Chapter 8
Cheetara was right to not believe Lion-O. Bob had the Thunderstrike in pieces and was adapting the equipment. He knew that of the remaining ThunderCats on Third Earth, he was the only one with experience on the Braille Board. This made him the only one able to fly the Thunderstrike.
The next piece of business was to gather up some weapons. Since Lord Lion-O used a sword, Bob wanted to be able to use one as well. He had blasters but they were messy and impersonal. If the Code of Thundera was to be followed properly, the current Lord of the ThunderCats was to be killed in battle not from a far. Down in the weapon's room, Bob grabbed up some blasters and a sword that Panthro had made him. At first, the idea was to let Bob decide what kind of weapon he liked best. Little had the others known what was to become of their nice gesture.
Back at Cat's Lair, Cheetara sat at the sensors. She was in contact with the Feliner and everything seemed to be running smoothly until a message came in from the Tower of Omens.
"This is Bob calling Cat's Lair, over." The cheetah brought him up on the video screen.
"I've picked up some bad storms moving in toward you thought you should know." The Ultimate ThunderCat told her. Another call came in and she split the screen. It was Rober- Bill or at least what seemed to be Rober-Bill.
"Massive… lightening… interfering… equipment…watch…out…" That's when the transmission went dead.
"We just lost contact with the Berbils. What do you suggest as far as keeping in contact with each other?" Cheetara said leaving out the part about not being able to contact the Feliner in case of trouble.
"No idea but I'm sure that the Sword will tell me if I'm needed." Bob said.
"All right. Talk to you later." Cheetara cut the connection. It was all starting to come together. The horrible storm was just the beginning. Soon they would probably face their greatest enemy.
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Lion-O listened to Cheetara as she told him about the Berbils. Communication was out over there and she wasn't sure if they should check it out.
"Unless the sword says there is trouble, I don't think we should leave the Lair." The female ThunderCat said.
"We don't have the ThunderTank and I don't know if I'd have enough confidence to use the Hover Cat in this kind of weather. I guess we'd better hunker down and prepare for the storm and anyone seeking shelter from it." Lion-O made his executive decision.
"And I suppose you'll want old Snarf to do all that." Snarf whined.
"No. I suggest that Cheetara continue to watch the monitors and that you and I prepare. That way she can let people in if necessary." The Lord of the ThunderCats told his old nursemaid. Snarf was about to say something when off in the distance they could hear the thunder rumble. It seemed as if the storm knew what they were up to.
Bob watched the storm hit Cat's Lair. This monkey wrench in his plan may prove to be useful. Now the others maybe forced to call him and when they did it would be their undoing.
He now turned his focus back to the Thunderstrike. It would be the best vehicle to take heading into that storm. His cover would be blown if he couldn't reach Cat's Lair. The Thunderstrike's pieces were adapted properly the trick was getting it all back together as fast as possible.
The sound of the thunder and lightening grew as the storm began to get closer to Cat's Lair. Snarf had gone around collecting emergency equipment while Lion-O made sure the back-up power source was working properly.
Cheetara sat at the controls watching the viewing screen. The lightening struck the ground and the thunder caused the ground to shake. She could hear the rain pelt the fortress with such force it sounded as if the walls would crack from the pressure.
The female ThunderCat was glued to the screen and she didn't pay any attention to the control room door opening. Lion-O walked across the room and put his arms around her shoulders.
"You ok?" He asked when she didn't react to his touch.
"I'm afraid." She said.
"Of what?" The Lord of the ThunderCats asked.
"Of what? What do you think? Its all beginning." Cheetara snapped at him all of a sudden. Immediately, she apologized.
"I'm sorry but…" Lion-O stopped her.
"Hey, you saw this coming. We have every right to be nervous. Jaga warned me as well. I mean…" he didn't finish. There was a presence beside him.
"Lion-O, you face a great danger ahead. You're opponent is smart but not unstoppable. Let the Sword guide you. It is up to you to protect the ThunderCats." Jaga told him.
"But Jaga…" The lion started.
"Remember the Sword will not obey an evil command." Jaga said and then he was gone.
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Bob finished putting together the Thunderstrike and returned to the control center of the Tower of Omens. He sat down on the floor, cross-legged, and began to meditate. Fighting Lion-O would require all the physical and mental strength he could muster. The lion hadn't become Lord of the ThunderCats easily. However, Lion-O had defeated the others one by one. He was a combination of all the ThunderCats. The added bonus of Ben-Gali, Pumyra, and Lynx-O was something that Lion-O had never faced. Still he shouldn't be overconfident.
Cheetara and Lion-O sat holding hands in the control room. Neither one wanted to admit that tonight might be the last time they spent together. Other than the storm, things were quiet and that was a good sign. But as if the Sword knew what they were thinking, it roared to life.
"Sword of Omens, give me Sight Beyond Sight!" Lion-O commanded.
"It's showing me the forest but I don't see anything. Something isn't right out there." He said lowering the Sword. Cheetara scanned over to the forest and tried to focus the Cat's Eyes into the foliage but the forest was quite dense in certain spots.
"Try the Sword again. There has to be something going on out in the trees." The cheetah said. Again Lion-O picked up the Sword and tried again. This time he caught sight of the problem.
"Great moons of Thundera!" He exclaimed.
"What's going on out there?" Cheetara asked.
To Be Continued…