Episode 3: "To El-Dara (part 2/2)"

Part 4:

A half mile away on higher ground Panthro, Tygra and Lynx-O overlooked the Cloud Peak Mine. They crept down low, watching intently. "Looks like the lizards are evacuating." Panthro observed aloud through a pair of high definition binoculars. He handed them to Tygra so he may see.

"Where are they taking their convoy?" The youngest cat wondered aloud.

"Don't know. I'll follow the leather heads while you two sneak into the mine. Take whatever you can."

"I'll lead." Tygra volunteered. "Try to keep up." With a crack of his whip over his head he turned invisible and descended towards the mine.

"Nifty toy." Lynx-O smirked. He didn't need a whip to stay invisible.

Panthro couldn't help but crack a smile himself. "Kid thinks he's stealthy. Feel free to show him some pointers."

"Claudis once told me the only lesson he could never fully teach his oldest was humility. Maybe when a mission isn't on the line I will. Don't get too close to the enemy before we're there to back you up."

"We'll see who needs back up."

A short chuckle escaped Lynx-O's throat before leaping into a nearby treetop. Panthro gave him a thumbs up before setting aside the binoculars and pulling out his nunchucks. He took a deep breath for a little extra stamina and focus. "Let's do it."

Tygra approached the mine entrance. The area seemed completely deserted. He entered slowly, not making a sound. He felt a small pebble bounce off the back of his head. He looked up to find nothing but stone, shadows and a few big holes. His eyes barely detected Lynx-O dropping to the cave floor. "The perimeter is clear." He announced in the faintest whisper. "Thanks for double checking? You're very welcome."

Tygra frowned, grumbling internally as Lynx-O shimmied up the walls and disappeared into the shadows. They ventured deeper and deeper into the mine. Some areas were still collapsed from the Thundercats' last encounter there. Driller drilled a few new passageways in place of them. Indeed it seemed all the lizards manning it had left. It also appeared that they had completely stripped the place of all its usable Thundrillium.

They reached the heart of the mine which now was bare like the other crevasses they searched through. Lynx-O heard the faintest echo of lizard footsteps through an adjacent tunnel. He motioned for Tygra to follow. They crept closer. Tygra now heard them too. He spotted a fairly young and slightly familiar lizard slithering about. He felt a rumbling under his feet and immediately dove off to the side, curling into a ball to protect himself from pinging stone debris. Lynx-O clung to the wall for dear life as a massive robot busted through to the surface.

"Zero percent Thundrillium remaining on all levels." It droned to the lizard. "Primary objective obtained."

"Very good, Driller." He spoke into a device on his gauntlet. "General Slithe; come in."

"Slithe here. Has the last of the Thundrillium been shipped off?" Slithe's voice hissed out of the device.

"It'ss on itss way now, General."

"Excellent, lieutenant. I can't stand another minute listening to Vultair sssquawk about how Mumm-Ra won't give him access to the tech stone and what primitive resources he's reduced to using. Miserable buzzard. Maybe now we can get Caste Plun-Darr up and running. Collapse the mine then return to base."

"But general, the cargo tanks are still within-"

"You often forget my ordersss are Mumm-Ra's ordersss. Keep questioning them. Sssee what happens." The reptile threatened.

"Yes- er no General; over and out."

Tygra and Lynx-O exchanged concerned glances.

The lieutenant hopped on his vehicle. He glanced upward. "Thank you for your service, Driller. "Now self-destruct." With that, he sped off as fast as the motor could haul him.

"Why the hell is that stupid lizard thanking a soulless-?" Tygra didn't get to finish his thought when Driller's eyes started rapidly flashing as his lower and upper drill bits increased in length and sharpness.

"Self-destruct sequence activated. Warning; All labor units have five minutes to reach a safe distance." Driller compacted its limbs inward, forming one massive drill. It spun in place so quickly it almost glowed. The sound of the steel bits penetrating the earth made Lynx-O cringe. He could feel the sound in his teeth- what a god-awful noise!

Tygra became visible as Lynx-O joined him on the ground, covering his ears. "You wouldn't happen to know how to shut it down, would you?" The elder asked.

Driller shot deep into the cave floor.

