A/N: As if I didn't take long enough between updates already. But at last chapter 4 is complete! I'm telling you what, this fanfic still isn't easy to write, considering all the things I've mentioned before: the third-person limited narration through the eyes of a child, the militant, terrifying atmosphere of Mumm-Ra's lair, the training aspect...all of it. I also wanted to show some more of Axis's emotions and thoughts, to help show a side of him that wasn't a crying child missing his mother, but still a very believable child, which you'll hopefully spot aspects of in this chapter. Once again, credit to the owners of each OC appearing in this fanfic is given in my artist's comments on this chapter on deviantArt. (If you don't know my deviantArt username to find my gallery, I'm on there as Yoruhoshi.) NOTE: This fanfiction is a companion to my other Thundercats fanfic, "Mortal Bonds." If you want to understand some of the events that will come to take place in this story, I highly recommend you read both. R&R please!

Chapter 4: The Gauntlet

Axis woke the next morning, barely remembering the previous night. It had been nothing but a big blur of tears until he had cried himself to sleep. On waking, he found he was still in the lonely room in Mumm-Ra's pyramid, quite by himself. Having no sense of time or ideas what to do, he slid off the cold bed and started to get dressed. His clothes had been carefully folded and set in a pile off to the side, and they smelled really clean. Axis burrowed his face into the material, shutting his eyes and inhaling deeply. Whatever his clothes had been cleaned with, there was still the barest hint of a flowery smell that was his mother's scent lingering in the cloth.

"Mama..."

Her smiling face surfaced in his thoughts as he breathed in, followed by a phantasmal ringing of seven shots. He opened his eyes, fighting back tears, and noticed something new among his clothes. It was a dark green sash, molded into a strange, twisting shape, and at the top end there was set a jewel the color of blood, with a black, twin cobra symbol in the center of the gem. Axis shuddered. Was he supposed to wear that evil-looking sash?

"Aahhh, Axis! I see you're awake, boy!"

He looked over as his uncle walked in the door, looking perfectly at ease.

"Uncle Grune, what's this?" He asked immediately, pointing to the sash.

"That? That is a new mark of your station, dear nephew!" Grune declared. "Here, I'll show you how it goes on!"

"I don't wanna wear it." He said at once.

"Nonsense!" The older sabertooth snorted before proceeding to force the sash onto the child. Axis kicked and flailed, squirmed and struggled, doing the best he could to escape his uncle's grip, but in the end there was no beating the huge cat, and the sash was wrapped around Axis's back, the heavy weighted ends squeezing his front.

"You're more slippery than a fish-man! What would your mother say if she saw you giving me a hard time?" Grune demanded, kneeling down to look the cub in his eyes. The tears threatened to obscure Axis's vision and he glared at his uncle, suddenly angry.

"Mama can't say anything about it." He growled bitterly. "You know that!"

Something shone in the caramel pools of his uncle's eyes, and the expression on the bearded face softened. For a long moment, Grune said nothing, merely sighed and gave Axis's shoulders a gentle squeeze.

"Yes," he finally admitted, "You're right. I'm sorry, Axis. But you will have to be strong from here on out."

He didn't reply, but looked away, biting his lower lip. He wanted to be strong, he always had, but he didn't know the first thing about how to be strong.

"Well, now that you're dressed and ready, I'll have that sl...indentured servant bring you a little something to eat. After that, we're starting your training."

"Already?" He asked, but his uncle was heading out the door and offered no answer. Axis clenched his fists and fumed for a good moment, then sat down on the edge of his bed with a sigh and waited. And as he waited, he thought ababout how unfair the whole situation was. It was unfair that he now had to stay in this scary place and wear a creepy sash and do training. It was unfair that his uncle kept leaving him alone instead of staying with him and protecting him. But what was most unfair...

"Mama's gone." He whispered. "And I don't have a home any more."

He could no longer recall what it had been about, but he remembered another time his mother had told him something important.

"Axis, everyone wants everything to be fair. But not everyone can agree on what is fair, and that's why people start fighting."

"But that's not fair either, Mama!"

"I know. Life isn't fair, my little love. That is why you must learn it is important to always be fair to others, and to accept that sometimes, you will not receive that same fairness in return."

The more he pondered on her words, the starker the memory became, and he realized something he had never truly noticed before; When his mother had finished speaking, her gaze had drifted to the wicker chair he had loved sitting in so much. She always looked at that chair whenever she had thought of his father, she said, for Damorn had made that chair for her.

Had his father said those exact words before?

He continued to wonder for a while, until Cazarak arrived in the room, carrying food. The lizard had a somewhat sour expression on his face that brightened when he looked at Axis, and he gently sat the food down on a low, wooden table. The cub inched forward, puzzled by the lizard's strange silence. He wanted to ask why Cazarak hadn't said anything, but he got his answer seconds later when his uncle re-entered the room as well.

