18
Panthro looked out through a scope, surveying the huge armada that was approaching. Hundreds of lizard soldiers, with dozens of lizard robots. There was one in particular that caught his attention. It was a bit bigger than the other ones, armed with a huge array of missiles and various other weapons, ready to fire on command. He adjusted the scope's magnification and got a better look at where Grune was lecturing Lucas about something he had done. Instead of turning his head away with a haughty expression like he had done before, he listened for a moment until Grune was finished. Then, he turned his head, his green eyes glowing slightly as he seemed to be looking directly at Panthro, the talisman hanging around his neck glowing as well. Panthro felt a small chill run down his spine at the sight of Lucas's eyes, but wasn't scared of it. He was a hardened soldier for the ThunderCat army who had seen more war than anyone in the entire elephant village, and it would take a lot more than the stink eye from some teenager to scare him off. He adjusted the scope to look at where Grune was eying the village with a greedy smile. Panthro growled in the back of his throat and put the scope away.
He walked over to where the others were waiting outside the Astral Plane portal.
"Bad news," He said, getting their attention, "The entire village is surrounded."
"How many troops?" Cheetara asked, wanting to know how many they would have to go up against, should the time come.
"If I had to guess, I'd say all of them." Panthro said, he looked up at Anet, who was looking into the portal with eyes that betrayed his typical forgetful behavior, but instead, showed a wise, aged elephant who wasn't happy about whatever oncoming peril would come from the portal, "Considering how hopelessly outnumbered we are," Panthro's voice broke his reverie, "Maybe you guys could lend us a hand."
"As always," Anet said to him, "We will seek to understand our role through meditation."
"I'll take that as a no." Panthro growled, going back to survey the soldiers waiting for them.
"I wonder what's keeping them." WilyKit said concernedly, looking at the portal.
"Keeping who?" Anet asked.
"Lion-O, and Tygra, and Leanne! Remember?" WilyKit said, surprised that he had already forgotten. In terms of elephants, Anet probably had the best memory of them all.
"Ah, yes, of course." Anet said, "They went after the Spirit Stone, didn't they?"
"I bet something went wrong." WilyKat said, worried for his friends.
"I do sense a dark presence within." Anet said, looking at the portal, "But on the Astral Plane, they will face an even greater challenge."
"What's that?" Cheetara asked.
"Themselves." Anet said, "By evening bell tonight, Lion-O will feel betrayed by his brother." Cheetara looked at the portal, her brow furrowing in worry. Would Tygra really betray Lion-O? Why would he do that? It didn't make any sense. "I believe I also had another vision at the time, concerning you."
"Me?" Cheetara asked in surprise.
"Yes," Anet said, "Also by evening bell, you will feel the same about Leanne." Cheetara's eyes widened.
"Leanne?" She repeated, "She wouldn't betray me. Why would she?" Anet looked back at the portal.
"We do many things, without truly knowing why." He said wisely. Cheetara looked back at the portal worriedly, her thoughts beginning to wonder what reasons Leanne would have to betray her.
In the Astral Plane, Leanne couldn't stop staring at the vast expense of nothing she and the two royal brothers walked through. It was as though they were walking through the sky, on the clouds themselves, but a solid surface of glass kept them from touching the clouds beneath them, and although the clouds above seemed so close that you could touch them, none of them could reach it. As they kept walking, the ground suddenly began to rumble, and in the distance, they saw a tower on its side, similar to the ones they had seen in Thundera before it had fallen, coming up out of the nothingness. A moment later, a familiar giant panther statue came out of the ground, also tilted onto its side. A second later, even more statues from Thundera poked out of the ground. Even a statue of King Claudus poked out of the ground underneath their feet, lifting them up high as the area became filled with various monuments from Thundera. Leanne even spotted a few various objects from old neighborhoods she lived in. Like lampposts, street signs, even a mailbox or two.
"This place gives me the creeps." Tygra said, "Let's just find the stone and get out of here."
"We've already searched everywhere." Lion-O said.
"The elephants did say that, if you can't see something, you're not looking at the big picture." Leanne said, hoping it would offer some help.
"That means it's probably right under our noses." Lion-O grumbled. They all jumped down from Claudus's statue and continued their search.
"If I find it first," Tygra said, "I'm keeping this one."
"The stone is my responsibility, Tygra." Lion-O said.
"It hasn't chosen you, yet." Tygra said, glaring at him. Lion-O stopped walking and glared back at him.
"Something tells me it will." Lion-O said. Leanne looked in between the two brothers with nervous eyes.
"Guys, come on," She reached out and put her hand on one arm of each of them, "Let's just find the stone." They both glared at each other a moment more, but they eventually turned their gazes away and continued to walk through the Astral Plane. As they passed one rising structure from Leanne's past, she couldn't help the involuntary shiver as she recognized it as the front of the home of the family that had caused the cross-shaped scar on her back. No one really noticed the strange crow that was flying over them.
"Embrace your jealousy, your greed, your fears." Mumm-Ra's voice hissed out of the beak, "For in this world, I can make your darkest thoughts as real as flesh. Here, you are nothing more than my puppets. And when you destroy each other, both stones will be mine."
Lucas sat, cross-legged in the lotus position of meditation, the talisman he wore around his neck floating up in the air. His eyes were open, but they glowed a bright green, as did the talisman. Grune waited until his eyes shut and he held out his hand, catching his talisman as it fell.
"Well?" Grune asked, Lucas opened his eyes and looked up at the saber tooth.
"They're definitely in the Astral Planes." He said, moving to stand up, "But they're completely lost. They have no idea where the stone is."
"And the chances of them finding it?" Grune asked.
"At this point? I'd say fifty-fifty." Lucas said, "I don't know for sure." He shrugged. He looked over at the other general who had come to join them as they waited for Mumm-Ra to come out of the Astral Planes, Slithe, who eyed him with a glare. He glared back, "You got something you want to say to me, Frog-face?" Slithe looked away.
"I'm just wondering where you obtained such strange power." Slithe said, clearly not trusting the boy.
"I was born with it." Lucas said proudly, a grin on his face, "Clairvoyance is my family's specialty." Slithe only let out an indifferent grunt, Lucas's grin disappeared and he glared at the lizard, "What, you don't believe me?"
"Forgive me for not believing in things like prophecies." Slithe said.
"They're not prophecies!" Lucas snapped, apparently insulted at the idea of being called a prophet. Grune put his hand on the young man's shoulder, holding him back.
"Calm down, Lucas." He said, "Slithe just needs to get used to you. He's not accustomed to being around magical power such as yours." This comment didn't do much to comfort the boy, but it did calm him down enough to not want to try and kill the obese lizard that had insulted him. He moved his shoulder away from the saber tooth's grasp and walked away. His hand reached for the talisman, holding it tightly. When he closed his eyes, he saw a brief image of a young girl with long, wavy blonde hair, her eyes a shining emerald green, and her face as precious as a cherub's. He opened his eyes, and his grip tightened on the talisman.
