Fall Of The Empire
Rating: T-17+
Disclaimer: I don't own this. . . or do I? Nah, I don't. So don't sue me. I'm already in enough debt with my student loans.
Author's Notes: Hey all.
I'm a bit glum. Primarily because I fucked up in a huge way and I'm not happy about it. I was trying to go home to visit the family because I have a new, shiny, top-of-the-line boyfriend and my parents got a six week old puppy. Oh yeah, life was going to be grand.
And then disaster struck.
I was stuck at the Korean airport for two days (sounds silly to say, I know, because I live here), but finally I said fuck it, and we activated Plan B to Get WAR Home. Normally when I fly home, it goes like this:
Incheon - San Francisco - Seattle [ 13 hrs flight time ] (and then I drive for hours to get home). This is only 1 day of travel, because I time travel due to time zones.
The revised gameplan was as follows:
Incheon - Narita - Honolulu - San Francisco - Seattle [ ~20+ hr flight time ] This is closer to two, because of layovers + time zones.
But that's not what happened. I flew to Narita and found out the flight to Honolulu was cancelled so I was stranded in Japan for a day. Not too awful, I got to spend the night at a capsule hotel, which was pretty cool. I got on the next Honolulu flight, no problem, and then found out all the flights were full in San Fran and oversold. Luckily a gate agent rebooked me on a flight to Los Angeles instead, where there was plenty of open seats!
But then I lost my phone on a bus going to Waikiki. I landed in Honolulu at ~6AM and my flight didn't leave until 10PM at night. I had a day to burn. I was on public transit when I lost it. My phone also doubles as my wallet, so I lost my credit card, my Korean bank card, my American driver's license (pretty sure - I can't find it anywhere here), and my Korean passport. I was devastated. I had an epic meltdown in public. Luckily there was a whopping ~6$ in my wallet at the time so I didn't lose a lot of cash.
But it sure put a damper on the trip. I'd already lost 3 days of vacation just traveling trying to get home. It was not a pretty sight.
In the end I was so utterly emotionally and physically exhausted (when I boarded the Honolulu - Los Angeles flight I'd been awake close to 22hrs at that point alone), that I'd be standing there and I'd just burst into tears. It was like a cat that zips out of the shadows to pounce on your feet. I never saw it coming. This went off and on for a day.
I had to eat a lot of the cost when I came back to Korea, but oh well. That's life. But I AM back in Korea now, so that's nice, right?
I had to vent. I am still so SALTY over this you don't even KNOW.
It's cold as hell here, but Pokemon GO finally came out too, so I got that going for me, which is nice. The puppy was chill. I miss her a lot. Boyfriend too. He even misses the puppy, too.
But enough of the super long author's intro.
I bring you another chapter!
I really like this table idea, so I'm going to keep it:
1.) The Trouble with Thunderkittens
2.) The Fourth Guardian
3.) Legacy Redux
4.) The Final Fight
5.) Epilogue
Houston, start counting down. We're at 3.
I decided I'm going to be different this time. We're taking a small break.
Oh, if you haven't, be sure to check out DarkMind's fic she's writing. It's so well-done and I love it so much. I read it every time you post something, dear! Hello to all of the new followers and readers. c:
And don't mind the sound of my giddy clapping, but the next two chapters are gonna be so much fun!
Warnings: Nothing, except for stylistic things FF loves to om nom. More blood and gore than normal. If you see anything with the first-person in it, it should be italicized. That is all.
I've adopted a lot of mannerisms from the South Koreans. I teach at an elementary school and my student's mistakes have become my own. I make grammatical and spelling errors much more frequently now. If you see anything that's incorrect, let me know and I'll change it!
. . . this text is here for a mysterious reason.
Kat was thoroughly irritated at all other animals present. Seriously! Just because they were younger didn't mean they were any less good at fighting. Sure, Kit had a flupe, but she was really good at dodging, and combining that his flank made them an unstoppable force on the battlefield! Plus they were both really fast, and. . . and what had Cheetara called them once? Resourceful. And. . . agile? Yeah, agile, that was the world. They were resourceful and agile.
When all of El Dara had been in trouble, they were there, flupe and flank in hand.
Kat didn't want to see the inside of the pyramid anyway. The last time he'd been in a pyramid, a lot of bad things had happened - so he was in no hurry to go back. Kit felt the same way, he was sure. Besides, earlier, she'd even told him that the pyramid had given her some 'creepy crawlies' and no thank you. He'd rather not stick his whiskers where they could be chopped off! He might be a pickpocket, but he was a smart one. Outside suited him just fine anyway.
He had to admit, though. . . looking down at Mumm-Ra's generals was scary.
And knowing that Lion-O and the others were going into the pyramid, leaving him with Kit and Cybele. . . only made him more scared.
But he felt proud and strong. With Kit by his side, he could do anything.
Not to mention Cybele was lighting up like a grand Thunderian festival. And she could summon ghosts. How cool was that?!
"Kitty Cats! Kitty Cats, come out and playyyy!" The jackalman taunted, beginning to climb the steps. Kat could see the crazy shining in Kaynar's eyes, even from this far away.
But Kat was more afraid of the monkey, Addicus. Lion-O had told him that the ape had done a lot of bad things to animals, unspeakable things. Like. . . like eating them. Ugh. Where did Mumm-Ra even find these crazy animals?
"Go, ThunderCats." Cybele said.
Her voice sounded different - thick, powerful. She was nice, though, Kat reflected. When she laughed, it sounded like water trickling over rocks, and she'd let them see El Dara! She hadn't even cared where they went. The legendary city, the place of their dreams, the answer to all of their prayers. . . and she didn't even care if they took any gold! She was probably the coolest friend ever.
Green energy sparked around them, but Kat wasn't afraid. Lion-O's sword did that too, sometimes, and he knew that friends didn't hurt friends. Omens had never hurt him. So Cybele wouldn't, either.
"We'll stay!" Kit said from Cybele's other side, "We'll fight!"
"Yeah!" Kat chimed in, looking up at the other Cats, "She won't be alone!"
