Chapter 9

Bob's patience had run out. The storm was over in the Berbils village and he had pretended to be there to help them. However, he grabbed Rober-Belle and made his way back to the forest. Lion-O saw him holding the frightened Berbil above his head as lightening continued to strike all around. The Lord of the ThunderCats knew it was a trap but Rober-Belle's life was in danger. He had no choice.

"You can't. It's a trap to get you out there. I thought he kills all the ThunderCats but his plan is to kill you and become the Lord of the ThunderCats." Cheetara begged with him.

"If I don't fight him, there is no telling what he'll do to Rober-Belle. As a ThunderCat, I cannot let that pass, and as Lord of the ThunderCats, I cannot allow him to hold us hostage. I must fight him." Lion-O told her.

"I don't want risk your life to the twisted genetic freak that he is. I agree Bob must be stopped but there has to be a better way." The cheetah tried to make him understand.

"Then we'll face him together and destroy him." Lion-O said determinedly.

"How? He has the combined intelligence of all of us." Cheetara asked. Lion-O had no answer to that.

Bob's patience was again wearing thin. Why hadn't Lion-O come to save Rober-Belle? It couldn't be cowardice because the Lord of the ThunderCats was anything but a coward. The rain continued to come down hard and the storm seemed to be getting worse. Bob decided to give him another few minutes before taking drastic action.

"So this is how it is!" Lion-O shouted over the thunder. The Ultimate ThunderCat whirled around.

"There you are!" Bob smirked and dropped Rober-Belle. She cried out as she hit the ground hard. Lion-O wanted to help the female Berbil but he was sure that Bob wouldn't let him.

"I am deposing you as the Lord of the ThunderCats! You're past mistakes have forced me to take this action!" Bob told him.

"You think you can do better!" Lion-O taunted him.

"I know I can do better!" Bob told him. He brought forth his sword and continued,

"Today I will destroy you and reinstate the Code of Thundera as it was meant to be!" Lion-O knew that if the Code was followed strictly, it didn't allow for mistakes to occur. Much like Hachiman's code of Bushido, if one was dishonored or dishonorable, he is supposed to kill himself. If he doesn't have the will to do it, someone else would do it for him. The Code of Thundera hadn't been used that way for hundreds of years. Because honor meant something different to everyone, things were relaxed so that killing oneself wasn't necessary.

"No more fooling around! Fight!" He shouted. Lion-O pulled the Sword of Omens from the Claw Shield and shouted "HO!" Not surprisingly, the Sword roared to life and extended to its full length when honor was at stake he had to fight. However, Jaga's warning still rang in his head. Bob charged at the Lord of the ThunderCats and the two began to battle.

The two weren't paying attention as Rober-Belle began to crawl away. She was afraid and hurt. In the bushes, she hoped to get out of the weather. Rober-Belle didn't make it to the bushes before someone grabbed her and pulled away from the fight.

"Cheetara!" She said in her mechanical voice.

"I have to help Lion-O. Are you ok?" The cheetah asked.

"No. Bob dropped me from his shoulder height. What is going on? Why does he want to fight Lion-O?" She asked.

"It's complicated. Can you walk?" Cheetara inquired.

"No. My knee joint seems to be malfunctioning." Rober-Belle told her. The cheetah didn't want to leave Lion-O alone with Bob but she had no choice. The female Berbil needed medical attention. Quickly, she scooped her up and ran at top speed back to Cat's Lair.

Lion-O was defending himself well against Bob's attack. The two continued to parry and thrust but neither one gained or lost ground. As they battled on the storm began to settle. Rain continued to fall, but the thunder and lightening died down. The forest had become slippery and muddy.

Cheetara raced back from Cat's Lair, hoping she wasn't too late. Lion-O's plan had to work otherwise both of them would be dead. As she entered the forest, she could hear the clanging of metal and the female ThunderCat picked up speed.

Lion-O slipped on the mud and fell down. Bob took the opportunity to try to kill the Lord of the ThunderCats. But Lion-O was too fast for that and he rolled out of the way. Bob's sword became stuck in the ground and Lion-O got to his feet. The Ultimate ThunderCat grabbed for the grip of his weapon and the Lord of the ThunderCats put the blade of the Sword of Omens under his chin.

"You have lost! Stand up slowly and back away from your sword!" Lion-O commanded. Bob smirked and stabbed his opponent in the leg with a dagger, he had concealed in his belt. The Lord of the ThunderCats jumped back and pulled the offending blade from his leg. This gave Bob enough time to pull his sword from the ground and lunged at the wounded lion.Cheetara arrived and saw the blood running down Lion-O's leg. He would now have to fight twice as hard to keep Bob at bay. She would have to act fast.

Bob kicked the Lord of the ThunderCats in his wounded leg and the lion stumbled backward. Lion-O fought to stay up and managed to use a tree to regain his balance. Blood continued to flow from his wound and the Lord of the ThunderCats could feel himself weakening. Bob smiled triumphantly and pushed the lion against a tree.

Lion-O raised the Sword of Omens to fend off the genetically rendered ThunderCat. The tree helped him stand up but it didn't account for how heavy the Sword was beginning to feel. Bob thrust his sword at Lion-O.

To Be Continued...