Author's Note: Once again super sorry for this chapter taking so long. The reason for this is partly because for this one I wanted to make this chapter longer than the others which obviously meant it would take longer to be put out, but also cause of the usual writer's block. Anyways I think it's pretty unlikely that there'll be a new chapter before the end of this year, so I hope you all have a fun Halloween, a Merry Christmas and a happy new year!
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"THEY TOOK LION-O!?" exclaimed an incredibly freaked out Wilykit.
"But why!? What do they want with him!? You don't think they're gonna eat him do you!?" asked and equally worried Wilykat, all the while Snarf was running frantic circles yowling in sheer panic.
"Will you three calm down already! Ugh! My head's killin' me after last night!" growled a very sore and grumpy Panthro.
Tygra and Cheetara grumbled in agreement still feeling sore after the events of last night. The wolf that had struck Lion-O unconscious grabbed him, slung him over his shoulder and quickly climbed back up the wall he jumped from. The Thundercats didn't even have time to react before more wolves arrived on the scene from the rooftops; despite their best efforts to fight them off and run after their stolen king they were swiftly overwhelmed and beaten down by the wolf horde. When the wolves finally retreated back to their forest they left the three Thundercats injured and knocked out but still alive, thankfully it didn't take long for the townsfolk to arrive and take them to get patched up. It was morning when they finally awoke and needless to say they were not in the best of shape both physically and emotionally.
"Awwww man! I can't believe we got our butts handed to us by a bunch of savages!" groaned Tygra angrily.
"Yeah they really got us good. But I still don't get why they didn't just kill us back there?" asked Cheetara.
"Because wolves do not kill without purpose" said Mayor Gophertan who had just entered the house looking fairly bedraggled himself.
"Mr. Mayor! Are you alright?" asked Wilykit.
"*sigh* I've been better little one" he replied gently tousling her hair before slumping down on one of the armchairs, "things have gotten crazy around here since last night! The town's in an absolute panic!"
"Sir, what did you mean before about the wolves not killing without purpose?" asked Cheetara.
"It's exactly as I said, the wolves don't go around killing anything and everything willy-nilly. They may be secretive but that's one fact about them that they were absolutely adamant about, they are not wasteful nor greedy and have a lot of respect for all life in general. So unless they intended to eat you, they would most definitely have killed you back there." He explained.
"But why take Lion-O?! What do they want with him?" asked Wilykat.
"I'm afraid I have no clue, they've never done anything like this before. Plus this is the third raid this week! They don't usually come as frequently as this! Did any of you say or do anything that might have set them off?" he asked.
"Come to think of it, they started acting really odd as soon as Lion-O put up his sword and made the Eye of Thundera glow, only as a threat mind you. But still, once they saw that red light they acted like…I don't know, very surprised, they weren't afraid of it, in fact some of them looked excited! Almost as if they had realised something or maybe that they recognised something" replied Cheetara in deep thought.
"Recognised!? But we've never been here before, how could they recognise something they've never seen!?" protested Panthro.
"It's just how it looked to me. Anyway, once they saw that light they stopped acting aggressive, then they started whispering something to each other, I couldn't make out what they were saying but they were definitely discussing something to do with Lion-O and his sword" continued Cheetara.
"And I still can't believe what happened next! That leopard girl started howling! Like full-on wolf howling!" exclaimed Tygra in amazement.
"I still don't know whether or not I find that amazing or just down right weird" said Panthro.
"Anyway, after they all stopped howling she pointed at Lion-O and said 'you're coming with us', then he gets knocked out and carried off somewhere and we get beaten within an inch of our lives! And that's pretty much how it went down" explained Tygra.
"I see, so something about Lion-O and his sword got their attention? *Sigh* it still doesn't add up, and I'm already having a heck of a hard time pacifying the townsfolk. They all want to know if they or their families will be abducted like your king, and I'm honestly not sure what to tell them! I swear the only positive thing to come out of this situation is that their now convinced that you all are not in league with the wolves!" exclaimed the now very stressed Mayor.
