The plans Mumm-Ra has for Lioness-A are revealed here when she is captured outside one of the villages down the mountain from the hidden Barbary village. It is because of this that Lion-O learns that he can come back to New ThunDera and liberate it from Mumm-Ra and the Mutants. This is quite a bit darker than my other fics and i hope you like it.
November 2005: New ThunDera:
It had been a few months and Lioness-A was relieved she could come out of the tunnel system beneath the Barbary village every so often for fresh air and sunshine. The Thunderians here had to be careful as the Mutants were still out and about but the enchantment kept the threat down. Jaguarus had been exploring to find out more of what was going on and had so far managed to liberate a small camp not far away. A Lunatac by the name of Lushara was in the tunnel now and helping to get information and send it back to the Moons to be shared with the Boktorians.
Mumm-Ra hadn't changed in the last few months nor did he relax any when it came to the enslaved Thunderians either and that caused no end of grief for those in hiding. Jaguarus had since located Snarf and had brought him to the village to keep him safe and the snarf still had the Book with him. The snarf hadn't told Lioness-A what he had discovered from the Book cause from the look in her eyes he knew she already knew. She stayed quiet most of the time but did hand out orders every so often which were followed.
"She hasn't mentioned her brother once in the last six months," Catlani said quietly as Jaguarus sighed when he saw Lioness-A staring out the window. He walked over to the lioness then.
"You okay?" he asked in a low voice.
"No," Lioness-A answered. "How much longer is all of this going to go on for?" she asked as she turned from the window and looked around the room. "We still don't have the numbers to take out Mumm-Ra and the Mutants and we don't know if the rulers of the other worlds can get involved."
"Actually since Lushara's here they can be involved but it's taking some time to get things ready," Jaguarus told her. He eyed her a moment. "You've been avoiding something else as well." The lioness sighed heavily as she knew what he meant.
"I haven't lost faith that easily Jaguarus and I know what that prophecy said," she began. "It's just that it's been over a year since everything happened. I just don't see anything happening now."
"I wouldn't give up on things yet," Lynx-O said when he came over to them. "Sometimes it takes a while and we don't really know exactly what it was that your brother was supposed to be doing in the Book."
"The specialized training was supposed to help Lion-O rule as a king but no one expected Mumm-Ra to take advantage of it," Lioness-A said. She heaved a sigh. "This whole thing has hit me a lot harder than I thought it would," she said and left the room a moment later.
"What do we do Lynx-O?" Jaguarus asked the old lynx.
"Not much we can do except try and figure out if there's a way to learn when things are going to change," the lynx answered. "For both our sakes and hers."
.::~*~::.
Several days later found Lioness-A outside the boundaries of the enchantment and going toward the village down at the bottom of the mountain that had been liberated a month or two before. It was quiet and if Lioness-A had been paying attention to the signs she would have known that something was up.
Down near the village Monkian was out with a troop of Mutants when one brought back word that they had seen Lioness-A so the ape Mutant set a trap and caught her. She fought back but couldn't as he overpowered her with Thundranium shackles. A Barbary teen had seen what had happened to the princess and had bolted before the Mutants saw him. Monkian and his party left to head back to the pyramid and the prison camp.
"The princess has been captured!" yelled a teen as he ran into the main building of the Barbary village.
"What?!" Jaguarus bellowed.
"She was out walking and didn't even see the trap that the Mutants had laid out in the village down the mountain," the teen said. "They quickly overpowered her and she dropped this." He held up Lioness-A's crossbow as Catlani paled. "I heard one say his name was Monkian."
"One of the high generals," Pumyra growled.
"Mumm-Ra's had them out looking for Lioness-A since the fall," Jaguarus said and snarled. "Someone should have been out there with her."
"She hasn't been herself lately," Felina told him. "All this talk of planning and everything hasn't helped either and she's not believing that her brother is coming back. I overheard her say to herself that she's believing he's really dead." The jaguar closed his eyes in pain.
"He's got to come back, snarf, snarf," Snarf whimpered. "What can Mumm-Ra do to her?" he asked.
"I don't know but someone needs to find out and fast," Jaguarus said. Lushara overhead and offered to go and she slipped out a few days later.
.::~*~::.
At the pyramid Mumm-Ra was cackling in delight when Monkian brought in Lioness-A and threw her on the ground at his feet. She was still shackled and the Thundranium had made her weak and tractable. Mumm-Ra knelt down and tilted the lioness's chin up. She glared at him.
"You will do well not to do that princess," he said with a growl as he slapped her. "I have plans for you." He rose up and looked around. "I am in need of a queen for my realm and you would do perfectly for this being as you're the last of the royal line of Barbaries."
"Never," Lioness-A hissed. Mumm-Ra hit her with a bolt of lighting as she cried out.
"Do not defy me if you want to live Princess. I know of the Barbary powers you have and I will not hesitate to drain you to claim them," Mumm-Ra said as she paled. She was taken to a cell and a female Mutant made her bathe and put on a gown that had been selected for her. Lioness-A wasn't happy but some of her strength was returning though a collar kept her from trying to do anything. Wilykit was able to see her and the kitten had grown slightly. Wilykat came to escort Lioness-A back to the main chamber of the pyramid now that she was dressed in a purple silk gown that left little to the imagination.
"What has Mumm-Ra done to you two?" Lioness-A wondered.
"He has made us his personal servants and we've been seeing to his needs for the last year and a half," Wilykat told her as she sighed.
"Then you know what he's got planned for me," she said.