Lion-O looked at Kit, and then to him. Kat saw a lot of weird things in his eyes - like he wanted to stay, almost, but he knew he couldn't. It took another second, but their king nodded his head and then gestured for everyone to follow him.
"Fight well." He ordered. "Stay safe."
Kat nodded, grinning. As the others disappeared, he turned that smile to Kit.
"Who does he think he's talking to, amateurs?"
Kit shrugged. "I unno. 'Parently. Even Panthro says we're doing better than he is."
Kat spun his flank, preparing his weapon. And before he could breathe another word, the fight was on. Cybele's power exploded, ghosts popping out of the ground faster than he could count, all of them rushing towards Mumm-Ra's generals. For a second, Kat was a little confused on what to do, but then he ran forward, too. He was a little scared, but he always was whenever they went into a fight. He had tons of experience now, though. He'd lost track of how many times he'd fought with and for Lion-O.
The first general they ran into was Grune, but three gigantic dog-things snarled and tackled him off the staircase. From the bloodcurdling growl and laser fire peppering the air as he fell down, Grune didn't sound very happy about it. The next general was Kaynar. The jackal stared at them, eyes gleaming, pink tongue darting out to lick his lips.
"Kitten-sized snacks? Just for me, such thoughtful morsels!"
He lunged, spear flashing in the light, and Kat jumped, weaving and ducking as he faced Kaynar's assault. It was hard - harder than he remembered. But normally one of the adults was there to step in - no! No, he could do this! He just had to concentrate! He couldn't lose his nerve now. Gritting his teeth, Kat dug his foot into the ground, spinning his flank, and throwing his whole body into the effort, cast out his flank. It wrapped around Kaynar's spear and his hand, locking him in place. Kat pulled the line taut, keeping Kaynar's hand pinned.
The jackalman giggled.
"Such a weak little furball. You need to exercise!" And in return, Kaynar started to pull back.
Kat grit his teeth, his entire body tensing as he fought to keep tension on the wires. Kaynar was strong, though. Too strong. It was obvious in seconds that Kaynar was just toying with him, pulling his feet more and more and trying to make him lose his footing. But Kat hadn't gotten this far on his good looks - he was stubborn. He refused to let go. Even though his arms were shaking. . . and burning.
"Gonna let go, furball? All it takes is one eensy teensy pull!" Kaynar giggled.
Kat grunted when Kaynar made good on his word, and he almost went flying. But Kaynar was so occupied with him that he hadn't noticed that he was just fighting with just one Wily twin.
"Next time make sure to look behind you!" Kit sang, right before she leaped onto the jackal's back. She played the most earsplitting sound Kat had ever heard in the world. Kaynar rocked back, shocked and wincing in pain.
Using that to his advantage, Kat spun his flank, freeing the wires, and with another twirl, hooked claws around the jackal's legs. He went down with a big rash, long enough that some snake-thingies Cybele had conjured began to attack him, biting and constricting. Kit skipped up to place next to him, grinning ear to ear.
"Ha! This isn't so hard!" Kit crowed, jumping in excitement. Kat smiled, feeling proud.
A quick flick of his wrist, and his flank disengaged from Kaynar, the snakes never letting up their assault. Somehow, Kaynar managed to scramble up to his feet and he took off at a sprint, howling in pain as he was pursued by them.
"Yeah." Kat replied, "Two down and two to go! Why does Lion-O always have such a hard-"
But then Kit wasn't standing next to her anymore. Kat's heart stopped when he heard her make a crumpled, weak mewl as a giant, furry arm smacked her. Kat felt his blood freeze when he saw his twin flying through the air. He felt sick when he heard the strange, meaty thud she made when she hit a marble wall. Kit fell to the ground, and for a moment, he feared she was dead, but then she shivered, and wrapped herself in a protective ball, making choking, pained noises.
"KI-"
That same giant, furry arm smacked into him, next.
It hurt.
There were no words to describe how it felt. It was. . . It was just. . . pain. It stunned him - he wasn't hit with as much force as his twin, but he crashed into the steps and cracked his head. The world exploded into an array of colors and shapes, and Kat wondered if he was going to be sick. He laid there, hands moving on instinct, trying to find his flank. He had to move, he had to find Kit. The sounds of the battle came back to him, sounding less and less hazy, the colors coming into more focus.
A shadow fell over him, and a large, broad hand grabbed him by his waist, hefting him up. Panthro? His bleary mind thought - but no. These fingers were large and wide enough that they completely covered his entire body. The tips of those fingers dug into soft, sensitive parts of his body, making him cough and writhe as he tried to get the pressure off of him. Panthro wouldn't squeeze so tight. Panthro would have berated him by now.
That hand rotated, spinning him around and showing him a mouth full of sharp, long teeth.
"Kaynar never was good at eating other animals. Luckily. . . that's my specialty."
Kat would be lying if he said shivers didn't race down his spine. But the pain and the adrenaline helped him focus. He wriggled and writhed, beating at the monkey's fists and trying his best to get enough room to hop out of his hold.
"Let go you giant, overgrown monkey! I'm not food - I eat food!"
"What a coincidence. So do I." Addicus said, mouth stretching into a grin before he opened his mouth. Kat growled and bit down on the monkey's hand, hard enough to draw blood, but Addicus didn't even flinch. Kat redoubled his efforts, fear flashing through him. Kit! Kit was hurt - he had to get to her! Mom and his siblings - he had to get back to them! Lion-O and everybody, too!
He could feel Addicus's breath on his face, and Kat cried out in fear, wrenching his eyes shut as he prepared to feel teeth bite into his neck, feel his blood-
He wasn't expecting to feel metal brush the top of his head, or the deadly sound of rasping metal. Addicus paused, but then pulled Kat away from his mouth, and Kat took precious seconds to calm the frenzied beating of his heart before he could open his eyes.
Erica pulled her sword from between Addicus's teeth, blue eyes locked onto the ape.
"I was about to eat!" Addicus growled, squeezing him tighter. Kat wheezed, his ribs creaking at the pressure.
"No." She answered simply. "You don't have my permission."
