ThunderCats

Bio-Booster Armor Guyver

Purrsia, Felina, and the Bolkin Bar are the creative property of Purrsia Kat, and are used with permission.

Eye of the Storm

Episode Ten

For Tygra, who stood across from Lion-O in the expansive throne room which the original Lair had lacked, reality seemed to have taken a subtle shift. As though he had entered his quarters to find everything slightly off-kilter, some unkind soul having gone in and shifted everything two inches to the left.

The throne room itself was a spacious hall, gleaming stone flooring spreading from a streak of plush red carpet which led to the seat of power itself. Eight pillars, four on each side, lined the carpet and reached from floor to ceiling. Beyond them, high windows let in the cheerful morning sunshine and bathed the uncovered stone in a golden light. Lion-O himself sat on the steps to the raised platform on which the throne rested, cape absent but the crown still in place. It seemed almost painfully informal, but it was only the two of them in the throne room.

"You... want me to what?" he asked, mouth dry.

"I know I didn't stutter." Lion-O rose from the steps and closed the distance between them in four strides. The other's hand fell on Tygra's shoulder. "You did just fine last time."

"That was different," Tygra replied. "It was a crisis situation, and I knew you'd recover!"

"It also showed me you can handle the duties that come with being Lord of the ThunderCats."

"A few weeks is one thing, but full-time?"

"Come off it, Tygra. I've already explained my reasoning behind this. I know I can't make it a royal command, the law doesn't work that way on this, but I'm asking you as a friend to do it."

Tygra's mouth snapped shut, though his mind was still in high gear. The thought that Lion-O would do something like this had never occurred to him. Everyone, he was sure, assumed the man would hold both titles until an heir was born and had come of age. Though it pleased him immensely to see Lion-O acknowledging limitations and how difficult it would be to ensure his saftey out in the field, Tygra wished he had chosen anyone else. Panthro, maybe. Cheetara, though given their relationship it would have raised more than a few eyebrows in regards to ethics. No, Tygra was head of the council, and as such the logical choice until an heir was born.

I can say no, he thought. I can refuse, and he'll have to put it to another. Power was extremely addictive, and addiction was something Tygra had some experience with. Would he be able to use that power and authority wisely?

"I'll... I'll think about it." Lion-O, to his puzzlement, merely smiled as though that had been the answer he'd expected.

"Good enough." The hand fell away after a friendly squeeze. "I've got quite a bit on my plate today, best get to it." Tygra, after a repectful bow of the head and shoulders, turned to leave. Of all the things he'd expected, this had not been one of them.

Panthro circled Sho on the mat in the Lair's gym, the latter's eyes never straying from him and searching for any opening to attack. The green mat was situated in the center of the workout space, with weight benches and treadmills on one end and the opposite holding a set of uneven bars and a pair of rings which hung from sturdy chains in the ceiling. All the work in mining, hauling, and construction had beefed the human up considerably and Panthro found himself pleased. It made training so much easier. Sho's hits had begun to sting at first, then actually hurt a little.

Excellent, he thought. The kid's shaping up nicely. They were both barechested and soaked in sweat, each wearing a pair of simple white pants and no footwear. The belt around Sho's waist was gold, indicating his level of skill. Panthro's was solid black with several blue strips.

The attack was sudden, though Panthro still noted the increase in Sho's speed as the obvious feint streaked to the deliberate opening he'd left. The human rolled with the downward chop to the shoulder and hit the mat with Panthro's legs between his. The Thunderian, in momentary surprise, realized what Sho's gameplan was a hair too late as the legs scissored and a powerful impact landed behind his knees.

Where did that come from?! Panthro thought as he caught himself on his hands and flipped back up. I never taught him that! Sho was once more on his feet, ready to move in for another strike.

"Enough." Panthro said simply. Sho fell out of battle stance at once. "Not bad, Sho. Not bad at all."

"Been waiting to break that out on you," the human replied, his breathing already returning to normal. "Guess you saw it coming."

"Almost didn't. Nice to get a surprise now and then." The two moved to the table nearby, on which rested a jar of water with glasses and towels. Myrlha, who watched their training sessions whenever her schedule permitted, sat with her chin on her knees and rose when they drew near. Panthro tossed Sho a towel and pretended not to notice the way Myrlha looked at her love.

If the kid can keep up with that one, he thought, no wonder he's keeping up with me. Panthro nearly laughed out loud at that.

"Thank you, Sensei," Sho said with a short bow before downing a glass of water.

"Heh. Outta all the fighters I've trained, you're only the second to thank me for the bruises."

"Us masochists are a rare breed," he replied with a grin "I'm sure I wouldn't know the other one."

"It's a story for later. Hey, Myrlha?"

"Yeah?"

"Try not to wear the guy out too much."

"No promises," Myrlha said as Sho's face turned nearly crimson.

Laheela nearly did a double-take as she passed Tygra in the Lair's east wing. The man's eyes were distant, clouded and he seemed to take only superficial notice of his surroundings.

"Tygra?" she asked. "Hey, Tygra, what's going on?" Since the night of the coronation, she had been finding reasons to be around him. Talking to Tygra was becoming easier with each day, and her conversational skills with the other ThunderCats were gradually improving.

"Hm? Oh, hello, Laheela. I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

"Are you okay?" she asked, worried.

"Fine. Just fine."

"Not to be rude, but either Pumyra just told you you're having the next baby around here or you went into her pain blends." Speaking in such a manner was something she thought she'd never be able to do again, yet Tygra's calm nature and innate kindness had allowed a slow return of the witty tongue she once had and that being Primor's concubine had nearly driven out. "You've let me do all the talking, now it's my turn."

"It's... I've got a lot on my mind right now."