"Don't worry Mayor Gophertan, we'll get to the bottom of this whole mess and make those wolves give us some answers, I promise" declared Tygra.
"I sure hope so Tygra. With the situation escalating and the wolf raids becoming more numerous, it's getting harder and harder to tell the people that there's nothing to worry about. Oh! How I wish my Great Grandfather had told us what he did to earn the wolves respect! Maybe then we could get through to them" grumbled Gophertan somberly.
"Wait a minute, you mean to say that you don't know how he did it back then?" asked Panthro surprised.
"I'm afraid so, all I know is that as part of the peace agreement he made with the wolves he wasn't supposed to divulge any secret information about them to anyone. Boy, those wolves really were, and still are, very determined to keep to themselves at all costs" replied Gophertan.
"Well who knows, maybe their customs might have changed since then and Lion-O will find a way to earn their trust and get them to open up to us?" suggested Wilykit enthusiastically.
Mayor Gophertan couldn't help but smile at the young Thundercat's optimism, "maybe he will little one, who knows. Guess we'll just have to have faith that he come through till then" he said warmly while gently tousling her hair once again.
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The first sensation Lion-O's mind registered when he finally regained consciousness was an incredibly severe thumping pain at the back of his head. He tried opening his eyes but was met with more pain and complete darkness, for a moment he feared that he had gone blind before realising with relief that he had been blindfolded. He then tried to move his arms to lift himself up only to find that both his wrists and ankles had been bound, so using his core muscles he managed to shimmy himself up but immediately regretted it. Now that he was upright his head start spinning from the change in position, the pain was now a stinging throb hammering at the back of skull and he felt like he might throw up. No matter how hard he tried to focus and will himself to stay still, the nauseous and light-headedness wouldn't let up and he couldn't keep himself from falling forwards; only to be caught in someone's arms.
"Woah there! Take it easy! Boy that was a close one" said an unfamiliar woman's voice.
"W-who's there?" asked Lion-O trying to remain calm and not focus too much on the softness of the stranger's fur on his own.
"Ssshhh just relax, you've nothing to fear here, we won't hurt you" she replied calmly gently rubbing his back.
Lion-O could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks at being in this position, held in the arms of a mysterious soft-spoken woman with his heart pounding against his chest.
"Um, uh…excuse me, miss, what exactly is going on? Where am I?" he asked nervously.
"Well before I answer that, how 'bout I take off that blindfold, honestly I still think it wasn't necessary but whatever" she replied before reaching up to untie said blindfold from Lion-O.
Once it was removed it took a couple of minutes of squinting and adjusting to the sudden light before Lion-O was able to focus on his surroundings. He appeared to be in some kind of primitive lodge, there was a stone hearth in the centre of the room where a small fire glowed, the walls were decorated with various decorations such as painted animal skulls, tribal masks with several facial expressions and a few dream catchers. There were no windows and it seemed to be all just a single square room and he was sitting upon a bed covered in soft animal pelts at the side wall opposite the door. He now saw that the kind woman with whom he had been talking to was the Leopard girl from last night.
"That feel better?" she asked
"Y-yes much better, ahem so uh, where am I?"
"Well right now you're in one of the spare lodges in our village. I guess you're also wondering why we brought you here huh?" she replied looking a little embarrassed.
"Kind of yes! What are they going to do to me!?" asked a now very anxious Lion-O.
"Hey chill out! Listen, I can't tell you what's going to happen, because to be honest I have no idea. But I can definitely tell you what's not going to happen, we're not going to kill you, so just relax" she replied trying to be as reassuring as possible, but with very little success.
"Wait a minute, so you all just kidnapped me for no reason!?" exclaimed Lion-O becoming increasingly frustrated which unfortunately wasn't helping his aching head and he ended up scrunching up in pain.