Addicus snarled, anger rippling through him - Kat could feel the tension in his hand. "What? Who are you to tell me I need permission-"
A fox-looking thing leaped into the air behind Erica, jaws stretched wide to clamp down on her shoulder. Kat's eyes widened when Erica's hand started to glow, the lights bright and strong, and with only a glance behind her, she lifted her hand. When the fox made contact with it, the light flared, and it. . . fizzled? It just disappeared, like it had ever existed.
"I am your commanding officer." Erica said, her tone calm and even.
Addicus snarled, and with a sharp toss, discarded Kat back onto the steps. Kat hit the ground with a meaty thud of his own, and he wheezed, the wind leaving him. Like Kit, he wrapped his arms around his chest and was powerless to do much else than lay there.
"Are you trying to save them?! Has your loyalty to Mumm-Ra waned-"
Another flash of light, the glove Erica wearing flaring to life again. But there was another kind of glimmer, a metallic one. Erica laid the tip of a sword against Addicus's throat, a cold smile on her face. Kat shivered.
"No." She replied.
"Then why?" Addicus demanded.
"Call it. . ." She paused, glancing down at him. Kat stared into those blue eyes, and he felt. . . he felt so small. Like a bug under a glass. Like a kid.
"Call it sentimental value - a girl likes to save her playthings. You can eat the goat girl, if you lay hands on her. Prove your worth, and stop questioning mine. Not get a move on."
For a few tense moments, Addicus didn't. The ape's eyes narrowed in rage, but with a very enraged growl, he eventually moved. Erica dropped the sword, sheathing it, moving with him. Kat laid there, watching as she lifted up her glove again to dispel another one of Cybele's friends, helpless to do anything. As she strode by him, he felt shock pour through him. She didn't. . . she didn't even look at him. What. . . what had happened? She was just walking, climbing the steps, leaving him. Leaving Kit.
Bittersweet, painful memories flashed in his mind. Echo had been like an older sister - always nagging after them, always caring. She'd cleaned them up, told them stories, even slept with them sometimes when her dreams were too bad. She'd been. . . she'd been family.
And now she was calling him a plaything. And the way she'd looked at him, like he was just some thing, not even a Cat.
Unexpected anger flooded through him, and Kat glared at her back, watching as more flashes of light peppered the air. She was leaving them. After everything that had happened, she was still. . .
No.
Pushing himself up to his feet, Kat swiped up his flank, and with practiced, precise movements, gathered up enough momentum to throw it.
"Echo!" He yelled, the wires racing to her back.
Angry as he was, he hadn't expected the wires to actually wrap around her hand. And somehow he'd snagged the gloved one. One of Cybele's animals was running at her, and Kat had to watch a sickening display of swordmanship as she dug her sword into the creature to dispel it instead. Echo was practiced and precise too. Slowly, however, his human friend turned around, weird, round eyes flicking down to the wires wrapped around her wrist.
And then to him.
And she waited.
Kat's anger took hold, giving him words.
"I'm not a plaything! My name is WilyKat. My sister is WilyKit. We're Cats. And you're a human and once you were my best friend! Why are you looking at me like that? Like you don't care? Because you do! You wouldn't have let that smelly monkey eat me otherwise!"
Echo smiled. It made her lips thin, and it didn't look happy or sad. It was just. . . Kat wasn't sure if he had a word for it. She didn't even look angry. She glanced down, lifting up her wrist, his flank's wires catching in the light.
". . . sentimental value." She muttered. After a short pause, she looked at him, pinning him with those weird eyes of hers. ". . . At least you remembered to clean it." She shook her wrist, dislodging his wires, and Kat bristled, his anger doubling.
"Echo! Don't turn your back! Look at me. Look at me!"
Instead, she gave a small wave with her fingers, waving like she didn't care. Like she was waving goodbye. Kat snarled, almost seeing red, spinning his flank again to wrap around her ankles. If she wasn't going to stand there, fine, he was going to make her-
"Slithe's about to behead your sister. Go fight something you can actually beat."
Kat stiffened, his blood running cold a second time. Was Echo lying? Kat whipped his head around and found that Slithe was advancing on Kit, his axe gleaming in the light. Without a second thought, Kat whirled around and race down the staircase, taking them two at a time, a savage cry leaving him as he spun his flank around and sent the wires to grab Slithe's axe. His anger fueled his movements, making him forget about the pain, the aches and bruises forming on his body.
He only wished he could forget the way she'd looked at him.
Like he was nothing.
Things weren't looking good.
Kit frowned as she looked at the camp, staring at the flickering fire. It was white and minty green, just like Cybele, and it made everything bright and clear to see in the pavilion everybody was in. Up here, on a rooftop, they could be alone, her and Kat. They could talk. They were only ten or so feet away from everybody, but the camp was. . . it wasn't a good place to be. Everybody was angry or sad and all for different reasons. Cybele was hurt, but recovering, sitting on top of her dog-friend that had curled up underneath her, acting like a big, living pillow.
Cheetara and Tygra were tending to Lion-O. Kit. . . she'd never seen him so broken. Once or twice, he'd been really, really worried - but not like this. His eyes were flat and empty, like he was dead. Even when his father had passed away, he hadn't been like this. Not even when Pumyra had been really, really sick. . . Mmm. This was all confusing and she didn't like any of it.
Pumyra had been a spy for Mumm-Ra.
She hadn't known - how could anybody? Pumyra hadn't been as friendly or as nice as any other Cat, but she was still a Cat. And Kit had seen where she'd come from, so she understood. The mines had been an awful, scary place. And then she'd fought in the Pits at Dog City! Even Kit had forgiven her for how rude or mean Pumyra could be. She'd had a hard time, and Kit wasn't without a heart. Pumyra had even been nice to her a time or two. But from what Panthro had told Cybele (and what the twins had been standing right next to her for - like any of the other Cats thought they couldn't be just as serious!), Pumyra had always been a spy.
Since the beginning, she'd been a spy, working for Mumm-Ra.
Despite everything, Kit couldn't stop looking, though. Her hands held onto the lip of the roof, and she kept glancing between everybody in the camp.
"So." Kat spoke up next to her. "Pumyra was a spy."
"Yep." Kit replied. "Today has been. . . awful."
