Harbinger Chapter 5, a thundercats fanfic

TC is the property of WB and its affiliates. Any concepts not originating from the TC universe are the property of these creator(s) unless otherwise noted.

Characters will not completely resemble the 1985 rendition, nor the 2011 rendition. This is a reimagining of the Thundercats series as a whole and not entirely based on either series. Nor is it based on any other fan work. The creator(s) of this work reserve the right not to answer any questions or respond to any reviews. This is meant to mimic a professional work and will be conducted as such.

Episode 5

A Snarf Called Snarf

"I always imagined a forest to be a really colorful, magical place. This just smells like mushrooms." Kit sniffed the air again. "And some flowers. And…poo."

"Real forests are dark, dangerous places." Panthro picked her up by the back of her tunic and put her down three feet to the right so he could get into the trunk of the Thundertank. "What were you expecting, unicorns and singing critters?"

True it was beautiful, in its own rich, earthy, deep way. The branches and trees and vines grew wild and untamed, soil soft and nearly black with nutrients and dead leaves enriching it. But there were no careless tropical blooms here, only a few buds where sunlight forced itself through the boughs above. And there was a slight odor of animal excrement mixing with the soil here. The only thing separating where they stood from the rest of the forest was the slightest clearing for a thin, jumbled path that might have once been a road and since been mostly abandoned.

"I don't know. Something other than leaves and poo." She smiled up at him. "I know you're nice on the inside Panthro. You can stop pretending to be mean whenever you want." She managed to hug his thick forearm and then skipped off before he could free himself of his own volition.

Cheetara watched this with a wicked grin. "I like these kids more and more every day."

Lion-O was helping Kat set out his blanket on the ground. When Cheetara said this he shook his head. "He'll come around, but the less we antagonize him the better he'll do." Even so his mouth was set in a smile as Wilykit flounced around, examining their campsite.

Tygra was up in a tree, scanning the area from a high, thick branch. "Nothing nearby. I think we haven't made it past the border yet. Five, six days before we hit the river you think?"

"Sounds about right. If we find the right path." Panthro had taken to ignoring everyone for the most part, speaking only when forced to by a direct question by any member of the group. Tygra was the exception; he seemed to be on better terms with him. Lion-O watched Tygra gracefully descend the tree and brush his breeches off.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about this forest, would you?" When Tygra shook his head Lion-O pulled the older map out of his cloak and unfurled it. "Well, the legend map has these funny little creatures drawn by its symbol. I was wondering if anyone might have heard any legends about it." Here he glanced hopefully at Panthro, who straightened with his arms full of their campsite supplies.

"Nope. Nothing. Might be some indigenous species the mapmaker saw." He glanced at the image and shrugged. "Probably a rodent." He continued setting up camp and Lion-O examined the four-legged drawing and tried not to feel frazzled.

The kittens had been as good as their word so far, which was rather astonishing; after their big meal of dumplings they exercised care with the rations, and they actually knew different herbs and plants in the mud lands and even the plains that could be eaten or used to soothe stomach aches. "Our parents used to tell us all about the stuff we saw. We were going to go into the forest when we were older, but they left before we ever got to."

In addition to this they offered to keep watch. Panthro did not trust them to do this, but they took it with grace and tried to win his affection by doing odd jobs. He had them collect firewood and bury the ashes in the morning. They also had to help pitch the tents on chilly nights, and even help clean the Thundertank of the mud it had garnered. Cheetara had bristled –he was trying to make it hard for them just like he'd been trying to do for her – but Tygra and Lion-O both told her not to interfere.

Lion-O in particular was adamant. "He's trying to see if they're really going to stick it out. Watch them. He's mad but he won't have them do anything too dangerous or difficult. They're safe with him."

For two days she did watch and she was surprised to see that he was right; when Wilykat had brought back an armful of firewood, Panthro took one look at it and grabbed it. Something had jumped out – a stinging bug of some kind – and he'd killed it by squashing it when Kat yelped. The stinger had embedded in Panthro's palm but he ignored it. He told Kat to help Lion-O with dinner and headed off without another word. Another time Kit fell and hurt her wrist. It was only a twinge but Panthro had let her cry and then – gruffly – picked a pretty flower and gave it to her as if to shut her up. But Cheetara had seen concern on that grumpy face.

So she'd warmed toward by half of a degree. He was brusque and cold, but she was beginning to see little glimmers of something almost in the realm of caring behind the stone.

Kat and Kit peered at the map, Lion-O lowering it so they could see. "So we're here, right?" Kit asked, pointing to a marked spot.

"No, that's where we need to get to so we can follow the river. We're over here." Lion-O lifted her hand and moved it so her finger was over their position. She frowned.

"Aw. So we're not there yet?"

"Not by a long shot, little lady. But we're getting there." He folded up the map and sniffed. "Cheetara, are we okay on dried meat?"

"Yeah, we've got two days' worth after this." She was stirring the pot and sprinkled a few more hunks of meat into the brew. "And I mixed in terroots for substance. It might be a little strong, but…"

She sipped from the spoon and wiggled her nose. "Tolerable. The bread we brought will help."

"We should probably scout around for anything we can hunt," Tygra said, and Panthro nodded in approval.

"If we can catch something in the morning, we can dry it in the sun or smoke it to preserve the meat. It won't be as good if we keep it in smoke all night, but it'll still do." Panthro looked into the trunk and examined one of the sacks packed neatly into the tank. "We've got salt too, so that'll keep it clean if it's cut a little thicker."

"How about we try hunting tonight? Animals will probably be bedding down after dark." Cheetara listened for a moment, trying to catch any hints of creatures in the underbrush. "I think I could catch something."

"It ain't you catching 'em that I'm worried about. It's how you'll bring down a kill." She gave Panthro a look and he shook his head. "I'm just staying you don't weigh much. Have you ever killed anything before?"

"Well…no. I've seen the farmers do it but that's all." Her face heated up. Still, Panthro didn't look as condescending as he would have before, just considering this as she finished the stew. He pulled out a flat loaf of dry bread wrapped in leaves and began breaking it up for everyone. "I assume the head and neck would be good places to go for?"

"It's a pretty instinctual thing, girl. That staff will do most of the work for you, but I wouldn't get too close. If you went toe to toe with a big animal it could trample you." Panthro didn't even bother looking at the kittens when he added, "And you two are definitely not hunting for meat just yet. I'll show you how to forage for plants in case you get lost."

Both groaned. "But I wanna learn how to hunt," Kat said.

"Plants stay put, and finding meat can be difficult. You've got a better chance of surviving if you know what's poisonous and what isn't. You're doing well in the plains, but the forest is a whole new animal."

Kit tilted her head. "A forest isn't an animal. It's a plant…er, a bunch of plants."

"It's just a saying. Means they're different." Panthro gave each child a piece of bread before handing the rest to Tygra, Lion-O, and Cheetara. "After we eat I guess I'll show you some edible plants. If you're along on this trip, you'd better know how to survive. Contrary to what rookies think, knowing how to get meat isn't anywhere near as important as finding out what plants can sustain you. It takes a lot less energy and time to get stationary food and water, and those are two things you have to conserve when you're stuck in the middle of nowhere."

Lion-O glanced at Cheetara, eyes crinkling with a silent laugh. She grinned at him; Panthro was indeed hiding a kinder nature behind his burly attitude. Concern danced at the edge of his grim mouth and on the edge of his tone. But the kittens did not seem as pleased, though they said nothing in argument as they sat down and started on their dinner. "So…we'll look for berries and stuff?"

"And roots and bugs and herbs." Panthro took a bite and the kittens made faces at each other. "It's better than starving to death out in the wilderness."

"Yeah, I know. I guess I just hoped this trip was going to get adventure-y soon," Kat admitted. Panthro grunted and Tygra ladled out stew for the kids so they wouldn't burn themselves.

"I'll take a boring night camping over adventure if it means we don't have to worry about Slithe," Tygra said. Lion-O appeared ready to say something but paused instead, looking away. "Something wrong?"

Lion-O was looking into the underbrush of the trees and bushes. Settled in a tiny clearing on the path through the forest, the trees did not grow closely together here. There were tangled masses of grass and weeds growing along the roots, but sparse places by them where sunlight never fell through the thick boughs. After a few seconds he looked away. "No…just some little animals I guess. I heard something in there."

"Maybe it's bugs," Kat said. Kit made a face and he put his hands on the ground with bent fingers like great, clawed spiders. "They'll crawl up on you when you sleep and get in your mouth and lay eggs in your stomach. Then they might just crawl out the next day!"

"Ew!" Wilykit clapped her hands to her ears. "You're so gross."

Cheetara couldn't help but glance at Tygra. He looked a little revolted as well, and she smirked; he had a phobia of anything with eight legs that skittered on the ground. It was quite hilarious when she had to kill them before he'd enter a room. Granted that one had been the size of a tea saucer, and Tygra swore it was looking at him when he sprinted out of the bath, and she could kill from a distance with her staff.

Lion-O noticed this amused look and cocked his head but said nothing.

"I think it was probably just some animal that lives in the forest checking out the fire." Disappointed by this dull turn, Kat finally started eating. Kit shuffled on her behind closer to Cheetara before doing the same. Dinner was a quiet affair, all of their stomachs slowly letting their hungry aches fade as they were filled. The sound of critters in the underbrush ceased to perturb them, although Panthro sometimes listened hard to the sounds.

"All right. Come on, we've got an hour before dark. I saw some plants back along the path that we can use for burn treatment, so let's get you kids learning." He got up and both kittens – in spite of their complaining – jumped up and dashed after him. "Come on, you grown ones need to know this sort of thing too."

Lion-O got up with relative grace and after a moment, Cheetara followed. Tygra rolled his eyes. "I've been out in the wilds before."

"Not stranded alone you haven't. Get your can over here." Tygra obeyed while muttering something, added a few sticks to the fire for it to consume. "All right. First let's work on plants, then we'll set a few small traps. It ain't so important that we catch anything right now, but that's why you start early. You don't want to be starving and then have to wait three days to catch something to eat in the middle of the plenty of a forest. Preparation is the name of the game."