Tygra stared at the massive hole he left. "No idea, but I know the way to a side exit. Move!"

Outside;

Luckily for Panthro the convoy moved at a rather slow pace. He caught up quickly, taking note of the lizards' coarse and how many of them he was up against (at least three for each hauling unit, making it 21 to 1). His best bet was to damage the last unit, knock out the guards, grab what he could and run like hell. Only question was how exactly to pull that stunt off without the rest of the lizards noticing and if they did notice how would he outrun them and their deadly air ships surely hovering close by? "Would like my odds better if I had my baby with me."

He thought about waiting for Tygra and Lynx-O to back him up, but he feared falling too far behind by then. He had faced nastier with less defenses before. It was now or never. Panthro quickened his footing. Spinning his nun-chucks he was about to pounce when a deafening boom erupted behind him. The following shockwave knocked him face forward into a fresh trench. A few seconds after the ground beneath a number of hauling units collapsed, sinking them.

Covered in dirt, Panthro pulled himself to his hands and knees. He shook his head. "What hit me?" He looked back at the mine. It wasn't there, just a giant smoldering hole choking dust into the air where it had been just over twenty minutes ago. He stared like a chib chib caught in the Thundertank's head lights. "Cripes, what they do?!"

He looked forward. The lizards managed to pull most of their tanks free, but two were wedged solid into the ground.

"Leave it!" One shouted. "They're empty anyways; we will replace them!" They quickly rallied and set out once again, unconcerned with their loss.

Panthro waited until they were out of sight to claw his way to solid ground again. He ran towards the former site of the mine, praying neither of his comrades had been crushed.

He came upon a long duel row of fallen trees that formed a sort of arched tunnel. Already Tygra and Lynx-O passed half way through the tunnel relatively intact. Tygra tried to help a limping Lynx-O to walk on an injured ankle. Lynx-O did not appear very receptive to the youth's assistance.

"Not the worst way to end a mission." Tygra joked. "Almost buried alive and no Thundrillium to show for it, but at least it shook the cobwebs off, right?"

Lynx-O ripped his arm away, walking on his own two feet despite the pain that shot up his leg every time he put pressure on the right ankle. He made a serious effort to stay ahead.

"Hey, let me help. You're not in top shape."

Lynx-O turned around and shot Tygra a venomous glare. "I'm old, not feeble! Who are YOU to question MY competency?"

Tygra pulled back a little. "Whoa, Lynx-O I wasn't calling you-"

Panthro immediately ran over the moment he spotted them. "You alright?!"

"Yeah, Lynx-O landed funny, but-"

"I'm fine." Lynx-O insisted sternly. "Still in one piece."

"What was that?" Panthro referred to the demolition of the mine.

"It collapsed." Tygra explained. "The lizards ditched the whole operation. Bad news; no more Thundrillium. Their big pointy robot picked the mine clean. We're both empty handed."

"No problem. We can raid the units they left behind." Panthro motioned over his shoulder with his thumb.

"A little bit of good luck goes a long way out here." Lynx-O's smile turned into a neutral frown as he passed by Panthro, leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Next time Tygra goes with you." And with that walked ahead towards the stuck hauling units.

"I heard that." Tygra cocked his head, raising a brow in confusion. "What's his problem?"

Laughing lightly, Panthro gave him a brotherly slap on the back. "Congratulations; in the twenty some odd years I've known him you're the first person who has managed to rub Lynx-O's fur the wrong way."

"What did I do?"

"You have a lousy way with words. Anyone ever told you that?"

Tygra shrugged. "Just Lion-O, but I never take him seriously."

"Well, maybe you should work on that. Don't worry. Nothing bugs Lynx-O for long. He's like an Elephant, but his memory is still there."

Tygra nodded. "Okay. Still don't know what I said though." He took a mental note to remember Panthro's suggestion then followed his elder to the wrecks.

Panthro searched for a puncture or weak point in the dented metal. Once he found it he drove the claws of his nunchucks through then proceeded to twist his arms around each other until he carved an opening wide enough to slip through.