Elizabeth…
Panthro kneeled down and placed an explosive on the ground. He ran his finger across the surface, preparing it to blow whenever someone touched it. They may have been grossly outnumbered by the lizards, but this trap he was laying down would surely do some damage. With him, WilyKat and WilyKit were looking through his scope at the lizard army.
"Look at Grune the snaggletooth, just sitting out there." WilyKat said, he grinned at his sister, "I bet he's scared!" WilyKit grinned with him.
"Ever hear how he lost his tooth?" Panthro asked, looking at the twins. They both looked back at him, shaking their heads. He got up from where he had been kneeling and went over to them looking over the cliff at the waiting army as he spoke, "It was during the Lizard War. Grune and I had busted out of a prison camp and were on the run. With no food, no weapons, and an army after us, we hid in a cave. As it turned out, it wasn't empty." He looked down at the kids, "It was Spidera's nest."
"S-Spidera?" WilyKat repeated nervously, "I-I thought Spidera was just a myth." Spidera, according to Thunderian legends, was a giant spider that liked to feast on animals of all kinds.
"So did we." Panthro said, "Next thing we knew, that beast had us backed into a corner. Fangs dripping with venom."
"What did you do?" WilyKat asked.
"Me? Once she had me in her web, I prepared for the end." Panthro said, "But Grune, he ripped out his own saber tooth." The twins shuddered at the thought of ripping out their own teeth.
"Ugh… Why did he do that?" WilyKit asked.
"Because he knew that beast only had one weak spot." Panthro said, he pointed to his eye, "Her eyes. Grune used his tooth and jammed it right into that monster." The two kids gasped, amazed that he would do something like that, "Afterwards, Grune said something I never forgot." He closed his eyes as he remembered his words, "'Any sacrifice is worth the defeat of your enemy.'" Panthro looked at the two kids, "You really think he's scared?"
The twins shared a nervous glance. After hearing that story, it became clear that Grune wasn't moving because he was scared. He wasn't moving because he was waiting for the right moment to strike.
Leanne walked with the two brothers, who were incredibly silent, neither of them saying anything, and it scared her.
"Um…" She tried to start a conversation, "Are you guys okay?"
"Yeah." Lion-O said shortly.
"Fine." Tygra said, just as short as Lion-O.
Leanne wasn't eased by their words, "No, seriously. You guys are not okay. You're both really quiet and you're glaring at each other, and it's freaking me out!"
"Sorry, Leanne." Lion-O said, looking back at where he was leading them, "But there isn't really much to talk about." Leanne frowned sadly when Lion-O glared at Tygra.
"Really, guys," Leanne said, "Can we try and regain normality? Because I haven't felt this weirded out since I was a little kid." As they walked, the scenery began to change. At first, Leanne just thought more strange monuments were rising out of the ground, but that didn't seem to be the case as it completely surrounded them, putting them in a dark room lit by candles.
"Where are we?" Tygra asked, looking around.
"I don't know." Lion-O said, "I don't recognize this place." He looked down at the floor of the place where they were, and raised a curious eyebrow at the white circle that had been drawn on the concrete floor.
Leanne felt her blood run cold, "Oh no…" The two brothers looked back at her and saw her silver eyes were wide with fear, and her form was trembling.
"What is it?" Lion-O asked, instantly concerned for her.
"This is…" Leanne trailed off as the door to the room opened, showing two human men, one young and one older, carrying a small body, completely stripped of any clothes, down the stairs.
"She's a bit heavy…" The younger one grunted.
"Don't complain." The older one snapped, "Just strap her down, I'll get your mother." The younger one did as the older one had commanded. He took the body and laid it down on the floor on her back. He moved slightly, and Lion-O and Tygra's eyes widened when they recognized the face of the child.
"Leanne?" Lion-O breathed in surprise. He went over to where she lay and reached out to touch her, but his hand went right through her. This is just a projection, He realized, it's just going to show us what happened. The young man moved the young Leanne onto her stomach, strapping her wrists to small posts, and then doing the same to her ankles. The door opened again, and this time, the older man and a woman came down, wearing strange robes Lion-O had never seen and carrying a book that was titled 'Holy Bible' and a small metal carrier that was filled with something burning. The older man handed the young man a folded robe, and a cross-bearing necklace. He took it, but looked up at the man.
"Dad… are you sure we should be doing this?" He asked as he began to don the robes, "I mean, she's just a kid."
"That is exactly why we're doing it." His father snapped.
"I don't see the reason behind it!" The young man snapped back.
"Really, Joseph," The woman said in an admonishing tone, "You can be so ignorant sometimes. If we don't banish the demon that resides in her body, then she'll never know the way of God and she won't be saved."
"Then shouldn't we call the priest or something?" Joseph asked, pulling up the hood of the robe he wore, "Maybe he can perform an exorcism."
"Father Ryan is away this week." Joseph's father said, "So we have to perform it."
"But, Dad—"
"No buts, Joseph!" His father interrupted him, "Now, get the smelling salts! We need her awake in order for this to work!"
"…Yes, sir." Joseph reluctantly did as his father ordered, going over to another part of the room as the mother opened the book and began chanting in a language Lion-O didn't understand. Leanne slowly backed away from the scene, eyes wide, face pale, and heart pounding. She didn't want to relive this. Not this! She never wanted to think of this ever again! Now this place was showing her what had happened in the worst way possible.
Joseph came back with a small container of something and placed it near Leanne's nose. When she breathed it in, she started to wake up, her eyes fluttering, and Joseph put the smelling salts away. When Leanne was completely awake, she realized she was naked, and she was tied up. She started to struggle against her bonds, her eyes tearing up in fear.
"What is this?" She asked, her voice breaking, "What's going on?" Joseph looked at her pitifully, but followed his father as he and his parents began to circle her, chanting in Latin. Leanne kept struggling against the bonds, and when Joseph's mother put the metal container of whatever it was that she had been burning near Leanne's face, she began to cough because she couldn't breathe and moved her head away from it as best she could. Soon, the three of them came to a halt, still chanting, but Joseph stopped when he saw his dad pull out a knife.
"What are you—" He stopped when his father glared at him and he continued chanting. He watched his father warily as he knelt down, his hands around the handle of the knife and his head bowed, as if in prayer, chanting something different from what Joseph and his mother were chanting, and then he lifted the knife up high. The Leanne who wasn't tied down knew what would happen next and she shut her eyes tightly, covering up her ears so she wouldn't have to see or hear it, but it wasn't enough.
