Fall Of The Empire
Rating: T (for now.)
Disclaimer: I don't own this. If I did, the second season would have been out already, and I would be all over that like white on rice.
Author's Notes: Alright!
HEY EVERYBODY. WHAT'S UP?
Been a long time, huh? Well, it was even longer for me, I promise you. I rewrote this entire story. That's write (lol pun) - the entire. Story. This being said, you must reread all of it. I know, I know, tall order. It's a lot. But trust me, things were changed, scenes switched up, info taken out, and new info injected. You won't understand this chapter unless you do.
Please, at the very least, reread last chapter!
Alright. Now, onto the general author's notes.
This chapter is kind of meh. I admit this. It also served as mainly drama fodder, unfortunately, as Echo is bound by the show's boundaries. That's one thing I didn't like about the Berbils episode. Beside serving as a plot point to help Panthro get his arms - the episode itself was just. . . meh. Anyway, this is also me getting back into the groove. Forgive the dust.
Bombshells will dropped.
I am so excited.
But patience is a virtue.
Warnings: Cursing. Some choice language.
. . . in fact, I might have to say, be expected for more course language. Echo seems to be changing into a bit of a rough character, doesn't she?
I HAVE COMPLETELY CHANGED SOME ASPECTS OF THE STORY.
YOU MAY NOT UNDERSTAND FUTURE CHAPTERS.
GOING BACK AND REREADING CHAPTERS IS STRONGLY ENCOURAGED.
Echo stirred groggily. Judging by the light, it was early morning.
Is it time for my turn at watch?
It took her a moment to remember that she'd already done her shift. She scrunched her eyes shut and blinked a few times, trying to figure out why she'd woken up. Cats were spread around her, most of them tucked into their bedrolls. The morning was cool, but not overly so, but the warmth of her own sleeping bag beckoned her to cover herself up again.
Deciding she'd woken up for no good reason at all, Echo did just that.
She snuggled down deep into her bedroll, cocooning herself up, and covered her head, blocking the outside world.
When she woke up a few hours later, it was to the sound of the Thunder Tank starting up. The furious growl of the engine split the air, rudely waking her up. Echo stretched, working out the kinks in her muscles, and curled back up again. Maybe she could get just a few more minutes of sleep in her little warm haven-
"Hey. Short Stack. Hop to it. There isn't any sleeping in in this outfit."
Tygra followed up his comment by throwing something soft at her. Echo groaned as she rolled over, and then emerged from her sleeping bag, looking at the tiger unhappily. She scrubbed at her eyes, fatigued. It had been a good four days since their trip to the swordsman's town, but Echo had been having fitful bouts of sleep. No night was restful enough.
Primarily because she was so wracked by frustration at missing out on what the shadow had been trying to tell her.
"C'mon, Tygra. I'm tired. Why do we have to wake up so early, anyway?" She asked, her voice bordering on a whine.
Tygra, however, was grinning at her.
"Tygra?" Echo asked, mind beginning to slowly shake off the cobwebs.
"Feelin' a little blue today, I see." Tygra snickered, fighting back laughter.
Huh?
What the hell is that tiger prattling on about?
"Uh, yeah. I always wear this-" Echo looked down, about to pat her tunic, but stopped when she found there was something else blue catching her attention.
Her hair, normally a snowy white color, was now a happy cyan blue.
"What the hell?!" Echo shouted, jumping up. Her legs were caught fast in her bedroll, and she did a rather spectacular face plant back into the dirt. Tygra, unable to contain himself, outright laughed.
Echo glowered up at him.
"Tygra, what did you do?" She fumed.
"Wasn't me. I do have to say, though, blue is absolutely your color."
Echo freed herself with a peevish growl and stalked over to him, intent on wringing the truth out of him-
When the door to the Thunder Tank opened.
"What are you two arguing about so early?" Cheetara asked, rubbing at her face.
It was a general, polite rule to keep noise down in the morning. Whoever got last watch was often tired, and in need of an additional catnap. That person was normally Cheetara, who never seemed to mind taking the last shift. It was just a common courtesy they observed, and Echo was intending to apologize. She really was.
But. . . but Cheetara's hair.
It was a semi-deep pumpkin color, speckled through the the cheetah's natural spots.
Tygra lost himself to laughter again.
Cheetara blinked when she stared down at the human, and Echo stared right back up at her. She could see the question flitting through her head, and almost instantly, both of them came to the same conclusion.
"The Wily twins." The cleric said.
Echo groaned.
Somewhere in the distance, Echo was positively sure she could hear the two cackling in the bushes.
The back of the Thunder Tank wasn't entirely comfortable. Well, it is a machine made for war.
The seats were rigid, with little to no cushioning on them. The inside of the tank was covered in machinery and technology, most of it pertaining to the guns and controls required to drive the vehicle. The air was somewhat stifling as well, recycled from the engine compartment. It made the ride in the Thunder Tank's cargo area an uncomfortable one, but it certainly beat out walking everywhere.
This was made even more awkward as Echo bent over a small bucket of water, scrubbing at her hair. Across from her, the Wily twins acted completely innocent, dangling and kicking their legs, and whistling a jaunty tune. The two had expected retaliation, Echo knew, and were waiting for it.
Instead, she'd focused on washing her hair. She had managed to scrub out a good portion of the hair dye, but streaks of it were still present. It didn't look good, the colored highlights - on the contrary, whatever the twins had used left her hair looking a little lanky and gross. And no matter how much shampoo she sued, it just didn't seem to make it go away.
"Next time you won't cover my mouth!" Kat declared, triumphantly linking the back of his hands behind his head.
Echo looked up.
It seemed the kittens were unable to hold back their gloating any longer. From the front, Echo could see Cheetara shifting, and the human knew the cheetah was listening in. Echo scrubbed at another piece of her hair with a towel, making sure to really work the soap in.
"A bit juvenile, don't you think?" She commented dryly, "I don't know if dying my hair was worth this."
"We told you we didn't like you covering our mouths." Kat replied, matter-of-factly.
"I think it's a very light punishment," Kit agreed, placing her hand on her chin, "We could've done something much worse."
Echo shook her head and went back to scrubbing.
"I think the colors actually went pretty well with you tw-ow!" Lion-O began.
He was promptly whacked with the end of a staff.
"A king does not compliment the impulsive actions of kittens," Cheetara said sagely, "As he encourages bad behavior."
Tygra snickered, but as Cheetara stowed her staff, the butt of it almost whacked him across the face. An accident, surely. But Tygra stopped laughing all the same.
