Hello! I know what you guys are thinking. "What, no Lion-O POV? That's it for The Curse of Ratilla? Straight to Birth of the Blades?" The answer is "Yes, straight to Birth of the Blades. And no, no Lion-O POV." I told you this stretch of episodes would have more drastic alterations *wink wink*
Also, I went back to add warning to last chapter. This chapter, it's just description of blood and pain. Only a small departure from the show's insistence there's no blood, gore, or (much) death.
The mechanical whir of the Lizard army drew closer, a steady, unwavering sound. The sound of their heavy footfalls carried across the desert. Lightning continued cracking.
Leopara ran down the rock-littered path at break-neck speed, which was probably unwise of her given her history of stumbling and that she had a giant, evil sword strapped to her back. Although she could have run on ahead, Cheetara kept pace with her. Together, they desperately searched for the others. Leopara kept praying she would see Lion-O's brilliant red mane poking out from around the corner or above a ride…
But she heard him before she saw him.
"They made it." he said firmly. "There is no way they wouldn't."
"Just prepare yourselves, kids. A whole mountain caved in on them." Panthro said gravely.
With a scattering of rocks in a small shower, she slid over the ridge and landed on her feet next to him. Cheetara lept much more gracefully and landed beside her.
He blinked once, twice- then, he grinned. "You don't have enough faith, General." Lion-O said in a brief moment of mirth. With a more serious expression, he offered her his hand. Catching her breath, Leopara took his hand and was pulled not just to her feet, but into a tight hug. "I was so scared."
Leopara relaxed and slipped her arms around his neck. "I was worried too." She leaned back. "But we got the sword and… now Mumm-Ra is here for it."
Lion-O slid his hands away and approached Panthro at the ledge. "We know. How could they have found us?"
"Too late to worry about that now." Panthro lowered his scope. "But if we move fast, we might be able to slip past them using the same trail as the cats."
Pumyra's reaction was immediate and visceral.
"Are you crazy? Do you wanna bring Mumm-Ra right to them? We didn't free our people to see them slaughtered."
"Do you have a better plan?" Lion-O asked.
Leopara stepped back next to Pumyra. "We can't endanger our people for nothing." she said softly. "Mumm-Ra found us because the sword is calling to him."
"If it's the Sword of Plun-Darr and the Gauntlet he's after, let's use them to draw his forces into the mines. I know its tunnel system better than anyone. It'll give our people time to escape."
"If we're caught, Mumm-Ra will have everything he needs to rule Third Earth."
"Not if it's just me and Pumyra." Leopara glanced at Lion-O. She knew he immediately disliked the idea. "With my magic and her knowledge, we stand a fair chance at keeping it away from him for as long as we can." She paused, meeting his gaze. "Besides, Mumm-Ra also wants the Sword of Omens and the Stones. If we separate like this, it will keep his attention divided."
Lion-O took a deep breath. She could sense, faintly, his emotions swirling in an internal turmoil. "Panthro, Tygra, Cheetara, let's get to the Thundertank. We'll come back for Leopara and Pumyra after they've lost them in the mines."
Panthro considered it for a moment. "Are you sure about this, Lion-O? I don't want you to let your emotions-"
"I'm sure." Lion-O said firmly.
"Let's go." Pumyra said impatiently. Leopara nodded and fell in step with her.
The tunnels of the mines looked similar to those below, in the now-collapsed shaft, except the crystals seemed to grow towards the ceiling. Thunder rolled outside with each crash of thunder. Their footsteps echoed through the labyrinth, pap pap, pap pap.
"Thank you." Pumyra said.
Leopara glanced at her. She was staring straight ahead, her golden gaze never wavering from their path. "What for?"
"Agreeing with me. Lion-O seems to think highly of you."
"I hope so." Leopara said. Sometimes it feels like I'm an afterthought.
"You did kiss, after all."
Pumyra said it so casually that Leopara could have forgotten they were playing keep-away with Mumm-Ra and his giant, evil sword. Instead, they could have been going on a casual walk and gossiping, like all the young ladies in Thundera were supposed to.
"Now isn't a good time to talk about it." Leopara said.
