If I owned ThunderCats, I wouldn't have to go to college. But I don't, so…yeah.

ThunderCats: Sword of Kings

Chapter IX: The Attack

During the two days following Lion-O's assassination attempt, Cheetara had never left him unguarded. She stood by his side as he attended his tutoring sessions and had lunch with the Wileys, and she was always outside his doorway when he bathed and slept. There wasn't a moment where the cheetah Cleric ever left the future king alone, and Lion-O soon began to notice a few resentful glares from Tygra.

During their time together, the prince had asked Cheetara about her and his brother. How did they meet? And when? Cheetara had said that when she was a girl, she came to Thundera to try and become a Cleric. Jaga had—at Lion-O's surprise—rejected her, claiming that she had no patience. But Cheetara was determined; she decided to stay outside the Sanctuary's doors until Jaga had no choice but to take her in. But as the days went buy, her body became weak, and so did her determination.

That was where Tygra came in. He walked up to Cheetara and silently gave her a flower, a Day Astrid to be exact. It was said that each petal of the flower contained a day of life, and the cheetah had begun to suck the nourishment from each petal every day until only the heart remained. When Jaga had seen that she waited all that time, he had decided the cheetah did have the patience to become a Cleric.

Cheetara had explained that if Tygra hadn't given her that flower, she probably never would have become a Cleric. She also said that even though Tygra had flirted with any courtier that manages to catch his eye, the tiger prince had been enamored with her ever since. That, of course, sent a pang of jealousy straight to Lion-O's heart.

On the second day since the attempt on Lion-O's life, Cheetara was not escorting him to the Library for his daily tutoring. She had told him that Claudus and Jaga had decided that he would receive sword training in case of any future assassins. Lion-O had muttered that he already knew how to fight as Cheetara took him to the training grounds.

The heir to Thundera's throne had expected General Grune to be his trainer, as he had previously trained Prince Tygra. Instead, Lion-O saw the equally imposing figure of General Lynx-O, the second-of-command of the Thunderian Army under Grune. The tan ThunderCat turned to Lion-O as he approached, allowing the prince to see his orange-red hair with black spots and tips, as well as the large white mustache.

"Your Highness," he bowed, "it is an honor to train my future king." When Lynx-O stood straight, Lion-O gasped as he saw his eyes. "Is there something wrong, Prince Lion-O?"

The lion prince swallowed hard. "Well…" he was hesitant to say it. "No offense to you General, but…I didn't expect you to be blind."

The General smirked and chuckled as Lion-O could imagine an amused glint cross his grey eyes. "You're not the first person to say that, nor will you probably be the last." Lynx-O walked to a sword rack and picked up two swords, throwing one of them to Lion-O. "The blind can still see if we want, we just use everything else to do it."

Lynx-O took a firm grip on his sword and brought himself into a stance. "Now," he said, "position yourself in this same stance." The lion copied the stance, but held the sword with both hands. "That's a broad sword you're holding, boy, not a great sword. I want you to make sure that you are using only one hand to hold it."

Lion-O did as he was told. He felt a little out of place with all of this. Lion-O was a champion of the Ring; he fought with his fists, not with swords.

"Now," Lynx-O said, "I want you to do a downward strike, like this." Lion-O saw his blind trainer demonstrate one before he held his sword up horizontally. "Now you try, Lion-O."

Lion-O put all his strength into the attack, striking the blade hard. "How was that?"

"That was good, but you put too much strength in your blows," Lynx-O lectured. "You need to save your strength. You don't want to tire yourself out when your facing down your next assassin. Try again!"

Lion-O followed his advice and gave a less powerful strike, which pleased Lynx-O and he decided to move on with the lesson. Lion-O learned how to do other attacks and blocking techniques. While all this was happening, Cheetara watched her prince move with grace as he practiced the moves being taught to him. She became aware of both WilyKat and WilyKit joining her in watching the lion prince receive his training.

