Chapter XIX

Tygra felt his heart stop as he watched his brother plunge off the cliffs edge. Time seemed to stand still as they all waited, hoped, to see Lion-o activate the Thundera's flight systems. But he didn't. All they heard, all they saw, was the whirling death trap tornadoes.

Panthera stood frozen holding a hand to her stomach where there was now a huge bleeding gash, all the blood seemed to have drained from her face and she swayed unsteadily on her feet.

Tightening his grip on Cheetara, who was just barley conscious, he tried to stay calm. With a hiss of air Mumm-Rah's mech's chamber opened and the hooded and bandaged dark lord stepped out. With a snarl Tygra rose to stand in front of Cheetara and Panthera his gun drawn and pointed straight at Mumm-Rah's head. At his actions Mumm-Rah's troops moved to surround the small group their own guns all trained on Tygra. Mumm-Rah chuckled.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" The dark lord asked an amused smile playing across his lips. Tygra growled, but he knew Mumm-Rah was right. He didn't have a chance in hell of getting them out of this, not without getting everyone killed. His only option was to surrender. Not taking his eyes off of Mumm-Rah Tygra lowered his gun. Panthera hesitated at first, seemingly about to protest Tygra's decision, but she knew they had no choice and so complied as well. With a slight nod from Mumm-Rah his troops took the three into custody, confiscating the groups weapons.

"Bring him," Mumm-Rah directed turning back towards his mech. "Kill the other two." Tygra's eyes widened in horror, he turned to see several lizards surrounding a struggling Panthera and a semi-conscious Cheetara. They cocked their guns.

"NO!" Tygra roared struggling against the three lizards that were dragging him after Mumm-Rah. "If you touch her I'll kill you!" He snarled, his words seemed to have no affect on the lizards, but they did on Mumm-Rah.

"Wait," the lizards paused at their master's order. A smile twisted its way across the dark lord's bandaged face. He turned to look at Tygra, who shot daggers back. "If I let them live, then you accept my previous invitation, yes?"

"Yes." Tygra agreed, his voice thick, shifting his gaze to Cheetara who was just getting her strength back from Mumm-Rah's vicious attack.

"Bring them."

Tygra didn't put up any further struggle, the fight had not drained from him and he wasn't about to give up, but he had already lost Lion-o, and he wasn't about to lose Cheetara, and Panthera, too.

OoooooO

He was falling. It was serenely silent within the Thundera, no rush of wind or jarring turbulence as he fell. Closing his eyes he was enveloped in darkness. Once more he felt the Thundera's mana feel its way around him, it seeped into him, at first he resisted the penetration but then Lion-o let go and fell into unconsciousness.

Lion-o's eyes opened slowly. He heard the roar of the tornados around him and saw the darkened sky above him as though he were outside. For a moment he was disoriented, because he was no longer in the cockpit. There were no screens before him. Instead all he saw was the sky as he continued to fall. He mustn't have been out for more than a few seconds then. He needed to find the flight systems. At his thoughts he reflexively flexed his back, he wasn't sure why he had done that, but as soon as he had he felt his entire back shifting slowly sprouting wing like thrusters. And just like that he wasn't falling anymore.

He lay floating halfway down the enormous cliff. Lifting a hand he watched his as his snow-white metallic hand came into view. He righted himself in the air so that his back faced the cliff and he looked out over the valley of tornadoes. Looking down at himself he had found the Thundera. Lion-o wasn't sure what had happened, what was happening, but it seemed as though now he 'was' the Thundera.

Slowly he lowered himself to the ground. It surprised him that he could actually feel the earth beneath him, and could smell the chill in the freezing winds. His mind seemed to be working slowly though, almost as if he had just woken from a deep sleep. Then it hit him. Mumm-Rah! A feeling of impending threat surged through him causing one of his arms to reconfigure, the white amour panels shifting so quickly it was a blur, into gun mode. So that's where the weapons system had been hiding.

