Chapter Five
Panic prevailed on Third Earth.
From the moment the cloud appeared in the sky, the beings who dwelt on the planet (the ones allied with the Thundercats at least) knew by instinct that it was a portent of evil. And they reacted in the only ways they knew how. The Warrior Maidens began sharpening their spears in the vain hope of fighting off whatever this sinister force was. The Wollos and Bolkins crouched in ditches, some gripping their few weapons while others, mostly females, struggled to soothe frightened children. The Tuskas began saddling up their Gomplins, dragon-like creatures which the Tuskas had used as war mounts for many years. The Berbils took one look at the cloud and locked themselves into their huts.
And, in the Forest of the Unicorns, two humanoid figures with star-shaped markings on their foreheads stared up at the sky and prayed. According to the Legends, this was a sign that the Curse of Sekh was being unleashed, a sign that all would be destroyed unless the spell was thwarted. So the Unicorn Keepers prayed fervently that the Thundercats would be able to stop this evil. For Mumm-Ra knew nothing of the ancient Prophecy.
"And the Eternal Demon shall call forth the evil once more, but his impatience shall be his undoing." The female Unicorn Keeper was repeating the words she had been told by her mother. "And, by those means, shall the Outsiders find triumph." This prophecy had been handed down through word of mouth to generations of Unicorn Keepers and, while it had long been understood that the "Eternal Demon" was Mumm-Ra, only now was the meaning of the rest of the words becoming clear. Among other things, it predicted that the Thundercats would face grave danger in their quest to stop Mumm-Ra - and that was why the Unicorn Keepers prayed.
With the Sword of Omens gripped tightly in his hand, Lion-O addressed his fellow Thundercats. "I'll go into the Pyramid first," he told them. "Panthro, Tygra and Cheetara will be covering me . . ." He paused and rested his gaze on the two smallest members of the group. "Wilykat and Snarf, you two stay behind."
Wilykat folded his arms, a mutinous expression on his face. "Why should we have to miss all the action?" he demanded, kicking at a nearby stone and sending it flying into one of the four obelisks surrounding the main Pyramid.
"Yeah," Snarf added. "No telling what trouble you'll get into without me to . . ."
Lion-O cut him off in mid-sentence. "This isn't a game, you two. We're all that stands between Mumm-Ra and a new reign of evil. And, if I know Mumm-Ra, he won't let us beat him easily this time. So, if none of us have come out by sunset, I want you both to head straight back to Cats' Lair. Take the Feliner and leave this planet. The Code of Thundera must be preserved at all costs." Even as Lion-O said those words, he hoped that it wouldn't come to that. A young boy and a Snarf, all that remained of the once proud Thundercats; that must never be allowed to happen.
Wilykat nodded, torn between excitement at the possibility of flying the Feliner for the first time and dread at the thought of what his elders were about to do. "I'll do that, Lion-O," he promised. "For the Code of Thundera - and for Kit." But, deep inside, he wondered if he would have the courage if it came to that. Ever since he could remember, the other Thundercats had been there for him, a brave team of warriors bound together by a sacred Code. Now, there was every chance their race could become extinct, unless - and it was a big unless - there were other Thunderians in the Universe.
Wilykat tried to dismiss these thoughts from his mind and sat down on the ground, keeping his pouches of powder ready in case he had to fend off any enemies while the other Thundercats were in the Pyramid. Snarf shook his head uneasily as Lion-O, Tygra, Panthro and Cheetara slipped into the ominous building; he never liked it when any of them (Lion-O especially) risked their lives. Maybe he should learn to stop thinking of Lion-O as the boy he had known on Thundera.
"Get the feeling we're being watched?" whispered Tygra as the four Thundercats crept cautiously through the dingy corridor lined with ancient carvings. None of them stopped to inspect these carvings, which wouldn't have pleased a Thunderian's aesthetic sense anyway, not with their depictions of evil and cruelty. But there was a constant sensation that the images were following them with their stone eyes, watching and waiting to unleash whatever hideous spell Mumm-Ra might have cast on them. None of the Thundercats would put that past the ancient mummy.
"Yes." Cheetara shivered, partly out of fear and partly as a result of the dank chill which pervaded in the Pyramid. She gripped her staff tightly and peered round the corner, checking to see if the coast was clear. "The sooner we find Wilykit, deal with Mumm-Ra and get . . ." She was cut off abruptly as the statue nearest to her suddenly swung its great stone axe and tried to decapitate her. Cheetara's reaction was instinctive; drawing on the speed and agility of her Cheetah heritage, she extended her staff and vaulted out of the way. As she landed, she glanced back quickly and noticed with some amusement that the statue had sliced off the head of its immediate neighbour. Then her smile faded as she realised the latter's head had lifted into the air and was floating (if a lump of stone can be said to float) towards the statue it had come from. It reattached itself instantly, leaving no join, no sign that it had ever been severed.
