Hmm?" When his eyes made contact with hers, her cheeks were becoming even warmer.

"N-no. I… okay." She turned her head away, embarrassed.

The sound of his deep chuckle rumbling through his chest made her heart flutter even more. "What is it? You can tell me."

"Can—Can Tygra touch me and make me feel good?"

His cheeks became stained red almost instantly. "W-what?"

"I like the way Tygra touches me." She rubbed her thigh up and down. "I will run good with Cheetara." She used the excuse, turning her head away.

"Oh-! A massage!" He laughed a little as he placed his hand over his face and shook his head. "Never mind…" He finished his small bit of laughter before he lowered his hand. "Sure. I'll rub your legs for you."

He crouched down and the moment his hands touched her calf, she was in heaven. Unlike the torturous probing he did earlier, which he called 'examining' this was pure bliss. She could feel the tingling from her toes all the way up her back, before her tense legs became lighter than air, as if she could no longer feel them.

"Kagome?" It wasn't until she felt Tygra's light touch on her arm, and she slowly opened her eyes, that she even noticed that she had closed them. When she stared up at him with half-closed eyelids, and a dazed look, he chuckled. "Fall asleep on me? Surprised you didn't fall out of the stool."

"Sorry…" She gave a small mumble and released a large yawn to the world, revealing her pearly fangs.

"It's getting late and you're tired. You have to get up early in the morning to catch Cheetara before she goes on her run." He told her. "I'll take you back to your room."

She gave a nod in reply and stood up—She released a sound of surprise when her legs didn't respond and she fell back—Her hand placed onto the stool, along with Tygra's strong arm wrapped around her waist stopped her from falling on her face.

"I might have over did it. Should have realized it when you nodded off." He explained to her when she gave him a questioning look. "You're legs relaxed too much." He gave her a smile, and she knew it wasn't serious, so she relaxed, releasing a sigh. "You will be fine but…"

"Ah~" She gave a surprised gasp when Tygra suddenly lifted her up off the ground, being carried effortlessly by his stripped covered arms.

He must have seen the confusion look on her face, for he said. "It would be easier if I just carried you back to your room." Without evening waiting, Tygra walked out of the laboratory and towards her room.

Kagome frowned, wiggling in his hold. "No carry." What is the deal with these cats? Why do they all want to carry her like a child?

The tiger shrugged his shoulders. "I don't mind. You are very light." He smiled at her. "Besides, your legs feel good right? Why ruin it by walking back to your room?"

She sighed and shook her head. "No carry."

"Just enjoy the ride." He refused, causing her to huff.

She struggled in his hold. "No carry!"

But he only tightened his grip on her. "You keep it up and I'll give you ten times the amount of homework tomorrow."

Hearing his words she instantly stopped. She looked up at him, but seeing the smirk on his face, she knew he wasn't bluffing. "Bullheaded feline." She growled out while crossing her arms over her chest.

Tygra just chuckled and shook his head, taking this as a sign of her surrender. He continued down the hallway while carrying her carefully.

.-

Kagome wasn't really angry with Tygra, so it didn't take her long for her to get over her temper tantrum, and accept his offer to carry her without further struggle. The other reason she calmed down so quickly was the fact that she was surrounded by his scent.

While Lion-O scent was strong and aggressive, smelling of spices and heat, Tygra's was the opposite; he smelled like fresh mint and rain. The smell was relaxing, but there was something lying underneath it, hinting at something more powerful—but she couldn't figure it out.

In fact, almost everything about them seemed like polar opposites. Lion-O was young and powerful, using a sword. Tygra was older and cunning, using a long ranged weapon. While Lion-O was headstrong, Tygra was laidback.

The more she thought about it, the more alike they seemed to the real lions and tigers of her world. It was so bazar.

Even as she was being carried, she could feel Tygra's body shape surrounding her, holding her. It was firm and strong.

She rested her head upon his shoulder, nuzzling his neck as she closed her eyes and relaxed. "Tygra's muscles big." The words slipped from her mouth as she released a yawn. She could remember the way Lion-O's body felt when he carried hers—and how he flexed his arms to tease her. "Lion-O's muscles big big."

"Yes, Lion-O is strong…" She could feel his deep voice echoing around her whole body as he spoke. It almost made her shiver. "He is our leader after all." His tone was calm and soothing. "Did he—Has he carry you around like this?" His head shifted so he could look down at her, the movement made his cheek brush against her ear, and that time she really did shiver. She could only nod her head, unable to speak. "I see…"

As the rocking motion of his stride lulled her to close her eyes, she felt content and released a small sigh. Her mind began to drift, but one thing kept repeating in her thoughts. The two felines might be different, but they both made her feel safe…

.-

The walk down the hallway was rather pleasant. Kagome was light, so it wasn't hard to carry her down to her room. Her sweet scent was nice, and her calming breaths soothed him.

She had made herself comfortable by nuzzling against his neck, which almost made him purr out instinctually, but he stopped himself. He didn't mind, but every breath she took, every word or sound that came from her lips, he could feel it against his throat. Then the sweet smell and the feel of her smaller, softer body held in his began to affect him, making him realize that maybe carrying the feline wasn't the best idea…

After saying a few words, probably from a dazed and half-asleep mind, she dozed off in his arms, showing that she trusted him. So he carried the woman the rest of the way to her room in silence.

He laid her down carefully upon her bed, but the movement still alerted her, and she opened her eyes just a little, waking up. Yet he just whispered a small goodnight to her and patted her on the head. After all, she is young. Just a child, really— His eyes widened and a stain of red flushed into his cheeks by her next words, and he found himself leaving the room in a rush, going to the safety of his own bedroom.

His door closed behind him and he locked it. With a heavy sigh he placed his back against the door. "By Thundera." He swore beneath his breath.

