Chapter 19

Cheetara paced back and forth waiting to hear news of her son's condition. Sahara had gone to see her cubs to tell them that their father was ok and to reassure them that the loud noises were gone. On one of the cheetah's turns she saw Mari running toward her. Having completely forgotten, she would be the other affected, she grabbed the panlion and pulled her close. Mari sobbed into the Queen's uniform before choking out,

"How bad is it?"

"No one has told me anything yet. I…" the cheetah knew that someone would have told her something if they thought it wasn't serious. It didn't bode well and she shook her head. As if they overheard her thoughts, Tygra walked out of the makeshift operating waiting room. His gown was covered in blood and he stripped it off while Cheetara tried to keep the bile rising in her throat down.

"Leo's spinal cord was practically severed. We're keeping the swelling down and we tried to put it back together but I fear that he will be paralyzed from the waist down," the orange tiger explained. Cheetara immediately went weak at the knees and Mari's sobbing grew louder as they both headed toward the floor. Tygra grabbed them and helped them stay upright.

"I'm so sorry," he kept repeating but it brought no comfort. Leo was forever changed and them along with him.

"Approaching Evil Chasers! Prepare for landing craft!" The announcement shook them from their moment.

"I have to handle this. Please do what you can for him," the cheetah said. She pulled Mari in close and kissed the top of her head before wiping away the tears as she walked away.

"Where do you need people?" Mandora asked as the cheetah approached her at the mouth of the hangar.

"Panthro and Ben-Gali need help getting the power back up along with the damaged weapons. The dead need to be prepped for burial and the walking wounded given somewhere to be. I have to go tell Lion-O that…" Cheetara paused still unsure how she would break the news of their son's condition.

"What happened?" Mandora wasn't usually the one to get all mushy but she could see that the cheetah was having a hard time keeping it together. That was very unusual for her and it worried the Evil Chaser.

"My son might be paralyzed," Cheetara heaved a loud sigh. The words hung in the air and Mandora gritted her teeth.

"Then we get the bastards who did this and give them a taste of their own medicine," the Evil Chaser said.

"I'm with her. They will pay," Basheer stormed up to them.

"What happened?" Cheetara asked.

"Mila explained it all to me. Those Lunatac bastards were keeping them as slaves and when they refused to shoot at Leo and the Sword, they were systematically shot until someone did as they were told. The jackal is a mess. We've got him under suicide watch," the reptile was fuming.

"Mila? Is that the Monkian we were talking too? The collars came off ok?" Cheetara wanted to know.

"Yes she is. The collars were tricky but Panthro figured it out," Basheer told them.

"Fill me in on the way," Mandora said.

To Be Continued…