Cheetara begrudgingly admitted to herself that Panthro knew his stuff. He picked out seemingly innocuous little buds and berries and informed them that several were poisonous and a few were good for treating infected scratches. Many berries that could be eaten grew in bunches on the forest floor or in bushes, and he took several of them, crushed them, and gave each cat a sample. "Some only teach how to distinguish by color, but that can mess you up. Know the smell, texture, and taste as well. Pay attention to what dumb animals eat and what they avoid; they know the land better than you. Don't get berries confused for lookalikes that could give you stomach poisoning. It's hard to get anywhere when you have to stop and pull down your britches every five minutes."

Some things she'd known from sense alone, such as finding water being highest priority when stranded without supplies. Prey often swam in the lakes and ponds of an area, and a river was ideal to find; if the water was clear, a person could simply follow it, drinking what they needed and fishing for food and gathering plants along the banks. Towns formed along rivers, and following one would inevitably lead to discovering civilization. Panthro showed them grubs living on the underside of rocks – Cheetara made a note to exhaust all other methods before putting one of those wriggling, pale things in her mouth and swallowing – and at the end, as the sunlight went completely, Panthro showed them how to lay small traps with nothing but string and ingenuity.

"It'd catch something small. If something runs through, its head and torso will weigh down the string and it'd grab it around the waist or neck." He fed the string over supple branches and tested it with one of the kittens' hands. Kit put her hand through it and when she pushed down on the noose the branches sprang back and the string tightened around her wrist.

"Wow. It really worked." Kit freed herself and frowned. "I'd feel bad for the animal though."

"Hunting isn't to be done wastefully. If you catch something, you use all of it. Meat, fur, and hide can all be useful, and it's never good to waste any kind of resource. And you never, ever play with a creature you've caught. It's never right to add pain and misery to a creature without cause. It's not justice. Kill it humanely and quickly." Panthro reset the trap and Cheetara crossed her arms, listening to this and feeling her respect for Panthro rise. His pale tattoo seemed to shine and she wondered where he'd gotten it and why. He didn't seem like the sort to approve of body art for flippant reasons. Maybe it was a military insignia or something. He hadn't admitted to being in the military or a guard, but it made sense. Lion-O was on a mission set by nobles, so of course they'd send a soldier to guide and protect him.

At any rate, it was getting dark and the inky sky blurred the leaves of the trees to blots. They returned to camp, reluctantly educated, and Lion-O set up to take the first watch. Cheetara curled up in her bed roll and watched the kittens. Their blankets were so ragged, and so were their clothes…they'd need some new ones. She didn't want Lion-O to have to pay for them though. Cheetara's desire to contribute was needling her brain, trying to figure out how to add to the group. Maybe she could make some; Mama had shown her how to sew before, and she reasoned she could figure out some simple tunics if she could only get ahold of fabric. Certainly she could buy sturdy cloth cheaply. She had to conserve her funds. Her mother had a good eye for sensible fabric…

Mama. Her eyes warmed and she sighed, curling up under her blanket. It had only been about a week, but it seemed so much longer. The trek was already muddling into a bathless, bedless expanse of time, easy to adjust to but a little uncomfortable. Cheetara wondered if her parents were worried. She'd sent a message from Rana Village – one of the merchants had been going to Dera's Run and agreed to transfer the note for her – but they'd had no tech message systems, so it would take a few days. Thinking of her mother's worried, harried face and Daddy's blood pressure, Cheetara resolved to message them as soon as possible again.

The Thundertank had no message system. This struck Cheetara as ridiculous, but Lion-O had explained that it was primarily a weapon and terrain-crosser. To communicate with other tanks was done with headsets worn by the drivers on the battlefield, and the vehicle was already so heavy that to install a message system would have been that much more room that it didn't have. It also didn't have to connect to anything, making it harder to track by enemies.

Honestly, it was a rolling gun, and communication wasn't one of its strong suits. Just like its owner, she reflected with a slight laugh, muffled in the blanket. One of the kittens rolled over and sighed, a sleepy kitten sound. Cheetara finally shut her eyes to try and sleep until her watch duty.

She woke to a strange, scrabbling noise and Lion-O standing up. Lifting her head, Cheetara felt the beginnings of a headache in her temples from the shock of waking so quickly. She shrugged this aside and got up. Lion-O looked at her as she stretched. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe we caught something?" Cheetara felt a mixture of interest and apprehension at this. She had nothing against hunting – it was a way to survive – but she'd never had to kill prey herself. Refusing to look like a cossetted city girl, she started into the forest with her staff at her side. "What about the others?" Lion-O asked.

It was a very faint scratching noise, and the others were all asleep. Cheetara thought about this and prodded Panthro. He grunted and slowly sat up. "What? Lion-O fall asleep?"

"No. Lion-O and I are going to investigate the traps. It sounds like there's something in one. We'll be back."

He raised an eyebrow. "Good choice, not leaving the rest of us without someone watching."

Cheetara accepted this with surprise and even managed to smile. "Thanks. We're not totally hopeless."

Panthro didn't address that. "If it's a baby you can release it. Ain't no point in eating young."

Pleased by this – relieved was actually a better word – Cheetara returned to Lion-O and they set off through the green and dark. Being cats, they were moderately dainty about picking their way through the underbrush, and it was only about ten seconds before they found the trap. The fire was a pleasant orange dot between the branches.

The trap bobbed and they heard something squeal, a tiny cry. Cheetara's heart softened and Lion-O folded aside the large ferns blocking their view. Then they both stared and blinked, not sure what they were seeing.

The little thing couldn't have been much larger than Lion-O's hand with the fingers spread. Red fur covered its body, save for its peach-fuzz underbelly, and bold yellow stripes raced over its back. Soft hair the same color as the stripes grew on its head and its big ears were laid back, flopping over its shoulders. It had a little pink nose and peach-tan fur grew around its mouth in tufts of whiskers. And at the end of its long tail was one more tuft of peachy hair, whipping frantically. And its eyes ware large and dark, shining like polished stones.

Cheetara plopped right down and couldn't help it; she gave an "Aww." It originated somewhere around her heart and ended with her two X-chromosomes. "Look…what in the world is it?"

"I'm not really sure." Lion-O knelt and the creature cried. He hastily backed up. "Guess it likes girls better." He offered his hand to it and it slowly sniffed his knuckles. Lifting his finger, he brushed it under the tiny chin in a gentle move.

"Well, we're letting it go, right? I mean it's obviously some kind of baby." Clucking her tongue, Cheetara dared – foolishly – to scratch behind its ears. It tried swiping at her with teeny claws, but when she murmured and cooed at it, the creature seemed to perk up its ears. "Did you get caught in the trap little guy? Don't worry, we won't hurt you. It wasn't for you. Hang on, let me get it." It was looped around the creature's belly and she loosened it enough to slide the tiny thing out. "There you go. Aw, you're so sweet!"

Ecstatic at being freed, the thing licked her face and purred before hopping down and hurrying off into the dark, jumping over a log and out of sight. Cheetara sighed and stood up. "Maybe hunting's not so easy after all."

Lion-O shook his head. "I don't think that was just any animal. I got a weird feeling from it."

Tilting her head, Cheetara said, "Really? Maybe it was your cuteness receptors exploding."

He smiled. "Maybe. But it seemed to understand the situation pretty well. It knew we were helping."

"Maybe it was trained by someone?" Cheetara asked. "I hope it finds its family all right."

Returning to camp found Panthro sitting, scanning the perimeter of the campsite. "What was it?"

"We don't know. Some kind of little, four-legged animal. It looked like a baby so we let it go." Cheetara sat down and sighed. "I'm already wired, I'll take my shift now."

Lion-O frowned and suddenly took out the old map from his belt. Unfurling it, he said, "Panthro. It looked like this creature." He turned the page around showed them with one claw. Cheetara squinted; it was an old image and slightly faded, but the design was fairly similar to what they'd seen.

"I guess it's really common around here." Panthro lifted his head and listened for something. "There was only one?"

"I think so. It seemed pretty clever." Cheetara leaned against a tree and Panthro frowned. "What?"

"Like someone trained it? It could be a scout or something." All the same Panthro laid back down. "Well, wake me up if you hear anything. That's the point of having someone stand watch."

Lion-O crawled into his bedroll and sighed, watching the underbrush. "I can finish out my shift, Cheetara, if you're still tired."

"Says the guy bundled in his blanket." She waved a hand. "Go on, get some sleep."

He tended to curl up, she noticed. Some people slept straight, some slept in a ball. Lion-O tended to curve in a semi-circle. She smiled when his eyes finally shut and he started snoring. It wasn't anywhere near as loud as Panthro's racket, but his little nose meant he whistled in his sleep. She leaned against the broad tree at her back and listened to the sounds of the group's sleep patterns. Kit mumbled in her sleep, Kat slept on his belly, Panthro snored loud enough to wake the dead, and Tygra's tail rolled and unrolled like a party streamer. Shaking her head, Cheetara gazed up at the few stars she could see in the dark sky.

"…Appalling, filthy, uninhabitable weed-hole."

Cheetara straightened. That wasn't snoring. Taking out her staff again, Cheetara listened for the voice again. It had seemed to drift up above like snow falling from branches.

"I keep telling him, 'Oh, let's just go back up north! Bacteria suffers in the cold! It's much cleaner and you won't have to run that smelly machine all day!' But what does he say? 'Oh no, we need these little germ-sacks. Red Eye says they're perfect laborers and he's made sooo many discoveries with their work! Production is doing well!' I don't know how much longer I can tolerate living in this forest, I swear I'll catch a sickness from one of these rodents. Probably carrying a plague."