The lizards didn't think long enough to consider the Thundrillium fueling the hauler itself. Or perhaps they were that desperate to meet a deadline. Either way, Panthro fully intended to utilize their misfortune to his benefit. After a short period of clunking, clanging and cursing, he dismantled the units from the outside in until he reached the tank's engine. He emerged victorious twice with a few fist full of Thundrillium. "Jack pot!"

"Nice!" Tygra pulled him up. "Let's get back to the Tank."

"I'm coming back with the Thundertank for spare parts. No use letting these things go to waste." Panthro announced, wiping dirt and grime off his claws. "I can't wait to feed my baby and get her running again. Wish I could have found out where that convoy was taking the rest of the Thundrillium though. That crap I swiped from Mount Plun-Darr turned out to be Thundrainium, fools Thundrillium; gummed up the engine something awful."

"We overheard one of their higher officers mention a Castle Plun-Darr. " Lynx-O informed him.

"Castle Plun-Darr?" It didn't take long for Panthro to fit those puzzle pieces together. "Blast it; they're building a base at Mount Plun-Darr!" He groaned. "I HATE Rats…"

"I second that." Tygra exhaled a frustrated groan as well.

"Hate is a strong word." Lynx-O scolded them mildly.

"It's appropriate, that's why we're using it. Nasty swamp rodents; they breed like crazy. The last thing we need is Ratar-O's army joining under Mumm-Ra." Tygra shook his head with concern.

"We got the fuel we came for at least." Lynx-O tried to stay positive.

"Beats sitting in the woods with our defenseless asses exposed." Concurred Panthro. "When Lion-O comes back with the kittens we'll figure out what to do about this Castle Plun-Darr."

Tygra nodded in agreement. "He better hurry. Our whole journey has been spent going in circles and it's getting us nowhere slowly."

Meanwhile; somewhere in a forever bag inside a forever bag inside a forever bag…

Past the battlefield of gold soldiers Jaguara led the group to her long forgotten city. She told to them her sad tale; the death of El-Dara and the cats who hailed from there. Lion-O and Cheetara stared in wonder as Kat and Kit had when they first crossed the towering walls into the golden splendor of the city of treasure. It's visual beauty contrasted sharply with its nightmarish history the emptiness failed to mask.

Snarf purred in Lion-O's ear, startling him. "Shnarf-narf…So this is what I was missing." He yawned, curling around Lion-O's neck, apparently uninterested.

Lion-O studied the market square closely, taking notice of the buildings' foundation and the large circular fountain in the streets pouring molten gold. "These are part of the ruins Tygra and I explored. It really was part of Thundera once."

"Since I'm being frozen forever anyways-" Kat put on a cute smile, poking Lion-O in the shoulder repeatedly. "We told you so! We told you so! We told you so!" He sang obnoxiously.

"Puurrr-Don't taunt Lion-O." Snarf scolded him. "And you knew better than to play in the ruins."

"Aw, Snarf that was how many years ago? How do you even remember that?" Lion-O couldn't believe he was arguing with Snarf.

Jaguara coughed, interrupting. Once gathering the full attention of her fellow cats she motioned towards the Temple of Dara. "We're close."

They followed. Cheetara stepped widely around a frozen gold citizen; a peasant woman who looked as if she never saw her end coming. "Some of these people actually chose to end themselves this way? Why?"

"Never underestimate the public's tendency to feed off of each other's foolishness." Jaguara replied bitterly as she escorted them through the holy gardens. "For lifetimes I believed the Claw of Dara poisoned the minds of people, but then I started to wonder if greed is natural and the spell simply amplifies what is deeply rooted in everyone's soul. I still fail to determine which is more dangerous. You can see why I dedicated my very existence to ensuring it stay safely hidden."

"Yes-" Lion-O replied. "In the wrong hands the Claw of Dara can destroy civilizations."

"Not can, will." The sorceress corrected him. She pushed open the large golden doors. "Enter. I shall prepare the claw."

They entered. Kat jumped a little as a harsh gust of wind slammed the door shut behind him inches away from his tail. With no more effort than a thought, Jaguara removed Kit from her recently formed niche in the altar and placed her before her friends. They gasped, disturbed by the sight of her current condition.