"Hey! Hey! Easy there, don't over exert yourself! I'm sorry about last night I really am, the one who hit you was one of my best friends and he has a bit of a habit of over doing things. Just hold still a minute" she then reached over to a bowl full of ice and water on a side table, dipped a cloth in it before wrapping some of the ice within it before coming back over to Lion-O.
"This might sting a bit at first but it should reduce the swelling and help with the pain" she said calmly before pressing the cold bundle against the back of his head where he was struck. Just as she said it stung sharply for a few agonizing seconds as he grit his teeth through the pain, before letting out a relieved sigh when the throbbing finally dulled down. With his head no longer pounding he could finally relax and think more clearly about his situation as he listed off what he now knew: he was within the wolf's territory, inside their village, they took him for some unknown reason and not even this, surprisingly attractive Leopard knew why.
He scolded himself mentally for that last thought, 'come on Lion-O, don't start doing that again, remember to focus on the real reason you came here!'
"Uh thank you miss, that feels a lot better"
"Glad to hear that, I do apologize for how rough we we've treated you so far especially for my friend hitting you but please try to not hold it against him. Oh, and my name's Leila by the way, what's yours?" she asked.
"My name's Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats, it's really nice to meet you Leila" he replied blushing. Before she could reply there was a loud banging on the lodge door and an even louder grouchy voice called out.
"HEY! LEILA! Is he awake yet!? The chief and shaman elders want to talk to him!"
"He just woke up Malo! But I think he could still use another minute to-!"
"Just hurry up and bring him out already! I'm sick of waiting!" he yelled back before the sound of his retreating stomping footsteps told her there was no arguing over this.
She let out a defeated sigh and turned back to Lion-O, "that was my older brother Malo, he's not really known for his patience".
"It sure sounds like it"
"I'm real sorry, but I'm afraid you're going to have to get up now and come with me, I'll untie your ankles but you're going to have to cooperate with me, otherwise I can't guarantee you won't get whacked again, alright?" she explained calmly.
"I promise I won't give you any trouble and besides I was already hoping to get a chance to speak with all of you about what's been going on" he replied.
"That's fine, but a word of advice, do not speak unless you're spoken to. There a lot of angry wolves here, including my brother, that are very unhappy about an outsider being in our lands, so make sure to be as respectful as possible, got it?"
"Okay, got it"
She then went about untying the bindings on his ankles then helped him to his feet with only a slight stagger. She then led him outside where once again he was momentarily blinded by the sudden brightness, but once his eyes adjusted he took a moment to look around. The village was huge and built up the side of a snowy mountain, many of the buildings were made from wood tied with rope some of which had chimneys and porches; the whole village was surrounded by a wall made from logs that were sharpened at the top. They then made their way through the village with Leila holding onto Lion-O's arm as they went, just like the town he was met with angry glares from the resident wolves and few curious stares from the younger pups who were ushered away by their mothers. Outside most of their homes he saw workbenches for crafting weapons and other tools, fire pits for cooking, drying racks for meat and fish (of which there was very little) from this Lion-O deduced that the wolves were of a hunter-gatherer society. However as they went along he began to notice an air of melancholy about many of the wolves seemed very depressed and others looked downright defeated, he even saw a mother wolf trying to get her pups to eat what looked like an incredibly watery looking soup much to their dismay, overall the sight of them made his heart ache.
"Everybody here seems really…sad"
"Really? What gave it away?" Leila replied with a sad smile which quickly turned to a frown.
"*Sigh* we've been struggling for a long time with this famine, despite all our best efforts we can never seem to get enough for everybody. Perhaps this is the Great Spirit's way of teaching us to not take such bounty for granted?"
"And that's why you all have been raiding the town?"
Leila's ears drooped lower and she turned her head away sadly and replied, "Unfortunately yes. We're not happy about it, we've always been able to manage without resorting to such low tactics but right now we're desperate. My father Varick, the Chief and the elders will explain everything in more detail".
