Welcome back everyone! I'm very glad to have finished this chapter up in time~ Before I unleash you on this chapter, I wanted to let you guys know I'm going to be taking a break and plan to update next on May 2nd. See you then, and I hope you enjoy!
"You were supposed to watch Lion-O!"
Tygra winced and rubbed at his ear with a grimace as Leopara stormed across the short expanse between her, and the three of them at the Thundertank. Her movements were stiff and quick.
"We did watch Lion-O." Cheetara said calmly, setting a hand on Tygra's shoulder.
What, walk right into the pit? she thought bitterly.
Leopara crossed her arms. "So where is he?" she asked, still loud and still seething.
Tygra glanced at her up and down, then reached out to brush an errant spark out of her fur. "If I had to guess, in trouble." You don't say? Tygra flicked his hand to fling the spark into the arid dirt at his feet. When her hard expression didn't budge, he sighed. "He said he wanted to wait for you at the pit."
"And you believed him!?" Leopara hissed furiously.
"Told us to finish getting supplies and wait for you two at the tank." Panthro said. "Didn't think he'd be dumb enough to put you in danger."
"Well, he was! He snuck in and tried to break Pumyra out right under Dobo's nose!" Leopara took a deep breath and pinched her nose. "Dobo has him and the sword. Dobo's your friend, maybe you could talk to him? I had a deal with him before Lion-O…" she floundered for a word that carried the right weight and severity to it, "-ruined it!" A frustrated scream swelled in her chest- but she took another deep breath, trying to calm herself down.
Losing her head wouldn't get them Lion-O or the Sword of Omens.
Panthro set a large hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with a heavy sigh. His expression was as hard to read as ever, and she didn't have it in her to sense anything through her anger and frustration.
Would it have been so hard for Lion-O to just trust her? He knew she was there, he used her as a distraction, lied to the others…
A sting of betrayal pulsed through her.
How could he?
He risked so much for them just days ago. He offered up his very soul to save them from Mumm-Ra, and now he was risking everything all over again for a cat he didn't know.
The thought took all the anger out of her- at least towards them- and left her exhausted instead. It wasn't their fault Lion-O lied to them and snuck in. If he had been telling the truth and just wanted to wait for her, it would have been sweet… but she knew from firsthand experience what Lion-O could be like when he set his mind to something.
There was… something admirable for a king to be willing to risk himself by breaking into a dangerous area to free one of his subjects… but it was so, so pointless.
Maybe if Leopara had come back with her head hung, unable to convince Dobo.
But he didn't even give her the chance.
"I'll talk to him, Kid. If he won't release Lion-O, we'll figure something new out." Then, he gave her a small smile. "Just glad he didn't throw you in a cell too."
Leopara nodded. "We should hurry; he's next to fight Pumyra."
As they entered the Pit- sidestepping the haggard dogs sweeping up the stands and raking the arena ground- Dobo descended from his spire to meet them. On his hip rested the golden gauntlet of the Sword of Omens. The red gem seemed dull and lifeless.
As they stopped in front of each other, Dobo unhooked the gauntlet and held it out to Panthro. Panthro eyed it warily before grasping it- even Leopara found herself taken aback by the gesture.
"That's our king you've got locked in that cage, Dobo." Panthro said.
"He tried to steal from me, Panthro. Would you rather I turned him over to the authorities?" His ear flicked at the sound of the rake smacking against a metal bit. The rest of his head followed, watching the dog for a few moments. "In the pit, at least he's got a shot of getting out."
"After a hundred victories." Cheetara said.
Dobo returned his attention towards them. "Since Panthro is a friend, I'll make an exception. If Lion-O wins, he's free."
"And if he loses?" Cheetara didn't wait for an answer to her rhetorical question. She looked at Panthro and asked, "Remind me again how you know this," a pause, "-friend?"
Panthro closed his eyes and lowered his head. When he spoke, Leopara listened intently. "Long time ago, Dobo and I met in the pit. I was a prisoner of war. He was a thief. For matches, we were usually paired as a team. Guess they thought it was funny to see a cat and dog fighting together."
"We beat everything they threw at us, no matter how nasty."
"While most warriors die here, Dobo somehow rose up to run the place."
"Only slave who's ever done that." Dobo said. He finally looks towards the cats again. "I owe it all to Panthro. He was like a brother to me. I wouldn't have lasted a day if he hadn't taught me how to survive."
"That's not true. We survived together."
"Until that morning I woke up and found out you escaped." Dobo turned away from them.
"I've always regretted leaving you behind like that."