"Know the feeling." Laheela's next words came automatically. "Want some advice? You've given me so much, I oughtta return the favor."

"Please." The tone in that word struck a chord in her. Whatever was eating him, it was big. "I think I could use some right now."

"Stop thinking about it."

"It's not that simple."

"I don't mean right now. Take some time tonight to think about other things, and then sleep on whatever's gnawing at you. It might take awhile, but it always works for me."

"I don't mean to be secretive, but this is rather too large to distract myself from."

"Then why don't I help?" The words were out before she could think about them.

"What?!" Tygra's eyes cleared as they clicked onto hers, and again her mouth went on autopilot.

"There's a new bar that opened up, it's not far from here. I've been meaning to check the place out, and I didn't want to do it alone." It was true, even. Laheela had wanted to visit the still-unnamed Bolkin Bar, and had been loathe to do so without compay.

To be brutally honest, without Tygra.

"From what I hear, it's got a great menu, and the prices are good also." Having become a civilization had required a form of currency. Since gold was the most sought-after precious metal behind silver, and for the colony Thundrillium, a new economy was developing around it. Barter just wouldn't cut it any longer.

"Hmmm..." Tygra appeared to be deep in thought for a moment. "I think I'll take you up on that."

"I'm free tonight. Say, seven?" Again, her mouth had popped into gear on its own. Laheela belatedly wondered what she would wear once Tygra accepted.

"I'll meet you at your quarters then." With that, Tygra went on his way and she stood rooted in place, wondering what had just happened.

Okay, she thought, did I just ask Tygra on a date?

After some deliberation, her mind replied with an affirmative.

Huh. So, he accepted?

After a brief moment, said mind returned another affirmative.

How did this happen?! Laheela shook her head at it all as nervous flutters twitched in her stomach. It didn't matter. Laheela had a confirmed date. With a man. A man she liked very much.

I love it when a machine comes together, Panthro thought as, once more in uniform, he welded two of the connector joints of the new ThunderTank. The interior structure was coming together on schedule, and at that moment Bengali was working with Sho on banging out new armor plating. Before the madness of the Mutant War broke out, he had been working with Tygra on a new protective coating which would increase the durability of the armor by at least seventy percent. The new tank was shaping up to be as close to indestructable as any vehicle could get.

"It's looking good, Panthro," Cheetara said as she entered the Depot. "Did you call me out here just to get a sneak preview?"

"Thanks, but no," he said. The new joint welded, Panthro cut off the torch and removed the welder's mask. "It's been a while since you wore a training outfit."

"It's been some years," she replied, taking a seat before a long bench strewn with unfinished parts. "Why?"

"I could use your help with Sho," he explained. "There's some issues in the guy's training I think you could help clarify."

"I see," she said, and Panthro knew further explanation was unnecessary. "When?"

"Tomorrow, 'bout three."

"I'm clear then. You got it."

"Just so you know," Panthro said with a grin, "he's the second one to ever be grateful for getting the crap kicked outta him."

"Oh?" Cheetara's eyes widened at that. "This should be interesting. See you then." Cheetara took her leave as Panthro re-donned the mask.

Lookin' forward to this, he thought as the torch flared into life again.

Night had begun to fall as Laheela left her chambers. The twin pistols rested in their belt, which she had left on the bed. Though she felt almost naked without them, she knew they wouldn't be needed. Not on a...

A date...

It wasn't a date. Laheela kept telling herself that over and over. They were just going out to dinner, two friends having a meal. That was all. Tygra drew near as the door slid shut, and she was relieved to see that he'd put no special effort in dressing up. Just his normal uniform, though the bolo whip was absent.

"Shall we?" he asked and the pair set off. Conversation was light as they maneuvered through the halls of Cat's Lair and passed through the front door. The sky was reddish-gold that was fading quickly to dusk, dark enough for the for the sensors in the street lamps to kick over and set the bulbs aglow. Laheela noted the mix of people in the streets, different clans of Thundera as well as samples of Third Earthers walking about on their own business. The task of taking a census had fallen to her, and she was still compiling data on names and occupations. Laheela, quite frankly, needed an assistant yet her still-reserved conditioning had prevented her from asking. In fact, she had a name in mind and it belonged to a person who currently worked in the establishment they were headed toward.

So, it's not a date, she told herself firmly.

The Bolkin Bar itself was a study in simplicity. A dozen or so tables rested in the lobby, with a long bar at the back which was currently manned by a Lion female. Some plants hung in wicker baskets from the ceiling, the aroma of them mixing pleasantly with the smells of the kitchen in the rear. The balcony which was the second floor ran around the perimeter, lined with more tables kept discreet distances apart.

"Heya!" the woman behind the bar enthused. "What can I getcha?!"

"I've heard about the houe special," Tygra said. "Two of those?"

"A man of taste. Just pick a table, and I'll have it right out!" A few of the ground floor tables were occupied, with people of various lineage eating and talking in low tones. Laheela's heart began to skip slightly as Tygra led her to the stairs and up into the balcony. The air seemed more hushed, the aura of privacy very much in evidence.

"Thank you," she said as Tygra pulled a chair out for her before taking a seat across the cozy round table. All it needed was a lit candle in the middle to complete the romantic image.

Ramp it down, girl, she told herself. It wasn't as if Tygra was about to hit on her. Right?

"Here ya go," the barmaid said as she placed the two brown bottles before them with a pair of menus.

"Any recommendations?" Laheela asked and marvelled at how calm her voice sounded.

"The fish stew is tonight's main dish, and lemme tell ya it's great." The woman sounded like she meant it. "Bundan's a great cook."

"There's a name I haven't heard in a long while," Tygra replied. "I think I'll try that."

"Uh... same here."

"Right! I'm Purrsia, an' if ya need anythin', just give a holler."