At last she saw the speaker. He was perched on a tree branch about a hundred feet away, back to her. The only reason she'd spotted him was because he had a helmet on his head with a light coming out of it. He looked to be some kind of great bird, with buzzard-pale flesh on his torso and head and long, straight brown feathers along his back and wings. These wings had, in place of simple primary feathers, long, bony fingers with long feathers between them. The feathers seemed to fold away when he opened and closed his hands, and Cheetara squinted at him. She couldn't make out his clothing.

He seemed to be taking leaves from the tree. She remained completely silent and listened again.

"Needs to be thicker, well, I gave you one thickening agent already! If Red Eye is such a genius get him to design everything. 'Running low on roots and petals to increase potency of the serum,' well then go harvest some yourself! I'm a theorist and a lab scientist, not a botanist. I was born to discover and study in the antiseptic environment. With gloves…I miss my gloves. Oh, there are bugs in this tree, repulsive. Probably excreting slimes all over me, ugh!"

This fellow complained a lot, but after about five more minutes of this ranting he seemed to have filled a small bag with leaves and shook his shoulders to loosen them. Then he spread his wings and took off, never once looking at her or noticing their campsite. The feathers between his fingers lengthened and swelled full of air, carrying him gracefully between the trees and into the dark.

Cheetara gazed after him for a long moment and finally sat back down. Dawn was coming, and she'd mention the stranger when the others woke up.

But his ranting and strange behavior bothered her for the rest of the night.

Tygra turned in a circle. "I guess this is a bad time to say that this forest is a little fuzzy on the map, huh?"

Lion-O was staring at the screen in the Thundertank, zooming in on their location and squinting repeatedly. "I guess the trees have grown up and changed since the data was compiled. The path is still here, but…"

"It's kind of a mess. Like the magic path in the story Mama and Papa used to read to us." Wilykat sat on the hood of the Thundertank and looked up into the trees to see the pale sky. It looked like rain today and Tygra fidgeted. "No one happens to have a magic carpet, do they?"

The path forked in front of them, and the map seemed to state that there had actually been three paths at one time. There might have been the trampled, flooded remains of one right there, or that might be the remainder of four nests or so. Tygra scraped his claws over the ground and said, "Where do the three roads lead?"

"One to the western border of the forest, one right into the northern mountains, and the last goes toward the river. But they intersect in a few places." Lion-O abandoned the map and buried his claws in his hair, thumbs resting on his ponytail. "Ngh. My head's starting to hurt."

Panthro was looking at a compass embedded in the dash. "Let's see…that path is to the north, it's faded. So if we follow that, we might get lost. Maybe we can take that path northwest instead, and hopefully the intersection point will be better off."

Wilykit and Cheetara were standing side by side, Kit asking about the animal. "He was a baby? I hope he found his parents! You should've woken us up, I want to know what he looks like…"

"Maybe we'll see another one. I'll bet there are more around." Cheetara looked into the front of the tank and asked, "Do you want me to scout ahead on this faded path?"

Panthro shook his head. "Too risky. As fast as you move you'd get lost pretty quick."

Kat flopped over Panthro's shoulder to see the map and scratched his head. "I've got an idea. Can we just go straight toward the river without a path?"

Tygra shook his head. "Going in a straight line is harder than you think. Besides, we wouldn't be able to fit the tank through the forest unless we're willing to uproot half of it."

"Oh." Kat's tail drooped. "Sorry."

"It shows ingenuity," Lion-O said absently. He raised the Sword of Omens and gave it a weary look. "I tried looking through it, but it won't show me anything. I guess we should just try a path and see where it leads."

Cheetara climbed into the tank, Wilykit curling up in the back seat. "I wish we had an idea at least." She looked hopelessly from one path to another. "We could waste weeks here. I could scout ahead on the good paths at least."

Panthro seemed to consider this and Tygra – in spite of himself – didn't like the idea. Cheetara was tough, but if something attacked her and she was on her own…

Lion-O didn't reply to this. He was looking over the hood and staring at something. "Cheetara. Is that what I think it is?" She followed his eyes and her eyebrows jumped up.

"Yeah. It's another thing like the baby." Everyone turned and Tygra spotted the thing after a moment. It was sitting in a sunny patch, red fur quite bright, watching them impassively. It was about as tall as the kittens' waists, and Tygra presumed the baby thing – from Lion-O and Cheetara's description – had been much smaller. This thing was mature. It turned around and flicked its tail.

"It looks like he waved his tail at us. Like he wants us to follow," Kit said. Tygra gave the little beast a skeptical quirk of the mouth and checked his whip.

"A weird creature wants us to follow it…right. Tell me another one." The creature scowled – its brow furrowed and it frowned – and made an indignant noise, waving its tail more insistently. "Well, maybe it's smarter than it looks," he admitted. One of its ears cocked and it paced toward them on neat little feet.

Then its mouth opened. "My tribe need to speak with your group. Please follow me as it's quite urgent."

Panthro sputtered and Lion-O fell right onto his tail. Cheetara shot out of her seat and the kittens both exclaimed. "I'm not the only one that heard it talk, right?" Tygra asked, keeping up by hanging on to the side of the tank.

Lion-O shook his head, closing his mouth. The furry being gave them all a bewildered look. "Why are you surprised? Because I am four-legged?"

"No. Well…maybe," Cheetara said, climbing out of the tank. "I mean, we saw one of your kind before. It didn't talk to us. What are you exactly?"

"I am what is known as a Snarf. We have lived in this forest longer than Thundera has existed, and I suppose you can't be blamed for not knowing about us. We have been forgotten in the more 'civilized' parts of the world." The "Snarf" analyzed her with a tilt to his ears. "You and the lion freed our little one. The infants of our kind cannot speak, not until they are five years old. That one is mischievous and snuck out when his father was busy to explore when he was caught in your trap."

"Stellar parenting," Tygra muttered. Cheetara elbowed him and the Snarf paid him no mind.

"What did you want to see us about? We're sorry he was caught."

He shook his head dismissively. "You were compassionate and released him. We wondered if perhaps this compassion would lead you to help our people."

Cheetara looked up at Lion-O and leaned on the side of the ThunderTank. "What's the problem?"

"I was sent to fetch you so you could speak to our chief. Time is of the essence. Please follow me and he will explain it." He turned away and paused when he noticed the cats sharing suspicious looks. "Our tribe is very large. If you will not help us we will let you go on your way, but I cannot promise you won't find some mean-spirited pranks played on you while you travel here. Our people are angry and frightened."

Lion-O got out of the Thundertank. "Kat, Kit, you stay in the tank with Panthro. Panthro, follow us in the Thundertank." The darker cat nodded, eyes narrowing at the Snarf. If they were to try anything, there would be an arsenal ready. Tygra walked beside the tank, noticing that Cheetara walked with Lion-O, quite a bit closer to the Snarf. Girls; if it had a cute nose and a fluffy body, they melted. Cheetara was no exception. He sighed and shook his head.

For a while there was no conversation, only a steady darkening of the forest. The spaces in the branches for sunlight grew fewer and fewer, and the shade edged toward the blackness of night. Every now and then a beady jewel of an eye seemed to watch them and then vanish. Tygra stuck his tongue out at one and heard an outraged chattering and waved cheekily.

"Could you not try to annoy these guys? We might be outnumbered here." Lion-O didn't sound irritated, just glancing from side to side with supreme care.

"Hey, they're the rude ones. They won't even come out and say hello." Tygra stopped in his tracks and Lion-O paused too.

"Something wrong?"

"Yeah." He moved his foot and looked under it. "Something cold…what is this?" Tygra ducked down and fingered the substance, rubbing his fingertips together to check its consistency. "It feels cold and powdery. Almost like snow, but in grains." It didn't melt over his white fur and he rubbed his hand against a clean leaf. It looked like a puff of frost, softly white, and he noticed several more splotches of it in the cool, murky shade. "It's in little spots around here."

The Snarf turned around to come look at it. "Yes. It's from the cold man. He's what we want to talk about."

Finally interested, Tygra no longer made faces at the things creeping in the brush. There was a faint flicker of golden light up ahead, and it took a minute for him to recognize it as a campfire. These little guys could make fire? Impressive.

Panthro parked the Thundertank when the trees became too narrow, and he climbed out with the kittens right behind him and his weapon loose on his hip. Privately, Tygra considered having a Panthro around was as safe as having a tank, so this didn't bother him too much. "After you, my good man." He bowed and waved Panthro on. The cat grunted and trudged past Lion-O and Cheetara, and the Snarf looked up at him. They had paused before what appeared to be a curtain woven of vines, letting stars of firelight through. It was a surprisingly well-woven piece, a crochet of plant life. A few dark blossoms grew along the edges.

"Allow me to announce your presence," he said. The little fellow easily slipped through the gap in the curtain and they heard him murmuring. Tygra tapped his whip again, just in case, and he noted that Lion-O had one hand resting casually on the golden gauntlet he kept at his hip. Suddenly the Snarf poked his head back through. "Please come in. Our chief welcomes you and thanks you for coming."

The curtains opened and Panthro went through. Tygra followed with his fur cautiously bristling, but upon the sight within his unease changed to something like a very fuzzy awe.

There were literally hundreds of little creatures just like the one that had led them here. Eyes of every color and shape, chubby scarlet bodies and bony reddish coats, long tails, stubby tails, tails that had been cut short by some kind of accident. They were arranged in an arc around the fire, all on one side, and smaller ones were clustered up front where they could see better. Some of the faces were hairier than others, and about half of them had pinkish pale fur, thin layers across their delicate little faces. He reasoned that these might be female. There were more curtains beyond them, woven by the tiny paw-hands of the Snarfs and set with flat strips of bark, rimming their great fire. And on the other side of the fire was one Snarf with a great headdress on, made of feathers and colorful pebbles and pieces of cloth. It was quite impressive, and he seemed to suit it. He was a little larger and darker than all the others, and there was a scar on his side where the red fur was thin and white flesh peeped from under it.