Taking the hand he was using to stroke her head, she placed it against her cheek, rubbing it affectionately, showing her submission. "Thank you." Still not fully awake, she smiled softly up at him with half-open eyes. "Tygra makes Kagome feel very good." She knew she meant her legs, but the way it sounded, and how she looked laying there, his mind couldn't stop wandering away and he felt his cheek become flushed.

He placed his hand over his face with a groan. "I'm in trouble…"

This is just getting ridiculous…

The moment Kagome comes back from her run with Cheetara, the first thing he is going to teach her is the difference between 'good' and 'better'.

.-

"Cheetara!" Kagome called out to the cat just as she was reaching the door.

Cheetara turned, seeing both her and Lion-O walking towards them. "Lion-O? Kagome? Is something wrong? I was about to go on my morning run."

Lion-O smiled. "Everything is fine, Cheetara." He explained, then looked down at Kagome. "You wanted to ask her something, Kagome?"

Kagome nodded her head excitedly. "Can Kagome and Cheetara run?—" She frowned and shook her head. "Can I run together with Cheetara?" Kagome's smile grew when she felt Lion-O pat her on the head, praising her.

Cheetara's expression softened towards her, and she nodded. "Of course you can run with me." She then added with a smile. "If you can keep up."

The miko changed feline felt her heart sore. "Yes!" She wrapped her arms around the older female, her tail swaying back and forth. The two others just laughed, enjoying her over excitement for something so small and menial.

.-

The red-clay ground surround the dry canyon they were currently running in reminded her much of Australia. It was flat and dry; a perfect place to run and stretch your legs. Too bad everything was going by so quickly, making everything into a blur, it ruined Kagome's ability to do any sightseeing. But still, Kagome was amazed. Not only at the new scenery she got to explore, but also at how fast she realized she could go.

At first she had some trouble. She couldn't really control what her legs were doing. It was as if her body only had two modes: Stop and full-throttle, nothing in-between.

After some struggle, Cheetara was kind enough to pull back and help her out. With Cheetara guidance, Kagome figured out how her body wished to move, and how she was able to guide it along without wearing herself out going full blast.

Like the cheetah, Kagome could pump her legs at incredible speed, but moving her legs like that was too tiring for long distances and she wasn't use to it yet. (Her stamina was even lower then Cheetara's right now)

Kagome found out that the best way for her to move was how Inuyasha did. By using her powerful legs, she would just simply launch off the ground in a leap. When she touched the ground again, she would push off of again, continuing her momentum.

Just the movements alone brought back so many memories of Inuyasha, while she was riding upon his back. It felt so much the same- The way her hair was whipping behind her. Yet the same time, it also felt different- The wind was blowing against her face, now that she no longer had Inuyasha's broad shoulder to protect her.

Not that she didn't enjoy it— In fact, she felt almost free. In the in-between moments, when both her feet were off the ground, she felt like she was flying…

Kagome had kept her leaps short but long. She used the force of her push offs to gather more distance then height. She glanced to the side, seeing Cheetara running beside her, enjoying the small trip just as much as she was. For every one step Kagome would take, the yellow cat would take twenty or more swift steps.

It was all so fascinating, and strangely enough even though Kagome was in a new world, she didn't feel afraid anymore. This new world she was brought to was beautiful and wild. As Kagome ran, she could feel her anxiety and sadness vanish, being replaced with hope.

Maybe this world isn't so bad after all?

Maybe she can start a new journey and adventure? Maybe someday she could actually call Cat's Lair her home— Pain shot up her leg, causing her knee to buckle—She took a hard fall, her body tumbling several times in the red dirt. In the end she landed on her back, skidding a few feet before finally coming to a stop.

She blinked up at the sky, yet all she could see was fine red dust flying around her from all the dirt she kicked up in her tumble.

She heard the sound of Cheetara skidding to a stop beside her. "You alright Kagome?" The concerned look of the feline came into her vision when the yellow cat bent down to check her out.

Kagome stared at the woman for a moment then—"Pssfft~!" Her cheeks instantly puffed out as she tried to hold it in—But she couldn't hold it back for long, and soon the canyon was filled with her echoed laughter. Not long after Cheetara joined in, once she realized that Kagome wasn't hurt.

They both laughed and laughed, until Kagome's lungs and side were hurting. Tears began to come out, resting in the corner of her eyes to moisten them. She laughed until she couldn't anymore, releasing all the pent up emotions Kagome didn't even know she was holding inside. When she was finished, she felt a million times better.

After she was finally done laughing at her comical fall, Kagome sat up with a deep sigh and smiled brightly at the woman, showing off her pearly fangs.

"Can you stand?" She asked.

Kagome just nodded and got to her feet. She looked down at her left leg, the one that suddenly gave her trouble, and she bent it a few times, testing it out. After stomping her foot a few times, and no pain occurred, she nodded in acceptance, looking over at Cheetara.

She told her. "I can't run." The small pain she felt was just a warning. If she continued, she would just hurt herself again, and she didn't want that. "I go home."

"Oh, alright. I'll take you back."

A look of guilt swept over the recently transformed feline. "Sorry." She knew that Cheetara wasn't even half-way done with her run. "I…" How did Cheetara put it? "I couldn't keep up." She was slowing her down.

"It would be worse if you ended up injuring yourself." The mature cat shook her head and smiled. "You're still recovering. So don't feel bad." Cheetara hummed. "Stopping here is actually a good thing—come on." The female motioned for her to follow her. "I want to show you something." Her smile grew. "You're going to like it."

"What?" Kagome's ears twitched in excitement as she followed the cat.

Cheetara giggled. "It's a hot spring."

Kagome tilted her head, never hearing that word before. What's a 'hot spring'?

.-

Kagome practically purred out in pleasure as her body sank into the warm water. "Hot spring~!" She instantly memorized it without fail. "More like 'heaven'." God, she missed this…

"I see you are enjoying it. The warm water should help relax your muscles." Cheetara laughed, leaning further back on her side of the small but deep circular spring. "After I found this place, I've always came here on my way back home after my run."