"Thank you," Tygra said as she bounced off. "Certainly loves her work, doesn't she?"

"Hey, Bundan! Two of the stew!" Purrsia said as she passed the kitchen. Felina looked up in surprise.

"Why didn't you tell me a table walked in?"

"Two ThunderCats at this one. Didn't want 'em wearing their dinner home, I know how nervous you get around Nobility."

"Thanks for that," Bundan said with a wink as Felina's fingers began to twitch. "Please don't drop that bowl, dear."

The bowls of stew arrived in short order, piping hot and with a tray of what Purrsia had called breadsticks. The meal was every bit as good as the woman had claimed, and Laheela found herself thinking the Bolkin Bar was gonna be a hit.

"So," she said, "made any progress on the mystery of humanity?"

"None, I'm afraid." Whatever had been bugging him before was still doing a job on him, she noticed.

"Look, whatever it is, just put it out of your mind. Sleep on it. You don't have to tell me what it is if you don't want to."

"You know, you're right," Tygra replied with a slow smile. "I'm out having dinner with a beautiful woman. I should enjoy it." Laheela took a pull of the local beer, and vowed not to have more than one bottle. It was potent stuff. "That reminds me, tomorrow's experiment! I can't believe I almost forgot."

"Experiment?"

"We're finally about to start running some analyses on Sho's weaponry," he replied, "tomorrow, we're going to compile data on the megasmasher."

"Is that what he calls that huge chest-beam?"

"It's an apt name."

"Sure is." Despite herself, Laheela recalled the sight of Guyvers One and Two firing them together. "Why bother, if you don't mind me asking? It's not like we have enemies on Third Earth any more."

"Panthro's convinced that, if a living suit of armor can convert human bio-energy into a blast like that, we should be able to mechanically duplicate it. Sho's done a lot, but New Thundera Colony can't depend on him entirely for our own defense."

"Against what?" she asked after another mouthful of stew. It wasn't as if a bunch of Trollogs were going to storm the colony at any moment.

"We know there have to be others among the stars, more who survived Thundera's destruction, and we're debating ways of making contact and letting them know there's a home waiting for them. The quickest way would be an encrypted signal broadcast via subspace buoy."

"If Plun-Darr intercepts that..." Laheela fell off, a creeping horror slowly moving up her spine.

"Exactly. Their military will blaze a trail directly to Third Earth. We don't want to use this method, but if it's the only way, then we'll need to be prepared to deal with any unwelcome visitors to our new home." They fell into silence for a while, the thought of a Mutant force much larger than Primor's marauder group sobering them. "I see you're sleeping better."

"Huh?"

"The circles under your eyes have faded. No more dreams?"

"No." Laheela didn't know if she'd ever be able to properly express her gratitude for that. Since the first time they'd spoken, her sleep had been deep and dreamless. "I guess I just needed to get all that off my chest."

"I'm glad I could help." Tygra's hand appeared on hers briefly and a jolt shot through her nerves from the short contact. Laheela actually missed its presence when Tygra removed it and ate more of the stew.

For a guy who's not seducing me, she thought giddily, he's doing a damn fine job of seducing me.

"How goes the census work?" he asked. Tygra's voice, though sociable and friendly, was still hushed slightly. The ambience of the balcony tables subtlely demanded it.

"I'm nowhere near done," she said in response. "Aside from our people, there are dozens of Wollos, more than a handful of Bolkins, and a whole mess of Berbils who decided they liked the place after it was built and decided to stay. The colony is something of a melting pot."

"Like Lion-O said, Third Earth was their home before we crashed out of the sky."

"They helped build this place, so welcome home I say."

"Getcha another round?" Purrsia asked as she came up.

"Better go easy on this brew," Tygra said, "but tell Bundan it's excellent."

"Sure will. I'll take care of those dishes for ya." The table bussed, Purrsia took her leave again.

"What's the rate for tips, twenty percent?"

"Last I heard." Tygra left enough coin, stamped with the ThunderCat symbol on one side and the image of Leoran on the other, to cover the meal and a generous tip before making their exit from the Bolkin Bar. Though the sky was pitch-dark, the streets were brightly lit and on the walk back to Cat's Lair, she stayed closer to Tygra's side than she had on the trip out. Laheela almost didn't notice when they came to her quarters.

"Well, here we are," Tygra said, uncertain.

"Yeah, we are," she said, and was suddenly certain he was going to kiss her. Certain as well that she'd let him.

"I had a wondeful time."

"Yeah, me, too." I actually hope he's going to do it!

"We should do this again."

"Oh, definitely." Laheela stretched up to plant a light kiss on the corner of Tygra's mouth before opening the door and dashing through.

Tygra was just as nervous as I was, she thought, leaning against the door to her chambers. Never in her life had she met a man who stirred feelings like this, and that quick pop had been her control loosening a bit. Another moment and she might have invited him in, and...

I would have let him make all kinds of love to me. Let's not beat around the bush, I would have boinked his brains out.

Laheela's affection for Tygra, this little date had revealed, burned a damn sight hotter than she'd realized. Maria's wish for her to find someone to love returned to her, and she wondered just where the Wollo and Lisker had settled on Third Earth before darting into the bathroom for a cold shower that, ultimately, did not prevent her from entertaining a fantasy or two before bed, for the first time her days as a concubine so far from her mind they might have happened to a different person.

For Tygra, who stood on the other side of Laheela's door for a few moments, things had ended in confusion. What was supposed to have been dinner with a friend had begun to feel far more intimate as the evening went on and as usual he had been at a loss for words by the end of the night. Laheela's kiss still lingered on the corner of his mouth before she had seemingly fled from him.

I didn't do a thing, he thought. I didn't so much as make a pass at her. What was that about? Tygra turned and left, thinking that he'd never understand women.