"Please sit. In our Conference Grounds, everyone is offered complete safety." The large one had a deeper voice and gestured with a foreleg to several smooth, flat stones on the other side of the fire. Every eye was on them as they situated themselves, the kittens whispering to each other. Tygra sat last, feeling like he was at a foreign king's tea party. Oh man, tea, that would be great right now. "Thank you for coming. I apologize for our abruptness, but we are in dire straits, and you are the only travelers we've seen that have shown any sign of kindness. The others don't care for our plight."

Cheetara grinned; one of the little ones was waving at her. "Is that the baby from this morning?"

"Indeed. Our young Snar-Fer. You have our thanks for sparing him." There were several other little Snarfs around this Snar-Fer, and Cheetara was visibly fighting the urge to and gather them up in a big, cuddly mass. "I am the Chief Snarf, Os-Wald-O. Our tribe has lived in the forest for hundreds of years, and we are friendly to most travelers, especially when they show us kindness. You are welcome here." The Snarf stood up and bowed. Lion-O inclined his torso, a tricky feat while sitting. Tygra thought this rather silly, considering they doubtless had no deed of ownership or any other sign of owning this land.

"Thank you. I am Lion-O, and these are my fellows." He introduced them one by one. "We meant to travel to the river so we can follow it to the Fel Sea and Tropo. We didn't know this was your forest."

"We know. We have been spying on you to understand your intentions. We also know you carry Thundera's Sword, which is only ever carried by the noble and true." The Chief didn't seem abashed at all for spying, and Lion-O's hand slipped under his cloak to check the Sword of Omens in spite of himself. "By watching you we have determined that you have kind hearts, and feel as if we must ask you for your help. There is no one else we can turn to."

Lion-O frowned. "What seems to be the problem? Is something wrong with the forest? Your messenger mentioned enemies."

The chief lowered his eyes and the tiny mouth grew bitter. For something so little and fluffy to look so unhappy was a rather shocking thing. "We heard rumors of dark happenings. People take substances and turn into demons, and the people of the north are growing fearful with crime. A few months ago, one of these demon-people and a northerner – a Luna, I believe you call them – came to our forest. The northerner was a great fat man with metal legs that spew cold dust, and the demon-person is some sort of birdman. The moment they arrived they began tearing up certain plants and sending them away. This we could have tolerated, but they also took our people hostage."

At this Tygra straightened. The other Snarfs seemed to quiver. "How many of your people were taken?" he asked. A "demon-person" could only be one thing; a Mutant. Cheetara had mentioned a vulture in the trees. And a Luna with metal legs that shot "cold dust?"

"…Three hundred of our fathers and mothers, our sons and daughters, have been taken. They were put in metal cages and sent away. It did not matter to these people that we can speak and reason on their level. They tore children from parents and mate from mate." Both kittens gave outraged cries and Lion-O's face darkened. Tygra glanced at Panthro, who was listening impassively.

"Do you know why they took them?" Cheetara asked finally, softly.

"We aren't sure. You see, the birdman and the northerner live not far away. They harvest certain kinds of plants, but we don't know why. And often they come to our home territory and snatch up dozens of Snarfs. These they carry back to their metal house – a base, they called it – and we smell the dirty scent of their moving metal contraptions carrying plants and Snarfs away. We have tried to intercept these, but even though we get close enough to hear our families cry for help, we have no way to stop the metal things and unlock the cages. Some of us have been crushed trying to save them."

Here a few Snarfs shifted and Tygra saw withered limbs and missing tails. In spite of his natural skepticism, his heart softened a little.

"Where do they send them? Do you know?" he asked.

The chief nodded. "There is a lake in the forest. It was once a great bend in the river but over time it was separated from the current and now rain empties into it, keeping it deep and dangerous. They built a stone and metal road to its center, and sitting in the middle of the lake is another metal house. It is much larger than the other, and bad smells come from it often. We watch it all the time. Sometimes metal contraptions come out again, only this time they are full of bottles."

Tygra linked his fingers warily. "Mutation?"

"That is the name for the substance? It is green and apparently worth much to them. It is often sent down the river to Tropo and the sea." The chief was looking at them with a staunch refusal to look hopeful. "You know of this already."

"Tropo is a hub for Mutation trade from what we've heard. Did big bags on carts ever come through the forest to the birdman and the Luna who live here?" Cheetara asked. Surprised, a few of the Snarfs nodded, muttering to each other. "There was an awful woman in one of the villages who sent minerals out to other cities. It's an ingredient for Mutation. It sounds like this plant might be a part of what's used to synthesize it. I saw this bird in the trees early this morning. He was gathering leaves."

"Miss Hiss used to send carts to the forest," Kit said thoughtfully. "They always used to have moss and leaves on them when they came back because they spent so much time in the trees."

"Not only that, but from the sound of things there's someone mixing an important chemical for it here, or even Mutation itself," Lion-O said suddenly. "I take it you guys haven't been in the base on the lake?"

"Those who are taken in never get out. The stone road has fiery lights and they burn us if we touch them."

"Lasers," Tygra whispered to Panthro. He lowered his chin in a half-nod. "You say the Luna's metal legs shoot cold dust. Are you talking about that white stuff I saw on the ground?" he asked aloud.

The chief looked to the messenger who said, "Yes. He moves quickly by firing cold dust out of the metal legs, and when he walks more legs sprout out of the sides like a spider. That was where the last attack was, two days ago."

"It's pretty warm for a Luna in this climate," Panthro said. "Does he have some kind climate monitoring device on him?"

Several Snarfs blinked. Panthro rubbed the back of his head. "Er…does he have something that keeps him cold?"

"Yes," one Snarf said. She had a scar across her pert snout, perhaps an advisor. There was also a band of colored pebbles around her neck. "The metal thing he rides in makes cold air where he goes."

"I see." Panthro looked at Lion-O. "So. What do you think?"

Lion-O crossed his arms. "I assume you want us to fight these people and get them out of your forest, and free the captive Snarfs?"

An excited murmur raced through the furry bodies and several meowed delightedly. The chief raised a paw and the multitude grew silent again. "From the sound of things, you wish to stop the trade of this substance. You also wish to reach Tropo and the river as quickly as possible. I understand that this will be dangerous and time consuming. We are willing to offer you our services and assistance if you will help us. We know many paths through the forest, and we can help you reach your destination many days faster than if you wandered the winding paths, even with your big machine."

The chief paused and for the first time he took off his headdress. He seemed much tinier now and somewhat desperate in his bright eyes and shivering paws. "If you were to save our people, our entire tribe would owe you a great boon, and I would personally name all of you friends to the Snarf Forest Tribe. This is no small thing when traveling, for there are many peoples that are friends with Snarfs. One of the friendly tribes of our forest has declared war on the lake base. They might be willing to help you if you can reach them."

"I take it you guys can't?"

"The forest has grown perilous in that direction. Our friends are stronger than we are, and did not take it well when the northerner and the demon tried to kidnap their people. The fighting has grown worse, and we are defenseless."

Lion-O chewed his lip. "Would you mind if I spoke to my fellows in private?"

"Not at all." Tygra forced himself not to laugh when the chief and every Snarf behind him clamped their forepaws over their ears and waited patiently. Lion-O blinked and shushed the kittens when they giggled.

"Okay. What do you guys think of this?" he asked in undertone. The cats grouped around him in a small circle and Tygra shrugged.

"I think we've been asked to do something dangerous and stupid by complete strangers. But hey, the chief had a point. If this bird and Luna have something to do with the Mutation trade, we might want to nail them."

"Do we? We've already dealt a blow in Rana Village. Remember, Mutation isn't our number one priority; reaching the King's Door is. Or Icla in your case. And every time we stop to help some Susie Sob-Story, that eats into the time we have." Panthro nudged Kat because he was trying to wave at some of the baby Snarfs.

"What? They're fuzzy," he objected.

"If they have some shortcuts through the forest, it might end up saving time. Besides, are we really going to leave these little guys on their own? I mean…look at them." Cheetara gestured at the furry exodus. "They're scared. And we're lost."

Lion-O seemed torn and Tygra couldn't make up his mind either. These weren't kittens suffering, but even his wry conscience berated him for thinking about leaving and hurrying on their way. "Y'know, if we interfere here, we might start getting a name for ourselves. That could be a bad thing," he said suddenly. "The people in Tropo will expect us if we keep hitting every Mutation spot on our way." Panthro grunted and Lion-O exhaled in a sort of bewildered sigh.

"I don't understand why this is happening. I mean, what are the odds of us meeting two groups that need our help so close together?" Gesturing to the Sword of Omens he made a face. "You want me to ask it what we ought to do?"

"If it'll say anything." But Tygra blinked, hearing something snap. All the Snarfs were silent, but he had distinctly heard the crack of a branch. "Guys, did you hear-?"

One of the thin walls of wood and vines came crashing in and the Snarfs began screaming and running in every direction. It was a red and gold sea foaming around their legs and the kittens were nearly engulfed by the panicked rush. Only the chief remained, staunch in his place. Lion-O grabbed Kat and Tygra caught Kit, and Cheetara scooped up Snar-Fer and three other babies nearly trampled underfoot.

The splintered wall fell and Tygra saw the cold substance lacing its broken edges. "Looks like we're going to meet these guys whether we want to or not," he said, teeth bared grimly.

A clink and whirr preceded the first figure. He was tremendously round and sitting in what almost looked like a metal tub, flesh a light, bruised purple like many Luna. His torso was armored and his arms were bulging, though whether it was muscle or fat was impossible to tell. His neck was very short and his round head was bald but for one strip of violently purple hair on the center of his scalp and two yellow, gnarled horns on either side of it. His eyelids were nearly black and the whites of his eyes were a lusterless yellow. His lips were shiny with saliva and his expression was permanently squashed and sour. His large ears were pierced many times over with silver rings.

Most disturbing was the fact that the metal tub had no room for legs that would suit a man that size. It was as if he was just a chubby torso that had been chopped from his legs and put in a big metal bowl. But from the bottom of the tub stuck three large tubes, and he balanced on these like a tripod. The ground below these was steadily turning white, and Tygra realized it was ice.

