An alternate take on the "Return" Comics. In this Lion-O did find out about Mumm-Ra attacking and came out after a year and was severely injured as a result of returning too early. This story will go into that and how the essence of the Eye (panther that was seen in the "Book of Omens" ep) spirits him to safety on another world. The world she spirits Lion-O to is my homeworld and my family and I help him recover. (A twist on my origins is featured in this and I hope it is received well.) Jaguarus has managed to get Lioness-A to safety and together they try to free the others while trying to figure out their next steps.
Lion-O into the Book: April of 2003
Shortly after Lion-O entered the book Lioness-A saw to it that things were done according to what Lion-O had directed before he left. The royal twins were nearly twenty-four when Lion-O went inside the Book to begin his training. A battalion of Thunderguard was sent to watch Third Earth so Tygra and Pumyra could join the other Thundercats on New ThunDera since Third Earth was now at peace. It was a good feeling to have the others back and news was exchanged on things. The only one missing was Lion-O and Lioness-A felt his absence keenly. Of all of the Thundercats, she and Lion-O shared a unique twin bond and always knew how the other felt and what they were doing. The separation back after the destruction of the Old ThunDera had hurt both of the twins but the reunion in 2001 made up for it in that the two were rarely separated for long periods of time.
During the time Lion-O was gone, Lioness-A let Panthro handle what it was Lion-O wanted him to do as she greeted the returning refugees and studied at one of the temples that was near the lair. Things were progressing though Lioness-A was wondering what was going on with Lion-O and the book after nearly a year.
One year later: April 2004
Lion-O came out of the Book of Omens when Mumm-Ra attacked the lair as the Guardian had sent him out of it and everyone fought hard and rallied around their leader. There had been a Thunderguard unit established since Lion-O had been gone and they were fighting just as hard as the Thundercats. Still, no one was prepared when Mumm-Ra knifed Lion-O in the side with the Sword of PlunDarr as Lioness-A and Cheetara screamed in horror. It took Panthro and Bengali to hold the lioness back. They knew she was nowhere strong enough to fight off Mumm-Ra alone, even with the Sword of Omens and from the looks, it was shattered.
"Jaguarus!" Panthro bellowed as the black jaguar appeared. "Get Lioness-A out of here before Mumm-Ra tries to go after her! She's gonna be his next target since she can wield the Sword."
"Got it!" Jaguarus said and opened a warp and threw the lioness into it before following her. It brought them out in the Grimalkin mountains behind the lair.
Back on the field Mumm-Ra was cackling in delight as he gazed upon the prone body of Lion-O, lying in a pool of blood at his feet. He was blinded to the fact that he didn't even see a black panther shape swoop in and snatch both Lion-O and the broken Sword of Omens and vanish but Snarf saw it as did Tygra.
"What was that about?" Snarf wondered.
"I don't know but I'm gonna hide you and the Book now. You need to find out what happened to Lioness-A. I saw Jaguarus spiriting her out of here and the Guardian may know what's going on," the tiger warned him as he hid the snarf in a basement room.
The battle came to a swift end at that point and the Thundercats were crushed and taken to the prison camps the Mutants had established. Tygra and Cheetara were to remain at the main compound and Panthro was sent to the mines with Bengali as Lynx-O and Pumyra were locked in another part of the massive prison camp. The kittens were taken to the Pyramid. Mumm-Ra now had the Mutants trying to find where Lioness-A was hiding and bring her in. Both she and her twin brother were Barbary lions and as such, wielded enormous power but it hadn't manifested in either of them yet though the Guardian of the Book knew it would be soon enough.
.::~*~::.
"Where are we?" Lioness-A asked shakily as she looked around the cavern.
"Under the Grimalkin Mountains and a former stronghold from eons past," Jaguarus replied. "I found it a while back and your brother had me fortifying it up till he left." He pulled out a flashlight and lit it. "We're here for the duration but at least no one can trace that warp I used."
"Lion-O," Lioness-A cried as she sank to the ground as Catlani and Felina came up from where they were hiding as they had been in the bunker for a few days already. They knelt beside her and held her, providing some comfort.
"We saw most of it from here and some giant black panther carried the king off," Felina said and let Jaguarus see the recording as he frowned.
"Do we have a copy of the Book here?" he asked them. Catlani handed it to him.
"Snarf's got the original with him," she said. "This one was brought here." Jaguarus flipped through the book carefully then.
"Come on Father, show me something. This can't be how this ends," Jaguarus murmured. Lioness-A rose to her feet and came over to them. She and Jaguarus were the only ones who knew the language of the Book, thanks to her training as a priestess of the Eye and Jaguarus's abilities gifted to him from his mother.
