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From a Dusty Attic
By Corvus no Genmu
From Within, Without
There are matters that pertain not to men or to animals. Matters between gods and demons, the affairs of immortals whose power are not to be ignored or denied. Mumm-Ra was once a man, a genius some would say, until genius gave way to delusions of godhood which he had every right to claim for no other before he had ever done what he had done and these were feats when he was bound by the same rules as the common man, long before his discovery of the Ancient Spirits of Evil, a quartet of living sin recognized more formally as Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, and Pride.
When he encountered them, Mumm-Ra became more than a man and throughout the centuries of his reign, when a blanket of death and despair began to span across the expanse of space, he would be called many things. Monster, demon, evil given flesh… he was all this but in the end he was still the very thing he has tried for centuries to forget but will always remember in the depths of his shriveled heart.
He is human.
And as such, he is prone to the same foolhardiness as any human is due.
Even now all these centuries after his bargain with the Ancient Spirits, to be their Champion of Evil, did it ever cross Mumm-Ra's mind that he would be betrayed as he has been by them for countless years. he begged for an undying form and he got it in the form of a decayed corpse with power accessible only by begging for their assistance, a crime of unspeakable evil to one who knew no such thing as the word "request". He wanted his creations to be matchless and they were even unto his own power they could, together, overwhelmed him and could very well do so again.
To betray and to be betrayed… this was Mumm-Ra's existence for all of eternity, but he was too blind to see it especially when he made it so easy.
"Ancient Spirits of Evil, I call upon you to resurrect this ancient titan and to imbue it with my soul!"
Foolish little man… foolish little mortal…
You still haven't learned… from your past mistakes…
You want a different form… than what we gave…?
Take the Titan's form if you so desire… but take it all …!
TAKE IT ALL!
"You have taken your last breath, Lord of the ThunderCats!"
These words echoed within the confines of his new body's mind and Mumm-Ra's perpetual scowl grew further from the bitter reminder that he had his adversary in the palm of his hand. He had the feline and had lost him in one fell to a weakness of this new form, this "invincible titan"! He cursed it thrice over at its weakness. He raged at the form that remained still and motionless despite his own wakefulness… until he realized that he was not as alone as he presumed.
The titan's roar echoed fresh and alive within the shared mind and what was an empty void became a field of obsidian rocks that towered over the living corpse that was Mumm-Ra. The Dark Champion drew his cloak close, not out of fear but necessary caution for though the landscape was a bitter blackness the sky above was clear and the sun shone brightly but it was a useless specter in the depths of a beast's mind; decoration and nothing more.
Taking another glance at the spires of obsidian rock, Mumm-Ra saw reflections not of himself within the blackened mirrors but of monsters, demons, and titans alike. Some beautiful even to his ashen heart, others too terrifying for words, but each and every one of them powerful beyond comprehension. Fire did not burn them, water did not drown them, earth could not hold them, and no matter how the winds howled they could not force them to bow. Many rose as challengers, others came as allies, few stayed on that fine line of neutrality, but none who faced against the Demonic Dreadnought did so again a second time.
The artificial ground beneath Mumm-Ra trembled to a titan's footsteps before the aptly named dreadnought appeared in all his monstrous glory, eyes of flame ablaze with a primordial fury that brought a smile to a withered face.
"So some piece of your soul survived after all… I should have suspected as much but—!" Arcane lightning danced in the living corpse's hands. "You may have bested your kind beast but you cannot hope to challenge me!"
The Demonic Dreadnought roared and charged forth regardless for as his adversary said, he had no hope to challenge the Champion of Evil but then whoever said it was to be a challenge in the first place? A challenge implies equal ground, equal standing between two combatants. A fight of even proportions where victory could come to either side without warning, without prediction and so such battles are called challenges but this was no such thing as a challenge in the eyes of the one who stood on a taller pedestal than a mere champion. No, this was not to be a challenge.
This was to be a slaughter.
Lion-O's grip on the Sword of Omens tightened as the last of the smoke from Ponzi's potion dissipated to reveal little change in Mumm-Ra. All that work wasted for a single leaf days old and dried of its potency thanks to the potion maker's pet caterpillar and her voracious appetite. The one chance they had wasted and now death was for certain and Mumm-Ra's victory all but assured as… the beast wavered on his feet?
Lion-O's frown slowly vanished as the monster stumbled with its arms clawing at its stomach that rumbled ominously. It coughed, spraying spittle everywhere and staggered forward. It coughed again, more spittle flying and the rumbling growing in volume.
Panthro's eyes widened with realization. "I think he's going to—"
Whatever the panther had to say was forgotten beneath a shrill scream as a massive winged form came barreling forth above the gathered ThunderCats and impacted straight into the monstrous Mumm-Ra's stomach. The beast fell to his claws and knees from the blow and wheezed for air. Tygra, drunk on love potion, skipped forward questioning whether the beast that was Mumm-Ra had an upset tummy before the thing opened its mouth wide and—
"Gross!" Lion-O sincerely wished that his brother was still under the effects of the love potion because if he wasn't, monster or no monster, Tygra was going to kill him in the most agonizing of ways possible.
A thick, viscous pool of purplish liquid covered the tiger before a small feathered form landed flat on his skull and knocked him into the sweet oblivion that was unconsciousness to which Lion-O was somewhat grateful if it meant that he would live some few hours yet and could hopefully receive another kiss from Pumyra before he was to die as some valiant heroes often did, screaming for mercy from their older brothers.
"Wait… Isn't that bird… Mumm-Ra?" asked Cheetara, staring at the drenched crow that cawed angrily as it tried to fly free from the slime of stomach juices and succeeding only in drenching itself further. Noticing their eyes upon it, the raven cackled with mad abandon.
"Fools! Though I have lost my new body you will still die regardless! Without my soul to guide it, the body of the Demonic Dreadnought will attack everything in sight and leave nothing untouched from its wrath! It will destroy you all and—"
Massive claws came crashing down, enveloping the bird in a fistful of rubble and carried it skyward to gaze into molten fury. Bony jaws opened wide in a vicious roar before snapping down inches from the bird's beak. Now at a clear disadvantage, Mumm-Ra screamed before he slipped free from the titan's grasp and beat a hasty retreat back to his pyramid. The dreadnought roared and purple lightning flew forth and scorched trailing tail feathers but the bird became a speck of black on the horizon before a mortal hit could be guaranteed.
"You cannot run from me forever!" The ThunderCats gaped in surprise at hearing the titanic beast speak not in the voice of Mumm-Ra, but one of its own, deep and echoing in their minds just as Mumm-Ra's had. "No matter where you may go, no matter where you may hide, I will find you and when I do, I'LL KILL YOU!" The monster's scream sent most of the cats to their knees in pain as a winged shadow fell protectively over them in the form of Lucy who had transmuted into a beautiful butterfly with wings large enough to encompass the monster's body easily.
She squealed, shining emerald eyes narrowed and meeting blazing red without fear as her wings spread wide to show off the distinct patterns of glaring eyes upon her ancestral adversary. The beast snorted and turned away from her gaze.
"I have no quarrel with you Child of Cair Paravel." The eyes of the monster narrowed as he glared down at the lion that held a sword of incredible power and potential in his paws. "But I would have words with you Scion of Leo."
