A/N: It's that time of the year again. Exams are in full swing, and so this has taken me a while. :(

But I'm glad to be able to present you with the new chapter of Wake Up. Please enjoy! :D :)

Key:

Flashback = Flashback (Obviously)

Dream = Dream

Time Passage =...

- (BORDER) - = perspective change

Anyway, chapter information:

Genres: Adventure and Drama

Warnings: Scenes of violence, and explicit language.

Date started (Chapter): Tuesday 29th March 2016

Date finished (Chapter): Saturday 7th May 2016

Song/s: War of Change by Thousand Foot Krutch

Chapter 21: War of Change

"There's no sign of their ship anywhere, Lion-O. We've fully scanned every sector multiple times, but we can't find anything."

I roar with rage and slam my fist into the door of the Control Room, badly denting the metal as I pant, trying to hide the tears of anger and guilt that flow down my cheeks. It's been nearly six hours since Katzeran went missing, and both me and Cheetara are desperate and anxious to get our cub back.

"Well, scan everything again!" I say, the emotion thick in my voice as Cheetara gently hugs me.

Wilykat gulps, nervously looking at me as he says "But, Lion-O, another scan wouldn't do anything because if we haven't found anything before, we still won't find anything now..."

"I DON'T CARE!" I suddenly scream, my anger boiling over at the young wildcat's words "Run another scan NOW!"

"You've had us scan all the sectors nearly ten times already," Wilykit says as she looks at me, the fear in her eyes showing how scared she is of me. I sigh before throwing myself down in one of the seats. Cheetara sits down beside me as I say "I don't understand how this could have happened. How could they have slipped past the guards?" Then the realisation hits me. "It must have been an inside job! By the time we got to Katzeran's room, the guards were gone. They either abandoned their posts, or they were in with the kidnapping...by Jaga, that's it!"

I get up and run to the telescreen; Tygra gets up and lets me sit in the seat, so I pull up the CCTV footage from the cameras in the hallway, knowing what to look for, and I see it.

"Look, right there!" I say, zooming in on the footage and pointing at the guards outside my son's room; as the alarms sound, the guards stay where they are, but rush into the room after two Wolfmen dressed in black, one of which is carrying a sack. I growl angrily before changing the camera view to the one which I'd had installed in our son's room, and when I see what happened, I roar with rage for a second time; one of the Wolfmen roughly seizes my cub by the nape of his neck and taunts him as he tries to run past him, and through the audio, I can hear Katzeran's squeaky cries of distress, and his attempts to roar as he kicks out at the Wolf who is holding him. The Wolfman shoves the young Litah cub into the sack and ties it before opening the window, and the four make their quick exit, the last one out, one of the guards, leaving the note on the bed. A few minutes later, me and Cheetara run in, and I stop the footage.

"I knew it!" I say under my breath, then I turn the chair around to look at the other Thundercats before continuing "Those guards that were placed outside of Katzeran's room were in on the kidnapping, and they left with them."

"But why didn't the ThunderGuard troops that were patrolling the outside of the Lair catch them?" Cheetara says, and I detect the tone of desperation in my wife's voice.

"I don't know, Cheetara." I say as I stand up, "But we're going to find him. I promise you that. And if we can't, then maybe the Sword of Omens can."

I draw the Sword from the Claw Shield, and as I hold it in front of my eyes, I say "Sword of Omens, give me Sight beyond Sight! Show me the whereabouts of my son Katzeran!"

The crossbars curl, and the dim fog fills my mind, but I can't see anything; just a wall of static electricity accompanied by a high-pitched droning static-like sound which gets louder until the point where I can no longer bear it, then I hear an horrific scream of agony which sounds awfully similar to Katzeran's scream...I drop the Sword as I yelp in pain, falling to my knees and covering my ears as I violently shake, my breath ragged and gasping. I can't hear anything because all I can hear is the roaring in my ears.

"Lion-O! Lion-O, are you ok? Tygra, go and get a glass of water! Quickly!"