"No. It was the best thing you could have done. I was naïve to have expected loyalty from a cat. I learned that day, I was going to have to earn my freedom myself." He pivoted to look at them again. "If your king wants his freedom, he can fight for it too." Dobo declared. Leopara opened her senses to feel their emotions.
It came as no surprise that the guilt she'd detected from Panthro earlier was much more prominent, even though he didn't let it show. Dobo's emotions had been difficult for her to discern thus far, so it did shock her just how much they frothed- anger and hurt mixing together in a complicated mess. It'd be impossible to unravel that tangled knot…
If only her ability allowed her to reach out and soothe his emotions. His pain was just as much a scar as the wounds inflicted across his body.
But she couldn't heal that kind of wound, nor could she soothe its ache.
Leopara sighed, frustrated and tired, as Dobo walked away.
"Well, that went great." Tygra said.
"At least we have the sword now." Panthro gruffly said. Leopara was inclined to agree. Lion-O had a fighting chance, too.
…but would he actually fight Pumyra?
…especially if it were to the death?
An old, familiar anxiety coiled in her gut. There was no way Dobo would risk losing Pumyra so soon, would he?
Her feet moved before she could process what, exactly, she was doing and without hearing the protests of the others. She caught Dobo on the stairs ascending his spire. "What kind of match is it?" she demanded.
Dobo's head whipped around and he came to a stop. He sized her up for a moment. "Death." he said.
Death? … no, no, nonono.
Not again.
"I thought Pumyra was too valuable." Leopara hissed. Her eyes stung from tears that welled up.
Dobo chuckled darkly. "You've got a lot to learn."
Leopara stormed down the tunnel. The guards shot her passing looks, but none of them tried to get in her way- whether that was because of the occasional spark crackling around her, or because they figured anyone walking so boldly in the bowels of the pit belonged there, she didn't know.
"How could you?" Leopara snapped as she entered the room. Lion-O's head whipped up to gawk at her.
"Leopara? What are you doing here?"
Leopara knelt down and grasped the bars. "What do you think?"
"Er… breaking me out?" Lion-O ventured to guess. Leopara was faintly aware of Pumyra's movement in the other cell.
"Well… yes. Maybe. I don't know- I'm furious with you!"
Lion-O let out a small sigh. "Yeah, I'm getting that." Like his brother, he reached out to brush sparks from her. "Listen, Leopara, I don't want you to interfere with this, okay?"
"No." Leopara shook her head. "It's a death match, Lion-O, and I know you. You won't kill her."
Pumyra chuckled darkly in the other cell. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this."
Leopara stood up and approached Pumyra. "What is your problem?" she asked.
"He's my problem." Pumyra hissed.
"Lion-O's my problem, actually." Lion-O let out a quiet protest of, hey! but she ignored him. "You just have a problem with him. So what is it?"
Pumyra's lips curled back to show her teeth as a growl- surprisingly forceful for her lithe size- rumbled in her chest. "He abandoned his people when Thundera fell. Let us be sold into slavery- and did nothing about it! He still has done nothing about it!" she snarled in Lion-O's direction.
As they neared the gates, a whisper in the wind caught her attention. It sounded like a voice. She turned, eyes scanning the debris as she searched for the source.
"What if it's a survivor, Lion-O? As king, your duties are to your people. We can't just leave if-"
"There is. No one. There." Lion-O growled.
"We didn't know." Leopara said. The words felt hollow even to herself. She knew. She'd heard- oh gods. That really was a cat she'd heard… wasn't it? She felt sick. "We're here now. Let us help you."
Pumyra scoffed. "I don't need your help."
"And what about the others? We won't abandon them twice."
Pumyra narrowed her eyes.
"Leopara…" Lion-O interrupted. "You should head back to the others."
Leopara turned to face Lion-O. Now that her anger had ebbed, a deep sorrow swelled. He stood now, loosely holding the iron bars and leaning against them. She stepped in and grabbed the bars below his hands. "No, Lion-O… please, I've already lost you once, I can't lose you again…"
Lion-O met her eyes, and for a long heartbeat, they held each other's gaze. Then, with a swift abruptness that left her unable to act, Lion-O leaned as close as he could to her and tilted his face. His lips brushed against hers.
An embarrassing squeak caught in her throat.
A… a kiss?
Just as she could finally process that yes, Lion-O was kissing her, he pulled away. He rubbed his forehead a little, where it had been pressed against the bars, but gave her a smile anyways. "Now go. I'll handle myself."
"I- I-" Leopara struggled to think of words.
"Trust me."
