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The Main Assembly Room
The Hall of Wisdom
D'Vann's POV
Same Time
"If it weren't for the stranger we met so long ago I wouldn't have believed it possible." He said looking at the conjured image of the young woman he'd taken on as a student.
"Indeed husband but there is no mistaking what I saw." Veena said her eyes locked on the girl with uncommon focus, "Both in her and in her sword."
"It seems Ro has sharper instincts than I thought and perhaps a bit of your Sight given how quickly he warmed up to her." He said remembering how his son tended to act in Dawn's company.
"Do you intend to change your training methods because of this revelation?" She asked turning to look at him even as the image of Dawn faded out.
He knew what she was referring to and it made him pause.
While one son was thriving and making him proud the other still slept in his bed just as he had ever since the Orlax of Primeria had plucked him up with on of its tentacles. While his wife had already tried every means of waking him that she knew of to no avail that didn't mean she'd given up. Anytime someone or something new arrived to their world she was among the first to seek it out in the hopes that she might discover something new. Some new piece of technology or magic that might return their son to them.
He on the other hand had shown his lingering grief by keeping Ro close to him as often as possible and ensuring that his training was the best he could make it. He didn't push too hard since that would only drive his son to react in a bad way but at the same time he made sure the lessons were learned to his satisfaction. When Dawn had arrived and explained what had led her to arrive on the planet he had agreed to teach her but he would be lying if he said he didn't spend more time focusing on his son's instruction than hers. By her own words she'd told him that she wasn't going to be around forever and that her world was vastly different from the one his family called home. That meant that he had fashioned her training accordingly focusing on the basics to create a solid foundation for her future growth.
If her world had any warriors of its own they could build upon what he had created and ensure that none could question her abilities.
Now? Now he had learned something that he could never forget.
"I don't know. Your own findings say that the connection is thin implying much time between ours and hers." He replied trying to put into words what he felt, "She does not act as though her world is one where every day is a struggle for survival. Is there a need for increasing her training?"
"Just because death does not wait for someone behind every tree does not mean her world is entirely safe." Veena said voicing her own opinion, "There is also the matter of the six fragments she mentioned. Even if she does not know who seeks to use them objects of such power only draw those who believe themselves strong enough to claim them. Such beings often have others willing to follow them. Perhaps MANY others."
He could not dispute his wife's words for they were in a similar situation given what was hidden within the Hall of Wisdom. Not all who lived on their world were of a noble mindset and the lure of power had brought many before him seeking to take what they could not have. So far he and his wife had been able to emerge victorious but they did not let their success lead to carelessness. With what they protected they could not afford failure or all would perish for their mistakes.
If the objects coming together on Dawn's world were in danger of being claimed by one lacking in benevolence it would be done with force.
"Then we both are obligated to ensure that she is as prepared as we can make her before the time comes for her to depart." He said reaching on a decision on what would come next.
"And provide her with warm memories of her time with us." She added with the quiet smile he loved so much, "When things are grim and the enemy closes in recollections of better times can do much to calm the spirit and steady one's sword arm."
As always his wife succeeded in proving to him why she was the only woman for him and he the only man for her.
Together they would do all they could to prepare Dawn for the trials that no doubt awaited her in the future and Goddess willing hello her to emerge victorious.
The Temple of Omens
The Planet Thundera
Six Years After Sunnydale's Halloween
Buffy's POV
"How…much…longer…?" She gasped out even as she tried her best to keep up with the Bitch.
"Quit bellyaching like a newborn kitten!" The Bitch growled barely managing a single glance back, "You're a member of the Cheetah Clan! ACT LIKE IT!"
She was REALLY tempted to groan but she knew that if she did the Bitch would only add on another fifty laps around the temple. If there was one thing that'd been made clear to her in the six years since she'd been dumped on a planet full of cat people it was you didn't talk back to the Bitch. It didn't matter if you were the king of the planet or just some random kid with attitude the results were always the same.
She either kicked your ass or gave VERY vivid descriptions of what she'd do if you gave her any sarcasm whatsoever.
If you wound up being her student it got WORSE.
Still when she'd been dropped in front of the old cats that looked to be Giles' age it'd seemed like a good idea to at least be partway honest with them. She might have some experience lying but that was normally to people she knew and therefore could craft a falsehood they'd easily believe. In the case of strangers though it was a crapshoot as to whether or not they'd believe her and since she hadn't known where she was she didn't know what'd happen if they determined she was lying to them.
She told them that she was from another world and had been sent to them to receive training to prepare for a great battle.
It was a bit of guesswork since she had no idea who the robed guy was or if anything he'd told the Scoobies could be trusted. Assuming however that the guy was honest then training would definitely be of the good because for the first few days she'd experienced WAY too many firsts for her tastes. When they'd all been in that weird place she'd had more important things to worry about but now that she was someplace rather than no place she'd started noticing things. Things that no human needed to notice because they didn't have certain things but cat people and whatever she'd been turned into did. Honestly they creeped her out and through something that could only have been called incredible luck the locals just wrote it off as kitty adolescence and her body maturing into an adult cat person.
The scary part was that they might not be as far off the mark as she'd like them to be.
She'd been a human teenager back home when Halloween had happened so it made sense that when she'd gotten changed into a cat person that it'd also be a teenager body. While she knew more or less the sorts of hassles being a human teenager entailed she was completely in the dark about what problems a cat person in their teens had to go through. There'd been a few hiccups when they gave her the 'how can you NOT know about that' look but she just told them that her mother was more focused on her work than teaching her the basics.
When they'd asked about her father she'd simply told them that he was gone. She knew that they'd take that to mean that her father was dead and to be honest that'd have been easier than the truth. The truth of course being that her father had cheated on her mother and after the divorce seemed to be coming up with an ever increasing amount of excuses why he had to call off one get together or another. She didn't need to be a genius to figure out the truth and so she'd shoved any linger affection she might've felt for the man into her mental incinerator before pressing the 'on' button.
As for the old cats they'd agreed to help train her to master skills and abilities that her parents had woefully neglected as far as they were concerned. While a few people had been assigned to teach her the simpler things that her parents had forgotten to instruct her on it'd been the Bitch's duty to shape her into a warrior worthy of the Cheetah Clan.
That had been almost five years ago and she still couldn't tell whether or not she'd made any real progress had been made or if the finish line was within metaphorical sight. The book or computer learning they had her doing was the only respite she got from the Bitch's training aside from the six hours of sleep she was permitted. If it wasn't for the fact that still being The Slayer made it so she didn't need as much asleep as a normal human did she'd have broken down crying inside of three weeks out of sheer fatigue. Instead she had her stubbornness and the fact that there wasn't anything else to do keeping her going throughout the Bitch's lessons no matter how brutal they got.
And they were brutal.
