Hello and welcome back everyone! I'm coming back to edit my A/N to let you know these next two chapters are going to be a departure from carefully skirting the gorey ramifications of death and injuries. (You may be thinking, "you didn't mention that originally, Panther?" No, please forgive me. I've been planning this so long I forgot you guys weren't in the know AND I'm recovering from Covid still. Sorry about that.) These two chapters are the reason this fic is rated T and not K.
After what Pumyra told them, even the desert didn't seem so warm- perhaps it was just the chill of night as all the heat of the sun dissipated, but the chill seemed to come from within. Leopara remembered how the Thundertank's new look had seemed just a week or so ago. So spacious and comfortable.
Now it seemed stark and cold.
She sat beside Lion-O in the seating pit, listening to the others speak.
"Slaves…" Cheetara murmured to herself. She had the same sense of disbelief the others did. Of course other cats survived the fall of Thundera.
But Leopara had known that for an hour or so already.
"Mount Plun-Darr is bad news." Panthro grumbled. "Place is said to be cursed."
"It is." Pumyra said.
"All the more reason to free them as soon as possible." Lion-O said. Leopara closed her eyes with a soft sigh and focused on his injuries. They were numerous and scattered around his body. She breathed in shallow and exhaled, letting her magic wash through Lion-O as she did.
"Tonight?" Tygra asked.
Leopara assumed Lion-O nodded.
"No offense, but aren't you two worn out?" Cheetara asked.
"Never." Although Leopara was focusing her attention on Lion-O's injuries, she still sensed Pumyra's anger. "I won't rest until my- our- people are free. I won't make them wait a single day more." she swore.
"I agree." Lion-O said. "We're going to free them tonight."
The air was solemn. Leopara opened her eyes to see the others nodding. The bright purple bruises that had mottled Lion-O were faded now. Once she let go of his arm, he stood and turned his head to the viewing screens above, expression hard. "They should have been freed by now. But we can't change the past- all we can do is move forward. Panthro, take us to Mount Plun-Darr."
"As you wish, Your Majesty." Panthro said. He stood and marched up to the cockpit proper, and started the Thundertank.
Snowmeow scooted forward, laying his head on Leopara's laps.
"As for the rest of you… prepare yourselves. We're not leaving until those cats are free." He swept his gaze over each of them, waiting for their nod in response before moving on. His eyes lingered on Leopara- she wasn't sure if she imagined it, but he slightly rubbed his lips together, a gesture that reminded her of their kiss.
Her cheeks flushed hot with embarrassment.
"What's your plan after we free the cats?" Tygra asked, slinging an arm around his brother.
Their reverie broke. Lion-O turned to face his brother. "They'll need somewhere safe to go. Somewhere they can start to rebuild- our mission isn't over yet."
"They won't be safe with us as long as Mumm-Ra is a threat." Cheetara agreed.
"They won't be safe as long as Mumm-Ra is a threat, with or without us." Leopara added.
"I know." Lion-O said. "Pumyra survived, so other soldiers must have as well. We'll just have to trust them to protect themselves once we see them to safety."
Tygra let that stand for a moment. "They'll need someone to lead them and organise them."
Lion-O thought about it for a few moments. "A governor." Another pause. "Maybe Panthro- he is a general, after all."
"His new arms certainly give him an edge." Tygra agreed.
Leopara frowned. "Can we really contend with Addicus and Kaynar without Panthro?" Tygra and Cheetara had been… useless was too harsh. Ineffective, then, against the duo both times they'd gotten into a fight with them.
"They caught us off guard last time. It won't happen again." Lion-O said.
"How do you know?" Leopara asked. She stroked Snowmeow from his head to his scruff. "They caught us off-guard twice, and we were being vigilant the second time."
Lion-O sighed, shoulders sagging. "I don't know."
"Their freedom will be enough." Pumyra finally spoke up, standing as well. "As long as we have Mumm-Ra's attention, they'll be safe." There was a hard certainty to each raspy, scathing word. "We just have to free them before anymore die!"
The spiral of confusion stopped.
"You're right." Lion-O said. "Everyone… rest up as much as you can. We have a long night ahead of us."
With his command, Cheetara stood. She and Tygra split off from the group and headed towards the hall, followed more slowly by Pumyra. That left just her and Lion-O.
He all but collapsed back into the seat beside Leopara.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"Me?"