The father drove his knife into Leanne's back, and she screamed in pain, tears flowing down her cheeks. Tygra covered his mouth, fearing he might be sick. Lion-O looked on at the scene with incredible fury as he took the knife again and drove it into her a second time, making the cross on her back. Leanne was howling in pain, begging them to let her go. Joseph stopped chanting, looking at what was happening, his eyes wide in horror. His father stood, bowing his head around the knife, and he and his wife circled Leanne, but not Joseph, he stopped, his eyes unable to turn away from Leanne, who cried out for her mother, for anyone, to help her. Blood pooled beneath her, moving to be in front of her eyes, and her small, silver eyes widened at the sight. Lion-O couldn't tear his eyes from it either, until he heard a whimper behind him. He looked back and saw Leanne, crouched down, her hands covering her ears, eyes shut tight, tears leaking out. He was instantly by her side, and she flinched violently when he touched her, but when she saw that it was him, she leaned into him, crying.
Tygra could only keep staring at the horrible spectacle before him. He watched as the father went and got one of the candles, the wax quickly melting on it, and began to bring it over to where Leanne was. Joseph instantly stepped out in front of him, holding up his arms, as if shielding Leanne from his father.
"What are you doing?" His father demanded.
"Dad, this is wrong!" Joseph said, "She's just a child! And you're killing her!"
"She is a child possessed!" Her father said, "We are ridding her of the demon inside, now move!"
"No!" Joseph wouldn't budge. "Dad, I know how important this stuff is to you, but she's not possessed! She's an innocent girl, and I won't let you near her!"
"Joseph, get out of your father's way!" His mother snapped.
"No!" Joseph said strongly, "No, you can do whatever you want as punishment, but I refuse to let you lay another finger on this child!" Tygra heard thumping on the ceiling above him, and people shouting, "Police!"
"Leanne…" Lion-O murmured, it pained him to see her so tortured like this, and reliving this event was killing her.
"Make it stop…" She begged through her tears, "Make it stop…!"
"Lion-O, how do we stop this?" Tygra demanded.
"I don't know!" Lion-O said, "If I knew I would!"
Leanne in child form screamed again, and Leanne couldn't take it.
"MAKE IT STOP!" She screeched, her eyes flashing white, and her body suddenly becoming engulfed in a bright light that almost blinded Tygra and Lion-O, surrounding the entire scene and muting out all of the sounds it made. A second later, the light died down, and the scene was gone. They were in the vast expanse of nothingness that was the Astral Planes. Lion-O looked at Leanne, who was still crouched and shaking. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, "Make it stop…"
"Leanne, it's okay." Lion-O soothed, "It's over. It's gone." Leanne opened her eyes, and a wave of relief washed over her when she realized that the memory had disappeared. She leaned into Lion-O as she almost collapsed. He helped her to stand and she leaned on him for support.
"God…" She breathed, "I never wanted to think of that ever again." Lion-O kissed her temple to comfort her, "Never…"
"You're fine." He said, "It's over." Leanne nodded and stayed where she was, leaning on Lion-O. Tygra glared at the sight.
He carefully helped her to stand, and let her lean on his shoulder. They walked through the Astral Plane, still no one noticing the crow as it shook its head back and forth, as if to rid itself of a headache.
Mumm-Ra let out a 'hmph'. "This child's magical powers could rival even my own. No matter." He looked at how Tygra and Lion-O kept glaring at each other. "One part of my plan is complete. Now, I simply need to have them destroy each other."
After walking for a few minutes, Leanne moved away from Lion-O, "I-I think I'm okay now…" She stood up on her shaky legs, trying her best to keep her balance. Tygra went over to her.
"You sure?" He asked, "You were pretty freaked out back there." Leanne nodded.
"Yeah, I think so." She said, "We need to be looking for the stone anyway. Wherever it is."
"Well, maybe if we weren't going by Lion-O's tracking skills, we might be able to find it a little faster." Tygra said, Lion-O glared at him.
"What was that?" He growled, Tygra said nothing and continued walking. Lion-O's growl deepened and he and Leanne followed him, "So we're back at this again?"
"Back at what again?" Tygra asked, although his tone of voice suggested he already knew the answer.
"Face it, Tygra." Lion-O said, "You've always been jealous of what I have."
Tygra stopped, looking back at his brother, "I just think people should only be given what they earn." He said pointedly. Lion-O scowled.
"You haven't changed since we were kids." He muttered. He kept walking, and as they kept moving, more scenery began to come up around them. Leanne immediately moved closer to the two brothers out of fear of seeing another one of her memories. Old, broken, stone walls came up and so did trees that were bare of their leaves, and the grass on the ground was yellowed, showing that it was sometime in autumn.
"Come on! Keep up!" A voice said, and the three looked to see two young boys, young cats, "It's this way, follow me!"
"It…can't be." Tygra breathed, recognizing the faces on the children.
"It's us…" Lion-O murmured, "As kittens." The child Tygra ran straight through the real Tygra's body, as did the young Lion-O.
"Is this another memory?" Leanne asked as the two cubs went through to the rest of the ruins.
"Yeah, and it's a bad one." Lion-O said, now seeing what this memory was.
Tygra seemed to recognize it as well, "Our trip to the forbidden ruins. I remember it like it was yesterday." They watched as Tygra and Lion-O began to climb up some of the remains.
"Wait for me, Tygra!" The young Lion-O called up to him.
"You sure you want to keep going?" The young Tygra asked in a taunting voice, "Legend says that those who visit the ruins are never heard from again!"
"I'm not scared!" The young Lion-O said, "I'm the heir to the kingdom of Thundera!"
"If something did happen to you, no one would ever know!" The young Tygra said, trying to scare him. He went over the rest of the ruins, and he went over to where a large hole was, a long branch resting over it. He quickly and swiftly balanced on it, walking across it to the other side of the hole, "Come on! I dare ya to cross this log, scaredy-king!" The young Lion-O hesitated in doing what Tygra asked, walking slowly and carefully along the branch, looking fearfully at the huge depth of the hole.
"This isn't helping us find the stone. Let's go." Tygra said, not wanting to see how this memory played out.
"…Wait." Lion-O said, "If we're seeing this, it's for a reason."
"We know what happened!" Tygra said, "The branch broke, you fell in, end of story."
Lion-O didn't move from his spot, watching the memory play out in front of them, the young Tygra shaking the log as the young Lion-O walked across it. His arms reeled as he tried to regain his balance, and fell onto the log, grasping onto it tightly.
"Quit it!" He shouted at the young Tygra.
"Come on, Prince Heir!" The young Tygra teased, "I thought you lions were supposed to be brave?" The young Lion-O scowled at the insinuation and stood back, doing his best to cross the branch, keeping a wary eye on the branch as he treaded on it. The young Tygra watched his worried behavior, and got a wicked grin on his face, and lifted up his foot, bringing it down onto the branch, making it break, sending the young Lion-O plummeting into the hole with a scream. Lion-O gasped when he saw it.