He seemed dreadfully hot, and was wiping his forehead. "Can't believe he needs more of these rats. What has he done, eaten the lot of them?" The tub made a noise and out of the rim jets of cold air fired off, leaving icy dust on him. So that was how he survived in the temperate climate. "Oh…well, what have we here?" he said more quietly, looking at the cats with greedy dislike.

"Cats? I abhor cats. Always nosing into things…not to mention their bacteria. Campylobacter and who knows how many different kinds of intestinal worms!" Tygra looked up and spotted the bird Cheetara had described. He was crouched on a bough above them, eyes beady and beak protruding like a clay dagger. He was wearing a sleeveless smock and seemed unwilling to touch anything with his hands, cringing from tree trunks. He was wringing his fingers in a greasy way. "Why are you here?" the bird called.

"Just enjoying the sights, spreading germs, crapping in your forest," Tygra said banally. "Why are you here?"

The fat man scanned each face with boredom. As he did this the three tubes seemed to splinter off into thinner legs, sliding to the edge of the tub. These moved like a spider, carrying him like a huge bowl of gelatin on shards of creeping metal. Tygra twitched. Way too spidery for his taste. "The progression of science and commerce. I would recommend leaving this area. Bad things happen to travelers in these parts." He noticed Cheetara glaring at him and holding the little Snarfs in her arms. "Ah, you've been talking to them. What stories have they told, my dear?"

"Oh, just that you've been kidnapping them and doing heaven knows what to their people. And that you're in the Mutation trade. Little things." She put the babies down and shooed them away, making sure they sprinted out of the clearing before she took out her staff.

"Return our children, cur!" The little chief snarled and jumped, clawing at the metal. The Luna grinned lazily and batted him aside with the flick of a pointed leg segment.

"All part of production. But I'm afraid we need a few more of them, so if you don't mind." He shot forward, legs scrabbling at a horrifyingly fast rate. At the same time his left arm – one of his hands was made of metal, Tygra realized – raised and the metal hand folded outward, fingers tucking into what looked like the barrel of a tiny cannon. He grinned wetly and ice shot from it, lumps as big as fists that moved as fast as bullets. Cheetara just managed to duck and he shot past her, into the trees. The Snarfs began screaming again in the distance and Cheetara echoed them.

"You dirty cheat! Get over here!"

The sound of thick wings spreading made Tygra look up as the bird descended on them. "Cats, eh? I haven't experimented on cats in a while. What new viruses are you spreading to the planet? What new filth are you excreting? I shall have to disinfect myself after we do battle." The bird pumped his wings, letting the air descend on them. "You should be honored; Gyp is the name, and I rarely introduce myself."

Panthro's weapons – nunchuks, they were more common in the eastern lands but Tygra had seen them before – were brandished and the bird hesitated. "Gyp, huh? Captain Gyp of the Alliance? Not just any foe is dumb enough to give his name away."

An Alliance captain? Tygra gave new heed to the bird, who had fluffed up in anger. He hadn't heard of Gyp, so he must be relatively new or unimportant, but Panthro seemed very familiar with the name. "Slithe probably got tired of your whining and shipped you out here to chug out some Mutation, eh? He's the brains of the operation for a reason."

Gyp dove suddenly, hard as an arrow and twice as sharp. Panthro attacked and was clawed across his arm by talons for the trouble. But the bird hissed; one blow had glanced off his side, and his wings flapped to recover from the impact. Panthro's cut began to bleed but he didn't even look at it. He was shifting around to stand in front of the kittens, holding a fighter's defensive stance. Tygra sidled around to their other side, and Cheetara stole toward the forest where the Luna had vanished.

"I don't think so!" Gyp swooped down again, talons bared, and Cheetara ducked under them and put her hands on the ground, kicking up from under him, right in the stomach.

"Get out of the way, jerk!" She hit him with the length of her staff and knocked him aside like a stuffed toy. And with a flick of her golden hair Cheetara was gone, hurtling after the Luna. Lion-O took off after her, unsheathing his sword.

"Well-y well," Tygra said, languidly cracking his knuckles. Gyp was getting up, panting and holding his stomach as if he couldn't get a proper breath. "Shall we dance? It's only four on one."

"Two on one," Panthro corrected. The kittens gave him fuming looks and he returned a furious one of his own. "You lot get in the Tank where it's safe!"

Tygra ignored all this and headed in, whip unfurling and cracking. Somehow he got the idea that this guy wasn't going to be very difficult at all if he didn't get a chance to use Mutation.

Tygra didn't intend to give him that chance.

Lion-O had no hope of catching up to Cheetara if she were going at top speed, but he plowed after her anyway, jumping from the ground to fallen trunks to stumps, trying to eat up the distance. It had been very foolish for her to run off like this after an enemy they'd never faced, but her face had been livid when the Luna went after little Snar-Fer and the others. They'd not made their decision on whether or not to help the Snarfs, but Cheetara had made hers.

It hadn't been terribly wise or practical. But Lion-O couldn't help but like her more for it.

He heard the crash of metal on wood and redoubled his efforts. One of the trees in front of him cracked and he ran past it to see Cheetara flying back into another tree. The Luna had a long scratch on one arm and his fist was clenched as if he'd hit her. It looked like he'd been shooting the ice lumps and several had struck the young tree trunk before he'd managed to land a blow on Cheetara. Her lean body crumpled but she groaned, still conscious.

Turning to Lion-O, the Luna hefted his cannon arm and fired several times. Rather than ducking, Lion-O sliced neatly through each projectile with the Sword of Omens – the parted chunks flew harmlessly to either side of the blade – and let the spinning blows carry him to his enemy. Blocking him with his metal hand, the Luna tried to punch him but Lion-O pushed back and sliced at the metal legs of the machine.

One leg was dented but Lion-O paid for this when he was hit by an ice blast in the side. It felt as if he'd been struck by stone, making him stumble. Coughing, Lion-O gripped his ribs and snarled. "What do you want with these Snarfs?"

"My superior apparently needs them. So there." The Luna came in swinging, charging in a frosty gust. Lion-O cut at the metal legs again and this time one snapped. The Luna's weight pushed him forward and he cursed in a different language. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to put this thing together!?"

Lion-O snorted. "Pardon me for being inconsiderate of someone trying to abduct helpless creatures." The man pushed himself off the ground and Lion-O went in again, this time going for two more legs.

The needlelike appendages suddenly condensed, fitting together in the three tubes, and the Luna smirked as they shifted like a gun's barrel. An icy cloud of frozen dust spewed out of the bottom and Lion-O coughed on it before he managed to back away.

Cold. Frigid, icy cold. Lion-O clutched at his chest and sat down, feeling ice crystals in his chest. Hacking, he tried to vomit; it was the only thing he could think of to get the foul stuff out. But nothing came up, and he was left on his hands and knees, wheezing.

"Nice, isn't it? Sometimes a gust of subzero air is just what one needs." The ground turned white below the tubes and the fat Luna seemed to gloat with the chugging of his machine. He hovered in place as the tubes pumped out more cold and air. "I wonder what will happen if I stick the cannon in your mouth and fire?"

Something connected with the Luna's back and he gasped, flying to the side and through several bushes. Cheetara was up and her arm was bruised, but her eyes were dark. Her staff was letting out a faint light, and Lion-O felt the air warm near it. He curled in on himself and gasped, his insides stinging with the needles of ice. As the seconds groaned by he felt it lessening, and when he coughed the sensation began to fade. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just need a minute." Lion-O lurched to his feet. "Where are the Snarfs?"

The sound of the ice machines exploded over them and the Luna shot into the air, grinning down at them. He had the little Snarfs under his arms and Cheetara screamed at him. Without a word the man shot off over the forest, using the ice like a rocket. The faint cries were soft and growing softer, and Lion-O saw a dark, feathery mass ascend with him, looking quite pathetic.

He pressed one palm flat to his chest and glared after the pair. "They just made things very, very personal."

Cheetara's hands were absolutely fused to her staff, nostrils flared. Lion-O watched her fur puff out. "We'll get them back. Let's regroup and get the Snarfs to tell us where the base is. They won't be able to take all of us."

Shaking with rage, she nodded and took his arm, plowing back through the trees. Lion-O sprinted to keep up as she lugged him along, mind racing as he tried to figure out why a Luna and a vulture would be working together, and what "superior" they might be reporting to.

Panthro planted the kittens in the ThunderTank, neck throbbing in one very notable vein. That happened when he got mad. "When I say, 'Get in the Tank,' you do it!"

Churlish, neither kitten replied, arms crossed. "Gyp could have killed you!" he continued, banging on the metal door. He checked himself; he might dent the paneling. "You said you'd listen to orders!"

"We just wanted to help. Besides, he was weak…" Kat muttered.

"That doesn't matter! If he's a Captain of the Alliance, he's got some kind of skill!" Kit pouted at this.

"Well then how come you made fun of him?"

Panthro fumed, turning around. "It was a goad! Like what you did with Slithe! Friggin' kids!" Tygra had returned to the Tank, brushing dirty down primly from his tunic.

"Ease up Panthro. If they were going to make the mistake, at least it was with a weakling featherbrain like Gyp. One measly twisted ankle and he takes off like a baby." Tygra leaned on the Tank and gave each kitten a serious look. "You two promised you'd listen. If you're going to break your promise, we're taking you back to Timbyr."

The kittens exclaimed in horror and Panthro quirked an eyebrow, frown still heavily set. That would take even longer. But Tygra simply gave him a half-wink. "We said we'd listen to Lion-O! We didn't break our promise because Panthro isn't Lion-O! But we'll listen from now on," Kit bawled.

"Okay, okay…be sure you do." Tygra flicked his whip to coil it up and replace it on his hip. "Anyway, did you see which way Lion-O and Cheetara went?"

