Episode Seven: Seven Ways to Skin a Cat
Part 1 of…
Three days since Episode Six ended.
Late morning; somewhere in the deep woods a few days north of the Burble Village…
"Sshnarf." The exotic hybrid creature on Lion-O's shoulder exclaimed, nose tickling his ear. Lion-O pushed his face back an inch or so. "We're almost there, Snarf. Trust me." The Thundercat lord assured his faithful pet with a friendly scratch on his back. "Lynx-O's maps are all up here." He tapped his temple twice.
He could still smell smoke lingering from that morning's breakfast fire. "Camp should be right… here." He pushed his way through some dense shrubs. Sure enough they spotted the campfire conveniently built between two fallen trees and a stump which he and his fellow cats used for furniture. The scrap metal they used to eat and cook with and the spare firewood they gathered the evening before remained untouched since that morning as well. "Ho, Thundercats!" Lion-O called out to his friends. He looked around. No sign of anyone. "Ho, Tygra!" He called out again, searching around the perimeter of the camp. "Cheetara?... Panthro…?" He spread his search a little farther into the woods. "Lynx-O…?! Kittens…?!"
Snarf's ear's drooped. He exhaled a worried purr. "Maybe something blew in the tank again." Lion-O reasoned. There was an unnatural silence in the air that made his stomach sink. He decided it best not to panic quite yet. Ten minutes later he located the Thundertank still parked where they had left it. He brushed off the leaves and twigs camouflaging the back hatch and let himself in. "Hey, what's everyone…?" Lion-O trailed off. It took only a second for him to realize the tank interior was empty. He entered the cockpit. "Panthro, has anyone-?" Lion-O reached for the driver seat, but discovered it to be empty as well. "This is wrong." He told Snarf. "Panthro doesn't just walk away from the tank."
"Schnarf!" He cried, leaping down onto the console and then onto the passenger bench. Lion-O looked down. To his horror the Book of Omen's was missing from the guidance system. Wires hung loose where it had been linked to the console, still shooting sparks. Lion-O's blood ran cold. "Who-? How?!"
He quickly turned on the engine and attempted to reach Tygra and Lynx-O on the pod communicators. "Tygra, Lynx-O? Either of you; come in! This is an emergency! Over…"
No reply just static. He tried to locate the pods via radar but found no trace of either vehicle. "Either they're out of range or out of commission..." He tried the communicators one more time. "Tygra, Lynx-O? If you can hear me, return to base immediately. Over…." Nothing on the other end. He spat out "Shit," in a harsh whisper before ending the transmission with a fist to the console. He quickly opened the roof hatches and jumped onto the hood of the tank. Snarf curled up behind his leg as he raised the sword of Omens in the air. "Thunder…" He swung the blade dramatically, opening the eye of Thundera. "Thunder…!" He sung again; the blade grew. He held up the sword, about to send his pride's symbol in the hopes they would see it and regroup, but a small, effeminate voice disrupted his concentration. "Don't bother; they won't see it."
Lion-O glanced downward. Astride a shimmering silver unicorn sat an old satyre female with features as worn as the rags on her feeble frame. She looked up at him. Her brown eyes pierced through his and into his spirit. Lion-O ashamedly let out a startled "Mrow!" as he toppled backwards onto the cockpit. The old goat woman tried not to laugh as she carefully slipped off the side of her unicorn. She offered Lion-O a hand, frail, skinny arms barely able to stay up or hold still while wearing such strange, chunky stone gauntlets. "I'm so so sorry, didn't mean to give you a fright, cub."
"You just startled me, ma'am. Don't trouble yourself." Lion-O politely declined, motioning for her to stand back as he climbed out of the tank. He offered her a hand shake. "I'm L-"
"I know who you are." She informed him as she shook, handshake much firmer than expected. "I'm old enough to recognize that blade. If you mean to do me no harm with that sword, then I mean to do you no harm."
"I see." Lion-O placed the sword f Omens back in the claw shield. "Well, I couldn't use the sword to harm you unless you intend to do me harm in the first place, so I suppose neither of us have much to worry about." She snatched up his arm before he could get a chance to pull it out of the claw shield.
"Is that what I think it is?!" She gasped, holding the spirit stone close to her face.
Lion-O instinctively pulled the claw shield away from her. "That's a spirit stone." He confirmed. He noticed her cover her face and start to sob. "Are you alright?"
"I never thought I would live to see it outside the astral plain…I'm just so happy it's here and not with him." She confessed, wiping away her tears.
"It's ours for now; far out of his reach." He assured her, knowing full well who she meant.
She sighed. "Cub, no one OWNS a power stone; they are their own entity." She corrected him. "One may only harness a power stone. I hope you know what you're dealing with."
He flashed her polite smile. "I have a pretty good idea, m'lady. Didn't catch your name."
The satyr hag smiled, flattered. "I am a Unicorn Keeper."
"With no name?"
"I've been this and only this for so long I can't remember being called anything else."
"You recognize my sword and spirit stone. Are you some kind of sorceress?"
She grinned impishly. "Some kind. I was on my way home from a long pilgrimage to the hoofed towns when I heard the commotion." She explained.