"I always thought the branch snapped by itself…" He murmured, he glared and turned to Tygra, "But it didn't did it?" Tygra didn't look at Lion-O as he spoke, "You broke it!"
Lucas sat on the foot of one of the robotic lizards as the army waited outside the elephant village. A little ways away from him stood Slithe, waiting for something from the village. Lucas scowled, getting a little stir-crazy, growing tired of sitting there, doing nothing but going through visions only to reveal the same information as before. Grune seemed to be the same way as he went over to where Slithe was.
"Why do we continue to wait when we could crush them in a breath?!" He demanded of the lizard.
"I'm with the hairball." Lucas said, pointing his thumb at Grune, who scowled at the name, "I'm getting tired of doing nothing. Are you worried about the elephants waiting for us at the top?"
"Of course not." Slithe said, "The elephants never fight."
"Then why aren't we getting up there?" Lucas asked, pointing to the top of the small mountain.
"Mumm-Ra's orders." Slithe said, "If we attack now, we risk destroying the portal to the Astral Plane, trapping him inside forever."
"Tell me, Slithe," Grune began with a smirk, "Would that really be such a bad thing?"
"Mumm-Ra is our master!" Slithe said, "He controls the largest army on Third Earth, and wields more power than you could even dream of! You would dare betray him?!" Grune smirked evilly, and Lucas unknowingly mirrored it.
"It's a right good plan." He said, "And just think who might be in control once he's gone? It could work out even better than you had hoped it would under the mummified newt." Lucas had never met Mumm-Ra, but after hearing his description from Grune, he pictured him to be something like the Egyptian priest from the first Mummy movie with Ben Frasier.
Slithe looked between the two of them, before sharing his own smirk with them, "You know, for a cat and… whatever you are—"
"Human." Lucas interrupted him.
"For a cat and a human," Slithe corrected, "You are both quite the snakes." Slithe turned to his army, planning to give orders to move in. Lucas watched him leave, and then turned to Grune.
"What makes you think that if you get power, he won't betray you?" He asked him.
"He's been loyal to Mumm-Ra since we found him." Grune said, "I doubt he even considered the idea of betrayal until I said so." He raised an eyebrow at the young teenager, "What about you? No interest in the spoils of war?"
"Thanks, but no." Lucas said, "I'm interested in one thing, and one thing only. And it has nothing to do with your little war." His eyes narrowed as he looked away, "The only thing I want is for my family to be the most powerful clan on my earth. And I'll knock down everyone who stands in my way." He glared up at the mountain, "I don't care who it is. The ThunderCats, the Lizards, the Redorics, Nay-Chungs, or even the God-Forsaken Potter family!" He clenched his fists angrily, "Nothing will stand in my way!" I won't just let this rest, she'll get what she deserves…
Grune smiled and laughed, he patted Lucas harshly on the back, making him almost fall over, "I see so much of me in you. You'll make a fine soldier." Lucas said nothing as he brushed off his shoulders where Grune had touched them.
Leanne looked at the scene before her in shock. Lion-O had fallen into the pit below, and now he was trapped inside.
"Tygra! Help!" The young Lion-O called from the pit. The young Tygra looked at what had happened, and Leanne saw that he looked completely terrified. He turned and ran away. The young Lion-O's eyes welled up in fearful tears as he shouted, "No! Don't leave! Don't leave me! Tygra!"
"How could you?" Lion-O asked Tygra scathingly, "Your own brother!"
"I thought I'd get in trouble with Father." Tygra said, defending himself, "I was scared!"
"You were always against me, Tygra." Lion-O growled angrily, "Because you could never have this!" He pointed to where the sword rested at his side.
"Lion-O, hold up!" Leanne said, stepping between the two brothers, "Tygra was just a kid! You both were! He probably didn't understand the consequences of his actions until it was too late. He didn't know any better!"
"Why are you defending him?!" Lion-O demanded of her. She jumped back at his shout. The fury on his face was more than she had ever seen, and it scared her a little bit.
"I'm just trying to help you think clearly!" She said, shouting back at him.
"The sword should have been mine!" Tygra snapped, making the couple look up at him. They watched as the ground in front of Tygra glowed, a replica of the Sword of Omens floating up and out in front of him. "Maybe in this world," He reached out and grasped the hilt, "It can be." Lion-O growled and reached for his sword.
"Then let's settle this." He said, "Once and for all!" He drew his sword and held it at the ready, "This is the true Sword of Omens! It can't be beaten!"
"But you can!" Tygra said, and he charged at him, his blade clashing against Lion-O's. Sparks flew between the powers of the two swords as they struck again and again. Leanne looked at the two of them with wide eyes as they battled each other.
Lucas rested on the shoulder of one of the robotic lizards as they moved up the mountain, a wicked smirk on his face, excited by the thought of trapping the Untamed in the Astral Plane. He jumped up, standing next to the control center of the robot, looking up, eyes ablaze, at the elephant village. This was the face that Panthro saw as he looked through his scope at the oncoming army.
"It's time…" He muttered, he turned to face Anet and Aburn, "So? Are you gonna help us? Or wait for that army to roll over your village?"
"We were supposed to meditate on that, weren't we?" Anet said, "Completely slipped our mind. Come, Aburn, let's get right to that." He and Aburn walked away, going to the meditation grounds.
"Of all the slow, dumb…!" Panthro stopped himself from going any further, knowing better than to curse in front of children.
"We can't stop an army that size." Cheetara said, gesturing to the lizards.
"No," Panthro reached into his pocket, "But I got a few surprises that'll slow 'em down." He held up one of the bombs he had set down earlier, showing her with a mischievous grin.
Down below, Lucas stood at the shoulder of the robot, and as they neared the village, the robot almost fell over when an explosion went off by one of the feet. He jumped off of it so he wouldn't be crushed under the weight of the metal beast as it stood, stunned for a moment. Another explosion went off not too far away, and then another, and another, taking out some of the lizard soldiers. Lucas realized that someone had filled the mountain with landmines of some kind, and the lightest tread was enough to make it go off. Careful about the ground he stepped on, Lucas went over to where Slithe and Grune were.
"They've rigged the mountainside!" He told Grune over one of the resounding explosions.
To his surprise, Slithe laughed, "A pitiable defense! Thundera fell in a day, this will only take moments!" Lucas looked at Grune, who smirked at him, showing that neither of them were scared.
"Slithe! Take the hut." Grune ordered as he pulled out his bludgeoner, "The Cats are mine." He powered it up and looked at Lucas, "Tell me where the mines are." Lucas closed his eyes, the talisman around his neck glowing, and his eyes soon glowing the same color.
"On your left!" He said, pointing in the direction of it. Grune fired off and destroyed it, "At your ten o'clock!" He pointed to another one and Grune fired off, destroying it as well. He continued to point out the bombs to him and he continued to zap them away as they went up the mountainside. Slithe reached the top first, along with a good portion of the soldiers, all of them aiming their weapons at the hut as they surrounded it, ready to fire.