"Wh- what?" Leopara guffawed. Her voice was higher pitched and more distraught than she wanted. "You just- no! You didn't trust me and you broke in here and- and-" Leopara let out a frustrated noise.
He winced. "Yeah… not my best decision."
"And then you just-" Leopara gestured vaguely. "You kissed me right now?!"
He let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his head. "That might… not have been my best decision either."
For some reason, hearing Lion-O say that made her rear up with indignation. She reached through the bars to grab him by his cuirass and pulled him in for a second, firmer, and- for herself and probably him- more uncomfortable kiss as the metal bars dug into their cheeks. He let out a surprised noise as she pushed her lips against him firmly.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Wait, what do you do during a kiss?
The thought startled her. She stumbled back, raising her hand to her lips. "I- uh- sorry!"
"Nonono, you don't have to apologise… it was nice." In the other cell, Pumyra scoffed with disgust. Lion-O glanced towards her with annoyance. "You should go. The fight will be starting soon."
Leopara nodded. Without another word, she hurried out.
Leopara moved in a daze. The feeling of Lion-O's lips lingered on hers like a ghostly presence.
"Leopara?" Cheetara's voice filtered through her reverie. "Are you okay?"
She swallowed, mouth and throat feeling dry. "Y-yeah. Lion-O asked for us not to interfere." He kissed me, Cheetara. I kissed him. Her mind spun. They'd kissed.
Oh gods, why did she kiss him?
She was supposed to protect him. How did he convince her to go along with his… his… schemes! Where did all of her sense go when it came to him?
Cheetara's brows knit and her lips pressed in a thin line. "I hope Lion-O knows what he's doing."
"Yeah… so do I." she said softly.
The coliseum stands were starting to fill with dogs, bringing with them a frenzy of anticipation and excitement that made her fur itch. Leopara glanced up at the starry sky nervously. The constellation of the Great Sky Cat twinkled above.
"The others are already up above on the balcony." Cheetara said. Leopara nodded again.
They headed inside Dobo's spire and ascended the stairs.
"There you two are. We were starting to get worried." Tygra said, shooting a purposeful glance at Dobo.
The dog was… tense, to say the least.
"The fight will begin soon, won't it?" Leopara asked.
"It will." Dobo agreed.
"I wouldn't miss it." She approached the railing and rested her hands on it, looking down on the pit. Two sets of giant braziers had been lit at either portcullis illuminating the otherwise dim arena. The portcullis chains rattled and loud fanfare began to play. Leopara closed her eyes.
For a moment, she could be back in Thundera. The trill of fanfare, the eruption of cheers and jeers from an excited crowd…
Yeah, she could imagine it now. Towering white marble walls looking down on the glowing blue water below. The twisting, barren tree. The breath of anticipation held by the crowd when the princes stepped inside…
The loud splash as Lion-O fell.
As Claudus fell.
The hissing of lizards as they surrounded-
Leopara opened her eyes, breathing in deeply. From one side of the arena, Lion-O strode out, armed with a ramshackle shield and crude ax. From the other emerged Pumyra with her wrist-mounted sling.
"It's a rare treat to see two cats tear each other apart. The crowd's excited." Dobo said.
"Too bad cats won't kill each other for some dogs' sick pleasure." Tygra replied.
It's not about entertaining. It's about surviving. Leopara thought. And Pumyra doesn't have the reservations Lion-O does.
Dobo laughed. "I have yet to see your species display such loyalty."
Leopara could feel the annoyed look Panthro shot Dobo. "Lion-O won't fight her." she said. "He gave up his soul to protect us, he's not going to kill an innocent cat."
"Is that so?"
It was in Dobo's best interest to hope Pumyra had a sudden change of heart and refused to kill Lion-O. He was trapped up here with her, with them, and no matter what Lion-O said, she wasn't going to let the whim of a spiteful dog claim his life. And he didn't even have the awareness to realise it.
How arrogant…
"It is. This fight isn't going to go how you want it to." A growl rumbled in Dobo's chest. She ignored him.
Down below, the fight was starting. Lion-O immediately moved to disengage from Pumyra and put distance between them; at the same time Pumyra lept up high and unleashed a barrage of bullets that ricocheted off of his shield. While none of them hit him directly, the deadly shower kept him pinned in place while she closed in on him. She struck out with her legs, batting his shield back and forth with her kicks; one, two, three- she knocked Lion-O's shield away from his body.
Lion-O staggered backwards quickly- too quickly- in a struggle to get his shield in front of himself to protect against her next barrage. He stumbled and tripped, falling backwards. Although his shield protected him from the barrage, the collision with the ground knocked it aside and left it wide open.