Lion-O nodded and reached out for her hand, lightly squeezing. Thump-thump. "Yeah."
"I think… there's no good answer. We're fighting dangerous enemies, sometimes just barely making it through. Of those of us that would be best suited to protecting our people," Panthro or even me, or Tygra and Cheetara together, "-it doesn't seem like we can afford to lose them. Hopefully Pumyra's right, and Mumm-Ra will be so focused on us that he pays no mind to the cats."
"Who else do you think would be suited to protecting them?" Lion-O asked, straightening.
Leopara let out a soft sigh. Snowmeow grunted at her. "Well… me. You've seen my magic. Barriers, fire, I was even able to cast… daylight for you." she said more softly. The feeling of terror that had gripped her, the flash in her mind of Lion-O being torn apart by demons- the pure, unadulterated desperation to protect him. "If not Panthro or me, then Tygra and Cheetara, together."
"But they wouldn't be able to stop Kaynar and Addicus." Lion-O noted.
"Yeah…"
The two would probably be the best at organising the cats and preparing them to defend themselves, but not the best if an overwhelming force appeared.
"We'll figure it out." Lion-O promised. "Together. I promise… I won't ever do that to you again."
Leopara looked at him with confusion.
"No more being impatient or getting myself in those life-or-death situations." he went on to say. "I trust you, and I should have been patient. Part of me is glad I wasn't; who knows if I could have won Pumyra's loyalty and trust? And our people have been waiting for me long enough, but… I hurt you again. I'm sorry."
Hurt me again?
Leopara took a shaky breath and looked down. That knot that'd been in her chest, the fear, the anger… and yes, the hurt.
"You better not." she said quietly.
"I won't." he promised.
Mount Plun-Darr was an unnatural and foreboding tower of black stone that twisted into an angry, grey sky. Vibrant blood red crystals glinted viciously in the cold light that illuminated the mountain, and reflected each flash of lightning from above with dark gloom. A heavy rain completed the dour, oppressive atmosphere, as if everything about this place was designed to kill the hope of anyone who came too close.
So it was to Leopara's complete surprise when she felt his presence. She took in a harsh breath as she stepped from the grey, dusty earth that surrounded the Mount on all sides and onto its slick black stone. It caught in her throat, threatening to strangle her.
Jaga?
She crouched down, arm shaking as she reached out to the ground. Her fingers brushed against it reverently, almost unable to believe it. Could it really be…? The magic pulsed under her touch, so familiar and yet… so strange.
A… curse? There was something else, too…
"Come on." Pumyra hissed. She snapped her attention up to look at the puma. She waited impatiently up ahead on the sloping path towards the mines. "We don't have time for you to admire the scenery."
Pumyra was difficult to read for completely different reasons than Dobo. She was incensed constantly.
Leopara stood up and merely strode after her, saying nothing as she passed her. Admiring the scenery… as if.
Pumyra took up the rear as they ascended, skulking in the shadows as they searched for a good vantage point to look down on the operations. It wasn't entirely unlike the Cloud Peak mines… but the circumstances certainly were. The stakes were much higher this time.
Leopara settled between Cheetara and Pumyra as they skirted up to an overlook and peered over its ridge. Sprawling out below them was a tent city, made of tattered orange cloth and… bone, maybe? The tents were gathered in clusters around extinguished fire pits on higher ground with rivulets of water from the rain flooding the paths between.
Nonetheless, the enslaved cats trudged through, bearing heavy packs on their backs, or pushing carts with all their might- and did so under the watchful, critical eyes of rats casually brandishing whips. The atmosphere was dreary and hopeless.
The clanking of pickaxes against stone was all they could hear from this distance.
Discomfort and anger swelled within them all.
"I can't stand to see our people treated this way." Cheetara said.
"Try living it." Pumyra replied with frustration. "For months I suffered lashings from those rodents. We gave up hope of being saved long ago."
"Today, they will go free. That's a promise." Lion-O vowed.
Panthro leaned back and turned his attention towards Pumyra. "You say it's the Sword of Plun-Darr that old rat is digging for?"
Pumyra nodded.
"If what I learned through the Book of Omens is true," it was, "-its power rivals my own sword. If Mumm-Ra finds that weapon, it may not matter if we get to the other stones first." Lion-O said grimly.
"Then while you free slaves, I'll take care of the sword." Cheetara said, standing.