"There now boy, eat up!" Grune chortled, pushing Axis closer to the food. The cub nodded soundlessly and reached for the chill meat, but froze and withdrew at the aroma coming off it.

"Uncle Grune?" He said, voice wavering, "This smells funny. I think it went bad..."

"Hmm? Oh, it's just fish, Axis. All fish smells like it's rotting."

"Then how do you know if it's really rotten?"

"Trust me, boy; if it were rotting, the smell would be even worse. Go on, have a bite. It's the breakfast of warriors!" He insisted, stabbing at the fish with a fork, which he promptly pushed into Axis's hand. He wanted to object that he didn't want to be a warrior, but his stomach let out a loud grumble, and reluctantly he took the bite of fish. Much to his surprise, it was delicious, if a bit salty, and crumbled in his mouth after the first bite. He chewed quickly, swallowed, and dug into the fish with a new fervor that had his uncle laughing. He hadn't realized how hungry he was, and in that moment, the fish was the best thing he had ever tasted. He finished quickly, and at once Grune whisked him away, before he had a chance to say good morning to Cazarak.

"Do I have to learn all this training stuff?" He asked, looking up at his uncle, trotting to keep up with the older cat's long strides.

"You've pledged to serve Lord Mumm-Ra," Grune answered in an odd tone of voice, "And he wishes for you to one day hold the rank of general over his army. In order for that to happen..."

He led Axis through a new doorway, in which they found a huge open area with a dirt floor. Several lizards were out on the dirt floor, sparring with an assortment of weapons. Further behind them was an odd contraption the kitten couldn't quite see, and there were many metal crates full of things scattered here and there.

"...you first have to become a powerful warrior." Grune finished, coaxing Axis to follow him out into the middle of the sparring area. As they approached, the lizards began to pause and turn to watch, inclining their heads and respectfully murmuring "General" as they walked past. They cleared away from the center, where the huge sabertooth indicated the kitten should wait, and Axis watched as his uncle rummaged through a metal crate, anxiously shifting his weight from one tiny foot to the other. Finally he came back, holding two wooden swords and several long strips of cloth in his hands. Without a word, he came over, knelt down, and began to wrap the cub's hands and feet with the cloth, and Axis did his best not to squirm.

"Remember it is always important to wrap your hands and feet, boy." He explained quietly, "It's a dead cat that walks on cut and bloodied feet, and it's a young fool who doesn't protect himself from blisters born of weapon handling."

"But Uncle Grune," Axis said, wrinkling his nose, "Your hands aren't wrapped."

"I've spent years building the callouses on my palms, Axis!" He said with a smile, holding up a rough hand. "Years of toughening up my skin. I don't need the wraps any more. And one day, neither will you. Now!"

He held up one of the wooden swords and pushed it into Axis's open palm, but between the tight coils wrapped around his right hand and the unexpected weight of the wooden weapon, a quick jab of pain twisted the knotted scar on his hand and he lost his grip with a yelp.

"Pick it up." Grune sighed.

"But it hurt me!"

"And for a while it will. But we have to make this weakness of yours a strength. We're going to practice right-handed fighting for a little bit each day."

"I thought you told the smelly, ugly, fat lizard I was going to learn to use both hands."

A pleased grin spread over the general's face as he ruffled his nephew's hair and laughed. "Quite right, boy! I did tell Slithe you would be trained to fight using both hands! And so you shall!"

For the first time in what felt like forever, Axis smiled, and picked up the practice sword again, this time switching it to his left hand. The weight still came as something of a shock to him-it was nothing like the toy swords he and Servali used to play with-and he experimentally swung it around a bit, trying to get used to the length and density of the weapon.

"Careful where you swing that, Axis!" Grune said, leaning back to avoid a close swing that almost caught him on the ear. "Now, wait a moment. Keep it elevated-elevated, that means raised-your shoulders are fine where they are, but you need to widen your stance. Spread your feet apart."

Axis obeyed, moving his feet apart until his uncle signaled he was good.

"Very good! Remember, your stance is always crucial in battle. May even save your life one day," he explained, "Now, try lowering the sword to waist height. Good. Now raise it to arm height again. Keep steady..."

Axis struggled to support the wooden sword's weight, chewing his lower lip, and he glanced around, surprised and embarrassed to see all the lizards present were watching. He glanced again at the practice weapon, held out at arm's length, and felt heat rise in his cheeks.

"I look dumb." He mumbled. He felt his uncle's caramel eyes studying him for a moment, then the older cat rose to his feet, hefted the second wooden sword, and with a snap of his wrist, his sword was knocked from his hand. He let out a yowl of surprise and looked up to find those caramel pools had gone cold, studying him carefully.