Eventually, Lynx-O decided that he had learned enough to go through a sparring match of what he had learned. Lion-O, however, was unsure. "Are you sure, General?"

"Is this about me being blind?" Lynx-O grumbled. "I already told you, the blind can still see if we want."

"It's not that," Lion-O argued. "It's that this is only my first lesson. Are you sure I'm ready?"

"May I remind you that I am a General in your father's army," Lynx-O countered. "If I say you're ready, then you're ready. Now, take your position. We'll start on my go."

Lion-O took a stance, waiting for the blind general to make his move. It wasn't long before Lynx-O struck first. Lion-O was able to block his downward strike and countered with a horizontal slash that the general managed to somehow evade. They went on like this for several minutes. It was only when Lion-O remembered one of Panthro's lessons…

The Ring, ten years ago…

An eight year old Lion-O grunted as he was thrown back on the mat. "C'mon, Lion-O," Panthro lectured, "you should know this by now."

The young lion in question grumbled. "I'm trying to, Panthro," he said, "but I can't do it."

"Did I hear you just say 'can't'?" Panthro boomed. "That word has no meaning in this arena. You can do it, you just have to try. Now, what lesson are we trying to learn?"

Lion-O grimaced. "To learn how to look for your opponent's tell, but isn't that just for card players?"

"It's also for fighters, Lion-O," Panthro explained. "You need to look for signs that tells you when your opponents are about to strike. When they do, that's when you go on the offensive yourself. Now, let's try this again."

Lion-O nodded as he took a fighting stance. He did just as Panthro told him, he looked for the signs. The young fighter saw his mentor's legs tense up, telling Lion-O that his opponent was going to lunge at him.

Lion-O was able to duck out of the way as Panthro threw himself at the boy. The young lion then took his mentor's arms and twisted it around his back, effectively pinning him to the ground.

Panthro gave a joyful laugh. "See, what did I tell you?" he said. "I knew you could do it. Now let me up so we can try it again."

It was only when Lion-O remembered one of Panthro's lessons did the tables turn. Lynx-O's arm tensed as he prepared for his next attack. Instead of blocking the downward strike, Lion-O countered with a horizontal strike. This attack knocked the blade from Lynx-O's hand.

"Alright, Lion-O!" the Wileys cheered as Lion-O won the match. Cheetara couldn't help but join in, clapping along with them.

"A little unorthodox," Lynx-O observed, he felt the attack that knocked his sword from his grip, "but you did well. There's one more thing I want to show you before you're dismissed."

He motioned for Lion-O to follow him, with Cheetara and the twins following them as well. Lion-O was surprised at how Lynx-O was able to navigate the palace hallways.

"If you don't mind me asking, General Lynx-O," Lion-O said, "how do you know where we're going?"

The blind cat smirked. "When you've been blind as long as I have, you find a way to get to where you're going."

The cryptic response only served to confuse Lion-O, so he left it alone for now. They soon found themselves in a grand chamber Lion-O had seen before. He saw a statue of a ThunderCat who held the Sword of Omens upward. Before the statue was two tablets with Thunderian script carved into them.

"Who's that supposed to be?" WilyKat asked confused.

Lynx-O seemed shocked. "Don't tell me you don't know," he said. "Didn't your parents ever tell you of Leo, the first Lord of the ThunderCats?"

The Wileys exchanged looks. "We don't like to talk about it," Kit said.

Lynx-O could hear the sorrow in her tone. "This, as you know, is a statue of Leo," he said. "Before the statue are the tablets that the first Lord of the ThunderCats used to enact the Code of Thundera, the ancient laws and tenants that every ThunderCat must uphold."

"The first is Truth: To speak the truth at all times."

"The second is Loyalty: To be loyal to friends and allies."

"The third is Honor: To honor and respect superiors."

"The fourth, and final tenant, is Justice: To strive to help others and fairness in all acts that are committed."