If it wasn't the ever increasing distances she was told to run it was the ever decreasing amount of time she had to do it in. Then of course there was the staff training and hand to hand combat where the former resembled what Giles had taught her and the latter was completely different. It was more like the fighting style she'd seen some of the more animal-like demons use that actually had some intelligence to it rather than blind savagery. She remembered how Giles had once told her that some Asian martial arts had been created from watching and mimicking the movements of animals. She'd been a bit skeptical about how watching a tiger or a crane could help a person design a fighting style but after getting tossed around for two hours straight by the Bitch despite being the Slayer she'd been convinced it was worth learning.
You'd think that after training for this long you'd know if you were making progress by how much easier it'd become defending yourself from attacks and how much closer your own were to hitting your opponent. It'd mean that you were getting closer and closer to being your teacher's equal as a warrior and once you were it'd mean that there was nothing more to learn. THAT was a goal she was more than willing to work towards!
Too bad that every time she thought that she might've gained some ground on the Bitch the woman turned around and made it clear she'd been faking it to set her up for another humiliating defeat.
Honestly with how the woman talked to her most of the time you'd think that she would've thrown in the towel. However no matter how many days seemed to go by the Bitch never failed to show up right on time for the next lesson, push her until she was about ready to collapse from exhaustion and then leave with a scathing parting remark. The same could be said for these runs because every time she thought her body was getting used to the conditions set by the Bitch something was done to push the difficulty up even higher. She even suspected that in the future she'd be told she had to carry a pack filled with weights on her back the entire run.
~Definitely gonna kick that robed guy's ass next time I see him.~ She thought redoubling her efforts to keep up with the Bitch.
Fortunately for her by the time that happened she'd be powerful enough to take on just about anyone shy of a god.
What're the odds that the guy in the robe was an actual deity?
Later on Within the Temple
"You're looking a little worn out Nerwon. Training the new recruit really that hard?"
"Shut up Dasha!" Nerwon growled before gulping down the rest of her water, "You wouldn't do any better. That ain't an ordinary kitten!"
"Oh? She looks like any other cheetah kitten their clan ever sent here fore training." Dasha said glancing out the window where the recruit was busy replenishing her own fluids.
"Then you're stupider than I thought." Nerwon said throwing aside the clay bottle of water not caring if it broke or not, "I've put other recruits through HALF of why I've given her so far and every one of them dropped out! SHE'S STILL GOING!"
It was pissing her off but she'd be damned if she let any student see her lose her cool in front of them. Despite what the kitten might've been told she'd been assigned only because the temple elder insisted saying that if she wouldn't take on a student he would assign her one. This of course had irritated her since it had hardly been her fault that none of her past students could make it through her training in one piece. She had worked hard to be the best warrior the Tiger clan had ever produced and she would accept nothing less than the best efforts of anyone she taught. Any who would whine, laze about when she wasn't around or dare talk back to her on matters she was infinitely more educated on weren't worth her time much less any effort at making them better.
In the beginning she'd been confident that the kitten from the Cheetah Clan would washout within the first six months of her training.
Then six months became a year and a year became many years leading her to only two possible explanations for her current predicament: either she was losing her touch as an instructor or this kitten might actually be worth training. She could honestly count on one hand the number of students she'd taught over the years that actually managed to make her think that and even fewer who'd reached the end of her lessons.
It was a refreshing feeling!
Not that she'd tell anyone that of course.
"You don't say." Dasha said giving the recruit a second look, "Would you be open to the idea of having our two students spar every other month? If she's half as promising as you're making her out to be it'll be just the thing to make him interested in training again."
"And what does she get out of it?" Nerwon asked with a 'why should I' raised eyebrow.
"Well it's hard to tell just how far she's come when the only thing to measure her against is someone of your caliber." Dasha replied with a bit of humour, "Besides you know how hard it is to notice some things when you're in the thick of it instead of watching from just the right distance."
True.
When you were the one fighting things tended to blur a bit making it difficult to deduce where the flaws were in your skills. If having her student fight Dasha's would allow her to find more of the kitten's flaws and mistakes it'd help put together future training exercises and REALLY up the pressure. Diamonds after all required quite a bit of pressure to come into being from their worthless origins as pieces of coal and she was determined to make her student into the equivalent of the most precious of gems.
"I'll give you a month to prepare your tiger cub." Nerwon said with a smile few liked to see, "Then we'll see if he's fast enough and strong enough to keep up with my cheetah kitten."
"Deal." Dasha said with a nod, "Just remember that there's a reason why a member of the Tiger Clan has become Lord of the Thundercats almost as often as one of the Lion Clan."
"Yeah. Clan politics, an unhealthy obsession with tradition and the other Clans never had me train their candidate." Nerwon replied with a feral smile as she stood up.
"Whatever you say Nerwon." Dasha said walking away to have a little talk with her lion cub, "Whatever you say."
As for her one month would just enough time to sand off of the rough spots in her student's movements and add enough polish that the tiger cub would be lucky to lay a finger on her. It was then that she reviewed what she'd thought and said in her discussion with Dasha and found herself rather intrigued by something she'd said.
That the only reason the other clans had so few members who'd succeeded in becoming Lord of the Thundercats was because she'd never been the one to train the candidates.
How intriguing would it be to prove to everyone that that was the truth!
It was after all the truth that Jaga was getting up there in years and with Claudus blinded in a fight with the mutants there might just be room enough to contest who the successor should be. True most of those who loved tradition and played 'The Game' between the various Clans were pretty sure Claudus' firstborn son would succeed him she begged to differ. The boy was a mere four summers old and if what she'd been told was true seemed to prefer going on 'adventures' rather than dedicating himself to the studies of a prince. With the future always being such an uncertain thing it was entirely possible that either Claudus or Jaga or both would perish before the boy rose to claim the throne.
More than that though if she could hone her kitten perfectly enough it was possible she could prove to the Thunderian Council that her student was the better choice.
That mere blood ties and tradition did not a good Lord make.
If she wanted to perhaps she could even convince Claudus' boy to formally renounce his claim entirely. If the lion cub wanted to be an adventurer instead of a Lord then she would be quite happy to aid him in setting foot on his preferred path.
With completely innocent remarks and a few polite suggestions of course.
When both Jaga and Claudus were elsewhere naturally.
It couldn't hurt to try could it?
Reality-7515
The Room of Space and Time
Ten Years After Sunnydale Halloween
Xander's POV
"Not bad Gohan!" He said recovering from an impressive kick, "Now let's see how you handle this! HAH!"
And so another series of attacks, blocks, evasions and charges was set off with still half a year before they'd have to exit the Room of Space and Time.
A lot of things had happened after getting dropped into what was basically Son Goku's front yard and convinced the simple minded guy to train him in the art of kicking ass. As it turned out he, his son and a lot of their friends were already getting ready for a three year, nearly nonstop, training binge to prepare for some killer androids that wanted to kill everyone. Sure he was way behind the curve since many of them had been learning how to fight since they were physically capable of doing the exercises and learning the moves but that was okay. He had nothing better to do and as it turned out he'd been transformed into a member of an alien race called Saiyans who were pretty much DNA coded for fighting. The harder they trained the stronger they got at a rate much faster than what you'd see in an ordinary human…so long as they were kept well fed that is.
