Welcome back! I hope you all enjoy today's chapter~ Next week, chapter 21 and 22 will be published together.
Lion-O had to admit, standing on the balcony of the school's tower overlooking the forest in the moonlight, that the Magi Oar was beautiful. From the ground, it seemed so eerie and imposing, but from up here, the green leaves reflected the moonlight and rustled in the wind…
It was simply breathtaking.
He looked down at the Sword of Omens in his hand. It was inert in his grasp. Not for the first time, he wondered what he was doing wrong there had to be something- why else would it not work for him? Why else couldn't he master Sight Beyond Sight?
What was it that he couldn't see?
Footsteps approached him from behind. He looked back to see the headmaster standing in the shadows. "Tell me, Lion-O, what brings you so deep into these woods?"
"I was sent here to learn to… see." he answered, turning his head to look at the headmaster.
"Then you should know that seeing is about perspective." From seemingly nowhere, the headmaster withdrew a stack of pages and flicked them into the air, where they scattered and fluttered, arranging themselves haphazardly. "What do you see?" the headmaster asked him.
Lion-O swept his eyes across the pages. Black ink marked most of them, but…
"Doesn't look like anything," he said.
"Not from here." The headmaster waved his hand, and the pages began to rearrange themselves into a portrait.
Oh him.
"Huh! It's me!" he exclaimed softly.
"While details are important, it is only when you step back that the entire picture comes into view."
"No wonder you're the headmaster." Lion-O praised him.
It was bold to give advice that helped someone see right through his… yes, Lion-O would call it a rouse. Lion-O would keep the headmaster's words in mind and do his best to understand.
But right now, he understood the headmaster was lying. Maybe lying.
Probably.
It all depended on whether or not Leopara was still with Viragor.
Perfectly timed with this thought, a piercing screech tore through the calm of the night. The headmaster whirled around. "He's here."
"Who?"
The headmaster looked at him direly. "Viragor."
Viragor swooped into view, circling the school. Yellow eyes bigger than Lion-O locked onto the Headmaster. "Get out of my forest!"
He was… he was huge. Bigger than even the elemental. Lion-O gazed at it, slack jawed.
His long body was gray, with feathers so thick they almost looked like fur. A pale mane circled around his neck and down onto his chest like a fluffy scarf.
Viragor down at one of the towers of the school, reaching out with talons that could easily pluck Panthro or Snowmeow, and sent the tower careening down in a flutter of paper.
"I will not let you terrorise us another day, beast!" the headmaster spat.
Lion-O watched the spirit desperately, trying to spot Leopara. She was brown and in a blue dress, against Viragor's gray feathers, she should have stood out.
To his dismay, she wasn't anywhere to be seen with Viragor.
The… the wood forgers were telling the truth?
Worry for Leopara panged him again, as well as a sense of guilt. He had no way of knowing if she was okay, and she had no way of knowing they were at the school.
In a dizzying display of wood forger magic, the headmaster donned what Lion-O could only describe as paper armor. He swept his arm forward. "Wood Forgers, attack!"
Snips withdrew a set of thick scissors and quickly began to cut at a stack of papers until the silhouettes of snowflakes became prominent. He circled the papers in front of him in the air. They glowed and melded into one single, giant blue snowflake. Snips gesture, pushing against the snowflake, and a rain of sharp, paper snowflakes launched at Viragor, a constant stream that followed the spirit as he circled the school again.
"You forget, I'll always be stronger than you, Zigg. I don't need paper to harness this forest's magic." Viragor never raised his voice or seemed to shout, but nevertheless his voice rung clearly through the courtyard.
In one hand, Gami folded a crane. She took a few steps forward, rearing up to through it. When it left her hand, it ignited in flames and grew, larger and larger like her dragon-beast before.
Viragor stopped his circle, facing the burning crane down. As it drew near, he beat his wings powerfully, creating winds so strong it tore apart the crane and went on to gale against the Wood Forgers. Gami was the first to be sent flying backwards, followed by Zigg and Snips. They both screamed as they careened, and fell quiet when they thudded against the wall.
Wow, Lion-O thought. It was hard to be impressed by the Wood Forgers when he knew Leopara could trump all three of them at once if she tried.