"Thank you." Kagome smiled and rubbed her shoulders while moving her head back and forth—something suddenly touched her hair and Kagome paused. She looked over and saw Cheetara examining her hair with interest.

"I'm envious of your hair. It's so soft." She lifted her hand, and Kagome's black hair just slipped through her fingers like water. "Mine is so coarse." As she said this she touched her own short, yellow hair with a displeased sigh.

Kagome reached out and tested it with a hum. It felt very dry and damaged. Must be from all the high speed she puts it through—then again, Lion-O's hair seemed that way as well. Maybe it was an animal thing?

"How do you keep yours so soft?" She asked, curious.

Kagome made a face, trying to think of the right word. "Hair soap."

Cheetara made a puzzled expression. Kagome felt bad for the language barrier that was still between them. It was the best she could do—Kagome didn't know the word for 'conditioner'. Then again, Kagome hasn't used any on her hair since she was brought to this world—Yet her hair was never a mess…

It was in that moment Kagome realized the truth that she suspected all along… Her hair was proof enough.

Demons have a magical ability to somehow always have perfect hair…

"Kagome, do you like Lion-O?"

Kagome looked back over at the cat and nodded her head. "I like Lion-O. He helped me." She smiled. "I like all ThunderCats."

Cheetara shook her head. "Do you like-like Lion-O?"

"Like-like?" She repeated. Cheetara nodded, staring at her in interest as she waited for her answer. Realizing what the female meant, Kagome's cheeks became flushed red in embarrassment. Hearing Cheetara's laughter she huffed, pouting. "Cheetara tease."

"I'm sorry Kagome, I couldn't help it." She smiled. "The way you react to things… Your body is so truthful. It's as if you are a newborn cub." Cheetara giggled. "It's very adorable." She hummed. "That might be why Lion-O is so attached to you."

Kagome's cheeks darkened and she shook her head. "Cheetara like-like Lion-O?"

The female laughed. "Sometimes." Her expression softened. "Our kind can't help but be attracted to the strongest male." She admitted. "But sometimes I am reminded how young he is."

Young? "Age no..." Ugh, what was the word? "Different."

"Lion-O might look like an adult, but he is still quite young." As she said this she tapped her head with her finger. "Up here, I mean." She told her. "Due to special circumstances, Lion-O suddenly had to grow up, and his mind hasn't quite caught up with his body." Kagome just tilted her head at her, unsure of what she meant. "When you can understand more of our language, you should ask him."

Kagome knew she wouldn't get anywhere with asking her to explain, the language barrier between them was too great, so she just nodded her head. The dark-furred feline sighed, a little irritated.

Girl talk has never been so difficult, especially when one of the girls can't even talk very much to begin with…

.-

When Lion-O entered the lab, he walked in on Tygra doing morning training. "What are you doing Tygra?" You could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke, trying not to laugh.

Currently, Tygra was doing some hand-stand pushups. "Training." He answered in a grunt.

"Why?" Lion-O asked, curious. "You don't usually train like that. You're more of a strategist then focusing on pure strength."

Tygra paused at the height of his hand-stand and glanced at the lion. His focus instantly went to Lion-O's arms, which were crossed over his chest.

"Lion-O's muscles big big."

Tygra mumbled under his breath. "No reason…" He turned his head away and continued his pushups.

"You know, training doesn't seem like a bad idea." Lion-O hummed. "Would you like to spar?"

With a sigh Tygra pushed off the ground, into the air, then landed on his feet gracefully. "Sure." Tygra looked at the Sword of Omens that was resting at Lion-O's hip. "But only if it's hand to hand."

Lion-O chuckled. "Of course." With a smile he placed his claw shield and sword onto the black countertop beside them.

.-

Kagome was walking back to Cat's Lair with Cheetara. They had gotten through the dry canyon, and were now in the forest. It was lush and green, full of many creatures and sights. Because of her legs, Kagome didn't want to risk running back to the lair, so they had to walk home. The whole time she has been feeling guilty.

She looked over at the woman who was kind enough to guide her home. "Sorry…"

Cheetara just laughed. "Stop apologizing Kagome, you shouldn't worry about it."

Kagome sighed, her ears drooping. "…Sorry." Still, she apologized again, because it was the only thing she could think of to say. "Cheetara run home."

"I won't leave you." The cheetah shook her head. "Besides, we are half-way there. It shouldn't be too long." Even though Kagome was slowing her down, Cheetara still stayed by her.

Kagome gave a relieved smile to the woman. "Thank you—" Her ears perked up, twisting around when something odd caught her attention. She stopped in her tracks as her ears twisted back and forth trying to pick up the noise.

"Kagome?" Cheetara stopped as well, looking at her in concern. "What is it?"

Suddenly her ears went straight up in alert and her eyes widened. "Cheetara!" She pushed the cat out of the way, and a large gush of wind flew past where the feline was standing moments before.

Both the cats turned, seeing an odd yellow hovercraft with a drill turning in mid-air, facing them. Behind the visor, Kagome saw a familiar reptile sneering at them.

"Slithe!" Cheetara pulled out a yellow rod from her waist, and it suddenly extended into a pole. "Kagome, get out of here. I'll take care of him." Kagome opened her mouth to argue, but was quickly silenced with a stare. "I can run, you can't. Now go."

Kagome wanted to fight too, but she knew Cheetara was right. She would just slow her down more. With a nod Kagome turned and headed in the other direction—Kagome heard the laser before it even hit, stopping just as the red beam hit the ground in front of her.

She looked up at the sky, only to give a hiss in anger when she spotted the monkey and jackal flying above them on the sliver mosquitos they used to attack the Berbil-village. With them being surrounded, Kagome had no choice but to fight as well.

Kagome pressed her back against the female's. "Sorry."

Her words just made Cheetara laugh. "I'll take the SkyCutters. Can you handle Slithe?"