Echo kept rubbing at her hair, hollowness inside of her spreading. She didn't like feeling that way, but it had been present ever since they'd departed the swordsman's town. It had taken her a day to realize that she was feeling depressed. Depressed.
As if they had time for her to be depressed.
There's been a lot of time for me to be feeling all over the place, actually.
In all honesty, she was tired of blowing up. First with the Book, then after the Book, and now, the newest episode with Lion-O. . . She just couldn't get over it. She'd finally realized she had been falling for her best friend, and then he'd traded her into slavery. Certainly enough to put a damper on anyone's mood, to be certain.
But she hated feeling so. . . out of herself. Like she'd just stopped caring.
She hadn't told anybody about what had happened in the town. She still cared for her friend, and starting a huge fight was not going to resolve the problem with him. She just. . . needed to get her head back in the game. That was all.
She could start by actually trying again.
Echo looked up to the kittens, who were grinning at her.
"I don't know," She sighed, "I think you guys are in for it this time."
Kit and Kat looked at her, smug and cocky.
"Or what? Whatcha gonna do, Echo?" Kat asked.
Echo shook her head.
"Not me," She replied, "I'm okay with this. But Cheetara?" She let out a low whistle, "I'd watch out for her."
Kat glanced up to the front of the Thunder Tank, a slight tinge of nervousness in his eyes. Kit whacked him on the shoulder.
"She's lying."
"I'm not," Echo replied, "I made the mistake of playing a prank on Sunda - my cleric friend. I only did it once, and I vowed never to do it again."
"She's just trying to scare us. Don't listen to her." Kat said, his twin's support bolstering his confidence.
Echo shrugged.
"I thought the same thing, you know. 'They're just exaggerating. I can get away with it.' So I dumped paint on his head. And he just walked away like it was nothing. But I knew he'd get me back. And days kept going by. And he didn't do anything. That's the beauty of the clerics. They just sit there. And let you wonder when it'll happen."
She waited. She knew one of the twins would eventually ask.
Echo was right. She didn't have to wait for very long.
"What happened? What did he do?" Kat asked.
"The worst part was the waiting. Weeks went by, Kat. Weeks. And whenever he saw me, he'd never let me know it was on his mind. But I knew. I would keep looking at him, wondering when he was going to get me back."
Both of the kittens looked at Cheetara nervously, and Kit began to fiddle with her fingers.
"But what did he do?"
Echo shook her head.
"I can't say. It was too horrible for words."
Right at that moment, the tank spluttered and rolled to a stop. Both kittens let out a squeal and jumped out of their seats. Well. Wasn't expecting that to happen.
Panthro got out of the driver's seat and let out an irritated growl. He moved into the cargo area and removed a panel on the wall. "Problem with a tank this old - it's always breakin' down!" He fiddled with the complicated machinery for a moment before pausing. "Junk cylinder. . . blew the whole drive train! Let's see how this works."
He twisted a handle, and the tank started up again. The engine roared to life.
Just as abruptly, however, the Tank short-circuited, and from the panel, black smoke spewed out. In seconds, the entirety of the tank was consumed with the thick smog. Chaotic confusion reigned as everyone present scrambled to open the backdoor, coughing and hacking wildly. Echo's eyes burned as the smoke pressed around her, and she blindly ran her hands over the walls, trying to find the switch to open the door.
Eventually, she heard the whine of machinery, and the door opened. She nearly spilled out on the grass, wheezing as she sucked in clean air.
"Guess we're sleeping outside tonight." Cheetara remarked.
"Just wonderful." Lion-O replied, rubbing at his throat.
"What in the name of Thundera was that?!" Tygra demanded, rounding on Panthro. The large Cat emerged from the back of the tank, eyes watering.
"An accident," Panthro returned sharply, "By Thundera, you lot are impatient. Maybe it was your shoddy installation-"
"Shoddy installation?! I'll have you know-"
Echo eased herself up to her feet, tuning out the squabble developing behind her.
Lion-O sighed.
"Looks like we're going to be here until the tank's repaired. Let's make camp. Kit, Kat, get some wood. Cheetara, Echo-"
Thunder rumbled overhead, and Echo looked up. The sky happily chose that moment to deposit a raindrop on her cheek.
"-let's make a shelter. It's going to rain." Lion-O amended.
"How are we going to find twigs? We're in a giant forest of mushrooms!" Kat grouched.
"You'll find a way, I'm sure." Cheetara answered.
Both of the twins went rigid, Echo noticed. She smiled, and it almost evolved into a grin when both of them sprinted into the mushrooms. Cheetara gestured to the tank, and Echo followed her.
"There should be some supplies in the cargo compartments."
Echo started to open up the side flaps and root around, looking for supplies.
And that was when Cheetara caught her off guard.
"Something happened, didn't it?"
Echo looked at her.
"What?"
"In the town. Something happened."
There wasn't any use lying.
"Yeah." Echo replied. "Something did."
". . . what was it?" She continued, also rooting around through the cargo.
Echo shook her head.
"I'd rather not say."
Cheetara paused, a thoughtful look in her eye.
"I'm asking because it's affecting how you're acting. For lack of a better term, you seem to be. . . moping. I know you need your space after the Tower, but, Echo. . . it's time to move on now. We have to be a support. You have to be a support. For Lion-O."
Her throat felt tight. She wanted to tell the cleric just why she'd been avoiding her friend or speaking less than three words a day. She really did. Instead, she closed her eyes and took in a breath.
"I know. Just. . . can I have one more day?"
Cheetara and Echo locked eyes. After a moment, the cheetah nodded.
"One more day, Echo. And then you have to move on."
Echo nodded, and together, they turned back to their task. She and Cheetara both tried to find something to build a shelter with, but that involved constructing a canopy, which they had no materials to build.
In the end, they decided to camp out under the mushrooms, building fires were needed. That proved harder than anticipated, as the rain poured down in a thick deluge, quickly soaking everything to the bone. Panthro kept working on the tank, his constant hammering and tinkering a steady tempo in the air.
The kittens had managed to find some firewood, but it wasn't enough to make more than a single fire. Tygra made it anyway, content on getting a littel bit of heat and light as night fell.
Kit situated herself on a mushroom and brought out her flup, playing a quiet, melancholy melody. Echo would have loved to listen to it in its entirety, but lightning and thunder interrupted at frequent intervals, drowning out the kitten's music. Echo had situated herself under her own mushroom, content to sit someplace close to the fire, wrapped up in her sleeping bag.