Cheetara saw this and ran towards them, holding out her staff, shouting, "No one gets near that hut!" She ran through the crowd of lizards, knocking them into the air while disarming them of their bayonetted guns. She stood in front of the hut, ready to defend it to the end. She wouldn't let any lizard get within ten feet of it if it was the last thing she did. And it just might be, she thought as she saw more and more soldiers coming up the mountainside. Panthro powered up the tank's cannon and fired it off at the lizards, blowing them away and wrecking some of the lizard robots.
"Come on, you old saber tooth." Panthro muttered as he looked at the oncoming soldiers, "Show yourself." Something moved in the corner of his eye, and he looked to see it was Grune coming up over the walls of the village, Lucas just behind him. Fury welled up within him, and he moved the tank, driving it over to where the two of them were with great speed, stopping on a dime in front of them. "About time you showed up!" Lucas looked between Grune and Panthro, unaware of their history.
"Lucas, go to Slithe and get that hut." He ordered, Lucas, although he didn't like taking orders, didn't want to go up against Panthro in his tank, so he did as he asked. Once he was gone, Grune said, "This is meant to be a battle between Cats, not machines."
"Then the odds are in my favor." Panthro said as he pulled out his nun-chucks.
Grune grinned, "To the death, then, old friend."
"Yeah, yours!" Panthro said, jumping off the tank and heading straight for Grune, swinging his nun-chucks in the air. Grune swung his bludgeoner a few times, building up centrifugal force and brought it down on Panthro's nun-chucks, and so the battle between them began. Both soldiers of old wars, finally fighting the battle they've wanted for so long.
In the other part of the village, WilyKat had found one of the rocket launchers the lizards had been using, and was having a little trouble resting it on his shoulder to fire it off at one of the robots. He didn't notice the three soldiers behind him as they began to sneak up, thinking the kitten was easy prey. Once WilyKat finally got the launcher situated on his shoulder, he fired it off, the kickback of the gun being enough to throw him back a few feet into the soldiers behind him as the rockets went to destroy the feet of the lizard robot. When WilyKat got up, he had a pounding headache from when he hit one of the soldiers, and his ears were ringing from the gun, but it was what had helped him to take out a robot and a few soldiers, so it was worth it.
The entire time this was going on, WilyKit was sitting next to Aburn, and Snarf beside her as they meditated on whether or not to fight against the lizards.
"Have you lost your minds?!" Leanne shouted at Lion-O and Tygra as they battled. They didn't seem to hear her words as they kept going at each other, their blades clashing and sparks flying. Tygra slashed at Lion-O, who jumped up into the air and landed behind Tygra. He was prepared, however, and charged at Lion-O with a fierce roar. The blow he landed was hard enough to throw Lion-O back. He deftly landed on his feet, prepared to keep fighting him, holding up his blade, which he had to use for defending himself when Tygra jumped up and brought his sword down on him, making him tumble backwards. He landed on his side, groaning in pain. Leanne's heart clenched as she saw this.
Lion-O stood up, holding his blade at the ready, "Anet warned me you'd betray me. He said it was inevitable!" He roared as he ran at Tygra, who blocked his sword.
"You've undermined me my whole life!" Tygra snarled, "Blocked me at every turn!" He lunged while their swords were still connected from Lion-O's blow, and he pushed Lion-O back a little, "You took the crown! You took her!!" Leanne felt guilt suddenly burn in her body. Tygra and Lion-O were fighting because of her. Maybe that might not be the whole reason, because they had been rivals since they were young, but maybe if she hadn't come there at all, they wouldn't be fighting now.
This was her fault.
Tygra pushed Lion-O back and made him lose his footing. He ran at him again, holding up his blade and slashing at him, and Lion-O moved back, even though he hadn't totally regained his balance. Tygra kept running and slashing at him, and Lion-O kept moving back further and further, and Leanne's eyes widened when she saw where Tygra was leading him. They were getting closer and closer to the hole in the ruins. If this was her fault, it was her responsibility to stop it before it got out of hand. She ran towards to the two of them as Tygra pushed Lion-O back to the very edge of the hole. Her heart pounded and she ran faster.
"Tygra, stop!" She cried, her voice breaking. Tygra heard her, and he did stop, but Lion-O still had yet to regain his balance, and he fell into the hole. "No!" Leanne dashed to where he was falling, but Tygra held her back, not letting her go forward to fall into the pit like Lion-O had.
Lion-O, while he fell, quickly put on his gauntlet, and dug the claws into the walls of the pit, making him slow down until he finally was able to stop, still holding onto the wall. He looked up and saw them both at the top, and Tygra walked away, with a steadily-becoming-hysteric Leanne away. "Tygra!"
Tygra put Leanne in front of him, and watched as she began to cry before him, "Tygra, what are you doing?!" She demanded, "He's your brother!" She tried to go past him to get to the hole, but once again, Tygra stopped her, "Let me go! I have to get down there! If you won't help Lion-O, at least I will!"
"You need to calm down." Tygra said, "If you go down there, you'll be stuck just like he is!"
"And staying here is going to be so much better!" Leanne spat, glaring at him as tears flowed down her face, "Tygra, I can't believe you! He's your younger brother! I know you guys aren't really related, but you both called the same man Father! You're both his sons! You're still family!" She stopped speaking as she began to sob, and she couldn't control her words, "I know… I know this is my fault, but… You're family…"
"Our family…" Tygra murmured, and then was struck with something, "Father! I remember, he was there, too." Tygra looked back at the pit, remembering what had happened after he had snapped the branch, "Father was there, too." He walked over to the edge and used his whip as a make-shift rope and stuck it in between a crack on the edge of the hole, and as he worked, he spoke, "It's true, Lion-O. I thought about leaving you there, but I instantly regretted it." Leanne watched through blurry eyes as Tygra started climbing down through the hole towards where Lion-O was, "I ran, but it was to find help! I went to Father, and I told him what had happened, and that it was my fault. I was amazed that he even forgave me for it, and I still am." Lion-O's grip began to slip and Tygra grabbed his hand before he could fall, "I would never betray you." He pulled him up onto the ledge he had grasped onto, "Not then, and not now." Lion-O let him pull him up and they both climbed up the whip-made-rope up to the top. Once he was there, Leanne ran at Lion-O, embracing him tightly as tears flowed down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry." She said brokenly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Lion-O held her close, kissing the top of her head.
"You have nothing to be sorry for." He said softly. Tygra pulled himself up and put his whip back in its proper place. Leanne pulled away from Lion-O, having calmed down a little bit to just sniffling, wiped away some of the tears from her eyes and looked up at Lion-O, and then at Tygra.
"I'm so sorry." She said, "If I had never come here… If I had never put on this stupid necklace, this would have never happened."