Kat instinctively ran to her, embracing her now unfeeling form in a tight hug. "It'll be okay, sis, we're here." He glared up at Jaguara. "Hurry up; change her back."

"It will take a great deal of energy to reverse the enchantment." She warned.

"Have you ever successfully changed a person back to flesh after they touched the claw?" He had to ask.

"Only once." Jaguara confessed. "It will be done." She vowed before climbing the altar. Draped behind the Claw of Dara was a heavy gold curtain. Jaguara ripped it down, tossing it off the side over the Thundercats By doing so she revealed a deep stone pit beneath a black pot large enough to fit a full grown tomcat inside. She took a deep breath, summoning an intense flame.

The Thundercats quickly pulled their way out from under the discarded curtain and climbed the altar after the sorceress. To their relief, she had not disappeared, but instead stoked a massive fire. From her jewelry box she pulled several pieces of silver jewelry, trinkets or statuettes from others who had visited El-Dara before. Last she added the sterling silverware the Thundercats had offered before in the second forever bag. Little by little the silver items melted into a bubbling metal soup.

Jaguara stirred the hot cauldron by waving her hands through the fumes, mumbling some mantra in a dead language. She raised her hand to summon the claw. She herself ignited into flames. Though startling, it became quickly apparent the flames could do her no real harm. The Claw of Dara lifted upward out of the grip of its first welder. Lion-O quickly stepped aside allowing the claw to fly across the altar into her outstretched hand unobstructed.

Jaguara caught the handle, gripping the flailing weapon tightly. With a scowl on her face drove the Claw into the molten silver. It hissed and churned violently, but Jaguara wrestled it, managing to keep it submerged. Finally the claw went still. She held it up into the cold air. A thin layer of silver successfully hardened over the Claw of Dara's surface.

"Move, this can't wait!" Jaguara pushed past the other Cats and leapt onto the floor in front of Kit. The others, Kat with his fingers crossed particularly tight, watched Jaguara strike Kit with the claw. She scribed deep scratches along the golden surface of Kit's cheeks, chest and arms.

Panting heavily, Jagauara lowered the claw and watched intently for any signs of life. The others crowded around as a silvery-white light shined through the scratches, blinding them. They heard a woman's cry. By the time the light dimmed and their vision returned, the gold statue of Kit had transformed into a being of flesh and blood.

"You're alive!" Kat cried, eyes tearing.

Kit sprung forward, wrapping her brother in a tight hug. She noticed Lion-O next to him and embraced him in a hug as well, throwing in a kiss of gratitude. "Thanks for coming back for me guys. That was awful!"

Surprised, Lion-O froze. Kat noticed him blushing. "What, I don't get a kiss?" He joked.

Kit pecked him on the cheek. Kat gagged, wiping his face on his sleeve. "Gross! I was just kidding!"

Cheetara and Kit shared a laugh. Everything started to feel more normal already. "If we could just make you two the right size again we can go home."

"I don't even care about being little again." Kit held her aching head in her palms. "I just want out of here. I feel sick."

Cheetara helped her stand upright. She looked the younger female over. Kit looked ill and she felt feverish. She looked to Jaguara. "Is she all right? Will this pass?"

"Eventually." The sorceress confirmed. "The Claw of Dara is a very powerful tool not meant to be wielded by those who do not understand or respect it. I pity those who seek it out more so than those who have been touched by it. The former are ignorant of the consequences."

"You can say that again." Kat sighed heavily before putting his hand on Kit's shoulder. "Kit, please don't be mad at me. I can't come with you. When you find mom, tell her I'm sorry for making us leave her."

"What? Why?"

Kat kicked himself mentally. "We- I made a deal. If-"

"The deal is off." Jaguara interrupted. "I'm sorry for all the trouble. I assumed the worst of all of you. That was most unfair of me. You are all noble subjects to a just King." She set the claw back in place. Already the silver coating began to chip away, disintegrating into dust as it drifts to the floor. "I can't bear to let the Claw of Dara take another life. If you keep your word about never letting another soul near here again, I will let both Kit and Kat go free."

Kat's ears and tail perked up. "Really? I don't have to get turned to gold?"

She smiled, shaking her head. "No, of course not. I only wanted to make sure you were sincere."