Pumyra shrugged.
"Did you… did you see a leopard, while you were helping the cats?" When Pumyra gave her a flat look, Leopara went on to elaborate. "My… my sister. My older sister, Leoparis."
Pumyra nodded. "Yeah. Saw my sister too."
"You have a sister?"
Another nod. "Pumilee. She's…" Leopara didn't catch the rest of what she said. The gauntlet on her back began to burn like a cold flame, painful to touch but not harmful. She looked back at the purple glow. "What's it doing?"
"It's not the sword… It's Mumm-Ra. I can feel his magic." Leopara said. It wasn't a proper scry, at least she didn't think so. She didn't feel like she was being watched, but she could definitely feel his magic entangling with the sword. "Let's get deeper into the tunnels; it won't be long now until his generals find us."
With each step, Leopara's uneasiness grew. The magic imbued in the sword thrummed rhythmically. She could feel its pulse in her bones, plodding along with her own heartbeat. And it was… loud. Utterly noiseless, but it was overwhelming.
She rolled her shoulders again, taking a deep breath.
This caught Pumyra's attention. "Are you okay?"
Leopara nodded. "Yeah. The sword is just… intense." Lion-O had called it a rival to the Sword of Omens.
He was wrong.
The Sword of Plun-Darr overflowed with its power. There was something it possessed that the Sword of Omens did not; one thing she could identify clearly; it was not made by mortals nor for mortals. The Sword of Plun-Darr had been created with magic unrivaled, and it had been created to amplify that magic a hundred fold.
That was why she had felt it flowing through her when she created that barrier.
The Sword of Omens… she didn't know how Lion-O's ancestor, Leo, could possibly have competed with it. And Mumm-Ra had three of the four stones back then…
"Are you sure you don't want me to carry it?" Pumyra asked.
Viscerally, both she and the Sword of Plun-Darr recoiled. No. "I'm sure."
Pumyra continued staring at her before letting out an aggravated sigh. "Let's just keep go-"
BOOM!
The whole tunnel shook from the force of the explosion, blowing both of them off their feet and backwards onto the ground. The gauntlet dug into her back as she rolled. A sharp pang of pain tore through her mind. Pumyra!
She scrambled towards her while the smoke still billowed around them. If not for the purple glow on her back, they would have been nicely obscured.
"Pumyra!" Pumyra looked up at her, grimacing and clutching her side. A metallic scent hit her as the stale dust settled
Blood.
"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty." A familiar, loathsome voice crooned at them.
Leopara looked up at him with building rage. "Kaynar." she growled. The mad jackalman threw his head back in a fit of manic giggles. Oh, how she despised him.
Lion-O may have been returned to her, but she would never forgive him.
But right now wasn't the time.
"We need to go." Leopara said, yanking Pumyra to her feet and bolting for the tunnel. Pumyra hissed in pain and stumbled along, her longer, more athletic legs helping her keep up. They skidded to a halt.
Whiskers! Their tunnel had been collapsed by that blast.
"Uh-uh-uh!" Kaynar called after them. "That sword doesn't belong to you, kitty-cat."
Leopara turned to face him, giving Pumyra's hand a squeeze- healing magic flowed through her and into the puma where they touched- and in her other hand, she conjured a flame. It burned a bright purple, flickering wildly like it was fit to explode.
"You really want another lesson in playing with fire?"
Kaynar cackled again, but not as uncontrollably as before. He grabbed his spear off of his back and tensed, ready to pounce at her.
Leopara glanced about, thinking quickly.
If she threw this fire, it was going to explode. The Sword of Plun-Darr's magic pulsed through her, begging to be used at her command.
…they were going to need a barrier.
Kaynar sprung at her. "You're like a toy that never breaks!" She and Pumyra jumped back in unison as his spear crashed into the stone floor, splitting it. "I love it!"
Pumyra whipped into action, firing bullet after bullet at the lizard gunmen that surrounded them. Leopara drew her staff to deflect Kaynar's next swing at her, letting it skid alongside her barrier, which flickered purple the moment she willed it into being. Before Kaynar could leap away, she swung her staff out of the way and punched her open hand bearing the Sword of Plun-Darr's flame towards him.