The rain suited her mood perfectly, so she was alright with the downpour.
Maybe it was typical human behavior to be depressed - she really didn't know. She didn't care. She had this one night, and then she had to suck it up. Cheetara was right. She was supposed to be a support pillar to Lion-O. By that same token, though, it really had Echo thinking about her place in the group.
Everyone else made sense. Lion-O could wield Omens and use the Book. Tygra was a backup in the instance that Lion-O died, and on top of that, he was a tactician. Cheetara was Jaga's last remaining apprentice, and Panthro had more battle experience than anyone. Hell, even the twins could fit into their little circle.
But her?
What exactly was she? Lion-O's cheerleader?
Sighing, Echo wrapped her sleeping bag a little closer around her and stared blankly ahead. Thinking like that was going to get her nowhere. Instead, she looked at the cats gathered.
She could see Cheetara and Tygra sleeping beside the fire, the cleric's head resting on the tiger's shoulder. They were both asleep, much to the consternation of Lion-O, who scowled at the pair and forcibly looked away.
"Things are lookin' up," He muttered sarcastically. "No transportation, nothing to eat, and no shelter. If the rain stopped it might be bearable."
Things could always be worse. You could have someone interrupt a show telling you how to get your memories back.
The heat of the fire and her sleeping bag began to seep into her body, lulling her to sleep. Echo's eyes closed slowly as she stared at the flames, sleep claiming her.
But. . . I wonder what it meant by finding sunny. . .
Echo slept lightly. It had become basic reflex after being on the road for so long, searching for Mumm-Ra. That was why she woke up, and was genuinely surprised that it was light out again. She stretched, shaking her sleeping bag off of her. Nobody woke me up for watch? That's weird.
The rain had stopped, too, judging by how dry the ground was. A new beginning for a new attitude. Getting up, Echo walked, stretching out her legs. Cheetara joined her, also a notorious light sleeper, and noticed the lack of rain right away. The cleric hadn't bothered to touch the dye in her hair, so Echo did a double-take, just to make sure it was the cheetah.
Lion-O does have a point. You wear pumpkin colors well.
"Good morning." She greeted. "Feeling better today?"
She kind of was, actually. Echo gave her a nod.
The boys were quick to get up, and a bleary Lion-O wandered out from his mushroom, still looking half-asleep.
"Rain finally stop?" He mumbled.
"No." Tygra said, craning his neck back. "Panthro must have built a shelter while we were asleep." He pointed up.
Above them, a tarp stretched, keeping the rain out.
"Wasn't me," Panthro said, half-buried in the tank, "I figured it was one of you."
". . . Ladies?" Tygra queried.
"We didn't have the supplies for it." Cheetara answered.
". . . who did it, then?" Echo asked, staring at the tarp.
The twins chose that moment to jump down from their mushroom perches.
"We're starving!" Kit said, nearly falling off her mushroom.
"Yeah! What's there to eat?" He rummaged around in one of the bags, and Kit joined him, waiting eagerly.
"Kit. Kat. Did either of you do that?" Echo asked, gesturing to the tarp.
Both kittens looked at it, pausing in their search for food.
"Wow! When did that go up?"
"That was nice. Now we don't have to worry about the rain."
"Well," Panthro remarked, "That answered that question."
"Okay, let's put this mystery aside for now," Lion-O announced, "And let's focus on the food situation. We'll have to do something about it."
Before anyone could reply, Kit let out an excited giggle.
"Somebody already did!" Kit called, rushing off. Kat followed after her.
The twins ran to baskets of colorful fruit sitting on the ground. Echo stared at them openly, now fully awake and remotely freaked out. She'd never seen anything like the fruit before, and the fact that somebody had just laid them out for the Cats to enjoy?
"Hey, hey, hey, now!" Hold it! You don't know who put that there or why!" Panthro marched up to the twins and seized Kit and Kat by the back of their shirts, lifting them off their feet.
"But we're hungry!" Kit whined.
"You're a large part of the reason why we're running low on food in the first place." Panthro commented dryly, "Now just sit back and let me investigate."
Depositing the kittens on the ground (who pouted up at the general), Panthro grabbed one of the fruits and promptly took a bite. Echo stared on in horror. What if it was poisoned? There was a story about a girl once, she recalled, who bit into an apple at the behest of a disguised evil queen. Some versions of that story didn't even very well for the girl.
"Hey! I want a bite!"
"Me too! That's no fair, Panthro!"
". . . it's candyfruit!" Panthro exclaimed. "Harmless. This came in handy when Grune and I were on the road. Did the trick in a pinch."
Taking that as a universal sign to dig in, both Wily twins fell onto the baskets, trying to devour the candyfruit in a single bite. Echo just stood there, watching as the twins tried to unhinge their jaws to open their mouths for more candyfruit.
They look like little demons.
"Ah, take it easy!" Tygra called out to the pair, "We don't need you any more hyper than you already are."
Too late.
The Wily twins were practically vibrating with energy. Their eyes were wide, their pupils dilated. . . they were beyond hyper. Echo wasn't even sure if there was a word for what they were. They ravenously devoured all the fruit they could lay their hands on. The two were spouting utter gibberish as they dug into the candyfruit with rabid abandon, oblivious to the world.
"Seems like we have someone helping us out." Cheetara said.
"Question is. . . who?" Lion-O continued.
"I'm don't kn ow. Whoever did this is being too nice." She propped her hands on her hips and watched as the kittens tucked into the fruit. Echo knew that she still was getting over her depression, but the threat of Mumm-Ra's forces was still looming over them. . . or, however was doing this for them.
"I don't like this either." Tygra agreed, "I say we watch and wait to see if we can catch who's doing this."
Panthro nodded. "Good idea. Let's make a blind."
Tygra, Panthro, and Lion-O started on that task, leaving Cheetara and Echo to the kittens. Which was as equally hard a task, as the candyfruit seemed to give the twins a freakish boost in energy. They were quicker than before, and almost impossible to catch. Echo had taken to trying to tackle them, but it always ended with her hitting the dirt, Kit or Kat cackling madly and running away.
Cheetara sped past her, fed up with trying to catch them the normal way, and she caught up to the twins quicker than Echo could blink. Holding the squirming kittens in her arms, she stood proudly, somehow managing to keep hold of the two. Echo stood up and brushed herself off, giving the cheetah the victory.
"Gotta be a little quicker." Cheetara smirked, walking over to the nearly-completed blind.
"Yeah, yeah." Echo grumbled, following after her.