Lynx-O walked to the statue and touched its base. "As you saw with those lizards, Your Highness, the Code has slightly been…forgotten, even by your father."

Lion-O didn't need eyes to see the General was depressed. A cat of great honor, how could the General not feel displeased about the ThunderCats' personal code of honor being forgotten by even Claudus, the current Lord of the ThunderCats.

Lion-O placed a hand on the General's shoulder. "We will never forget, Lynx-O," the lion prince swore, "that I can promise you."

A ghost of a smile appeared on the blind cat's face. But it disappeared as worried voices echoed through the halls. They followed the voices outside where they saw smoke in the distance.

"Whiskers," Lion-O swore.

Down in the market district, merchants were trying to grab the attention of any potential customer and shoppers searched for the best deals on what they're looking for. You can imagine everyone's surprise when the wall suddenly exploded.

Thunderians young and old scrambled and took cover from whatever could be attacking them. They hid and cowered until they realize nothing was happening. A young Thunderian woman approached the hole that was caused by the explosion. She peered in and saw nothing but darkness. At the sight of the blood red eyes, she ran screaming.

Others screamed as they saw the metal beast emerge from the hole. It rolled out on what appeared to be wheels in the monster's claws and treads in the back. The front of the monster seemed to resemble a cat, its red eyes still aglow, and a sharp-pointed beard in front of the face. As citizens fled, the city guard appeared, but they quickly saw their swords and arrows were useless against the metal beast.

"How do we stop this thing?" one of the guardsmen hollered as the beast reached the noble district. They soon realized that this thing was heading straight to the Royal Palace. They thought that, hopefully, if they couldn't stop it, the Palace Guard and Clerics could.

It soon reached the palace gates, and it halted right in front of the bronze obstruction. The guardsmen stationed on the walls saw the beast; they also heard the carnage it caused in the market district. They heaved a sigh of relief as it did nothing for a moment, but relief soon turned to dread as the mouth opened.

What looked like a small star began to form between the monster's teeth. It then shot a beam of light at the gates, the force of the explosion vaporizing part of the gates and knocking it back. They watched in shock as the beast's wheels simply rolled over the gates and into the courtyard.

As the steel beast stopped in the courtyard's center, many of the Palace Guard surrounded the monster. That was when the rear of the monster opened like a door. From the door, many armored figures emerged. They shot at the guards with weapons that shot beams of light, effectively killing all of the courtyard's guardsmen.

One of the armored figures gave a quick sweep of the area. "All clear, General," he called out.

"Good," Panthro said as he emerged from the 'monster', dressed in a lighter version of the armor that lacked the shoulder and arm guards that the other soldiers wore. His nunchaku was still holstered on his belt. "Leave a few men to guard the ThunderTank; everyone else, you know what to do."

Cheetara quickly opened the door to Kat and Kit's room for Lion-O, who was carrying both Wildcat cubs over his shoulders. He quickly let them down in the center of the room.

"I want you two to stay here until the attack is over," Lion-O ordered. "Lock the door when we leave, and don't open it for anyone except me and Cheetara. Okay?"

"Don't worry," WilyKat said, "we'll stay put."

"Be careful, Lion-O," WilyKit said solemnly.

Lion-O gave the twins a quick hug before leaving the room with Cheetara, the click of the lock echoed behind then when the door closed. They saw palace guards run past them, as the alarm bell continued the ring.

"Lion-O," Cheetara said, "we need to get you to the Sanctuary. As Crown Prince, you need to be protected."

"I'm not going to hide and cower," Lion-O argued. "I want to help fight."

"We don't even know what we're fighting against, Lion-O," Cheetara said. "Some of the guards are talking that these soldiers are fighting with Technology."

That made Lion-O grimace; he had heard the legends and myths about Technology. They said that it was the driving force behind Mumm-Ra's enslavement over all of Third Earth. If this was true, these soldiers could pose a serious threat to Thundera.

"It's General Panthro!" one of the guardsmen yelled. "That traitor is fighting alongside the enemy soldiers."