"There," Lioness-A said as the jaguar stopped. She read the passage and her eyes grew wide. "That black panther was the Eye in its other form and it's taking Lion-O somewhere to get help. This doesn't say where but that he'll be back and he'll be bringing the "Bringer of Light" with him when he comes but there's no mention of when that is," she said as the three looked stunned.
"Who is this 'Bringer of Light'?" Felina asked as a blue glow appeared.
"It is someone from another world and all of the worlds know of the turmoil New ThunDera's in," Jagara said when she materialized. "I reached out to them to warn them. Boktor thinks that the passage refers to someone from Parkase II which has had an alliance with ThunDera in the past. They are checking and will let me know."
"We can't let Mumm-Ra find this place or he's gonna try and snatch Lioness-A," Jaguarus said. "He's already probably got the Mutants out looking for her."
"I can place a strong enchantment on this place to keep the Mutants and Mumm-Ra from finding it but be careful if any of you were to leave here," Jagara warned. "It is dangerous and getting worse. I must go back to the Great Beneath but I will leave this radio so you may reach me. If need be, send Lioness-A to me if things get bad and this place is found," she added as the jaguar nodded gravely. She vanished and everyone went to find a set of rooms for themselves. Jaguarus would be the only one to leave the stronghold to get any ideas of what was happening but even then, things were bleak and he saw the Mutants looking everywhere for the princess.
.::~*~::.
Meanwhile, the black panther had gone through its own warp to a planet that it knew was safe and away from the prying eyes of Mumm-Ra and the Mutants. Parkase II had been founded by the same people that had founded Boktor several millennia ago and their people had been on close terms with the Thunderians. Some of the Thunderians had been sheltered there during the Migration and one still served as the ambassador to the Parkasian royalty. It was the ambassador that saw the panther and sent up the alarms which had King Harmon and his younger brother Prince Jake running to the gardens.
"Lady Snoelle, what is going on?" Harmon asked her. He then saw a massive black panther standing nearby, its glowing red eyes worn out from exhaustion. "Holy Msia," the king breathed.
"That panther is the essence of the Eye of ThunDera according to the legends that I remember of it from when I was a little cub. To know it's here means that there is great danger on ThunDera," Snoelle said, her tone worried.
"We got word about it from a Lady Jagara and Boktor's confirmed that a Mumm-Ra has taken over and there's no way to find out what happened to the King and his sister," Jake said.
"Then there's something gravely wrong for the panther to be here like this," Snoelle said weakly. "She normally doesn't leave the Sword itself." Jake was about to walk up to it when his daughter Cynthia came out of a side room.
"Let me Dad," she said. "I saw it when it came here through a warp and it let me approach earlier." She walked up to the panther and it sniffed her hand before rubbing it. "Easy there. What's wrong?" Cynthia asked. "What's the gender?" she asked Snoelle.
"We think female due to the Sword bearers always being males highness," Snoelle replied. Cynthia frowned when she found a bag lashed to the great panther's side.
"Hold on, she's carrying something," Cynthia said and removed the bag as her father, Snoelle and Harmon came up as the panther sniffed them and nuzzled Snoelle. Cynthia opened the bag and Snoelle paled when she saw what was inside it as Cynthia lifted out a handle of a broken sword.
"That's the Sword of Omens," Snoelle said, her voice shaken. "The Eye is in the hilt of it." This to a dark amber stone in the center of it. The Sword was in several pieces.
"Who's supposed to be wielding it?" Harmon asked the snow leopard.
"Lion-O who was the son of King Claudus but he passed when the planet was destroyed and Lion-O took the throne not all that long ago. He was doing training as of this time last year," Snoelle answered. "Where is he?" she asked the panther softly. "Did something happen to him?" The panther roared mournfully then and a glow appeared and when it disappeared, a body was on the ground of a fully-grown male lion, his scarlet red mane around his face and blood seeping from a wound. "Lion-O!" Snoelle screamed as Harmon sent a guard running for the healers. Cynthia knelt to check the lion and found a deep gash in his side.
"He's been stabbed by something," she said as she found a bandage and worked on bandaging the wound. Her powers also flowed into the wound to stabilize it. The lion never moved and for a split second, Cynthia thought he was dead but her powers picked up a faint heartbeat. A tinge of navy blue connected and meshed with her own powers of a rich gold color. There was a very strong connection between the two. 'He's a Barbary lion and his powers haven't shown yet,' Cynthia thought. All of the royal Parkasians had strong powers and Cynthia had only recently tapped into hers but she knew how to use them.
"By what?" Jake asked. The panther roared again and pawed Cynthia. She froze when the panther made contact with her mind.