The trio made short work of finishing up the blind, and Cheetara procured some rope and tied up the kittens, waiting for their sugar high to wind down. Then everybody hunkered down, watching and waiting.
As it turned out, they really didn't have to wait long.
Tiny little balls rolled out of the mushroom forest and sped up to the tank. Echo watched in fascination as they unfolded, landing neatly on the tank and setting to work on ti. They looked like. . . little robotic bears?
"What are they doing?" Lion-O asked.
"I think they look kinda cute." Echo whispered.
"That makes you the only one." Tygra retorted.
"I'll tell ya what - they're messin' with my baby!" Panthro jumped over the top of the blind and ran forward, shaking a fist at the little bears.
"Panthro, no!" Cheetara tried to grab him, but the general was too quick for her.
"What are you furry freaks doin' to my tank?!" He shouted.
The bears rolled up and retreated, scared from Panthro's advance.
Panthro, however, managed to snag one before it could roll away.
Ruse destroyed, the rest of the group emerged from the blind and approached the tank, the Wily twins leading the pack. Echo blinked, swearing that nobody had untied them. Her suspicions were proven right as she caught the edges of rope messily tossed aside at the edge of the blind. Echo grinned as she caught up to Cheetara.
"Looks like you need to work on your knotting skills." She aimed at the cheetah.
"What?"
Echo gestured to the twins, and Cheetara looked at them curiously for a second before understanding dawned in her eyes.
"How did they-?"
Echo chuckled as Cheetara fumed, pride clearly insulted.
"Put me down." The bear-creature said, voice oddly robotic.
They stopped at the tank's side, the vehicle still emitting tiny wisps of black smoke. Panthro stood triumphantly beside his baby, holding the robot-bear by its paw. As Echo got closer, she stopped and examined the creature. It. . . looked like a panda. An image of the animal flashed in her head - white and black. . . but not a robot.
"What is that thing?" Cheetara asked, watching it squirm.
"Put me down. Robear-Bill. A robear Berbil."
Echo furred her brow as she tried to understand most of what it was saying. The panda's voice was so modified and robotic she had difficulty understanding it. And she wasn't the only one.
"Did he say. . . gerbil?" Tygra asked.
"Berbil." The panda corrected.
"Durble?" Panthro tried.
"Berbil." The panda asserted, drawing out the word slightly.
"Urble-durbleyburble. . . urble." Lion-O added helpfully.
"Nice to meet you Robear-Bill! I'm Wily Kit and this is Wily Kat. We're the ThunderCats. That's Echo. She's a human." Kit blurted out, pausing just long enough to talk before she tucked into a freshly-retrieve candyfruit.
Echo sighed. Of course they would go straight for the food.
"Thunder. . . Cats?" Robear-Bill parroted. He swiveled his head to examine them. "Berbils help ThunderCats."
". . . what?" Echo asked, incredulous.
AS if the other Berbils had heard Robear-Bill, more of the pandas rolled out of the mushroom forest, presenting themselves to the group. Echo was surprised at how many there were.
"I've never seen anything so. . . cute." Lion-O observed, watching the bears. The robots climbed on top of the tank and set to work, chirping and buzzing in a language they couldn't understand.
"Told you." Echo said. Tygra rolled his eyes.
"They'll be cute and dead if they hurt my tank!" Panthro growled. He kept a deadly close eye on the Berbils as they crawled into every nook and cranny, welding and ratcheting.
Within a few short moments, the exhaust ports powered to life, and spit out white-hot streams of fire. The Berbils had accomplished in one minute what Panthro had failed at in a day. Looks like a win to me.
"Look Panthro, they fixed it!" Tygra chipped in, giving him a whack on the arm.
"Hmph! It's just a patch." Panthro said, ego stung, "I coulda done that."
Robear-Bill hopped off the tank and grabbed Lion-O's hand.
"Come with Robear-Bill. Berbils fix machines-"
The Berbil had dragged him all of five feet before the lion picked him up. The robot continued to walk, not noticing he was no longer on the ground.
"-Berbils help ThunderCats." The bear finished.
Lion-O looked back at them. "Well, what do you think?"
They had a very short consensus. Cheetara and Tygra both voted to go, as did Lion-O. The twins stated that they didn't care, so long as there was more candyfruit (which the Berbils promised was plenitful in their village). Echo was completely fine to go, seeing as they had nothing to lose by traveling there.
The only one protested was Panthro, still simmering in his wounded ego.
"You coming?" Cheetara asked, moving to get inside of the tank.
Panthro crossed his arms over his chest and gave another "hmph!"
"Fine. But I don't trust anything that adorable. . . Tygra! Get out from behind the wheel. That's my seat."
The Berbils led them a short distance out of the mushroom forest and into a beautifully-colored, mushroom-spotted valley. It was bright, cheerful, and colorful, something that was beginning to turn Echo's mood around. While part of her was more content with the thunderclouds and rain (which had suddenly cleared up), most of her was willing to accept that she had to move on.
She had more leads to go on. She needed to dedicate herself to the quest for Mumm-Ra.
Echo had seated herself outside of the tank, somewhere next to Panthro and Tygra, who were driving. The front portion of the armor was rolled back, allowing them access to the world outside without screens. One Berbil bounced up and waved its arms at her enthusiastically, and Echo gave a little wave back. It ran along the ground, staring at her.
Alright, a little creepy, but okay.
"I've never seen anything like this place." Tygra said, sounding somewhat awestruck.
Echo agreed. The Berbil village was almost. . . cartoonish. Everything was oversized for the tiny bears, and the popping colors of the mushrooms were a little too bright to believed. As they rolled into the Berbil village, Echo got quite the eyeful. The robot pandas were everywhere, doing a vast array of jobs.
"It's like they have a contraption for everything." Lion-O breathed. He's probably drooling right now, Echo thought wryly. It had been a long time since they'd been surrounded by so much tech, the tank notwithstanding.
It is tech heaven.
Hell, even the inhabitants are technology.
"This place gives me the creeps." Panthro stated, examining everything with a critical eye.
As they approached the town center, most of the Berbils ran to the tank, raising their hands high and making the strangest static noise that Echo had ever heard. If she had to take a guess, Echo would wager it probably meant they were excited and happy.
As they came to a stop, a small blue Berbil ran at Robear-Bill and leaped at him. The taller Berbil caught him and spun him around in a circle.
"Meet Robear-Beebil." He said, setting the small Berbil on the ground, "Meet Robear-Bella. This is Robear-Bill family."
