The Curse

Chapter 3: Panthera Leo

The world is quiet save for the roar of the engine as we travel at speed towards the forest. However, the Tank slows to a stop before Panthro stands up and turns the floodlights on, illuminating the surrounding areas in a blinding false dawn. Where could Lion-O have gone? I jump out of the vehicle and search for any signs of him having been here, eventually being rewarded by spotting a trail of huge paw prints left in the mud not too far away.

"Over here! Lion-O went this way!"

"He's likely going to be very frightened and skittish, we need to continue on foot as to not scare him even further."

I continue on into the forest at an increased pace, following the tracks left by the lion. Thankfully his scent hasn't changed much, and it's fresh which means that it hasn't been long since he passed through here. I see a slick patch of red through, and when I put my hand against it, my palm comes away bloody. He's either still healing or he's injured. I start walking again, pushing myself into a slow jog as the forest makes way to dense jungle, and that's when I hear the faint sound of roars from off in the distance.

"That has to be him!" I say, my tone urgent as my friends catch up with me. There's no other creature who can make that sound alive on the planet, but this area of the jungle is known to be full of traps that the Warrior Maidens use for hunting. It's likely that Lion-O didn't see one and in his blind panic, got caught.

I speed up to a run, covering the distance as quickly as I possibly can as the roars increase in urgency and loudness, before I crest a hill. The huge lion is laying at the bottom of the ditch, roaring mournfully and desperately trying to pull one of his front paws free of something. Every struggle just adds to the pool of red that is slowly forming beneath him, and it's almost as if I can feel his emotions as my own as he whimpers and grumbles, trying to chew through whatever his paw is caught in.

"Lion-O!"

He looks up at me as I gently call down to him, ears laying flat as his struggles increase. I carefully walk down the slope, my clothing snagging on thorns and brambles as I carefully approach the injured, trapped lion. He growls and snarls as I approach, and that's when I notice that the trap around his paw is a length of metal wire which is cutting deep into his skin. Definitely not something belonging to the Maidens.

"Hey, easy. Easy. It's okay."

The lion tries to pull away, desperately tugging at the trap which only serves to coil it even tighter into his flesh. He doesn't react well to this and launches at the wire, desperately trying to chew through it with blood dripping from his mouth.

"Stop. Stop, it's okay."

"Cheetara, what are you doing?"

I hear Panthro call down to me as I wearily approach our trapped leader. He's twisted himself so much whilst trying to escape that he's tightly wound the wire around the entirety of his front leg, and I know that the only way to get him out is to cut it but if we do, who's to say that he won't run again.

"Panthro, we need the wire cutters from the Thundertank and I hope Pumyra brought sedatives. He's caught in a trap and we'll have to cut him free."

I turn back to the lion and gently continue my approach as my friends join me, saying soothing things to try and calm him and it has the desired effect; Lion-O stops struggling and just lays down, his head resting on his paws. That's better. I kneel beside the huge animal and gingerly place a hand on his brow, surprised when he gently nudges his huge muzzle into my palm with a low grumble. His fur feels completely different to what it does normally; it's very coarse and oily, and his mane is incredibly thick and rough.

He grumbles again and places his head in my lap, and the sheer weight takes me by surprise as Pumyra gets to work inspecting his paw.

"He's massive. I never would have thought that these guys were so big…" she gasps in awe at being so close to him, but when she tries to unwrap the wire from his leg, he suddenly jolts and snaps his huge jaws where her hands had been mere moments before, and even I rapidly back away in fear. We're definitely not going to be able to free him without somewhat subduing him first and it's likely that, in his confused state, he won't take too kindly at being stuck with a needle.

"I have the wire cutters and the sedatives. I'm just glad that I didn't take the tranquilliser gun out of the 'Tank."

I watch as Panthro makes his way down to us, stopping when he sees our terrified faces.

"It's a good thing because he just snapped at Pumyra for trying to free him. He's scared and in pain which makes him dangerous. We'll have to dart him before we try to free him."

I watch as Pumyra carefully fills one of the darts with the serum before loading the gun, and Lion-O lets out a vicious roar when the dart strikes him in the front shoulder. He springs to his paws and tries to pull away again, but it doesn't take long until the dart takes effect and he lays down again, and only then do we dare approach. Pumyra checks him over, before sighing in relief.

"He's out and will be for a while so we'll be able to get him back to the Lair easily, but now to cut him free. Panthro, be careful of where you cut though because you can't get too close to his skin."

I watch with baited breath as the panther carefully snips away at the wires, unwinding them from around the huge paw. I can see the extent of the injuries, as the wire has cut through the lion's flesh and in certain areas, I'm sure that I can see bone. Pumyra curses heavily, washing and bandaging the injuries as best she can but she doesn't exactly look too positive.