I look up and see that Cheetara is helping me sit back against the wall, and Snarf is, as usual, standing by me nervously, begging me to talk to him. I groan, rubbing my head as I say "I...I'm fine, Snarf. Quit worrying about me..."

Tygra comes back into the Control Room and hands me a glass of water. "Lion-O, what did you see?" my wife asks as she helps me get up and sits me back in the chair.

"I...I didn't see anything, but I think that Katz is in danger. Before the Sword's vision cut out, I heard a scream, and it sounded exactly like him. In fact, I think it was him." I say, and the colour drains from the cheetah's face. The thought that those Wolfmen could be hurting our son only adds to the rage that I feel.

I turn to Sebastian and say "Saborr mentioned some stuff about the fact that if we knew what happened in your past, we'd have you executed. Why is that?"

The Wolfman scoffs slightly before saying "Saborr is a liar. If I were you, Lion-O, I wouldn't believe anything that he says."

I stand up and grab him by his shoulders and pin him against the wall, growling viciously. "Tell me," I snarl, bearing my fangs at the Wolfman "Tell me or I swear to the Gods, I will force you to talk!" I hold my hand up close to the Wolf's face, and allow my two inch long claws to spring forth.

"I'll tell you, but you just don't need to go all brutal on me." Sebastian says as he pushes me off of him, "Look, I know that you want Katzeran back safe, but you don't need to go like that on us."

I can't help but growl slightly, but I calm down, and make my way out of the Control Room and towards the Council Chamber. We take our seats, and I turn to Sebastian and say "So?"

"My past isn't necessarily what I'd call innocent. When I was a pup, my father mysteriously disappeared after me and my brothers and sisters were born. I was the only one of the litter to which my mother gave birth that survived infancy. By the time I was about 14, maybe 15 years old, I was to be enrolled in the army cadets, but my home village was raided and I was kidnapped, and forced to work alongside the squadron that would become the spies and assassins. I was forced into completing rigorous training courses, and when I was 17..." he pauses halfway through, takes a deep breath then sighs before continuing, "When I was 17, I was forced to kill my first Thunderian; a young lion, who looked exactly like you, Lion-O."

I'm taken aback. No wonder why Sebastian wouldn't tell any of us about all of his past. "Anything else that you wish to tell us?" I ask, looking the Wolfman in the eyes as I take a sip from my cup of coffee.

"Well, after that, I left and when I was 24, I met my wife Bailey and we had pups, but when I was 32, I was called back to resume my training, and soon afterwards, I was dispatched along with my squadron to New Thundera..." he looks nervous, but he continues, "My squadron was sent here with one task; to kill the Lord of the Thundercats. I abandoned them because I didn't agree with what we had to do, so I turned myself in because I wanted to change my way of life."

"How do I know that you're not lying?" I say accusingly, making the Wolf defensively say "I swear to God, Lion-O, I'm not lying to you."

I still stare at Sebastian, not 100% sure that I should trust him. If he did do what he said he did in his past, then he probably knows how to worm his way out of trouble by lying.

- (BORDER) -

I feel the tears welling up in my eyes as I look at the youngest of my newborn twin boys. I can't believe that Leandra died last night. She seemed so full of life, yet she died from losing too much blood. It breaks my heart to know that Lion-O, my youngest son, has only a 60% chance of surviving his first few months. He's so small, and when he was born, it took the midwives nearly 10 minutes to get him to start breathing, but Leo was perfectly fine.
One of the nurses checks my son's vitals on the monitor as she says "He's such a little angel, my King. Depending on how well he improves, you might be able to hold him again in a few days, maybe even feed him."

I sigh heavily as Lion-O lets out a tiny, yet lusty cry, squirming slightly on the warming plate as I place my finger into his tiny palm. He opens his eyes slightly, showing a slither of dark orangey-brown before settling off to sleep again. He was only just a little bit bigger than my hands when I held him, and knowing that he's already had to have two operations makes me feel so desperate.
"I know that he's kept lovely and warm in the incubator, but his hand felt so cold." I say as I look up at the nurse.
"That's because of how poor his circulation is. It's extremely common in newborn cubs, but because he's so small, it's more noticeable, and it's a lot more serious. Why did you decide to name him Lion-O? It's not a very common name in the lion clan."
I sigh, before saying "Leandra's uncle's name was Lion-O. He died of prostate cancer when she turned 23, and the next day, we found out that she was pregnant. The name stuck, and when we found out that she was having twins, we named the biggest Leo after my great grandfather."