Lion-O's eyes went wide as saucers as he heard this. Panthro was here? Panthro, who could possibly answer everything, who could tell him why he was a traitor, and who could tell him why he was kept from his family.

Cheetara saw his eyes, and knew what he was thinking. "Lion-O, don't—"

But before she could finish, he had already begun to run off. Cheetara wasn't far behind as she raced after him.

The four palace guards keeping vigil over the entrance to the royal armory were shocked by the appearance of the infamous General Panthro. Before his "betrayal", it was said that he was one Thundera's finest warriors. None of them looked forward to fighting him.

They saw four figures appear next to Panthro. The armor they wore was the same color as the enemy soldier's, but lighter and more flexible than the heavier models. The guards drew their swords as they walked toward the armory.

Each of the light-armored soldiers removed two sword grips from their belts. The soldiers were shocked to see blades of light emerging from the grips. The guards charged, but the soldiers kept their pace.

One guard charged ahead of the others and prepared to strike. The lead soldiers used one light blade to cut through the solid steel of the guard's sword while the other blade was thrust right into the guard's chest. The other palace guards stopped in their tracks as they saw their comrade collapse dead on the floor.

Panthro appeared from behind the soldiers. "Leave now," he said solemnly, "and I promise you'll be spared."

The guards wasted no time in dropping their swords and running as fast as possible away from the armory. The light-bladed swordsmen and Panthro quickly made their way to the armory door. The swordsmen placed black discs on the door, pressing blue buttons as they did. The blue light began flashing with beeps echoing through the halls.

"Explosives are ready, sir," one of the swordsmen said.

"Good," Panthro nodded. "We need to guard this area until—"

"PANTHRO!"

The ex-General froze as he recognized the voice calling him. He turned to see Lion-O slowly making his approach. If he was surprised by the sight of the strange swordsmen in strange armor kneeling and bowing their heads, he didn't show it. "Your Highness," they said as one.

Lion-O ignored them, only staring at Panthro. "What's going on, Panthro?" Lion-O asked. "Why are you doing all this?"

Panthro was hesitant. "Trust me, Lion-O," he said. "This is for the good of Thundera."

"I've been hearing that way too much lately," Lion-O said, his tone full of annoyance. "They say you're a traitor, and here you are attacking the palace. Tell me, how is any of this good for Thundera?"

Panthro didn't know what to say. How could he respond to that? "Listen, Lion-O," he said, "whatever you may think, whatever they may tell you, know that I am no traitor."

"Get away from him!" They all saw Cheetara race toward them, her staff in hand and ready for a fight.

Panthro turned to his men. "Keep her busy," he said.

The swordsmen nodded silently as they raced past their prince and focused straight on the Cleric. Cheetara held her staff up, preparing for a fight. They were prepared for this occurrence. They would be unable to match the speed of a Cleric, but they had Technology.

Cheetara saw them press a couple of buttons on their gauntlets before they disappeared into thin air. She held up a staff into a defensive position. This wasn't right, no one could just disappear completely. They had to still be here somehow.

Cheetara felt the wind knocked out of her as she felt a punch land straight to her gut. Lion-O called out her name and tried to help her, but Panthro was keeping him back. Cheetara swung her staff to where the punch came from, but found that she hit only air.

She felt a kick to her back, tumbling her forward. Cheetara found another punch to her mid-section waiting for her. The cheetah Cleric found herself kneeling in pain, trying to catch her breath. Another punch was thrown, this time to her face, and she felt nothing as she slipped into an unconscious state.

Lion-O stared in shock as he saw his guardian collapsed to the floor and the swordsmen reappeared. He rounded on Panthro. "How could you?" he seethed.

"She's still alive, Lion-O," Panthro reassured him. "Trust me, enough blood has already been shed this day."

Lion-O was about to argue, until he saw the lights on the strange discs began flashing faster and the beeps sounding closer together. He didn't know what this meant, but Panthro did.