Slowly, the statues came awake, brought to life by an ancient evil. They had no thoughts, no conscience and cared about only one thing: ridding Mumm-Ra's Pyramid of these four intruders. One of them, its stone eyes glowing with an evil light, turned on Tygra, who immediately pulled out his whip and whirled it around himself. He disappeared instantly, only to reappear seconds later on the statue's back, his eyes lit by the fire of battle. He had used his ability to make himself invisible to dodge the statue's attack and try a counter-attack at close range.
"We'll have to fight these things!" Panthro whirled his nunchucks as he spoke. As a seasoned warrior, he was never happier than when he was in the midst of battle, but he hoped this wouldn't take too long. They still had to find Wilykit and get her out before Mumm-Ra did something terrible to her. Wasting time on a battle, especially one where their opponents were statues which had the power to repair themselves, was probably not a good idea, but the four Thundercats could see little alternative.
Tygra swung his whip and coiled it round the neck of the statue he was perched on. It reared up, struggling to free itself as the Thundercat on its back suddenly leapt down with his hand still on his weapon. "Watch out!" Tygra shouted to his three companions as he tugged hard on the end of his whip and pulled the statue off balance. It let out a low bellow as it went crashing to the floor, only to get straight back up and seize Tygra in its powerful stone hands.
"Tygra!" Cheetara yelled a fraction of a second too late as she realised the statue had only pretended to be losing in order to lull Tygra into a false sense of security. She hurled her staff, hoping to distract the statue long enough for her friend to get clear. The staff hit the statue with a thunk, but it treated this as you would a gnat, annoying but not dangerous. Before either Lion-O or Panthro had chance to try anything with their own weapons, the statue lifted Tygra as easily as if he had been a feather and made ready to throw him against the far wall.
Hitting your head against solid stone is rarely good for you. So, in the fraction of a second before the statue made its throw, Lion-O acted. He raised the Sword of Omens and pointed it in the statue's direction as he braced himself to channel the power of the Eye of Thundera. The Sword, with all its amazing powers, was often all that stood between the Thundercats and defeat, but there was no danger of hitting Tygra by mistake since it could never be used against a Thundercat. Lion-O knew this from past experience.
"HOOOO!" he shouted. And a bolt of lightning shot out from the tip of the Sword, striking the statue full on and producing a shower of stars. Startled, the statue dropped Tygra and prepared to direct its wrath at Lion-O. But the Lord of the Thundercats only responded by digging his heels in tightly, bracing himself against the incoming attack. Force was exerted against force, Lion-O creating an energy shield with the Sword as the statue pounded on it relentlessly, bellowing loudly. But all it succeeded in doing was causing a violent earth tremor. Clouds of dust showered down on the Thundercats and an echoing rumble moments later told them a cave-in was imminent.
"Look out!" Tygra yelled as he pushed Cheetara to the floor seconds before a falling boulder knocked her flat. Then, a whole pile of rocks came crashing down, forcing the four Thundercats to fling themselves flat on the floor and close their eyes as they prayed for it to end soon, one way or another. To Lion-O it seemed to take forever before the rumbling died away and silence reigned once more. He coughed, checked that he still had the Sword and sat up to check on his fellows.
Nearby, Panthro was sitting up and rubbing his head. But there was no sign of Tygra or Cheetara and, as he gazed at the statues which had toppled in the quake, Lion-O briefly feared the worst. Then he relaxed; all he had to do was use the Sword to find out what had happened to his friends. He held the Sword so its hilt was level with his eyes and said the words which activated its clairvoyant power. "Sword of Omens, give me Sight Beyond Sight!" And the crossbars on the Sword's hilt curled up as the scene on the other side of the pile of rubble began to play out. To Lion-O's relief, neither Tygra nor Cheetara seemed to be seriously hurt - at any rate, they were both conscious - and he turned to Panthro. "You get that rubble shifted; I'll go find Wilykit."
Panthro frowned. Normally, he would have had something to say about Lion-O venturing so far into Mumm-Ra's Pyramid alone, but the young Lord had done it before at the climax of his Annointment Trials. Besides, given the current situation, there didn't seem to be many alternatives. He shrugged and turned his attention to the pile of rubble, grunting with exertion as he bent to lift the nearest rock. "Good luck, Lion-O," was all he said. He was about to add "You're gonna need it" but thought better of it.
Gripping the Sword of Omens tightly, Lion-O made his way silently through the dank passageways of Mumm-Ra's Pyramid. His sharp hearing was constantly on the alert for the slightest sound, the slightest indication that trouble might be lurking nearby. Which it probably was, he reminded himself; this was Mumm-Ra's stronghold and he knew the evil mummy well enough to know that he was sure to have a few "little surprises" set up for unwary enemies. The living statues were just one example of what he might have to deal with.
Voices coming from somewhere nearby made him pause in his tracks and he flattened himself against a nearby wall to listen to what was being said, the Sword constantly readied to attack whoever it was. Here, in the dank gloom of Mumm-Ra's Pyramid, it could only be an enemy and Lion-O's suspicions about who it was came only moments later.
