Key:

Flashback = Flashback (Obviously)

Dream = Dream

Time Passage =...

- (BORDER) - = perspective change

Vision = Vision

Anyway, chapter information:

Genres: Drama, suspense and mystery.

Warnings: Scenes of violence and explicit language.

Date started (Chapter): Tuesday 11th July 2017

Date finished (Chapter):

Song/s: Feel Invincible by Skillet

Chapter 28: Feel Invincible

"Thank you so much for coming, Thundercats. We understand that our son was a very close friend and ally of yours, and he always spoke so fondly of you all, especially you, Lion-O."

I smile slightly as I bow to the pair, "We're glad to be in attendance, and we are extremely sorry for your loss." I say as the other Thundercats bow as well. I feel Katzeran grabbing at my legs, hiding behind me. I look down at him, to see that he's looking up at me in shock before peeping out from behind my legs.

"And who's this?" Hatchiman's Mother, Hana, asks as she kneels down to look at my cub, who immediately hides behind my legs again. I pick the young Litah up as I say "This is Katzeran, mine and Cheetara's son. Unfortunately, he's very shy, so he takes a while to warm up to people."

Katzeran nuzzles into my shoulder as he mumbles "Daddy, can we go home yet?"

"No, Katz. We can't go home yet." I whisper in his ear, and he groans slightly, then flops against me before yawning deeply and falling asleep in my arms, "I think somebody needed a nap – he's been awake for hours as the journey lasted from nine in the morning to half four in the afternoon, and he didn't sleep on the journey."

"Well, we will get you settled in and introduce you to our family. You will have a chance to rest, and then my husband Akiyoshi and I will be taking you out to show you our culture and traditions."

We follow her down the pathway lined with cherry blossom trees and ponds filled with koi carp, and we come to a beautiful house with whitewashed walls and support beams, with a decorative garden.

"You all have your own rooms, each with a futon to sleep on and the essentials, but as you have your son with you, Lion-O, we can provide an extra futon for him." Hana says as she shows us round. The inside of their home is relatively simple but very cosy and homely. She introduces us to Akiyoshi, then she takes us to our rooms.

I lay Katzeran down on one of the futons, and the cub curls up into the foetal position as he purrs, clutching his polar bear to his chest. Then, I go to help Cheetara with unpacking our bags, trying our best to not wake Katz.

"From what we've seen so far, I can already tell that this is a beautiful planet," Cheetara says as she lies our nightwear on the second futon, and I nod in agreement as I hang our formalwear in the wardrobe. "I wonder what we'll be doing tonight. I remember reading about an ancient country from when Third Earth was known as just Earth, called 'Japan', and this planet is Japanese. We obviously know some Japanese from Hatchiman, but even then, that's just the basics of the language." I say as I get into some more comfortable clothes – a white short-sleeved t-shirt and jeans, before storing my Thundercat uniform in one of the drawers.

"You look so handsome in that," Cheetara purrs as she looks up at me, "The tailor did a great job on making those for you. She even made sure to make it slightly loose so that you wouldn't accidentally tear the material considering exactly how heavily built you are."

"They still sometimes feel slightly tight when I move too much." I say as I sit down on our futon next to my wife as she takes out her casual wear – a floral-patterned skirt with a white short-sleeved top. She too gets changed, then we go for a wander round the garden, arm-in-arm. We sit next to the pond, lazily trailing our fingers in the water as the Koi carp suck on our fingers. We sit in the sun, staring off into the scenic landscape.

"Lion-O, I've got a question to ask you." Cheetara says as she looks at me.

"Sure," I say as I cuddle up to her, "What is it?"

"What do you know and remember about your Clan history?"

"Not a lot..."

"Run me through what you know."

"Why...?"

"Just do it, ok?"

"Ok, so I know that Satos is my ancestor and that he created the Sword of Omens. I'm from the original lion clan and I'm one of the last few pure-blooded lions left in that clan."

"Do you know exactly what species of lion you are?"

"Well...no, not really."

"Ok, so please promise me that you're not going to freak out."

"I won't."

"You're a Barbary lion."

"Wait...What? But Barbary lions are extinct!"

"Barbary lions aren't extinct. Plus, you were told that you were a Barbary when you were a cub. Don't you remember that?"

"Well, it has been quite a long time since I was that young." I chuckle, but I suddenly become serious again, "Yeah, now that you mention it, I remember Dad telling me that if I ever revealed my true clan, I'd get myself, him and Leo killed. And now that we've got Katzeran, he'd be killed too because he's half Barbary lion."

"But do you know exactly why Barbary lions are feared and hated so much?"

"No, not really."

"It's a long story; basically, there was a..." she begins, but Bengali cuts her off as he walks up to us. "Hana sent me to tell you that we're going to be leaving to go to the city soon. We'll be going out to dinner, and then going on a tour of the city."

"Ok, thanks Bengali."

"Hey, what were you guys talking about?"

I look at Cheetara, and she quickly says "Oh, nothing important, Ben."

"Really? But I heard you mentioning something about the Barbary lions – I thought that those guys were extinct."

