Chapter 17
"Ho!" Lion-O shouted as a bolt of energy shot forth from the Sword of Omens as it extended to its full length. Ben-Gali ducked and ran from the room to help Pumyra with Tygra as the shot hit its intended target in the shoulder. Lion-O wanted to get his chance to use the Cat Signal.
"Ho!" Another bolt shot from the Sword and hit Panthro's other shoulder. However, this didn't seem to bother the panther as he continued to fight.
"Ha! You think some flesh wounds are going to stop me!" The evil Panthro smirked. Lion-O just thought to himself, I have to get him out into the open. The Lord of the ThunderCats moved quickly and had the Sword of Omens retract to its normal length. Slowly, he backed up towards the sickbay doors and shoved the blade into the Claw Shield. Panthro kicked and punched at the Lord of the ThunderCats and followed him out into the hallway.
The lion was able to block and fight back using the Claw Shield but he didn't know for how long. Panthro was usually very strong but now with the evil inside him he seemed unbeatable. They continued to fight down the hallway toward the main entrance of Cat's Lair. Panthro spun around and his foot landed on the side of Lion-O's face. The Lord of the ThunderCats fell down but not before he grabbed Panthro's right arm. They continued to punch and kick each other as they neared the entrance to Cat's Lair. Both were so busy focusing on the other that they didn't notice how close to the stairs they were.
The Lord of the ThunderCats managed to get some space between them by hitting Panthro in the groin. As the panther backed up, Lion-O backed toward the stairs. The hit had only dazed Panthro for a few moments and he pounced on Lion-O. Before they knew it, the two were tumbling down the stairs at the entrance to Cat's Lair.
Quickly,Lion-O got his strong muscular legs on Panthro's stomach in an effort to separate them. This worked and the panther was flung slightly away form the lion. As fast as he could, Lion-O retrieved the Sword from the Claw Shield and raised it above his head.
"Thunder, thunder, thunder, THUNDERCATS HO!" The Cat's Signal shot into the air from the Eye of Thundera. Panthro had come to a stop and his eye's lit up. The evil struggled to keep the real Panthro down. Lion-O watched as he friend fought internally and quickly raised the Sword up to chest level and pointed the blade at the panther.
"Sword of Omens, give me the power to remove the evil from Panthro!" The Lord of the ThunderCats commanded. A blast from the Sword encircled the panther and pulled a transparent figure out of him. Lion-O charged forward and sank the blade of the Sword of Omens into it.
A loud, high pitched noise arose from the shadowy figure followed by a loud roar from Panthro. Suddenly, a bright light came from the wounded figure and engulfed the two ThunderCats. Lion-O shielded his eyes as the light became incredibly intense and then he was knocked back by a large force. The shadowy figure erupted into thousands of pieces.
Lion-O blinked and rubbed his eyes. No matter how hard he tried, the Lord of the ThunderCats couldn't see. He then heard shouts from the others.
"Lion-O! Are you all right?" He immediately recognized Cheetara's voice.
"I can't see. I can't see!" His voice grew hysterical.
"It'll be all right. Pumyra can help you." Cheetara tried to comfort him then she heard the puma shout.
"I don't have a pulse!" Pumyra and Ben-Gali had gone to see if Panthro was ok. Quickly, the puma had her husband began chest compressions and she tried mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the panther.
To Be Continued…