"That wire has cut down to the bone in some areas. We need to get him back to the Lair as soon as we can but going on the look of him, he easily weighs at least five hundred pounds. It'll be a struggle to get him up the slope unless there's a tarpaulin in the Tank that we can use?"

"What on Third Earth is going on down there?"

We all look up then at the voice, seeing both Willa and Nayda stood at the lip of the ditch, some of their people surrounding them and brandishing their bows. The pair come down to join us, but recoil in shock at the sight of Lion-O laying in the thick jungle scrub.

"What in the-?"

"Believe it or not but that's Lion-O. Something happened to him and it caused him to turn into that animal. We need to get him back to the Lair, his paw is severely wounded and it needs treating."

Willa checks the wound over before calling up to her people, and with their help, we're able to move the unconscious lion back up the edge of the ditch where I finally see the full size of him; laying on the ground in the way that he is, he's easily longer than what Panthro is tall, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if we're going to struggle to fit him into the Thundertank.

~(BORDER)~

Midday

The first thing that makes itself known to me as I slowly begin to wake up is the nagging pain in my right hand. I can't help but whimper slightly from the sensation, trying to push myself up from the cold floor that I'm on but I quickly realise that I have absolutely nowhere near the dexterity I'm supposed to have. What in the hell?

I manage to force one of my eyes open and I'm met by the warmth and light of the sun, along with the irritating buzz of the Lair's electrical systems. I really should have a word with Tygra about that because it is just incredibly irritating at points.

"Cheetara? Where are you?"

I call out for my partner, concerned as to why I'm laying on a pile of soft blankets in what appears to be the containment cells beneath the Lair. What is going on? I manage to get myself onto my hands and feet, but to my absolute shock, I can't go any further. As much as I try, I'm stuck on all-fours. This really concerns me, but when I go to sit down, my strength just completely leaves me and I collapse down onto my side, winded. I look out across to the shiny metal door opposite the cell I'm in, and to my surprise, the reflection staring back at me isn't Thunderian, but instead some feral animal. I move my head, seeing that the reflection moves in exactly the same manner.

"Cheetara? Tygra? Anybody? Can anybody hear me?"

I'm shouting at this point, getting irritated beyond belief at receiving absolutely no response. However, a key rattling in the main door catches my attention and I look up, and upon seeing Pumyra and Cheetara entering the corridor, I force myself to my feet.

"Pumyra! Cheetara! What's going on? Why am I locked up in here? Please, you've gotta let me out!" I cry, running to the cell door and forcing myself to stand up, but when I do this, the pair shriek in fear and back away slightly, and although their mouths are moving, the sounds coming out are nothing but garbled gibberish.

"Come on, you guys aren't making any sense! Please! Let me out!"

It's then that I see the reflection again, and the same beastly creature is staring right back at me, leering at me with its brown eyes and huge red mane. That can't be me, there's no way on this planet that I am that beast in the reflection. I back off, dropping back down to all-fours and the pain that shoots through my hand upon doing so makes me howl in pain, but when I look down at my arms, I see a pair of massive paws, one of which is wrapped in a bandage. What in the hell?

I start to panic then, turning around rapidly in every direction to try and see what I look like, and every time I see the same things; a long thick tail, golden-tawny fur, a feral quadrupedal form, and that same face staring back at me.

"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING HERE?" I scream, absolutely horrified at my appearance, and when the door to the cell is opened, I bound over to Cheetara where she is rapidly backing away before closing the door again.

"Cheetara, help me! What's happened to me? You have to do something!" I cry, confused about her reaction and how the only sounds that she and the puma are making are those same garbled noises that I don't understand. But when I see just how tall I am compared to her, I completely understand the reaction.

"Wait…'Tara, please…" I whimper, sticking my un-injured paw out of the bars of the cell as I lay down, desperately trying to reach the cheetah with tears trickling down my cheeks, "Come back!"

She makes what appears to be a sympathetic sound, and I jump slightly when I feel her hand settle atop my head, but I rapidly start to relax as I realise that she's petting me. I notice then that she's offering something in her other hand, and when I sniff it, I realise that it's a chunk of meat. In order to not scare her again, I carefully lick it from her palm, quickly consuming the morsel of food. She murmurs affectionately before backing away, and I immediately get back to my feet with a whimper, reaching a paw out to her again.

"No, come back, please!" I cry, desperately pawing at the ground and crying for my mate, longing to be held and comforted. But still, the pair leave the corridor, and I start up an attempt to break the door off it's hinges but with one of my paws injured, I realise that my attempts are nothing but futile struggles. I flop down in the corner, and I can feel the tears streaming down my cheeks as I sob. This isn't fair, they're keeping me locked up down here like some…wild animal. I just want to cuddle up with my mate but she's too scared to go anywhere near me while I'm in this form.