"Yes." With a nod Kagome ran towards the yellow hovercraft.

She stopped in front of the machine, unsure of what it did or how to take care of it. With a smile, Slithe sent out lasers, catching her off guard. Luckily Kagome dodged just in time, but she still heard the lizard laughing behind his visor.

"That isn't the only thing my NoseDiver can fire!" Slithe boasted.

Kagome shrugged and rolled her eyes. She couldn't really understand what he said, but if she had to guess, it was something stupid. With a huff she ran towards the lizard. Just before she collided with him, she jumped into the air, catching him off guard.

"Where'd she—UGH~!" He groaned out when Kagome landed on his back. "Get off me!" The vehicle began spinning around as Kagome reached out and tried to take control—Using his tail Slithe smacked her off of him, sending her to the ground with a grunt.

"Maybe not the best idea…" Kagome sighed and rubbed her throbbing head—Hearing several lasers being shot, she looked over, seeing Cheetara surrounded.

Without thinking Kagome ran towards her, her eyes focused on the monkey hooting in victory above them. With a single leap, Kagome had a hold of the vehicle's wing. The monkey cried out when his aircraft suddenly tilted off balance. "What the—" He looked over and growled. "Stupid cat! Do you want to crash?!" The great white ape reached out to grab her, leaning further and making the aircraft tilt even more.

With a smile Kagome reached out, grabbing the monkey's wrist before he could touch her. "Goodbye." A pleased look on her face, Kagome easily pulled the ape out of his vehicle. "One down."

The sound of the monkey's yelling as he fell was like music to her ears. Sadly enough, the trees below broke the monkeys fall, and Kagome pouted. She looked down, seeing Cheetara was alright, and her smile returned. The fast feline wave to her in thanks. Even though she was still dangling, Kagome held up her hand and waved back—A jerk almost made Kagome lose her grip, but she dug her claws into the hard metal, scratching it and leaving a white trail.

The SkyCutter started to spin out of control, so Kagome jumped off before it crash landed. The moment her foot touched the ground, pain shot up her leg, causing her to shout out in surprise and crumble to the floor.

"Kagome!" Cheetara was by her side in a blink of an eye. "You alright?"

Slowly Kagome pushed herself off the ground, the throbbing in her leg blocking out everything else. "Yeah… I—" Her words were cut off when a loud 'boom' sounded, and in a blur Cheetara was tossed aside with a 'woosh'. "Cheetara!" The moment Kagome tried to move her leg, she cried out as another jolt went through her. She gave a hiss and touched her injured calf. She looked back over at the female in panic, see her laying on the ground, covered in a net.

"What… is this…? Feeling… weak…" The usually energetic feline sounded different, and she stopped fighting the net and laid there helpless.

Laughter erupted throughout the area as Slithe drove up in his NoseDiver. "How do you like that, ThunderCat? It isss made of Thundranium!" He continued to laugh, pleased with himself. "I added that feature myself jussst for you." His tail swayed back and forth.

"Thun…dranium? Ugh." The feline looked faint. "Kagome…run."

Kagome tried to get up a second time. "Cheetara!" Yet she crumbled onto the ground for a second time. Kagome looked up, finding herself surrounded by all three mutants. She gave a hiss in warning, but they just laughed at her.

There was a loud bang as another net came out of the NoseDiver, and Kagome cried out in surprise when it went over her.

"You leave her alone… Slithe." Cheetara warned.

"You are in no posssition to tell me what to do, Cheetara." The lizard hissed.

Even though Kagome was in a bad situation, her concern was directed to the other feline laying a few feet away. "Cheetara?" She looked like she was getting weaker by the second.

"Don't worry… Kagome… Lion-O will…" Cheetara passed out mid-sentence, unable to finish.

"Cheetara!" Kagome struggled against the net trying to get to the other female, even though she knew it was useless. She took a few good swipes at the monkey, who was tying her net to the end of Slithe's hovercraft. Regrettably, she missed every time.

When the ape went over to Cheetara, Slithe spoke up. "Leave her. She would slow us down. Besides, we got what we came for, yesss?" With a small shrug, the monkey hopped on the back of the Jackal's vehicle, and they began to fly away.

"Cheetara!" Kagome called out one more time in desperation and worry, as she reached out towards her.

As she began to get further and further away from her, Kagome's concern and fear began to grow more and more. Not for her own safety, or even where they might be taking her, but for the cat that they left behind, alone and unconscious on the forest floor, still in the net.

.-

"Oomph!" Lion-O released a grunt when landed on his back, the air getting knocked out of him. "Man, Tygra, don't you know how to hold back?" The cat lord complained as he sat up and rubbed his sore shoulder.

Tygra just chuckled. "Wouldn't be a spar if I held back. What is it now, 10 to 1?" He poked the lion's already sore pride.

"Well it's not really fair after all." Lion-O said as he stood up. "Hand-to-hand is you specially."

"And you have greater strength then me." Tygra pointed out.

Lion-O scratched his head with a sigh. "Yes, but you know how to use that against me." With a hum, Lion-O gave him a questioning look. "Which brings up my question from before: Raw power isn't your strong point, why was you doing such an abnormal work out earlier?"

"This again?" Tygra crossed his arms over his chest defensively. "I already told you I wasn't really doing it for any particular reason…"

"Yes, but I can't get over it… It's not like you—" Suddenly a warning rang out, interrupting him. "It's the eye." He looked over at the counter where he left his sword. "A ThunderCat is in trouble." Without waiting Lion-O ran over to the Sword of Omens and withdrew it from it's scabbard. He placed the hilt up to his eyes—"Sword of Omens, give me sight-beyond-sight." The sword obeyed and the hilt curved upwards, and showed Lion-O it's cause for alarm.

