Episode 5 (extended; part2): "Of What May Be"
Presently…
"We've stopped." Cheetara realized aloud. "I was so caught up; I didn't feel us slow down."
"Everything alright?" Lion-O called to Panthro.
"A-Okay, unless you want to smell like sewer for another hundred miles." He opened the back hatch, revealing several inviting hot springs.
Tygra lifted his arm and took a whiff of himself then nearly gagged. "We do smell like sewer."
Cheetara chuckled, waving his odor away from her. "Speak for yourself." She teased.
The thunderkittens cheered, shedding clothes and hopping in. "Aw, this feels good." Kit sighed, sinking her body in the water from the nose down.
Lion-O shoved past him; "Last one in smells like Mumm-ra's ass bandages!" He cried, also shredding his armor/ clothes about before hopping in another hot spring.
The thundercats enjoyed a long, therapeutic soak. Especially long after going nearly half a year with few opportunities to wash or groom. What little clean water they managed to carry with them always had to be rationed. This was a treat; they praised Panthro for locating the springs.
Tygra and Cheetara shared a pool, holding each other close while the others spread out, relaxing with their own thoughts. In contrast, the Thunder kittens splashed out, dunking each other under and laughing.
"What a godsend." Tygra stretched, allowing the heat to ease his muscles and the steam to clear his sinuses. "We were beginning to smell like peasants."
Panthro and the Thunderkittens splashed him for that comment. Tygra looked over his shoulder flashing them a confused look. "What?"
Wiley Kat stuck his tongue out at him as he pulled clean linen from the forever bag for Kit and him to wrap themselves in. "Bathing isn't going to do us much good if our clothes still stink."
"Here you go." Kit gathered everyone's clothes and dropped them in a pile next to Tygra and Cheetara's pool.
Cheetara eyed the kittens funny. "What's this?"
"The laundry." Wiley Kat explained. "Our mother always washed the clothes."
"And poppa tended the fields and fought off lizard and fox raids." Wiley Kit added.
Cheetara shook her head. "That's all well and good, but you can't expect me wash for the whole team."
"That is a lot of adult clothes. Kit could help you." Wiley Kat suggested; immediately receiving a swift punch in the arm from his sister.
"We'll all wash; it will take less time." Tygra suggested. "Mine are completely soaked in poo water thanks to that snake. I'll have to scrub them twice."
Panthro carried out a large metal bin over his shoulder. He filled the bin with piping hot water and set it by their feet. "Let's do it."
With that the thundercats eagerly threw their clothes in to formed an assembly line. Lion-O and Tygra scrubbed the fabric and armor, Panthro rung out the clothes, Cheetara and Lynx-O shook out the wrinkles, and the kittens hung them on a tree to dry."
Cheetara reached for her staff. "I can dry them in no time."
"You could, but let them air dry." Lion-O suggested.
"Why?"
"It gives us an excuse to soak in the hot spring again."
"You can finish your story while we're at it." Wiley Kit added.
"Alright; may as well before we move on." Cheetara agreed. Tygra helped her slip into the pool.
She continued when the others had settled. "Next thing we knew we were all back were we started, but…"
20 –some-odd years later.
The thundertank left a long trail of dust in the desert as it slid to halt. Out of the trunk Kaynar and his misfit pack herded the cat captives towards the site of the Black Pyramid. To Cheetarah's shock and horror she spotted Mumm-Ra's storm charger speeding towards the rebuilt pyramid. Long necked, almost insect-like cyborgs rapidly worked on the construction along with a group of enslaved and possibly reprogrammed Berbils. Bengali, also partially bound in chains was forced to assist in the repairs at gunpoint.
Aiming the gun was the Soul Sever, upgraded and apparently holding a grudge (though taking it out on the wrong tiger at the moment). Grune stepped out onto the construction site. He spoke with the Soul Sever, most likely demanding a progress report.
Out of the Storm Charger came *Lynxanna, Ta-She and a younger molly Cheetarah did not recognize*. They herded Lion-O, Tygra ,Wiley-Kat and Lynx-O towards the Black Pyramid. Unlike Cheetarah and her group of captives they were not bound and gagged, but appeared to be in some kind trance, most likely brought on by Ta-She's doom gaze.