Out of frustration, loneliness and boredom, I start to claw at the soft bedding in the corner of the cell, not knowing what else to do with myself in such a small, pokey space. The material shreds easily thanks to my massive claws but it doesn't serve to make me feel any better than I was before. There has to be something that I can do? I can hear the birds calling outside and the small rays of light that shine in through the window provide warm places to lay down but I can't take it.

~(border)~

The floor itself shakes at the raw power of Lion-O's roars, the bellowing sound echoing through the whole corridor as we try to concentrate on our meeting. His roars sound so solemn and mournful, and it takes all of my willpower to not leave to go to him – it feels almost as if he's calling for me.

"We have absolutely no idea how this has happened but I can guarantee that Mumm-Ra had a hand in this; the entire situation reeks of his kind of dark magic."

"If that is the case and it is dark magic, then how in Jaga's name are we going to be able to change Lion-O back? Mumm-Ra would never even consider reversing it."

"We have to try something because heaven forbid Lion-O is stuck as an animal for the rest of his life. We already have the issue of figuring out how to feed him because the creature he's become? They only eat raw meat."

The floor shakes once more as the lion releases another deafening roar, and the sound sends chills down my spine. The raw power of it is something that I have never witnessed and it feels like the air itself trembles. I rise from my seat as my friends turn to look at me, and I give an inward sigh.

"I have to go and check on him. At this point, I can imagine that he's starting to get very hungry and agitated."

I make my way back down to the holding cells, and when I reach the one that we put him in, I can see that Lion-O has torn the bedding to shreds. He's pacing endlessly, giving slight grumbles before dropping down with a growl. I can also see that the bandage around his front leg is bloodied and tattered, a clear sign that he's been trying to bite through it. It's then that he notices me, and when he turns around, he immediately gets up and hobbles towards me with a low growl.

"Hey bud, are we getting hungry? Pumyra is going to have to have another look at that paw of yours."

The lion merely grumbles as he rubs his body against the bars of the cell, pacing back and forth again before returning to the pile of shredded blankets and bedding. I just wish that I had a way of communicating with him because I can tell enough from his behaviour that he's getting very frustrated.

I look up as the door opens, and both Tygra and Pumyra join me. The pair look equally concerned at the sight of the bloodied bandage and the mess inside the cell, and Tygra places down a bucket of what looks like various offcuts of meat which we don't eat ourselves.

"I think he's getting bored, Tygra. He won't stop pacing a whining."

"I'd hardly be surprised if that's the case – while like that, Lion-O has the mind of a wild animal and will hate being cooped up inside. I'll have to see if Panthro can construct a large enough outdoor pen for him or he's going to become increasingly destructive and violent."

I turn back to look at the cell and it feels as though I almost have a heart attack as the lion is now stood directly behind me and staring intensely at the bucket. Definitely hungry. I watch as Tygra pulls on a pair of gloves before picking up some of the meat, and when he offers it to the lion, it's immediately snatched out of his hands as the lion growls.

"I dread to think about how long it's going to be until he started to attempt to escape from here. But we do need to sort that paw out and find a way to stop him from chewing on the bandage."

I watch the lion as he licks at the torn material on his paw, likely trying to clean his wound. Pumyra opens the door and I enter, approaching as carefully as I can in order to not scare him; Lion-O simply looks up and watches as I approach, tail flicking at the tip slightly as he yawns. I cautiously reach a hand out and he lets me pet him, and so I sit down in front of him as Pumyra approaches with a medical kit.

"What's your plan? Surely you will struggle to keep him calm?"

"I'm banking on him staying docile with how he reacts to my presence. I think he knows who I am."

I gently pet the lion as he lays there, ears drooped and tail tightly curled around his body. In a stark difference to earlier with how big he appeared in the wild, he looks ever so small and pathetic in comparison. I somehow manage to keep him distracted long enough for Pumyra to change the bandage and clean his wounds before replacing the bedding but, when we both exit the cage again, he immediately starts whining whilst pawing at the door and rattling it as he tries to push it open.

"I'm going to ask Panthro to start building that large outdoor enclosure because we can't keep him locked up down here. It's cruel and I can't imagine what he must be thinking about being shut up in there."

"We need to pay Mumm-Ra a visit. We need answers and we have to try and get them out of him…"

"Trying to get any answers out of him will be the equivalent of trying to get blood from a stone. He will never give them willingly and you yourself saw that nothing was written in the Book about it."