Kat blew out a gusty breath of air. "Yeah. . . but at least we have the essences, so that's a good thing, right?"
Kit glanced at her brother, taking in his appearance. A bit bruised and battered, and both of them were sporting some new bandages. Cheetara was too tired to do magic, apparently, and every spare second was spent with Lion-O, holding his hand or hugging him or comforting him when he cried. And he did cry. He was crying a lot - it was like he'd never stopped. Sometimes he said Pumyra's name, too, like a prayer, but his voice and broken and cracked. Cheetara had had to spend most of her magic healing Lion-O. He'd been brutally stabbed by the legendary spider, Spidera. The very same one Panthro had told Kat and her about a year ago.
Lion-O wasn't better - not all the way - but he wasn't about to die anymore, so that was good.
Everybody in the camp looked worried and concerned, too, and not just about Lion-O.
Kit knew exactly what they were thinking about - she and Kat weren't stupid.
"If Pumyra was the spy. . ." She began.
"Then Echo wasn't." Kat finished.
"It makes sense."
"Why would there be two spies?"
Kit blew out an agitated breath of her own. "We both told them it didn't make sense. There's no way Echo could be the spy. She was too. . . sappy."
"Yeah, I know, but. . ." Kat paused, "After everything that happened in that creepy bird city. . . who knows what Mumm-Ra did to her. And all of this, 'I'm not Echo, I'm Erica' stuff. . ."
"But. . . But Echo wasn't even her real name - we all knew that. She said she was trying real hard to remember her past. So maybe Erica really was her name?"
Kat shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe. that doesn't explain all the rest of it, though. She was hiding that tattoo and the stuff in her journal. . ."
Kit breathed out another sigh and rested her forehead against the cool marble of the building. She didn't know what to say, but she knew everybody was thinking it. They'd even talked about it, too, whispering in quiet voices so Lion-O didn't overhear, most of their conversation the exact same as what the twins were currently discussing. But nobody had any answers. Nobody. And Echo's journal was back in the Feliner, which was way out of the jungle. But, Kit figured, it didn't make sense. Why have two spies? And if Echo had been a spy, she'd been a terrible one.
There was no way Echo could have been a spy.
She and Kat knew it.
Echo had come to Avista to help. When she and Kat had gone to visit Jorma, to tell him, Kit could still remember the way Echo's face had looked. Those blue eyes had gone wide, so big and round, and they'd even gotten a little wet, too. She'd been so happy to see them. Yeah, Echo had looked different, but Echo had still been Echo. But after Avista. . . everything had gotten complicated.
Silence lapsed again, and Kit sucked in a breath of air before she turned her head and looked at her twin.
"Hey, Kat. . ." She called, getting his attention, "I wanted to say thank you."
"Huh? For what, sis?"
What a whisker-brain. She rolled her eyes and sat up straight.
"For saving my life, duh! What else?"
"Oh. that. Echo told me Slithe was about to. . . s-so I had to! You're my sister. I have to save your life, even if you're dumb sometimes."
Kat stuck out his tongue, and insulted, Kit responded in turn. Kat had already told her everything that had happened after Addicus had hit her (and oof, that monkey could hit!) - though she'd regained consciousness shortly after Kat had started to attack Slithe. Together, they'd managed to put him down, but they'd been so tired after. Luckily most of the fight outside of the pyramid had ended, so one of Cybele's big dog-guardians had come over, grabbed them by the scruffs of their necks, and moved them to camp. Normally Kit would protest to having a huge, unnecessary babysitter (as the dog-guardian had sat down right next to them and hadn't moved), but she'd been so tired, she hadn't cared. As the minutes trickled by, they had eventually been joined by the rest of the Cats. Kit and Kat had napped on and off after the fight, because nobody seemed to be in a big hurry to do anything.
"I like you too. For an annoying brother." Kit said, smiling.
Kat smiled back, but then his smile lightened, and he looked confused. ". . . I don't understand, Kit. Not any of it. She didn't let Addicus eat me. She stopped him. And she didn't attack me."
Kat had already told her all this, too.
"Yeah. . . she scolded you for having your flank dirty that one time."
"She brought it up again."
"How did she look?" Kit asked. She'd already asked this, but it felt good to go over it again, turn the puzzle over another time in her mind, see if anything new came up. Kat shook his head and ran a hand through his fur.
"It made me so angry, because she looked at me like I was a kid, all over again. No. . . worse than that. Like I wasn't even a Cat. But then later, she smiled. It wasn't sad or happy. And then she left. Why would she do that?"
"Because she still cares about us." Kit said. The puzzle began to take shape, scattered pieces slowly clicking into empty slots. "She could have let Addicus eat you."
"She could have let Slithe kill you."
"She told you your flank was clean."
"She didn't threaten either of us."
Kit paused - and then it dawned on her. She felt like lightning and a candy fruit high had struck her all at once.
"Brother, what if. . . what if she doesn't know how to ask for help?"
"Huh?" Kat asked.
"Remember, Echo was bad at asking for help - and she used to decode all of those puzzles in her book. What if. . . what if this is a code right now? We always believed her - we even told her so, too! What if Mumm-Ra's watching her super close right now so she can't talk. Think about it. She's giving us hints!"
"Uh. . . Sis, can you please explain? I don't understand."
Kit jumped up and down, giddy. She grabbed her brother's face, pressing his cheeks together and pinning him with a stern look in the eye.
"On the steps. What did she say to you?"
"Urm. Vat she notissed my fwank was cwean?"
Kit squished his cheeks further, shaking her head. "No, no, no, after that!"
"Vat Swife-"
"After!"
She saw the cogs spinning in Kat's brain. She watched as her brother worked on fitting the puzzle together, too, but then a light went on behind his eyes, and his mouth dropped open. Kit released his face.
"She told me to go fight something I can beat! What if she meant-"
"-that the Mumm-Ra thing-"
"-was too much for us-"
"-and she was worried we'd get hurt?!"
Kat slapped his forehead. "Ugh! Echo's so bad about that! She always tried to protect us too much!"
"Yeah, I know, it was annoying, but she gave us a hint! And look, we figured it out. She wants help! We can free her from Mumm-Ra and set this all straight."
