Chapter Six
After what felt like hours, Ro-bear Bill broke the silence. "That is part of the Statue of Omens," he said in his gentle robotic voice. "The one thing that can keep Mumm-Ra imprisoned for eternity."
"Then why was it broken up?" I demanded. I looked back down at the piece I held, recalling as I did so the moment Wilykit gave it to me. If it was as important as everyone seemed to think, surely the Thundercats should have done everything in their power to see that it remained intact. Instead, it had been broken into pieces and scattered among various races.
"When the Statue was made," Ro-bear Bill told me, "the Thundercats soon realised it held tremendous power, power too great for one individual to handle. So they divided it into fragments and entrusted each of their allied races with a piece." With that, he turned and led us towards a hut in the middle of the village, a hut which looked like any other, apart from the fact that two Berbils were standing guard outside.
"Stop!" one of the guards said as we approached. "No-one but a Berbil may enter!"
But Ro-bear Bill held up his hand. "It's OK, Ro-bear Burke and Bo-bear Bud; these are friends. This is Koris, a Wollo, and Storm of the Thundercats." As he spoke, I studied the two Berbil guards closely, noting as I did so that both of them looked completely identical. Then again, most of these Berbils looked the same as each other, robotic bears with tufts of brown fur. There were exceptions to this general rule - Ro-bear Bill's fur was a darker brown than that of most of the others - but it made me wonder how the Berbils were able to tell each other apart.
Anyway, the guards (Ro-bear Burke and Ro-bear Bud) studied me just as closely. Then, the one on the left spoke. "A Thundercat? From the line of Lord Lion-O?"
I nodded; clearly my great-grandfather's reputation had preceded me to Third Earth. "What's in there?" I added, trying to see round the two Berbils. I was curious; clearly, whatever was in that hut had to be pretty important.
"You are about to find out," replied Ro-bear Bill, waving to Ro-bear Burke and Ro-bear Bud to indicate that they could stand down.
As we entered the hut, I had to duck my head as we passed through the low doorway, although that wasn't a problem for Ro-bear Bill and Koris. However, once I was inside, I found that I could just about stand up straight, albeit with my head almost touching the ceiling. Curious, I looked round the single room, which was empty apart from a wooden table, on which rested a piece of white marble. I did not need to examine it closely to know that it was part of this statue everyone was talking about.
"This is the piece entrusted to the Berbils," Ro-bear Bill explained. "Now, see what happens when the pieces come into contact . . ." He nodded to Koris, who handed over his piece. Taking the proffered fragment, Ro-bear Bill held it against the piece on the table, so that they were touching each other. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, but I then noticed that both pieces were glowing with an intense light. Seconds later, the image of a cat's head against a red circular background was projected onto the wall - the Thundercat insignia.
Handing Koris's piece back to him, Ro-bear Bill continued his explanation. A member of each race allied with the Thundercats had, I learned, been chosen as a Guardian, with the task of protecting their piece of the Statue of Omens in case a time came when the Statue had to be reassembled. Ro-bear Bill was the Guardian for the Berbils, while the one chosen from among the Wollos was a young female named Dari. From the Warrior Maidens, Nayda (the younger sister of their then Queen) had been chosen . . . But it's a bit tedious to list all the Guardians, so I won't attempt to do so. However, one thing was bothering me. If the Guardians were all supposed to be from races allied with the Thundercats, how had one of the pieces fallen into the hands of an Ice Lunatac? I put that question to Ro-bear Bill, who responded with a shrug.
"I don't know," he told us. "But you must join your fellow Thundercats. Come - I shall escort you to Cats' Lair." With that, he ushered Koris and me out of the hut.
"Cats' Lair?" I echoed, recalling that that was what Koris and I had been looking for when we came across the Berbil Village.
Ro-bear Bill nodded. "Come. It isn't far."
Escorted by Ro-bear Bill and two other Berbils, it did not take us long to reach Cats' Lair. The large fortress, of a similar (but distinct) design to the Cats' Lair on New Thundera, was built into a cliff and, from the looks of things, could only be accessed via a mechanical drawbridge across the moat. A drawbridge which was currently retracted . . .
"Looks like no-one's home," observed one of the Berbils escorting us. I did not know his name, but, based on what I'd seen of the Berbils so far, I guessed he was called Ro-bear, followed by a name beginning with a B.