I sigh deeply. "No, they're not extinct. As a matter of fact, I myself am a Barbary lion."

"Well, that does make sense and all, especially considering the fact that I've seen your markings before - those spots on your shoulders. Is it true that all species of lion evolved from your clan? It'd make sense considering the fact that you're called the original lion clan."

"I'm guessing so, Bengali, but I don't remember every little detail from when I was a cub." I say as I stand up before helping Cheetara to her feet. We go back to the house and get ready to leave, getting Katzeran dressed and ready, but he becomes clingy, meaning I have to carry him to our transport for the night.

As we make our way out to the city, Hana says "Our culture is a mixture of both modern and traditional. Our cuisine mainly consists of fish-based dishes as we are a costal nation. The current time of the year is spring, so there are some special wagashi with sakura. The restaurant where we will be dining tonight has traditional geisha performances, and I have pre-notified the staff of your status, so we have the 'best seats in the house' as the saying goes."

The atmosphere of the city is so amazing that words literally would never explain the sights, not to mention the amount of people. Once we arrive at the restaurant, we're met by a host of staff who take us to our seats right in front of the stage, and our drinks are bought to us straight away. Katzeran leans into me, slowly sipping his bottle of fruit juice as we put in our order for our food, and complimentary appetizers are bought to us. "Here we have sashimi, sushi, salmon onigiri, steamed chicken gyozas, shrimp and squid tempura, katsu chicken with a satay sauce and edamame beans." the waitress says, and she bows to us before leaving us to enjoy our starters. I notice that Katz is nodding off, delicately nibbling a piece of chicken, so I pull him onto my lap and he falls back to sleep again with his polar bear clutched to his chest. I only wake him up again when dinner arrives. He hungrily eats his bowl of grilled chicken, rice and vegetables as we eat our bowls of ramen, then the show starts.

...

As we wander through the streets of the city after the meal, I notice a woman standing in front of us. She looks at me, and her eyes are a vibrant icy blue colour. However, as we get closer to where she is stood, she simply disappears, that is, until we walk past a building with silken drapes covering the doorway. For whatever reason, I slip away from our group and walk through the drapes into a room which has the cloyingly spiced scent of incense. I see the woman sat on the floor in some sort of meditative pose. She doesn't even look at me, but she says "Welcome, my dear feline. I trust that you are here for a good reason, that reason being to discover more about your life, isn't it, Lion-O?"

I take a steady step back as I ask "How the hell do you know who I am? I've never met you before!"

She senses my unease and simply says "I can sense your aura, young Lord of the Thundercats. The Gods tell me a lot of great things about you, my boy. Come. Follow me and I will make everything clear to you."

I cautiously follow her into a back room where massive shelves filled with phials of various fluids fill every wall, scrolls littering the floor, and two seats. The woman looks at me and notices my bewildered expression. "You do not understand this, do you?"

I shake my head, and she simply laughs before retrieving a bottle of bright green liquid from the shelf. She gives it to me as she says "Drink it. Your questions will be answered upon doing so."

I wearily examine the contents of the bottle, lest the mystery fluid be some kind of poison. It's glowing slightly and is marbled with hues of dark green, gold and silver, and as I pop the cork, it gives out a tantalizingly sweet aroma, its scent reminding me somewhat of candyfruit. I look up at the woman, and she indicates that I should swallow the liquid, and so I Place the bottle to my lips and drink the contents. The flavour makes me gag and heave, as it is somewhat bitter yet unbelievably salty at the same time. It burns my throat like acid, and I'm bought to my knees as my insides run hot and cold, the blackness ebbing away at my vision. Before I pass out, I'm almost certain that I hear Mumm-ra's maniacal laughter…

"Dad! Dad, look at this!"

I look at Lion-O as he runs in holding a sheet of paper, a smile on his face. I sigh before looking away from my youngest eight-year-old son, turning my attention back to my meeting with Jaga and the other High Thunderian Council members.

"Yes, I know that it's a real threat to us, and that's why I want the Thunderguard to start conscripting all young, able-bodied male cats to join the army. The Plun-darrians have never before shown a surge in power like this and it bothers me."

"But Claudus, there will be an uproar from the people if you carry out that action."

"I know, Jaga. As much as I hate that idea, how much…"

"DAD!"

I turn to look at Lion-O again as I say "Lion-O, I'm really busy and I don't have time right now! I need you to leave!"

The young lion cub looks at me, his eyes misting with tears as his bottom lip quivers. "But Dad, I…" he whimpers, and I just lose it.

"L'ÛENCHO!" I shout as I stand up, making my son tremble as I shout at him in Thunderian, "When I tell you to do something, you do it and you NEVER answer back about it! Now GET OUT!"

Lion-O starts howling as he runs from the room, slamming the door behind him. When I turn to look back at my fellow Thunderians, they're all looking at me in absolute shock.

Lysander looks at me as he says "My King, I know it isn't my place to bring up how you raise your cubs, but that was uncalled for. The poor child only wanted to show you something!"

I sigh as I sit down. "Maybe," I say as I look at them, "But he knows better than to interrupt."