Kat looked down at the camp. ". . . After Pumyra died, I don't think it's gonna be so easy. . ."
Strange, Kit reflected, that she didn't feel so sad about Pumyra dying. But they hadn't really been close, and Pumyra had been so prickly to get along with. Also, death was nothing new in their life - they'd seen a lot of it. But still. Was she supposed to be afraid that she wasn't crying? Nah. Pumyra had been Mumm-Ra's spy. She'd tried to kill Lion-O. There was no reason to get sad.
"Something's coming." Cybele said, straightening up on her dog-guardian, "It's small. . . and it's not an animal?"
Kit perked up, and her brother crowded the space next to her, staring at the entrances to their makeshift campsite. The fire flickered, growing stronger, and both kittens paid rapt attention as the older Cats straightened. The only exception was Cheetara, who held onto a tired and fatigued Lion-O. Their king lolled, suffering from blood loss and grief and even Kit could tell he looked awful. She was tense herself as she watched the clearing, waiting for any number of things. But Cybele's dog-guardian thing hadn't stood up and snarled, so Kit didn't think it could be all that bad.
She was proven right just a few seconds later as a black-and-gold ball rolled into the clearing.
"It's Sunny!" She called out, tail swishing excitedly in the air behind her. Tygra and Panthro raised their weapons, refusing to relax.
"Berbils are our friends!" Kat called down to them. "Don't you dare hurt Sunny!"
"A Berbil?" Cybele blinked curiously at the ball.
Sunny slowed, and in a jerky set of movements that didn't quite look right, unfolded into his bear form. Gold eyes blinked at them, for a moment, the Berbil just stood there, looking around the clearing.
"ThunderCat. Lion-cats. I am Sunny. Do ThunderCat reprogram. . . retreat. . . remember?"
A tense silence. Sunny stood there, looking down the barrel of Tygra's gun (though he was maybe twenty feet away) and Panthro's wrath. Kit felt frustrated, and she smacked her hands against the marble.
"Berbils don't even have guns!"
"Tygra, put it down!"
Tygra did, much to Kit's amazement. And Sunny quirked his head to the side, mechanical sounds buzzing from him.
"What do you want?" Panthro grated.
"Good, ThunderCat remember. Sunny need ThunderCat help. Sunny is no longer quantity. . . quiche. . . qualified. Ro-E not listen to Sunny. Ro-E in danger."
"What's wrong with Echo?" Kit shouted down at Sunny.
Tygra and Panthro shot her hot, scalding glares, but she didn't care. She'd figured out the puzzle, she'd cracked Echo's code. And to further cement her beliefs, Sunny was there. It wasn't her fault the rest of the adults were so slow on the uptake!
"Ro-E is suffering from mental disorder. Not uncommon in human. But Sunny not have medical facility. Sunny sent status report, but server say nothing. . . Sunny sorry."
"A mental disorder?" Panthro asked. Not exactly curious, but not entirely guarded, either.
"Ro-E have many. Sunny is Ro-E's personal assistant. Sunny been with Ro-E for a long time. But Sunny memory corrupted. AI no longer viable. Sunny bad personal assistant."
Tygra shook his head. "What do you mean by mental disorder? What's happening? Start talking, bear."
"Ro-E extreme stress. Fatigue. Not sleep. Not eat. Ro-E cut self. Ro-E cry. Ro-E nightmare. Ro-E flashback. Sunny compute diagnosis: acute stress. Post traumatic stress. Anxiety. Hallucination. Mental break. Delusion. Ro-E suffer from frequent psychology. . . psychic. . . psychosis."
Those were a lot of words that Kit didn't know. A quick look to her brother proved he didn't know, either. Kit looked at Sunny, brow furrowed. She didn't know what a psychosis was, but she knew what hallucination and delusions were. What was wrong with Echo? The puzzle shifted, more holes forming, others filling in. Echo was calling herself Erica Riley. She kept calling Lion-O a liar for no reason. Kept saying she wanted to kill them. Echo had always had nightmares, and a time or two, Kit had even caught her talking to nobody.
Echo had always been kind of sick, and Kit had noticed. But Cheetara, Tygra, Panthro, and Lion-O had helped her. And when they'd even found the Book of Omens. . . Echo had done some scary things. What if Mumm-Ra was lying to her? What if he said things and she was believing him because she didn't know the truth?
What if. . . What if Lion-O accusing her for being the spy had made her believe she was the spy? Maybe her friend was very, very sick.
"She's hangin' around that blasted demon, I doubt that's the entire list." Panthro grouched.
Sunny began to fidget with his hands. "Sunny log 257 more physical, emotional, and mental items with Ro-E. Not all data recover. New problem. Sunny have no treatment. No medicine. Doctor Nike not here. Cannot connect to Doctor Nike. Ro-E support system absent."
"Will you just get to the point?" Tygra growled.
"Sunny want Ro-E with Thundercat. ThunderCat is Ro-E support system. Ro-E need fry. . . free. . . friend."
Silence, save the crackling of Cybele's fire. Kit was confused as ever - she had no idea what a support system was, but she knew what a friend was. And she knew Sunny was asking that they go and be friends with Echo again. The silence was thick and suffocating, and she shivered, like that would help take the weight of it off. She didn't know what to say or what to do.
"No."
It was Lion-O. His voice was weak and reedy, but it was there.
"Leave."
But Sunny didn't. The Berbil fidgeted with his hands several more times, golden eyes blinking rapidly.
"Ro-E cut self. Deep. Many time. Ro-E heart stop four time. Sunny scared."
"She's. . . trying to commit suicide?"
"Suicide?" Kit whispered.
Kat's eyes were wide. "I know that. That's when you kill yourself."
Oh.
Oh no.
Echo was a lot sicker than Kit thought.
"I don't care." Lion-O said, struggling to get to his feet. Cheetara tried to force him to stay down, but the lion had recovered just a little bit of his stamina. Kit watched him nervously as he strode forward, most of his body wrapped in bandages stained wet with his blood.
"Pumyra's gone. Pumyra's dead and it's her fault."
Kit felt shocked. After all the talks she'd had with their king, and this. . . ?