"No," I said. "I think they just don't know we're here. I'll try to attract their attention." With that, I cupped my hands round my mouth and shouted at the top of my voice: "Hey! Everyone! I'm out here! Storm - and a Wollo and three Berbils! Thundercats ho!" A pause followed, making me wonder for a moment if my shouts had been heard by anyone inside the fortress. But, then, a narrow bridge extended across the moat and two female figures appeared at the entrance, Lynxari and someone I had never met before. The latter was a raven-haired human, dressed in a short fawn-coloured tunic and leather sandals, a strong air of authority about her person.
Anyway, she was the first to speak. "Is this the boy you spoke of?" she asked, addressing Lynxari.
Lynxari nodded. "Yes. Queen Tia, this is Storm, future Lord of the Thundercats. Storm, this is Tia, Queen of the Warrior Maidens - or what's left of them," she added, a tone of helpless anger in her voice. At that moment, I recalled what Fangelo had said about the Treetop Kingdom being attacked and the only Warrior Maidens who escaped being the ones who were patrolling with Tia at the time. I wanted to say something to the young Queen standing beside Lynxari, but I wasn't sure what.
But, as it turned out, I did not have time to think about that before Lynxari spoke again. "You'd better come inside. Them as well." She pointed in the direction of Koris and the Berbils. "Third Earth is no longer safe. Already, there is talk - rumour - of a Cult of Mumm-Ra."
The last four words forced me to suppress an involuntary shudder. A Cult of Mumm-Ra? Were there actually beings so consumed by evil that they actually regarded Mumm-Ra as a deity? Were they the ones responsible for all the things that had been happening lately? Or was this the result of panic and hysteria brought about by the attacks on Third Earth? Either way, I decided it was safer not to take chances and followed Tia and Lynxari inside, with Koris and the Berbils following in my wake.
Within moments, I was in what I assumed was the Council Chamber for this Cats' Lair, seated at a round table with the Thundercat insignia painted on the top. The other Thundercats (my parents, Lynxari, Ocelotra, Pumar and Fangelo) who had come to Third Earth were also here, as were several young women dressed in a similar style to Queen Tia. These had to be the Warrior Maidens and I couldn't help but notice how attractive and nubile each of them was . . . I blushed and forced myself to concentrate on the meeting that was currently going on.
"Queen Tia," Ocelotra was saying, "you say two Lunatacs came to your village and demanded the return of something?"
"Yes," Tia replied. "A . . ."
"Fragment of the Statue of Omens!" I blurted out, before I could stop myself. I knew it was bad manners to speak out of turn, but I couldn't help myself; this was the first meeting I had attended where I felt I might have useful information to impart.
"Storm," my father said warningly, giving me a stern frown, "you'll have your chance to speak when Tia is through."
But Tia's only response was to laugh. "That's all right, Lord Feleo. He only said what I was going to say anyway. Yes, a fragment of that very Statue was entrusted to us many years ago and we have protected it ever since, until . . ."
"Until?" prompted Lynxari, when Tia did not continue speaking. Indeed, the beautiful Warrior Queen seemed temporarily unable to speak, her eyes downcast as if she was trying to hide tears.
" . . . until our village was attacked," Tia continued, regaining her composure. "We . . ." She gestured towards the other Warrior Maidens in the room. " . . . returned to find our Treetop Kingdom ablaze. We fought the flames as best we could, but we couldn't save our home . . ." She paused again.
"And the rest of your people?" asked Ocelotra.
"We found no sign of them."
"Dead?" It was Fangelo who spoke this time. The Sabretooth Thundercat had a hard edge to his voice, as if to say he would avenge the death of the Warrior Maidens even at the cost of his own life.
"That or prisoners - I don't know. But, when I searched the remains of my hut, I found something which disturbed me even more. The fragment of the Statue, which I had guarded for nearly ten years, was gone."
"Gone?" echoed Lynxari. "Where?"
"I don't know, but I suspect it must be in the hands of the Mutants or Lunatacs by now. That's why we need help. We need to make sure no more fragments of the Statue fall into enemy hands. If that happens . . ."
"They'll have the means to free Mumm-Ra," I filled in, forgetting what my father had said about waiting my turn to speak. "But I thought the Statue was supposed to stop that from happening."
"It is," Tia replied flatly. "But, if any of the pieces are destroyed, the magic contained in the Statue will perish also."