"Deal!" Kat shook her hand. "Thank you, Jaguara! You're not the evil witch I thought you were."

A chuckle escaped her throat. "Don't thank me quite yet. Both of you, hold out your hands. This spell is much easier to reverse."

Kit and Kat exchanged hesitant glances before holding out their hands. To their displeasure Jaguara dug her sharp, gold-plated nails deeply across their palms, drawing blood. They yowled, pulling back, clutching the wounds shut with their other hands.

"Wait here." Jaguara instructed before climbing up a winding gold vine wrapped around a tree trunk pillar. She disappeared into the ceiling which consisted of thick treetops. The others watched as leaves rustled above their heads until finally Jaguara descended to the floor with two round red fruits in her hand.

"What are they?" Kit asked. "YOW!" She cried as Jagauara placed the peeled fruit meat in her wounded hand.

"Blood oranges. I grew them." She answered. "Eat; by the time the scratches heal you will be kittens again."

Kat and Kit ate the oranges as quickly as they could.

Lion-O walked up to Jaguara, offering his hand. "I can't thank you enough for this. Kit and Kat are two of my best subjects and they're two of very few subjects I have. We know what it's like- Thundera has fallen. We watched everything go up in flames overnight. I don't know if the twins told you-"

"No; ashamedly I had not given either of them much chance to speak. He has risen, hasn't he- as it was foretold?"

"Yes." The Thundercats's silence and solemn stares confirmed their king's answer.

The gravity of her misjudgment weighed in her stomach, making her feel ill with guilt. Here the prophet lord stood before her in the past when the future was at stake. Instead of shaking, Jaguara took Lion-O's hand and kissed his knuckles. "As little use as I may be now, I offer my allegiance to you. If you ever need my help just call, lord…"

"Lion-O."

"Lion-O-" She repeated. A smile showed she favored the name. "May I ask one more favor of you and your Thundercats before I send you home?"

"Sure, anything."

"When your ancestor, Leonoth sent his thunder guard to raid El-Dara and slaughter the remaining citizens they took an artifact from this temple; the Thunderhammer. It was used to forge the Sword of Omens by the first clerics. My father used it to forge the Claw of Dara as well. I cannot destroy the claw without it and I died before I ever found out what Leonoth did with it. Please, find it for me so I may know peace."

A light glimmered in Lion-O's eyes. He knew the artifact she spoke of or at least he was pretty sure he did. "I'll search every corner of Third Earth for it." He promised.

"I'll help and when we find it, I'll delivery it to you." Kat added. "It's the least I can do."

Jaguara smiled. "Good luck, Thundercats." She saluted them. "HO!"

They returned the gesture. "HO!"

Kat and Kit turned around. They were back in the first forever bag. Lion-O, Snarf and Cheetara also found themselves where they started.

"That's it? We did it?" Kat asked.

"We did it." Lion-O smiled, pleased with the outcome.

"That was insane." Cheetara looked around at the seemingly endless piles of treasure. "Now what?"

"Rankin Bass!" The twins cheered. The bag swept them to the opening up above.

Rankin Bass!" Lion-O and Cheetara followed.

Tabbothy, hunched over the forever bag asleep with his tail tightly curled over his lap. He felt something big fly out of the bag. He yowled, startled, jumping to his feet. "You're back!" He sighed with relief. "It was getting late; I started to worry. How did things go?"

"Could have gone better." Cheetara mused with a smile.

"But we got Kit back!" Kat pulled Kit in front of him to show him. "Tabb, Kit, Kit, Tabb." He introduced the two. "You should have seen it! We got to the second bag and Lion-O…"

Later…

Kit inspected her reflection in a nearby stream. By the edge of the wheat field Kat helped Tabbothy line his pockets with gold from the forever bag. Already youth started to return to them. She and Kat looked to be in their early teens now.

"Kat says since the original plan didn't fall through you two are sending Tabbothy to Thundera and sticking with us instead." Lion-O walked up to her, hovering a bit.

Kit nodded. "Is that okay with you?"

"In retrospect I never should have split up the team. I was trying to cover more ground, not make you two feel unneeded."