The purple flames erupted into an inferno that consumed the tunnel and her vision. They roared loudly, drowning out the din of the lizard's rifle and even the fwip-fwip of Pumyra's sling.
"Pumyra!" she called again.
Pumyra burst out of the flames, singed but thankfully uninjured, and raced towards Leopara just as the tunnel began quaking in defiance of the explosions. Leopara smacked the butt of her staff into the stone floor, letting her barrier burst forth and envelope them in a protective purple glow.
…which wasn't its normal color at all, but now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
Cracks broke up and down the wall. Crystals splintered and then collapsed all around them in a cacophony of noise.
When all settled, Pumyra looked at her. "Are you trying to kill us?"
"That will slow them down, but we have to keep moving." Leopara said. "As long as we have the sword, Mumm-Ra's forces will keep finding us."
Pumyra didn't bother nodding. She grabbed Leopara's hand again and took off racing back down the tunnel they'd come.
Safety was the last thing Leopara was thinking about. Getting away from Kaynar was first and foremost in her thoughts, followed by, Where's Addicus? Where's Slithe? Why hasn't Mumm-Ra appeared yet?
So it was, without a second thought, Leopara followed Pumyra, even as the tunnel around them opened up into a cavern with a yawning abyss below, and only a bridge of red crystal to span the distance.
"You're not what I expected." Leopara confessed.
"What did you expect?" Pumyra hissed, focused on her footing.
Leopara looked down to watch her own feet. "I thought you'd be angrier."
"I am angr-"
Click click. They both whipped their heads up.
Addicus, flanked by a platoon of lizard gunmen, grinned at them. "It was so nice of you to light the way for us." As ever, Addicus hooted to himself, his own chuckle. More lizard rifles clicked and whirred to life from behind them. They spilled out of the tunnel behind them and onto the red crystal. Gleefully, Addicus approached. "Hand it to me while you're still alive or I'll take it from you when you're dead."
"You handle it very well, though. You were spitting furious with Lion-O, but you've actually been nice company." Leopara replied to Pumyra while holding her hands up. "You want the sword? Come and get it!" She drew the blade- it was short, like the Sword of Omens. But it glowed a vibrant purple as she slashed through the air. The magic unleashed shattered the room like a sonic BOOM!
And she meant it when she said it shattered the room. The crystals cracked and crumbled apart with a sharp clink before bursting like super-heated glass exposed to icy cold water.
"You're crazier than Kaynar!" Addicus cried as they all fell into a free-fall.
The wind roared in Leopara's ears and her dress whipped around her. She and Pumyra reached out for each other and grasped each other's forearm to hold tight. She struggled to reach back and sheathe the dagger form of the Sword of Plun-Darr and drew her staff instead. Purple energy lit the wood and-
They stopped falling, just hanging in the air.
No wind. Just suspended.
"Now I know you're trying to kill us!" Pumyra shrieked.
"I have it under control." Leopara said, trying to reassure her.
"We're dangling over a chasm!"
Leopara raised her staff and they, too, began to rise. She pointed it towards the other side of the chasm, where Addicus had cut them off, and they gently floated over. She stopped channeling the Sword of Plun-Darr's magic and they landed quietly on their feet. "See? Under control."
Pumyra gave her a skeptical look that spoke for itself. "Your eyes are glowing."
"Glowing?"
Pumyra pointed towards the nearest crystal. Leopara rushed for it, looking at her reflection. Oh. Her eyes stared back at her, glowing purple. That was fine… right? She'd seen Lion-O's eyes glow blue when he used Sight Beyond Sight.
"Are you sure you don't want me to take the sword?" Pumyra asked, reaching for it.
Leopara jumped a small bit away. "We need to-"
Before she could react, one of the many strips of linen cloth that wrapped Mumm-Ra's withered body snaked out of the darkness and wrapped around her ankle and yanked hard. She yelped as it pulled her off of her feet, and crashing into the hard, stone floor under her. In the same yanking motion, it dragged her quickly into the cavern and dangled her above the yawning, black chasm she had sent Addicus tumbling down.