That was something he learned quite soon after arriving in the new reality: Saiyans were high intake high output life forms.
The first time he'd seen Goku packing it away he couldn't figure out how the man could put that much food into himself without expanding out like a balloon. The man was consuming enough food for ten people and it was all for him. Gohan was a little more restrained but that was only because the kid was half-Saiyan and half human. However unlike Goku who wasn't interested in anything other than training or fighting strong opponents he was willing to work to earn his keep. So with some starter help from Bulma in the form of basic equipment and seeds he set to work making a garden for the Son family. What he didn't know about gardening he was able to learn and since he needed to be a certain amount of strength to train with the others it was a good way to start.
Plus it didn't hurt that doing this gave Chi-Chi a good reason to like him and not mind having another person in the house.
After about a year solid of gardening and some basic conditioning exercises Goku had shown him he'd finally reached a point where he could begin actual martial arts training.
THAT was when the pain started.
Unlike the sort of lessons you'd get going to one of those chain martial arts dojos there were no pads to wear to keep you from getting hurt. You had to rely on the skill of your instructor to pull his punches and then leave the rest for the somewhat advanced First Aid supplies that existed in this world. Needless to say he had to deal with quite a few bruises, cuts and when they got to it burns from blocking or parrying ki attacks. Goku was his instructor most of the time but occasionally he'd have other things to do so he'd pass of the training to one of his friends. Krillin was the easiest to learn from since they were closer in strength level but sometimes he'd throw in some of the training exercises his sensei had used on him. Those were NUTS no matter how effective they might be! Tien was also nice even if the whole literal third eye things was pretty off-putting at first.
It was the other two stand-ins that he'd been given that really had him hurting by the end of it even if the pain gave him ample motivation to get better.
Vegeta and Piccolo.
Where the others had a more nurturing teaching method the Namek and the so-called Prince of all Saiyans definitely preferred the 'tough love' and 'school of hard knocks' approach to being a martial arts badass. They both pushed him as hard as they could without breaking him until he was literally reduced to a panting, sweaty and exhausted form laying on the ground. Then they'd give him the bare minimum rest and food to eat before doing it all over again. The only good thing he could think of was that they understood that he would need a few hours of actual sleep to restore his strength to the point where he could fight again. Honestly there were a few times that he'd gotten on their case with how extreme their methods were but Vegeta just looked down on him and Piccolo reminded them that they didn't have time to play nice.
Two killer androids, powerful enough to actually kill every one of them, were on their way and they needed to get as strong as they possibly could in the time they had.
So he sucked it up and did his best to make it so that they weren't wasting their time helping Goku train him.
Eventually Vegeta got fed up with Earth and took one of Bulma's spaceships to someplace far from Earth but he considered that a plus. Even as bad as Cordy and some of the jocks were back home Vegeta's ego was in a whole different league and he never let anyone forget that there was a world of difference between commoner and the elite. With him gone all he had to concern himself with was Piccolo's brutal yet efficient way of making someone stronger. Apparently years ago when Gohan needed to be turned from scared little crybaby into a real warrior he'd had the same methods dumped on him by Piccolo. Fortunately unlike Goku's kid he wasn't a crybaby and actually turned out to be quite determined to rise to meet every challenge set before him.
Then the day came for the arrival of the androids.
He'd managed to make an impressive amount of progress considering he'd only been at it for less than three years but even he'd been forced to admit that he wasn't anywhere near ready for fighting mechanical murder machines. So instead he chose to stick with Bulma to watch things from a distance and provide help when and where he could with whatever she needed. Turns out it was a good thing he did since the woman's curiosity often outweighed her common sense and it was often due to his honed Sunnydale instincts that they both survived.
What followed…well…let's just say it made him wonder about how boring the usual Sunnydale demons and vamps would be when he got back.
From the moment he laid eyes on the androids himself to the moment the Cell Games came to an end it was made pretty clear that this was NOTHING like his Earth. The power levels of the combatants were INSANE and he imagined that at some point the people behind updating the maps of the world were just going to throw in the towel. Seriously the sort of ki blasts and physical strikes either side were capable of made him wonder just how the planet was still in one piece. When he'd asked Krillin about that he said that after every big adventure where there was significant damage or loss of life they'd use the dragon balls to undo it all. The tough part was that Shenron couldn't grant the same wish multiple times so they were forced to come up with a new wish every time that achieved the same ends they wanted.
Goku's crew also struck him as a bit off but at the same time he could see himself becoming similar if he stuck it out with the Scoobies long enough. All of them were sad when Goku had sacrificed himself to teleport both himself and Cell away before the monster could go boom but it wasn't the soul crushing type of sadness he'd felt when Jesse had died. It wasn't hard to figure out why given that many of them had died and been brought back to life by the dragon balls at one point in their lives or another. Add to that the fact that thanks to North Kai the gang could talk to Goku almost anytime they wanted so it was more like he'd just moved away and wasn't coming back.
Personally though he'd figured it was because with all the strangeness they'd experienced each of them half expected for their friend to find a way back to the living world or someone else would bring him back.
Still, even with Goku gone, the Earth still had a champion it could count on to combat the next big threat to show up. After all Gohan had proven that against Perfect Cell he was more than powerful enough and if he hadn't sacrificed an arm to protect Vegeta he probably could've defeated the monster when he'd come back from self-destruction. With a bit more training and some experience he'd had no doubt that Gohan would be able to handle things.
At least that'd been his thought in the immediate aftermath of Cell's annihilation.
Too bad he didn't take one thing into account.
His MOTHER!
Turns out that once the grieving stage for Goku had come to an end the woman had gone all in when it came to making sure Gohan focused on his schoolwork. More than ever before she discouraged the kid from keeping up with his martial arts training and without any other source of guidance Gohan had been ready to do as his mother told him. He of course tried to make her realize that a more balanced approach was needed between Gohan's schoolwork and his martial arts training. He'd laid out the big events of this world leading up to the end of the Cell Games to show to her that there was a clear pattern of escalation going on. With every threat defeated something stronger and deadlier showed up within a few years forcing the good guys to do some serious training in order to catch up.
Cell wouldn't be the last threat to the planet and the next one would probably be even stronger than the abomination in his supreme perfect form.
Chi-Chi just brushed off his concerns by saying that one of the other 'martial arts deadbeats' would handle it citing either Piccolo or Vegeta. While he conceded that both of them were excellent fighters each had a flaw that made them unsuitable for the role of Earth's newest champion. Piccolo was an excellent fighter but had hit something of a dead end in his growth just before the Cell Games. Despite what'd probably been a brutal training regime the Namek had been completely outclassed by both Perfect Cell and the Cell Juniors. Unless the green guy managed a breakthrough on the same level as Goku transforming into a Super Saiyan for the first time he wouldn't even land a hit when the next threat showed itself.