Taking to the air Lion-o shot up the cliff side arching once he cleared the cliff and slamming into the earth of the ledge leaving a crater. It was empty. Lion-o looked around only to be greeted by the vacant precipice. Calming himself Lion-o tried to think. Tygra—the moment Lion-o thought his brother's name he inadvertently had a flash of the Plun-Darr in his minds eye and when that happened suddenly Lion-o knew where it was. Some kind of internal radar within the Thundera had located Tygra's mech. Taking to the sky once again Lion-o headed towards the signal.

The Thundera's speed was amazing, and the limitless altitude was glorious. Lion-o couldn't help but head higher and higher as he flew forward. A sudden feeling of cold swept over him, almost as though his whole body was freezing. But, almost naturally, he sent out of wave of mana through himself melting the feeling away. He felt himself getting lighter and in an abrupt flash of light Lion-o could see the stars.

Lion-o halted, despite the silence of his thrusters he seemed to continue to sail forwards forcing him to use his reverse thrusters to slow and steady himself. Gazing at the millions of stars that seemed to surround him it dawned on Lion-o that even though his thrusters were off, he wasn't falling. Looking down Lion-o was shocked to see how high he was, where he was. He had broken the atmosphere! Lion-o practically laughed aloud; he had left the planet! He was in space! Tygra had said mech's couldn't—Tygra. Lion-o tried to re-focus on his objective. He had to find his friends; there would be plenty of time later for everything else. Almost reluctantly Lion-o headed back down, once again concentrating on the signal of the Plun-Darr.

It didn't take Lion-o long to find the signal, and to spot the giant mech that was not too terribly well hidden in the forest. As he lowered through the trees he saw Panthro, the kits, a few of the men, and all the berbils. His approach did not go unnoticed. Lion-o landed to find his men, guns drawn and trained on him.

"Hey, hold on!" Lion-o was surprised when he heard his own voice echoing in his ears. He hadn't felt his mouth move he hadn't done anything other than having wanted to speak.

"Lion-o?" Pathro asked, lowering his weapon slightly.

"He's found it! He's found it!" The berbils started chirping cheerfully. Lion-o looked around; the Plun-Darr was here, but Tygra, Cheetara and Panthra were not.

"Where's Tygra?" The Plunn-Darr had been on the cliffs edge when Mumm-Rah attacked.

"I don't know." Panthro shook his head.

"Ro-bear-bill and the berbils practically kidnapped us! They started dragging us into the forest!" Wiley Kit explained throwing the berbils an annoyed look.

"Then Mumm-Rah attacked." Wiley Kat continued.

"He killed…." Kit started before her face turned solemn.

"Everyone." Kat finished, frowning. There was a moment of silence. "We got away… we thought you'd be safe since you were in the Temple… then the berbils said we had to go back and when we did-"

"Well we couldn't leave the Plun-Darr!" Ro-bear-bill suddenly huffed. "It is a work of art!"

"A work of art!" The other berbils chirped.

"What happened?" Panthro asked turning to Lion-o.

"Mumm-Rah," Lion-o didn't need to explain any further.

"Are they…?" Kit couldn't finish her question her eyes already filling with tears at the thought of her comrades.

"I don't know, " Lion-o shook his head. "But I don't think so." Lion-o couldn't believe that they were dead, besides he hadn't seen their bodies, Mumm-Rah must have taken them.

"Would you mind coming out of there?" Panthro nodded at the Thundera. Lion-o said nothing. Silence, and then…

"I don't know how."

The berbils roared with laughter, many of them falling onto their backs and clutching their stomachs. Panthro, Kit, and Kat looked bewildered and Lion-o would have turned beat red in both anger and embarrassment had he been able to.

Lion-o did try. So far all he had had to do was think of something, want something, and it would happen. It was like controlling his own body. But when he thought about leaving the mech… nothing happened.

"What do you mean 'you don't know how'?" Panthro asked dubiously. "You can't find the right switch?" Lion-o shifted uncomfortably, he wasn't exactly sure how to explain what he was experiencing with the Thundera. Thankfully he didn't have to.

"He doesn't want it enough." All eyes turned to Ro-bear-bill. "He has become one with the treasure." The kits glanced at each other at the mouse-man's choice of words.

"Become one…." The other mice cooed.

"I don't—" Panthro started.

"Of course you don't understand!" The mouse-man snapped. "There is no Lion-o or treasure anymore!" Ro-bear-bills declaration made everyone's eyebrows rise. "They are one being…the Thundera!"