"Some of it," Wilykat said. He let her inside the room and left a moment later as she saw the pile of rubble that was one of the Ancient spirits. The other three were still in their regular spots and past the cauldron was the massive stone throne and a man was seated there. He rose up and came around the throne to her. He had black hair, olive skin and black eyes and she shuddered slightly as he approached her. She had a vague suspicion that he was Mumm-Ra in disguise.
"Who are you?" Lioness-A asked him.
"Call me Amon-Ra," he said as he traced a hand along her face. She flinched slightly. The medallion in his outfit was glowing a mesmerizing gold color and Lioness-A felt herself being drawn into it. "Excellent Princess," Amon-Ra said with a thin smile. "You shall do nicely," he went on.
"As you wish my lord," Lioness-A said in a monotone.
.::~*~::.
Two weeks later found Mumm-Ra walking through the prison camps with Lioness-A decked out in finery at his side and to say the Thunderians were devastated was an understatement. Mumm-Ra hadn't tried anything beyond what he was doing with the lioness though. Bastet was upset and late one night she activated the powers in the necklace Lioness-A was still wearing. It chipped the hold the Sun Glare had on the lioness but it wasn't enough and Bastet knew she would have to keep doing it little by little to wear away the hold the mummy had on the lioness. Kiania had seen this as well and told Bastet to keep working as help would soon be coming.
Outside the compound, Lushara had seen everything and had talked to Wilykit and she was quickly on her way back to the village with news. Just outside the village she sent a coded message through the radio back to the Third Moon and hoped that either Red Eye or Alluro was watching for it. They needed to get this to Selene and her to get it to the others in the alliance as fast as possible.
.::~*~::.
On the Third Moon Alluro had been there when the message came through and he had to read it twice to be sure he got it right before he ran to take it to Selene.
"Get this to Parkase II and to Boktor asap!" he told Selene. "Lushara's been watching the compound because Jaguarus can't get out again without the Mutants trying to take him. Lioness-A was nabbed a couple of weeks ago and she's now alongside Mumm-Ra and by all accounts so far, she's been turned against the Thunderians."
"What?" Selene asked and saw the video that Lushara had taken of a couple of outings. "Oh gods this is the sign the Boktorians were warning us of. Is our cloaked ship ready?" she asked.
"Yes," Alluro said. "I can be ready to take it to Parkase II when King Garion said it's time," he added.
"Go," Selene ordered and made a call to Parkase II and Boktor. Garion was livid as was Harmon but the bigger problem was telling Lion-O.
"Harmon you better get him up here," Garion said. "He needs to know and it's time for him to prepare to go back and defeat Mumm-Ra." Harmon nodded and sent a guard to find Jake and Lion-O. The two were having a meeting and came running as did Cynthia.
"This is going to be hard to watch my king but you need to see it," Harmon said to Lion-O and had the guard play the video. "Lushara went to watch the pyramid after your sister was snatched from a village down the mountain from the hidden Barbary one. Why she was out alone no one knows," he said as the video showed Mumm-Ra walking around but the shocking part was Lioness-A, dressed in silk finery alongside him and with a thin smile that matched that of Mumm-Ra's.
"Lioness-A," Lion-O breathed, his voice pained. "No sis. Please no." Cynthia gripped his hand but something caught her eye in the video.
"Play it back and magnify the image of the princess," she said as the guard did so. She watched it a moment. "Pause it," she said as he froze the frame, showing a close-up of the lioness.
"What is it?" Jake asked his daughter.
"Kiania's guiding me on something," Cynthia said. "What's that medallion Lioness-A's wearing?" she asked Lion-O as he raised his head. He looked at what she was pointing to.
"The amulet of Bastet because she's a priestess now," he said. He frowned. "I don't understand. How is she still wearing it if she's siding with Mumm-Ra?" he wondered. That thought had him sick to his stomach. 'Hang on sis. I'm coming home and I'm going to set everyone free again.'
"Bastet told Kiania she's been corrupted by something called a Sun Glare," Cynthia said. "Seems the mummy has a few alter egos that he's using. The Sun Glare belonged to a priest from Ancient Third Earth called Amon-Ra. Kiania said it places a mind control on those people who look directly into it. Kiania has Bastet trying to chip away at it by using the medallion as there's enough power in it to keep the Sun Glare from exerting a full hold on Lioness-A."
"And that's how he's harnessing the Barbary powers she has," Harmon said darkly. He looked at the two. "Get ready to go to New ThunDera. Prince Alluro's bringing the cloaked ship here and Garion's going with you along with his grandfather and one or two others." Lion-O and Cynthia bolted for their chambers then.
"Oh Nessa," Lion-O breathed as he let the staff handle the bags. He was pacing and Cynthia came to his side.
"She's been moody for a while from what Bastet has told Kiania. She's lost faith in that you're coming back. She knows of the prophecy but she's not believing it. Everything of what has happened over the last year and a half has worn her down but Bastet's watching her as is Kiania," Cynthia told him gently.
"Can we break that hold on her?" Lion-O asked her.
"We can try but the best way would be to destroy the Sun Glare and Mumm-Ra's wearing it as he usually is now," Cynthia told him. "I can try and take it out while you deal with him." She stroked his cheek. "We'll free her and the others I promise." Lion-O lowered his head and Cynthia gently kissed him. The kiss was gentle and passionate as his arms wrapped around her. Their marriage had been the best thing to happen to him and he nuzzled her throat before carrying her to their bed. They mated tenderly and passionately before settling down to sleep.