"Claudus? Are you in here?"

"Over here, Leandra." I say, and I hear the lioness approaching me from behind, but she isn't alone.

"Is there something bothering you, my love? You don't seem as cheerful as usual."

I sigh before saying "I just really miss being able to see our boys. We've been dead for years now, and consequently, it's been years since we have seen either of them; Leo was just a cub when I last saw him properly, and the last time I saw Lion-O properly was when he saved me from the Shadowmaster. That alone was nearly 7 years ago, and you never got the chance to see them."

"I know that you feel guilty, but there was nothing that you could do to stop your death from happening. And I can safely say the same thing about my death too. Jaga tells me that when I died, it gave Lion-O the chance to live; one soul for the benefit of another."

"I know that, Leandra. But bringing them up without you by my side was horrific, and when it came to explaining to them why you died once they were old enough to know, I couldn't bring myself to tell Lion-O the truth, so I only told Leo the truth. But I reckon that, by now, Leo would have told Lion-O the truth."

My wife remains silent, so I sigh before saying "And although they were close, they constantly fought and were at each other's throats all the time. Great Jaga, I remember when Lion-O broke his leg after Leo pushed him out of a tree in the park."

That day was horrid. I can clearly remember rushing to the Cats' Lair carrying Lion-O, who had passed out from the pain and was as pale as a sheet. Leo did seem to regret what he'd done, but I could tell that he was also slightly proud of what he'd done. I severely scolded Leo afterwards, but I also scolded Lion-O too because they both knew that they weren't allowed to climb trees...

"D...D...Da...Dad?"
I gently squeeze my son's hand as he, very slowly, wakes up from the anaesthesia. His skin and fur are pale and clammy, and tears are streaming down his cheeks. He's shaking so much, but I think it's just one of the side effects of being anesthetized.
"Don't worry, Lion-O. I'm here," I say to my eight year old son as I lift a bag up onto my knees "And, look who I've bought for you!"
I rummage round in the bag until I manage to find what I'm looking for. Lion-O's eyes seemingly light up the second he sees what I'm holding.
"You bought my Doofle..." he says in a weak voice as I lie the old teddy under his arm, then he asks "Did you find RagCat, too?"

I laugh slightly as I take the threadbare purple cat from the bag and lie it under the arm across his chest, next to the Doofle. He's had both ever since he was a baby. He always sleeps with them tucked safely under his arm, and when I tried to get rid of them when he turned six, he wouldn't stop crying, even though both were filthy, covered with stains, and smelled horrid. It was Cheetara's mother who made the RagCat. I can remember the day Lion-O was released from the infirmary, nearly a whole month after his birth. She gave me a floppy parcel containing a purple teddy cat. We'd already got the Doofle at this point because Leandra made both the boys a stuffed animal before they were born. Leo got a shark and Lion-O got a cat-like bear.

"Dad?
I look down at my son. He's absolutely terrified of needles and injections, but he's hooked up to a drip and a morphine pump. It's not fair on him anymore. He's just had an operation to straighten the broken ends of bone in his right leg, and his shin down to his ankle is covered in plaster. I feel so sorry for him because he must be in so much pain.

"Where's Leo?"

"He's at school, like you should be..."

"Why can't I see him? Why can't he see me?"

"You've only just woken up from major surgery. He might be able to come and see you after school, but I can't promise anything. Besides, I thought you and Leo were in school, and you both KNOW that you're not allowed to be climbing trees!"

"Dad, I'm so, so sorry..."

"Hey, Lion-O, what's done is done. It's in the past, but at least now you know what you're not allowed to do..."