Pumyra aimed her sling at him. A flicker of magic licked at Leopara's fingertips.
Then, against all logic, Pumyra yowled and charged him.
Lion-O rolled out of her way, and the battle continued. Pumyra kept the pressure on, never letting him completely recover. She was aggressive and persistent, raining more showers of bullets at him and closing the distance between them to assault him with vicious kicks and punches to try and break his defense.
And it was working.
But not well-enough for Pumyra. Everytime she created an opening, Lion-O scrambled to protect himself.
With a growl loud enough Leopara could hear her, Pumyra unclipped a bola from her hip and hurled it towards Lion-O. It crashed into his ax and wrenched it from his grasp.
The crowd gasped.
Leopara tensed. Behind her, Tygra and Cheetara were just as nervous.
Lion-O had been on the defensive this whole match, managing to just defend himself from Pumyra's aggressive attacks. But now, the scales had tipped in her favor.
He took off running, trying to put some distance between them.
Pumyra darted towards her bola and scooped it. With another powerful spin, she sent it whirling towards Lion-O.
It wrapped around his ankles tight.
Lion-O fell face-first into the dirt.
The eruption of cheers as Pumyra approached slowly was nearly deafening. She reared up for a kick, striking him in the face. Sparks flickered over Leopara's hands.
"I don't want you to interfere in this."
"Trust me."
She hesitated.
Pumyra didn't, however. She kept kicking Lion-O while he was down, and growling fiercely. "Then you will die!" she shouted just loud enough to be heard over the din.
Lion-O was still trying to talk her onto his side.
Leopara looked down at the railing, breathing in roughly. A tear splattered on her glove. It was painful to watch, but Lion-O was still trying.
"Trust me."
Whiskers! Why did Lion-O have to be… Lion-O?
Pumyra loomed over Lion-O, spitting words that were lost to the cheers of the crowd. Shaking, battered and bruised, Lion-O struggled to his feet. For his efforts, Pumyra punched squarely on the jaw.
Finally, finally, one of them spoke.
"Does he have to be punished for what you think I did?" Panthro asked. He was on the other side of Dobo, similarly clutching the railing.
Dobo twisted his head to snarl at Panthro, "Should I be the only one, old pal? When you ran, you didn't just leave me behind, you left behind all the enemies we made together. I had to stand alone against that bloodthirsty horde."
"I ran because I learned my fight the next day was a death match."
"So? It wouldn't have been your first."
Leopara's heart hammered in her chest as she watched the fight rage below- or, specifically Pumyra rage below. With screams of frustration and anger, Pumyra was wailing assailing Lion-O with viccious kicks and punches to his face, his side, his legs- the places he was most vulnerable- and keeping him off balance and unable to defend himself. He couldn't even get his arms up to protect himself.
And Lion-O… Lion-O kept standing back up, no matter how many times she beat him down.
"It was going to be between you and me." Panthro said.
"You were afraid you couldn't beat me?"
"No. I was afraid I'd have to."
Something in Dobo noticably broke. The walls he kept up, the ones that made it so difficult for her to sense what he was feeling, faltered. Confusion, understanding, and regret washed over him.
Pumyra aimed her sling at him and held the pose. She snarled something too quiet to hear over the frenzied crowd. Lion-O stood up again. He said something.
And somehow, despite the crowded stands and the whipped up emotions of the crowd, Leopara sensed a break in the ball of hatred and anger that was Pumyra. It pierced through the excitement and glee like a sudden chill.
She kept her sling aimed at Lion-O, but…
She didn't shoot.
A hush fell over the crowd as everyone held their breath for what came next. They strained to hear, to guess what was coming.
And then, Pumyra dropped the bullet and stood down. She turned to face the spire. "I will not kill my king, Dobo!" she called.
"And I will not hurt a fellow cat!" Lion-O declared.
"The penalty for forfeiting is death." Dobo said.
"No!" cried the crowd. A chant began. "Let them live! Let them live!"
Dobo smiled, a feeling of pleasure shooting through him. He looked at Panthro and said, "It seems loyalty is not only a trait of the dogs." He looked ahead and projected his voice. "You have earned my respect. You both leave this arena as free cats."
Somehow, the erupting cheers of the crowd now were louder than before. Leopara winced from the sound, even as the tension left her body.
Lion-O was alive. He was safe.
And… they had a new Thundercat.
Thank you for reading! A special thanks to The Night Whisperer, Heart of the Demons, Frankannestein, AndrianaWarrior7, and Hestia28! I'm super excited for the upcoming episodes!