After walking up some stairs up the hill they came upon a huge cave in the side of the mountain, the entrance was decorated with large animal bones, feathered charms and ancient writing that continued inside. Lion-O could hear angry voices echoing from inside and as he and Leila continued onward through its gaping maw deep into the bowels of the stone crevice, he could gradually make out what was being said.
"For all we know he could be here to destroy us!"
"He's just one lone…uh…cat-thing what could he possibly do to us!?"
"Are you absolutely sure this is the sword you saw in the vision Varick!?"
"YES! For the hundredth time it's exactly like what I saw, I-… Oh Leila! There you are!"
They had now entered a large inner cavern where several older wolves sat around a large hearth in the centre of the room. The cavern walls were decorated pretty much the same way as outside except some of them had cave paintings of wolves in varying situations, some of them were battling large beasts, others were caring for the sick and wounded and some showed wolves leading the pack to somewhere. The wolf that called out to Leila looked ancient his fur was almost completely white, he wore an animal skin pelt over his back, several necklaces with fangs, claws and small horns from various creatures, a headdress made of feathers and horns that trailed down just past his shoulders. He carried a long wooden staff that was decorated with small carvings and a couple of feathers just above where he held it and right on top there was a large bulbous growth that looked like a flower bud. Despite his apparent age he carried himself upright with dignity as he walked round the circle of wolves towards Lion-O. He then stood there looking down at him with an inscrutable expression only his eyes moved taking in this red-haired stranger and as Lion-O looked back at him he couldn't help but feel an odd sense of nostalgia, something about this mighty wolf chief before him reminded him of his own father and how he held an air of authority that demanded respect from all those around him.
The silence was broken when he finally smiled and said, "So you're the one with the glowing sword, is that right?"
"Oh? Uh? Yes sir!" stammered Lion-O snapping out of his own thoughts.
"Tell us then, who are you? And what brings you to these lands?"
"My name is Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats, my companions and I came to this place in search of something, a magic stone. I heard from the town's Mayor that there might be something like that here?" he replied.
There was a brief moment when the elders turned to each other worriedly and at him suspiciously, mumbling and whispering. At first the chief didn't say anything he just continued looking into Lion-O's eyes as if searching for something unseen. He then let out a sigh, gave him a sad smile and said.
"So Mayor Gophertan told you that did he? I assume you've also heard of the problems that have been going on lately? About how my people have been stealing from the town?"
"Yes I have sir"
"It's not something we're proud of, in fact it's a source of great shame to us. We are a proud and fierce race that has never needed to resort to such pathetic tactics, but with our situation being what it is, I can't see any other way around it. I guess you're still wondering as to why this is happening at all?"
"Yes sir"
"Varick, are you sure we should be telling him anything? Even if he is no threat to us, he is still an outsider" spoke up one of the elders concerned.
"I second that!" called out Malo angrily from the side of the room.
"Calm yourselves everyone, I understand your concern. But we are the ones who brought him here against his will, I think it's only fair we give him some explanation. And besides, I sense no evil intent from him, Leila you can untie his bounds now" he replied clamly.
She did as she was told and untied Lion-O's hands, he rubbed both his wrists for a moment before realising his sword and gauntlet weren't on his belt! Noticing his sudden alarm the chief assured Lion-O that his weapon is somewhere safe and that he will have it back as soon as things have been cleared up. Even though he still felt vulnerable without it, he remembered what Leila said about being respectful and thought it better not to argue. The chief then sat back down by the hearth and beckoned Lion-O over to sit beside him to which he complied with Leila following suit.
"Well now, I guess the best place to begin would be way back before this whole mess started: back then our forest was lush, plentiful and we were prosperous! It was partly because of the herds of migrating animals that came and went into our territory every year, there's a massive lake about a day's travel from here that we call The Ocean Lake, and every winter it completely freezes over. When this happens the previous herds travel across it for the spring pastures and new winter herds arrive from the other side, which means there was never a time of year when we didn't have a supply of prey to hunt. But then five years ago something strange happened, the old herds left but new ones didn't come. We waited all winter for them but by the time spring had come, the lake had thawed and there was no sign of them. Now after that first strange year we weren't too overly worried, we always made sure we had plenty of preserved food in storage in case of a lean season. But then it happened again for another four years! And now our food stores are almost completely empty" He explained.
