Chapter two of "The Lion's Protector and Mate!" This is the chapter where it joins with the show. This chapter will show moments here and there where the mutants first land on Third Earth, but it will primarily begin in the 4th episode, "Slaves of Castle Plun-Darr." Also, I forgot to mention; almost every chapter will start off with a dream sequence, unless I say otherwise. Now, for the disclaimer. Tygra, if you would please.

Tygra: Of course, miss. *clears throat* ROSEWHIP889 DOES NOT OWN THUNDERCATS OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS; SHE MERELY OWNS THE OCS AND THE NON-THUNDERCAT PLOTLINES.

Summary: Ever since she turned 21, Emma Rossin has had weird dreams of a cat-like man on a strange planet. Then she is one day captured by mutants and taken to Third Earth to work as a slave alongside the brutemen. When the ThunderCats arrive to rescue the brutemen, she escapes but is injured in the process. When she is found, she is found by none other than the man who has been haunting her dreams! It is then she finds out why she's been dreaming of him; it is her duty to protect and keep him safe. Can she do this and keep from falling in love with the strange lion-like man, or is it already too late? Rated M for blood, adult language, innuendoes, violent scenes, and lemons. Lion-O/OC.


Action

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Dream sequences

The Lion's Protector and Mate

Chapter Two: The Slaves of Castle Plun-Darr

~STORY START~

~EMMA'S P.O.V.~

~DREAM~

Sunshine was filtering down through the trees as I walked down a path that lined the many fruit trees. I held out a hand and brushed my hands over the leaves of one fruit tree, exposing the candy cane shaped fruit that grew on it. Picking the fruit, I bit into it and nearly moaned at how delicious the fruit was. The sudden noise of twigs cracking drew my attention and I looked up to see my tall lion-man walking towards me, his gentle gaze on my form.

"You know, that moan of yours is a big turn on." He said gently as he reached my side and I gave a small laugh.

"Yeah, well, you have cravings and see what happens when you're able to fulfill them." I said and he wrapped his arms around me, resting his hands on the small swell that took residence between my hips.

"I still can't believe it. I still can't believe that in here is a life growing." He said softly as he buried his nose into my hair and I leaned my head back against his shoulder.

"And to think that all it took was the very first try. Either you have some very good luck, or you're just extremely potent and I'm extremely fertile." I said and he purred in response.

I fell silent and was just content to listen to the birds sing as they flew around, creating their nests. It had been some time since the mutants had last created mischief, and I was grateful for the quiet, because whenever they caused problems, my lion and his friends sequestered me away at the Cat's Lair so that I wouldn't be in harm's way, due to the life form that was growing inside me. It was still strange to me, that there was life growing beneath my navel, and at times, it weirded me out a little, but I quickly got over it.

"You're awfully quiet, Emma. What are you thinking about in that pretty head of yours, my love?" He asked, breaking the silence, and I twisted in his arms to look him in the eye.

"I was just thinking that it's nice to be able to get out and stretch my legs for a little bit; I can only walk around Cat's Lair for so long before I start to go crazy from cabin fever." I said and he sighed.

"I'm sorry about that, but we don't want to risk you or the baby getting hurt; I was the last one born before Thundera exploded." He explained and I gave him a small, sad smile.

"I understand. Really, I do, but place yourself in my shoes; would you be content if you weren't allowed to leave Cat's Lair for extended periods of time?" I asked and he thought about it for a minute before sighing and then shaking his head, his scarlet mane following the movement.

"No, I wouldn't. I'll see if we can get you outside to get more sun, but we'll have to be careful; if anything happened to you or the baby, nothing would be able to protect those responsible from me." He said and I placed my cheek against his chest.

"I know, my big, brave lion. I know." I said and his arms tightened as he pressed a kiss to my head. We stayed like that for a couple more minutes before we were interrupted by his sword activating. He quickly released me and unsheathed his sword.

"Sword of Omens, give me Sight Beyond Sight." He ordered as he brought the hilt up to his eyes. I watched in amazement as his eyes glowed before he narrowed them and then widened in shock.

