Chapter 3

Cheetara opened her eyes slowly. Her head was pounding and the light hurt her eyes. The cheetah tried to sit up but found that that was quite impossible. She sighed and then heard someone walking over to her.

"Welcome back." Tygra smiled as he removed the restraints keeping her in the bed.

"Oh, my head." Cheetara muttered. Tygra helped her sit up and then he dimmed the lights.

"Is that a little better?" He asked.

"Yes. But…" The cheetah stopped talking. Something inside her began to shout. She grabbed her head and tried to quiet the noises and angry feelings. Tygra was dumbstruck but soon regained his composure. The tiger injected something into her arm and a few moments later the pain was gone.

"What was that?" He asked.

"I don't know. There are people screaming and horrible hateful thoughts buzzing around in my head. Whatever you gave me quieted them." Cheetara told him as she began to open her eyes fully. It longer hurt to see but it was hurtful to see that someone wasn't there.

"Where is Lion-O?" She asked.

"He's probably greeting the new arrivals. You have been out for two days." The tiger smiled but it was obvious to the female ThunderCat that he wasn't telling her the whole story.

"Why don't we get you cleaned up?" Tygra said changing the subject. Cautiously, Cheetara agreed and the tiger handed her a towel. She went into the bathroom and carefully pulled off her uniform. That's when she became aware of the bruises on her knuckles.

The cheetah looked at her hand in astonishment. She couldn't remember punching anyone or anything.

"You can't take a shower if you don't turn on the hot water." Tygra suggested helpfully from the other side of the door. Without thinking, Cheetara turned on the water and stepped into the shower. She let the warm water run over her while she continued to stare at her hand.

Soon the water was cold and she shivered. Shutting off the water she grabbed the towel and slowly began to dry herself off. It was then that she noticed the top of her foot was turning a funny color.

What did I punch and kick at, she asked herself. Completely confused, the cheetah continued to dry off. She wrapping her hair up into the towel, she saw that a clean uniform had been placed just inside the door on a chair.

Getting dressed quickly, Cheetara went to her room. There she pulled out fresh under things and got redressed. Tygra hadn't gotten them, which she was grateful for. Sitting down on her bed, she removed the towel from her hair and brushed it out.

Then the cheetah got up and left the room. It bothered her that Lion-O hadn't come to see her and that it had been obvious that Tygra wasn't telling the truth. Walking into the control room of Cat's Lair, she found Panthro at the sensors.

"Well hello there. How are you feeling?" The panther asked.

"Better; where is Lion-O?" She asked.

"Right here." A voice said from behind her. Cheetara spun around. She caught sight of the healing bruise on his face and the strange look in his eyes. Before the cheetah could say anything the 'Lord of the ThunderCats' wrapped his massive arms around her.

She didn't say or do anything as violent images filled her mind. The punching, kicking, and fighting between them played over in her head. Cheetara wanted to break away but before she could 'Lion-O' let go of her.

It was as if someone had flicked a switch and the lion backed away from the cheetah. The look in his eyes had changed. His whole demeanor changed. Panthro was about to ask what was wrong when the Lord of the ThunderCats turned and walked away.

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Little did his friends know what was happening. An internal war was waging at this very moment. Lion-O tried to fight the evil presence that had taken over his mind. The evil being was fighting hard as well. It hadn't expected Lion-O's resistance. No one had ever resisted before.

To Be Continued…