"The only ThunderCat who is outside the lair right now is…" Tygra's eyes widened when he quickly figured out the only logical answer—

"It's Cheetara. She is caught in some kind of net—It looks like it's draining her of her strength—" He snarled in anger. "It's the mutants, they did it—and they got Kagome!" With a heated growl he lowered the sword from his eyes.

"We have to hurry." Tygra wasted no time in running out of the lab, followed by Lion-O.

.-

Without delay they gathered all the ThunderCats and took off towards the forest in the ThunderTank. With the two-ton vehicle making a path, they arrived in no time. When they did, the mutants were already gone, and they found Cheetara still lying beneath the net, unconscious.

Tygra and Lion-O were the first ones to jump out of the tank, followed by Wilykit and Kat. Just as Lion-O was about to free Cheetara, Tygra reached out and grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. "Wait, Lion-O."

"Wait? Cheetara can't wait, Tygra." As usual, Lion-O was too head strong and couldn't see anything else but what was in front of him.

"That is Thundranium." He motioned towards the net. "If you touch that you will end up like Cheetara."

"Then what do we do? We can't just leave her there."

"I didn't say that Lion-O, you have to calm down and use your head."

"Maybe Panthro can use the tank?" Wilykat spoke up from behind them.

"Good idea Kat." Tygra then shouted over his shoulder. "Do you think you can do it Panthro?"

"If I do it quickly enough, I might be able to without damaging any of the controls." Panthro reached out and placed his hands on the wheel. "Here goes nothing."

The ThunderCats jumped out of Panthro's way. Using the tank's jaws, he opened it wide and hooked it's fangs through the mesh. With a quick jerk it was pulled off of her, and tossed into the air, landing somewhere far away in the bushes where they couldn't see.

Once the net was gone, they all rushed to Cheetara's aide.

"Cheetara." Lion-O had her in his arms, looking at her in concern.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. "Lion-O?"

"You alright?" Tygra asked.

"Yes I…" A look of panic appeared on her face as she looked around. "Kagome. The mutants…They took her. We have to help her."

She tried to sit up, but Lion-O shook his head. "You need to rest."

"But Kagome-!"

"We will save her. You are too weak to fight." Lion-O carefully laid her down onto the grass. "Snarf, can you stay here and look after Cheetara? The rest of us will go after the mutants and get Kagome back."

"Leave it up to me, Snarf snarf. I'll take care of things here, Lion-O."

"Thanks Snarf." The lion smiled down at his smaller companion. "Let's go team." He ordered. "ThunderCats, Ho!"

"ThunderCats, Ho!" They all shouted out as they ran towards the ThunderTank, readying themselves for battle.

.-

"Can't you go any faster Panthro?" Lion-O spoke up from the passenger sit in the front of the ThunderTank with Panthro. "The mutants have already taken her to Plun-Darr by now."

Panthro replied with a huff as he adjusted several of his controls. "I have her at max speed already. Can't go any faster unless you want me to burn out the core."

Lion-O growled out, becoming more and more agitated by the second. "I swear by the eye of Thundera, I'll tear Plun-Darr apart with my bare hands if they harmed one hair on Kagome's head."

"Calm down Lion-O." Tygra tried to give some advice from the back of the vehicle. Even thou his own anxiousness was starting to affect him as well, he didn't let it show. "Getting upset won't do any good. We have to think of a plan."

"Panthro can bust through with the tank and we all can jump out. If we spread our search we can find Kagome faster and get her out of there."

Tygra made a small groan of disapproval. "I don't think that will work…" When Lion-O turned around to give him a questioning glare, Tygra just turned to the driver. "Can you explain it to him Panthro?"

"What do you think this is? A tank!?"

Lion-O looked at the darker furred feline. "Well… yes."

"You know what I mean!" Panthro huffed. "Last time we charged in like that, the mutants had a security system set up—We were lucky enough to get out of there last time- They've probably updated it since then. We go in there and we will be trapped—The ThunderTank will be our coffin and we wouldn't be able to get out."

"Well then, what do we do?" Lion-O questioned out loud.

"I have a plan that just might do the trick." Tygra said with a smile, just before he leaned in and gave instructions to everyone, revealing his plan.

.-

Still in the net, Kagome was taken off the yellow hover vehicle, and dragged through the large dark castle. She then was dragged from one room to another. By the time they finally decided to put her down on a table in a strange room, her butt was sore and had scrapes on it.

"Which of us gets to go contact Mumm-Ra?" Monkian, who was the closest to the table spoke up.

"Who sssaid anything about giving her to Mumm-Ra?" Slithe hissed out.

The monkey gave a hoot of disagreement. "But Mumm-Ra wants—"

"I don't care what Mumm-Ra wantsss! I am the leader!" The reptile didn't sound too pleased. "Ssstrap her to the table. We are going to find out why Mumm-Ra wants her ssso badly."

The ape hesitated, and the bird-man spoke up. "What are you waiting for Monkian?" The bird-man released a big hacking noise at the end of his sentence. "Do it."

Monkian gave a small grunt. "Don't order me around, Vultureman." Even though he complained, the ape began to untie the knot that kept the net closed. Once it was loose, Kagome pushed out of the net and sent an attack toward the ape. The mammal dodged her swiping claws, and reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"I thought the net was supposed to weaken her!?" He complained as she began to struggle against him, but the ape held on, a wrist in each hand. "Are you going to just stand around"—Monkian gave several grunts in annoyance.—"Or are you going to help?"

"Whatsss the matter Monkian? Having trouble?" Slithe teased him with a large smirk on his face, while Jackalman couldn't stop cackling long enough to even poke fun of him.

With a growl she kicked the ape in the stomach— "Ah-!"They both cried out at the same time when her attack landed successfully. With a whimper Kagome wiggled her body in pain, the throbbing in her leg intensifying.

Jackalman's already uncontrolled laughter grew louder, finding the whole thing hilarious. "Go help him Jackalman." That is until Slithe decided to make him help the ape. With a grumble he went over to help tie her down on the table.