"What's wrong, L-"

~END DREAM~

The sudden jerking of the floor beneath me roughly brought me back to wakefulness. I opened my eyes to see that I was lying on a dark brown floor that was cold but also warm to the touch. Lifting my head, I winced as pain exploded in the back of my skull, and I raised a hand to touch the back of my hand, only or the movement to be cut short as I heard chains jingling. Taking a look at my arms, I stiffened in shock when I noticed that they were shackled; what the hell?! A quick look at my ankles showed the same thing; I was shackled, and I didn't have a clue why.

Looking up, I saw a giant lizard staring at me through bars and I inhaled sharply as the memories returned; I had been kidnapped by mutants, and it looks like they were going to turn me into a slave. I met the lizard's look with a dark glare, and the thing only grinned.

"Slythe is going to have fun breaking you, human." It said in a slithering male voice, and I narrowed my eyes even more.

Casting a look around, I saw that I was in a cell, and that my arms and feet were shackled to the floor. The chains looked like they were long enough and the cell was big enough to allow me some standing room and movement, so I slowly stood up, taking my time because of the throbbing in the back of my head. All of a sudden, the whole ship shuttered before alarms started going off; the hell was going on?!

"Quick, Slith, grab the slave; the ship is sinking! I don't care how you carry her, knock her out if it would be easier to do so!" I heard a lizard's voice rasp out over the intercom and the lizard Slith walked forward, and I watched as he picked up what looked to be like an almost primitive cattle prod.

As he approached the cage, I tried to back away, but the chains would only let me go so far, and with me being chained up, I wouldn't be able to defend myself, and let's not forget that I don't have a weapon; my great-grandmother trained me how to fight and defend myself with a naginata. I usually carry it around with me, but the day that the mutants arrived, I left it home, and I'm pretty sure that Grandma Terice is rolling in her grave, because that was the very first rule that she taught me; never leave home unarmed. The lizard stopped advancing, and as I watched, touched the prod against the floor. At first nothing happened, but then...

An electric current swept up throught the chains and struck me, causing my muscles to lock in place and my mouth opened as a shril scream ripped itself free from my throat. After 5 seconds, the electric current went away, but then I felt a prick in my right arm and I looked down to see a dart embedded in it; the lizard had shot me with a tranquilizer dart. As the effects of the dart began to take effect, I sank to my knees and then fell over onto my side.

Distantly, I felt arms pick me up and throw me over a shoulder, my arms and legs still shackled, and then the feeling of someone running with me in their grasp made me nauseous, but I somehow managed to keep from throwing up. I closed my eyes, and I lost all sensation as the tranq finally took effect, and I passed out.

~TWO DAYS LATER~

The feeling of cold stone behind my back was the first thing that I could feel. I opened my eyes, and nearly screamed out in fear as I saw large, brown creatures lumbering around in a cell next to me. Jumping to my feet, I stumbled as the world spun from moving too fast. I fell to my knees, and my stomach surged. I threw up nothing but stomach acid from not having anything to eat; how long had I been out? I vaguely remember that fucking lizard Slith shooting me with a tranq, but how much time had passed? Suddenly, I heard footsteps, and I looked over my shoulder to see the mutant Monkian, the one responsible for knocking me out and for kidnapping me from my world, walking into my cell.

"Where... where have you taken me, and what have you done to me?!" I exclaimed, my voice coming out harsh seeing as how my throat was still rough since I had just thrown up. The mutant merely hooted.

"You're on Third Earth, human, and you're here to help the other slaves build Castle Plun-Darr." He replied, hooting between every other word, and I gritted my teeth before his words registered and I froze with shock; Third Earth?! It actually existed?! Then, does that mean... that the lion-man from my dreams could possibly exist?! Monkian snapped a whip and then pulled on a chain that, I hadn't noticed until now, was connected to the shackles attached to my feet and arms. "Now, slave, get to your feet, and get to work!" He ordered, jerking on the chain, causing me to fall backwards with a yelp before I scrambled to my feet.

I followed Monkian against my will, and watched as he attached my chains to a long line of chain, with the large brown creatures in front and behind me. He snapped the whip, which forced the creatures to start moving, in turn making me move. I didn't have a clue as to what we were doing, but all I could do was go with the flow if I wanted to get out of this without getting hurt. We were led to a quarry, where Monkian, a jackal, and a lizard all held different forms of weaponry, and it was also here that Monkian traded his whip for a mace-type weapon, one that had a handle and the mace dangled from it on a chain.