As for Vegeta it could be said that in many ways he was indeed a worthy replacement for Goku but the 'prince' had one major flaw that prevented him from being suitable champion material. That flaw of course was his ego and he'd both seen as well as heard about the number of times it'd gotten vegetable breath as well as the world into no small amount of trouble. HELL! If it hadn't been for Vegeta wanting to fight Cell at his absolute best the crisis could've ended while the monster was still in his half-perfect form. From what he'd heard from Krillin and the others this was an ongoing problem not just with Vegeta but with Goku as well.
Saiyans as a species always seemed to get cocky whenever they reached a new level of power and that carelessness often led to their defeat. Even Goku's habit of going from his lowest to his maximum output over time was a sign of Saiyan weakness and their love of a good fight. For the baddie smart enough to use these things against them it provided one good chance to take the Saiyan down or reach their objective.
This had happened multiple times but from what he could tell Vegeta still hadn't learned his lesson.
Only Gohan with his diluted Saiyan blood stood the best chance of keeping his foolish impulses from getting the world in trouble. Indeed given how his previous cockiness had cost his father his life and almost doomed the world he'd been pretty sure the kid was the best choice for the job.
His words hadn't had the desired effect so he'd pushed for a deal: as long as Gohan managed to maintain a solid A average with his schoolwork he could train. However if the grade average dipped below an A all martial arts training would come to an end until it was pushed back up. He'd even thrown in the old 'healthy body, healthy mind' bit with exercise being an excellent way of venting the stress that could often come from schoolwork over time.
In the end Chi-Chi had grudgingly agreed to the deal but he suspected that was because she didn't believe it was possible to get any real training done AND keep an A average. She believed that this impossibility would ensure that most of her son's time would be spent studying and that eventually she'd have grounds to back out of the deal.
However the woman had seriously underestimated her son and for the past seven years Gohan had managed to maintain his A average while also keeping up with his training. The son of Goku hadn't making any substantial increases in power from how he was in the Cell Games in the last seven years but neither had he gotten weaker to any noticeable degree. However that didn't stop his concerns about the next big threat and whether or not Gohan would be strong enough to meet it head on.
That was what'd led to this 'training weekend' he had told Chi-Chi he was taking Gohan on in order to counter the study exclusive period that was coming up for exams. The woman thought that all he'd have would be two days of training and he'd kept up that illusion for the first day but at the dawn of the second he'd thrown a curveball. He'd told Gohan that the kid needed to up his training and when the son of Goku had shown puzzlement he'd explained his plan.
The Room of Space and Time or as some called it the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
It was a special room up on Kami's lookout where an entire year's worth of training could be done inside but in the outside world only a day would pass.
With the use of the room he'd been able to push both of them far past what could normally be achieved within a day. By his reckoning they had about three more months before they'd need to leave the Room or risk being trapped inside of it forever. But that would be time enough for Gohan to reach the next level of power in his martial arts training making it that much more likely that the next big threat would meet with stiff resistance.
Would it be enough for good to win the day and the Earth saved?
He didn't know but at least if it wasn't he'd still have one more time in which he could enter the Room of Space and Time before he'd be a fool to enter it again. If things became that dire he would pull out al the stops in order to ensure he gained as much skill and power as he could to ensure that evil did not triumph.
~Hercules went through twelve labors to become a hero and they made him stronger.~ He thought during a pause in his sparring match with Gohan, ~At the rate things are going I'm going to be one serious badass by the time I get back home.~
He couldn't find a downside to that.
A Short Distance From the Hall of Wisdom
Thirteen Years After Halloween
Dawn's POV
War sucked!
Even as she sliced off another head off of another Snake Man she remained resolute in her opinion.
Too bad King Hiss and his horde didn't care much what others thought.
It'd been six years ago when the first sightings of the serpentine race reached the residents of the Hall of Wisdom but at first it hadn't been too serious. A few attacks and some abductions but nothing more than you'd expect of a new group of bandits or mercenaries so D'vann had only asked to be kept apprised of any developments. It was only when villages began to burn and deaths began to mount up that the king and his family took action with her tagging along to lend what help she could. She'd come along far enough in her training under D'Vann with Ro as her sparring partner that there'd been little concern that she wouldn't be able to handle a few bandits or animal people.
It'd been a horrific first sight when they'd ridden into the region where most of the attacks had taken place and when they'd seen the smoke of a fresh fire they hadn't hesitated. D'Vann on his Battle Lion, Veena in her avian form in the air and her sharing a mount with Ro since the little tiger cub she'd taken a liking too was still too young for this sort of thing. When they'd arrived at the base of the plume of smoke she'd almost lost her lunch at the sight of the dead bodies.
Some had their throats torn out.
Others their stomachs.
Some…some looked like they'd been partially melted with some sort of acid.
She hadn't even wanted to think about the people that might've still been in the burning buildings.
Ro offered to take her to one of the nearby villages that had thus far been unharmed but she'd politely declined the offer refusing to be the weak link of the group. With Battle Lion's sense of smell it hadn't taken long to find the scent of the Snake Men and then the hunt had begun for those who'd mercilessly killed so many. It wasn't until they reached a particularly dense looking forested area that they dismounted intending to proceed on foot. It'd been D'Vann's idea since with so little maneuvering room he'd thought it'd only make their mounts easy prey and them as well if each of them had still been in the saddle's.
Battle Lion hadn't liked it but had acquiesced in the end.
Proceeding into the woods it'd been up to their own senses plus what Veena's mystic senses could tell them but it hadn't done much. They'd confirmed that this was definitely where the Snake Men were but when they'd tried to pin things down to specific location they'd never gotten far before losing the trail. Either the footprints would just come to a stop or the mystic trail Veena tried to follow would just sputter out with nothing close by to call it a success. It'd only been when they'd tried to backtrack their way out of the forest with the intent of waiting for their prey to exit as well that they ran into a small complication.
Their footprints, the branches they'd broken and other signs of their passage were gone!
They'd tried to retrace their steps by memory only to find that somehow the placement of the trees, bushes and moss covered boulders had been drastically changed!
It'd only been when a hiss laced chuckle echoed throughout the forest that the pieces had come together.
It was a trap! The Snake Men had deliberately changed tactics from subtle and sneaky to actions that were about as subtle as a hammer to the head to lure in potential adversaries!
Adversaries that they'd no doubt eliminate once they ran out of reasons to keep them alive of course.
With the element of surprise still valid Snake Men had leapt out from their hiding places teeth bared and claws ready to add the four of them to the body count.
Too bad this time the serpents had bitten off a little more than they could chew.