"What commotion? We're looking for my fellow Thundercats-"
"We're?"
"Oh, Snarf and I-" He explained, motioning to the little furry companion at his feet. "Have you seen my friends? Any of them?"
"No." She replied simply.
"Are—are you sure? There are six others; a tiger about my age? A young cheetah molly, carries a staff?"
She shook her head wearily. "No."
"What about a panther; big cat, robot arms? Or a Lynx? Older tom? Or two kittens, twins; a boy and a girl? Ragamuffins, bottle brush tails?" He tried to describe them.
She paused to think, but again, shook her head. "No, sorry, cub. Can't say I've seen them."
"Then what did you see? Why won't they come if I hail them?" His tone harshened a bit as his frustration with the elderly stranger started to grow.
"Her expression sobered I only know what the creatures of the forest have reported to me. I can help you look for them." She offered, patting her unicorn gently on her side.
"Thank you, but my Thundercats are my responsibility. Did the creatures of the forest happen to mention where my friends went?"
"I do not know where they are now. They have been ambushed and taken elsewhere."
The word ambushed disturbed him. "By who? Where?!"
"I DO NOT know." She repeated, rather perturbed. "but I know where to look if-"
Suddenly it became very clear to the young lord; this old satyr lady is senile and quite possibly insane. He walked past her. Snarf followed close behind. "Thank you for your help. Safe travels." He intended to start his search without giving her a second glance or thought.
Head swimming in worries, Lion-O walked face first into the unicorn. He jumped back, startled by the fact the equine managed to cut in front of his path so quickly and silently. "No so fast, cub." The satyr woman taped him on the back.
Lion-O spun around, ready to chew the goat hag out for wasting his time during such an emergency, but the hag no longer stood before him. In her place stood an elegant young satyr woman with slender limbs and long, pointed horns. Her rags were replaced with a simple white dress with a brown strapless leather bustle that complimented the earthy green hue of her fur. Were it not for the fact this satyr wore the same chunky engraved stone gauntlets he would have never associated the two as the same satyr. He stared at her, confused and speechless.
She crossed her arms in a scolding fashion, tapping her hoof. "I didn't expect you to take me seriously in my real form. Males never do; so I took on a form more gentle on the eyes. Maybe now you'll pay a little closer attention."
"I don't understand. Who are you? What do you want?"
"I told you; I'm a Unicorn Keeper. Your friends are in grave danger. Do you want my help or not?"
Lion-O paused for a brief moment. There was a level of sincerity in her voice he couldn't ignore. Something inside told him he could trust this strange Unicorn Keeper. "Yes." He quickly answered when he realized she was losing her patience and starting to herd her unicorn away. "Yes, I want your help; please." He added.
"Certainly, cub." She smiled before petting her unicorn gently on the nose. She knelt down, allowing her keeper to climb on her back. Comfortably seated in a dainty sidesaddle position, the satyr motioned for Lion-O to sit behind her. "Hop on."
Lion-O placed Snarf on his shoulder. Just like the mount riding lessons he took in the courtyard of old Cat's Lair, Lion-O hopped on. The unicorn stood and trotted off silently through the woods with ease.
"I was only gone for three hours, less..." The lion thought aloud. "What could have happened to them?"
The Unicorn Keeper glanced at hi over her shoulder. "It's not safe for cats outside Thundera's boarders. Not anymore. Predators are everywhere, but don't worry; we'll find them, body or spirit."
Lion-O let out a short chuckle. "Let's hope for both simultaneously."
She laughed as well. "Quite. So, what were you and your Thundercats doing before all this happened?"
He paused to recall the events that led up to the present. "It started a few days ago in Ratilla's swamplands. We had just fled Castle Plun-Darr, where Mount. Plun-Darr used to be. Anyways, we…"
Author's note: My first episode written as a married woman. Joy oh joy XD. Probably the shortest chapter I've written in a while. This version of the Unicorn Keeper is a homage to an unused Dan Norton Character design who was meant to be a loose homage to the 80's Unicorn Keeper (homage within a homage; beware the infinite loop!) She and her magical gauntlets will play a bigger role in upcoming chapters.
The rest of the chapters in this episode will be of average length once I get my ideas/ notes together. There will also be the usual amount of madness, action, (rather appropriately inappropriate) dialog and 80's cartoon homages you have come to expect from this fan fiction. This was more of a warm up to get me back into the swing of writing again. I'm not sure if this episode will wind up being 4 or 6 chapters quite yet. We'll see where this takes me.
Hope to start artwork back up for this project soon. I'm trying to organize a set drawing schedule/ quota by New Years. I know I'm slow. Slowly but surely I'm getting my shit together. I have plenty of material to work with from previous episodes, but I will of course continue to write out the rest of this story.
Hope you enjoyed this fun little cliffhanger because it's about to get real dark real quick. Thank you all my faithful readers and reviewers for your support, WyldClaw, OMAC001, and Heart of Demons espcially for being there since episode I :). You keep this going better than I do. Special shout out to Balin Lord pf Moria who has an extensive fan verse growing himself, Thundercats and others. If you like this story give his work a read.
Until next time. HO!