Leopara stood. "I'm coming as well."
Surprise and confusion rippled through the cats.
Lion-O stood as well. "We could use your healing for the cats, Leopara. What are you thinking?" he asked.
"I sense Jaga's magic." she said. "Don't you, Cheetara?"
Cheetara closed her eyes for a moment before shaking her head. "You've always been more sensitive to magic than I." she said kindly. "I welcome your help, Leopara."
"We should go."
"Be careful." Lion-O said.
Leopara turned her attention back to him and offered him a small smile. "You too. We'll join you when we can." Lion-O gave her one last faint smile before she turned and led the way down the twisting path.
Leopara tugged at the itchy fabric of the robes they'd donned. It didn't have much opportunity to directly touch her fur directly, but even so, she could feel the coarse fibers poking at her through her own clothes. The shackles around her wrist clinked loosely.
"This is a terrible idea, by the way." Cheetara whispered.
"I didn't hear any other ones." Leopara replied. "Unless you want to fight our way to the dig site and alert all the rats?" She didn't think she needed to say just how many cats that would endanger.
Cheetara barely managed to make a sound before a gruff voice called out.
"Hey! You two!"
The entire line of cats, two by two, came to a halt. Leopara listened to the pitter patter of the rat's footsteps, hoping vainly that he would run past them or stop before them. That wasn't her luck, of course.
He stopped squarely in front of Leopara and Cheetara, glancing up at their faces- they ducked their heads to cover their eyes- then at their wrists. Alarm shot through the rat. Quickly, he reached out, closing each of Cheetara's shackles and then Leopara's. "That's better. Wouldn't want you running off and getting hurt." He said with a dark chuckle.
The rat hurried away to the cats behind them.
Leopara sighed. "Why can't anything go according to plan?"
"I think Lion-O is rubbing off on you~" Cheetara teased.
"He is not."
Cheetara merely raised an eyebrow. She didn't need to say anything. The memory of storming into the pit with every intention of breaking Lion-O out, consequences be damned, immediately lept to the forefront of her mind.
And… their awkward kiss they had yet to discuss.
Leopara flushed hard with heat. "It's not the same."
"If you say so." Cheetara replied smoothly and completely unconvinced.
The rat finally scurried away. With the clink, clink, of so many shackles, the line began to move again. They proceeded forward until they were corralled in a large open cavern. Its round walls were filled to the brim with clusters of those same menacing red crystals, their edges so sharp they could have cut just by looking at them.
"Who's up next?"
The gathered cats exclaimed all at once, huddling together and all but crying. Leopara winced at the accumulative fear of the whole crowd and glanced around. They were all younger than the cats she had seen outside, none last thirty or forty summers that she could see.
Were they sending all the cats possibly strong enough to resist them to die?
"Don't all jump at once. At the rate we're losing cats, you'll all get your chance." The rat took a step forward and the crowd took a collective step back, bumping into her and Cheetara. "How about…"
"We'll go." Cheetara said.
The crowd parted around them in a scramble and a wave of fearful whispers and murmurs washed over them.
"Finally some brave cats." the rat said, brandishing his whip. "Let's see if your cockiness saves you from the curse."
Leopara exchanged a glance with Cheetara. Cockiness had nothing to do with it; she could sense Jaga's hand in this curse, and that was enough. It would try to kill them, just as it had killed every other animal that drew too close. Unlike them, she had magic at her fingertips and Cheetara had her speed. If anyone could survive, it was them.
The cage, a large, open platform of heavy wood and iron bands, only rocked a little when they stepped onto it. And then, with a rattle and clanking of chains and levers, it began to descend. The dim light of the torches above quickly faded, leaving them in the darkness. Leopara could only faintly see the rough stone walls surrounding them.
"Did he say 'curse'?" Cheetara asked, taking off her hood.
"Of course." Leopara replied. She slipped off her cloak and, with a sneer, tossed it aside on the platform. Cheetara hid her disquiet well, but Leopara stood beside her. "We're getting closer; can't you feel it?"
Cheetara shook her head.
"It's…" Leopara paused. In the brief lull, only the sound of the chain rattling away quietly, she could feel it pulse like a heartbeat. Thump-thump, thump-thump. It almost had a sound, a deafening one. And then, it surged- THUMP-THUMP. "-lashing out!"
No sooner than she finished speaking did the chain above them let out a harsh ting and the platform underneath them gave away.