"Now, slaves, cart all this stone back to Castle Plun-Darr, and resume building it, now!" The lizard hissed as the jackal brandished a club, and the creatures got to work, picking up stones larger than me and placing them in the cart while I could only pick up the stones I knew that I could carry.

Thus was my life for the next few days, or was it weeks? I'm not sure because I've lost count; what I do know was that the castle was almost done. I had been able to avoid some trouble, but I still received lashes for not moving fast enough; as it was, I currently had a gash on my right arm that was closed, but was beginning to look infected. It was one day that, on the way back to the castle, there was... trouble. One of the creatures stumbled and fell, the poor thing too tired to move, and the mutants all attacked it.

"Get up and move, you lazy Bruteman!" Jackalman demanded, and I did something really stupid; I jumped forward to try and save it.

"Leave him alone!" I demanded, shoving Monkian out of the way, and placed myself over the Bruteman. "Can't you see he's tired?! He's not going to be able to do what you want when he can barely move, you fucking idiots!" I shouted, my anger getting the best of me, and the mutants lashed out.

Monkian brought his mace into play and, with one swipe, sent me to the forest floor, ripping a nice sized piece of skin from my back with the swipe, before he sauntered off into the firest. Jackalman slammed his club against the right side of my back and I screamed as I felt some ribs break. I gently rolled onto my left side and curled into a ball as much as I could while the beating continued. Slithe stomped on my left arm, breaking it, and the pain was almost nothing like I had previously known. My eyes shot open as a scream ripped itself free from my already damaged throat. About that time, I saw two young figures in the trees, but they were far enough away that I couldn't see them clearly. Jackalman picked a foot up and slammed it down onto my right side; bloody spittle flew from my mouth. My vision flashed before I feel a foot connect with my back and I'm being rolled over onto my face.

"Get up, you lazy human!" It's a chore, but with only my right arm the good one, I manage to push myself to my knees, my entire midsection and back feeling as if they're on fire. I limp back over to the cart and the Bruteman chained to it, gently lays a hand on my right shoulder to help steady me; I gave him a nod of thanks

It felt like an eternity before we reached the castle, and we were forced back to work. Blood was trickling down my back as I helped a bruteman move stones with only one good arm, while the other one was kept close to my chest. Suddenly, Monkian and Jackalman walked up, swinging their weapons.

"Build up a wall, you lazy hulks!" Jacklman ordered, and we were forced to stop working on the ramp leading to the castle and began building a wall; were they expecting an attack or something? When the wall was nearly completed, Slithe ordered for us to be locked up; yeah, I'd say that they were expecting an attack, and was getting ready to set up an ambush. We were all escorted back to our cells, and when my door was closed and locked behind me, I stumbled to a corner, lowered myself down, and closed my eyes, ready to pass out. I must have, because the sounds of doors opening and a male voice ringing out. I kept my eyes closed, because I didn't want to get my hopes up in case it turned out to be a trick.

"So this must be where they hold the brutemen captive! But where is that human that WilyKit and WilyKat said that they saw?" The voice sounded familiar, and I cracked open an eye; was WilyKat and WilyKit the two young ones I saw earlier?And they sent help?! Maybe there is a god, or whichever deity, after all.

"I'm... in here." I called out, a little weak, and when the face appeared, my heart stopped, for it was the lion-man from my dreams that I saw looking in at me. Shock filled his heart-shaped face before he somehow managed to force the door open, and I somehow managed to stand up, despite the fact that I was covered in blood.

He walked in and my breath caught in my throat, which sent me into a coughing fit, because he looked exactly the same, except the dreams never did him justice in the muscle department, because damn, he was filled out nicely. He wore blue boots, a blue tank top that had a hole right above his belt that showed off his abs. His belt had the exact same symbol that was on my amulet that was currently hidden in my bra; my shirt was currently ripped all over the place, and the mutants would've seen the amulet and, more than likely, would have confiscated it.

Suddenly, I heard explosions, and smoke filled the air, sending both of us into coughing fits, and then, suddenly, I lost all control over myself.

~3RD PERSON P.O.V.~

The smoke was actually a chemical gas, created specifically to send its victims into a more primitive version of themselves, and so the mutants pumped the gas into the cells before retreating to a more safe area, in hopes that the brutemen would finish off the cat-man. What they didn't know was that the man they wanted eliminated was nowhere near the brutemen, but was actually in the cell with the human female.