"Next time, you don't bring her back. You let her stay dead-"
"No!" She shouted. Kit jumped up, hopping over the building's short lip and down onto the campsite below. Tears were in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Lion-O wasn't looking at her, but that was alright - she'd make him! She had to stop herself from walking up to him - she wanted to hit him, knock some sense into him.
"I didn't know Pumyra that long - but either did you! That wasn't Echo's fault."
"Kit, stop." Lion-O said, his voice strained.
"You're hurting and I know how it feels. When we lost our dad, I did the same thing! I blamed everybody else. It was everyone's fault-"
"KIT." Lion-O grated. Kit's fur stood on end, but she persisted. Grieving or not, he needed to hear this.
"No, you listen! My dad chose to go out into that storm - he chose! He could have stayed safe with us but he didn't. Just like Pumyra chose. Nobody forced her - Echo didn't do anything! Pumyra make that choice all on her own! So you don't blame Echo for that!"
Lion-O finally lifted his eyes and looked at her.
And Kit froze.
What she saw. . . it was awful. It made her words stick in her mouth, and her feet root to the ground. Lion-O, she realized, didn't want to hear the truth. She wanted to believe lies. Luckily, Kat jumped next to her.
"Be angry all you want, Lion-O. Our friend is sick. And we're going to help her. Kit, let's go!"
Kat grabbed her hand, freeing her from Lion-O's spell.
Panthro and Tygra called their names, yelling out warnings for them to stop, to not do it. But Kit and Kat ran up to Sunny, who folded back into a ball and began to roll back the way he'd come. Kit felt determination flooding through her, she was right. She'd been right this entire time. Echo was Echo and she was sick and she needed them now more than ever. Kit didn't care if she'd served Mumm-Ra in the past. Echo didn't. Echo had sworn to be by Lion-O's side until the very end.
A golden blur made Kit draw up short, and she skidded to a halt as Cheetara caught Sunny and picked him up. The cleric looked at them, and Kit felt her anger bursting at the seams.
"Cheetara, move!"
"Yeah, we need to get to Echo!"
"Release sunny. Ro-E need Sunny. Vital charts reporting extreme stress."
"Kit. Kat." Cheetara began, "We can't. Not yet, not like this. There's too much we don't know."
"She's Echo!"
"She's our friend!"
"Release Sunny. Vital charts peaking. Dangerous level. Release Sunny."
"And she's been working for Mumm-Ra. Maybe-"
A shadow. Kit felt her jaw drop when the shadow moved, gravity and speed somehow accelerating, two flashes of silver popping like fireworks in the night by the light of the fire. Cheetara stiffened, moving just in time to avoid being split in two. The marble cracked from the impact, sending dust and rocks up into the air. Cheetara dodged swords, and Kit gasped when she realized that shadow was Echo. The human was attacking Cheetara, and she was pressing her assault, swiping at the cleric's head or her legs-
Until Tygra fired at Echo's hand, hitting her, and Cheetara fizzled out of reality and appeared by Lion-O's side.
Echo had dropped to a knee, panting like she'd run a hundred miles. Her face was flushed and she was all sweaty, her blue eyes locked onto Sunny.
"Drop the bear."
"Release Sunny. Release-" Cheetara covered Sunny's mouth, holding onto him tighter.
"Drop the bear!" Echo hissed.
Silence. Kit stared at Echo - she didn't even notice that she and Kat were behind her. She only seemed to care about Sunny.
"Erica-" Tygra hedged.
"What did you do to her?" Lion-O interrupted. His voice was the same, thin and reedy and broken, but those eyes. . . Kit shivered, and she was glad that Lion-O wasn't looking at her anymore. He looked angry, too, his hands fisting at his sides, like he was ready to fight again.
"What?" Echo demanded, sounding confused, "What are you-"
"Pumyra!" Lion-O yelled, rage and grief in his voice, "What did you do to her?!"
Kit wished she would see Echo's face. She'd turned to face the other Cats more fully, and staring at her back made it hard to tell what was going on. But she and Kat were rooted to the spot. This was the first time Echo had actually come to them. And it had to be like this? Oh, no.
"Nothing." Erica said. Her voice didn't sound like normal - cool and collected or crazy. It sounded panicked, like she'd lost something and she was trying to find it. . . or like Sunny was in Cheetara's arms.
"Liar!" Lion-O snarled.
"I didn't do shit!" Echo yelled back. "Pumyra made that deal on her own! Now give me the goddamn bear!"
Lion-O unsheathed Omens in a flash, eyes narrowing. Kit reached over and grabbed at her brother's shirt, feeling reassured that he was there. . . and Kat did the same to her, too.
"Pumyra loved me. Pumyra would never-"
"Yeah, well, she did!" Echo yelled, "She chose to do it. You can't hold somebody's hand and forge a signature on a contract like that. She did on her own free will. I didn't do anything!"
Lion-O tightened his grip on Omens, a bloodthirsty snarl leaving him, his fangs peaking over his lips. "Then he did it. You share a bed with that master."
"I don't know and I don't care! Pumyra made her decision - she chose to sign over her soul the night Thundera fell. She died in the wreckage and she wanted to be brought back. She spent months figuring out the best way to kill you. She probably dreamed about it every night!"
"LIAR!"
"She never loved you! She just wanted to kill-"
Lion-O grabbed at Cheetara.
Omens flashed, blue lightning bolts skittering across the blade. Lion-O cried out in agony, burns scalding up his arms, and he dropped the blade. Omens clattered to the ground, shrinking, and Lion-O collapsed, too. All of the other Cats knelt next to him, but Kit. . .
Kit. . .
Her hands slapped over her mouth, tears dripping own her cheeks. They were fat, hot, and they stung. Next to her, Kat made a strangled noise, like he didn't know if he was going to be sick.
Echo stood there.
Kit stared at the broken parts of Sunny that were rolling to a stop, leaving bits of fur, metal, and broken scrap trailing behind it. Dark-colored fluids smeared El Dara's pristine, beautiful floors. Sunny's lights were off. His eyes weren't working. There was still some metal parts of him that were still moving, but they'd all been sliced through. Sunny was in three large pieces now, coming to a stop after several disgusting mechanical and organic sounds.