"But we haven't managed to decipher all of the Book though. So far we've only found out how the Royal Barbary lions got their powers and that's hardly important right now. If anybody is going to know what's going on with Lion-O, I bet fifty Thunderian shillings that the Warrior Maidens will be the best people to ask. He can't be stuck like this forever!"

I only just become aware of how high my heart rate has become as my emotions threaten to push me to the limit. I'm just so worried about my mate and having to face the possibility that he'll be stuck as the animal that his clan evolved from for the rest of his life? Not something that I want to think about. What would happen if we can never change him back? There's no way in reason that we would be able to take him with us if we decide that we will leave for New Thundera - we'd have to leave him on Third Earth because the Feliner is nowhere near large enough to transport an animal his size.

"That's a bridge that we will just have to handle when we eventually come to it. It isn't ideal but until something can be done in hopes of reversing that process, we have to handle it in any way we can. We'll pay a visit to the Warrior Maidens later today but for now, we need Panthro to get started with that outside enclosure before Lion-O goes crazy."

Almost as if in agreement, the lion lets out a loud but mournful roar which makes me shudder, the raw power of the sound flowing right through my body. He does sound so incredibly upset which doesn't surprise me in the slightest. I turn to face him again and watch as he paces up and down, rubbing his head and body against the bars of his cell with a low grumble before whimpering, sitting down, and beginning to groom himself, licking his huge paw and rubbing his muzzle.

"It's surprising just how quickly he's exhibiting the behavioural patterns of his species because he was a Thunderian less than twelve hours ago."

"I'm hardly surprised by that because the brain of an animal doesn't function in the same way as that of you or me. It's likely that he doesn't even recognise either of us."

I look at Lion-O again worriedly, watching as he lays himself down on his side. The thought that he doesn't recognise who I am or have the capacity to feel love is getting to me when I didn't think it could. All I know is that I can't stand to see him caged up, even if he is currently in the form of a wild animal the size of a horse.

~(border)~

That Night

The wind whistles overhead as I try to get myself comfortable but laying on the floor is hardly something that I'm used to doing. My paw is incredibly painful but I can't reach it to lick it, and it's driving me insane. I groan as I get to my feet, turning around and pawing at the bedding to try and make it feel more pleasant but alas, nothing is working. I lay back down again, tucking my paws beneath my body as I give a groan of frustration. I have absolutely no idea what time it is but all I know is that I'm so tired and hungry, and frustration is eating away at me. I lay my head back down into the nest of blankets with a grumble, longing to feel the wind in my mane and the earth beneath my paws as opposed to cold, hard stone and concrete.

"You're troubled, young lord."

I look up again, jumping in shock when I see Jaga's form kneeling before me. I sit myself up, looking at the jaguar with a defeated sigh, my head hung in shame.

"I've become a monster, Jaga. My own friends have locked me up down here because I've been turned into a wild beast."

"It's something that was entirely out of your control, Lion-O. Your friends worry for your safety while you're in this form because you can't understand each other. The curse inflicted upon you was cruel and unusual, and it has very horrific consequences the longer that you remain in this form."

I turn to face him again, my tail flicking as I listen carefully. Consequences? I'm hardly anticipating the emotions that I'm likely going to feel upon hearing this.

"Consequences? Like what?"

"I'm sure by now that you are fully aware of how frustrated and annoyed you have become at being locked in down here?"

"Of course I am, I just want to be able to explore."

"The curse has rewritten your biological code - it's completely changed your DNA and your physical structure down to a molecular level, and it's not going to be long before your brain starts to change too. Soon, you will lose the ability to make complex thoughts and decisions, and your emotions will begin to fade. I don't mean to scare you, Lion-O, but soon you likely won't be able to recognise your friends – your instincts will become increasingly wild. The longer you stay as an animal, the harder it will become to reverse the process. But do not fret, I have every faith in the other Thundercats as should you. They will find a way."

"I'm sure they will Jaga, but I'm just scared. I don't want to remain as an animal for the rest of my life. I can't. I'm the Lord of the Thundercats and my people need me. I can't help them whilst I'm…whilst I'm stuck like this."

I look down at myself to emphasise my point, staring hard at my paws and wishing that maybe if I go to sleep, I'll wake up back in the body of a Thunderian Barbary.

"Have faith, Lion-O. Everything works out in the end."

With that, my mentor fades away and I'm left staring at the brick wall behind where he had been standing moments before. Mumm-Ra definitely had something to do with what happened to me, especially if it was a curse placed upon me. The ambush earlier today must be linked, because I can't think of any other reason why the Mutants would need a lock of my mane and a sample of my blood. Glancing down at my injured paw once again, I settle myself down into the bedding below me. Like Jaga said, my friends will eventually figure out how to return me to the form which I am supposed to be in – I have every faith in my friends.

To Be Continued