"Yeah, he's crazy," Kat muttered; Kit nodded.

"So, what? I'm stuck like this?" Lion-o asked, somehow he knew Ro-bear-bill was right which meant Ro-bear-bill was probably the only one who could help him get out of the Thundera… if he ever wanted to.

"Only until you don't want to be." With that the mouse-man turned back to the Plun-Darr as did the rest of the berbils clearly indicating the conversation was over.

"Okay…" Kit looked back up at Lion-o. "So what now?"

Now? Now he had to get his brother back, his friends back, Panthera back. "Did you find anything more in the Book of Omens, anything about Mumm-Rah's weakness? Or where he—" Once again it happened. The moment he thought of finding Mumm-Rah the image of that black monstrous mech flashed through his mind and the minute it did he knew where he could find that mech, where he would probably find Mumm-Rah.

"I know where he is." Lion-o said aloud even though it was more to himself than anyone else. He knew what he had to do. It had to end. They had found the book, they had found the 'treasure' and now he had found Mumm-Rah. "Where are our troops?" Lion-o asked Panthro.

"Near the Hills of Elfshima," Panthro answered a hit of a question beneath his words. Lion-o nodded.

"Equipment?"

"We've obtained some mechs and guns, and we have our units of clerics," Panthro replied. Lion-o smiled, now all he had to do was find Rezard. Ro-bear-bill popped up out of the Plun-Darr.

"Done with repairs." He locked eyes with Lion-o, and at that moment that crazy little mouse looked sagely. "You're ready."

"Lion-o, what's going on?" Wiley Kat asked. Lion-o smiled and felt a fire begin to burn within him.

"We're going to war."

OoooooooO

Cheetara felt as though the wind had permanently been knocked out of her. She had gotten so used to the presence and her connection to the mana stream that now, being forcibly removed from it as she was made her feel even more sick than when the ansiblar had sealed her own mana. Tygra kept looking back at her from his position near the front as they were marched onwards.

"You have got to be kidding me." Panthera's voice snapped Cheetara out of her thoughts and looked up to see Mumm-Rah's lair. She shared Panthera's sentiments.

Mumm-Rah's lair was located in the Fire-Rock Mountain, in an active volcano. Hissing streams of steam shot up out of the earth along the path they took into the mouth of the mountain. Cheetara could feel the heat of the ground, growing more intense as they approached. They entered through large metal doors that snapped shut behind them causing an ominous clang of metal on metal. They layer was crawling with lizards, but even worse Cheetara saw a myriad of other animals now loyal to Mumm-Rah, cats included.

"Take them to a cell," Mumm-Rah directed before turning to look at Tygra who glared back defiantly. "Come with me, boy." With a final look back at Cheetara, Tygra followed the dark lord. Cheetara stood there watching as he left, her chest felt tight. She was suddenly yanked as one of the lizards pulled her chains. Begrudgingly she followed her captors as they led her and Panthera down to the cellblock.

They were shoved unceremoniously into one of the cells. Locked within the prison of bars Cheetara noticed how precariously their cell was placed to an open pit of lava. She couldn't help but suppose it had been intentional. Panthera ran her hands along the bars looking for any sort of weak spot.

"Damn it!" Panthera slammed her foot into the door hoping to make some kind of dent, hoping to be able to do something. She let out a grunt of pain and her hand flew to her side where the gash from the battle still bled.

"Let me look at it." Cheetara pulled Panthera down onto the floor and peeled her shirt up to look at the wound. Placing her hand over the injury Cheetara drew on her own mana and let it pass into Panthera. The wound closed leaving nothing behind save for the dried blood.

"I thought you couldn't use your magic," Panthera touched her side experimentally, and smiled when she felt no pain. She looked up at Cheetara for an answer.

"I can't tap into the mana source, not with Mumm-Rah so close." Cheetara explained, "But I can use my own mana." Knowing Panthera's next question Cheetara continued. "And no I don't have enough power to get us out of here. There are too many guards and other clerics here." Panthera frowned, her eyes leaving Cheetara and roaming around their prison.

Panthera blinked, hastily getting to her feet she looked out between the bars at a passing guard.