"I am Arcaena, the essence of the Eye. Lion-O was fatally stabbed by Mumm-Ra on New ThunDera when Lion-O tried to take him out when the mummy took over his world. I'm doing all I can to save his life but I need your help," Arcaena said as Cynthia nodded.
"I'll do what I can," she said softly.
"You have a power that equals that of him and his sister and he will need that to free his world. You must do all you can to help him. This will break his spirit but it will also build him up. The Sword must be reforged as soon as possible," Arcaena said as she nodded. Cynthia told her father and uncle as they frowned.
"Arcaena you have our word that King Lion-O is safe here and will be looked after," Harmon told her. "As King of Parkase II, this I swear." Arcaena nodded.
"You remember the alliance with ThunDera and for that, I am eternally grateful," Arcaena said. "It is why the two worlds will join later."
"We need a blacksmith to reforge the Sword," Snoelle said as Jake nodded.
"I know one and we can work on it while Lion-O's recovering," he said. The healers took the lion to surgery then as Cynthia sighed.
"I felt a connection to him and to Arcaena, Dad," she said softly.
"You're the one the prophecy foretold that was to join with the king of ThunDera but things went south before we could talk to Lion-O on it," Harmon said gently. "Is the princess safe?" he asked the panther.
"For now, as Jaguarus who was Lion-O's second-in-command got her away to safety," Arcaena said as she morphed to a lioness form with a brilliant red mane and green eyes. A blacksmith came and took the pieces of the Sword and listened to the instructions from Arcaena and took the sheet she gave him with him. "Until it is reforged I will remain as I am as I used up most of my energy getting Lion-O away." She eyed Cynthia. "The Guardian knows I am here and it is watching things there. He will advise you as the time comes through the Eye on the Sword."
.::~*~::.
Two hours later the Sword was reforged and placed in a chamber for Lion-O for when he recovered. He was out of surgery a couple of hours later and Cynthia saw him briefly as did her father.
"He's close to his powers showing as he's about the right age for them," Jake said thoughtfully.
"They connected with mine when I was trying to help him before the healers arrived," Cynthia said.
"The prophecy at work again," Jake said. "Stay with him and I'll let your mother know you're here. Lion-O has met you once before but it was years ago."
"I know Dad," Cynthia said smiling. She sank into a chair beside the bed and watched the lion sleeping. 'Please let his sister and friend know he's alright somehow Arcaena. Lion-O's safe here,' she thought as a whisper assured her this would be done. Thanks to the panther, Cynthia now had a connection to the Sword as well.
.::~*~::.
It took another two days before Lion-O woke and he blinked awake to find the sun shining into the window of the room he had been placed in.
"Where… am… I?" he gasped.
"Easy," said a soft voice and he turned his head to see a human woman watching him. Her thick reddish-brown hair hung to her shoulders in soft curls and her eyes were green and showed concern. She was in a loose gown of green as well.
"Who are you?" he asked. "And where am I?" She lightly chuckled.
"I'm Princess Cynthia and to answer your second question you are on Parkase II," Cynthia told him gently. She got him some water then.
"How'd I get here?" Lion-O asked her. Cynthia frowned.
"How much do you remember before you blacked out?" she asked him. He frowned before he groaned.
"Mumm-Ra was swinging the Sword of PlunDarr at me," he said and growled at a pain in his side.
"That's where he hit you and you fell," Cynthia said. "He also shattered your Sword but somehow the essence that was the Eye got you away from Mumm-Ra and to somewhere safe."
"What?" Lion-O asked. Cynthia disappeared and reappeared with the Sword in her hand as he blinked.
"Relax, it knows me," she said as the panther appeared.
"Arcaena," Lion-O breathed. The Guardian had made him aware of her and he had seen her while he had been doing the training for that first year. To know that the Eye was this way had stunned him but apparently the entire royal line had always known of it and their Barbary powers strengthened hers. She nuzzled him gently.
"You are safe here young king and your sister and friend know and for the moment they are both safe where they are," she said gently. "Heal here and gain strength and know that your Barbary powers are close to awakening. Those will be the key to defeating Mumm-Ra and freeing our world from him. You will also finish the training the Guardian has for you but it will be done here."
"And the Parkasians?" Lion-O asked her. She chuckled.
"You should recall when you first met the young lady here," she said. "I had a reason for bringing you here." He frowned slightly and Cynthia smiled when it dawned on him that he had seen her not long before he'd gone into the Book for training. Arcaena vanished then. Lion-O was able to get up then and discovered he was in pajama pants and an attendant slipped a robe on him and he followed Cynthia from the room as he could go to a newer set of quarters in the palace and finish healing there. He was still slightly weak but a cane helped with the walking temporarily.
"Is there clothing for me?" he asked.