"This had never happened before, sure we had some years when the herds were a little thinner than normal. But they ALWAYS came! If only we knew what was to come!" one of the elders stated with despair with the others nodding in agreement.
"And normally we would have been able to see it coming" added Varick.
"You would? But how?" asked Lion-O which made Leila snicker beside him adding to his confusion.
Varick also chuckled at this and explained "you said that you had come here looking for a magic stone correct? Well Lion-O look no further, for what you seek is right here" he then held the large end of the staff close to Lion-O and before he could question him the growth on the top end suddenly opened up to reveal a glowing yellow and orange stone in the shape of a wolf's eye nestled within!
"This is the Vision Stone, it has been passed down through countless generations of Wolf Tribe Chieftains. It has the power to show whomever wields it the past, present and possible futures. It has guided our people through many a hardship and saved us from destruction more times than I can remember" Varick explained with no shortage of pride in his voice.
"Until five years ago" Malo stated bitterly.
"*sigh* yes, for some unknown reason the stone just completely stopped working. It has been known to have a mind of its own and will occasionally refuse to show anything, but this has been the longest time ever recorded that the stone has remained dormant. That is, until a month ago it finally awoke and showed me a vision of a red-haired stranger wielding a magic sword and a red light shining from the hilt into the sky" he continued.
"So the stone showed you a vision of me? But why?" asked Lion-O.
"I'm afraid we're not entirely sure. Whenever the stone shows a vision that I can't figure out on my own I consult with the elders to try and make sense of it, some wolves believed that it was a bad omen but I'd like to think the stone showed me you as a sign of good things to come" replied Varick with a smile.
"I think it's already pretty clear what the stone was trying to tell you father!" Malo growled frustrated turning all eyes to him.
"He said it himself he came here looking for a magic stone. Obviously the vision was a warning about him trying to steal it! He's no better than the rest of those selfish gluttons in that filthy town who leech off our lands!" he growled louder glaring daggers right at Lion-O.
"No,no no! You've got it all wrong! I wasn't going to steal it from you! But there is a reason why we need it!" Lion-O protested.
"And what about US!? That stone has been a sacred treasure to this tribe for countless generations, we all depend on it!" argued one of the elders.
"That's right! Chief Varick I'm starting to think Malo's right, maybe bringing him here and telling him all this was a bad idea?!" said another.
"He's already seen and heard too much here, we ought to slit his throat now before-"
"ENOUGH!" the chief's loud bark echoed throughout the cave system bringing immediate silence to the room and everyone including Lion-O instinctively shrunk down averting eye contact in submission.
"Look at yourselves. You are all seriously getting your tails in a twist over an unarmed cat whose head doesn't even reach my chest! I already said I sensed no evil intent from him and for all these many years you all have trusted me and my judgement. If we let this panic take hold of us and we kill him now, we'll be no better off than we were before, in fact we may end up destroying the one hope we've got. So I'm asking you all to please to trust my judgment once more and give him a chance to explain" implored Varick.
"Forgive us Chief. We acted foolish and much too rashly" said one of the elders sombrely while keeping his head bowed in shame.
"Now then, Lion-O please explain to us why you need this stone so much" asked Varick turning back to Lion-O.
"You see sir, me and my companions have been searching for several stones of power for some time now, but we don't want them for ourselves I assure you. We need them in order to stop a terrible evil that threatens all of Third Earth, and if I don't get that stone that same evil will take it for himself" Lion-O explained with conviction.
The wolves still looked sceptical, especially Malo who asked grumpily "okay so what is this so called 'terrible evil' that you're talking about, what is so awful that you need to take our sacred stone for?!"