"We're here," Lion-O called. Cheetara was towing him, eyes smoldering, and Panthro realized the two were covered in foliage debris. He cursed himself and his failure when Lion-O nursed his side. "That ice guy is tough. He grabbed four Snarf babies and flew off. What happened with Gyp?"

"Flapped away like a chicken. He's not much to worry about without Mutation in him." Tygra turned his head toward where the pair had disappeared. "I guess we're involved whether we like it or not. Think we can find the Snarfs or the bases?"

Kat and Kit climbed out of the Tank. "Are we gonna help them then?"

"Considering the fact that those two just attacked us and they've kidnapped sentient creatures, I don't see how we can do anything else," Lion-O said firmly. He brushed the leaves and twigs from his hair and clothes and looked around the clearing. The thin walls had been ruined and the delicate vine curtains ripped to shreds. The fire had gone out, leaving the place very dark indeed. "Hello? Chief Os-Wald-O?"

The creak of a fallen branch drew their attention. "Here," whispered a quiet voice. Lion-O and Tygra stooped and Panthro spotted the chief's red hide under a cracked bough. Gyp had knocked several of them free in an attempt to harm them, and Os-Wald-O crawled out from under a thick one, favoring his right hind leg. "I failed. I tried to stop him," he mumbled, ears drooping. "He took our children again. I am lower than the tail of an outcast."

"Don't worry. If you can tell us where to find the base, we're definitely going to pay them a visit," Cheetara said coldly. Panthro knew that look; it was the look a mother bear got when someone messed with her cub. Death or general agony tended to follow such looks, although Cheetara would have to gain about two hundred pounds of muscle and hair before she looked so imposing. He'd seen a grizzly tear a man's arm off, and she lacked the power to do so, if not the savagery.

Actually, he had to wonder how Ursa was doing. The clink hadn't done much to dampen her spirit last he checked.

The chief gave them a wordless look of thanks. "You are Thundera's kin indeed. If you walk north from here you will find their base. I can show you the way."

"How about you go stay with your people?" Tygra asked. "You got pretty knocked around." The chief tested his leg and gritted his teeth, lifting up automatically.

"I suppose that might be best. But please, come to our settlement first. We have a few things that can help you. We are physically small and weak, but our minds make us mighty. Come, come."

Cheetara stooped and plucked him from the ground. "Just point the way, Chief Os-Wald-O. Kit, would you get his headdress for him?" The girl obeyed, picking up the feathery item and carrying it in reverent arms. Panthro held his head; Cheetara had been looking for an excuse to cuddle one of the creatures all along, if the way she carried him like a baby was any indicator.

A dignified baby, but a baby all the same.

Their "settlement" as it turned out was a series of underground tunnels not far from their Conference Grounds. It was so dark reaching it that it took ten minutes for their eyes to adjust enough to keep them from tripping over the knotted roots and the sudden tunnels. "We usually live in the trees and on the ground, wherever we please. We have paws that can form nests and houses and a homey village, so we are sheltered. But with our enemies, even underground is no longer safe." The chief was greeted by ten Snarfs at the mouth of the largest tunnel and Cheetara reluctantly set him down. It was simply a large hole in the ground, and Panthro eyed it; he would never fit down there. "Please wait. One of our people will bring the items. We need the weapons, my Snarfs. More of the children were taken."

A Snarf popped out of the hole carrying a package wrapped in leaves. She set this down and went away again, presumably for another item. The chief picked it up with and offered it to Lion-O, who took it gently. It was about the size of a matchbox. "Inside is a form of crumbly crystal-stone. Our spies have observed that the Luna cannot bear this substance and we dug for days in the rocks of the river bed to find even a little."

Lion-O unwrapped it and Tygra sniffed it gingerly. He then picked it up, stared, and gave it a cautious lick. "…Salt?"

"If that is your word for it. It makes their skin sizzle." The Snarf returned again with another wrapped package, and this one smelled. Panthro saw the kittens making faces and couldn't understand what it might be as Lion-O – uneasily – accepted it. "We have watched the birdman and have seen that he fears many substances, including dirty things. The dirtiest thing we have access to is goo-no."

"'Goo-no?'"

"It is the Snarf word for poo." Lion-O bristled but, to his credit, didn't drop the wrapped package. "The bird fears sickness and he always screams very much when we lay traps of goo-no for him."

"Gee, what a surprise," Tygra muttered. Panthro shook his head; no wonder these guys were being herded like scared mice. They had no discipline, no sense of fighting. They had "weapons" but didn't seem to understand that their sheer numbers were one of their greatest strengths.

And now they thought throwing feces at a bird would fix their problems. Great.

Lion-O hurriedly tucked the "weapons" into his cloak and unobtrusively rubbed his palm on his pant leg. "Thank you. We'll be back soon, hopefully with the other Snarfs."

It took five minutes before Panthro trusted that they were far enough from the sly little creatures to speak. "This is ludicrous."

"What? The fact that we're going to bat for these little guys, or the fact that they just gave us literal crap to throw at Gyp?" Tygra nudged Lion-O. "Drop that, it's unhygienic."

"That's the point, isn't it?" Wilykat put out his paws. "I'll hold it. Maybe it really will come in handy." Lion-O gave it to him and the kitten slipped it into his rough tunic pocket. Wilykit reached into the cloak and grabbed the leaf-wrapped salt, and put this in her own pocket.

"They're just trying to help," Cheetara said. "It's no wonder they're in trouble. I don't think they know anything at all about fighting."

"You'd be right about that. The question is, do you know any more about your enemy than they do?"

Panthro looked up and saw a set of bright, animal eyes staring at them from a branch. He squinted and caught violent flashes of red and yellow fur and realized it was another Snarf. "We're not a warring people at all, and far too trusting. Only the chief has ever battled, and that was years ago. We've become accustomed to peace."

The creature jumped from branch to tree knots landed daintily on the ground and paced toward them. He was the same size as the others but his fur seemed more ruffled and his face was rather less astounded. It had a knowledgeable, crafty tilt. "They don't even know about the superior. He has a terrible power."

Panthro watched this one carefully. He moved with precision and care, not too close to the cats. "Oh really? I don't suppose you'd know more about what's happening, would you?"

"I would, actually." He sat down and curled his tail around the tiny paws. "The Luna's name is Tug-Mug. You've already been introduced to Gyp. But they work with someone else, someone more mysterious than they are. He lives in the base on the lake and remains hidden. It's he who uses the Snarfs, and he who process this liquid to use in making the drug. That's what they send to Tropo, and some of it goes to Lune."

He spoke so simply and frankly that Panthro found he liked this Snarf rather more than the others. The little guy acted like he had business to attend to. "And you know this how?"

"I've been spying on the lake for days. Everyone else fears it, but there is only one man inside. A Luna with bright red eyes."

Lion-O knelt to be closer to eye level with the Snarf. "Another Luna?"

"Yes. He comes out at night sometimes. I think he goes to the northern end of the forest to fight with our friends. He always comes back before dawn." The Snarf eyed each of them. "But to deal with him, you'll need help getting into his base. And you'll need to get in Tug-Mug and Gyp's base to make sure to free all the others and stop the operations entirely. Assuming you really intend to help our people."

"Of course we do." Cheetara crouched and wrapped her arms around her knees for balance. "What's your name? Were you in the group earlier?"

He hesitated. "No, I wasn't. I prefer to watch from afar and observe. And my name…just call me Snarf. I don't like my real name."

They all exchanged a glance. "Okay 'Snarf'…so, back to what you were saying about help? Do you think we can storm the bases?" Tygra asked.

"Not with Snarfs. They're too afraid to fight, all but the chief and me." "Snarf" walked past Lion-O and tossed a look over his shoulder. "I think you'd be best off with some help to keep the freed Snarfs safe though. There are those who would be only too willing to help you storm the bases, and I know where they are. We may have to deal with Gyp or Tug-Mug on the way there, but I think you've proven that you can handle them when you work together."

Wilykat and Wilykit knelt, tails wiggling as he trotted away. "You're not scared?" Kit called.

Snarf shook his head. "I do not have the luxury of fear. I'll take you to the people that will help you take the bases if you do something for me."

Panthro got a funny feeling and crossed his arms. "And that would be?"

"Let me go with you to bust out the Snarfs." He returned to them with a carefully serene expression. "They'll trust me more than strangers. I could be of much assistance to you."

Tygra planted his chin in his hands. "Let me guess. You had a vision telling you to come help us?" he said wryly. Cheetara shot him a dirty look.

Snarf cocked a furry brow. "No. I want to help my people and I have relevant skills. I should think that's a very simple reason for wanting to help you."

Panthro sighed. "That's the most sensible thing I've heard in weeks." The Snarf seemed pleased by this. "Okay, a couple of questions. What friends are wanting to attack these bases, why haven't they done it yet, can they fight, and why is it you're so different from the other Snarfs? Answer me these and we'll see about helping."

Snarf stretched, tail extended and claws appearing as his rump lifted in a languid bend. "The forest is very large. Snarfs are not the only tribe to live in this land, and we are friends with many of the sentient races that live here. One of them is a good deal stronger than we are, and have already been giving the Luna and Gyp trouble. Even so, in spite of their strength, they are unable to breach the metal walls on their own. They are a peaceful race for the most part, and have never had any cannons like your people have." Snarf nibbled his leg and licked the spot. "They are fair fighters I think, although I'm no expert. And I'm different because…I like to watch things. I like to see new things and people. And I am considered something of an oddity to our people."

He pulled at Lion-O's pant leg. "So. Shall you meet these friends and storm the bases, dealing a blow to Mutation and injustice with the same swipe of a blade? Or will you leave the forest in despair, shaming Thundera's name?"

Tygra rolled his eyes. "You make it sound like such a hard choice."

He smiled, revealing pearly teeth. "Follow me. Keep your eyes peeled for Gyp and Tug-Mug."

Snar-Fer stopped yowling after about ten minutes. It wasn't doing any good and Tug-Mug kept tightening his grip as they soared over the forest, Gyp flapping his wings and seething.