The ThunderStrike sat in the morning sun as Tygra, Lynx-O, Pumyra, Panthro, and Sho set up the sensor arrays which would record the data gleaned from the firing of the megasmasher. The hardpan wasteland near the site of the former Tower of Omens was, for obvious reasons, the ideal place to perform said experiment. Lynx-O's portable Braille Board would record everything as a backup module to the main sensor array which Panthro and Tygra would man. Pumyra would take Sho's vitals both before and after bio-boosting, then again once the experiment was concluded. Sho, per Tygra's instruction, was to do nothing so as not to alter the results until setup was complete.

"Systems check," he said. The decision Lion-O had placed in front of him still weighed heavily on his mind, and he knew the other would not want to wait long. A snippet of song bubbled up from his brain, a lyric from one of the scads of music discs Sho called CDs which had been found in the subterrainian stockpile of the Tuskas. Take your time, hurry up, the choice is yours, don't be late. Tygra had no clue what ancient band had written that, but WilyKat had fallen in love with it along with another from people who called themselves Slipknot.

"All green," Panthro replied. "Pumyra?"

"Medscanner is adjusted and ready."

"Braille Board standing by."

"Alright, then," Tygra said. "We've only got one shot at collecting this data today. Let's not waste it."

"Vital signs are normal," Pumyra said as she ran the scanner over the human. "Everything's on track." Sho then moved to the center of a semicircle of sensor arrays which were several meters distant.

"GUYVER!" A thin plume of dust billowed into the air as the barrier appeared with a loud boom and the armor merged with the man.

"It's like the fabric of space gets ripped open when he does that," Panthro muttered as the equipment scanned the shield. Pumyra stepped up to the transformed Sho, and looked at her scanner in utter confusion.

"I can't tell where the Guyver ends and Sho begins," she said. "I've never seen readings like this!"

"Sho," Tygra began, "we need this data to be as complete as possible. Once Pumyra steps away, I want you to open the megasmasher before powering up."

"Our first date, and you already want me to expose my chest!" Sho cried in mock outrage. "You don't even buy me dinner first! I feel... I feel so... so CHEAP! Are you even going to call me tomorrow like you said?"

The serious mood shattered like glass.

Panthro doubled over, bellowing gales of laughter as he fell on his rear. Pumyra, for her part, was holding her stomach and staggering backward. Even Lynx-O held a fist to his mouth, shoulders trembling with the hilarity he was trying to keep in.

"OKAY, OKAY! IT WAS A DATE! IS EVERYONE SATISFIED?!" The good-natured ribbing he'd endured about his evening with Laheela, and constant denials of it being an actual date, had worn on Tygra's patience. "You all realize that Lion-O is going to be watching this?" And will probably get just as big a kick out of it, he thought. The roar of laughter faded to chuckling. "Now, do you understand, Sho?"

"Yeah. Hey, sorry about that but I had to do it."

"At least it's out of your system. Now, if we could please continue?" Tygra couldn't keep the irritation out of his voice. Sho turned around once more and grasped the armor's breastplates. "Open in three... two... one... now!" The plates opened with a slight pop. "Begin sequence."

"Four hundred gigajoules and rising," Panthro said from his monitor. "Eight hundred." The light built just in front of Sho, shimmering and growing rapidly to a blinding brilliance.

"Temperature has increased nearly two hundred degrees," Lynx-O said, referring to the immediate area about Sho.

"Sho's got to be boiling in that thing!" Pumyra shouted as the power increased.

"Fifteen hundred gigajoules... Eighteen... Two thousand... Twenty-one fifty..." Tygra could hear the shrill whine of the lenses building that destructive might. "Twenty-two hundred!" Panthro exclaimed. "It's not climbing any higher. Peak charge reached!"

"Fire!" Tygra shouted. The result was immediate. A roar as the twin beams of light streaked into the distance, dust violently displaced flying everywhere, and data readouts going absolutely wild until the burst faded.

"I'll never get used to seeing that," Panthro said softly as they beheld the trench carved into the desert.

"So, any ideas on how to make a weapon like that?" Tygra asked as the computers sorted and displayed the information gained.

"It'll take a damn sight more than thundrillium," he replied. "Plus, systems that can handle that much power building up so quickly."

"Vitals are still normal, Sho," Pumyra said once the armor vanished.

"Good. Training's at three today." Tygra saw Panthro's grin at that and wondered what the other man had in store.

"Thank you all for your help today," Tygra said. "Now, let's pack up and get back home."

"Panthro," Pumyra said as she came up and started to take down the sensor equipment. The arrays themselves were still too hot to touch. "just what in the heck is a gigajoule anyway?"

"You wouldn't have wanted to see on on your electric bill, I can tell you that. Not unless you had about twelve billion Thunderian to blow."

"Wow." The wide-eyed stare made Panthro laugh.

"Just an exaggeration. I'll keep it simple. Ever see a blasting rock back on Thundera?"

"No, but I heard about them." One of the geological mysteries of the planet, the rocks were a strange form of mineralized nitroglycerin. Powerful, yet unstable, their use in mining had been short-lived and operations to clear them from the more mountainous regions of the planet had still been ongoing just before its destruction.

"Okay, this example's a little rough, but it'll give you an idea of what just happened here. To get the power output... could you hand me that cable?"

"Here."

"Thanks. To get the power output of that megasmasher blast, you'd need a blasting rock that was about ninety meters in diameter, the same in thickness, and weighed in at about two hundred metric tons."

"Again, wow," she said as they hoisted the computer module and carried it to one of the ThunderStrike's outrigger pods.

"Set that bugger off, and focus the explosive energy into a single concussive stream, and that's how hard the megasmasher hits."