God, it was going to give her a headache listening to them and trying to decode what they were saying. It was, actually. She could feel it pulsing behind her temples. Echo slid off the tank as it stopped, hitting the ground.
The twins saw a shipment of freshly-harvested candyfruit and gasped, quickly jumping into the crates.
"Candyfruit. Eat. Good!" Robear-Bill said, presenting to the twins. The poor panda was only a few beats too late on that account.
"Yum!"
"Candyfruit!" The twins exclaimed, eagerly tucking in.
"Looks like you were worried about nothing, Panthro." Cheetara grinned.
Several of the Berbils caught her arm and started pulling her away, saying something about flowers.
"But. . . how do you power your machines?" Lion-O asked Robear-Bill.
"Come. We show ThunderCats." Robear-Bill grabbed Lion-O's hand and also dragged him away, his hostage all too willing to comply.
A robotic hand grabbed Echo's, too, and before she could protest, she was being led away from the group.
"There's no way these furballs are helping us and don't expect anything in return! Mark my words!" Panthro shouted.
"Hey, don't wander off too far!" Tygra called.
Bit too late for that. Already, most of the Cats were wading through the crowd of Berbils, led by their guide. Echo blinked as she realized that the Berbil holding her hand had been the same one to wave at her. It continued to pull her away from the receiving party, and towards another cluster of buildings.
"Hey, you're cute and everything, but I'd rather stay by the tank."
"This way." The Berbil said, completely ignoring her. "This way!"
"Okay, Berbil-thingy, you're pulling me a little too hard. Let go!"
Echo finally managed to wrench her hand out of the Berbil's grip.
The bear turned around, quietly whirring, and looked up at her. It was one of the more naturally-colored Berbils, with black fur and golden patches occasionally sticking out.
"Ro-E. . . does not remember Sunny?"
Echo froze.
Her body lost all function, and without anther word, her knees collapsed on her. She slumped, sitting down in the grass, and stared at the panda. Her throat dried up, and felt swollen shut.
"W-What?" She choked out, just barely managing to say the words.
"Sunny know Ro-E. Ro-E not remember Sunny?"
In her head, an image of the swordsman's town flashed.
The shadow spread its arms again, and that broken voice spoke to her. ". . . sunny. You'll find. . . sunny."
Sunny. The village. This must be what they were talking about.
Echo felt like she was going to explode. The shadow had wanted her to find this village! Lunging forward, Echo seized the Berbil by its arms, gripping it tightly.
"What do you mean? Do you know who I am? How do you know me?"
The Berbil wiggled in her hold, trying to extricate herself, but that only made Echo cling to him tighter. She wasn't going to let another opportunity at her past slip by her. Not again.
"What do you know? You have to tell me!"
"Ro-E!" Sunny cut over her, "Sunny logging emotional distress. Calm down. Sunny explain. Calm down."
It was one of the hardest things Echo had had to do in her life, but she did. She forced herself to breathe calmly, and through a monumental move of effort, she pried her fingers off the little robot. Her head was spinning as she tried to get a hold on herself.
"Breathe, Ro-E. Calm down." The Berbil instructed, his metallic and emotionless voice doing little to help her.
When she finally felt like she had a grip, Echo looked at the Berbil.
"Please. Tell me what you know. I have to know."
"Sunny tell Ro-E. Ro-E must stay calm."
She nodded.
"Okay. First of all. . . what's. . . what's my name?"
"Data corrupted. Unable to retrieve."
"You don't know?"
"No. Sunny sorry."
Echo sat back and blew out a gust of air. Well. . . she didn't have her real name - but that was okay. She could ask other questions.
"How old am I really?"
"Data say Ro-E is seventeen."
"Why am I here? Who are my parents? Where are my parents?"
"Data corrupted. Memory is missing," The Berbil replied, "Sunny sorry."
She started asking other questions, not content to give up just yet. With every query, however, she quickly grew more and more frustrated. The only answers she received were,"'data is corrupted. Memory is missing. Sunny sorry."
Defeated, Echo slumped back, shaking.
"What's the point? You don't know anything! Were you l-lying to me?"
She felt like she was on the verge of tears again. Echo hiccuped.
"Sunny logging respiratory distress. Ro-E need to calm down."
Echo stared at the Berbil brokenly.
"Why? Give me something. Anything! Anything at all!"
"Sunny is Ro-E's personal assistant. Sunny is lots of things for Ro-E."
"My personal assistant?" Echo repeated bitterly. "Well. Isn't that fun. I have a personal assistant that doesn't remember who I am. You're doing a bang-up job there."
Sunny walked over and stood directly in front of her.
"Sunny data is missing on lots of Ro-E. Sunny will log medical report and try to contact main server. In meantime, Sunny have something for Ro-E."
"What is it?" She asked, tiredly. She wasn't in the mood to keep asking questions and getting stupid answers.
"Ro-E told Sunny to keep safe. So Sunny did. Come. Sunny show Ro-E."
The Berbil coaxed her back up to her feet, took her hand, and started walking her again. Echo followed behind the Berbil wearily, unwilling to find out just what the Berbil had of hers.
That was when alarms began to blare, and red lights began to flash.
"What's happening, Sunny?" She asked, looking at the alarms. "What's going on?"
She could see a few Berbils becoming a flurry of action. They drove their contraptions into garages, and the Berbils scattered about tucked away rolled into circular ports jutting up from the ground. Explosions rocked the far side of the Berbil complex.
"Conquedor come for Berbils. Take Berbils. Sells Berbils. Not safe, Ro-E. Ro-E - not safe!"
Echo forcibly dislodged Sunny's hand and sprinted, one hand on the hilt of a sword. From the smoke, she could see a large, threatening machine. The other Cats had already gathered somewhere close to it, and she hastened to join them, ignoring Sunny's warnings.
She wanted to see what that Berbil had of hers, but whatever was happening, she had to ward it off, first. Anger flooded through her, and she wanted to send a blast at the machine, just to vent her frustrations. She had another chance. It was small, and Sunny didn't know anything about her, but it was something.
She wasn't going to let this opportunity slip through her fingers.
One of the Berbils, damaged from the explosion, limped forward. A robotic arm popped out of the side of the vehicle and snapped up the poor Berbil.
"Help Robear-Bob!" The Berbil pleaded, waving an arm futilely.
"We have to stop that machine!" Cheetara said, extending her staff and running forward.
"What did I tell you guys? I told you! They were trying to use their cuteness to get us to fight their battle!" Panthro griped, palming his nunchucks.
"Well, looks like it worked." Lion-O asserted.