Even with the two males trying their best, Kagome was fighting even harder, biting and clawing them with all her strength while ignoring the pain in her leg—"RAAOW!" A beastly sound Kagome didn't even know she could make tore out of her chest when pain shot through her. Tears instantly filled her eyes and she looked down, spotting Slithe. He had his scaly claws around her calf.

She quickly sat up, as if to go after him, fighting against Monkian who had one arm, and Jackalman who had the other—Slithe gave her calf another squeeze and with a cry of pain she crumbled back onto the table with a whimper.

"Move again…" He threatened as he gave her injured leg another rough squeeze and she cried out.

Kagome just laid there, the pain too much for her and leaving her drained of all her strength. In that moment Kagome wished she could smack that smirk right off of his sickly green face.

"Good thinking, Slithe." Monkian hooted out as he began to strap her to the table so she couldn't move.

"Now we can see whats so ssspecial about her, yesss?" Slithe glanced over at Vultureman. The bird approached her table, a large needle in his hand. When he neared her, the other mutants took a step out of his way.

Kagome's eyes widened when she saw him coming and she tried to pull her arm away. "Don't you dare come anywhere near me with that!" Yet the leather bindings gave a crisp snap, stopping her. "Ow!" She cried out when he stabbed her in the arm, not even trying to be gentle with it. "Asshole!" She hissed at him as the needle began to be filled with her bright red blood.

"This should be enough." The bird held the blood-filled needle up to the light with a pleased hackling/laughing sound, before walking over to the counter that was filled with several different tubes and beakers.

"How long isss it going to take, Vultureman?" Slithe asked.

He replied. "A few minutes." After he was done putting several drops of her blood into different colored vials, the bird walked over to a control panel that was placed against the wall a few feet away. "But in the meantime we can scan her body." He pressed several different buttons, then pulled a lever, and a large camera-like device dropped down from the ceiling and hovered above her— There was a loud shot that echoed in the room, making everyone jump.

"What wasss that!?" They all turned to the window, seeing half of it splattered with bright yellow goop. Kagome smiled in joy when she spotted two familiar kittens peeking through what small spaces were untouched in the window. "Thunder-Kittens!" Slithe hissed out. The kittens just laughed at them, then disappeared, going back down the castle on the outside using their hoverboards. "What isss going on Vultureman!"

The bird ran moved just a few feet over to the right, where a screen was at, and began pressing a few buttons. "Aaah~!" He made another strange nose. "The ThunderCats are here!" He announced. Hearing this, Kagome sighed, feeling relieved.

Slithe shouted. "Why haven't the alarms gone off?!"

"They parked the ThunderTank just outside our radar!" Vultureman told him.

"Letsss give them a warm greeting then, yesss?" He turned and began giving orders. "Jackalman, you come with me, Monkian, you stay here with Vultureman while he continues the tests."

The ape began to argue. "Why do I have to stay? Jackalman—"

"Jackalman didn't crash his SkyCutter in the forest like an idiot!" With a growl he shouted back at him, pointing his axe at the ape. "Because of you, we are down a vehicle! Now do what you are told!" With a huff the ape crossed his arms over his chest defiantly, but he didn't dare argue back again.

Once Slithe and Jackalman were gone, Kagome felt a sense of unease go through her—"Now that Slithe is gone, we can have a bit of fun…" A chill of disgust went through her when she felt his harry ape hands touch her cheek softly, before giving a loud hoot of excitement.

.-

"Here they come!" Panthro announced over his shoulder as Wilykit and Wilykat rode back to them in their hoverboards.

"Good job guys." Lion-O hopped out from the passenger seat. "Everyone remember the plan?" They all nodded to him and he nodded back. "Just hold on a little longer Kagome…" He glanced up and spotted the yellow blotch on the window placed high in the castle.

"And here come the mutants." Panthro called out as he readied the ThunderTank for battle.

"Right on time…" Lion-O whispered to himself as he pulled out his sword and claw shield. "Let's go ThunderCats!"

"Ho!" They all shouted just before lasers and the sounds of battle were all around them.

.-

"Gets your hands off me you damn dirty ape!" With a growl she turned her head away from his touch.

Monkian just laughed, before he suddenly placed his face against the nap of her neck, where her hair was laying. "You smell very nice." She shivered when his nasty rank breath went across her flesh.

"Monkian!" Vultureman shouted from across the room. "Your fat head is in the way of my scans! Move!"

The ape removed himself so he could turn and shout at the bird. "Why don't you shut up!? Bird brain!"

"Bird brain!?" He made a noise of displeasure that sounded more like he was choking on his own spit. "You dare-!"

"You stop me again and I'll rip that beak right off your face." He threatened rather calmly. "Just move the camera or something and don't interrupt me!"

With a huff Vultureman turned away and began messing around with the controls. "…Bird brain… I'll show him." He mumbled beneath his breath. "Better watch what he is drinking from now on… that's all I'm saying…"

Movement caught her attention as the camera began to slowly move up and down her body as it hovered above the table—Her hair being touched snapped her back to the monkey and she hissed. "Your hair is very soft." He stroked her head affectionately and she growled.

"D-don't touch me!" She shook her head back and forth to try and get his hand away from her head.

"You were so meek the first time." He started to talk as he continued to rake his fingers through her hair. "Do you not fear me anymore kitten?" He almost laughed. "Or are you just putting up a show for me?" He grabbed a hold of one of her ears and she inhaled sharply. "You are not like the other ThunderCats." He rubbed his thumb in a circle inside her inner ear, testing the texture. She wiggled her entire body as she tried to fight off the strange feeling that came with his probing. "Your ears and tail are odd." He hooted with a smile. "I like them."

As he rubbed her ears more she clamped her eyes shut. "S-stop."

"Huh?" He looked down at her and tilted his head towards her more. "What was that?"

"Stop… stop." She opened her eyes and looked up at him pleadingly. "Please."

