6

"Well what do you think's wrong, Snarf?" Lion-O asked.

"Brrr, I don't know, Lion-O. I think he's coming down with something. The twins should be kept inside the Lair for a little while."

Lion-O laughed; not a mocking laugh, but one of gentle affection and amusement. "So because you think Wilykat might be getting a bug, they should both stay in?"

"Well...if one gets it, you know the other will too..."

"But gets what, Snarf? They don't look sick to me."

"Well...Wilykat's just acting strange the last couple of days. He's acting distant kind of, or nervous or something. And quiet. You know the twins are never quiet unless they're either sick or they're up to something."

Lion-O laughed aloud this time. "Well odds are it's the latter and not the former. Wait a little longer before you try to get them to do something that'll drive all of Cat's Lair including the twins, up a wall, okay? Let's just see what happens."

"Well...all right, Lion-O. But I tell you something's wrong."

"Okay what's with you?" Wilykit finally demanded, as she and Wilykat soared on their boards.

"Huh?" Wilykat turned to face his sister, and nearly ran into a jutting rock, as he had not been facing forward to see it before. "What do you mean?"

Wilykit gestured. "I mean that. You keep looking behind you like the boogieman's after us." She grinned to let him know she was kidding.

Wilykat laughed a little, as a reaction...but little of his mind was in it. He glanced back once more. "We're being followed!" he finally declared, a hint of frustration in his voice. "Or watched or something. Yeah watched, we're being watched." He scowled behind him, as if it were the fault of the land, not yielding the stalker his instincts told him was there.

With a puzzled frown, Wilykit glanced behind her. "Uh wilykat? There's no one there."

"I know!!" he cried in utter frustration, balling his hands to fists. "But I keep feeling like I'm being watched!"

His sister did notice he used "me" instead of "us" as he usually did, and she did not think it was just a casual mistake. "Well there's no one here now," she said. Her brother did not answer and Wilykit sighed. "Come on forget it and let's get to those ruins! Think about exploring instead."

Wilykat shook his head darkly, as if to jostle the feeling from his mind and nodded. "Okay...okay let's do it." He was then still able to cast it from his mind in the face of more interesting pursuits as he sped up and wagged the tail of his board at his sister in a clear challenge. Then he took off.

"Hey! You cheat!" Wilykit laughed, and took off after him.

The dream had not plagued Wilykat for a few days, and he was starting to think that it would fade from his memory, but it didn't. As much as his young mind tried to reject the foul, filthy images, he still recalled every detail. Although he did not think about it every minute, if something reminded him of it, he would feel the rage and horror anew as he remembered. It was not fun. But at least it hadn't returned...

...until tonight.

It started out the same, as Wilykat in his sleep cast his sheet onto the floor, twisting and turning with his fists clenched. But then small changes happened. he could see the Thundercats saying things, but could 't make them out. He heard the maddening muted murmur of many voices speaking at once, saw their lips moving, and although a cold chill wormed down his back and made him want to shake, he heard no words until the end.

He struck out at the ThunderCats, as in his first dream, but he felt the rage intensified, maddened by the incessant warble, and the accusing faces as they looked up at him in fear. One can not die in a dream. But others can die in a dream. And that was the horrible part. They died. By his hand.

And then his sister, bleeding from the wound he'd dealt her earlier. "Jeez, Wilykat," she hissed, sounding like an angry tomcat. "You can't even do that right! I was unarmed, and you didn't even manage to kill me!"

Wilykat whirled, the part of his mind that cowered in terror of this dream hurt, as always by his sister's taunts but more by the voice that told him she meant it. But the part of his mind that seemed to be controlling him at the moment felt only a rush of white rage at the comment. How dare she? He raised his blade and slashed.

Once again Wilykat was awakened, but not by an shriek of terror, but by a low hissing sound. Puzzled, she opened her eyes and saw that although Wilykat had not screamed, he was trying to. His throat was dry, making him unable to scream aloud. It was night, and in the dim room, her feline eyes made out his terrified face and felt a rush of fear herself now. Something was going on that she couldn't explain. She felt it as Wilykat had felt as they were being watched these last few days. Although neither of them knew it (as Wilykat was becoming convinced it was his imagination) both were right.

This time Wilykit did not get up to comfort him. She didn't think she could this time. Maybe the next but not now. She lay back down as if she had not heard her brother's scream attempt and closed her eyes, even as Wilykat lay back down whimpering softly and clutching the sheet he'd thrown to the ground.

Neither kitten got much sleep that night.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" Panthro asked the twins gruffly, then looked closer at Wilykat. "Maybe Snarf's right, maybe you're coming down with something, Wilykat."

"Yeah!" Snarf said, choosing this moment to reiterate his worries about the young twins. "See? Even Panthro says so!" He turned to Wilykit. "And if Wilykat gets it, so will you!"

Wilykat sighed in aggravation, a look of intolerance on his face that Panthro was a little surprised to see, at least on the male twin. Wilykit was a different story. "I told you I'm fine, Snarf! Come on, I'm not a baby!"

Snarf's ears drooped. "Brrr, I know that, Wilykat. but still, Lion-O's not either, and I still take care of him, keep him out of trouble..."

Wilykit giggled at Lion-O's long suffering look, and even Wilykat laughed at that. Then he sighed. "It's only the Mutants, Snarf. I can handle it. Really."

"Well...okay." not quite ready to give up, he said, "But you have to promise to see Tygra so he can check for illness...and get some more sleep too."

As Wilykit rolled her eyes, Wilykat said, "Okay, okay, I promise. NOW can we go?"