"We have some for you," Cynthia replied. "Your black uniform was pretty well shredded but we were able to duplicate it but there are some looser outfits you can wear for the duration till you heal further," she said as he nodded. An attendant saw them and opened the door to a set of quarters and Cynthia led him inside and sent the attendant to get her father and uncle along with Snoelle. A male attendant came and helped Lion-O dress in some loose pants and a shirt which fit comfortably and the man left to get a meal for the lion, being sure to let the kitchen staff know of the Barbary diet and the requirements it had.
"Thank you," Lion-O said as he eased into a chair at the table set up in a corner of the room.
"Thank my uncle but we don't mind it," Cynthia said softly.
"Has there been any news?" Lion-O asked her. She sighed.
"My father and uncle may have heard something by now and I sent for them," she said. "You do know that we're linked in another way," she said as he paused.
"My powers meshed with yours," he said as she nodded.
"And yours are close to awakening," Cynthia told him. "And if I had to guess, your sister's will show at the same time as yours." Lion-O took her hand and squeezed it then. A soft spark passed between them and she smiled.
"I seem to think there's something else on why I'm here," Lion-O said. Cynthia sat at the table with him as his food arrived.
"Our worlds are destined to join together and that will be through us," Cynthia said. "It's been spoken of for centuries in our holy books."
"The Book of Omens has something in it of the same thing," Lion-O said as he ate. Harmon and Jake came a moment later and Snoelle wasn't far behind them. She spoke with her king a few minutes and left a moment later, relieved he was alive and well. "What's the situation?" Lion-O asked the two men. Jake sighed.
"Mumm-Ra's taken over completely and there are prison camps all over the planet and most of the cities were leveled," he said as Lion-O growled. "The only person we know of with a working radio is Jagara and she's feeding us news. So far, the Mutants and Mumm-Ra aren't aware she's doing that and she's making sure they don't find out."
"The other Thundercats?" Lion-O asked.
"No one knows on them and we can't get anyone there to find out due to the spaceport being closed as the Mutants have control of it at the moment," Harmon told him. "Jagara was waiting for word from Jaguarus on a status as he's the only one that's been able to move about."
"His specialty is stealth operations and he's also been gifted with powers from his mother's side," Lion-O said. "My guess is that he managed to send Lioness-A through a warp somewhere and he went with her."
"Jagara told us that was the case and she has a strong enchantment on the stronghold they're in but no radio signals can reach them yet as they're deep down in one of the Grimalkin mountains. She's working on something and we might can send her something through Arcaena's warps later to help with that," Jake said. Lion-O sighed and finished eating as a maid took away his plate.
"Until we know more of what's going on, you need to spend some time recovering from your injury," Cynthia said gently as Lion-O nodded.
"Is there a way I can keep up with things?" he asked her.
"We'll work on it for you," Harmon told him. "You might be able to get some plans together for what can be done to put your world back together once you're back there."
Lion-O thought about that over the next few days as he recovered and Cynthia was visiting him daily to which he didn't mind. He was rapidly gaining strength and going without the cane. The Guardian reached him and spoke to him in regards to the training and it would be done there. It meant that Lion-O would be seeing a lot of Cynthia when he was finished with it for the day. Not that he minded. If anything, her presence made everything a little easier on him. He got to meet her sister and brother a few days later along with their mother. That visit cheered him up and he enjoyed the time with them.
"You're looking a lot better," Mary said as Lion-O nodded. Cynthia brought him some of the Parkasian rum and he sipped it as she sat beside him. He eyed her and turned when her eyes caught his.
On the way back to his room Cynthia slipped her hand in his as he squeezed it. The gentle touch was reassuring to him and he opened the door to his room and they went inside.
"You okay?" Cynthia asked him. Lion-O held up his hands and they were glowing a dark navy blue as she blinked. "The powers," she whispered.
"They've been building for a while," Lion-O said softly. He deactivated them and looked at her as she held out her palm and a golden sun appeared on it. "Knowing that you have them as well helps. I won't hurt you with them so that's the good thing but I am going to be going through training on how to deal with them from the Guardian now."
"I understand," Cynthia said as she slid her fingers through his. Lion-O took his other hand and tilted her chin up to where her eyes met his. He leaned his head down and his lips met hers in a gentle press, unsure at first. Cynthia's eyes closed as they tried again. The kiss was warmer and lasted longer this time.
"I love you," Lion-O whispered softly when they parted. Cynthia stroked the fur on his cheek.
"I love you too," she whispered. They held each other close.
Lion-O got to attend an event later that week and it was kept pretty low-key to keep Mumm-Ra from hearing of it but as it was, the mummy wasn't interested in what was happening in the rest of the universe. The love the lion had for Cynthia and she had for him shone on their faces and her family was happy.