I sigh slightly before saying "I think that I only added more fuel to the fire because when I told them both that Lion-O was to become the Lord of the Thundercats and King of Thundera, Leo got so mad and jealous because he was the eldest, so when Lion-O's training began when they both turned 10, I was forced to include Leo in."

I hear Leandra sigh, and I feel her hand on my shoulder. "I can understand how you feel about that, Claudus. But I believe that you made the right decision. After those two got separated on the day that Old Thundera blew up, they took their own paths, and they worked out fine."

- (BORDER) -

"Wake up! NOW!"

Katzeran screams in pain as I roughly grab him by the nape of his neck, seizing a handful of his soft fur and hauling him up off of the floor, the action of which makes the young Litah cub start to cry, but he tries to act threateningly by growling viciously and bearing his fangs whilst still trying to roar, even though he can't manage more than a high-pitched squeaky rumble.

"I want to go home! I want my Mum and Dad! Please! Let me go!" he sobs, his voice hoarse because he was screaming and crying last night.

"Listen, cub!" I snap as I shake him roughly, making him yelp and cry harder "You're NEVER going to see your Mum or Dad again! And nor will they ever find you again, Katzeran!"

I drop him and he falls on his back, sobbing desperately. "Get up, wretch!" I snarl, grabbing my whip from my belt, "I said GET UP NOW!"

He screams as I crack the whip right next to his head. I couldn't give a shit whether he's five years old or not. All I know is that it's illegal to sell Thunderians and their cubs on Plun-darr, so I'll be selling him through the black market to hide what I've done. I unbuckle my riding crop, grab one of the cub's arms and, as I haul him up, I hold his right arm out and strike him hard on his chest with the riding crop, making him scream and cry harder. He's such a baby; all he's done so far is cry and it's really pissing me off.

"I'll give you something to cry about, you little shit!" I snarl, dragging the youngster behind me as I enter a room next to the holding cells. If he's going to learn, I have to be brutal with him.

- (BORDER) -

A few days later...

I can't sleep. Everyone has been telling us that it's all going to be ok and that Katzeran is going to be fine, but I'm losing my faith. The Sword of Omens can't show Lion-O where he is, and the trace has long since gone dead.

Tears stream down my cheeks as I roll over and look at Lion-O; my husband is lying asleep with his back to me, meaning that I can see the scars on his back. He's been up every night at the monitors trying to find any more clues as to where our cub might be, and so as a result, he's had next to no sleep and I've found him asleep at the monitors every morning. He seriously needs his sleep because he's been falling asleep at the table whilst we've been having breakfast.

The young lion starts murmuring in his sleep, and I know that he's dreaming about something. I roll onto my back and sigh, deep in thought. I can't help wondering about the whereabouts of my cub and whether he's safe or not. I just want him back, but we don't have any ideas about where he is. But I can feel myself drifting off to sleep...

"It seems cruel, Saborr. Tearing the cub from his home and his parents, especially at such a young age. I don't see the whippings and beatings as being necessary, though. It just teaches him to expect pain and agony upon doing something."

I chuckle as he watch the young Litah cub walking towards us, trembling at the sight of my whip and riding crop. Clyde is right.

"With Katzeran being so young, he is useless to us. However, I did hear my girlfriend talking about how she wanted a fur coat made out of the pelt of a Thunderian cub." I mutter to my fellow Wolfman, and we both chuckle, making the cub shudder.

"Hey! Boy! Get over here NOW!" Clyde shouts, but Katzeran growls and snaps "No!"

I stand up and walk towards him in a menacing manner, unbuckling and raising my riding crop threateningly, the action of which makes him stumble backwards, crying with fear. I know that he's just a little boy, but I couldn't care less. Despite the fact that he's so young, I bring the crop down and hit the Litah cub around the face with it, putting as much force into the blow as possible; he screams in agony as blood trickles down his cheek, the crimson fluid dripping off his chin as he backs off, crying even harder.

"And let that be a lesson to you, you pathetic little wretch!" I shout at the trembling, crying cub, and then I re-join Clyde.

"Saborr, that was uncalled for!"