D'Vann's brute strength had been a sight to behold the first time she'd seen him use it and it'd only gotten more impressive when he'd made it clear he knew how to make the most of it. Any Snake Man that tried to take him down found themselves quickly overpowered before being tossed deeper into the woods or slammed into the dirt beneath their feet. Personally she'd prefer a simple snapping of the neck or some other swift way of killing but she'd learned in her studies that such drastic actions weren't undertaken very easily on this planet. Apparently it was some sort of cosmic centre for the entire galaxy where things such as good and evil had much more far reaching consequences than just the individual who did the deed.
However D'Vann she suspected simply didn't want to do anything irreparable before fully understanding the situation. They hadn't known where the Snake Men had come from or what their goals had been so keeping things to bumps or bruises made sense.
Veena had more to work with since her sorcery allowed not just blasts that hit the Snake Men directly but it'd also let the woman manipulate the environment to their advantage.
That'd left her and Ro to use their swords and other combat skills they'd been instructed on but between the two of them they'd done pretty good.
In the beginning at least.
After what could've been the twentieth Snake Man falling unconscious to the ground it'd quickly become clear that the enemy force was far larger than just a band of bandits. It'd felt more like they were having an entire army thrown at them a few small groups at a time with no way of knowing how close they were to defeating the last one. When Veena in her fatigue had nearly missed a Snake Man attacking her from behind D'Vann had chosen to put an end to the fight HIS way. Bringing both of his fists slamming into the ground he'd caused a mini-earthquake that not only put the Snake Men on their backs but had displaced some of the dirt as well giving them a half-decent smokescreen to work with.
The king's next step had apparently been to pick up the largest of the boulders closest to him before throwing it as hard as he could into the forest. She'd been puzzled for a moment but when she'd seen tree after tree get obliterated by the stone projectile and eventually succeed in exiting the woods she'd caught on. Without hesitation the four of them had sprinted down the path that D'Vann had made for them intent on exiting the forest and retreating from the area. It'd been clear to them all that if the Snake Men were indeed an army rather than a small group fighting them with only four people would be foolish. They almost hadn't made it as some force seemed to be trying to regrow the trees and foliage to block their escape but thankfully all of them had ample training when it came to running.
As soon as they'd gotten clear of the forest both D'Vann and Ro had called their mounts with all of them getting on fast before heading back to the Hall of Wisdom.
After they'd had their injuries tended to Veena had sent out a summons to the leader of every race of sentient people on the planet. If the threat of the Snake Men was as large as they had all feared it was then it would take a united force of all races to defeat them. While not all races wound up sending representatives many of them had and this had given her hope that they'd succeed in emerging victorious.
The Gar, the Avionians, the Caligar, the Andreenids and the Mer-folk were among the most notable ones to send a representative that genuinely wanted to help.
The others who sent a representative however had apparently only done so to find out what the other races knew before declaring that they wound protect their own lands and no others. D'Vann and Veena had done their best to persuade the member of that group of representatives that the best chance for survival lay in a united effort but it'd fallen on deaf ears. Then Andreenid representative had snarked that those who'd left would come crawling back for help once the Snake Men had sacked a few of their villages but D'Vann had made it clear he would not let that happen. Even if he and his united force could not enter the lands of those who'd left they could do their best to intercept any Snake Men force heading in that direction before it crossed the line on the map. It'd been brought up that it'd be a drain on their resources to help those who had made it clear they would not do the same for them but D'Vann had been immovable on this point.
That had been years ago and the war had indeed come to the planet affecting all who caught King Hiss' eye regardless of whether they were aligned with King Grayskull or not. Some of those who hadn't joined the alliance initially had changed their minds but a few others…they'd remained stubborn to the very extinction of their people.
In all those years she'd done her best to help and because of those battles as well as the continued training she'd received the word around most of the war camps was that she was considered one of the best warriors the alliance had. Honestly she wasn't so sure about that given some of the others she'd seen and thought maybe she was just regarded as such due to her connection with King Grayskull but it helped when she needed people to follow orders.
HHSSS!
SHING!
~Maybe now's not the best time to think about the past.~ She thought lopping off the arm of a particularly thick built Snake Man.
This was the fifth of the mass attacks that King Hiss had led against the Hall of Wisdom and it was getting harder each time to force his minions into a retreat. True that was because the foul leader had a habit of devouring those who intentionally fled without his expressed permission but she didn't really care what happened to the serpentine people. After so many innocent people had been killed by the Snake Men and so many priceless places reduced to smouldering ashes she'd gladly see the race go extinct.
She raised her sword to bring that outcome one step closer to fruition when all of a sudden the retreat signal was fired off from the rear of the army of Snake Men. This surprised her because she'd been truly expecting the battle to last another hour at least before King Hiss could no longer keep himself from giving the order.
Not that she was complaining all that much but it did make her worry a bit.
Whenever baddies did the unexpected it could mean something very good or very bad was going to happen.
"Guess King Hiss finally got the message that he can't beat us this way." She said flicking the blood off her sword before returning it to its sheath, "That'll give us a little while before he tries something new."
"He did not order the retreat because he lost faith in his strategy." Veena said landing on the ground a short distance away, "I sense a new threat has emerged and it has chosen the Snake Men as its first target."
"You think someone new's attacking Hiss' lair?" She asked recalling the meeting where it was revealed that a highly likely location for the Snake Men's HQ had been determined.
"It would make for a good strategy." Ro said approaching on his mount, "Attack an enemy's base while they're away fighting another foe and destroy as much of their resources as possible. If that's the case then I can understand why King Hiss ordered the retreat."
"Yeah he might be cocky and evil but even he knows he can't conquer anything if too many minions are killed or the food to feed them is lost." She said nodding her head in agreement, "Still it's a lucky break for us. The longer this new threat waste's time on King Hiss and the Snake Men the more time we have to recover for whoever comes after us next."
"Or this new threat's victory over King Hiss might simply make it even more powerful." Veena said obviously not convinced that this latest development was a good thing.
"There's too much we do not know my wife." D'Vann said entering into the conversation, "Until that changes it is pointless to speculate. Let us instead tend to the wounded, lay the dead to rest and restore our defences for whatever might come next."
"You are right as always my husband." Veena said reigning in her concerns for the time being, "We must see to the needs of our people before we can prepare ourselves for what might happen next."
Looking at the battlefield and the people still on it she solemnly nodded in agreement. They might have won the day but not without cost in the form of allies in need of healing and others in need of the funerary rites of their respective peoples. She didn't know many of them personally but the one thing she did know was that every one of them believed in King Grayskull's ability to lead the alliance to victory. This was partially due to his great prowess in battle but it was also because he never failed to take seriously the counsel of the various representatives of the alliance. In another time and place a man such as D'Vann might've tried to lead the alliance on his own and only humoured the representatives when they tried to offer advice.
It was these qualities that made him deserving of the title of king and why she worried about the burden he no doubt had on his shoulders.