And then he was still.
He made no sound.
Sunny did not move.
Echo did, however, fall to knees and start gasping, like she couldn't get enough air. And then she screamed, the sound quickly becoming covered by gales of wind that burst into life. Rocks and pebbles floated into the air and fell, cracks and chunks of buildings forming and separating. Echo didn't seem like she knew what she was doing - her control had slipped. She was screaming for him, calling for Sunny over and over and over again, but the Berbil did not move.
He was dead.
Echo somehow managed to drag the bear's parts closer to her with her mind and she clutched onto him, openly sobbing. The winds petered, picked back up, and tried to peel the skin away from Kit's bones. They couldn't decide what speed to stay.
A green flash of light flashed behind them, and Kit gasped when Grune moved past her and Kat, fearlessly approaching Echo. He bent down and picked her up, and with a savage pull, he yanked what was let of Sunny out of Echo's arms and forcibly threw it onto the pavement. And Grune hit her. Echo stopped making noises, but she stood there, breathing heavy, still crying. Grune picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder.
Lion-O. . . what have you done?
Another green flash of light, and Kit gasped when a large, meaty hand wrapped around her torso.
Addicus!
But she was still too much in shock to squirm, and fighting was the last thing on her mind.
Echo begged, pleading and screaming and thrashing desperately to escape Grune's arms.
Kit didn't fight when Addicus stepped into the green light.
She didn't want to look at Sunny's corpse anymore.
They were still in the jungle, Kit noticed. That was a good thing. But they'd teleported from the campsite to someplace else, and Kit wasn't really sure where. There was another campfire, a regular one, and trees pressed in all around them, along with the cool of nighttime. Kit gasped when she moved, and she blinked when she came face-to-face with Addicus, the monkey's eyes gleaming in the firelight.
"Well, well. I was lucky enough to grab a little snack. Don't worry - I enjoy my meat tender." He laughed, his voice gravelly and rough as he roughly deposited her onto the ground. She heard a second oof, and relief and fear flooded through her when she realized Kat had also been Catnapped.
"Kat!" She scrambled over to her brother, who had landed on his head. She helped him sit up, and he groaned, but he looked otherwise okay. Kit scrubbed at her face, not that it did any good, because the tears just kept coming. She felt horrified and shocked and awful. Lion-O had. . . How could Lion-O do that? Omens couldn't be used against a force of good. And Sunny had been good. Sunny had been innocent.
Kat wrapped his arms around her, and Kit responded in kind, crying silently. But she had to look, to see what was going on. Grune moved closer to the fire, and with a simple shrug, deposited Echo onto the grass. She scrambled to get back up to her feet, but Grune wrapped a hand around her throat and forced her to stand still and to look at him.
"That's enough. What transpired tonight was your fault for not keeping watch on that stupid bear of yours. And I will not have you leaving my side again, is that clear?"
Echo stopped thrashing, and she looked up at Grune. He wasn't stopping her from breathing, just keeping her in place. She was hiccuping, crying just as much as Kit was.
"Sunny's dead." She croaked. "He's. . . he's dead."
"Yes." Grune answered. There was no sympathy or empathy in his voice - he was just talking to her, stating facts. "Your bear-thing is dead."
"He killed him. He cut him down. Sunny's dead-"
"And it it is your fault for allowing the bear to slip away." Grune pressed. "Now straighten up and act like a proper soldier. If you try to elude me again, I will not be as gentle."
He released her, and Echo sank down to her knees again, staring off into space. What. . . What was going on between them? Kit glanced at Grune and then to Echo, lost and confused. When Grune looked at her, he didn't seem to care about her, he didn't look at her like a friend. So why was he treating her like this? He cared about her, but not the way she or Kat did. It seemed. . . cold. Like he just wanted her alive. But for what reason? Around them, the camp was small, with only enough room for Grune, Echo, and Addicus. Mumm-Ra's other goons weren't present.
"E-Echo?" Kat asked, his voice shaky.
"I'm so sorry." Kit continued. "Sunny was our friend."
She didn't respond, her face still contorted in pain. She didn't even seem to notice that they were there. But as she watched, the tears started to slow. And eventually they stopped altogether, but she stared into the trees, her eyes blank. Lion-O had lost Pumyra, and Echo had just lost Sunny. The difference, Kit reflected on chillingly, was one of them had been murdered. How could Echo ever forgive Lion-O for what he had done?
How could she ever forgive Lion-O for what he'd done?
"Echo." Kit said again, still clinging to Kat. "Echo, I'm so sorry. B-but we're here now. W-We figured it out!"
Echo still hadn't moved.
"We're here to help." Kat continued. "We know you're sick. S-Sunny told us so."
From somewhere behind them, Addicus huffed a snicker. Grune didn't seem like he could care less - he stared at he fire, bored. But Echo. . . her eyes finally moved. She looked away from the trees to the pair of them.
"What?" She said, her voice thick and dry.
"S-Sunny said you've been. . . you've been cutting yourself."
"He said you were sick."
"We know you want help-"
"-so we were coming to help you."
"You're not the spy." Kit pressed, "You never were. You aren't."
Echo got to her feet, swaying, and in a few short steps, she fell back to her knees in front of them. White, wispy hair was matted to her cheeks, her face stained with her tears. Her blue eyes were clouded in pain.
"Yeah. I wasn't." She said, her voice low and quiet. "No spies here. Never was. Never will be. It doesn't matter now. There's nothing left for me to go back to. Next time I do it, I'll die. Nobody there to stop the bleeding, nobody there to wake me up during my nightmares, nobody there to hear me scream."
Kit glanced at her wrists. In the light of the fire, she caught sight of Echo's scars - some of them were old. Others were new and fresh, red and angry. All of them clean, never one messy line. The hand that Lion-O had sliced open (which the other Cats had also discussed) was already healed. Kit didn't know how, but considering she was in Mumm-Ra's care, it was easy for her to imagine that the bag of bones had probably helped somehow.
"Everything's gone. I'm. . . I'm the only thing left."