"Lesson one: Never let your guard down, even for a second. Now pick up the sword."

He glared, let out a low growl, and inched sideways to reach for the sword, never taking his eyes off his uncle. This had to be some kind of test or something, and he was going to pass it, no matter what it took.

His hand was almost to the wooden hilt when a soft hiss gave him a split second of warning, and he withdrew before the blade cut down where his practice sword lay. He stared in shock, blue eyes drifting from the swords to his uncle, who was smirking triumphantly.

"Very good." Grune said quietly, "Now, pick up the sword. For real this time."

And so began the first day of Axis's training.

Grune was a driven, demanding teacher, altering between guiding the kitten through stances and motions, and suddenly forcing him to defend himself. And while he never made a direct attack against him, Axis wound up getting several bruises from falling to the ground and from barely blocked hits from where the other practice sword crashed against the one he held. Within a few hours he was sitting on the ground, panting hard and drenched in sweat, sides aching and cramping, hands and feet itching beneath the cloth wraps.

"Well done, Axis," Grune said in a pleased tone, "A very accomplished first day of training."

Accomplished? What was his uncle talking about? He had barely done anything, unless you wanted to start counting up the number of new bruises he had. And worse than all the hurting and the aching were the smug stares of all the lizards. They had watched the entire time, seen everything he had done wrong and every time he had fallen down. They were laughing at him, and he knew it, and they knew he knew it.

He almost wished he was back home and putting up with Ryland being a bully again. That wouldn't have nearly been as bad as this felt. With a sigh, he started to get to his feet, when he looked at the contraption again that stood toward the end of the arena. It was huge, full of spinning things, swinging blades, rolling platforms...

"What's that, uncle?"

Grune glanced over, following his gaze. "What, that? That's the gauntlet."

"What is it?" He asked, pushing himself up on his hands.

"Part of the combat training," the general explained, "Helps you to hone your reflexes, your ability to time an opponent's moves..."

"It looks hard." Axis remarked, watching some of the huge axe blades swing lazily back and forth.

"It is." His uncle confirmed. "Some of our best fighters still can't make it through the gauntlet unscathed, no matter how hard they try."

Axis watched the axes swing, the armed poles spin, the floor logs roll over and over, the sacks of sawdust threaten to smack against each other. He pulled himself completely to his feet, and with a sense of irritation borne of his humiliation with his training, he stomped his way over to the gauntlet, fists swinging at his sides as he fixed a determined scowl onto his face.

"Axis? What are you doing?"

He ignored the older sabertooth, just as he ignored the whispers and amused laughs of the assembled lizards. He could tell the gauntlet was tough alright. He didn't even know why he was doing this; it was a dumb idea.

He ground his teeth and let out a kitten's growl as he climb the rickety steps to the top ramp where the first segment of the obstacle course waiting. Dumb idea or not, he had to prove he wasn't just some stupid baby kitten they could make fun of. He heard his uncle call for him again, telling him to come down before he got hurt, but he only clenched his fists and dug in his heels.

Okay, you dumb gauntlet, he thought, Try me on for size!

His feet left the boards with a loud creaking of the wooden planks and he charged forward.

The first sack of sawdust came out of its swing and smacked him hard in his side. The second followed a heartbeat later and smacked hard into his opposite side, completely knocking the wind out of him.

It was the third sack that finally knocked him off, and he flew into the air, soaring for a frozen moment like a bird flying upside-down, before crashing none-too-gently into the ground.

The lizards started to roar with laughter, and Grune rushed to his side.

"Axis! Axis! How many saberteeth do I have?"

Shakily, he pushed himself up and growled out an answer.

"W-wuh...one."

"Cheater," Grune whispered, "Your eyes are closed." Then he added, loud enough for everyone to hear, "What in the world did you think you were doing? You can't run the gauntlet."

"Yes I can!" He protested angrily, which only made the lizards laugh even more. His uncle sighed, clicked his tongue several times in disapproval, and shook his head slowly.

"Maybe in time," he agreed, just a touch too agreeable, "But not yet. This is just your first day of training. You won't be able to run the gauntlet for some time to come."

"I'm still going to try!" Axis snapped, embarrassed and infuriated that Grune would have such little faith in him.

"You're just going to wind up getting yourself hurt. Come on. I think you've had enough for today."

And with that, he hauled Axis to his feet, clamped a huge hand on his shoulder, and steered the kitten out of the training room. Axis's face burned with shame and embarrassment, flushing hotter and redder with every mocking whisper and laugh of the assembled lizards, and he ducked his head as they left, silently promising himself that one day he would beat the gauntlet, no matter what it took.