He might put on a good show for the others but after spending so much time with him she could tell that the battles and their cost weighed on his soul. As suited as he might be to battle D'Vann didn't relish fighting like one might expect and wanted nothing more than a return to the more peaceful times before the arrival of the Snake Men.
~I don't know how much longer I'm going to be here before I have to head back to Earth.~ She thought before a look of determination formed on her face, ~But if I can make this war end any sooner I'll do whatever it takes. It's the least I can do for all the things D'Vann, Veena and Ro have done for me.~
A Good Distance from the Temple of Omens
The Planet Thundera
Fifteen Years After Sunnydale's Halloween
Buffy's POV
"Finally! Some peace and quiet!" She declared upon confirming that she'd escaped her mentor as well as arrived at a place no one would think to look.
While she might've stopped referring to Nerwon as 'the bitch' that didn't mean that she liked the woman's methods and manner all that much. There had to be a better way of teaching someone to become the best warrior they could be then putting them through the meat grinder and putting them down several times a day. Sure some would call it the school of 'tough love' or some macho crap like that but it was a positively antiquated approach.
No matter how little she could argue with the results.
She could honestly say that since coming to this world she'd learned more than a few new tricks and was more than familiar with her new body. Few things surprised her about her new form anymore and while it still didn't feel normal like her human Slayer body would she'd learned not to let it bother her as much anymore. Now not only could she run fast enough to create a sonic boom if she really went all out but by harnessing the physical prowess of a member of the Cheetah clan she was now capable of fighting on a whole different level. She was even better than other clan members that she'd either learned alongside or been pitted against as a means of furthering her training.
And she had a pretty good idea why that was.
The Slayer side of her.
During her early training with Merrick in Los Angeles part of it was helping her get a handle on just how fast she was both with her hands as well as on her feet. In terms of running this involved visiting her school's race track and using it to determine just how fast she could run if she went all out. When they were done she was amazed to find out that if she gave it her all she was four times faster than the fastest normal human ever recorded. If the same thing could be said of her new body then it meant that she was four times faster than the fastest member of the Cheetah clan or could become that fast if she trained long enough. With that kind of speed she'd be able to run literal circles around the vampires and demons back home and slay them before they even realized what'd happened.
~For now it's helped me get some peace and quiet.~ She thought taking the blanket she'd brought along off her back before laying it out on the grass in front of her.
Flopping onto her back she let herself completely relax closing her eyes and letting only her senses of hearing and smelling feed her info about the world around her. It was completely soothing and let her begin to forget about the noise that'd been bubbling around the temple lately. Apparently her mentor had been tossing around the idea that perhaps there should be a new competition amongst the clans for the next leader of the Thundercats. Some hadn't seen the point of it since many expected Lord Claudus' son Lion-O to succeed him once the kid grew up enough and had learned all he needed to become the new Lord of the Thundercats. Nerwon had simply pointed out that these days Claudus was Lord of the Thundercats in name only with Jaga handling the official duties from day to day. She also pointed out that blood was not enough to ensure that Lion-O would be a suitable successor to his father when the time came and that it was unreasonable to force such duties on one so young or potentially unsuited.
When asked who she thought should become the new Lord of the Thundercats Nerwon had simply said that the competition would decide that not her.
Too bad anyone with an inch of intellect would suspect that Nerwon might want her to be considered for the competition.
Personally she had no interest in taking part both because she didn't want the mountain sized responsibility that came with being Lord of the Thundercats and because she'd likely be leaving in a few years anyway. The robed guy hadn't given them a definite date for when they'd be needed to save their Earth but that it was expected to happen within twenty years of their departure. While the seasons on Thundera were different than those on Earth by her best guess there was only four or five years left before the twenty years would be up. If she entered the competition and lost to someone else it wouldn't be so bad plus she'd get the chance of seeing the fruits of her training in a very real setting. However there would exist a chance that she would win the competition and if that happened she'd have no choice but to abdicate the position within a year or two when the time came to return to Earth.
It wouldn't be right to the people of Thundera for her to take up such an honoured position only to give it up so soon because she valued Earth over them.
~Maybe…maybe I should see for myself just where Lion-O is in his training.~ She thought opening her eyes to gaze at the sky above, ~He can't be that bad since being the prince means he's probably had the best teachers since he was old enough to start learning. Maybe I can spot the bad parts that has Nerwon worried and help him get better.~
That'd be the right thing to do.
If he could fix the flaws the kid had then there'd be no reason to doubt Lion-O's fitness to ascend to his father's position and lead the Thundercats. Could she do it in just four or five years?
~It's a bit iffy but still doable.~ She thought feeling optimistic about her odds, ~Just gotta show him how the pros do it and make sure he isn't getting taught with kid gloves just because he's the prince.~
Life after all wouldn't go easy on him just because he was a prince or the future Lord of the Thundercats.
No more than it had when she'd been made the 'one girl in all the world' out of nowhere.
She'd think up a line of logic that'd allow her to meet with Lion-O later though since for now letting all the stress that'd been bottled up fade away was more important. With a deep breath she released it closing her eyes as she did so determined to relax for as long as possible and maybe even catch a 'cat nap'.
At least that'd been the plan before she took in a bit of air through her nose and caught a scent that hadn't been there before.
It was also one that she recognized.
"You're going to need to work a lot harder if you want to sneak up on me…" she said without opening her eyes, "…Tygra."
"Darn it!" Came an angry guy's voice moments before a distortion effect filled the air.
When it faded there stood the student of Dasha that she'd been pitted against every so often whenever her mentor got together with Tygra's. The member of the Tiger Clan was good, diligent in his lessons, but from day one she'd been able to tell that a lack of a real challenge from the other trainees was making the guy cocky. She'd thought it best at their first lesson to pop Tygra's balloon before it got him intro trouble but to her surprise he'd proven himself to be more than just talk.
She still won in the end when he chose to grandstand thinking he'd beat her but he'd taken that as a challenge to his self-proclaimed title of being the best of his generation. Since then they'd sparred a number of times with victory being a close call for both of them and since they hadn't been decisive victories Tygra had insisted on a rematch even if he won. The tiger guy certainly was determined to be the best but she didn't like losing any more than he did so she had no plans on making things easy for him. Every so often he tried to spy on her to 'learn her secrets' but thanks to the amplifying effect of the Slayer essence the natural senses of the Cheetah Clan had been enhanced to four times their normal level.
It made it hard to ignore certain foul smells and unpleasant sounds but it was quite helpful in sniffing out unwanted spies who took an interest in her.
"I thought this whip was supposed to make it impossible for anyone to know I'm even here." Tygra growled in anger looking down at the whip with three small red spheres at the end.
"It can make you invisible but it can't hide the smell of that meat sandwich you like so much." She said after opening her eyes and pointing at the corner of her mouth as a hint for Tygra to do the same.