"All right!" Panthro said, not giving Snarf a chance to reply. "Let's do it!" He leapt into the ThunderTank, the twins hovering behind it on their boards.

"Hoo, hoo! Run, you ridiculous sheep!" Monkian's primitive face held an equally primitive malice as he dove low on his Skycutter, cutting down a house from which a mother Bolkin only escaped with her three children by the barest inch. The infant in her arms wailed at the noise, and the two older ones cried in fright.

Jackalman and S-S-Slithe were on the ground, having used the Fistpounder to get there, and were attacking at random. It seemed like a random attack, anyway. Monkian, S-S-Slithe, and the jackal created chaos, while Vultureman skulked in the village unnoticed by the panicked Bolkins, looking for city hall. It had been rumored that the Bolkins had hidden there the remains of two of the Mutants' vehicles, that they had lost in one battle or another. They miserable little wretches were probably gonna sell them or the parts to get money for their pathetic little village.

Vultureman had only just located city hall...he had actually passed it a few times and not noticed, since it was no different looking than the rest of the village, and he'd not noticed it. But finally he saw the sign labeling the large hut.

But he never got inside.

"Forget it, Mutants!" came a powerful voice above the roar of a powerful machine. Panthro stood in the ThunderTank, nunchucks at the ready, as Lion-O piloted. They skidded to a halt as Cheetara fired the 'Tank's guns at Monkian, and suddenly he wasn't having such a great time in the air, Instead of blasting the homes of the peaceful Bolkins, he was dodging death.

Vultureman was experiencing the wrath of Panthro as the ThunderCat leapt for him, and the cowardly buzzard ran, squawking and jumping as Panthro fired at him. He ran all the way to the Fistpounder.

As S-S-Slithe saw the imminent battle, he commanded Jackalman to join him and the buzzard at their powerful tank, and he ran.

Jackalman did not, As S-S-Slithe began using the Fistpounder against the ThunderTank, requiring Lion-O to drive, Cheetara doing double duty firing on it and Monkian's Skycutter, and Panthro firing at the Mutant tank's drivers.

Jackalman snarled. He had seen the Thunderkittens. Tygra began to help the kittens with their adversary, but Wilykat said, "No! We got him Tygra, it's okay...go help the others." He looked, and Panthro's mighty tank was very small against its rival. Although powerful size was still going to be a disadvantage for it.

Tygra started to say something, realized that Wilykat was right, and left.

"I've got a score to settle with you!" Jackalman half growled, half whined. "You got me in trouble with Mumm-Ra!"

Despite the situation, and the jackal slowly advancing on their hovering boards, Wilykit said incredulously, "Us?! What did we do?"

Jackalman growled. "I heard you talking about going to Mumm-Ra's pyramid, and when I told him, he fried me!"

Wilykat burst out laughing, and after a moment Wilykit did too. "That's what you get for allying with the side of evil!" The male twin called, and Jackalman attacked.

That fight was short. Wilykit fought with her usual aggressiveness, but it was not she that won the fight. It was Wilykat.

After a few moments in fact, she backed away and only watched with a shocked fascination as Wilykat fought the jackal alone, fighting with a brutal, savage intensity Wilykit didn't think he possessed. Wilykat had taken a lot of hits, but didn't seem to feel them, even as he was cast from his spaceboard and tackled his adversary.

Caught off guard, the jackal fell, and the two grappled on the ground. Wilykat used his teeth, his claws, as well as his lariat and capsules, and finally Jackalman wrested himself from the kitten's clawed grasp and ran for the Fistpounder, which was also retreating.

Wilykat hissed angrily and took his lariat from where it had fallen on the ground. He found a sharp rock and looped the rope around it, twirling it rapidly then letting go of one end, sending the rock hurtling towards Jackalman with great accuracy.

The rock struck him and sent him down and out cold.

"HA!" Panthro crowed, glaring after the retreating vehicle. "You'll think twice before messing with the ThunderCats' allies again!" He had not seen the fight with the jackal. None of them had.

As Wilykat picked himself off of the ground, glaring after the Mutants, he wiped his mouth and was very surprised to see his arm come away red on top of the tan. He only stared at it for a while.

Wilykit however was staring at him. She was staring warily at him, not quite sure what to say. At the moment nothing came.

"All right, ThunderCats," Lion-O said. "Let's help our friends clean up, and we can help tend any wounded. Blasted Mutants. Always have to destroy something."

But Tygra had noticed the twins, particularly Wilykat who looked more hurt than he was. "Wait, Lion-O, there were some injuries on our side." He jumped down form the ThunderTank and took Wilykat gently by the shoulders and looked at him. "Yeah...why don't we end Wilykit and Wilykat home, Lion-O? Looks like they had a rough fight."

"Aw, Tygra!" Wilykit protested. "We can stay, we're okay!"

Lion-O shook his head. "No, Tygra is right." The young leader put up a hand to still her protest. "No. Had one of us been injured like that, we would go as well. We can finish up here. You and Wilykat go home."

Seeing the young feline gear up for a last protest, Tygra added, "Come on guys. There'll be another time."

Wilykit sighed dejectedly. "All right, Tygra. Come on, Wilykat."

Numbly, Wilykat nodded and followed his sister to the spaceboards, and as the adrenaline waned, he felt tired, not to mention feeling his various hurts. But still he felt anger! Even after the battle was over, and the Mutants driven away, he wanted to hurt Jackalman!

Trying not to think about it, he followed Wilykit home. He was just tired, that's all. He just needed some rest like Snarf said, or he was sick... That was all.

Part Five

Part Seven

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