"What?" I say, and then Clyde gets up and walks over to Katzeran, who instantly backs away out of fear, still crying and screaming. He checks the Litah cub's cheek before saying "Saborr, you've really injured him. The cut's pretty deep and it won't stop bleeding."

I growl angrily before getting up and walking towards them, scowling at Katzeran. I can see the wound on his cheek, and so I roughly grab his arm and pull him up, dragging him behind me as I walk to the med bay.

"What are you gonna do to me?" the juvenile Litah asks fearfully as we walk into the med bay, so I say "I'm going to sort you out, boy!"

I drag him over to the sink and run the tap, forcing his head under the flow and grabbing a bar of carbolic soap. I start scrubbing at the wound, making a bloody lather as the cub screams and cries harder.

"SHUT UP!" I shout as I roughly pull his mane, washing the lather away before checking the wound; it's long and not very deep, but I know that it has a chance of becoming infected if I leave it. I take the antiseptic spray and coat the wound in it, trying not to listen to Katzeran's piercing screams and cries as he violently wriggles and squirms.

The sooner we're rid of this little wretch, the sooner I'll be happy. Plus, the sooner I'll have a chance to prevent myself from being connected to the kidnapping. Once the Litah cub has been sold on the Black Market, all I'll have to do is buy his pelt back and take it to the Tailor's...

I wake up and sit bolt upright, panting as if I've been strangled. I'm bathed in sweat, and I'm struggling to catch my breath. That dream was from Saborr's perspective, and I can't help but feel pure fear at the plans which the Wolfman has for my young son.

I look at Lion-O, who is still asleep, lying on his front with his arms wrapped around his pillows, his head to the side, allowing me to hear his deep, throaty snoring and purring. I know that he really needs to sleep, but my news can't wait. I shake my husband's arm as I murmur into his ear "Lion-O. Lion-O, wake up."

He shrugs me off and rolls onto his side, facing away from me as he groans "Leave me alone, Cheetara. I'm trying to sleep..."

"Lion-O, it's important because it's about Katzeran."

Lion-O sits up like a shot and says "What?" I can see the look on my husband's face; he seems so worried, yet so intrigued at the same time.

"I...I had a vision in the form of a dream. I think that Saborr is planning to sell Katz on the Plun-darrian Black Market. But he also mentioned about his girlfriend wanting a fur coat made out of the fur of a Thunderian cub." I say "They're on their way to Plun-darr."

Not even a second passes before my husband is out of bed and changing into his uniform. He looks absolutely furious, and I know that nothing is going to stop him now that he's got his mind set on his plan of action.

"Lion-O, what are you doing?"

He looks at me before saying "We're going to rescue Katzeran before Saborr manages to carry out his plan."

"But, Lion-O, it's 3am. We should wait..."

"Well, I'm not waiting. You can come with me, or you can stay here."

I sigh before saying "Alright, we'll go now..."

We run to the hangar, climbing into the Feliner as the roof of the hangar opens; Lion-O fires up the engines, and we rise into the early morning sky and start our journey to Plun-darr.

- (BORDER) -

"Lion-O, we should have told the other Thundercats!"

I breathe out deeply as my wife talks to me, focusing on piloting the Feliner. "And if we had have told the other Thundercats, we'd have to have held a Council Meeting to discuss everything, and upon leaving if we had have done that, Katzeran could have been sold or, even worse, killed. I wasn't going to risk that, so that's why I decided that we leave when we did." I say, ever-so-slightly annoyed by the cheetah's comment.

I know that for the past few months, Panthro has been building a second Feliner, which would mean that the other Thundercats would be able to catch up with us, but I don't care. All I am focused on is rescuing my cub; all I want is for him to be home safe and sound, and for us to be a happy family again for the first time in a week, meaning that our cub has been missing for a week too long.

"You've gone quiet again."

I look at Cheetara as she anxiously watches me, and I sigh. "I'm just really worried about Katzeran. It's been nearly a week since we last saw him, so how do we know that he's perfectly fine?"