"I can't believe they're already here. Slithe didn't say they moved so quickly! This is bad, this is very bad-!"

"Be quiet." Tug-Mug's head hurt and the sound of his machine humming was annoying enough. If he could just shut Gyp up he might actually feel better. The girl had been scrawny but her staff packed a wallop, and the smoky whine of his damaged jet-legs alerted him to his need for maintenance. "Can you repair my machine?"

Gyp would have crossed his arms judging by the way he raised his beak in haughty irritation. He was flying though, so this was impossible. "I thought you wanted me to be quiet." Tug-Mug scowled and Gyp reluctantly added, "Yes, I'll repair it. But only if you deal with the ruffians. And with Red Eye. I don't like the way he looks at me. He acts as if he doesn't like me."

"He doesn't." The response to this was indignation but Tug-Mug just kept going. "He doesn't like anyone, really. Just don't cross him and you'll be all right. Ma keeps him in check."

"How one keeps something like him 'in check' is beyond me," Gyp muttered.

"You've never met her. You wouldn't ask if you had." He spotted their base through the trees and began to descend. "We need to send him a message to let him know about the intruders. Slithe said they have a substance that can neutralize Mutation if it's injected, so if you end up using your Mutation, keep out of reach."

Gyp circled around and dipped below the metal walls. They loomed high and thick and Tug-Mug was proud as he too dropped within them. Nothing had yet overtaken them, and they had been constructed by himself. The base within was nothing to sneeze at either, a low, sterile place with dark doors and cool interior. He hurried inside and sighed at the chill gust – it really was rather too warm around here. Gyp clapped and the lights came on, casting everything in a pale blue sheen. "I don't see why, since Red-Eye is so powerful, he can't deal with them." Gyp took one of the Snarfs with a grimace, holding it by the scruff of its neck with two claws. "We get these for him, he can help us every so often."

"You want to bother him about it, you go ahead. I've got a few cats to skin." Tug-Mug was connected to his metal legs by a chip in his brain, and he used this to open the spidery legs. Three of them were damaged now and twitched occasionally. Still, they operated well enough to find the storage room where they kept Snarfs and empty cages. The little beasts cowered as he entered and he dropped his three into one cage's open top. Gyp hurriedly did the same and waved his hand as if flinging off particles. Tug-Mug shut the cage and it locked, all four little Snarfs still shivering. "We've got twelve here, we can send them on to Red-Eye once the cats are dealt with."

"Maybe you want to fight, but I have a twisted ankle! That tiger threw me around like a rag doll!" Gyp scurried out of the storage room, looking for a sink to wash in.

"That's why you'll use Mutation and swoop down on them before they know what's happening," Tug-Mug said impatiently. "The wrong people get to be Mutants…"

"It's not like the Luna can utilize Mutation anyway," Gyp sniffed. The sound of running water from another room made Tug-Mug's eyes roll. "It doesn't have any effect on your blood. Makes it easy to let it go, doesn't it?"

"Quite. Of course, that's where intelligence comes in," he replied airily.

Gyp snorted. "Intelligence nothing, I know what the others are, the witches. You're the only one that can't use magic, cannon-boy."

Tug-Mug's face darkened. Gyp had returned with tools in hand. "Oh relax. Personally, I think magic is overrated. Too chaotic. Come to the work bench and I'll repair those legs easily enough."

"Fine, just let me open the message system. And fair enough about chaos, Chilla is a whole different category of crazy." They entered a bigger room, much more spacious and incredibly clean. Gyp worked here and Tug-Mug did envy his organization. He slapped a hand on a button as he entered and the screen on the wall – it was a slightly older model but it had been fixed and installed months prior – lit up. "Call Red-Eye."

It took a few second before an image came up. It was a broad back, bent over a worktable. The light was incredibly dim. "Red-Eye, we have news."

The figure stopped and turned. The only thing Tug-Mug could clearly make out were the enormous eyes that had given Red-Eye his name. They were like a chameleon's and never blinked. "The cats that fought Slithe and lived are on their way here, I think. The rodents have asked for their help, and all together they aren't as weak as we'd like."

The faint sound of quiet breathing was like a gust. "I think we can handle them. But they will have antimutagen, and Gyp was injured." The vulture muttered and didn't look up, pretending to be very busy with Tug-Mug's legs. "We're not sure when they'll strike or where they'll attack first. I know you're dealing with those bear-things, but these felines are of a greater concern. They've set us back three weeks by taking out the nearest mineral trader in Rana."

There came a growl, almost a hum. Tug-Mug continued, "Tell Ma if you want. See what she wants. Slithe was heading on toward Tropo I think."

Tug-Mug felt one leg come detached and he winced. "That's all I wanted to say. Oh, and expect a shipment of the things soon. We only caught four because of the cats, but that makes about a dozen total. I know you wanted us to send more over."

For the first time Red-Eye nodded. "Well, I'll be going then. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious," Tug-Mug said. Then the screen went dark and Gyp shuddered.

"He never even talks. How do you know what he's thinking?"

"Luna know Luna. And he can't talk." Tug-Mug settled in and crossed his arms. "If those cats think we'll go down as easily as Slithe, they're quite mistaken."

"Slithe is a powerful warrior…if a slimy, unhygienic git. I wouldn't underestimate them." Gyp took out several metal segments. "Now hold still. This is an art."

"So, why do you guys live here? It's so dark and creepy. Don't you like the sunshine?" Wilykit and Wilykat walked on either side of Snarf, and Kit kept trying to bat at his fluffy tail. He moved quickly, and this was harder than it sounded.

"There's plenty of sunshine if one knows where to look. Our village was a very pleasant place to live. We hope to live there again when it is safe." Snarf sniffed the air and adjusted his course slightly. "We live in branches and where fruit and bugs are. The forest had never been unsafe before. There have been predators, but nothing like this. I suppose that's one reason we didn't know how to deal with these new enemies."

"You've never gone to war? What about the chief? You said he'd fought before," Panthro said. Kit couldn't quite imagine a war; they were technically always in one with the Alliance, but that was such a common, distant thing that it hardly affected civilians anymore. And Snarfs, fighting?

"No. Not within hundreds of years, anyway. Chief Os-Wald-O fought when he traveled the world to see the sights. This was at least fifty years ago, and he is much older now. His heart is stout but his body is weaker." Snarf scratched at something on the ground and then pounced on it – a grub of some kind. He ate this and Kit's tummy flipped.

"Doesn't it wiggle?"

"A bit." Snarf licked his lips. "Many lack the strength and guile war would require. That's why I think you can help us. Your people at least know how to fight. You have been in a fair share of wars."

Tygra shrugged. "Is that supposed to be an insult?"

"It's an observation. Nothing more. It may end up benefiting my people." Snarf stopped. "I think they entered our territory. They're watching us."

Kat looked around and Kit followed suit, noticing that Panthro looked alarmed. "Who's watching-?"

Something rolled out from between two trunks and Kit squeaked; there were round, shiny things peering from between the dark trees and they seemed to rim the cats. Snarf did not seem frightened at all, sitting on his haunches and waiting as the object bumped and bowled over the uneven ground.

The thing ceased rolling, resembling a metal marble. Seams opened up along it and it uncurled, sitting up and stoutly standing on two feet. Kit's fear instantly eased and she blinked. "It looks like a teddy bear."

Indeed it did. Standing up on two pudgy legs, the "bear" had a round furry body and a soft, almost forlorn face. But looking at it more closely, Kit felt a little weird to see that, instead of being completely furred with dark brown hair, there were spots on its chest and face and arms that seemed to be coated in metal armor. There might have been a strip along his spine too, but she couldn't see for sure. And in spite of the cuddly height, short snout and positively adorable ears, the bear had long claws for each finger and toe. It looked at every cat before fixing his dark, shining eyes on Snarf. "Are these friends or enemies?" His voice was soft and sweet, as if he'd rather be opening up a hive and taking out some of the honeycomb.

"Friends. I'm surprised to see you so far into the forest. I was bringing them to see you so we might be able to take the bases."

The bear tilted his head and raised a claw to his mouth in thought. Kit looked at her brother, who blinked. Was this the Forest of Things as Cute as Themselves? "The enemy drove us from our village. We were scouting ahead to examine this area." The bear waddled up to them and Lion-O approached politely. "You will help us fight our enemies?" The tiny mouth moved adorably, and Kit had to think that perhaps something made everything in the forest magically super-adorable.

"I suppose so," he replied. "I'm Lion-O. This is Wilykit, Wilykat, Cheetara, Tygra, and Panthro. You know Snarf, obviously." The bear looked at each person as he named them. "Begging your pardon, but what are you?"

"We are the Berbils, more recently known as Ro-Bear Berbils. You may call me Bill." This one seemed to be a leader, and Kit spotted a dark paw print on his head. Perhaps these "Berbils" had a chief system like the Snarfs? "We do not usually speak to outsiders. Times are very desperate."

Lion-O sat down so he was on eye level with the short creature. Kit thought it very nice of him and very respectful. Cheetara drew close, obviously fascinated. Even Tygra was looking at the metal armor with a curious expression, somewhere between fascination and…was it pity? "I understand. You wanted help storming some bases and we wanted to help the Snarfs and stop our enemies' cohorts. We also would like safe travel through your forest along the river."

Bill again put a claw to his mouth in thought. "You will come with us and help us plan? We will help you stop Tug-Mug, Gyp, and the one they call Red-Eye if you are strong, and we will also show you special roads to the river."

"'Red-Eye?'" Tygra cocked his head.

"He is the one Tug-Mug and Gyp listen to. They are all working together, but he is the most powerful. He is also the great enemy of all Berbils of the forest." All the bears made quiet murmurs.

Panthro blinked. He had to stoop very far to be anywhere near the eye level of the Berbils. "How long has he been here?"