Kit glanced over her shoulder. "Aw, we all know you guys would be dead without us." She teased.

Lion-O was about to tease her back when his eyes met hers. "Hey, they changed-" He just noticed the younger female's eyes had turned a green-bronze to a bright yellow.

"I hope they go back to normal too." Kit replied, pulling away from the water.

"If they don't, it's not all that noticeable. I mean, it is, but it still looks good on you." Lion-O kicked himself mentally for being so awkward- towards Kit no less. "Do um, do you feel any better?"

"Much better except for the shrinking part. I can't explain how it felt to be turned into gold. It made my bones hurt." She shivered. "I'm glad I have my body back even if I have to wait for my hand to scar up to be normal." Kit smiled up at him. "What do you think of me as a grown up?" She asked outright.

"I- uh-?" Lion-O blushed as his tongue twisted into a knot. How should he respond? "You're cute." He blurted out. "But it's hard for me to think of you as anything but a kitten."

"Yeah." Kit nodded. "Well, keep the adult me in mind if you're still looking for a girlfriend when I'm not a kitten anymore." With a wink and flick of her tail she turned away to go speak with Kat.

Lion-O smirked. "I hope I'm not still looking for a girlfriend when you're grown."

Snarf nipped at the back of his leg. Lion-O flinched. "Yow, hey!"

Snarf snickered, grinning up at him before scurrying off, nearly tripping Cheetara in the process.

She smiled as she approached him, a small laugh escaping her throat. "Do you miss talking Snarf?"

Lion-O shrugged. "I miss not looking crazy when I talk back to him. Did they pick up?"

"I reached Panthro." The cheetah informed him. "He says they have good news and bad news; the good news is we have thundrillium. The bad news we'll discuss when we get back to the tank."

Lion-O's ears drooped a little. "After a day like today I could do without any bad news."

"Are you sure you can find your way to Thundera from here?" Kat asked.

Tabbothy nodded. "I'm pretty good with directions. Glad I ran into you guys or who knows where I would end up."

"Will you be okay on the hovorboard?" Kit asked, testing it to make sure it stayed level.

"I'll try not to break it or fall off a thousand times. Can't promise anything." Tabbothy flashed them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about the treasure though. No one will get their paws on it before I get to the ruins. If I find your mom there everything I don't spend on food will go right to her."

"I feel bad for not trying to find mom ourselves. Are you sure you don't want to go to Thundera too?" Kit looked to her brother.

"I want to go. I'd give anything to see mom again…" Kat paused to collect his thoughts. "but I left thinking treasure would solve all our problems, but it's not that simple. I was right about her not needing two extra kittens to burden her. Mom needs me to grow up and help support her. When we're more adult for real we'll go back. Maybe you're right too though. If you want to, go with Tabb to find mom-"

"I go where you go." Kit insisted without hesitation. "Thundera will stay fallen and forgotten like El-Dara unless we help Lion-O and the others beat Mumm-Ra."

"Your folks will understand." Tabbothy assured them. "You two are lucky someone back home is still around to worry about you."

"We'll worry about you." Kat exchanged universal bro fists with him. "Thanks for everything, Tabb and good luck. If you find our mom, tell her there's more gold where that came from and we'll be home soon."

"And tell her we miss her and Pitter and Pat. Tell them we love them too and not to worry too much." Kit added.

"I won't forget. If you do find Brindle, tell her where I went and... that I hope she's okay. So long."

"Bye!"

Through his binoculars Tookit watched the cats exchange waves. Tabbothy, richer than he ever had been in his whole life parted ways with the Thundercats, pleased with himself for lending a hand. The raccoon's sight focused in on Kat and the forever bag which he held tightly under his arm.

Kit had to squeeze in the pod with Lion-O and Cheetara. Kat followed them on his sister's hovorboard, his final punishment for the whole ordeal.

Tookit watched until they were completely out of sight. He stayed in the tree a while longer, internally weighing his options. "Hm, it's going to take a lot to pry that bag away from those kittens now, but at least I know they will keep the damn thing. It will come back to me when the opportunity strikes." He told himself inwardly. "Meanwhile I think a little detour to Thundera will be lovely…"