Grune approached the captives, wearing a pleased grin. "Lord Lion-O-" The saber tooth gave the entranced Lion-O a few playful slaps on the cheek. "You made a great number of allies over the years, but you've made many more enemies. It took a painstaking amount of bribing, concurring and planning, but I've rallied them all against you in your most dire hour." He exhaled a short, spiteful chuckle. "Good work, ladies." He commended the villainesses as they presented him with the Shuriken of Hachimen, the Pure Prism and Luna's Belt.
"No sweat especially with my new apprentice." Ta-She put her hand on the young mystery molly's shoulder, wearing a proud (but somehow flirtatious) grin.
There was so much to soak in and it all raised so many questions. A sharp spear in her back broke her concentration. "Move it!" Kaynar barked.
At the entrance Kaynar stopped to present Grune with the Helmet of Xaxx and the Cosmos Key (which he snatched off of Cheetarah's person on the ride over). "Two for two, bitches." He bragged to his fellow villains.
"I'm impressed, jackalman." Grune nodded in approval.
Lynxanna frowned. "I'm not, love. We're still missing one treasure."
"Don't look at me." Kaynar motioned to Ma-Mutt. Ma-Mutt started to dry heave. He coughed up the emerald Hydra at her feet.
Lynxanna turned her nose up at it. Grune smiled. "That's all eight!" He announced. "Secure the prisoners and stand guard. I'm going to make sure everything continues to run smoothly until the twenty-fourth hour." He moved past them heading towards the crypt room. "Ta-She, dear, please keep the white tiger in line. He's not being as productive as I hoped."
"My pleasure." She and Lynxanna exchanged hateful glares as they shoved past each other.
Bengali looked to his fellow Thundercats apologetically as they were escorted inside.
The Necromechs made a little design adjustment to the prison cells. The Thundercats were placed into individual cells with barely enough room to stand in.
Kaynar removed Cheetarah's gag (only on the off chance to hear her beg) then threw her inside a cell. She tried to run out before the energy cage sealed, but couldn't build the momentum in such an enclosed space. "Stay!" Kaynar ordered before walking away laughing.
She ignored the old cur and started to take in her surroundings. On the opposite side of the holding chamber she could see Lion-O, Leonne, Wiley Kat and Lynx-O. She couldn't see much on either side of her though. She also couldn't hear much over the mechanical buzzing in her ears. This was arranged purposely for psychological torment.
She waited a while in case someone on guard walked by, but their captives seem to have high faith in the Necromech prison cells. When convinced the chamber was empty Cheetarah called out. "Can anyone hear me? Is anyone hurt?"
"I'm right here, mom. I'm fine." She heard Wylde Kat's voice to the left of her.
"Kit?" She called to her next; concerned about the toxins in her system.
"I'm starting to come to." Kit answered back weakly to the right of her.
"Wiley Kub? Kitten, are you here? Is he with any of you?"
"I don't think he's with us." Wiley Kat informed her from the opposite wall.
"Where is he?"
"Mother don't panic. We lost him, but we'll find him."
"You mean you lost him, you bastard." Leonne spat at Wylde Kat, glaring at him from a cell across his. "Had you stuck with the plan-"
"You're really going to try to make everything my fault?!" He cried. "Look around! They caught all of us! Nothing would be different had I actually gone with you to the PinYn temple!"
"We'll never know, because you bailed out!"
"Hey, shut up, over there!" Kaynar's barked before throwing one of his boots at their cells. The impact of his boot against Cheetarah's cell wall caused sparks to fly on the inside. Cheetarah hissed as she covered her face and eyes.
When she looked up she noticed the pup, Kayba, pass by to fetch the boot. She stopped to look back at Wylde Kat's cell, eyes wide and sad. Cheetarah may not have approved of her relationship with her son, but she couldn't stand to see her cub hurt.
"Why would you do this?" Wylde Kat asked while given the opportunity.
"Aw, kitten," She sighed heavily. "I tried to explain, but cats just don't get it. The pack is EFERYTHING to us. Daddy needs me to do this with him."
"He may be blood, but he's shit-brick MAD-"
"Kayba-?" Her father called out to her.
