Chapter 5: Into the Storm
"Thundercats, Ho!"
The Eye of Thundera pulsed with pure scarlet energy, electric tendrils sparking out and sending waves of static dancing across Leppria's flesh and causing her fur to stand on end. Even though Lion-O stood a fair distance from her, she felt the Sword of Omen's power radiate from the tips of the claws on her toes to the roots of her barley brown mane.
She bared her teeth and growled at the tentacle wrapped tight around her, reaching for the biggest wrench on her father's toolbelt and wailing the slimy arm with it, the tentacle curling in pain as it promptly dropped her.
Lion-O used the sword to begin cutting the monster to ribbons, the severed arm that once held him left writhing on the deck. The spots across Leppria's cheeks creased as her lip curled in disgust, but her attention quickly moved back to the young king as he stood before the beast, tall and proud as the Eye of Thundera glowed in his hold.
"The food's fightin' better'n you!" Tunar remarked to the other fishmen, openly gaping at the lion he had wanted to grind into chum only minutes ago. Green eyes widened as she felt the ship begin to rock, more tentacles belonging to the monster the captain called the Ramlak slipping and surrounding the ship like a flower slowly closing its petals as night fell. Lion-O turned and slashed two more arms, barely sparing them a glance before moving on to the next. "That's the spirit boyo! Show this cowardly crew how it's done!"
She watched as Cheetara beat several points of a slimy limb with her staff, using the length of wood better and deadlier than she could ever use a sword, Prince Tygra nearby emptying the clip of his plasma pistol into the monster's flesh. Her claws tightened around her wrench, charging towards the last remaining tentacle and slamming the metal tool against its skin with bruising strength, as it retreated with a piercing shriek she gave it a kick for good measure, vowing to never eat fish again after a day like this.
As the Ramlak disappeared back into the Sand Sea, Leppria found herself beside Prince Tygra as he reloaded his gun, her own makeshift weapon covered in slime as the Thundercats prepared to face the fishmen just as they had done the Ramlak.
Tunar however did seem nearly as concerned, "That's right! Run, you coward!" he howled over the side of the ship. "You can't escape me forever! I'll follow you straight into the flaming pits of Magmel before I give you up!"
He turned his back to the sands, a groveling sigh leaving his lips as the pipes in his prosthetic made a similar sound. Leppria exchanged a look with the tiger beside her, the two of them making similar expressions of concern before reaffirming their gazes on their captors. The fish's fixation on the monster that nearly tore them to shreds was well past the border of insanity, which did not spell good news for their pathetic little party.
"Now," Lion-O began, face-to-face with Tunar. "What were we talking about before the interruption?"
Something flashed in the fishman's eye as he laughed, something that rubbed Leppria even further the wrong way. "I believe we were discussing how we'd fillet you, but had I known you were such fine warriors, I would have gladly served you my own first mate on a platter!"
He threw his arm across the king's shoulders, uncaring of the horrified look on the first mate's face, his orange scales crinkled in frustration. For a second the leopard almost felt bad for him.
"Listen up fishies!" the captain roared, "These fine fellows are our new shipmates! Treat em like you would your own scaly brothers! And fix the little ones some food!"
The twins, somehow still bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, visibly brightened. "Food!"
The wily pair quickly followed the fish that had wanted to eat them not even an hour ago bellow deck, and Leppria made to follow them before she was stopped by the first mate. He held out a scaly hand and pointed to the wrench grasped tightly in her own.
"You fix things?" he asked.
She looked at her wrench and back at him, cautiously answering, "Yeah?"
His large lips quirked into a smirk as he moved his arm to point to the front of the ship, specifically, at what Leppria had originally thought to be a cannon.
However, now that she was really looking at it she could see thick wires jutting out and attaching to the deck, and a large control panel right in front of the tilted seat, right between the two steering triggers.
She let out an unashamed squeal as her viridian eyes sparkled with excitement, not unlike the kittens when food was mentioned, only to her this was even better than food.
Leppria was looking at a plasma cannon.
The first mate nudged her side, but she hardly felt it. "You fix?"