"A few months, but he is cruel and evil enough to have harmed us forever. It is only fitting that we use the pain he caused to send him far, far away." The brown Berbil made a fist and his claws clenched. At the same time the armored strips of metal on his spine and arms opened and revealed spikes.

Tygra put out a hand. "May I?" Bill gave him his paw and Tygra began to examine it. "…What is this stuff?"

Tygra tapped the arm surface with a claw. Rather than ringing like iron or silver it clicked like two claws rapping together. But Kit squinted at it and saw the smooth shine of metal, brighter than water. These two facts did not add up. Bill took his hand back. "We will explain. Come to our settlement and we will plan to attack. We will help you save the Snarfs; many times our people have tried to take the walls. Now perhaps we will be able to. Come, follow."

As one the large group of bears came out and followed Bill, and Kit sidled close to Cheetara. The bears were not very tall, but then, neither were the kittens, and they walked very close to each other. Kit looked around and so did Kat, and they shared a questioning look; were all of these males? None of them looked like girls at all, but neither of them had ever seen a Berbil. There were stories about tiny bear tribes, but none of them had ever mentioned them being cyborgs.

After a while the dark green of the passing forest started to lighten, and the yellow of the sun saturated the leaves and trunks. Bill trudged on in content silence between several thick, droopy ferns and the blaze of the sun on his metal was sudden and blinding. Kit covered her eyes and felt the heat of light on her fur, making her sweat. "Whoa," Cheetara murmured.

Kit blinked several times and her jaw dropped, gawking at the sight. They'd come out into a much larger clearing than before, lush with grass that grew easily in the sun of treeless space. In this clearing were no less than one hundred bears, many of them with lighter, softer fur and slightly shorter bodies. These were undoubtedly the females, and to Kit's surprise their arms were entirely coated in the metal substance rather than just having strips. Their backs had no "metal" armor strips though. Babies of both genders wandered and rolled after these, but all grew silent when the cats came into view. The quiet was frigid, prickly, and Kit felt her ears fall back and her tail huddled right behind her knees.

Bill waved a hand. "These are friends. Snarf has brought them to help us. Come meet them. They hate the bad ones too."

The settlement exploded with welcomes. Children and women and men alike crowded around and inspected their guests. Kit put out an arm to shake a few hands but it wasn't until thirteen different people had looked over her fingers and marveled at the short length of her claws that she could finally retract and hide a little better.

"So who here wants to help us stop these jerks?" Tygra asked. This caused another round of babble, and three cubs put their hands in the air. Bill stuck his pinkie claws in his mouth and whistled, calming the crowd.

"We plan inside. Enemies might be listening. Belle dear, take your ladies and form a perimeter please." One of the gold-colored females – she had flowers pinned in her fur around her ears, rich pink blooms that made Kit remember the flower Panthro had given her – nodded and gestured with her metal arms. Ten others followed her, and the cubs they'd been watching shifted to other women as if this were a normal thing. "Belle and the lady Berbils are very good at attacking from a distance. They will protect this place while we plan." Bill took Lion-O's hand and marched into the light.

There were only a few small buildings, and they looked like huts built from wood and grass. Kit recognized an attempt at camouflage when she saw it, and decided that, from above, it would be very hard to pick them out. "These are not nice houses, but they keep us dry and safe," Bill said apologetically. "Are you hungry? We have Candyfruit."

Kat perked up. "Really? Wow, I didn't know if it grew here." Some of the Berbils giggled. "What?

"Berbils are the original farmers of Candyfruit. They cultivated the trees until their fruit was good, and started the trade of Candyfruit eight hundred years ago. Our ancestors are the reasons the trees now spread across the world." Bill said this with a certain amount of pride and opened a flat piece of bark that formed a door in the front of the round, planted house. Kit stifled a laugh; Panthro had to get down on his hands and knees to get through and he seemed highly aggravated by this.

Inside the hut was just a dry, warm place to sit. In the middle of the round, earthy room was a slab of rock and several pieces of paper. And yet, rimming the room, were a few chunks of metal and tools. "Our village is much better. We have tools there, and orchards. Red-Eye drove us out only yesterday, but we hoped to reclaim the village in the next week. Our children were at risk if we battled there. This time we will attack him with great anger." Bill sat down and the cats followed suit. Kit climbed into Tygra's lap and Kat into Lion-O's, trying to make room for Panthro to sit. Snarf deigned to be seated in Cheetara's lap, and in spite of his clear, clever way, did not seem to mind when one of her claws scratched delicately behind his ear. A few Berbils brought them fruit, a hospitality that Kit found she liked.

Bill cleared his throat. "You asked about Red-Eye and the Berbils. Have you never heard of Berbils?"

"I heard of bear people in the forests, tinkers. But not robot bears," Kat said. Kit nodded and Bill looked down.

"Yes. We are an old, tiny bear tribe. We have lived in forests and nice places for generations, growing food and trading with people. The Snarfs are good friends to us, and they would often help us keep our village clean and nice by getting rid of storm debris and bugs. We would give them Candyfruit and shelter if things were bad. Things were very good."

Bill seemed blissful, and Snarf too sighed. Bill shook himself from his reverie. "But one day, three people came. We Berbils are not as social as Snarfs, so we remained hidden. Snarfs greeted them after watching them and seeing nothing amiss."

Snarf's tail lashed. "Foolish," he said bitterly.

The Berbil's ears drooped and Kit could have cried. "The Luna and Gyp captured the Snarfs that came to say hello and immediately began to set up bases. We were afraid and waited to see what they were doing, unsure of how to act. They were good builders, and in a few weeks the forest base was built. It took longer to build the base on the lake, but it was a good decision on their part. It is impossible to get inside the base except by the road, and it is guarded by laser light. Gyp and Tug-Mug often went out and tried to capture Snarfs because they were closer to the Snarf territory, and then they would send them on."

Lion-O spoke. "And let me guess…you guys didn't like that your friends were being treated so horribly?"

Bill nodded stoutly. "We went to the forest base and insisted the Snarfs be released. We did not want war, but the innocent were being trod underfoot. They insulted us, thinking that little bears could do nothing. We made a big mess and smashed many things, trying to take the wall. They drove us off with ice, but they knew now that Berbils are not so easy to step on."

Panthro grunted. "So where does this Red-Eye guy come in? Was he hiding in the lake base this whole time?"

Bill nodded. "But when he heard of what we Berbils had done, he came out. And…"

He looked down. "He is much, much stronger than the other two. We attacked him when he came near the forest base. But he…he knows magic."

Cheetara stiffened. "You mean illusions and tricks? Or do you mean the real deal?"

"Real. Bad, dark things. He seemed interested by us. Some of our people he took into his base, and we have not seen them since. And he cursed our kind."

Tygra looked skeptical. "What do you mean?"

Bill held up an arm. The dim light reflected off the metal. "He made us like robots. It spreads every day. Everyone, even our children, was touched by this curse." Tygra blinked. "Did you think we were born this way? We were all flesh and blood once, not a year ago."

Lion-O took a look over the bear's arm, running his finger along the side of the metal. "Is it below your fur?" He tapped what should have been soft, furry flesh and Kit saw that his finger bounced off. Her stomach turned; there was metal beneath that fur.

"It is everywhere but my chest and head. The metal grows under first and then over fur. I can find the edge for you." Bill prodded his stomach where it joined his ribcage and his claw came away with a drop of blood. "When we are covered completely, who knows what will happen? Perhaps we will be robot teddy bears. Perhaps we will serve Red-Eye as servants as he forces Snarfs to. What he cannot cause by fear, he will cause by magic." Bill shuddered and Lion-O held the little paw.

"Is it spreading at the same rate for everyone?"

"In the village, yes. For the captured I don't know. And it has made us stronger, so we use all our strength to attack. If he is to control us someday, we will give him reason to shudder before that day comes." Bill's face tightened in anger and his little snout curled.

"Why would he do this if it would make you stronger?" Cheetara asked.

"Because even now, we are not strong enough to take the walls ourselves. And I think…Red-Eye enjoys harming us. He often comes hunting for us, and he can find us no matter where we hide. The hunt is enjoyable for him. So we no longer hide. We claw and fight and look for blood." Bill paused. "I do not know if you can help us. The curse may keep going even if we stop Red-Eye. But if we were simply to remain this way, I think we could learn to deal with it. As long as our families are alive and have freedom, we will not complain."

Cheetara held Snarf, who had been quiet for a long time. "I don't know how we can remove a curse. But maybe Tug-Mug and Gyp will know something about what he did. If we storm their base first, and find a way to take Red-Eye by surprise…"

Panthro was nodding. "Yeah. We'd have to find a way to take them down before they could send a message though to warn him. I can't think of a way to take the base that quickly."

Tygra rolled his eyes. "All this talk of taking bases…it's a lot simpler than that."

Everyone looked at him and he shut one eye as if winking. "The trick is that we have to get Tug-Mug and Gyp out of the base and take them both down. We can force them to let us in the base. Maybe if they see some Snarfs outside, they'll figure easy pickings and then, lo and behold, who shows up with a plan? We do."

Lion-O blinked. "That's a really good idea. But how will we get in the lake base? Do we wait around for Red-Eye to come out and do the same to him?"

"Not at all. I'm working on that." He opened both yellow eyes and focused on Snarf. "Little guy, I need you to tell me about Tug-Mug and Gyp's system of sending Snarfs to Red-Eye. Do they get sent in tanks or carriages?"

"Metal carriages. They're locked inside dark cages that are sent through the door," Snarf muttered, giving him a weird look. "They're kept inside the base until they've been filled."

"How big are these cages? Big enough for, say, a cat?"

Lion-O was starting to smile and Panthro was looking very interested. Kit had never seen him smile much, but his teeth were showing now. Even Cheetara was looking mischievous. She looked at her brother and plopped her chin on her hand. "I'm lost."

"I'm not." Kat looked delighted. "Trust me sis, this is a good idea. These bad guys will be knocked out of the forest before breakfast tomorrow."

End of Episode 5