"I'm coming!" She barked back. "I used to think so, but you saw the black dog too!" She snapped at him. "This isn't a hallucination that can be drugged out of him!" She leaned in close to his cell. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you." She puckered her lips.
Wylde Kat instinctively leaned in to kiss her back, but immediately regretted it when a nasty jolt of electricity shot through his face and body when his lips touched the energy cell.
Kayba laughed as the shock knocked Wylde Kat on his back. "Idiot; I can't promise that!" She teased before skipping off to return her father's boot.
Wylde Kat snarled at her, holding his sore face. "Crazy bitch; we're through!" He tried to keep a cool composure, but soon Cheetarah could hear him sniffing back a tear.
"Serves you right." Leonne scolded her cousin.
"Leave me ALONE!"
"Don't worry about that dog, worry about your baby brother." Cheetarah scolded him.
"What the hell was that about?" Wiley Kat cried, confused and appalled.
"SHE'S who Wuss Kat abandoned our mission for." Leonne explained.
"NO! YOU Dismissed me!"
"Stop it, both of you!" Lion-O snapped, communicating verbally for the first time in over an hour. "Time is almost up. They all knew about this day long before us. Grune was waiting, putting his pawns into place-" Lion-O realized aloud; free will and consciousness finally returning. "This is MY fault. I should have realized-"
"Don't blame yourself, Lion-O." Lynx-O begged. "What does that help?" He sighed. I hoped to be long dead before I ever see it end this way."
"It's not going to end this way." Wiley Kat assured him.
"We can't get out from the inside." Wylde Kat lamented.
"Want to bet?" Tygra chimed in for the first time since captured.
"What are you doing?" Lion-O asked, glancing across to Tygra's cell.
The tiger slowly but surely loosened a single faulty screw with his claws. Finally it popped all the way out. "We have less than a minute before the energy cages go back online. On the count of three, run for the exits." He warned as he ripped away a sheet of metal exposing many wires.
"One…two..THREE!" Tygra ripped out a huge fist full of them. He cried out in agony as a surge of electricity ravaged his body. The lights flickered and the cells opened.
Cheetarah and Wylde Kat raced to Tygra's side; helping him to his feet.
"Will you be alright?" Wylde Kat asked his shaky and singed father.
"I'll be fine. Run like I told you."
"We're sticking together." Cheetarah insisted before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."
Tygra flinched uncomfortably for a split second, but a familiar feeling start to stir immediately after. They leaned in close-
"This way." Lion-O motioned for them to follow.
"Not me," Tygra declined, prying open a ventilation shaft. "I'm going to tear this god-awful pyramid apart from the inside, maybe slowly the necromechs down. You stop whatever it is Grune is trying to accomplish."
"No, that's crazy!" Wylde Kat tried to hold him back, but Tygra started to climb in.
"If you find Wiley Kub, take him as far away from here as you can." Tygra begged them.
"We will." Cheetarah promised him.
The lights shined at their normal intensity once again. Alarms started to sound off.
Kaynar, Ma-Mutt and Kayba blocked the doorway. Lion-O stepped up to face them, but Wiley Kit slipped past him, playing an ear-splitting note on her flupe. The Thundercats slipped past as the canines dropped to their knees, writhing in agony.
"When did you get your flupe back?" Wylde Kat asked his aunt as they fled.
"Kayba left it behind on the floor before she fetched Kaynar's boot. You didn't notice?"
"No. The energy blast to the face must have distracted me-" Wylde Kat blinked, overwhelmed with confusion and a long list of other mixed feelings.
The Thundercats, thanks to Tygra's level head and knack for tech sabotage, were on the loose.
Alarms blared throughout the long, unfinished hallway. Red lights flashed overhead making it difficult to dodge the missing sections of floor. Every so often a pathway would close off mechanically, forcing them to take sharp, random turns. It was a struggle to avoid being separated. Leonne ran alongside Lion-O. "Grune's goons will be around the corner any second! We're weaponless!" She reminded him.
"Trust your claws." Lion-O instructed. He forced to a stop as a series of kunai were launched his way. They pierced the wall, missing him by a hair.
"Halt!" *Lynxanna pounced from around the corner. Lynx-O blocked her advance. "I'll deal with her; go!"