It took every ounce of willpower not to scream, "Yes!" before she gave her wrench a lucky twirl and practically attacked the cannon's control panel, her fingers flying through buttons and wires as sparks popped out from the purring piece of machinery.
"Welcome to the crew!" the fishman laughed as he left her there, the leopard consumed by her work and not paying attention to Cheetara's distrust of Tunar or Prince Tygra emptying his stomach over the side of the ship.
Forget the Ramlak, this ship was a gift.
"Try it now!" she called from beneath the cannon, tightening the mounting bolts that kept it attached to the ship before sliding back out, her forehead smeared with grease.
The first mate, Finnias, climbed behind the steering panel, giving the ignition button a push and cheering when the cannon engine gave a loud bang before rumbling smoothly, purring like the happiest kitten in the world, other crew members joining in alongside him. The wires attached the Thundrilium battery whirred and hummed as they filled with purple light, filtering into cannonballs of pure plasma ready to be fired at will.
Leppria grinned proudly as she tucked her wrench back into her belt and wiped the grease and sweat from the fur of her brow.
Finnias gave her a pat on the back, "Very good! The cannon's been on the fritz for days now and we haven't been to port long enough to fix it." He explained, casting a brief glance towards the crows nest where the captain and Lion-O were perched, chatting away while everyone else worked.
She frowned, figuring that an obsession with a sand monster didn't leave many opportunities to make basic repairs, no wonder the ship was practically falling apart. Her eyes brightened again when Finnias handed her a rag, gratefully taking it to clean her hands of the motor oil they were covered it, and realizing that despite trying to eat her a few hours ago, the fishmen aside from Tunar weren't so bad.
"Glad to help, anything else that needs fixing?" she asked, eyes sparkling again at the thought of more tech on the ship she could get her hands on.
The carp nodded, leading her over to the steering wheel, the mechanism made entirely of metal and attached to a massive lever placed just beside it. "A storm hit us hard a few days ago, ever since the static bouncer system has been all over the map." He explained, Leppria listening intently as she examined the steerage device. "If it goes on much longer like this we'll be lost to the sands."
His words were a grim warning, but the leopard felt like she was the luckiest cat alive.
Never in her life could she have dreamed of being able to see a ship that had a static bouncer system! Using the friction of the constantly moving sand below to generate powerful static electricity and use it to bounce between the ship and the turbulent sea, generating enough power to maintain a steady hover.
"This is amazing!" she mewed, running her claws delicately over the small reactor as if it were as precious as a newborn cub. Finnias flinched at her almost mad enthusiasm, backing away slowly as she zipped around with different tools, attacking the static lever with a flurry of freckled fur as she snapped her welding goggles over her face.
The spark-plug that connected the lever to the series of wires and Thundrilium shards that powered the static bouncer was completely blown out, much to her disappointment. If the ship was gonna stay above the sand they would need a new one.
She paused in her work to find Finnias and ask where he kept the spare parts, when the ship rumbled, the wood creaking and trembling beneath her paws. Thunder clapped nearby as spider legs of lightning shot into the sand, the wind picking up and pushing against Leppria's kinky curls. She raised a hand to protect her eyes as she watched black clouds draw closer to the ship.
A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the shadowy silhouette of the Ramlak lurking in the tumbling waves.
"There!" Lion-O called from the crow's nest. "A quarter arc of the sun's journey! Straight ahead!"
The Ramlak's high pitched screams echoed across the sky, and Leppria felt a cold drop a sweat slide down her face as she realized what was about to happen. Tunar and Lion-O were steering them right back into battle on a crumbling ship with no plan.
A growl built in her throat as she watched her king fix his gaze on the monster, a look in his eyes far too similar to the mad captain, full of anger and hatred not meant for the Ramlak but aimed for it anyway.
"Quit floppin' around ya lazy lumps!" Tunar bellowed, "The chase is on!"
She looked back down at the switch to the static bouncer, the wires she'd pulled out sparking and popping angrily as the helmsman steered the ship towards the bubbling cauldron of sand around the Ramlak. A groan of irritation left her as she sought out the captain, ignoring the look of disdain that came from his one working eye.