"Moons of Thundera, no wonder that beam wipes out everything it hits!" she exclaimed as they eased the device into the pod.

"Well, that's only half the picture," Panthro said as they walked back to retrieve the other computer bank. Sho, Tygra, and Lynx-O were still busy coiling cables. "It's not just the hardest punch to the face ever recorded by Thunderiankind. It's also a particle beam."

"I'm no expert on weapons."

"A particle beam consists of highly charged subatomic particles on top of insane concussive force. In essence..."

"Watch your step."

"Thanks, didn't see that rock. A particle beam tears its targets apart on the subatomic level. Put that kind of boom together with a that kind of beam, and you've got the megasmasher."

"Think you can make one?"

"Before today, I would've bet money on it. Now, though..." Panthro trailed off as they carried the other computer bank. "I have no idea how that armor can convert bio-energy into that blast. Any thoughts on your end?"

"Just as stumped. If we found a dormant Guyver unit somewhere, I could probably get more accurate scans of the organism itself."

"Well, according to Sho, there aren't any. Personally, I'm glad for that. I mean, what if Slythe had ever gotten hold of one? Or Grune?" There was nothing else that needed to be said on the subject.

Sho entered the gym to find Panthro already suitably attired and ready. Myrlha sat in her usual spot, on the floor near the table where the customary pitcher, glasses, and towels were in wait.

"What is it," Sho began jokingly as he started the daily dozen routine of stretching and limbering up, "about watching two sweaty guys strip to the waist and try to beat the crap outta each other?"

"Entertainment's where you find it, and a free show is a free show," Myrlha replied with a wink. Sho had no real clue if her use of that one word was as intended or a play on his name.

"Well, Sensei," Sho said once through the stretches, "let's get to it."

"Not this time."

"Huh?"

"I'm not your sparring partner today," Panthro said as the door to the gym opened. Sho turned to see Cheetara enter, clad as the two of them were but for the addition of a loose shirt.

"This does not bode well," Sho said softly as she walked nearer. "Can I assume she's the first one to thank you for the bruises?"

"Pretty quick on the uptake, Sho," she replied in Panthro's stead. "Until further notice, you spar with me." Cheetara's hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she looked all business.

Aw, balls! Sho thought. I can't hit CHEETARA of all people! Even if I WANTED to, I literally couldn't she's so fast!

"Think you can spar with a woman?" Cheetara asked as she stepped onto the mat, her face set and hard.

"Uh... no?"

"Why not?"

"You're my friend!"

"So, what, Panthro's your enemy?"

"I knew it," Panthro muttered softly.

"Knew what?"

"Sho's got the whole 'Don't hit girls' rule stuck in his head. If he can't get over it, he's gonna have a rough time with her. Took me a while to get past it, myself."

"So, how did you?"

"Same way Sho's going to. My instructor was a lot of things, but male wasn't one of them."

"Oh."

"KYAH!" Cheetara's shout was Sho's only warning as she darted in and began a series of short punches which he managed to block, yet failed to take advantage of the openings she'd made on purpose. "What's wrong, Sho? Fight me!"

"I..."

Cheetara moved in again, and a kick landed Sho's stomach before two jabs smashed into his face. The blows weren't at full strength, but she hadn't held much back either.

"It's not like I'm going to use my speed on the mat, Sho. I was told you'd gotten pretty good, and I wanted to see it myself. Don't disappoint me."

"I can't hit you."

"Why? Because I'm a woman? That's it, isn't it? You can't hit a female."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Everything. It's the exact opposite of thinking that a woman can't fight a man."

"I've seen you fight. You know I'm not saying that."

"You are, even if you don't mean to." Cheetara darted in again, and Sho took advantage by ducking low and sweeping his left leg about in a failed attempt to take out her legs. "Not good enough, Sho, not even close."

"I can't do it!" he exclaimed.

"You can, and you will," Panthro said. "You're gonna spar with Cheetara every day until you get that through your head."

"Is this necessary?"

"If you want to fight Lisker it is," Cheetara replied. "Now, come at me!" Sho came no closer, and Cheetara obliged instead.

"That woman's good at this," Myrlha whispered as Sho took a body blow that staggered him.

"I trained her. What do you expect?" Cheetara deliberately overextended her arm on a strike Sho dodged, and the human used that to toss her over his shoulder. On rolling up from the mat, she assumed battle stance once more.

"No throws, no joint locks, you're past that now. This isn't self-defense, it's combat training. If I don't have a mark on me by the time this session ends, you can expect worse tomorrow."

"Does she mean that, Panthro?" Myrlha asked.

"Every word."

"Is she even holding back?"

"Plenty."

"I have to admit," Siberias said as he sat across from Pumyra in the chambers she, Darin, and Bengali called home, "the scans of Sho's transformed state are puzzling in the extreme." Two mugs of coffee sat between them on the table in the foyer, Pumyra occupying the sofa with Darin in her arms and Siberias in the stuffed chair Bengali often sat in after a shift in the Forge.

"It's not like any symbiotic relationship I've ever seen," she replied before kissing Darin on the forehead. The infant slept peacefully in her arms, swaddled in a blanket and innocent of the world. "It's... Is it possible?"

"Pumyra?"

"The Guyver is an alien organism, maybe it works on an entirely new principle of symbiosis!" Though her voice rose, she still kept it hushed.

"Keep going."

"Symbiosis is when one organism attaches to another, with beneficial effects for both. What if the Guyver goes a step further? What if it literally bonds with the host organism?"

"Instead of two beings benefitting from one another, the two become literally one?"

"Exactly! Sho summons the Guyver, and instead of one being within another, you have one entirely new existence."

"With Sho's mind and personality dominant."

