Chapter 10

Cheetara waited for the end. She stood there expecting to see Lion-O fall and then Panthro would turn to her. To avoid watching the cat she loved die, she closed her eyes. There was a shout and a cry of pain. Suddenly, Cheetara felt big muscular arms wrapped around her shoulders.

"It's ok. You can open your eyes." At first, the cheetah couldn't believe that the voice she heard was Lion-O. Slowly, she opened them. Looking around she realized that Panthro lay on the ground moaning she was about to make a move but Lion-O made the first.

He reached Tygra and checked his friend for a pulse. The tiger was still breathing but he had a massive stomach injury. Lion-O was unsure if he should move him and Cheetara went over to Panthro to see how badly he was hurt.

Apparently, the Sword of Omens protected its master well. Lion-O had moved fast enough and deflected the shot right back at the panther, hitting him in the chest. The wound wasn't that severe and Cheetara knew that Panthro would pull through. She knew that somehow they had to move him to the sickbay without transferring the evil inside them to one another.

"We need to secure Panthro so we can move Tygra. He needs help as fast as we can give it." Lion-O interrupted her thoughts. Cheetara looked around the room and found what she was looking for, a pair of handcuffs.

"How are we going to get them on without touching him?" She asked the Lord of the ThunderCats, handing him the shackles. Lion-O slipped his hand into the Claw Shield and walked over to the still moaning panther.

Taking the left cuff in hand with the Claw Shield, Lion-O braced his friend's wrist. He then did the same for the right cuff. When he turned around, the Lord of the ThunderCats found that Cheetara was gone. But before he got a chance to get upset, she was back.

"I think that this might help." The cheetah held a stretcher.

"Good thinking. Come on help me move him." Lion-O half smiled and gently took hold of Tygra's shoulders. Cheetara grabbed his feet and they transferred their unconscious friend to the stretcher.

The two carried him to the sickbay in silence. Both were worried that they didn't have enough medical expertise to help the tiger. At that moment, WilyKit and WilyKat came running down the hall.

"Pumyra and Ben-Gali are on their way!" They shouted. Lion-O and Cheetara continued to walk Tygra down the hall. The Lord of the ThunderCats motioned for the ThunderKittens to follow them.

As soon as they had Tygra hooked up to the machines in the sickbay, they knew that they were in trouble. The wound had effectively sealed itself up, as most blaster wounds do, but there was possible organ damage and it looked as if their friend would need some blood. Neither Lion-O nor Cheetara knew how to go in surgically and unfortunately Pumyra was still hours away. Tygra didn't have that long.

"WilyKit, WilyKat, go to the new arrival settlement. Round up as many tigers you can and bring them back here." The two looked at him and wanted to ask questions but the look on the Lord of the ThunderCats face was one not to be questioned. Quickly, the two raced off to find their Space Boards.

"Stay with Tygra and see if you can find needles and those plastic baggies. I'll go get Panthro." Lion-O ordered.

"Wait! You can't touch him. If that evil transfers back into you, I may not get you back. Use this." The cheetah handed him a Cat Suit. Lion-O quickly put it on and headed for the door.

To Be Continued…