She screamed, in terror and frustration both, and grasped for her staff. Before she could grasp it, another bandage shot out from the darkened tunnel and caught her wrist. With a quick yank, it pinned her hand to her side. More and more whipped out from the darkness, coiling around both her and Pumyra. The more they strained and struggled to get free, the tighter they constricted until they both fell limp, exhausted from their futile efforts.
"You have something," Mumm-Ra rasped, "-that does not belong to you." One of the bandages peeled off from her to wrap around the Sword of Plun-Darr and lift it over her shoulders- then got caught tugging when the strap was pinned between her arm and her side. With a flicker of annoyance, the numerous bandages of Mumm-Ra whipped her towards the wall.
Several sharp shards dug into her back as she hit the wall with yet another cry.
She lay there, gasping for breath and taking stock of her injuries. Everything hurt. The crystals in her back stung, and her ribs protested against every breath she drew. Her wrists ached and her legs felt bruised.
Whiskers…
"Did you enjoy its power?"
Leopara grit her teeth. This was bad. She didn't expect Mumm-Ra to sneak up on them like that. She thought she'd sense him coming-
She thought wrong.
And Pumyra… Pumyra was still dangling over the chasm. "Hold on, Pumyra." Leopara focused her remaining magics to healing herself- just enough so she stopped bleeding down her back and to take off the worst of the pain breathing- and struggled to stand. The crystal she stood on was slick with her blood. "I'm not going to let you fall."
Mumm-Ra laughed. It was gleeful and sadistic.
"Don't worry about me!" Pumyra hissed. "Run! Get out of here- save yourself!"
Leopara shook her head. "I'm not going to-"
A violent explosion of purple lightning tore through the chasm. Instinctively, she recoiled, expecting to be struck with its full force.
Instead, Pumyra's hoarse scream tore through the air. Pumyra thrashed against her bonds despite the futility, then fell still as the burst dissipated with only an errant crackle. And then, as if swatting a fly, Mumm-Ra flicked his hand and tossed Pumyra aside.
"Pumyra!"
Leopara lept down to the next crystal while gathering the winds to catch her in her hands. More lightning burst and crackled above her, crashing into crystal and the stone walls. Rocks, dust, and splinters showered all around her and shook the cavern. "Ancient Spirits of Evil," Mumm-Ra's voice boomed. Leopara tuned out the rest of his transformation.
Please, please be enough!
She threw the ball, just in time to be tangled up by Mumm-Ra's bandages and yanked directly to him. The cold metal of his gauntlet wrapped around her torso and arms, holding her in place.
"Before I kill you, you will tell me where He is."
Leopara struggled against him. If only she could touch the wrappings and unravel them!
The familiar sensation of searing electricity burned through her veins, but oh-so-much worse now. She screamed loudly.
Lion-O…!
The lightning abated. Mumm-Ra shook her. "Where is He? I know He has spoken to you. I heard His voice in the Astral Plane."
Voice? …Astral Plane?
A jolt went through Leopara.
Yes, the voice; she remembered now!
"Before your next Summer's Solstice, find me! Mumm-Ra must be stopped!"
"Even if… I knew, I wouldn't… tell you." Leopara said through grit teeth.
"Perhaps your own pain won't motivate you, but what of hers?" Cruel and gleeful, Mumm-Ra pointed his blade at Pumyra.
"Why…? Does he scare you, Lord Mumm-Ra?" Leopara asked. Now to-
Anger and indignation swelled within Mumm-Ra. He threw her, once again, into the wall. Her head cracked on the stone behind her.
-find my opportunity! she thought through the dizzying pain.
Mumm-Ra aimed his gauntlet at her, accumulating magic.
Leopara lunged for it, grasping it. She clung to the memory of Lion-O, remembered when the demons of the Tiger Clan threatened to overwhelm them- and let out all her feelings, pulling the magic from the Sword of Plun-Darr itself.
An orb of white light burst from her chest, its radiant white light washing away the room.
When Leopara awoke, she was being carried. Whoever was carrying her had a slight limp that jostled her every few steps and was breathing hard.
"Just… a little farther…" Pumyra rasped.
"Pum…yra…" Leopara drawled.