Regardless, Lion-O jumped between the three and Viragor.
"They helped us," he reasoned. That had been genuine- and Leopara wasn't there, so they must have been telling the truth… right? "Time to return the favor."
He raised the Sword of Omens and took a deep breath. Please work.
With that thought, he thrust it above his head. "Ho!"
… nothing.
He despaired and lowered it. "Come on!" he pleaded with it, but the sword was not to be bargained with. It didn't want to work for him.
And at a poor time, too, because Viragor swooped down so low his feathery mane almost brushed the stone ground of the courtyard, hurtling towards Lion-O with alarming speed and a screech.
Cheetara bowled into Viragor's open beak with her staff extended, just in the nick of time. "Sorry. He's not on the menu!" she called.
Viragor circled the courtyard, climbing higher in the air with Cheetara still in his mouth, her staff keeping his beak from shutting.
"Maybe the sword changed its mind about you." Tygra agreed with him after all.
Lion-O looked down at it. Maybe it had.
Tygra raced forward with his blaster and whip. Viragor screeched again, and Lion-O heard Cheetara swear, "Don't break on me now…!"
Her heard a loud snap as her staff broke.
Not even a moment later, Tygra's whip lashed out for her. Viragor's beak snapped shut.
Tygra's whip was a little faster, circling Cheetara and yanking her to safety before she could be swallowed whole. "I loved that staff!" she cried as she fell.
Lion-O gasped as he watched her plummet towards the earth, but Tygra had her in that regard as well. With his whip, he pulled her towards him and caught her against his chest. "Gotcha!"
He sagged with relief. Cheetara was safe, at least for now.
Viragor swooped again.
And that was the moment Lion-O realised the mill was on fire. It was going up in a balze like… like the paper it was!
"If we lose the mill, we lose everything." Zigg murmured in defeat.
"Don't worry," said Lion-O with absolutely no way to put out an inferno of that ferocity, "He's about to be grounded."
That would help, right?
Lion-O took aim with his gauntlet and waited. When Viragor flew into his sights, he fired the claws of his gauntlet. It occurred to him, as the claws wrapped and tangled around Viragor's foot, that Viragor was powerful enough to knock over a proper tower. Lion-O, on the other hand, was not that strong.
"Maybe this is a bad idea-aa!" he exclaimed.
Viragor yanked him right off his feet and into the air, flying into the skies. Lion-O swung around helplessly as he adjusted to the winds blowing and battering into him.
And then, with one good swing upwards, Lion-O grunted and retracted his claws. The wires yanked him towards Viragor until he unraveled his claws.
Neatly, he landed in the mass of Viragor's feathers and began to climb towards his head.
So preoccupied was he with his desire to ground Viragor, he completely missed the blue form of Snowmeow and his rider dashing through the trees down below.
Climbing past Viragor's great bat ears, Lion-O perched on the top of his head and weighed his options. The giant bird hadn't seemed to notice him crawling around on him, that was good.
Viragor had two long tufts of giant feathers.
He smiled. Perfect.
Lion-O grasped the feathery plumes, at which point Viragor finally noticed him, but it was too late. He yanked with all his might, driving Viragor down into the forest. A thick tree loomed ahead of them and he grinned wildly.
Perfect.
No matter how much Viragor struggled to turn, Lion-O yanked him back onto a direct path with the tree.
When Viragor slammed into it, he used the inertia to spring off Viragor and soar towards the trunk of another tree. With the gauntlet, he latched on it and caught himself, looking back at his handiwork.
Viragor was still falling to the ground.
Ha! Take that!
Lion-O dropped down from his tree.
By the time he landed, Viragor had recovered and swooped at him. Whiskers! With a shout, Lion-O lept into a somersault away from him. He rolled and pivoted to face the giant bird, drawing the Sword of Omens from its scabbard.
"Eye of Thundera, Spirit of Jaga, Sword of Omens," he implored, "-do not fail me now!" He swung the Sword of Omens. "Thunder…" please. "...thunder… thunder… Thundercats, ho!"
He did just as he had any other time. When he faced off with Driller, against Mumm-Ra, the Conquedor… why wouldn't it just work like it was supposed to?!