I feel her hand close on top of mine as she soothingly says "Lion-O, I am 100 per cent certain that our little boy is going to be fine. When I had my vision, he had been hit by Saborr, but he was ok other than that." She gently kisses my cheek as tears trickle down my cheeks. I can't help worrying that it's too late to save our son.

I sigh, and then say "We have about 3 hours left until we reach Plun-darr. We'll be detected on the airspace, but we should be able to get away if we rig the Feliner for silent running."

We've been travelling for nearly 9 hours now, and we've been taking it in turns to pilot the craft, me more than Cheetara, so I am exhausted. I yawn and rub my eyes, making the cheetah look at me as she says "Lion-O, you go and get some sleep; I'll fly the Feliner the rest of the way. You need your sleep."

"Only if you're certain that you'll be ok." I say, to which my wife replies with "Lion-O, if I wasn't sure, I never would have said. Plus, you've barely slept since Katzeran was kidnapped. You need your rest, so go and get it."

I smile softly at the cheetah then get up, kissing her on the lips after I whisper in her ear "Darìonae t'yull ca'rrn, Cheetara. Darìonae t'yull ca'rrn."

She looks me in the eyes before saying "You never really speak in Ancient Thunderian. Darìonae t'yull ca'rrn y damiyda, Lyjon-Ø." Her golden eyes sparkle in the light of the cockpit, and I sigh deeply before walking towards the sleeping bunkers which were installed on the Feliner.

As I lie down on one of the beds, I allow my mind to wander. The sounds of the engines are somehow soothing, and that combined with my exhaustion is enough to lull me to sleep, and I dream...

"Dad? Dad, are you there?"

My eyes slowly open upon hearing the voice. "K...Ka...Katzeran?" I whisper, realising that my son is somewhere in the darkness "Where are you?" I sit up and look around, only just able to make out a small figure in the gloom. It walks towards me then stops in the light; it is Katzeran.

"Dad, I'm scared." he whispers, tears trickling down his cheeks. He's sobbing, so I hold out my arms to him as I say "Come here, you."

The young Litah runs towards me, and I gently stroke his mane as I say "There, there, Katz; you're gonna be ok."

He chuckles slightly. "I know...But you won't..." he whispers, mere seconds before there's a sudden, sharp, agonizing pain just under my sternum. I howl in agony and look down to see that my five year old son has sank a large dagger deep into my chest. I fall backwards, trying to pull the blade from my body.

"Dad, I'm so sorry, but I had to." the young Litah wails, sobbing desperately as blood gushes up my throat and out of my mouth and nose. "But...Why?" I gasp, and then I hear a familiar evil cackle before a voice says "Well, Lion-O, how innocent is your sweet little boy now?"

I growl as Mumm-ra materialises behind my cub, grinning as he places a hand on the child's shoulder. "And what you don't know is that this cub will be raised to be a cold-hearted killer. He's trained to murder the Lord of the Thundercats."

Katzeran's eyes flash scarlet, and he walks towards me, snarling with his claws and fangs bared. "Katz, stop! You don't know what you're doing!" I shout, scooting backwards as I clutch the bloodied dagger, but my son still walks towards me, before pouncing as he growls. Tears stream down my cheeks as I close my eyes, holding the dagger up as I whisper "I'm so sorry, Katz..."; the weight of my cub landing on top of me knocks me backwards as I hear an agonized scream, and once I'm able to open my eyes, I see Katzeran before me, the blade of the dagger sank deep into his abdomen.

I can hear Mumm-ra cackling in the background over my son's crying. Blood is dripping onto my face from the Litah cub's lips, and tears are trickling down his cheeks as he gasps, but he doesn't collapse; instead, he gets up and tries to attack me again, but I'm ready for him this time. As he lunges at me again, I grab him and twist him into a chokehold. He screams, squirms and wriggles, desperate to break free, but I tighten my hold on the cub. "Dad! Let me go! Please!" he screams, but I don't listen to him. Tears stream down my cheeks as I say "I'm sorry, Katzeran. I'm so, so sorry..."