A scream tore out from both of them with a jolt of free as they began to free-fall. They both reached for their staves. Leopara took a deep breath in and closed her eyes, focusing on the feeling of wind and capturing it. She heard wood scrape against the stone above her; Cheetara had saved herself.
Leopara opened her eyes with her next exhale and swung her staff with all her might. The swirling winds burst forth. Under her will, they raced and circled around just beneath her and caught her harmlessly, and kept her suspended there.
Her heart continued to race, pounding hard in her chest. This time, she was deafened.
"Are you okay?" Cheetara called down.
From the force of habit, Leopara nodded. "Yeah, I'm… I'm fine. Drop down and I'll use my magic to take us the rest of the way."
A moment later, she heard a soft grunt by her side. Leopara glanced at her before sighing in relief. Cheetara merely nodded. Leopara closed her eyes and focused, willing the winds to descend. The pulsing of the curse's magic continued to grow steadily stronger the closer they drew to the bottom.
Time seemed to stretch on, making the minutes feel like hours. "Are we getting close?" she asked Cheetara.
There was a lapse before Cheetara replied. The cheetah's disquiet grew. "We are."
In her relief, Leopara grinned, opened her eyes, and glanced down.
"Don't-!"
Too late.
Leopara's focus shattered.
With another scream, they fell.
"-ake up, Leopara."
"I'm… I'm awake." Leopara murmured. Her head throbbed. Did she hit it? She reached up with a grimace and felt the side of her head. It was wet. Stifling her panic, Leopara closed her eyes again and let the healing energies of her magic flow through her. "What happened?"
"We fell."
Leopara raised her hand and conjured an orb of light. Before she could glance around, Cheetara cupped her face. "Do you remember what we saw?"
"I…" Leopara closed her eyes. The platform of the cage, broken into chunks with splinters strewn around… and… and… "I remember. The bodies." So many bodies; each lifeless and bloody exactly where they had died, trying to escape.
The stench… Leopara didn't know how she didn't smell it before. Rotten flesh and coagulated blood permeated the air, so thick she could choke on it. She coughed into the back of her hand as she looked around. Broken stalactites impaled many of them. "They were just left here…"
None of the cats who had come afterwards had tried to bury them.
Cheetara stood up and offered her hand. Leopara grabbed her staff from beside her and took Cheetara's hand to stand up. "We have to be careful."
Leopara nodded. "Let's go… I don't want to be here for long."
Cheetara nodded.
Leopara wished she could say the tunnel got better after leaving behind the bloodbath of the shaft, but it didn't, not really.
They walked by the dim light she conjured, surrounded by the blood red crystals and their ominous, faint glow. Each one came to a perfect, sharp point, each side a perfect, razor-sharp edge. What moisture gathered on them, and then dripped down into shallow puddles- plip, plop, plip, plop- could easily have been mistaken for blood. Broken tools were strewn about, here and there. Occasionally, the cat who had wielded them was still nearby, impaled viciously from above.
And… the stench. It made Leopara dizzy. She didn't know anything could smell as pungently foul as bloated corpses left to decay, with nothing to consume them and no one to bury or burn them… No, she didn't want to think about it.
Her head throbbed in time with the pulse of the curse. Faster, stronger.
"Is it lashing out?" Cheetara asked.
Leopara looked at her and shook her head.
"Hm." Cheetara hummed. "Maybe we should take a break, sit down."
"I'm f-"
A brief rumble was all the warning they had. The swelling of the pulse happened so quickly Leopara couldn't react- but Cheetara sprung into action at the first tremor, tackling Leopara out of the way as a stalactite as big as her pierced the ground where she had stood but a heartbeat ago.
"Thanks."
"Of cour-"
Leopara winced at the pulse, taking a jagged deep breath in. The tunnel around them rumbled, louder and louder. A quick glance upwards was all they needed. Every stalactite covering every inch of the ceiling shook, threatening to break off.
They scrambled to their feet. Leopara pushed her staff out with one hand, projecting a barrier around them. Cheetara grabbed her hand and pulled her along, sprinting for the archway at the other end of the tunnel. It was all Leopara could do not to trip or skid on the stone, all while keeping the barrier strong.
CRACK! A stalactite broke off and smashed against the barrier, shattering and crumbling into chunks of rock.
And then another.
And another.