He froze, staring down at her for a moment. "Ah!" He exclaimed as if he just figured it out. "You like this!" He released a grunt in victory. "I found your weakens huh, Kitten?" He touched her ear more vigorously and she squirmed. "How about your tail?" He reached his hand down.

"No." She shook her head, but he held on to her ear with a vice grip.

"Or maybe…" His hand veered away and she flinched when he brushed it across her inner thigh.

"Stop it, please!" She cried out as she tugged on her bindings and sobbed.

"Bastard!" There was a loud roar from beside her, and she looked just as Monkian suddenly whipped his head to the side, as if he was struck hard by something. He fell onto the floor with a thud.

Vultureman turned from his position at the counter, inspecting the colored beakers. "What!?" His eyes almost popped out of his head in surprise when the ape was lifted into the air by an invisible force and flew towards him. "AH!" He cried out, unable to catch the unconscious flying ape, his hands full of test tubes.

When the ape collided into him, they both crashed into the counter, knocking over every glass beaker and liquid jar. Kagome didn't have time to question what just happened, before the strips upon her wrist, ankles, and around her stomach, were untied.

Something was beneath her knees and back and she was lifted into the air, and she cried out in shock and struggled. "Let go!"

"Stop!"

"I—"

"Kagome!" She instantly froze at hearing her name being called. "It's me, Tygra." His familiar voice had her in tears.

"Tygra…?"

As if by magic his body became visible to her, as he held her gently in his arms, smiling down at her to comfort her. "See? It's just me."

"Tygra!" She called out in joy as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and placed her face in the nape of his neck. His soothing scent calmed her and she released a sob in relief.

"It's alright now. I'll get you out of here." He began running out of the room and through the castle, all while carrying her safely in his strong arms.

.-

The bright color of orange caught Lion-O's attention out of the corner of his eye. When he looked, he smiled in relief, seeing Tygra running out of the castle and across the bridge with Kagome in his arms.

But if Lion-O could see them—"Tygra!" Jackalman called out from his SkyCutter. "He has the girl!"

"What!?" Slithe immediately stopped fighting the ThunderCats and turned to the castle. "This was just a dissstraction!" He hissed out in rage. "Get them!"

Both mutants turned to the bridge and began racing towards it full speed. With a growl Lion-O raised his sword high above his head, two hands holding onto the magical blade as he called out. "HO!" Then he aimed the tip at the SkyCutter, and the power of the eye shot out of the blade and hit the wing of the vehicle. With a cry of fear from the canine, the SkyCutter began to fall, spinning out of control and leaving a trail of smoke in it's wake… heading straight towards the bridge.

Instead of stopping, Tygra continued to run forward, even as the NoseDiver was coming towards them, blocking the narrow bridge, and their only way out—The SkyCutter collided with the NoseDiver, catching the lizard off guard, and they both tumbled off the bridge in a roll of smoke, landing in the nasty brown-colored water with a splash before sinking.

When Tygra got to the tank, everyone gathered around to check and see if she was alright. "She needs to be taken back to the lair as soon as possible." He told them.

Kagome shook her head. "Cheetara?"

Lion-O gave her a reassuring smile. "Snarf is with her in the forest. We will pick them up on the way. She should have recovered by now."

Kagome sighed in relief. "Good."

Lion-O then gave the signal to depart, and with a nod they all agreed, not wanting to stick around too long. Then the felines all gathered into the ThunderTank.

Tygra gentle laid Kagome down onto the seat, and Wilykit wrapped her up in a blanket.

Lion-O sat down beside her. "We promise that we will never let them get to you again."

"That's right." Tygra nodded, sitting on the other side "We don't know what they want with you Kagome, but we will protect you."

"If they try it again, I'll blast the whole castle down myself." Panthro called out from the driver's seat.

"Yeah." The kittens nodded, agreeing.

"Thank you…" She look at all of them in gratitude as she hugged the blanket to her protectively. "Everyone… Thank you."

Feeling a soft stroke upon her head, she looked over, seeing Tygra trying to comfort her. Even though the strokes were the same, the fact that it was Tygra touching her and not the ape, made the whole thing feel completely different. Instead of disgust, she felt relaxed. She sighed and leaned into the touch. The smell of both spice and mint surrounded her, and she felt safe.

.-

Bliss. Pure bliss. It was all Kagome could feel at the moment. A tingle of heaven was spreading through her where pain once throbbed, and it was delightful. She couldn't help closing her eyes and imaging what it would feel like all over her sore body, instead of just her calf. A small rumble began in her chest, slowly getting louder and louder with each second.

"Is she… purring?" The teasing tone of Panthro's deep voice snapped Kagome back into attention and she looked around the room. All eyes were on her and she felt extreme heat flood into her cheeks. In that moment she was glad that the kittens and Snarf had already went to bed.

When Tygra's eyes made contact with hers, she felt even more embarrassed. "I believe so." Tygra released a small chuckle in nervousness and he stopped his massage, standing up.

Cheetara was the next to speak. "You do that for her often, Tygra?" She teased as well, smiling.

His own cheeks became tinted red as he scratched the back of his head. "Well...—"

"I like Tygra's touches." Kagome suddenly nodded her head and interrupted him. "Tygra—" Her face became even more flushed as she tried to explain. "Tygra makes me feel very good."

She realized she must have said something wrong, for it got very quiet in the laboratory room, and it made her feel slightly uncomfortable. She wiggled in her chair as they all stared at her.

Luckily, Lion-O broke the silence and saved her. "I'm guess that she will be fine?" He asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yes." Tygra cleared his throat, his cheeks still red. "The injury isn't too severe. As long as she is off her feet and gets a good night's rest, she should be able to walk around by the morning—" Without waiting, the lord of the ThunderCats walked up to her stool and picked up the feline carefully, holding her securely in his arms. "Lion-O?" Tygra looked at the cat questionably.