Cheetara leaped into the air, whacking the robotic arm with her staff. The arm released the Berbil, which fell towards a storage compartment that opened from the front of the machine. Lion-O jumped and caught it, saving the panda from the clutches of the vehicle.
"So," An oily voice called out, "The Berbils have enlisted the help of the fabled ThunderCats!"
From the top of the machine, a figure emerged. He was a portly man, covered almost entirely in armor, and brandished a gun at his side. He cocked it and held it at the ready. "Risking your lives for a bunch of junk heaps? And I thought these robots were brainless fools!"
In response, Lion-O drew Omens.
"ThunderCats, ho!"
Conquedor fired his gun, effectively scattering them all. Tygra cracked his whip and flickered out of existence, while Cheetara raced around, drawing the fire of the guns on the side of the Conquedor's vehicle. They fired sticky, gelatinous blobs. Echo ran forward, clearing her swords from her sheathes -
When a small robot tackled her legs.
She just barely managed to keep from impaling herself.
Echo twisted around, about to slice at whoever had tried to capture her, when she saw the golden eyes of Sunny staring back.
"Ro-E! Sunny say dangerous! Not safe!"
"Sunny! You stupid thing, let me go!"
"Tygra!" Lion-O shouted behind her.
The Berbil remained firmly on her legs, refusing to let go. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Panthro get nailed by one of the blue blobs, gluing him to the grass and rendering him useless.
"Not safe!" Sunny repeated, "Ro-E not safe!"
The Conquedor's vehicle started up again, growling closer to her - and Echo saw a shadow fall over them. That robotic hand seized her lower legs, locking onto Sunny, and lifting them both up in the air.
Or tried to.
Sunny released her, and Echo fell back onto the ground, knocking the wind out of her. Still, she rolled with it and staggered up to her feet, running after the robotic arm. It threw Sunny and a few other Berbils into the storage compartment before shutting and locking with an audible clang.
"Sunny!" Echo cried, running after them.
"Bella! Beebil!" Robear-Bill cried.
Ahead of her, the Berbil also chased after the machine, tucking up into a ball for more speed. He managed to get close, but one of the robotic hands popped out of the Conquedor's vehicle and forcibly turned him loose. Echo watched as he hit the ground, sparking and smoking, and bounced back up again-
She caught him, landing hard on her knees. Echo held the damaged Berbil in her arms, and looked up, watching as the Conquedor raced off with her only lead to her past.
Kit tugged on her arm.
"Can they fix him?" She asked, afraid.
Echo stared blankly inside of the medical hut, eyes locked onto Robear-Bill. After the battle, the Berbils had rushed him inside of the medical hut. Echo had wanted to go after the Conquedor, but had been dissuaded.
"We're gonna care for the wounded first," Panthro had told her, "Then we'll get a game plan."
"I don't know, Kit," Cheetara replied. "They're doing the best they can."
The Berbils turned to each other and communicated in a strange, garbled language. Panthro, as though he could understand them, released a noisy sound of exasperation.
"I can't take watching these amateurs." He stalked forward,"Gimmie that."
He snatched a welding tool from a Berbil's hand, "You're doing it all wrong."
"Good idea." One of the Berbils nodded, "Now reset function levels."
"Oh, yeah, I see what you're sayin'." Panthro said, getting to work.
Minutes passed in agonizing slowness, and Echo's impatience rose. They didn't have time to sit around and wait. They had to go after the Conquedor. If what Sunny said was true, then the little Berbil could be getting sold into slavery at that very second. She almost snarled as she ripped her arm free of Kit's hold, leaving a very startled kitten in her wake.
She stalked outside, almost seeing red.
They had to go. They had to go.
". . . find sunny."
"Sunny know Ro-E."
Echo raked her hands through her hair, frustration and rage mixing inside of her, like a dark miasma. She paced back and forth, contemplating stealing the tank and taking off after the Conquedor on her own. She had the means - she could use her mind. She could use her swords. She'd just need to do some recon, get herself a rifle-
"Hey. . . you okay?"
Echo stopped. Lion-O stood a few feet away from her, concerned.
"No." She replied curtly, "I want to go after the Conquedor."
"You and me both. We just have to wait a little - they're working on Robear-Bill in there-"
"I don't want to wait!" She seethed, "I want to go. That man has Sunny! And we're just standing around here, waiting-"
"Echo." Lion-O bit out sharply.
Echo stopped, hands fisting at her sides.
"Look, just relax. You've been in a bad mood ever since we left Drifer's town."
Echo laughed, bitter and dark and dry. She outright glared at Lion-O, day's worth of anger and resentment bubbling in her chest.
"Can you blame me? Do you think I'd just forget what happened there, Lion-O?"
"Well, no, but you can't just sit there and glare at the ground all day! I apologized!" He responded, voice growing harder.
"I'm sorry that you weren't the one who bartered your best friend into slavery. In fact, that's what Conquedor could be doing right now. So forgive me for being pissed because sorry doesn't cut it!"
"You can't hold that against me forever, Echo." He said, softly.
She expected him to get mad, for his anger to feed off of hers. But he didn't. He just looked at her with a mixture of empathy and guilt. Lion-O was maturing, that was for sure. But she wasn't in the mood to bear witness to this development.
She glared.
"Then make it up to me."
"I'd be more than willing. . . how?"
Without even hesitating, Echo answered, "Get me Sunny back. That Berbil is delivered to me whole, safe and sound. And then. . . I'll forgive you."
Lion-O gave her a small smile, and Echo eased her stress from her muscles. As much as she wanted to punch Lion-O, she couldn't. She was true to her word. So long as she got that Berbil back, she didn't really mind forgiving Lion-O.
"I miss. . . I miss how close we were before this all started. Things were just simpler then."
"They were," Echo agreed, "A lot of things were. It's all different now - and we just have to move forward."
Lion-O cast his eyes down the ground, and in his gaze, Echo could see pain swirling there, tamped down and unexpressed. She didn't know what to say, so she stood there, feeling like a bitch and not quite knowing why. A few weeks ago, Echo would have approached him and rubbed his arm, and told him to sit down with her and tell her all about it.
Now, she kind of just wanted him to simmer in his misery.
Robear-Bill chose that moment to interrupt them. Echo was glad to see the Berbil okay, but truth be told, she really only wanted Sunny by her side.
"Bella. Beebil. . . Robear-Bill's family. . ." The Berbil said sadly, glowing eyes concentrated on Lion-O.
"Do you know where the Conquedor has taken your family?" He asked.