"Rezard?" The lizard turned his head, and she felt her momentary surge of hope fizzle out. The guard was a tailed iguana-man, just as their recent ally was but the facial features were different. It wasn't him. Her hope returned however when the guard, after looking around nervously, made his way over to their cell.

"How do you know that name?" He whispered his voice was urgent.

"We're friends," Panthera answered. The lizard gave a dubious look obviously knowing Rezard well enough to know he wasn't the type to have 'friends'. She pressed on regardless. "Allies then, do you recognize him as your commander or not?"

"I do." He still looked suspiciously of them, but he was still listening.

"Can you get us out of here?" The lizard blanched at her words.

"They'd kill me for that!" He hissed, "Besides, even if you and Rezard are allies as you say, I don't know that!"

"Fine." Panthera said through gritted teeth. "Then can you get a message to him?" The lizard nodded slowly. "Tell him Lion-o needs him," There was no sense in letting the news spread that Lion-o might be dead, something Panthera herself refused to believe. Her mind raced trying to think of a location to give Rezard. Where would her brother have gone, he wasn't among the dead so where would he have gone? "He can find him in the Hills of Elfshima and… and tell him that Panthera and Cheetara are alive."

"Alright," the lizard nodded giving the both of them one last look before hurrying out of the cellblock. Panthera sighed, whether in relief or defeat, she didn't know.

"Even with Rezard letting Lion-o know that we're alive and where Mumm-Rah's lair is we can't just sit and wait for a rescue." Cheetara pointed out.

"You think I don't know that?" Panthera snapped. Cheetara regarded her teammate calmly; she could tell that Panthera wasn't use to being powerless or confined. Closing her eyes she cleared her mind. She couldn't enter the mana stream, but she knew there was something else she was missing. Something she could use to get them out of this. Using what little personal mana she had, and it seemed ever so little now in comparison with what she had at her disposal with the stream, she reached out into the caverns of this raging volcano. Her eyes snapped open. She'd found it.

OooooooO

His radio headset crackled with static, his hand moving to the equipment on his ear as he adjusted the frequency as a message came in. The headset, and other equipment, had certainly been a perk of working for Mumm-Rah. The static finally settled.

"I have a message for commander Rezard," the reptilian voice whispered pressingly. Rezard waved his second and command down before he could turn on his radio to answer. Rezard would take this himself.

"This is commander Rezard,"

"Commander!" The voice sounded relieved. "This is Khamai, with squadron gamma."

"It's good to hear your voice, my brother." Truthfully Rezard had known whom it was when he had heard the voice, which is why he had felt almost obligated to answer the call himself. Squadron gamma was by far the most dangerous assignment as they were not only the largest but also still on the inside. "What's happening?"

"I have a message for you from a Panthera and Cheetara of the Thundercats." Rezard tensed. There was only one reason Khamai would have a message from them. They'd gotten themselves captured. He held back a curse. If they were captured then Lion-o might be dead, and he had been counting on that cat to help him in this war. Without Lion-o the whole cat army might collapse in on itself in some ridiculous power struggle. "They say that Lion-o is in need of your help and that he is to be found in the Hills of Elfshima." Rezard smiled to himself, well that was something; the young king was alive after all.

"Thanks, and good work." Rezard signed off and signaled to his men to move out. They were fairly close to the Hills of Elfshima and should be able to make it there come nightfall.

Rezard mulled the message over in his head. He was being summoned at last to aid the young king, but the question was whether it was merely to save his little friends, something Rezard wasn't sure he was willing to risk his men's lives to do, or to finally go to war with the dark lord. He himself had a sizable force but he knew Mumm-Rah had hordes of warriors and clerics at his disposal.

Artillery wise his own men were very well equipped having taken much of the gear that Mumm-Rah had provided. They also had the added advantage of having twice as many of his men on the inside who could sabotage Mumm-Rah's attempts at a counter attack. So they had the element of surprise. But would that be enough?