Lion-O replied deathly serious "Mumm-Ra".
This reply both shocked and confused the elders, but Malo was not convinced in fact he felt downright insulted, "Is that supposed to be some kind of JOKE!? Mumm-Ra is nothing more than a spooky ghost story we tell around campfires to scare children into behaving themselves!"
"I used to think so too! But I assure you he is all too real! I've faced him before! I swear this is true, I wouldn't make something like this up! In fact if you really want proof, Chief Varick you said that stone of yours can see into the past as well as the future right? Then use it to look into my past and you will see for yourself" pleaded Lion-O.
The chief considered this for a moment before replying "very well Lion-O, I'll use it to look into your past, although I feel I should warn you the stone may show me more than just the chosen memories. You understand?"
"That's fine sir, as long as it shows you the important ones, I'm okay with that"
The chief then held the staff between them, instructed Lion-O to take hold of it and not let go no matter what, once he complied Varick began to chant in an unknown language. In response the top of the staff opened up once again revealing the stone which began to pulse with a peculiar light that gradually became brighter and brighter until Lion-O had to use his free hand to shield his eyes from the blinding glare. Once the light disappeared and he was able to open his eyes again, they were no longer in the cave. He and the Chief were now standing together in Thundera! They were within the arena with the giant tree where Lion-O had lost the race for the bell to Tygra, however this was not the memory of that moment. All around them there were explosions going off, missiles were whizzing through the air, terrified cat civilians running in blind terror and armed lizards wreaking havoc, this was the memory of when the kingdom of Thundera fell!
A flash of lightning from above caught their attention, and they looked to find Claudaus fighting off Grune and rushing up the tree to rescue a chained up Panthro. Lion-O's heart sank when he realised what he was about to re-live seeing.
Once his chains were slashed down and he fell Panthro looked up and said "you came for me".
"I'd fight an army twice that size to save you old friend" replied Claudaus kneeling down to greet him before turning his back "now help me".
Every part of Lion-O's being wanted to run forward and yell a warning to his father, but he knew it was futile, this was only a memory and nothing would change that. As he saw his past-self make his way up the tree to join his father, he could only turn his head away as 'Panthro' pulled out a knife.
"FATHEEERRRR!" screamed the Past Lion-o as the killing blow was struck and the great Lion King fell into the water below and his sons followed after him.
"I'm so sorry Lion-O. I have no control over what memory the staff shows but-" said Varick sympathetically.
"It's not over yet, the worst is still to come" replied Lion-O as he and his past-self looked back up towards 'Panthro' with a look of pure hatred.
"You! A traitor too Panthro?!"
"Hehehe not quite. Have you not considered that if technology is real, then so are your worst nightmares!" sneered Panthro as his body was then engulfed in demonic blue flames, shedding his feline masquerade revealing his twisted true self.
As the clerics lead by Jaga charged forth to confront this ancient evil, he smirked wickedly down upon them
"You are but insects to the power of MUMM-RA! THE EVER-LIVING!" in a flash of evil energy he struck them all down apart from Jaga who was saved by Cheetara.
The Past Lion-O and Tygra were then surrounded by armed lizards with their weapons pointed straight at them.
"Thundera has fallen!" declared Mumm-Ra as the lizards cheered in victory.
"I've seen more than enough" stated Varick suddenly and the world around them faded away and Lion-O found himself waking up once again in the cave not even realising he had his eyes closed. The chief's knees then buckled beneath him and he fell forward, his breath laboured in exhaustion and both Malo and Leila were quickly by his side.
"Father! Are you alright?!" asked Malo worriedly.
"Calm down everyone, I'm fine. Been a long time since I needed to use that and I forgot how taxing it can be on the mind and body" he replied before catching his breath and his expression turning grave.
"But right now there's a bigger problem to contend with. He's real. Mumm-Ra is real!"
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End Note: Hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter and have a great day, you guys are the best!:)