It was amazing, really, how quickly he bounced back. Echo looked at him, but already, Lion-O had his game face back on.
Echo was determined to get Sunny back. Her sanity depended on it.
"Conquedor sells Berbils. Robear-Bill knows."
"Then you can take us there." Lion-O finished.
The door to the medical hut opened, and the rest of the Cats emerged. Echo found Cheetara and Tygra eying her and Lion-O, and she knew what they were thinking. Still, their fights were between the two of them. Echo didn't have to explain anything to the either of them.
"Panthro!" Lion-O called, "You can keep an eye on the village."
From the hut, Echo could hear the tinkering stop, and some loud crashes ensued. Panthro, half-tangled in some wires, managed to stick his head out of the doorframe and scowled at Lion-O.
"Woah, woah, woah! There's now way you're leaving me here with these things!"
"Yes. We are. We'll be back soon, Panthro." Lion-O said dismissively.
Berbils pulled at his coat, crawling over him like parasites. Tygra grinned down at him.
"Enjoy yourself, Ro-Cat-Panthro!"
Panthro gave a muted roar as the Berbils managed to drag him inside and shut the door.
Echo gave him a two-finger salute, wishing him luck.
They were hunkered down on an overhang. Below them, Conquedor was selling his wares from his machine, which had folded out into an impromptu stage of sorts. A crowd had gathered around, and before them, the Conquedor bartered and collected cash as he sold a large wold-like creature. The mushroom forest had given way to a scraggly desert, populated only by shaggy scrubs here and then.
"There Conquedor sells to bad ones. Trollicks. Giantors. All bad." Robear-Bill said quietly. Somehow he had dimmed the sound of his voice, which, Echo found, actually made it a lot easier to understand him.
Echo scanned the machine, searching for the Berbils. Panthro whacked her arm and pointed - and there they were, hooked into hoops glowing a malicious bloody red.
"Bella. Beebil!" Robear-Bill almost whispered. For once, Echo swore she could hear actual worry and concern in his voice.
"We can't take 'em all on." Tygra commented.
"I think I got an idea." Lion-O whispered.
Lion-O looked at her as he relayed it, determination in his eyes. It was a short, simple, and in-your-face plan - something that really suited her mood at the moment. She wanted to hit something. Make something bleed. She wasn't going to have another chance at her past stripped from her again.
Tucking their cloaks around themselves, they crept into the crowd. It was pathetically easy, actually, as nobody even bothered to watch the cliff wall behind them. I guess the conference of evil villains thinks itself above being infiltrated.
Her fingers itched, just waiting for the chance to wrap around her swords.
". . . bidding starts at 1,000 for the lot!"
From the crowd, several offers arose.
Echo saw Sunny, standing beside Bella, who was holding Beebil. Her child clutched at her, and both Berbils looked terrified.
More bids rose from the crowd, only strengthening Echo's resolve. I won't let you be sold into slavery, Sunny. I swear I'll protect you.
"10,000!" Lion-O shouted.
"That's a lot of shillicks, pal." The Conquedor said, oily voice suspicious. The crowd parted, staring at them in shock. "How do you plan on paying for all that?" He continued, palming his gun.
With a snap, they all disrobed, flinging their cloaks into the crowd.
"In steel!" Lion-O barked.
Finally.
Echo drew her swords, and with malevolent intent. One of the Trollicks tried to hit her with the butt of a gun, but Echo sliced through his gun and roughly kicked him. She pressed her advantage and sped forward, slicing and dicing as she went, drawing blood. She drew closer and closer to the podium, obsessed with the thought of saving Sunny.
Their freedom job was actually pretty quick. The Conquedor, firing a bolt at Lion-O, found it reflected - where it crashed against the Berbil holding pen. The robots quickly tucked up into balls and rolled out, and not a moment too soon. The crowd was recovering from their surprise attack, leaving them little time to keep a hold on the upper hand.
"Echo, we have to go!" Tygra yelled, his voice nearly in her ear.
Echo had been in the process of climbing up on the stage, intent on ripping a sword through one of the lock mechanisms to free the other animals. Tygra yanked at the back of her tunic, tugging her off before she could free the slaves.
"No!" She barked.
Before she could be pulled back completely, Echo raised her hand and closed her fist - the locks snapped off, and the bars fell away. The animals, ravenous and seriously pissed off from their time behind bars, turned on their captors and buyers. Taking that as a signal to run, Tygra finally managed to drag her away.
"Sunny? Sunny, where are you?"
The Berbil, as if summoned by magic, rolled out of the crowd and unfolded.
Almost naturally, Echo turned her back to the robotic bear. He landed on her neatly, small straps emerging from ports on his body, and before she knew it, he'd transformed himself into some odd kind of backpack, but Echo far from minded it.
Sunny was safe and sound.
Where he belonged.
"Are we. . . are we good?"
Lion-O sounded almost fearful as he said it. Echo looked at him, on hand coming to cover a strap that wound over her abdomen. Sunny felt warm and reassuring against her back.
"Yeah," She replied, "We're good."
Lion-O smiled at her, and she actually returned it. She was true to her word - she would forgive him. She had Sunny back. As they rolled back into town, Echo separated from the group. She had business to take care of, and by god, she was going to take care of it. If anybody called out to her, she didn't hear them. She strode away, and mid-step, Sunny disengaged from her.
In a practiced movement, Echo reached behind her as he was transforming, and somehow, she was holding his hand as they walked away. She stared down at him in shock, and he chirped up at her happily.
"Sunny glad Ro-E not forget everything. This way."
Sunny pulled her towards a house, and the door opened before they got there. Inside, Echo found it bore a striking resemblance to the medical hut, albeit Sunny's home was a bit more decorated. Strange readouts were printed on the walls, charts and graphs that she couldn't make sense of. Releasing the Berbil's hand, Echo walked over to the walls and gently ran her hand over the paper.
"What is this, Sunny?"
"Reports on Ro-E. Sunny track, but signal faulty. Only able to track sometimes."
Echo dropped her hand.
"You say you're my personal assistant, but this. . . doesn't seem like a very personal assistant-y thing to do."
"Sunny more than that. But memory files are missing."
"Hm. Haven't heard that before."
Sunny rummaged around, and the Berbil tapped on her leg. Echo looked down, and was presented with a purple book.
"Sunny save for Ro-E. Sunny promised."
Echo gently accepted the book, her heart leaping up into her throat. It was old and weathered, dog-eared and cracked from everyday wear n' tear. The front cover was a pastoral depiction of a forest with a stream, and two elegant banners wove over it, proudly declaring a title. It was strange - alien. None of the texts in the Thunderian library ever looked like this.