"Get down," he yelled. The panther lunged forward, shielding the lion from the blast that came next. A huge blast shot forward from the door, leaving a large opening in the middle of the vault-like door. Lion-O was amazed and awed by what he saw.

Panthro pressed to fingers to his ear. "The armory's open; bring the capsule," he ordered.

Lion-O was perplexed. "What's going on, Panthro?" he asked. "Tell me now!"

The old cat sighed. "We're taking the Sword of Omens," Panthro said, "and I want you to come with us, Lion-O."

"After everything you did here?" the lion sneered. "Forget it! I don't even know who you are anymore." He then took a fighting stance, both of his fists balled, prepared for a fight. "I won't let you take the sword."

This upset Panthro greatly. "Listen, Lion-O, you need to know—"

"No excuses," the prince boomed. "You'll be leaving over my cold, dead—"

Lion-O couldn't finish as one of the swordsmen pressed two electrodes that extended from his glove to the prince's back. His body jerked as electricity coursed through it, his legs and arms going numb.

Panthro stared in shock as his former ward fell to the ground, his body still convulsing slightly. "Why the hell did you have to do that?" he boomed.

"General," the swordsman said, "he was in our way. I only—"

He got nowhere in his excuse as Panthro yanked off his helmet and landed a knockout punch straight to the face. After a quick thought, Panthro yanked the golden palm necklace from around his neck. He then placed said golden palm into Lion-O's still hand.

"Keep it safe," the panther whispered, "and keep it secret."

Panthro turned to see a couple of heavily armored soldiers carrying the capsule with them, all the while balancing their rifles with only one arm. They wordlessly passed Panthro and entered the armory through the hole. They approached the stand where the Sword of Omens was sheathed within the Claw Shield.

The soldiers opened the capsule before they gingerly picked up the sword and gauntlet and placed it within. They sealed the container as they carried it out of the armory. "The sword is secure, General," one of the soldiers addressed him.

"Good," Panthro said, "have all the men return to the ThunderTank immediately."

"Sir, what about him?" the soldier asked, gesturing to the unconscious swordsman.

"Leave him," Panthro ordered growling, "he's dead weight." Honestly, he was still angry that he shocked Lion-O.

They did as he said and began their return to the ThunderTank. Some guardsmen tried to give chase, but a few laser blasts soon sent them running. Panthro and all his remaining men returned to the inside of the tank. Panthro returned to his seat in the cockpit.

"Let's get ourselves out of here," Panthro said to his co-driver. The ThunderTank soon rolled past the demolished gates.

Lion-O felt the feeling slowly return to his arms and legs as he placed the golden palm in the pocket of his pants. He then proceeded to drag himself to the unconscious Cleric.

Lion-O gathered Cheetara's body in his arms. "Cheetara!" he said, trying to shake her awake. "Cheetara, please wake up!"

The Cleric's eyes slowly opened, and she saw her prince over her. "Lion-O?" she groaned and rubbed the back of her head. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" Lion-O said incredulously. "What about you? They just beat you, Cheetara!"

"I know," Cheetara said, "and I'm sorry I failed you."

Lion-O couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Failed me? Cheetara, you didn't 'fail me'!"

"I swore an oath to protect the royal family," tears began to brim, "to protect you. How can I do that when I'm too weak to—" She was speechless as Lion-O brought her into his embrace. The feeling of being held in his strong arms almost overwhelmed her.

"You're not weak, Cheetara," Lion-O whispered to her. "You are one of the strongest people I have ever met. You will never be weak to me."

Cheetara was released from the hug, but locked eyes with the crowned prince. She silently lifted her right hand, cupping his cheek. They did nothing but stare into each other's eyes, nothing else existed in their world right now except the two of them.

"Well, isn't this cozy," a sarcastic voice boomed. The prince and Cleric turned to see General Grune and few palace guardsmen. "Now, why don't you two love birds tell me what happened here."