The meeting went on for a while after that, eventually ending with the decision that all the fragments that were still in the hands of Thundercat allies must be brought to Cats' Lair and under Thundercat protection. "We currently have two of the pieces," my father explained, gesturing in the direction of Koris and me. "And Ro-bear Bill tells me the piece entrusted to the Berbils is still in their village. However, we believe at least two may already be in enemy hands - we cannot afford to lose any more."
"That's all very well, Feleo," Ocelotra cut in. "But how are we going to find them all?"
"By reaching our allies before the Mutants and Lunatacs do," my father replied. "And, talking of Lunatacs, there's something which concerns me. Storm, you say an Ice Lunatac contacted the Thundershuttle on the way here? A female who had a fragment of the Statue?"
"Yes," I said, before telling him of my encounter with Icelia. "She told me something about a . . . Doomsday Missile destroying the Ice Moon," I explained. "But I don't know if she was telling the truth or not; she might have been leading me into a trap."
Hearing this, my father looked at me grimly, his brow furrowed. "I'm afraid, Storm, you may be right. It does seem rather too convenient that she contacted you when she did. And that she had one of the fragments - she may have been using it to gain your trust."
"Maybe," said Ocelotra, "but that doesn't explain how she got hold of it in the first place."
My father crossed the room and rested his hand on the Ocelot woman's shoulder. "That," he said, looking her full in the face, "is what we aim to find out."
When the meeting was over, I (driven by an intense feeling of curiousity) decided to explore the corridors of this Cats' Lair. This building, this mighty fortress, had been deserted since before I was born, but it was so solidly constructed and had such a sophisticated security system that it had remained undisturbed in all that time. It felt almost as if it had been waiting, waiting for the day when the Thundercats would return to Third Earth. And, as I explored, I could almost sense the echoes of those who had occupied this building more than eighty years ago, my great-grandfather and the Thundercats who had served under him, Thundercats of whom, apart from Wilykit, I had no direct memory. All of them dead and gone now . . .
My meanderings eventually led me to what appeared to be a laboratory. This had to be where Panthro worked on his machines; I remember Wilykit telling me about him. I thought about Leopardo, our current technician, and how much he and Panthro would have had to discuss. It was too bad they would never meet.
In the meantime, though, we had a crisis to deal with. This "Cult of Mumm-Ra", assuming it was more than just rumour, could be very dangerous. I was willing to bet that Lizarius, the Reptilian who had disrupted Wilykit's funeral, was part of it, as was whoever had released Thundranium in New Thundera's subway. As Thundranium (with very rare exceptions) weakens Thunderians, the culprit or culprits had to be from some other race, one which would be unaffected by the Thundranium . . .
"Storm?"
I looked round. My mother was standing in the doorway. "Storm," she said again, "I came to tell you we'll be staying here for a while. The Third Earthlings need our help and, as Thundercats, we are pledged to offer it . . ." She paused, then went on. "Fangelo and Ocelotra have gone to secure the Tower of Omens which keeps watch over Dark Side. And Tia and the Warrior Maidens are patrolling the Berbil Village."
"In case someone tries to take the Berbils' piece of the Statue?" I asked.
"Which is inevitable. And the Berbils don't fight, so they'd be too easily overwhelmed."
"But the Warrior Maidens do fight," I added. Not that it had done them much good when their Treetop Kingdom was razed . . .
Since we were going to be staying here for a while, my father allocated rooms to each of us. That night, I lay awake, thinking about the events of the last few days, but also about my own family. From what I had gathered over the last few years, I knew I was descended from an illustrious line of Lion Thunderians, one of whom, Leonus, had been one of the founding Thundercats and the very first Thundercat Lord. But my distant ancestors held little interest for me.
On the other hand, my more immediate ancestors included Lord Lion-O, the Thundercat who had vanquished Mumm-Ra more than eighty years ago. A few years after that, he had married a young Lion Thunderian named Nessia, who, as the Consort of a Thundercat Lord, automatically acquired Thundercat status on her marriage. Their union produced a daughter, Andromeda, and a son, named Leonus after the first Lord of the Thundercats. Leonus's son (Feleo) was, of course, my father. In my mind, I saw them standing shoulder to shoulder, all with thick red hair and all holding the Sword of Omens, the same Sword I would one day inherit . . .
Suddenly, I was jolted out of my thoughts by the sound of a klaxon blaring.