Lion-O looked back at him with an emotionless gaze. "I'll take her back to her room." His tone held a hint of irritation as he turned and left the others without waiting for their reply.

For some reason it his departure like that didn't sit well with Tygra…

" 'Tygra makes me feel good'?" Tygra released a cough, his cheeks heating up once more as he turned to the female cheetah. She had a sly, playful grin upon her face.

"She doesn't know the difference between 'good' and 'better'." He explained hurriedly.

Panthro smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, chuckling at Tygra's embarrassment. "Right~"

Cheetara's and Panthro's laughter only put fuel onto the fire. Tygra released a small sigh and rubbed his face. He knew that will never hear the end of this…

.-

The whole time he carried her, it was quiet, neither of them speaking a word. Lion-O carried her to her room and sat her down on the bed carefully. He went to her closet and grabbed a shirt for her to wear and brought it to her.

He kept his back to her the whole time she dressed, but stayed with her in case she needed him. "You done?" He asked.

Kagome waited a few seconds before answering him. "Yes." He turned around, seeing her running her fingers through her long hair nervously. "Kagome do…" She paused, correcting herself. "I do wrong?" She must have noticed his tension.

Lion-O shook his head. "No. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I…" She looked up at him with a smile. "Thank you."

He nodded his head. Unable to say anymore, he turned away again. "Goodnight then…"

"Lion-O?" He stopped in his tracks when she called to him. He glanced at her over his shoulder, seeing her still stroking her hair. "Stay?"

She was just sitting there, waiting for his answer, seeming worried he would reject her. When he didn't answer her, she turned her head away, a hurt look on her face. He released a sigh and slowly lowered his arms from his chest. The little bit of annoyance he was feeling for reasons he wasn't even sure why, instantly left him.

He quietly walked up to her bed, and when he stood beside her, she turned to look at him again. "Until you fall asleep."

She smiled up at him, happy, before crawling into her bed and covering herself up. She seemed like such a child in that moment, as he sat down beside her on the bed, his back leaning against the headboard as he softly stroked her head to calm her down. "Thank you." She spoke softly to him as she closed her heavy eyelids. "Lion-O smell nice." She told him. "Lion-O makes me feel good."

Lion-O's stroking stopped, and she looked up at him questionably. "Not good."

"No good?" She repeated, not sure what he was saying.

He shook his head. "Better." He corrected. "It makes you feel better."

"Lion-O's smell makes me feel better?" She spoke as if she was unsure she said it right. When he nodded his head and smiled down at her, she returned the smile. He started petting her head again and she sighed. "Don't stink like monkey."

The lord chuckled. "Yeah, he does stink…" He agreed. After a few quiet moments he looked down at her. "Did he touch you again?"

She nodded her head just a little and the lion tried not to growl. "He touched me like Lion-O." She explained. "And Kagome's—My ears." She shook her head. "I no like it." Hearing this Lion-O instantly stopped and pulled his hand away— Her soft hands took hold of his, and when he looked down he saw her blue eyes staring back up at him. "I like Lion-O's touches. Not like monkeys." She placed his hand against her cheek. With a sigh he stroked it softly with his thumb. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. "Thank you…"

It didn't take long for her breathing to even out, and he removed his hand from her cheek. He softly brushed her hair away from her face and his expression softened at the peaceful look she had. It was as if the whole experience with the mutants never happened, and all was normal again…

Thoughts ran through the lord's mind as he stroked her hair affectionately, even while she slept. "Why do the mutants what you so badly…?" She had nothing they would want, and she was too kind and sweet to have done anything to make them go after her like that.

Until he figured it out, he wouldn't let her out of his sight again. He wouldn't let another evil thing lay their hands upon her. This, he swore upon the twelve seas of Thundera. He will protect her.

.-

"What did you just sssay, Vultureman!?" Slithe hissed out in rage. "You mean to tell me that all of that wasss for nothing!?"

As the lizard started to walk towards him, angry, the bird began to stutter in fear. "I-it can't be helped, Slithe! Tygra broke all the tests!" He held his hands up in the air and shook his head.

"I don't care if Jaga came back from the dead and broke them himself!" He shouted in his face. "You were sssupposed to give us answersss!"

The bird released a small noise. "But the good news is that the scans are still here." He motioned to he device on the wall.

"And?" The lizard hissed out, his tail swaying behind him in irritation. "What do they say!" He screamed out when he didn't immediately tell him.

The bird jumped at his temper and ran towards the computer. He picked up the long stretch of paper that was still connected to the device, several graphs and texts printed on it. "Well, it says…" He hurriedly scrolled down the paper. "The only thing I can get from this is that she isn't a Thunderian."

"She isn't from Thundera?!" The lizard almost screeched. "Impossible!" He smacked his tail upon the ground. "Then what is she!?"

"It doesn't say." He confessed. "Never seen a species like her before."

The replied huffed. "We will just have to take her again and run some more tests…" He told him. "We don't have much time." He turned away from the bird. "We have to take her before Mumm-Ra's plan develop into the final stage…"

"Do you know what his plan is?" The bird asked.

He sent the bird a questioning look. "Of course not! He doesn't trust us."

The bird hummed. "Wonder why…" He spoke mockingly.

"Just be ready for anything." He warned. "Whatever Mumm-Ra's plan is, we have to get to her before he doesss, and take whatever it is that the girl possessesss." He told him. "We must use all our power and take her away from those ssstupid ThunderCatsssss!" He hissed out the last word even longer than normal, his tail still thumping against the ground in irritation.

Until he figured out what it is Mumm-Ra wants the female for. He won't let another opportunity slip by his hands again. This, he swore upon the oceans of boiling phos and the scrum forests of Plun-Darr. He will have that feline.

.-

Happy earily birthday Bluephoenix! Hope you liked it!

There should be about two more chapters, before this story is done~ It might take awhile but I will eventually get it done. I don't abandon my stories. I just hope it won't take another three years to finish them. DX