After a moment of confusion a look of embarrassment covered Tygra's face before he quickly wiped the speck of sauce that always came with the sandwich from the corner of his mouth. Honestly the guy reminded her of people back at Sunnydale High School who tried too hard to pull off the 'cool and confident' routine only to trip over their own efforts. Personally she thought that if he stopped trying to look the part and just worked on being a better person overall he'd fare much better.
"Whatever." Tygra said hurriedly trying to put his mask of 'coolness' back on, "What're you doing so far from the Temple? Taking a 'day off'?"
"You could say that." She replied sitting up on the blanket, "Nerwon is in meetings for the afternoon so I decided a day of rest was called for. Too much training can be bad for you after all."
"You take too much time off and I'll get so far ahead of you it won't even be a match the next time we spar." Tygra teased sounding like even a day off would put her behind him in skill and strength.
"PLEASE! I could take an entire year off and you'd barely notice it when we spar." She said putting on a confident grin, "Besides if you're such an upstanding student shouldn't YOU be training?"
"Unlike you my natural talent and the strength of the Tiger Clan mean I can take it easier with the training." Tygra said doing the whole 'I am the elite' routine again.
"Well if you plan on sticking around could you please be a quiet?" She said laying back down on the blanket, "I don't plan on moving from this spot for at least another two hours."
"I think I'll stick around and make sure you stick to that." Tygra said boldly claiming a spot on the blanket himself before laying back on it, "Try not to snore."
She was about to defend her sleeping habits and make it clear that she did NOT snore when out of nowhere the ground began to shake beneath them. Tygra opened his mouth but a glare from her kept him from spouting some corny line about the ground shaking just for them and so the two of them just looked about as the ground continued to tremble beneath them. It wasn't anything new to her since she was a born and raised Californian but in all the time she'd been on Thundera the number of earthquakes she'd experienced could be counted on one hand with a few fingers left over. Still Tygra didn't look too worried so it was probably normal for Thundera as well.
She was about to relax when she was hit out of nowhere with a bombardment that knocked her for a loop.
However it wasn't a physical attack that assailed her but a mental one as she felt her mind assailed by innumerable bits of information that staggered her. For a second or three she thought that she'd be overwhelmed until for some reason her mind decided to start sorting it all so she could make some sense of it. When that happened though her instincts yelled at her to record what she was being shown for it would not remain in her mind for very long.
Walking while still being assailed proved difficult but eventually she reached the trunk of a large tree and immediately she began to write into it with her claws what needed to be recorded.
"The poison of Plunn-dar…that cuts…" she said even as she wrote it into the tree, "…the poison of Plunn-dar that…corrodes the veins of…Thundera…."
She let out a small gasp of pain when the information caused her brain to spasm but she did not let it distract her from her goal.
It was too important!
"That…which was cast into the depths…that which has been forgotten…" she said the words becoming hard to say clearly, "…has not forgotten its hatred…its master…"
Only peripherally did she become aware of something warm and wet dripping down from her nose and her right eye but since she still had the strength for it she still had a job to do.
"When…when the…son of…the lion lord…" she bit out even as the pain threatened to get the better of her, "…reaches his…twelfth…summer…Thundera's destruction…will…be…nigh…"
As if to punctuate her words a savage spike of pain shot through her mind shattering the walls she'd built there and causing her strength to slip through her fingers. As awareness faded all she could make out was Tygra's exclamation of shock and worry but after that unconsciousness swallowed her whole.
Something she was grateful for since it granted her respite from the pain.
The Temple of Omens
A Little Over an Hour Later
Nerwon's POV
"What in the name of Thundera is going on?" She asked looking at her student even as the healers continued to tend to her student.
It'd been an hour ago when a worried Tygra set foot on temple grounds carrying an unconscious Buffy and what looked like a chunk of a tree that'd been crudely broken out of the main trunk. It hadn't been until one of the faculty had looked closer that the blood dripping from her nose and eye had been noticed. A call had gone out to healers living in or close to the temple while the faculty member had guided the duo to the infirmary. For SOME reason she had been the last to be informed even though as the kitten's primary instructor she should've been among the FIRST to be notified. All she'd been able to do though was rush to the infirmary just in time to see a healer she knew close the doors while some uppity member of the Panther Clan refused to let her follow. It'd only been grudgingly that she'd agreed to wait outside when it was pointed out that the healers needed to focus on Buffy rather than deal with her as well.
Fortunately a concerned student of her friend Dasha, Tygra, had been within arm's reach so she hadn't wasted any time trying to pry what he knew from his lips. What he told her worried her both out of concern for Buffy and for all of Thundera. It was a well known fact that the members of the Cheetah Clan had the gift clairvoyance that sometimes granted them a glimpse into the future. Save in the direst of need it was usually only a few days, months at the most, but occasionally they were warned of a great calamity to come that could not be overcome save with sufficient preparation time. For all but the most experienced among the Cheetah Clan the glimpses into the future came at a cost. Weeks if not months of bedrest were often required in order for a full recovery and for some there were lingering side effects that never left them.
To learn that Buffy had experienced a vision of the future, one powerful enough to draw blood and put her in such a poor state, surprised her though given what set the kitten apart from the rest of the Cheetah Clan she supposed it shouldn't. When Tygra had told her of Buffy clawing words into a tree with every ounce of her strength she asked to see this scrawled message at once.
It was too the Tiger Clan member's credit that he'd taken care not to damage any of the writing when he extracted it from the tree but when she tried to read it she found out that she couldn't. It was written in script that was most certainly of Thundera but not what was commonly used by the people or even those familiar with the planet's past. When determination proved to be pointless in forcing understanding she'd asked Tygra to tell him anything Buffy might have said while in the throes of her vision.
He told her that it'd been difficult to hear anything since Buffy had strained to say anything but that he'd definitely heard 'Thundera's destruction will be nigh'.
That had been enough for her to order that word be sent to Lord Jaga and for other members of the temple to seek out someone fluent in the oldest Thunderan scripts. Until her student recovered enough to tell them what she'd seen herself the carved message was the only information they had. As for the rest something that threatened all of Thundera was not something that should be kept from the stand in for the current Lord of the Thundercats for only Jaga had the authority to mobilize the resources needed to avert disaster.
It had only been a little over ten minutes ago that the healers had emerged from the infirmary and to her relief they appeared to be mostly pleased. One of them had noticed her and recognized that she was Buffy's instructor so he'd walked to her in order to reveal the results of the efforts to heal the kitten. For the most part according to the man the harm done to Buffy was primarily that of exhaustion far exceeding what other Cheetah Clan seers usually experienced. This while troubling was not in and of itself terrible since it could be cured with plenty of bedrest as well as food known to restore a Thunderan's vitality. However it was then that the bad news was revealed in that the potency of the vision Buffy received had put harmful strain on her mind causing quite a bit of damage. With their efforts it would not be fatal but there was concern that the damage might cause reduced visual acuity in Buffy's right eye.
How much of a reduction would only be possible to ascertain after the kitten had woken up and undergone a few tests.