The other Thundercats kept running, leaving the two lynxes to settle the bad blood between them. Cheetarah caught the grizzly shadows of the two clawing each other's throats out from their corner of her eye.
Metal compartments hidden in the walls opened, allowing reprogrammed killer berbils to roll out and attack. They bounced about chaotically, generating enough force to break bones. After the Thundercats managed to successfully dodge and/or destroy a number of berbils, their programing upgraded once again. Laser blades popped out their sides.
Leonne pulled back, shrieking in terror as a berbil launched itself at her face. With speed and precision, Cheetarah landed a punch between the blades, smashing the mad bladed berbil.
"Where are we heading?" Wylde Kat asked, struggling to shout over the alarms and maintain his breath while beating away mad bladed berbils with broken bladed berbils as both shields and weapons.
"His crypt chamber!" Lion-O answered, barrowing Wydle Kat's technique. "If Wiley Kub is anywhere, he's there. Straight ahead, hurry!"
They raced down one of the old "Vulture launch ways". Cheetarah arrived first. Below Mumm-Ra's crypt chamber was already reconstructed. The Ancient Spirits of Evil did not return to their original posts, but instead remained locked on the oblivion blade. The cauldron water was stagnant in the well of souls, but it bubbled to life as their enemies placed the seven remaining treasures around the well. She motioned for the others to halt.
As predicted Wiley Kub was in fact in the crypt chamber, but not bound. Instead, he hopscotched over the treasures playfully. His clothes had been removed though; he played in the nude. "Is it the twenty fourth hour yet?"
Grune watched a timer rapidly count down on a holo-screen a few feet from the well of souls. He smiled. "Almost." He answered the eager kitten.
Wylde Kat looked to his mother, disturbed. "What are they doing to him?"
Cheetarah shook her head, bewildered. "I—I don't know."
Ma-Mutt managed to sniff them out. He ducked his head to fit in the launch chute, jowls scrunched back to show his canines. He barked over the sirens for back up.
And with that the Soul Sever spotted them. "Grune, up there!" The cyborg announced, pointing."
"Kill them!" Grune roared. "Don't let them interfere!"
Ma-Mutt charged at them from one side with Kaynar soon in toe while the Soul Sever, his necromechs, Ta-She and her apprentice attacked from the other. Once distracted, her hold on Bengali weakened and he joined the fight. Tygra also dropped down from the ceiling. They fought with all their strength, but still the villains had the Thundercats at a standstill.
Grune pulled out his mace, ready to tip the scales in his favor. "Be ready," He warned Wiley Kub. "Remember; you're his reincarnate! You were born for this!"
Cheetarah overheard the gist Grune's last statement and suddenly she put the puzzle pieces together. "Lion-O!" Cheetarah called out to him as she twirled on her hands to spin kick the heads off a few necromechs. "They're not dividing the divine stone into the power stones! They're-"
"Wrong, we're doing both!" Grune corrected her as he swung downward at her.
She pushed herself out of the way, barely avoiding a devastating blow from Grune's battle mace. Before he could pull his mace back for another swing Cheetarah raced past him, slashing him deep across the cheek and throat.
A particularly high pitched alarm flashed on the holo-screen. Wiley Kub knew it was time. Cheetarah could see light reflecting off the jagged blade of a ceremonial knife as he seemingly inched it to his jugular in slow motion. "NO!" Cheetarah cried desperately, subconsciously increasing speed. She dived for her son with her arms outstretched to him. He dropped the knife as she tackled him away from the well.
The twenty fourth hour struck. The blue eyed divine stone awoke in the sword's hilt, disintegrating the idols of the ASOE. The Oblivion Blade instantly dropped into the pool. A blinding white light shot straight up from the caldron. Cheetarah shielded her kitten from the light by curling around him. Ma-Mutt turned to stone then crumbled into dust as well. The Soul Sever, his necromechs and every other form of tech in the pyramid started to go haywire. The eight immortal treasures the Thundercats feared had fallen into the hands of their enemies became sucked into its awesome glow.
The heroes and villains alike postponed their fight to stare in awe at the chaos around them. It appeared as though everything was falling into place like how the Thundercats had originally hoped. The divine stone started to crack in the well. The whole pyramid trembled from the energy being emitted.