"We can never be sure of what could be." Tygra said, "All that matters is what happened, and what we plan to happen." He looked at Lion-O, "I let my jealousy get the better of me, and I'm sorry."
"I am, too." Lion-O said, "I don't think I was really helping it by letting this leadership thing get to my head." He pulled out the Sword of Omens and shortened it, having it rest in his gauntlet. Tygra looked at the replicated sword the Astral Planes had given him and it disappeared in his grasp. Leanne stepped back, no longer crying, only the occasional sniffle came out of her, and she smiled at the two of them. Lion-O looked around them with a frown, "It's this place. It's making our worst memories and desires real."
"But someone is guiding this." Tygra said, looking around with a similar frown.
"I'll give you one guess." Lion-O said, a low, feral growl slipping out as he spotted a familiar black crow.
"Mumm-Ra." Leanne bit out, seeing it as well.
"Such spirited sibling rivalry," A voice hissed out of the bird's beak. It jumped off the branch and flew in front of them, saying, "Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decayed form into Mumm-Ra! The Ever-Living!" They watched as the bird changed back into the mummified lizard they were so familiar with, and then watched as he grew bigger, a pair of huge, leathery wings breaking through the bandages, as well as a hugely muscled body, decorated in Mumm-Ra's normal clothing. He stood, towering over them, his wings raised high, "Since I couldn't get you to kill each other, I'll just have to do it myself!" He let out a war cry as his hands shot out bolts of purple lightning, pushing them all back away from him. Tygra was knocked against a falling wall, and Lion-O was knocked against a tree, Leanne tumbled onto her side.
Lion-O groaned in pain, and worked to get on his feet. He was still exhausted from fighting Tygra, but he was sure that he had more than enough energy to fight Mumm-Ra. As he began to get to his feet, he saw something on the ground, and his eyes widened when he saw a crack in the ground, where underneath, it seemed to be made of an amethyst-like stone, a big one.
Could it be…?
Cheetara stood outside the hut, holding her staff, glaring at all the lizard soldiers and the lizard robots that surrounded it. Lucas stood at the shoulder of one of the robots, looking down at them. She glared up at him, "Why are you doing this?" She demanded, "I thought you humans were good people!"
"Not all humans are pacifistic peace-lovers." Lucas said, "A good number of us know that war and tragedies happen, and there's not a lot you can do about it, but you can sure as hell try." He tightened his fist slightly, "And I'm not saying I'm proud of what I'm doing, because I'm not. But I know the price that needs to be paid if this war is going to end, and I get what I need. Besides," He grinned, "I never really liked cats anyway. Always wanted a chance to shoot one."
Cheetara's glare hardened, and she was about to tell him off, but her attention was turned elsewhere as she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She looked to the side as she saw WilyKat dash up beside her.
"Get out of here!" She said, "I'll try to hold them off as long as possible!"
"No way!" WilyKat said, "I'm defending this hut to the end!"
"Which might not be too far away." Lucas said with a smirk, he swept his hand forward, pointing to the two cats in front of the hut, "Fire all!" The lizards' weapons hummed as they powered up, as did the cannons on the lizard robots. Cheetara held up her staff, ready to defend the hut until her last breath, even if that meant taking on a shot from a cannon. Lucas crouched over on the shoulder of one of the robots, covering his ears with an excited grin, ready for it to fire. WilyKat looked up fearfully at the robot, and raised his arms in defense of the oncoming blow, his eyes welling up in fear-filled tears as he readied for the end.
Lucas let out a surprised yelp as the robot suddenly went up, and he fell off just as the cannon fired, missing the hut. Cheetara and WilyKat looked to see that Anet was under the robot's foot, holding it up, preventing it from getting a clear shot at the hut.
"I thought you were gonna meditate." Cheetara said with a grateful smile.
"We did." Anet said, "And this is the answer that came to us." He lifted up the leg of the robot and threw it, making it hit another robot and explode on impact. The soldiers all began to run as the elephants rose up, fighting off one after another.
WilyKit sat on Aburn's shoulder, watching the soldiers run, "You just woke a village of sleeping giants." She said, "ThunderCats! Ho!"
Lucas ran away as the elephants began stomping, seeming to squish down some of the lizards like bugs. He ran to where Slithe was gaping at them incredulously.
"I thought you said we didn't have to worry about the elephants!" Lucas snarled at him.
"The elephants never fight!" Slithe said, just as shocked as he was.
"Only rarely." Anet said as he came up to them, "But when we do, we fight to win!" He brought his fist down, ready to smash them. Slithe jumped away, while Lucas brought up his arm, a green energy forming around it to make a shield, and he struggled to keep himself standing once Anet's fist landed on it. Anet raised his hand up again, bringing down both fists on them, and Lucas and Slithe instantly went back. Slithe ran at the old elephant, using the blade of his bayoneted weapon to try and cut him, but Anet caught it in his huge fist and yanked it out of the lizard's grasp. He held it in front of them, and they watched with wide eyes as he bent it with such ease, ruining it, and tossing it away.
Slithe, knowing this was a losing battle, ran from him, and Lucas followed, not having the physical strength to go up against an elephant, and not knowing many spells he could use to attack it.
He ran past where Grune and Panthro were still fighting, but paid them no mind as he ran away.
"What do you say we settle this with our fists?" Panthro asked him, getting a little tired of using his nun-chucks, and he also really wanted to smash in Grune's face with his own hands.
Grune smirked at the proposal, and threw down his bludgeoner, and Panthro threw down his nun-chucks. They both ran at each other, fists flying as they tried to land a blow, but war experience had made it difficult for both of them to land a single hit, but still, they fought. Panthro was willing to give up anything to make sure Grune never fought again.
Leanne struggled to stand, but once she did, she quickly ran at Mumm-Ra, forming a whirlwind around her fist, hoping sharp winds would increase the strength of her blow as she dashed towards him and tried to land a hit on his middle. Mumm-Ra blocked her with his arm, but her hit still landed, and he howled in pain as he felt his flesh being torn away slightly as the winds cut through him. It was as if a buzz-saw had been placed on his skin. He quickly knocked her back, and she landed beside Lion-O, groaning as she felt pain coursing through her skull from the blow.
"With you three out of the way," Mumm-Ra said, "There will be nothing to stop me from finding the Spirit Stone!" Lion-O stood up.
"You're too late." Lion-O said, "I already found it." Leanne and Tygra looked at him oddly. Mumm-Ra looked at him suspiciously, thinking he was bluffing.
"What?" Tygra asked.
"It's been right under our noses the whole time." Lion-O said, he looked down at the ground, and the others watched as the ground for the forbidden ruins disappeared, and took on a much more purple hue. As the ground began to melt away, they saw that they were all standing on top of a huge Spirit Stone. Lion-O dug his gauntlet into the stone, sparks flying from the contact. Leanne and Tygra shielded their eyes as a bright light came from it as the stone slowly went into Lion-O's gauntlet, making a small teardrop on the back for a new place to put it. When it was done, they were standing in a starry expanse of space, and the gauntlet extended into an armored arm. He held up his arm, letting the stone glow, blinding Mumm-Ra slightly.