Rezard knew full well he couldn't hope to take on Mumm-Rah alone, which is why he had allied himself with Lion-o in the first place. In the end it all depended on Lion-o's forces, how many men did he have, how well were they equipped and so on. He had been notified weeks ago that the dark lord had acquired a new weapon, an even stronger and more powerful mech from the ancient mythical creators of tech. To his knowledge he hadn't heard of any advancements in tech among the general army, but still Mumm-Rah would be able to take on a large chunk of their forces solo. And Lion-o, with only his little sword, wouldn't be able to stand up to that. Rezard shook his head, he'd have to wait and see, maybe Lion-o had acquired some new weapons since the last time he'd seen him.

Nightfall came swiftly and the Elfshima hills came into view before them. He felt it before he saw it, the tremors in the earth coming first before the monstrous white mech came into view. Rezard drew his blaster; he was about to prepare for battle when it spoke.

"Rezard, I've been looking for you." It was Lion-o's voice. Rezard's eyes flickered to the figures coming up from behind the mech. It was Panthro and the two little kits. Rezard lowered his weapon.

"I see you've been busy," he looked over the white knight and couldn't help but think that it seemed to be the complete mirror of the weapon mech Mumm-Rah was said to have acquired. The mech, with Lion-o's voice, laughed.

"You could say that. How'd you find us?"

"You're comrades, Panthera and Cheetara contacted me through one of my men on the inside." He replied relaxing slightly, his men did the same.

"They're alive!" The young female cat smiled hugging the arm of her male counterpart.

"I see," the mech nodded. Rezard couldn't help but feel a little unnerved by how easily Lion-o's mannerisms were reflected through the mech. Even the way he held himself, the way his head cocked to the side when he asked a question. Rezard had never seen such synchronism. "And my brother?"

"I have heard nothing of him," Rezard admitted. Lion-o nodded.

"Well, come on into our camp, we have much to discuss." The young king beckoned Rezard and his allies forward with a wave of his metallic white hand. Rezard followed him within the perimeter that had been set up and nearly stumbled when he saw the size and force that Lion-o had mustered.

Lion-o certainly had been busy. The weapons stockpiled around the base were many, blasters, guns, and mechs, a multitude of mechs. They would certainly have a formidable force against Mumm-Rah with that, or at least they would definitely stand a chance.

There were far more than just cats among the army. There were legions of jackal warriors and Tuska's soldiers and clerics. Rabbits and dogs were also among the army, although many of them seemed to Rezard to be farmers and laborours not fighters. Still it was something that even civilians were willing to lay down their lives so that the world would be free of Mumm-Rah.

Dozens of mice-men, who were likely not warriors in any sense of the word, scuttled around the camp, mostly moving from mech to mach or weapon cache to weapon cache with screwdrivers and wrenches in their little hands. What seemed even more shocking was that Rezard found he and his were not the only lizards on Lion-o's side.

"They're allies we met in an underground city awhile ago," Lion-o explained evidently seeing the surprise of Rezard's face at the sight of the bands of lizards. Rezard grunted in response his eyes still darting around the massive camp. This war might not be so futile after all.

He left his men with the other troops and followed Lion-o and Panthro to an empty clearing where the battle charts had been set up. Within the clearing was a large jackal warrior; two long vertical scars emphasized his golden eyes, a Tuska chief, and a lizard general. With Lion-o in the mech, there was no way they would fit in a tent. Looking over the mech Lion-o answered the lizards budding question.

"I'm stuck in the mech for now." Rezard left it at that although he couldn't help wondering how that had happened. "Anyway, this is Shen, Turmagar, and Kask. You know Panthro." Rezard gave the other lizard the once over and could tell he was by no means a soldier.

"You mean to finally strike don't you?" Rezard addressed Lion-o. "I can tell you where Mumm-Rah's lair is."

"We already know where he is," Rezard couldn't hide his look of momentary shock. "What I'm asking you for is your cooperation and your help in creating and carrying out a plan to take down Mumm-Rah." Rezard nodded, it was a goal he too was after.

"I don't want a long messy war, I want us to strike once. I want to kill Mumm-Rah, without him his army falls apart, he's the only thing that keeps them all in line but also the only thing that makes them think they can take on the Thundercats." Rezard couldn't argue with that, no group would have been foolish or strong enough to attack the Capital if Mumm-Rah had not been leading them. But…

"Last time I checked, Mumm-Rah can't be killed." Rezard replied flatly crossing his arms.