"Via the control medal which connects the two on the mental level. We've both seen that the Guyver possesses some form of self-will, which is in evidence primarily when Sho is incapacitated. That would explain what I saw when the Lunataks had WilyKat and I as captives, and why Sho gets so much larger in his transformed state. Oh, if only Sho could remember more!"

"Since he cannot, then that avenue of exploration is closed to us at present."

"I know..."

"Pumyra," Siberias said, his voice in full teacher mode, "don't think on this overmuch."

"But..."

"No. Pumyra, you have far more responsibilities now. You have a son to think about."

"I know this will be slow work, but I can handle..."

"Listen to your elders, Pumyra, they often know what they're talking about." Siberias took a sip of coffee before continuing. "Have I ever told you about Korvis?"

"No."

"Korvis was one of my peers in med school," Siberias explained. "Top of his class, athlete, and general overachiever. Always had to be at the top, that one. It was he who showed me what having too much on one's plate could bring."

"Huh? Shhh... Mama's here," she cooed as Darin began to stir. "Go on, Siberias."

"Since dinnertime is nearing, I'll be brief," he replied with a grin. "On exam day of our graduating year, Korvis walked in looking strangely glassy-eyed. The proctor told us to turn over our papers and begin, and when Korvis did he wrote 'I am a fish' four hundred times, stood up, did a most peculiar burlesque dance and then fainted."

"You can't be serious," Pumyra replied with a skeptical look.

"You give me far too much credit for imagination," Siberias said with a grin. "Korvis cracked hard that day. When he woke, he tried to play it off as though he'd written a treatise on arterial suturing that was too unconventional for the board to accept."

"Asserting that you're a fish strikes me as pretty unconventional," Pumyra agreed, now smiling. "The cheese isn't that close to sliding off my cracker."

"No, and I don't wish otherwise." Darin awoke, all at once as usual, and the two exchanged a glance. "Take my advice, Pumyra. Dedicating yourself to your work is all well and good, but make time for your family as well."

"Thanks." Siberias took his leave before Pumyra looked down at Darin. Bengali's mane, black stripes, and nose where the telling points of the child's father, his skin and hair coloring of her. Darin was crying noisily, and Pumyra's heart melted once again as she slid an arm out of the tunic and pulled the right side down for her son to nurse. Pumyra leaned back against the sofa as he fed, wondering if her own mother felt this way when she had been a cub at her breast.

Probably, she thought, but without the puzzle of the Guyver to mull over. Pumyra thought on it as Darin got his supper, holding him gently to her breast. The concept of two beings actually merging into one was mindblowing. What race created the Guyver creature? Sho had said that it was not native to this planet, yet had known nothing more. In two weeks, she and Siberias would embark on their first experiment with the G-cells. It was clear that only practical experimentation would shed any light on their functional nature.

"That's right, sweetheart, get your fill," she cooed as Darin nursed. On the other side of things, being a mother was rewarding all on its own. Pumyra knew her mentor was right, that she shouldn't let her work cut too deeply into her family time. But, where was the balance? Where was the happy medium between Pumyra the healer, Pumyra the scientist, Pumyra the mother, and Pumyra the woman? Snarf was a fine babysitter, and Bengali adored their son, but she had to be in Darin's life as well.

Mom, she thought, I really wish you were here now.

Tygra stood before Lion-O, who was seated on the throne as a proper king, as the latter reviewed the footage of the megasmasher experiment on the data padd in his hand. The crack Sho had made came and went without him so much as batting an eye, for which Tygra was deeply grateful.

"So, what does Panthro think?"

"We're still going over the data," Tygra explained. "As for how the bio-booster armor can up-step human bio-energy into that beam is, at present, beyond us. I hate to put it so bluntly, but we've never even imagined an organic particle beam, much less encountered one before Sho."

"Developing a mechanical equivalent seems daunting to say the least."

"It is, however we have arranged for scans of Sho's other weapons. The sonic weapons, Panthro thinks, can be copied with only one or two scans of the real thing."

"High-frequency swords for the Royal Guard," Lion-O mused. Panthro himself had put forth the suggestion that a Royal Guard be formed. The ThunderCats still had enemies on Third Earth, though none as equipped as the Lunattaks, or savage as the Mutants. As for Mumm-Ra, who could say? "I just hope they don't cut their own heads off using those things."

"Rebuilding our society will be a gradual process. Speaking of, about the transmitter Panthro and I put forth. What are your thoughts?"

"I think it's risky, but what choice do we have? It's not like we have ships that can dart about the cosmos in search of them. Even so, the risk of Plun-Darr learning of Third Earth and our presence here is a daunting one. However, what are the odds?" Lion-O ran a hand down his face. "Anything else?"

"That covers it for now." Lion-O had not asked if he'd made a decision, either. "If there is nothing further, my king?"

"Must you call me that in private?"

"Lion-O, then."

"Thank you, and no." Lion-O leaned back into the cushioned seat of the throne, looking lost in thought. Tygra bowed respectfully before turning about and taking his leave. The door to the Throne Room slid shut behind and, in a fit of pique, Tygra eased back to listen. Silence greeted his ears. With a small grin, Tygra took his leave. Had he remained a few minutes longer, he would have heard Sho's taunt being replayed, and the sound of Lion-O succumbing to a fit of uproarious laughter.

Even without the light empathic abilities endowed by her untrained sixth sense, Cheetara would have known Lion-O was standing behind her. Only they had unrestricted access to the chambers they shared, only one man smelled the way he did.

Their reflection in the mirror atop the chest of drawers didn't hurt, either.

"Don't mind me," he said as he leaned against the doorframe into their bedroom with a crooked grin on his face, "just enjoying the view." Cheetara stood in the white pants she had worn during her sparring match with Sho, yet the shirt remained on the bed.

