Chapter 23

The Thunder Guard brought the four prisoners into the mini-Thunderian courtroom. The ThunderCats sat at their panel along the left side of the wall. They had reached Third Earth only three hours before and were now ready to deal with their old enemies.

"What have you been up to ThunderCatssss?" Slythe spoke up when he saw them.

"We buried Lynx-O two days ago." Lion-O said his face was stolid.

"So it seems we managed to do something good." The reptile smirked.

"The perpetrator will be punished accordingly I assure you." Lion-O told him. The doors to the room then opened and in walked Mandora and Captain Bragg.

"Speaking of punishment, Captain, I do believe three of these Mutants belong to you." The Lord of the ThunderCats said.

"Indeed they do." The bounty hunter smiled.

"Thunder Guard please escort the prisoners out to the Circus Train." Three of the Thunder Guard members nodded and grabbed Slythe, Monkian, and Vultureman. The three of them were surprised to see that Jackalman was the one that was getting left behind.

"That mutt is the one that killed a ThunderCat?" Slythe asked in disbelief.

"How did that happen?" Monkian screeched. Then the three started bickering as they were led outside.

"What are you going to do with me?" Jackalman whimpered.

"You killed a ThunderCat, what do you think is going to happen?" Panthro stood up. The jackal cringed as Lion-O stopped the panther from going any further.

"I have reviewed the tapes and read through the law books and I have spent a long time trying to decide what your punishment should be. There is no doubt in my mind that you should pay for what you have done." The lion explained. He nodded to Mandora, who stepped in and grabbed her prisoner.

"Jackalman, you are hereby charged and found guilty of war crimes. The charges include illegal possession of warp gas and murder of Lynx-O the ThunderCat in the second degree. Your fifty to life sentence will be carried out on the Penal Planet until you are either released on parole or die of old age." Mandora told him. She then turned to Lion-O and asked,

"Permission to remove this scumbag from your custody?"

"Permission granted. One more thing before you go though." He said. The Evil Chaser nodded and the lion began.

"Before you go thinking that I spared you because I couldn't in good conscience end your life, realize that I didn't end it because it would be too good for you. You deserve the worst punishment possible and for it to drag out for the rest of your life." With that Mandora took her prisoner and left the room. Now the only one that remained besides the ThunderCats was the leader of the Thunder Guard's Third Earth contingent.

"Major Lupi, please step forward." The litah did as she was commanded.

"I want you to know that your troops are not at fault for what occurred. They had no control over what was going on and they will not be penalized in any way." Lion-O said.

"Yes sir. Thank you sir. My men and I would like to give our condolences for Lynx-O. He was a good cat and will surely be missed." The Major told them.

"Thank you. You are dismissed." Lion-O nodded. With that the litah gave a salute, turned on her heels and left. The room now only held ThunderCats.

"Well said and a wise decision, Lion-O. Jaga would be proud." Panthro told him.

"Thank you." The lion said half-heartedly.

"Where did the warp gas charge come from?" Cheetara asked.

"He had it on him when the Thunder Guard stripped him of his belongings." Tygra spoke up. The others nodded and a silence fell between them for a few minutes. Finally Pumyra got up and left the room. The rest soon followed. Lion-O wondered if he had given the puma the closure she was looking for. He'd seen how hard this whole ordeal had been on her and he hoped that she would be able to live with his decision.

Later that night, he found himself up in the Cat's head yet again. Cheetara soon joined him and the two sat in silence and enjoyed the cool night air.

"Somehow I knew you'd be up here." The puma's voice surprised them.

"It's a good place to be." Lion-O said. A silence fell between them as Cheetara excused herself. They two watched the sunset and then Pumyra spoke up.

"I want you to know that I think you made a good decision today."

"Really? I thought you were upset." The lion said.

"I was but I realized that telling Jackalman what you did was the best thing. A part of me wants the jackal to die, I'd be lying if I said any different but putting him to death won't bring Lynx-O back. That and Lynx-O would not want me to live with such horrible thoughts." She told him.

"It wasn't an easy decision to make believe me but I remember that Jaga once told me that the best way to defeat our enemies was to do it by kindness. Sparing his life the best kind thing I could think of because I imagine his prison sentence will not at all be pleasant." Lion-O gave a half smile.

"Well it's over and somehow we'll manage to still fight another day." Pumyra smiled slightly herself. The Lord of the ThunderCats nodded. It would be difficult to get over the loss of their friend but somehow through their friendship they would deal with it.

The End

Hope you liked it. I hope to have another story up soon. :)