In anger, Mumm-Ra built up a huge blast of power and shot it at Lion-O, who held up his gauntlet, making it act as a shield as he prevented the blast from hitting them. Mumm-Ra looked at him with wide eyes and Lion-O smirked.
"Now let's see what this Spirit Stone can do." He said, he swung his sword, lengthening it, "Thunder." He swung it again, making it longer, "Thunder!" He swung it a third time, making it go to its full length, "Thunder!" He held up the sword, "ThunderCats! Ho!" bolts of lightning flew from the blade as its power was amplified by the power of the Spirit Stone, and a huge amount of power shot out of it to Mumm-Ra, and threw him back until he was out of their line of sight.
"Whoo!" Leanne cheered, holding up her arms in a victory pose. They stopped as a rumbling sounded beneath their feet, and the starry space beneath them began to crack like glass.
"What's happening?" Tygra demanded once he saw it.
"The Astral Planes were created exclusively for the Spirit Stone!" Leanne said over the sound of the collapsing realm around them, "Without it, there's nothing that keeps it together!"
"Then let's get out of here!" Lion-O said, and everyone began to run for the portal, the Astral Planes falling shortly afterwards into an infinite space that no one wanted to fall into.
Just outside the hut, Panthro and Grune were still duking it out. They were evenly matched, having learned under the same teacher how to fight, fought in the same wars on the same side, if someone didn't cheat, their match would go on forever.
Panthro blocked one of Grune's punches, and was about to respond with his own, when he suddenly noticed how strong the winds were getting near the portal and he heard Lion-O call "Take cover!" He looked and saw Lion-O, Tygra, and Leanne come tumbling out, heading for safety. A bird slipped out shortly afterward, but his attention wasn't on that. His attention was on Grune as they both began to slip towards the portal, because Grune had grabbed onto him to try and stay out of it. The winds were strong enough to take Grune off his feet, and Panthro had to fight to keep himself out of the collapsing portal, but Grune somehow managed to slip through.
"Pull me free, Panthro!" He called out to him over the roaring winds, "Pull me free, or we both die!" Panthro looked down at Grune, and for a moment, just one moment, he saw the soldier that he had fought beside, the soldier that had helped him in times of need, loyal to the kingdom of Thundera, and the one who had saved him from Spidera's nest.
He saw his best friend.
Then that moment was gone, and he remembered who Grune was now. This was the Grune that had betrayed him and his people, the Grune that had pushed him into a pit and left him for dead in a desert as he went out to conquer the world, uncaring for anyone that stood in his way.
This was his worst enemy.
He didn't pull him free, instead, he held himself back, and he said to him, "The defeat of your enemy is worth any sacrifice!" Grune looked at him with wide eyes as he realized how great Panthro's hate was for him. As the portal began to close up, never to open again, Grune screamed for his life as it closed around him, and what little it did of Panthro. Once it closed, the hut exploded as a result, no longer able to exist without the Astral Planes.
Once the explosion had ended, there was quiet for the first time in hours. Everyone began to stand once it was over, and they looked around, surveying the damage the village had taken. There were a few damaged homes, and some gardens had been destroyed, but it wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed over time. Leanne looked around, smiling when she saw that the damage to the elephants and the cats had been minimal.
Then she looked at Panthro, and let out a blood-curdling scream.
Panthro stood at where the hut once was, his arms gone, and a strange material surrounded the place where they had been cut off.
She was suddenly reminded of her dream of Panthro being chopped up into pieces.
He grunted as he managed to get on his feet, and said, "…Worth it." He fell to the ground, and everyone ran over to him, checking to see how he was. They rolled him onto his back to try and get a better look.
Leanne's eyes filled with worried tears as she looked at him. He looked up at her, and gave her a grin. "Those better be tears of joy coming out of you. We just won a huge battle." Even through her tears, Leanne still managed a smile and a broken laugh as she looked at him.
That night, the air was filled with joyous music, and the smell of deliciously cooked vegetarian foods. The elephants were celebrating their victory against the lizards. WilyKit was having a great time, providing some of the music with Aburn and a couple other elephants. WilyKat was gorging himself on food, glad to finally be able to eat his fill. One of the elephants had started dancing with Cheetara, who was having a great time relaxing with the huge elephant. Lion-O had broken off from the party, going to find some calmness after the events that took place in the Astral Planes. No one blamed him.
Panthro was sitting in a small, isolated area, unable to really join in the festivities, and Snarf, being the good soul that he is, was spoon-feeding him some of the food. This didn't have the desired affect he hoped it would because Panthro wasn't grateful for it, he was actually just really ticked.
"I don't need a blasted nursemaid!" He snapped at the creature, who ran away in fear.
As Leanne walked by them, Snarf dashed behind her legs in fear of the large cat, and she smiled.
"Someone needs to learn to play nice, huh, Snarf?" She said playfully, petting the top of his head. Panthro scoffed when he heard her, and she frowned sadly, coming over to him, "Hey."
"Hey." He replied. They were silent for a moment, neither really knowing what to say to the other, until Leanne spoke again.
"How are you holding up?" She asked him. He shrugged his shoulders.
"You know what I'll miss the most?" Panthro asked her, she shook her head, "The scars. A lot of history on those arms."
Leanne looked at where they had bandaged the stumps on his arms, and frowned sadly, "I can't help but feel like this is my fault. I had the dream, and I did nothing about it."
"Don't go blaming yourself for my actions." Panthro said, "It's not like you." Leanne gave him a small smile.
"Get some rest." She said, "Maybe we can go and talk to Stirling later about getting you some new arms?" Panthro shrugged his shoulders again in response. "By the way, have you seen Tygra anywhere? I need to talk to him."
"Beats me." Panthro said, "But he couldn't have gotten far." Leanne nodded, turning and leaving, and Snarf, seeing that Panthro had calmed down a little bit, went back to where he was before, grabbing a spoon and holding it up to Panthro with a smile. When he glared at him, Snarf only let out a sound that sounded like a nervous chuckle.
Lion-O stood at the edge of one of the cliffs outside the village. He heard thumping footsteps behind him and looked to see Anet approaching him.
"Few could have faced what you did, and come out victorious, Lion-O. You did well." The aged elephant said, commending him.
"You know, you said I'd be betrayed before the evening bell." Lion-O said to him, "I thought your visions were never wrong."
"Did the evening bell ring already?" Anet asked, "I don't remember hearing it."
Lion-O smiled, shaking his head, "Of course you don't."
Leanne walked around the outside of the village, and found Tygra standing inside a small veranda, looking up at the moons that rose into the night sky.