This was bright, but humble, and 100% completely human.
And it was the same one that she had seen in her memories.
Slowly, Echo sank to the floor, holding the book reverently in her hands. She ran her hands over the cover, fingers trailing over the well-worn cardstock.
"This is mine?" She whispered.
Sunny nodded.
"Read. Ro-E's favorite stories inside. Ro-E read all the time."
She did, opening the cover, and flipping through a few pages. Her mind twisted around the words, which were scrawled in an unfamiliar script. The more she stared at it, though, the more the markings began to turn into actual words - words that made sense to her. She could see the words of a fairy tale, inside of a book that belonged to her. . .
"I know this. . . I can read it, too. It's my book."
"Sunny promised to keep safe. For Ro-E."
"Thank you." She murmured.
A heavy knock on the door shattered her moment, and Echo snapped her head to it, wondering who was there.
"Echo. We have to get ready for an assault. Come on."
Tygra.
"Later." She replied, staring down at the book again and running her hands over the pages.
"No, Echo. Now. Open the door."
"I'll come out. Later. Leave me alone, Tygra."
"Echo."
Snapping the book shut, Echo gently transferred it to Sunny before she got up and stormed over to the door. She had something of hers. She was wanting to run her hands over that book a thousand times over until she knew it from front to cover.
She did not want to spend her time fortifying the Berbil town from an offensive attack.
Slamming her hand against a panel set by the door, it slid back with a hiss. Tygra was glaring at her, and Echo glared right back.
"Are we under attack? Are bombs dropping and blood flowing? No? If so-"
"That's enough," He cut over sharply, "We gave you your space because we knew you needed it. That time is over, Echo. It's time to get your head back in the game."
He still thought she was hung up on her depression. That was so not the case. Echo wanted nothing more than to curl up with her book of fairy tales and ignore the world.
"I am over it." She ground out. "I'm with Sunny right now-"
"The Berbil, right?" Tygra asked, some of his anger leeching from his tone.
"Yes?" She answered slowly, unsure of his intentions.
Understanding flickered in his eyes.
"You're worried about him. Your new Berbil friend. Listen, Echo, unless we repel this attack, then he might get captured again. I know you don't want that, right?" His voice was much more logical than angry, and she could see where he was going.
Already, her mind was wrapping around the possibilities.
She groaned.
"Alright. I'll go."
She cast Sunny a worried glance over her shoulder at Sunny. "Stay there, okay?"
The Berbil nodded.
Tygra led her away, where Echo became part of the fortifying efforts. She threw herself into the tasks, aiding where she was needed, worry for Sunny's safety on her mind. Eventually, however, night fell - and in the distance, they could see the Conquedor and his forces advancing on the Berbil village.
Standing in a rough semi-circle around the entrance of the village, Echo ran her fingers over the sheathes on her back.
Lion-O drew Omens, their planned cue to begin.
"Thunder. Thunder. Thunder! ThunderCats, HO!"
In the distance, Echo could see the twins hopping out of the way of a giant club as it smacked into the ground. She should have felt worried for them, but seeing as they were practically vibrating with energy, she didn't. They were moving too fast for the stupid creature. Kit and Kat led the Giantor to the nearest set of traps, which set off perfectly.
It was socked in the face with an over sized fist, knocking it to the ground.
Before the others knew what had hit them, more of the traps were sprung. Slavers went flying into the air as they stepped on spring-loaded pressure pads, and even more were constantly pelted with candyfruit - hard enough to hurt.
Tygra let out an appreciative whistle at the havoc the Berbils were wreaking with their traps. Beebil, acting as a cheerleader to the twins, began to jump up and down, shouting, 'hooray!'. . .
. . . until two of the Trollicks grabbed the robot bear.
Tygra grinned.
"I got this."
With a footstep, he turned invisible. In seconds, he punched both of the Trollicks in their faces, and caught Beebil as he fell. Echo watched, crossing her arms over her chest, as she and Cheetara stood guard before the Berbil town. She was tempted to run forward and throw herself into the fray, but she resisted. Sunny was safe.
If she moved, she would compromise his safety.
Loud noises caught her attention, and she turned, looking at the Thunder Tank and the Conquedor's machine battle against one another. Through some fancy maneuvering, the Tank spun around and rammed into the Conquedor's machine, toppling it onto its side.
The cliff wasn't that far away. That was why Echo could see the Conquedor clamber out of his machine and tumble down uselessly onto the ground, scrambling to get away from the Cats.
"I should've warned you," Lion-O spoke, voice carrying over the night, "Panthro doesn't like people messing with his tank."
"What do I care? I'll just force these worthless robots to build me another and demolish any that don't listen!" He aimed his gun at Lion-O, and managed to fire off a shot - but Lion-O recovered nicely and swung, forcing the Conquedor to his feet.
"You still don't understand, you spineless parasite." Lion-O snarled, "These bears. Are. Not. Your. Property!"
With another strike, his gun shattered.
Lion-O aimed Omens at his throat, resting the tip of his sword against it.
With the defeat of their master, the Trollicks and Giantors ran off like dogs, tails tucked between their legs. After another snarl, Lion-O released the Conquedor, who also scrambled away.
Echo watched in smug satisfaction as their enemies became nothing more than pinpricks on the horizon.
Morning came shortly after. She included herself on the cleanup crew, helping to reload the traps. And before she knew it, she was done, and the sun was beginning to rise again, painting everything a beautiful shade of gold. Tired, Echo finally stood and swiped at her forehead, brushing away the sweat developing there.
She felt a tap at her leg, and turned down to see the black-and-gold Sunny standing there.
"Ro-E must go. Sunny know."
"I do?"
"Ro-E has to find memory. Sunny cannot find Ro-E memory. Sunny misses Ro-E."
She smiled at the little Berbil, and then crouched down to get to his level.
". . . I guess I do. I don't want to, though. I really don't."
Sunny reached out and hugged her, awkward made by his clunky robotic arms.
Echo hugged him in return, closing her eyes.
Sunny pulled away and beeped. A port opened on his back, and from it, her book emerged.
"Sunny know Ro-E wants it. Ro-E read it to Sunny sometime?"
Echo smiled, running her hands over the aged and weathered cover.
"I promise."
She had something. It wasn't much, but. . . she had a book of her own.
Maybe this book didn't have every single detail of Third Earth recorded in its pages, but it had fairy tales penned in a language only she could read.
Her book had secrets that only she would know.