"How goes sitting on the throne?" she asked lightly, her movements now slow and exaggerated. Their intimate life had, since construction of the colony completed, returned with almost a vengeance. It sometimes felt as if they had starved themselves of each other and were making up for it.

"Reports, more reports, reports on top of reports, you get where I'm going."

"What's troubling you?"

"Everyone's treating me differently. All this 'Your Highness" crap is starting to bug me."

"Well," she began as she took the brush to her hair, "perhaps Claudis' Standing Order One should become Lion-O's Standing Order One."

"Huh?"

"Claudis had a rule, that when not engaged in official business or in front of the civillians, no ThunderCat was to call him by anything other than his name. Your father hated being called by title when it wasn't necessary."

"I hereby decree it," he said with a laugh.

"I'll pass it on, then." Cheetara placed the brush back on the dresser.

"What're you wearing?"

"You don't like it?"

"I love it, but what is it?"

"A training uniform," she said, turning about to face him. "The last time I wore one was as Panthro's student."

"I had no idea he'd trained you."

"It just... never came up." It was even true. After Cougrix had been murdered, and once she had recovered some of herself afterward, she had asked Panthro to train her. The man had been ruthless, relentless as he hammered the basics of armed and unarmed combat into her. Cheetara had thanked him for all the bruises and pain. Each session had made her stronger, both in body and in mind. "I was sparring with Sho today."

"How bad was it?"

"Sho's actually quite skilled," she replied. "Despite his aversion to striking women."

"And you'll be the one to hammer that out of him," Lion-O said as his arms encircled her.

"Over and over."

"Why, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Long story short, I'm the first real friend Sho made on Third Earth on top of being female. If I can get him to go all out against me, then he'll hold absolutely nothing back when Lisker shows up for round two."

"Sho told us he'd changed," he said, holding her tighter against him. The gesture, despite his words, still felt protective. Cheetara snuggled against his rock-hard torso.

"I'll believe it when I see it, and maybe not even then." The nightmare Sho had experienced regarding her and Guyver Two still gave her a shudder. It wasn't just Sho's life on the line in regards to Lisker, it was hers as well.

Lisker will be a prominent figure in our future, she thought. The feeling was just short of a vision, but powerful enough all the same. As for how, when, where, and why she had no clue and as such had said nothing about it.

"I really should shower," she said lamely as he began to nuzzle just above her carotid artery. "I'm covered in sweat."

"So?"

"I mean it," she replied playfully.

"Again, so?"

"The sooner you let me go, the sooner you can join me."

"You drive a hard bargain, love," Lion-O said as he scooped her effortlessly into his arms.

The sun had long set when, tired and deeply satisfied, she lay against him beneath the coverlet on their bed. Cheetara sighed, knowing that for the next two weeks they would have to avoid such lovemaking due to her fertility cycle. The past week, however, had been more than enough to keep her fulfilled.

"Almost forgot," Lion-O said before reaching over to the nighttable and retrieving the data padd he'd walked in with. "I wanted you to see this."

"Is that the data on the megasmasher?" she asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Just watch." On the small screen, Sho stood transformed in the center of a semicircle of sensor arrays.

"Sho," Tygra's tinny voice said, "we need this data to be as complete as possible. Once Pumyra steps away, I want you to open the megasmasher before powering up."

Cheetara's laughter could be heard even in the corridor beyond their chambers.

Earlier that day, the sun well on its way to its zenith and the ThunderCats just wrapping up their experiment in the arid southern deserts, Oswald Lisker chatted idly with two of the guardsmen who were manning the eastern gate to Watershed. The river which turned the waterwheels and ground the grains into flour gurgled excitedly beneath the wooden bridge which spanned its length. The sky was a shade which had been known in the olden days as Carolina blue, a few wispy clouds marring its uniform surface.

Having moved into Watershed proper required getting to know the locals, he had discovered. Though tongues wagged, he had found that his relationship with Maria was of little interest to the people who called the town home. Maria had, in fact, become something of a mascot as the fighters of Watershed were being armed and trained. A good luck charm whose bright smile silently demanded one in return.

As for Natalie, more than a few of the younger men asked about her. Lisker kept telling them if they wanted to get to know her, they should speak to her as he was not her personal assistant.

"Getting closer," he said as the man who trod the road into Watershed grew more distinct. Idle curiosity kept him standing among the two guards, he had never seen any one come into town alone, and something tickled his instincts about it. Several minutes passed as the man drew closer, enough for Lisker to make out details.

The shirt and pants had seen better days, his boots filthy and worn to almost nothing. Black hair hung tangled and matted to his shoulders with a scraggly beard on his chin. Lisker immediately looked at his left hand, which was swathed in a loose bandage whose tattered ends swayed lazily with the movements of the arm.

No blood, he noticed once the bedraggled man reached the gate. Nothing soaked through it. The bandage, while rather dirty, lacked any sign of having been used to bind a wound.

"What happened to the hand?" he asked lightly, indicating with a gesture of his head.

"Lissen," he replied, obviously trying to play it cool. The stranger was nervous as hell, and Lisker suddenly had a good idea why. "I jus' wanna pass through."

Lisker moved suddenly, grasping the man's left arm and twisting it into a shoulder lock with one hand about the wrist and the other pressed against his shoulder. The unkempt specimen of humanity shotued in incoherent outrage, bent forward at the waist.

"Take off the bandage," he said to one of the guardsmen. "Well, I'll be dipped in shit." On the trapped left hand was a tattoo of a clutching talon.

"Get offa me, ya sumbitch!"

"Take him to Gil's," Lisker said, handing him to the guardsmen who each held the struggling man by the arms. "Consider your request denied." This last was said coolly and without inflection.

Lisker considered this newest development as the two hauled the unnamed man away.