"He can be killed," Lion-o insisted. Rezard raised an eyebrow at the king's words a feeling of both skepticism and hope pulsed through him. "And I will kill him, all I need is enough time." The conviction in Lion-o's voice almost convinced him right then.

"I'm listening."

OoooooO

"I found it." Cheetara's smile was so wide that when her eyes snapped open she couldn't blame Panthera's look of confusion and worry.

"Found what?"

"Our way out." Panthera's ears pricked up at that, her tail swishing anxiously. "I spared the life of one of Mumm-Rah's warriors a time ago—"

"And what? You think he'll help us out now?" Panthera scoffed.

"He doesn't have a choice." Cheetara grinned. Panthera raised an eyebrow. Cheetara closed her eyes and reached out with her mana to that of Sauro, the lizard who she had marked before. Now she grasped that bond and pulled it towards her, she knew he was here in Mumm-Rah's lair, she knew he was close. She could feel him. Moments later Sauro appeared in the cellblock coming to stand before their prison. His eyes bulged and he looked like he was choking. "Don't try to fight it." Cheetara's soft yet firm voice said as she got to her feet and came to stand just inches from the lizard. Panthera's eyes were wide in awe, or maybe it was confusion or even fright.

Cheetara looked over him; he had been promoted since she had last seen him, his decorated uniform marking him as having high rank. That was good; it would make this much easier.

"You're that witch." Sauro choked out, Cheetara frowned but said nothing she just looked at the lock on the door and then back at him. Immediately he moved to get the keys on the wall and unlocked the cell. The keys fell from his hands with a clatter to the stone floor as the iron door screeched open. Perhaps 'witch' was the right word to describe Cheetara's power.

"Thank you," Cheetara said daintily stepping over the threshold of the cell Panthera followed close behind her. "Now, you will lead us out of here, and you will make sure we receive no trouble." Sauro nodded dumbly, despite Cheetara's earlier order he was still trying to fight it.

Sauro lead the pair down the caverns; a few of the lizard warriors they passed gave them odd looks to which Sauro grumbled "His lordship's orders."

"Wait." Cheetara's voice brought them to a halt in an empty hall. For the briefest moment she had felt a familiar presence. Sauro turned to look at her impassive expression. "What has Mumm-Rah done with Tygra?"

OooooooO

Mumm-Rah had lead Tygra into his own personal chamber, waving his guards off and leaving them alone. Looking around, Tygra could see Mumm-Rah liked a luxurious life style; there was an excess of gold and silver dishes and embroideries. But looking at the gleaming objects he could also see the age. Many of the items looked to be from the time of Leo I. Mumm-Rah's choice in décor was almost as ridiculous as having his lair in an active volcano. As if reading Tygra's mind the dark lord spoke.

"It wasn't active back when I was in power," Tygra looked at him questioningly. "The volcano. Now," Mumm-Rah removed his cloak throwing dismissively over one of the chairs and falling back onto one of the plush couches. Tygra had never seen him without his cloak. Seeing all the white bandages wrapped around his head covering him completely was a little disturbing especially because the bandages were so thick they cast a dark shadow over his eyes making them look like empty sockets. "Down to business, please have a seat."

"No thanks," Tygra bit out. "Now, tell me, what do you want from me?" Mumm-Rah laughed, which just made Tygra's anger grow.

"What do I want?" Mumm-Rah leaned forward resting his bony elbows his fingers coming to rest against one another. "I want you to join me." Tygra blinked.

"What?" He asked the mere thought disgusted him. "Why would I ever join you? You killed my father." He snared, his fist clenching. The fact that Mumm-Rah continued to smile and seem utterly relaxed continued to fuel his rage.

"You call him your father?" Mumm-Rah chuckled darkly. "He used your mother," his voice was icy. "Bedded her, and left her. Though I suppose he did take responsibility for what he created—"

"Stop it!" Tygra yelled. "Just… stop it." Tygra growled looking away. There was silence for a long moment. "Why me?"

"Because you're just like me." Tygra's head snapped up at that.