He lowered it in disbelief.
Three times in one day, the Sword of Omens had not answered his call.
Viragor bore down on him with a screech.
Lion-O braced himself.
Viragor smacked into him, sending him hurtling backwards.
Feeling weak and betrayed, hopeless, Lion-O struggled to sit up. "Why aren't you working?" he asked, picking up his blade. "What am I not seeing?" Wait. Viragor hadn't set the mill on fire... that meant... "The big picture. That's what."
Leopara was with Viragor! He just hadn't seen her!
Viragor climbed high into the air before circling and swooping down again. Lion-O stood calmly, sheathing the Sword of Omens. He waited until Viragor could see him clearly- and dropped the Gauntlet with the sword on the ground, holding his arms open.
Standing still and vulnerable while a giant bird bore down on him was no easy task. Every muscle and fiber in Lion-O screamed at him to move out of the way of the force of nature barreling down on him. What if he was wrong? What if Leopara hadn't been there unseen, and he was just seeing what he wanted to?
What if he was about to get eaten?
But he dismissed these thoughts. He knew what he saw and he knew what he believed.
He believed in Leopara; Viragor was the guardian of the forest. He wanted the Wood Forgers gone, but that didn't make him evil, that just meant that there was another perspective to consider.
Still, it was…
"Probably another bad idea." he said aloud.
Just when he thought he was about to be swallowed whole in Viragor's gaping beak, the spirit jerked upwards- and Lion-O quickly did as well, caught in his talons and carried above the canopy.
Lion-O hung limply, gazing down at the forest as it raced beneath them. "You're going to eat me, aren't you?" he asked.
As far as he could tell, Viragor spared him a glance. "Thinking about it."
Great.
"You're getting heavy, bug." Viragor said. "Mind if I drop you off here?"
"You won't." Lion-O replied. "'Cause you're not evil, are you, Viragor?" he asked a little pointedly. Leopara had told them he was the guardian of the forest. He was a fool for ever considering Zigg's words.
Viragor craned his head down to look at Lion-O. "Have you not been paying attention?"
He was quiet for a moment. This flight had given him time to think and a lot to consider. "The Sword of Omens wouldn't work against you or the spirits. I thought it was me, but it was because the Sword can't be used against a force of good."
"Interesting theory. Willing to risk your life for it?" Viragor challenged him.
"I am." Lion-O answered confidently. He risked his life for it when he set the Sword of Omens to the side and opened himself to Viragor's attack.
"Let me show you something." Viragor banked to the right, following the body of a glistening river. "The Magi Oar is an ancient forest, one I've cared for for centuries."
Lion-O nodded. "I know. My friend told me. The Wood Forgers claimed it was their job."
Viragor looked at him oddly. "Your friend, hm?"
"Leopara… she went to find you when we reached the forest. She said something was wrong." Lion-O explained. He wilted a little. "For a moment, I almost believed Zigg when he told us your nature had changed."
"He told you that, did he?"
Lion-O hesitated answering. Discerning the emotions of others was not his forté, but he could've sworn Viragor sounded amused. "He did."
"No. They are merely guests and they have outworn their welcome. I allowed them into the forest because I believe in their mission. But Zigg wanted more power. That meant more paper. So he built the mill." Lion-O didn't need Leopara's abilities to sense Viragor's displeasure. "Once, they were content with fallen timber. Now, they strip my forest."
Lion-O had been so fixated on Viragor that he had not noticed their shift in elevation nor environment. When he looked down, they were soaring low over a large, barren field of tree stumps. Viragor let him down gently and then landed.
"Don't they understand? These trees are alive." He narrowed his eyes into the distance. "That mill must stay destroyed!"
Lion-O looked up at him, nodding. "I'll help you."
A familiar voice called out from behind them. "Viragor!"
Leopara?
He turned around.
Snowmeow bounded of the woods with great, long strides. Atop him in his saddle was Leopara, looking no worse for their time apart.
When she drew close, Snowmeow slowed to a trot. "Lion-O?" she asked in surprise.
"Who else?" Lion-O grinned at her.