"Just give me five minutes alone with him," Gil snarled as he stared at the door to his foyer, hands clenching and unclenching. William leaned against the east wall of the coatroom, eyeing his father with uncertainty. "That son of a whore will spill everything. Five minutes."

"Just gimme three," the much larger Benjamin said, cracking his oversized knuckles.

"Keep it down," Lisker said, slightly annoyed. "How is he gonna talk if he's been beaten to death?"

"We'll find a way." The undertone of Gil's voice set Lisker's nerves further on edge.

"Calm. Down. Now." Lisker bit off each word as he grabbed Gil's shoulders and spun the other man to face him. "Think about it, why did he come here?"

"Who cares?" Benjamin replied.

"A spy!" Gil shouted.

"Yeah, and a piss-poor example of one."

"That fuckhead is one of them!" Gil roared.

"Will you shut up?!" Lisker's shout ceased Gil's raving. "Use your head, man. Why send a lone spy? Why send one when groups of twenty at least have been coming through here? We all know the Clutch isn't that fucking stupid!"

"Then explain why that creature is currently tethered to a chair in my own home?" Gil's voice had changed radically, going from blazing anger to icy calm instantly.

"Why don't we have him do that for us?" Lisker moved past Gil and threw the door into the foyer open. The man of the hour sat in one of the kitchen chairs which had been brought into the spacious living area, secured with enough rope to ensure that escape would not happen any time in the forseeable future. A pair of near-black eyes glared daggers at them above a flattened nose, the cloth bisecting his mouth preventing any more outraged cries for release. Lisker walked over to the bound man slowly, keeping his face neutral. A lack of expression, he knew, could prove far more disturbing than a face which betrayed emotion as though the man before him were simply a thing whose fate was of little concern to him.

"It's been awhile since your friends last paid Watershed a visit," he said idly before hooking the other kitchen chair with his foot and swinging it about. Lisker sat in it backward, his movements languid. "Makes me wonder why only one would be sent here. I mean, I'd like to think the Clutch would give a better cover story for a spy. What you came here with was thin as a bedsheet." The man tried to get a reply past the gag, struggling emphatically against his bonds. "So, you're telling me you're not a spy?" Frantic nodding was his reply. "I didn't think so, not with that kind of shitty cover. Let me guess... I got it! You're a deserter." More nodding, the chair almost shaking as his body worked against the rope.

"My ass he is," Gil snarled.

"You'll have to forgive my two friends," Lisker said, jerking his head back to Gil and Benjamin. "Last time your former colleagues came calling, they got up to some mischief. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."

"Mmmblphmmm!"

"You don't? Well, why don't I enlighten you. Some of your buddies started choking off this town, and thought that kidnapping the mayor's son would be good for a goof."

"MMMMMMMM!" The man's head shook from side to side in vehement denial.

"You didn't have anything to do with that?"

"NM-HMM!"

"Well, tell us your story, then." Lisker reached over and pulled the cloth from the other's mouth.

"You gonna cut me loose?"

"If I don't find your story to be satisfactory, I won't lift a finger to keep them from pounding the fuck out of you. Start talking."

"I got pretty hacked off with 'em, doin' what they were an' all. I thought joinin' up would be a step up in the world, somthin' of a lark, yeah?" Lisker remained silent. "Anyway, I heard from the ones who got away from that bug-man what happened, an' I started thinkin' that the Clutch wasn't for me. 'Specially when Rinaldo started gettin' the boys together to come back."

"So, what's taken so long?" Gil said through clenched teeth. "They should have been here by now."

"That's the thing," he continued, "we met a right weird fella 'bout a month ago. Big one, he was, with a metal arm and one right long tooth stickin' outta his mouth." Lisker's saliva dried up at those words.

Grune's alive, he thought.

"Right strong son of a bitch, that one. Took out Rinaldo in no time, an' said that he was in charge. Gave a big speech about conquest, of makin us all kings. Most of the lads bought right into it. Me, I'd had just about enough. I snuck off during picket duty one night, an' here I am."

"Keep going."

"Rinaldo..."

"Your leader?" Gil asked.

"Yeah. Got right pissed when his boys got sent back with tails between the legs. Started talkin' about bringing us all together for one big shot at this place. They was ready, too. All kinds of weapons handed out, orders to kill everthin'. Rinaldo was gonna make an example of this town, before that damn Grune came along."

"Explain," Lisker said simply.

"The cat-man showed up, sayin' about how we was wastin' our efforts. Said somethin' about better pickins south of here. Said we wasn't no longer workin' for Gelroz."

"Who's that?"

"Tabbot, he owns loads of land up north. Needed folks to work it, so he hired us. Had us chokin' off towns, runnin' 'em to ground, and roundin' up the ones who were left."

"Slave labor."

"Yeah. Got 'em all workin' the mines up there, tendin' the fields. The Clutch're a group of mercenaries, yeah? Do the job, get paid, that kinda deal."

"Gil, you got a place to stow this one?" he asked with a look over his shoulder.

"The guard force has a few cages. I'm looking forward to seeing that in one."

"Hey, so ya know it wasn't me who was chokin' yer town!" he replied in outrage. "Wasn't even part a' tha' group!"

"That does not matter," Gil said. "Especially since I don't believe you."

"It's the truth!"

"I hold you just as responsible for abducting my son as I do the rest of that lot."

With the Clutch no longer the knife at Watershed's throat, the war council drags every scrap of information out of the ex-Clutch named Mezzo. Lisker considers making a deep strike in the northern lands in the hopes of liberating those enslaved by the Tabbot Gelroz. The question remains, however, of how Grune came to be in command of the mercenary group, and what his true motives in the southern territories are. Stay tuned for the next episode of Eye of the Storm.

By the way, there's a very blatant reference to Red Dwarf in this chapter. Bonus points to whoever finds it!