"I am not—"

"Nothing like me?" Mumm-Rah chuckled again. Standing he took a step towards Tygra. "I think you'll find we have much more in common than you might think." With that Mumm-Rah began to unwind the bandages around his head. Tygra stood frozen, watching. At last the bandages fell from the dark lords face. Tygra couldn't even gasp. It was worse, so much worse, than seeing Lion-o plunge off that cliff. No, it had to be it trick. It couldn't be real.

Before Tygra stood Mumm-Rah, the dark lord of myth unmasked, and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was like looking into a mirror. So much of the facial features were the same as Tygra's, the same as his father Claudus'. But it was his fathers', Lion-o's, the royal line's flaming red hair and crystal blue eyes that faced him. It was what Tygra had always thought he himself would look like had he been a legitimate heir.

"No…" Tygra took a step back in horror he stumbled and fell. Mumm-Rah looked down at him, smiling. "No."

"Yes," Seeing that twisted smile on such a familiar face was sickening. "Haven't you ever wondered why you could pilot the Plun-Darr?"

"But…"

"You see, Leo I was my son. Well, more like a clone really with a dash of cat mixed in. I didn't want a complete copy running around." Tygra could barley process his words. "I wanted a companion, someone to share my kingship with." Mumm-Rah gave a dark laugh. "Leo took it a little too far though, stealing the crown from me and sealing me away." The dark lord sniffed and ran a hand through his red hair, his blue eyes flashing. "There was a certain gene though, one unique to myself that I thought Leo was absent of. It must have just been dormant though since it turned up in you. That, my boy, is why you can Pilot the Plun-Darr."

"You're lying," Tygra muttered trying and failing to convince himself that Mumm-Rah couldn't be telling the truth. It had to just be a trick to throw him off to get under his skin.

"You know I'm not." Mumm-Rah retrieved his bandages and began re-wrapping them around his head. "My army of lizards wouldn't be to thrilled to find out their master looks exactly like the king they're trying to kill, would they?" Mumm-Rah looked at the still frozen Tygra and crouched in front of him bringing them to eye level. "You know, I'm going to win this war, if you could even call it that. It's more like a few pockets of resistance against me now," Mumm-Rah grinned. Tygra swallowed. "You remind me of myself, and of Leo. Rule this world with me. We're family, much more so than that 'father' and that brother, neither of whom will ever give you the status you deserve." Mumm-Rah stood and extended a hand to Tygra. "Join me."

Tygra stared at the thin and bandaged hand and looked at the dark lord, his face was still frozen in some mixture of shock and disgust. He had to get out of there. He couldn't breath. Without a moments thought he slapped the hand away and dashed out of the room.

"You can't run from this!" Mumm-Rah's voice faded behind him as he ran blindly through the lair.

Turning a corner he collided with Cheetara, and Panthera who were being followed by a sickly looking lizard.

"Cheetara?" He didn't want to see her right now. Tygra knew he must look awful, he could still feel the chills running through his body.

"Tygra!" Cheetara's eyebrows knit in worry. "What's wrong?" Tygra just shook his head, grasping her arm and heading towards the entrance where they had come in. He didn't know whether Mumm-Rah would come after him or not; but he didn't want her to see. He didn't want her, no, anyone to know. "Tygra, what did he do to you?" She asked, her voice soft.

"Nothing," even to his own ear his words sounded hollow and strained.

"Tygra…" She must have decided to let it go because she didn't press the matter. As they reached the giant metal doors, they could all see something was up. Suaro, as if on cue, approached the guards at the door. The guards nodded at his words and the doors opened.

"Wait! Stop them!" The group turned to see one of Mumm-Rah's generals running towards them, the guards at the door jumped up and drew their guns. "Suaro's been compromised!"

"No, I—" Suaro didn't have time to say anything more before he was gunned down by his own kind. Now their weapons were trained on Tygra, Cheetara, and Panthera.

Suddenly the ground shook violently. At first they thought that maybe the volcano was erupting. There were sounds of guns firing and then the troop around the trio fell around them, dead. From within the lair a squadron of lizards secured the area, Panthera recognized the lizard approaching them. It was Rezard's general.

"You better get out of here," the lizard nodded towards the half open door. "The battle's just begun."

AooooooN

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