She furrowed her brow and slid off of Snowmeow. "What are you doing here?" she asked him, taking a moment to straighten her dress and push her bangs out of her eyes.
"I guess you could say I'm seeing the bigger picture."
Leopara blinked at him. He started to feel awkward when she didn't say anything immediately. "Oh… okay. Did you have any luck with Sight Beyond Sight, then?" she asked curiously.
He shook his head. "No, but I think I'm learning. We need to stop Zigg before he can do anymore harm to the forest."
She nodded.
"I burned down the mill just like we planned, Viragor. I'm afraid some of it may have survived though; the Wood Forgers used their magic to fight the blaze."
"I knew that was you!" he exclaimed.
She looked at him oddly again.
Viragor swept on. "We must return to Zigg's school and drive the Wood Forgers out of my forest."
"A head on battle?" she asked.
"If needs be, little one." Viragor answered her.
Little one?
Lion-O looked up at Viragor. "The other Thundercats will join us when we arrive there. All of us, against them- there's no way we'll lose."
Viragor chuckled. "You have quite the ego." he said fondly.
Lion-O balked. Ego?
Leopara giggled. "He sure does, but… you know, Viragor, Lion-O's always led us to victory, and he's getting better and better at it everyday."
Lion-O stared at her slack jawed.
Wow, he thought again. Sometimes I forget how cute she is.
So caught up on her giggle he was, that he didn't process her praise for a moment. "Is that so?" Viragor asked in that same voice.
He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. He felt terribly silly for doubting the Sword of Omens earlier and believing for even a minute it had changed its mind.
"Well, yeah." he admitted. "So far."
With a sweep of his wing, Viragor summoned the Sword of Omens from the earth.
Leopara climbed into Snowmeow's saddle again. "You ready, boy?" she asked him. Snowmeow tried to meow, but it came out more of a grunt. She snorted and looked down at Lion-O. "Are you joining me?"
After a moment of thought, he looked up at Viragor. "If it's alright, I would like to go back with you."
Viragor considered his request before answering, "You may."
"Thank you." Lion-O said, nodding his head graciously.
"I'll see you there, then." Leopara smiled at him. "Good luck, Lion-O."
He gave her a lopsided grin. "You too."
"Ahem." Viragor cleared his throat.
"Right, sorry." Lion-O apologised, hurrying to scramble up Viragor's outstretched wing.
Even though Viragor was going slowly for her and had used his magic to reinvigorate Snowmeow, it was hard to keep up with him. Snowmeow's paws thundered on the ground as he raced Viragor to reach the school.
Viragor's screech told her they had arrived ahead of her.
"Quickly!" she urged Snowmeow.
He let out a roar, pushing hard through the last stretch of woods before it opened up into the clearing of the school.
"-Lion-O is with him!" she heard Cheetara call.
As Snowmeow circled around into the archway leading into the courtyard, Tygra spotted them. "And he's not the only one."
She slid out of Snowmeow's saddle, petting his heaving sides. "Good boy." She pet him under the chin. "You'll get all the tummy rubs after this, I promise."
Viragor's wings beat hard, kicking up a wind, as he carefully landed on the stone ground.
From atop his head, Lion-O leapt down. She crossed the distance between them, joining him by his side.
"You haven't been telling us the whole story, have you, Zigg?"
"What is the meaning of this, Lion-O?" Zigg demanded.
"You've been lying about Viragor and you kept from them why he seeks to drive you out of the Magi Oar." Leopara answered, gesturing.
An immediate sense of distaste and envy filled Zigg as his eyes focused on her. The vehemency of it almost shocked her. Why?
"Viragor's no monster."
"He did break my staff." Cheetara complained bitterly.
Viragor did what?
Leopara would have to save her questions for later. "He is the true guardian of this forest, Cheetara." Leopara said. "He was only trying to protect the Magi Oar from them." she pointed at the Wood Forgers, adorned in sleeves made from sheets of paper. "They were welcome in the forest when they respected and revered it, but since then they have treated it as a resource to exploit for their own means."
Fury burned in Zigg. "You dare lecture me? A sorceress with innate magical abilities?"