Pumyra twisted her head to look at her, or Leopara thought she did. Leopara's vision swam and blurred, unable to focus. "You're awake."
"You're… oh…kay?"
A nod. "That wind you created knocked me onto a crystal. You saved us."
Leopara sighed with relief. "And… the sword?"
"It's long gone, and so is Mumm-Ra."
Whiskers. A part of her vainly hoped the Mumm-Ra would have transformed into a bird and magically dropped the sword and gauntlet, but that was wishful thinking.
She was thankful to be alive.
Leopara closed her eyes. She focused on dredging up what scraps of her magic must have remained and pulled them forth to flow through her, healing her wounds as much as she could. It wasn't much, but her eyes were able to focus when she opened them and the pounding headache subsided.
"I can walk now." Pumyra paused and looked at her quizzically. "I healed myself a little. I think that's all I had left." Pumyra nodded and stopped, squatting a little so Leopara could slide off her back. "Thank you. I'm sorry I can't heal you more…" she said, gently touching the fur near a gash in her shoulder.
"I'm fine. I've had worse injuries." Pumyra said.
Together, they half-walked, half-limped through the tunnels until light shone ahead of them. They both sighed with relief at the sight. "A way out, at last."
"I told you I knew these tunnels better than anyone else."
"I never doubted you."
They pressed on, emerging to the dark, thundering skies of Mount Plun-Darr. A crash of lightning flashed.
"Leopara! Pumyra!" A distant voice hollered. Leopara looked around for the source.
A grey plume of dust was slowly but surely traveling farther away. It was smaller than she remembered from earlier; surely the Thundertank had gotten a few good licks in.
And speaking of the Thundertank…
There it was, parked at the foot of the mountain.
"They're over here!" Cheetara cried out.
They barely had time to brace themselves before the others and- important for Leopara and justifying the word 'brace'- Snowmeow descended upon them. Cheetara, followed by Lion-O who slid down the mountain in his rush, were upon them first.
Cheetara started picking over their scratches and bruises when Lion-O wrapped his arms around Leopara and hoisted her up in the air. "You're safe! You're okay, you okay!" He repeated to himself.
"I'm… in pain." Leopara replied in a wheeze.
"Oh." He set her down carefully and looked her up and down. His expression was fraught with concern. Anger, frustration, and a feeling of helplessness swirled inside of him.
Leopara gently rubbed his cheek. "We'll be okay, but… I don't have anymore magic to heal us right now." Snowmeow gently headbutt her arm and she turned her affection towards him, slowly stroking the top of his head and murmuring reassurances to him.
"What happened?" Tygra asked as he galloped up.
"We saw the lizards retreat and knew something must of happened." Panthro added.
Leopara nodded. "Mumm-Ra… Mumm-Ra got the sword." She rubbed at her arm and turned her gaze down so she didn't have to see their disappoint atop of having to feel it.
The disappoint that settled over them was quiet and fraught with worry and anxiety. Except Snowmeow, who didn't care for such matters and was just happy to see her.
"We'll just have to get the next stone before he does." Lion-O said firmly. "We couldn't have kept the sword from him forever."
"Did the cats get away?" Pumyra asked. The others nodded. "Then we need to go, before the Lizards change their mind and come back to finish us off."
Panthro nodded. "Kid's right."
"Let me help you." Lion-O said, resting his hand on her back. With her nod, he bent down and picked her up in a bridal carry. "I've got you."
Leopara smiled at him.
He did, in fact, have her. For now… that would have to be enough.
The day was lost, but their lives weren't.
Thank you for reading! A special thanks to The Night-Whisperer, Heart of the Demons, Frankannestein, Hestia28, AndrianaWarrior7, and Stone-Man85! Before any of you [insert At symbol here] me about Pumilee, consider: I enjoy making you yell at me. "How could you mention they bumped into Pumilee AND NOT SHOW HER?" and "We want to see the girl, Panther." I know, I know. Also, haha, I bet you guys forgot about the voice in the Astral Plane. Lol.
On a real life note: during April had caught Covid, and since then I've been struggling with long Covid. I cannot promise consistent updates, as the brain fog has made writing difficult.