Cheetarah's only concern however was Wiley Kub. She pulled herself off the floor, still embracing him. "What were you doing…?" She quickly realized Wiley Kub felt limp and she did not feel his breath on her shoulder. She felt for a pulse and found nothing. In her lightening quick attempt to keep her kitten from self-harm, she must have actually jerked him too fast, snapping his neck.
Her heart and lungs froze in her chest as her worst nightmare was reliving itself in that moment. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks as she held Wilde Kub to her chest. The cleric hood taught her sometimes tears are appropriate but weeping is selfish and undignified.
But in this case the pain was too much to bear in silence, steady sobs started to escape her throat only to be accompanied by weak childish laughter. Cheetarah felt a cold, perverted form of life creep back into her dear son's body. Startled she pushed away Wiley Kub's embrace. He looked to her, eyes now completely red and ghoulish. He laughed at her, but not the way he used to. His voice was harsher now, cruel…
"Ancient Sprits of Evil, Transform this Decayed form into-"
Cheetara shrieked, choking as the Oracle pulled her head above the pool of quicksilver once again. "Have you seen enough?" The lizard spirit asked her.
Cheetarah doubled over, covering her eyes with her hands. "Yes…yes, I've seen enough. I want to leave..."
Presently…
"So who claimed the four power stones? Us or Kub-Ra?"
Wiley Kit punched her brother for referring to Wiley Kub as a Ra.
Cheetara looked absently to the water. "I'm sorry, but I don't know; didn't stay long enough to find out. The Oracle sent me away. Once my trance was broken I woke up outside the book right in the passenger seat of the Thundertank." She concluded the story.
Wiley Kit wiped away a tear. "That's so sad."
Wiley Kat added, shivering a bit despite the hot spring. "And creepy."
Tygra placed a comforting arm around her shoulder. "And it's never going to happen." He assured the kittens, but more so Cheetara.
"We don't know that for sure yet." She lamented, inwardly regretting finishing her tale.
"I intend for us to end Mumm-Ra, body and spirit, before he ever thinks about using one of your cubs as a reincarnate." Lion-O vowed.
"Whatever happens, we stick together until the end. Thundercats ho, right?" Panthro reminded them before climbing out of his hot spring to draw off and get dressed.
Cheetarah and Tygra held hands.
"Thundercats ho!" The others cheered before following his lead.
Groomed, relaxed and refreshed the cats set off down the road in the Thundertank once again.
Author's note: You didn't Think I was going to finish this chapter, did you? DID YOU?! Well I did :3 There's so much more to this story that could have been told, but unfortunately to keep it relevant to the fic as a whole I had to tell it using mostly Cheetara's point of view which reminds me
*Cheetara would not have referred to the Characters Lynxanna, *Pitter or *Patter by name when telling the story to the others because she has not yet met them (Pitter and Pat being the fan names I have assigned the Thunderkitten's younger sister and brother respectively) I state this only because I am stickler for continuity and I was trying to cut down on unnecessary character descriptions/ confusion by just referring to them by name instead of having Cheetarah describe them.
*I had an idea for an episode that Ta-She would eventually be free from the time warp prison and take on Wiley Kit's sister as her doom gaze apprentice, but that idea was actually incorporated into this episode if by nothing else than brief mentioning.
*I don't believe I mentioned this, but "Cleric" Cheetarah does not wear the limb weights her present Cheetara counterpart wears; therefore she is able to reach much faster speeds. Probably should have mentioned that before the final pyramid scene ^^;
*I don't always pick out voice actors for fan characters, especially not for ones as minor as Leonne or Kayba but I clearly hear their voices inside my head when they talk and I hope you can too XD Leonne, if she actually appeared in the animated show (which she never will because this is a half assed written fanfic lol) she would be voiced by America Ferrera from How to Train Your Dragon
And kayba would be voiced by none other than Kristen Schaal (I love her voice. I love it so much.) From Bob's Burgers/ Gravity Falls ect…
Onto episode 6; Revenge of the Rats. I've loosely based Revenge of the Rats on the original 80's episode "Fireballs of Castle Plun-Daa" So there will be a lot of villain dialog. This should be a regular four parter. I'm about to have so much fun…
Thank you for reading, whoever is still out there XD