Based on the healer's expression though he did not seem confident it would be minor.
~I hope that whatever you saw was worth the price you've paid for it.~ She thought knowing all too well how important vision was to a warrior.
While there were some such as Lynx-O who managed to train themselves to augment their other senses in order to compensate there was a limit to how far they could go. Even the most renowned of them could have their lack of sight exploited and only the fewest remained as formidable as they'd been before being blinded.
She did not know if Buffy could be considered one of those formidable few.
Hearing approaching footsteps she turned to see that Lord Jaga and Lord Claudus had arrived with the latter keeping one hand on the former so as not to get lost. They'd made good time in getting to the temple making her glad that although not as highly placed amongst the nobles as some her request had been judged serious enough to warrant speed.
"It is good to see you again Nerwon." Lord Jaga said cordially before affecting a sympathetic tone, "I only wish it were under better circumstances. Word of your progress with the young Cheetah kitten has reached the royal court. It would be a loss to all Thunderans if her injuries prove to be too serious."
"I'm sure if Buffy were awake she'd be honoured by your words Lord Jaga." She said respectfully before holding out the chunk of tree upon which the kittens message was inscribed, "However your aid is what's needed now so what happened to my student winds up being worth it. As she was having her vision she carved this into a tree with her claws but its written in a dialect I can't read and I know Buffy doesn't. Can you?"
Curious Jaga took the piece of wood to examine the writing and a few moments later she saw his eyes widen in surprise.
"This…this is written in ancient Thunderan." Jaga said looking captivated by the carved words, "These days the only place you can find examples of it would be in the royal archives or the oldest of ruins."
"Can you read it old friend?" Lord Claudus asked sounding like he realized how serious this could be.
"I believe so. Much of what is written is done in a somewhat mysterious manner but I believe I have discerned its meaning." Jaga replied his eyes moving from line to line on the piece of wood, "It speaks of the Sword of Plun-darr once wielded by the foul Ratilla whom I defeated in battle. Upon achieving victory I cast the weapon into the deepest chasm on all of Thundera in order to ensure it would never be used again. However if what I am reading is true I made a terrible mistake."
"What do you mean?" She asked knowing that mistakes made by the higher ranking nobles tended to be big ones.
"The Sword of Plun-darr was a formidable weapon, nearly equal to that of the Sword of Omens, but at the time I thought it no more than an enchanted blade. If Buffy's vision is true the foul sword possessed a will of its own and it desires to return to its master." Jaga replied sounding like he was cursing himself for being so careless, "However it would seem that it's trapped within the planet itself and with every attempt it makes to free itself it releases energy that is harming the planet."
"Can't we figure out where it is and get it out before it does any more damage?" Lord Claudus asked realizing how serious the danger was.
"We can certainly try but it may already be too late." Lord Jaga replied in a grim tone, "We cannot be certain that it is still at the bottom of the chasm I threw it into all those years ago. Also many poisons, unless they are caught early enough, succeed in taking the life of their victim."
"Nevertheless we must try. I will contact our scientists to immediately begin searching for the Sword of Plun-darr." Lord Claudus declared showing that his will was as strong as ever, "There should be records of when it was in Ratilla's possession when he attacked Thundera. With any luck there will be an energy signature we can trace."
"While you see to that I fear I will have to muster resources for a less optimistic future." Lord Jaga said sounding as though he feared his prediction might be the right one, "I shall attempt to convince the clans to begin formulating plans for a mass evacuation of Thundera. If we cannot remove the Sword of Plundarr in time, if its foul energies have already fatally damaged our world, then we must do all we can to preserve as much as possible."
None of them wanted to believe that such a thing was necessary if an entire world worked to prevent such a terrible future but the consequences of being wrong could not be ignored.
Both groups would do all they could to accomplish their goals and with a little luck one of them would succeed.
All they needed was time.
Now I know a lot of you probably want to know what's happened with the other drafted Scoobies and where they've gone and who/what they've been turned into. I did consider doing that but then I thought that readers might get unhappy with me juggling so many different locations and scenes for so many characters. Instead I chose to focus on Buffy, Dawn and Xander so that you the readers could see their development and imagine the rest going through similar experiences. There will come a time when I'll reveal what happened to Giles and the others but it'll more be in the form of flashbacks or if I can figure out how to do it right have people from the places they were sent to come to the BtVS-MCU universe for one reason or another.
Given the recent trailers for the new Tom Holland Spider-Man movie, the title of the next Doctor Strange movie and how they've amped up the Scarlet Witch's powers it's not impossible. The trick will be to find the right method, the right sequence of logic, to make it happen in a way the majority of the readers will both accept and enjoy.
As for me not going into greater depth with what happened during the years Dawn, Buffy and Xander trained is mostly due to two reasons. First is the fact that this is supposed to be a story where the recruited Scoobies are essentially supposed to fill in for the Avengers since in the third episode of 'Marvel's What if…?' all of them have been killed off by Hank Pym. If I make the time they spent training too big a part of the fan fiction I may lose the readers who just want to see Saiyans, Thundercats and the rest kicking butt in the MCU.
That being said if any of you are fan fiction authors and want to write ficlets about their times on Eternia, Thundera and Dragonball Z Earth go right ahead. Just do you best to make what you write mesh with what I've written as best you can. If there's something you want to introduce into your mini-story that hasn't been mentioned in mind and I think it's cool enough I might just add it to my story making sure to mention you in the notes at the beginning.
The second reason I'm limiting the screen time the training periods are getting is that I believe there wouldn't be that many changes caused by the Scoobies to justify more 'screen time'. Remember that the affected Scoobies might've been biologically or magically changed to closely match who they'd been dressed up as they still need training to become the best they can be. In Xander's case he's a pureblooded Saiyan that naturally I want to have the potential to become the equal of Goku and Vegeta. However with three years at first until the androids show up and everyone needing to train themselves I can't see them being able to spare too much time on Xander's training. Given that most of them have been training since they were kids three years is not enough time for Xander to catch up to the rest of them in time to be a threat to any of the androids. Remember Gohan always had that hidden power inside of him but a year of training hadn't been enough to make him a threat to either Vegeta or Nappa. Even on planet Namek it'd taken some help from Guru unlocking the hidden potential to raise the kid to the level of being able to handle Freiza's minions. Xander doesn't have anyone to unlock whatever hidden potential he might have inside of him. Bottom line I just don't see a way for him to improve enough with three years of training to affect how things went from the arrival of android Gero to the end of the Cell Games. Even with the Hyperbolic Time Chamber it just feels too iffy to me.
Maybe with the seven year gap between the end of the Cell Games and the birth of the Great Saiya-Man he could catch up to the rest of the Z fighters but nothing really happens then.
I'm still having them make some changes but those changes don't need a ton of 'screen time' and a part of me plans on having the consequences of those changes pop up later on.
I hope this explains a few things and works to keep people from dropping this story. C YA!