His actions eventually start to become less violent until he ceases to move at all, and I know that he's gone. I look up at Mumm-ra, who is staring at me in shock. I lie my son down on the floor, closing his eyes before looking up at Mumm-ra and glaring, growling deep in my throat. The Ancient Egyptian devil priest backs off as I stalk towards him, the fur on my body standing on end as I viciously growl and snarl with rage.

"YOU! You made me do this! This is all your fault!" I growl, before roaring as I launch at him...

I sit up, panting desperately. I'm bathed in sweat, and the blankets are wrapped around me so tightly, constricting me to the point that I can't breathe. I'm panting hard, and I'm so disorientated. I look at the clock; it's now 6 in the morning, and Cheetara walks in before switching the light on.

"We're coming up to Plun-darr. Make sure that you prepare for landing, and for the mission." the cheetah says, and then she walks out of the door. I sigh, then force myself to get up. I hurry to the cockpit and sit back down in my seat as we hit the atmosphere. Flames spread across the windscreen before clearing a few minutes later to reveal a city surrounded by what looks like a wasteland. It's raining, and lightning streaks the sky.

"We need to find an area which we can land in that won't give us away." I say, and then a clearing catches my attention "How about there?"

"It's worth giving it a shot." Cheetara says, then we lock the Feliner in on it. Once we land, we get out and grab our cloaks. "Are you sure that we've hidden the Feliner well enough?" I ask as we hurry away, pulling the cloaks around us to disguise ourselves.

"I'm sure everything will be fine." the cheetah says, and we head off out of the clearing. "The sooner we find Katzeran, the sooner we can leave!" I say, mud splashing up my knees as we run. Thunder booms overhead as we hurtle for cover from the rain.

"Just remember to stay hidden. I think this is the Capital city Atzillach. If so, the place will be crawling with guards, and if anything, our scents will probably give us away." I say as I look at my wife "That's why I picked out cloaks that haven't been washed in a while."

"I noticed..." Cheetara says, sounding like she's really struggling to not vomit. I don't particularly like the smell either, but I'm unfortunately going to have to put up with it.

We eventually clear the forest and approach the city gates, which are guarded by two heavily armed Wolfmen who tower over us. The pair stop us, and the taller of the two sneers at me before saying "And what the hell do you two want, eh? I've not seen the likes of you around before."

I try to make my voice sound as weak as possible, forcing myself to wheeze slightly as I say "Please, sir, let me and my wife through; we only wish to go to the market."

"We'll let you through, if you show us your passes." the other says, chuckling as I turn to look at Cheetara with a concerned expression on my face. "No passes, no entry!"

I'm just about to reply, but there's a sudden loud crashing sound, and we all turn to look at where it came from, and there's a cloaked figure scaling down the wall, a bag lying at the base of the wall with jewellery and gems spilling out of it. The pair of guards run to the figure, so me and Cheetara take our chances and run through the open gate, losing ourselves amongst the crowds of Plun-darrians.

"It's really busy! We should try to find somewhere less crowded!" Cheetara says, and so I nod before leading her towards a side street. We duck in and walk down it, away from the business of the main street.

Only when we're around the corner and under cover do I dare take the hood off. My mane is soaked, and I'm freezing cold. "I don't know how we're going to find the Black Market. It's just as illegal on Plun-darr as it is on New Thundera, so it's going to be well hidden." I say to my wife, shivering violently. The cheetah isn't any better off; she's drenched, and her long mane is in rat's tails.

"Ay! What the hell do ye think yer doing?"

A sudden voice makes us both jump, and we draw our weapons as we turn around; there's a Wolfman walking towards us, unfazed by the torrential downpour of rain.

"If anyone sees ye both out 'ere, they'll kill ye both!" the wolf says as he stops before us. I growl and prepare to attack if necessary, but he says "Ye don't need to worry 'bout me; I'm not gonna attack ye. I actually like Thunderians. If ye come wi' me, I'll make sure yer safe."

I look at Cheetara as I put the Sword of Omens away. "Should we trust him? We've only just met him!" I ask in Thunderian, to which my wife replies with "He's probably our best chance at getting Katzeran back."