Feeling brave, Kit reached forward, tenderly reaching out to Echo. The human didn't do anything when she touched her face. Just looked at her. Kit cupped Echo's cheek in her palm, looking at her friend sadly. Everything was so broken now - she could understand where Echo was coming from. It was like a shattered mirror, and Kit didn't know where she and Kat were going to start picking up the pieces. How did you put a broken mirror together again?
"That's not true, Echo. We're here for you. Kat and I. . . we're never going to leave."
Her eyes widened. For a moment, Echo sat there, and Kit stared at her, trying to tell her everything, wishing that Echo could read her mind to know the truth. Her face relaxed, and she smiled, bitter and pained.
"Again. An endless cycle, repeating over and over and over. I'm not. . . I'm not falling for it a second time."
Kat yelped when he was suddenly pulled back by an invisible hand, and roughly thrown onto a tree. Kit gasped. "Kat!"
Echo's hands laid over her shoulders, shoving her down onto the grass strong enough that she coughed when she hit. Echo sat on top of her hips, pinning her down, her hands locked over her shoulders.
"Echo! Echo what are you doing?!" Kat demanded.
"You told me that before." Echo murmured. Kit stared up at her, scared, not sure at all what was happening. Echo didn't look relieved like she thought she might. She looked hurt. Like she'd just watched Sunny die all over again.
"I n-never said-" Kit stuttered.
Echo sat back, and invisible hands locked over her shoulders, keeping her place. Echo closed her eyes and turned her head up to the sky.
"You did. I remember. I remember it all. 'We'll never leave you. We're always going to be by your side.' And. . . and I believed you."
Shing.
A sword. Kit swallowed, dread knotting her stomach up. She shrank down further into the grass, biting the inside of her cheek.
"Echo! Echo, stop!" Kat was yelling, almost screaming, bucking and thrashing against the tree.
"That's what made it hurt so much." Echo continued, her voice pained and faraway. "It shattered me, to my very core. That you. . . You lied to me. After everything I sacrificed. All the lives I took. Every drop of blood I spilled. And it was for a lie."
Echo twisted the blade around, pointing it down at her chest. Under her, Kit shivered uncontrollably, hyperventilating. This wasn't going like she thought it would. She wanted Echo to fight her way out. She wanted Echo to be on her own again, no Mumm-Ra. She was sure she and Lion-O would somehow become friends again. They were always friends. So why was this happening? Why was she being like this? Sunny said she was sick. Very sick. Her friend was sick. And Sunny had just died. Her brain kept repeating that over and over again, the puzzle still in front of her.
The sword tip bit into her skin, and Kit hissed. Echo began to drive it down, slowly, bit by bit, the metal aimed for her heart.
Kat was screaming and crying, begging, and Kit was quiet, trembling.
The puzzle.
Sunny.
A new piece clicked into place.
"E-Echo. . . i-it's okay." Kit said, her voice tiny and fragile, even to her own ears. "I-If this makes you less sick. . . it's okay."
The sword stopped.
"I'm s-scared but. . . We're friends. And I don't understand a-anything but. . . but. . . we l-love you."
The fire crackled. Grune and Addicus said nothing. The only other sound in the clearing was Kat's hiccuping and wheezing as he tried to catch his breath. It felt like an eternity before Echo spoke again.
"I'm going to pierce your heart. Slow. My sword will make a cut, and you'll bleed out slowly on the inside. Then I'm going to cut your lungs, too - you'll bleed into them and choke on your own blood. And then I'm going to listen to your brother scream your name, beg for me to stop, and I'll do the same to him. Torture you. The both of you. That's what I'm going to do."
Another pause. Her hands wrapped around the sword's hilt again, her knuckles going white.
Kit, despite her fear, looked up at her, holding Echo's eyes.
"Then. . . then w-why aren't you?"
A smile. Pained. Tight.
"Because I can't. I want to. I want to so bad. But I can't. Because I know deep down. . . I know deep down, some fucked up part of me loves you. And I can't. I hate you. I hate you so much but I love you and I can't."
Echo's arms dropped, the sword falling away from Kit. The cut was small, barely more than a scratch. Kit shivered as she laid there. Echo breathed out a shaky breath, and Kit gasped when the invisible hands yanked her out from underneath the human. She skidded to an ungraceful stop in the grass, Kat joining her a heartbeat later.
"Leave." Echo said, "Just. . . Just go. I'm too tired to do this."
"Echo. . ." Kit said.
The human shook her head.
Addicus huffed. "Those were my snacks I captured."
Grune looked at the ape. "Stay out of this, monkey. I'd rather not have to clean up a ball of blood and fur as per our master's orders."
"What will you do, fight me?" Addicus demanded.
"If you try to intervene."
Addicus huffed angrily, but rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, grouchy.
"Grune, once a great general, now an overprotective bodyguard."
Grune shrugged, the insult doing nothing.
Kat wrapped an arm around hers and yanked her up to her feet. Kit felt shaken, and her legs had turned to goo. It was hard to stand.
"Echo." Kit called.
Kat tried to shush her as he dragged her away, but she refused.
"Echo, you're still my friend! You're still my friend and I love you!"
"Kit, enough! We gotta go! Now!"
And Kat forced her to run, turning her around and shoving her into the jungle. Kit did, crying, heaving gasps leaving her.
The puzzle hadn't given her the wrong answer.
It hadn't.
It hadn't.
Cybele's city was quiet.
The campsite had long since emptied, the ThunderCats running after Mumm-Ra's energy to track down the stolen ThunderKittens.
The Summoner's energy was weak.
She hadn't sensed him. . . but not much could.
Footsteps echoed in the pavilion, but nobody was around to hear them. Not even Cybele's spirits, too weak and fatigued after fighting such a war. The only thing that remained was Sunny's broken, fluid-smeared remains. A figure paused as they drew closer, soaking in the carnage.
After a moment, they pressed on, drawing closer to the Berbil's head.
A hand reached down, seizing it, fingers brushing over the darkened optics.
Yes, this would do. It would be a start.
This city had no more for the shadowed person.
They turned and walked away, disappearing as they'd come.
Time was ticking, forces gathering. The end was coming.
And they deserved to know the truth.