"I do dare." Leopara snapped. "Possessing no innate magic of your own does not excuse causing harm to this forest."
"It doesn't have to be this way, Zigg." Lion-O tried to de-escalate them. "Your school can exist in harmony with the forest."
Zigg shook his head scornfully. "Some must suffer for the greater good, Lion-O."
"And who decides what the greater good is?" Lion-O challenged him.
The two Wood Forgers at Zigg's side readied themselves. "You still can't see the bigger picture, can you?"
"I think I'm finally starting to." Lion-O said.
"You have failed to learn your lesson, so I must try a stricter approach."
Leopara stepped in front of the Thundercats with her staff. She held it level in front of her. "You won't have the chance. I'm going to teach you the real power of the Magi Oar." She glanced over her shoulder. "Stand back."
Zigg growled with anger and smashed together two sets of pages.
Before he could finish, Leopara brought the butt of her staff bearing down into the stone floor of the courtyard.
To say what followed next was a cacophony would be polite.
The sone courtyard shattered into dozens of pieces as the very roots of the Magi Oar burst through, pulled by her magic. They writhed and lashed, catching the Wood Forgers off guard and very, very unceremoniously capturing them; the roots fused where they met, binding the Wood Foragers by their hands and torsos.
They struggled against their wooden bonds, but it was a futile effort. Each root was as thick as Panthro.
Leopara stood and brushed off her skirt.
As if insulted by the sight, Zigg he struggled even more. "What? How?" he demanded. Frustration and anger roiled from him.
"It's very simple, Zigg." Lion-O said, recovering from his shock. He leaned a hand against the root Zigg was trapped in. "You couldn't see the big picture." He grabbed Zigg's book and yanked it off of him. "I guess you won't be needing this anymore."
Viragor loomed over Zigg. "You are no longer the headmaster of this school. I am."
With all the Wood Forgers stripped of what gave them power, Leopara tapped her staff against the ground three times. With a creaking and groaning, the roots slowly retreated back underground.
"Begone." Viragor commanded them.
Emanating nothing but fear, the Wood Forgers tucked tail, as the saying was, and ran.
"Um." Leopara wasn't sure who uttered the word. All of them seemed equally surprised by the abrupt end to the confrontation before it could even begin.
"I was expecting more of a fight." Tygra said. He eyed her contemplatively. "That was kind of terrifying, Leopara."
WilyKit bounced up. "What even was that?"she asked.
"It was nature magic, amplified by my staff and the Magi Oar." Leopara answered.
Lion-O sighed. "I was hoping to get to use my sword, now that it's working again, but… that was pretty impressive. I still don't want to get on your bad side." he joked.
"Good." She gently nudged him. "Imprisoning you in tree roots is something I might do~ and that goes doubly for you two." she added, eyeing the Wilytwins.
They gulped. "Us?"
"Mhm. If you get into too much mischief~"
At this, they realised she was joking. They let out a chorus of chuckles and giggles.
Once their laughter died down, they all looked up at Viragor. "What now, Viragor?"
"I will rebuild the school and tend to my forest." he answered without hesitation. "You have my thanks, Thundercats." He swept his wing out in front of him. The ground glowed green for a few moments before dying down. He moved his wing away, revealing a staff. "A gift. From the oldest tree in this forest. It's alive with great magic."
Cheetara reverently stepped forward and crouched down to pick the staff up. She stepped back, clutching it tightly. "I accept it with great humility."
"Now, Lion-O, want to try putting what you learned to use?" Tygra asked him.
Lion-O looked at him and nodded. He drew the Sword of Omens and adjusted his stance. "Sword of Omens, give me Sight Beyond Sight." The stone glowed red, its eye opening, and Lion-O's eyes glowed with it. When he lowered the sword, he did so with a smile.
"Let's go get that stone."
Thank you everyone for reading! A special thanks to The Night Whisperer, Heart of the Demons, and Frankannestein! That sure was an undignified end to the Wood Forgers, wasn't it? But I thought, "she's in the Magi Oar and has been hanging out with Viragor. Leopara can flex her magic on the Wood Forgers, as a treat." I also hope you enjoyed Lion-O's POV, because it's not going to come up again until Trials of Lion-O.