I nod then turn to the Wolfman. "Go on then, lead the way." I say, and so he leads us into a dark hallway, which ends up in some sort of tavern. The windows are blacked out, and the door is locked. I look at Cheetara nervously, but the Wolf says "I just closed up fer th' night. Ye don't have to worry about any sudden intrusions, Lion-O."

I stop in my tracks. "How the hell do you know who I am?" I ask, very stupidly, earning me the response of "Yer infamous here, Lord of the Thundercats. Both you and Cheetara are. Especially as ye both are the King and Queen of New Thundera. Besides, what brings ye here by yerselves?"

"Our son was kidnapped by Saborr, the head of the Plun-darrian Secret Service Bounty Hunters. He plans to sell him over the Black Market," Cheetara says, tears streaming down her cheeks as she explains to the Wolfman "We need to find where the Black Market is so that we can save him. PLEASE tell me that you know where it is..." her voice cuts off and she starts crying desperately, burying herself in my chest.

"As it just so 'appens, I was goin' there m'self." the Wolfman says, but he looks at our clothing and says "But yer gonna have ta change yer outfits or get better cloaks; with that uniform, ye'll be recognised in seconds. I've got spare ones that'll completely cover ye."

...

"Follow me. It's this way."

I look behind me at Cheetara, then we continue to follow the Wolfman. "I should have asked you this earlier- so I apologise- but what's your name?" I ask as we stop outside of a large building. The Wolf turns to look at me. "The name's Thor. Ye'll find th' stall where they sell th' Thunderian prisoners in th' middle o' th' market. Good luck at gettin' yer son back."

We thank him then hurry towards the middle of the market. There are many stalls selling dangerous weapons and traps, as well as black magic items and different potions and poisons. There's a massive crowd gathered around one stall, so we decide to check it out. But when we hear the announcement over the loudspeaker, my heart starts pounding, and me and my wife start fighting our way through the crowds, desperate to get to the front; "Up next, we have a really special and rather expensive cub. I hope you've all saved up your money, because knowing the species and who the parents of this youngster are, he's worth a lot. C'mon boys, bring him out!"

We reach the front, just in time to see our son being dragged out onto the stage, with Saborr standing at the edge of the stage, his arms crossed over his chest. Katzeran's skin and fur are littered with bruises and marks, making me feel such pure, intense rage. Due to my sensitive hearing, I can my cub sobbing and sniffling, but he suddenly stops where he's standing.

"For fuck's sake, you little shit! MOVE!" the slave trader yells, tugging on the chains around Katzeran's wrists, making the young Litah yelp in surprise and pain. But he doesn't move. He stops completely, and it looks like he's sniffing the air; he's just caught mine and Cheetara's scents. He looks directly at us and speaks, but I can't hear him, meaning that I have to lip-read; "Mum? Dad? Is that you?"

I raise my head a bit and stare at Saborr in the eyes, then turn to Katz. I signal to him to be quiet, then turn to walk away slightly. "Hey! The one in the grey cloak! Stop him!" I hear Saborr shout, so I try to fight my way forward, but someone roughly seizes my right arm and drags me back before pulling my hood down. I glance back at Cheetara, and see that my wife is in a similar position. I can hear shouts of "It's Lion-O and Cheetara!" and "Kill them before they can escape!"

Me and Cheetara back up, pressing ourselves against the stage as the Plun-darrians advance on us from all around. I draw the Sword of Omens, and Cheetara pulls her bo-staff from the sheath on her arm. I can't believe that this is happening; I can hear Katzeran screaming, and as I look behind me, he fights his way through the guards that try to hold him back, and he jumps down off the stage behind us and hides behind us both. I press him behind us as we're forced back by the relentlessly advancing mob of Plun-darrians. How are we going to get out of here?

To be Continued...

Next time on Thundercats:

After successfully travelling to Plun-darr to rescue their son Katzeran, Lion-O and Cheetara have encountered a slight setback in their mission. With all of Plun-darr on high alert, will they be able to escape from the planet and return home to New Thundera safely without further jeopardy?

Find out in the next chapter of Thundercats: Wake Up!