The man looked at the woman and snarled, a predatory command, and she growled back, refusing to back down. They glared at each other before the man leaped at her, wanting to force her into submission; he would have her, whether she consented or not. She dodged, and he crashed into the wall, leaving the way to freedom open. She darted out, and behind her she heard a roar bounce off the stone walls and echo around her; the man was beyond pissed that his prey had escaped him.

She sped up as fast as she could, but when she rounded a corner, she ran outside into a courtyard, where there were several brutemen who were also affected by the gas, and when they saw her, they lunged at her. Suddenly, pounding footsteps came from behind her and as she turned to look, the lion-man from earlier jumped over her head, and pushed her away from the angry creatures before leaping into the bunch and began knocking them out one by one.

Once they all lied on the floor, unconscious but alive, he turned to her, standing up straight, and growled at her, expecting obedience. She snarled at him, too headstrong to bow down, and he bent halfway, as he circled her, and vice versa. The mutants merely watched, surprised at this change in events, as three more figures appeared; a male tiger, a male panther, and a female cheetah.

"Lion-O, snap out of it!" The tiger yells, but to no avail as the lion leaped at the human woman; his call is merely ignored, as the female is pinned underneath the other, due to her injuries finally taking their toll on her.

The man, Lion-O, snarled at the woman underneath him, before piercing her shoulder with his fangs, causing the woman to let out a yelp-like scream before suddenly going limp; the man had won and so she was showing submission. As he lapped up the blood, a strong breeze suddenly blew through the yard, and the human female regained her senses as the rest of the gas was blown away, clearing their systems.

~EMMA'S P.O.V.~

When I was able to regain control, I wasn't sure what to do, seeing as how the lion-man from my dreams had me pinned and was currently licking the bite wound that he had inflicted upon my left shoulder. I couldn't blame him, because he had lost control of himself due to that gas, whatever it was. The gas had caused us to smehow lose control of our civilized minds, and had reverted to animals made of pure instinct. I stayed still, not wanting to make a move in case I might upset him, when I suddenly felt him stiffen.

He suddenly pulled away from my shoulder and when our eyes met, his eyes were filled with shock and was locked on something. I followed his gaze, and when I found what he was staring at, I stopped breathing; my amulet had somehow fallen out of my bra and was lying on my shoulder. His eyes were locked on the symbol before they jerked back to my face. Yells sounded out, which caused the lion-man to jump up off of me and it provided me with the opportunity to get up and take off into the woods, my breath ragged as my broken ribs protested the movement.

"Wait, come back!" I heard him shout out from behind me, but I kept going; I had to get away so that I could gather my thoughts, and I wasn't going to be able to do that around them.

I kept running until I lost my footing and fell, head first, into a river. My strength having been spent from the run, I allowed the river to take me downstream until my tired body bumped against land. I grabbed onto the bank, and slowly crawled out about halfway before my arms gave out. The sun wasn't as harsh as it had been before, so I just lied there, my legs still in the water while my upper half was drying on the grass. I must have drifted off a little bit because I heard shouting and I weakly lifted my head to see several figures running towards me. As they got closer, I was able to see that they looked to be large teddy bear-shaped robots.

"Someone is in the river, and it's a girl!" One cried in a robotic voice.

"Hurry; she looks injured!" Another called out and as they reached my side, I lost the battle against unconsciousness and my head hit the river bank as I faded to black.


Yes, I may not have done the full episode, but that's because I don't know where the first two discs of my season one of ThunderCats is at the moment. Anyway, I hope chapter two was good; I'm staying up late, even on school nights, working on this story, trying to make up for my long absence. Please read and review and let me know how I can make this story better!

I edited this chapter so that Emma is rescued by the Berbils instead of the ThunderCats, which means that she won't really get to meet them until the next chapter, and I also removed WilyKit and Kat from the end but I added them into the scene where Emma's getting beat by the mutants. Also, I am changing the chapters around a little bit; since Trouble with Time technically takes place before Pumm-Ra because Panthro informs Tygra that Lion-O took to the ThunderTank like a fish to water in Pumm-Ra, and yet Lion-O hadn't had a driving lesson yet in Trouble with Time, which aired after Pumm-Ra, so I'm switching those two episodes. If I find more, I'll let you guys know before I switch them around.