"Isss it time yet, Mumm-Ra?" came Slithe's voice.
"Yeah," added Jackalman. "How long's this spell supposed to take anyway?"
His curiosity piqued, Lion-O peered round the corner to find all the Mutants assembled before Mumm-Ra, who stood resplendent in his Ever-living form. The demonic creature was standing in front of his cauldron, now bubbling madly and sending up such noxious fumes that the Mutants were forced to stand further back than they usually did. However, Mumm-Ra did not seem bothered by these fumes, the result, Lion-O guessed of the forces he had unleashed while calling down the Curse of Sekh. Then, to his horror, he saw something - someone - bound and gagged by the skull-like carving which housed Mumm-Ra's stone sarcophagus.
"Wilykit!" he whispered, realising it was now or never. He had to get the young Thundercat out before Mumm-Ra did to her whatever it was he was going to do. He still did not know what that was, only that it was bound to be unpleasant. Fortunately, Mumm-Ra and the Mutants were currently too preoccupied to notice if he slipped into the chamber - or at least that was what he hoped as he crept in.
Wilykit looked up with a start when she saw Lion-O. A mix of emotions, relief that he had come for her before it was too late and fear of what would happen if the Mutants caught him, flooded through her. Anxious to catch his attention, she tried to call out to him, but the gag made her words sound more like "Mm-mm-mm! Mm-mm mmm!" The next thing she knew, Lion-O was crouching beside her and removing the cloth the Mutants had thrust into her mouth.
"Shh! Keep quiet and I'll get you out of here!" he told her as he set to work on her bonds. The knots were so tight it seemed to take forever just to undo one and both Thundercats could feel their hearts pounding in their chests. If the Mutants caught them now . . .
As if the very thought had tempted fate, Slithe was suddenly there, wresting Wilykit from Lion-O's grasp. She cried out, her eyes rolling with terror, as the Reptilian Mutant's sharp claws grasped her shoulder and dug into her flesh. Lion-O, moved by his instinctive desire to protect a fellow Thundercat, grabbed hold of the girl's ankles, determined not to let her be taken. He had not come this far just to be thwarted by - he searched his vocabulary for the right words - an over-grown lizard.
"What is going on here?!" Mumm-Ra demanded as he strode imperiously over to the trio.
Slithe shot him an ingratiating glance and renewed his efforts to claim Wilykit. "I caught thissss cub helping her esssscape, Mumm-Ra," he replied. "I wasssss trying to ssstop them." With that, he tugged at Wilykit so hard that Lion-O was forced to let her go. Winded, he fell backwards on the cold stone floor and lay there, panting. Slithe, knowing Lion-O could not use the Sword of Omens against another Thundercat, thrust Wilykit in front of himself and glared at the young Lord, daring him to try anything. "Monkian!" he snarled. "Bind Lion-O sssssso he can't interfere any more!"
"Now," Mumm-Ra added as Monkian forced Lion-O's hands behind his back and tied them there with ropes so tight that Lion-O could feel them digging into his skin, "let us resume our ceremony. And you two shall be the guests of honour!" he said to the speechless Lion-O and Wilykit. With that, he launched into his evil laugh, the sound reverberating off the stone walls. The time was drawing near. The Curse of Sekh would shortly descend upon Third Earth and there was nothing those meddling Thundercats could do to stop it. This time, he had won.
Mumm-Ra and the Mutants led the two captive Thundercats over to the cauldron, now belching out an acrid red smoke that made the eyes of every mortal in the chamber water. The substance in the cauldron boiled and bubbled like a living thing and lightning crackled around the four statues surrounding it. Watching this, Lion-O knew that Mumm-Ra must have unleashed some pretty awesome powers already. He had to think of some way to stop this before it was too late.
But what could he do? His hands were bound so using the Sword was out of the question. "Think!" he told himself. "You're the Lord of the Thundercats - you're supposed to know how to handle these things." But, no matter how hard he thought, he just couldn't think of anything that would stop Mumm-Ra and get himself and Wilykit out of the Pyramid safely. It looked as though this was the end . . . Or was it? His hands were tied, but his legs were free. Maybe he could kick the Mutants restraining him away. And he had the use of his elbows as well. It might just work. At the very least, he had to try. What Thundercat Lord would just stand there and let his greatest enemy win? None, that was the answer, none who wanted to keep his title. Lion-O knew of only one instance of a Lord of the Thundercats bailing out and failing his people. It had happened nearly a hundred years before he was born; a Thundercat named Verus had just inherited the title, but, at the first sign of trouble, he had fled to another planet and, as a result, the Mutants almost conquered Thundera.
When Verus was caught not long after, his brother - who had been acting as regent - accused him of cowardice, a serious crime against the Code of Thundera, and had him impeached. Shortly after this, Verus was stripped of his title, his children and his children's children debarred from ever becoming Lords of the Thundercats themselves.
Thinking of this, Lion-O narrowed his eyes. He was not going to be like Verus. Even if this proved to be his last stand, he was going to go down fighting.