As she came closer, she paused, hesitant to approach him. She knew she had to, because there were many things that needed to be resolved and explained to him, but she was unsure of how to approach him because of all that had been said and done. Could she just be friendly about it, acting as if the fight in the Astral Planes had never happened, as if he had never confessed to her? No, she couldn't act like it never happened, because it did, and it needed to be addressed, but she couldn't act like it was nothing, either.
"You know I know you're there, right?" Tygra's voice called to her, breaking her out of her thoughts. She looked up at him, and saw that he was looking over his shoulder at her.
"Sorry…" She said quietly, beginning to walk over to him.
"It's fine," Tygra said, turning to face her, "It's not like you snuck up on me or anything."
"No, not that." Leanne said, "I'm sorry about everything that's happened recently. I know it's my fault, and I…" She let out a deep breath, unable to meet Tygra's eyes, "I… I had hoped that, if I just ignored it, and acted like nothing had happened, maybe it would just go away, but…" Tygra frowned.
"Yeah, this is partially my fault, too." He said, "I should have been clear from the beginning how I feel about you."
"In the beginning, you hated me." Leanne said with a smile. Tygra shrugged.
"Well, yeah," He said, "But later on, my feelings started to change."
"Like… how much later?" Leanne asked him. Tygra looked away.
"I didn't really think about it at the time, but…" He reached up and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "The day after Thundera fell." Leanne looked at him with wide eyes.
"That long?" She asked in surprise.
"You didn't see the way you looked after Mumm-Ra had tortured you." Tygra said, "Just seeing you lying there, helpless, and in pain, I… I just had this urge to try and protect you. I didn't even consider it to be love until… Well, until a little while after you had that fight with Lion-O and you left." Leanne was quiet as she listened to him speak, and once he was done, she wasn't really sure what to say, leaving them in an awkward silence. Tygra didn't like it, so he continued to speak, "Look, let me at least say this now before you reject me altogether." She looked up at him, showing that she was listening, "I really care about you. A lot. And I know I've put a lot on you with everything that's happened, but I don't want you to feel like it's your fault, because it's not. It's just something that happens, if it's anyone's fault it's mine. When I said… what I said to you, I didn't know things would be so… awkward for us, and… I'm sorry."
Leanne nodded in understanding, "You don't have to apologize, it's just… Well," She looked away, "I'm not really sure how to deal with this, I've never had two guys… after me… before. And I don't want it to feel like it's my fault that I caused all this trouble, but I don't want you to feel like it's your fault, either, so don't apologize. But, I want you to understand that I do care about you, I do, just… not like that. You're…" She let out an uneasy huff, "I care about you… like I would care about a brother, if I had one. That's just what you are to me, the brother I never had. And that's not necessarily saying that you love me like you think you do, either. From what you told me, you could just feel the same way I do, and see me as a sister, because the urge to protect someone doesn't always apply to a girlfriend, and you could have just been confusing it for love because… well, because you never had a sister. Does that make sense?"
Tygra nodded, "Yeah, I understand." Leanne nodded.
"Good." She said.
"But, if what you say is true, and I'm confusing this," Tygra said, "How do you tell the difference?" Leanne paused, unsure of how to answer.
"Well… uh…" She put her hand to her chin as she tried to think. "Hmm… The only thing I can think of… is to do something with me that you would never do with your sister and see what you feel afterwards."
"Such as…?" Tygra asked, Leanne blushed.
"Well…" She couldn't seem to get the words out, "There's… Uh… I…" She gulped, "Well, there's… incest stuff."
Tygra looked at her in surprise, "You mean like… under the covers?"
Leanne's face burst into a bright red color, "NO! No, no! Not that stuff! There's other stuff… much, much lighter stuff… but, um… I'm not really sure I want to do any of that stuff with you."
"Well, is there another way?" Tygra asked.
"Uh…" Leanne wasn't sure if there was.
Cheetara came up to where Lion-O was just coming back from speaking with Anet, "There you are." She said, "Have you seen Leanne anywhere? I haven't seen her in a while, and I'm a little worried." Lion-O looked around, not seeing her anywhere in sight.
"I haven't…" He said, he looked back at Cheetara, "Why?"
"I'm just a little concerned." She said, "Anet had a vision concerning me and her, and I…"
"There's no need to worry about those." Lion-O said, "Anet said I'd be betrayed by Tygra, but I wasn't."
"Well, still," Cheetara said, "I'm a little worried. I want to talk to her about it." Lion-O nodded.
"Then let's go look for her." He said.
"Leanne?" Tygra was still waiting for his answer.
"Well… I can't think of any other way." She said quietly, "I don't know what else you can do…"
"Aburn," The great elephant looked down at the pair of cats as they approached him, "Have you seen Leanne?"
"Leanne?" He repeated, "I think I saw her earlier…"
"Where was she?" Cheetara asked. Aburn reached up and scratched his head.
"I just saw her…" He muttered, trying to remember where he had seen her. The two cats sighed, knowing it might be a minute before he remembered.
"The only thing I think I can do," Leanne said, "That I would be okay with, and that might help you out, is… for you to…" Tygra waited for the rest of her words to come out, and she blushed brightly as she barely whispered, "Kiss… me…"
Tygra looked at her in surprise at the suggestion, "You sure?" Leanne nodded.
"If only to prove to you that this love you're feeling is just for a sister, and not for a girlfriend." She said, Tygra nodded in understanding.
"Ah! Yes, I remember now!" Aburn said, "I saw her over by the veranda, talking with Tigger."
"Tygra." Lion-O corrected, "And thanks." He and Cheetara headed off to where the veranda was.
"Well… all right then." He said, he stepped a little closer to her, putting his hands on her shoulders, "I'd be lying if I said I didn't like this a little bit." Leanne blushed.
"Just one kiss." She said, "After that, we never speak of this again." Tygra nodded and began to move closer to her. Leanne closed her eyes in preparation for the oncoming contact they were about to share. Tygra leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.
It was at this moment that Cheetara and Lion-O rounded a corner, and they saw Tygra and Leanne together, kissing. Their eyes went wide at the sight, unable to believe what they were seeing.
"She…" Lion-O didn't want to believe what he was seeing, but it was right there in front of him.
Cheetara was speechless. After everything that had happened, and everything that she had said to her about liking Tygra, she couldn't believe that she was kissing him. She was the same as Lion-O. She didn't want to believe it.
In the distance, they heard the ringing of the evening bell.
*Gasp!* OH, the DRAMA!
Haha. I hope you liked it. There aren't any more episodes coming out until March, so I'll be working on some filler chapters in the meantime.
Also, it's been brought to my attention that my story isn't as good as it could be, so I'll really be working on that.
PS - I did a picture of Lucas. You can find it at http: / / popcorngamer. deviantart. com / # / d4q2x6k
Just take out the spaces.