"Captain! The ship won't survive in that storm! We have to sail around it!" she told him, having to yell above the building wind and blasting thunder.
"And lose the Ramlak's trail?" he spat back in her face, standing much taller than her, "Full speed ahead!"
When the helmsman hesitated, Lion-O took his place, steering the ship deeper into the blackening abyss of clouds. Hissing in Tunar's direction, Leppria ran to her king's side, looking up at him with pleading eyes. "The ship's reactor isn't stable, if it goes in that storm we're all doomed!"
He glared at her and she flinched, seeing only rage staring back at her. "The only thing that's doomed is the Ramlak!" he roared, dismissing her completely before turning his full attention back to the furious waves before him. "Into the storm we go!"
The fuzzin' idiot was going to get them all killed!
The frenzied waves beat hard against the ship, and as more starbursts of electricity sparked from the overworked static bouncer Leppria knelt beside it, holding the connecting wires to the spark plug by hand and ignoring the flashes of pain from the popping circuits; if the plug was disconnected the ship would plummet into the sea, so as hard as it was becoming to hold on with the whipping of sand over the rail of the ship and against her back she knew the alternative was worse.
Prince Tygra roared over the storm, "Lion-O this is madness! What are you doing?!"
From the looks of it the taller prince was also struggling against the wind, the dark stripes in his fur still slightly pale from his bout of seasickness.
Even through the thunder of the storm Leppria heard the bitterness behind Lion-O's harsh reply, a commanding roar building in his throat.
"Not letting anyone stand in my way!" his blue eyes were harsh as they focused on the Ramlak, ignoring his brother and people. "Not a storm! Not you!"
As much as she wanted to punch him in the face or smack him upside the head with the business end of her wrench, the leopard bit her tongue and focused instead on keeping the ship above the sands. The deck under her knees creaked loudly as it struggled to hold itself together, and while the sparkplug was only connected to the circuit via the barest thread of copper, it still worked.
She just needed to keep all the pieces together somehow.
Holding them together by hand was out of the question, unless she wanted more burns scorching her fur, but maybe she could salvage a few more minutes if she… yeah… that could work.
Leppria took the two connecting chords and tied them together in a fist-sized knot, the spark plug nestled tight in the center.
It was crude, but it bought them some time.
Struggling to keep her balance, she ran to Cheetara, the cheetah wobbling but somehow bobbing gracefully at the same time. A single look passed between them, concern marring her ruby irises. "Captain, please!" she called out to Tunar, "The ship can't hold on much longer!"
A mass of orange and black fur suddenly slammed against her back, pushing her and Cheetara to the deck. Prince Tygra leaned over the two women, shielding them with his body from the debris that landed in a heap where they once stood.
The storm was becoming powerful enough to suck up any stray piece of wood or rubble, throwing it around and damaging the ship even more.
Captain Tunar made a beeline for the plasma cannon, his massive, scaled body fitting perfectly behind the controls as he began blasting debris out of the sky in flashes of bright purple, the plasma bolts exploding against whatever they hit. Leppria felt the fur along her spine puff out against the fabric of her top, Prince Tygra's arms curling protectively around her and Cheetara.
She blinked and his weight disappeared, the tiger grabbing his whip and unfurling it against a piece of flying driftwood with a resounding crack. The golden cleric also rose to her feet, her staff extending in her hands and holding firm as it was used to smash more wreckage into harmless splinters.
Leppria managed to squint against the wind, blinking grains of sand from her verdant eyes as she saw Tunar laugh against the rampaging storm, his voice every bit as disgusting as the Ramlak's cry.
"Isn't it exhilaratin'!?"
Lion-O left the helm, climbing the mast and slashing at anything that came for him, the Sword of Omens humming with power as it cut through wood and metal alike.
Her stomach dropped when he looked up at her king, his eyes feral and blazing like a fire that had blown out of control, consuming and destroying everything in its path without care of consequence.
"Don't forget the save some for the Ramlak!" he roared, features scrunched and manic with madness just as Tygra had said.
Leppria bit her tongue until iron splashed across the back of her tongue.
If they somehow survived this she was going to kill him!
Leppria is absolutely going to punch him in the face before the day is over.