And another.
Cheetara whipped her through the archway and she stumbled, staggering backwards and landing on her butt facing the archway they just came in through. The entire tunnel was filled to the brim with sheared stalactites, most of which stood fully intact and so close there were barely any gaps between them. WilyKit and WilyKat might have been able to weave through the cluster, but… Leopara and Cheetara were not WilyKit and WilyKat.
Leopara let out a nervous laugh as she stood. "I guess we're not going out that way?"
"Lion-O really is rubbing off on you." Cheetara noted with a slight hint of amusement. The tight knot of stress that had tangled in both of their chests loosened ever-so-slightly at the jest. "Look."
Leopara turned.
There, encased in a dark purple crystal, and glowing ominously red, was a black gauntlet. Or, Leopara thought it was black.
"That must be the Sword of Plun-Darr." Leopara said, approaching it.
"I can feel it." Cheetara said, rubbing her hand against the crystal. "Jaga's magic… just like you said."
Leopara nodded. "Cheetara?" She looked back at her. "Should we… is it right for us to take it? If Jaga did all of this," Leopara gestured with a sweeping arm, "-surely he did so to protect it?"
"Mumm-Ra will come looking for it. We have to take it somewhere safe, someone no one will know to look for it."
"…I guess." Leopara agreed. "Alright then."
Cheetara nodded and stepped back. Leopara watched her. She drew her staff and clutched it tightly, taking a loud, deep breath. Slowly, the staff glowed with yellow light. She raised it up and twirled it. The light blurred like a halo before she finally jabbed the staff into the crystal encasing the sword like a spear.
The crystal reacted instantly, shattering into pieces. Leopara held up her hand to conjure a small barrier that deflected the shards of shrapnel.
She stepped forward next to Cheetara. They both put away their staves and reached inside, each grabbing one side of the gauntlet. With a grunt, they pulled.
And pulled.
And pulled.
The gauntlet resisted them, so embedded into the crystal surrounding it.
And then, it gave.
The crystal holding tightly to it broke..
Leopara should have felt relief or satisfaction- they got the sword. But instead… she was filled with dread. The pulse, the heartbeat she had believed to belong to the curse, to Jaga's magic…
She was wrong. It wasn't Jaga's magic- it was the sword. It thrummed in her hand, a pulse so strong she could feel it in her entire body.
And… It was pleased.
It was free.
"Cheetara-"
The chamber shook and trembled with a deep rumble, showering dust and rock around them. The crystals lining the room like an inverted sea urchin cracked and splintered with a high-pitched ping!
Leopara thrust her staff above them to conjure her barrier above them. "We need to get out of here!"
Cheetara looked around. "The entrance is sealed!"
"Is there another?"
In a flash of color, Cheetara disappeared. A moment later she returned. "No." she said gravely.
Leopara gulped. Was the whole mountain about to come down on them? "Come close." Cheetara stepped in close and followed Leopara's lead when she crouched down. She rested the butt of Jaga's staff on the ground and closed her eyes. She poured all her attention and energy into the barrier. Giant chunks of stone battered against it, threatening to bury them alive. With a grimace and grunt, she pushed the barrier to widen, to displace the stones that would cover it.
And then… she felt It. Its magic trickled into the combination, at first like a trickle, a stream, and them like a river. It surged through her and into the staff, into the barrier.
And it exploded. She heard rocks clatter and clunk, crystals shatter.
Leopara opened her eyes.
There was gray, cloudy sunlight filtering into the room. The rubble that had threatened to bury them was flung far and pulverised by the barrier; in the immediate circle around them, there was naught but grey dust.
"You did it. We're safe." Cheetara murmured in awe.
"Not for long." Leopara said, standing with the gauntlet. Thump-thump, thump-thump. "The Sword is calling out."
They crested the top of the pile of rubble that led them out of the chamber below, and paused with horror.
A plume of desert dust stretched for miles on the horizon. Piercing through the thick cloud were the green lights of hundreds of Lizard mecha. Their silhouettes loomed in the clouds like a dark omen.
Mumm-Ra was here.
Thank you for reading! A special thanks to Hestia28, Stone-Man85, The Night Whisperer, Heart of the Demons, Frankannestein, and AndrianaWarrior7! I appreciate all your reviews on last chapter!
Anyone else concerned at the frequency of which Leopara has head injuries? Why do I do this to her…