"But you allowed Prince Leo to talk to you whilst we were having this meeting. You are aware of how events like this could potentially cause psychological problems for Prince Lion-O in later life, aren't you?"

I sigh again. "He already has severe anger issues. I see what you mean. Gentlemen, it was nice seeing you again and we shall continue this meeting at a later date. As for now, I would like to go and speak to my son."

I walk out of the room and begin to make my way down the corridor, but a voice calling my name stops me. I turn to see a young serval walking towards me. "Who are you?" I ask as I step towards her, "I've never seen you before?"

"Who I am is not important, Lord of Thundera, but I am here to talk to you about Lion-O, your youngest son. As you may already be aware, he is part of a prophecy in which states that a son of Satos will save Thundera from extinction and lead his people to greatness against an ancient force of darkness and evil. The Gods have a special life for that young Barbary lion, Claudus, for he is truly one-of-a-kind. He is destined for wonderful things in life."

I turn away as I let what she just said sink in. "That may be true, my dear, but I have heard otherwise. It is not him but another lion cub who will…" I begin, but when I turn back around, she's gone. I shrug it off as being my imagination – there's no way that an unknown Thunderian could make their way into the Lair unnoticed.

I reach Lion-O's room and walk in to find my son sat in the corner hugging his knees, sobbing pitifully. I sigh and turn to walk away, but I hear him say "Dad, I know you don't like me. I know you wish you only had Leo – I know that you love him more than me. I know you love him more than me because you let him show you his school report during the meeting, but you wouldn't look at mine. I know I'm a disappointment to you and because of that, I sometimes wish I didn't exist. I'm sorry I can't be a better son..."

Tears stream down my cheeks as I walk out, the pain at what Lion-O said hitting me like a dagger to the heart. Hearing words like that from such a young cub? I can't believe it. I walk away, my eyes clouded with tears. I feel so guilty.

That night at dinner, Lion-O just sits at the table without even touching his meal. Lydia looks at her young stepson then looks at me. "Claudus," she says as Leo nudges his brother and tries to cheer him up, "Can we have a word outside?"

We step out of the Dining Room and Lydia crosses her arms over her chest. "Claudus, Lion-O told me about earlier. Why did you yell at him then walk out on him when he was trying to tell you how he felt?"

"He kept interrupting a crucial meeting!"

"He's only eight, Claudus! He probably doesn't know any better!"

"Still?"

"Look, I know that you miss Leandra, Claudus. Everybody does, but there's no need to keep blaming Lion-O for her death – it wasn't his fault! It was an unforeseen event."

"Lion-O! Lion-O, come on, kid! Wake up!"

My eyes fly open and I gasp for breath, choking as I gag and heave. My vision is blurry, but I can only just make out the forms of my friends fighting off the woman, who now doesn't look like a living being at all – her skin is as white as paper, and her entire body is giving off a mist-like haze. She hisses before disappearing.

"Get me blankets and something like a hot water bottle to warm him up again!" I hear Pumyra shout, and only now do I see how my skin is a pale shade of blue, and I realise that I feel so cold. I'm wrapped in various layers of blankets, and I pass out again seconds later...

- (BORDER) -

I scowl as I watch the Thundercats battling the Japanese spirit which I had summoned whilst Pumyra and the Wolfman try to bring Lion-O back into consciousness. The woman had come so close to ridding me of the young Thundercat, having almost stopped his heart by freezing him half to death to take his soul. I don't understand. How can Lion-O survive everything that I've thrown at him? It's impossible for a mortal being to do so, so what's so special about him?

I groan in frustration before starting to pace the floor. Nothing that I've tried ever works. It's almost as if the wretched cub can't die. However, I suppose that his clan has many 'hidden secrets' in the way of how powerful an individual lion is. I know that the original village of the Barbary lions is located somewhere within the forest surrounding the Capital city of New Thundera, but its location is unbeknown to anybody outside of the clan. With Lion-O thousands of miles away from New Thundera, the only other pure-blooded lion of the same clan who could tell me the whereabouts of the village is the wretched Thundercat's older brother, and having suffered a taster of the lion's strength and fury, I can't just appear to him in my true form, but he does have a soft-spot for his brother.

I turn back to my cauldron and raise my arms. "Ancient Spirits of Evil!" I shout, my voice booming and echoing throughout my throne room, "Transform this decrepit body into Lion-O, the young Lord of the Thundercats!"

The transformation is quick, and my resemblance to the young Barbary lion is uncanny, right down to the scars that cover his body. I chuckle evilly, causing Ma-mutt to wake from his slumber and start barking and growling viciously in the back of his throat before starting to run at me, believing that I actually am the infernal do-gooder. "Can it, you contentious canine!" I snap, making the undead hound stop in his tracks and tilt his head in confusion, "It's me, your master!" He whimpers before retreating, and I smirk. My disguise must be very convincing for my own pet to try and attack me. I just hope it works on Leo.

...

Leo looks up at me as I walk into his hut which he is repairing. He smiles at me before saying "Hi, Lion-O. I didn't think you'd be back from The Red Planet so soon! Either way, could you give me a hand? I've got some boxes of my stuff which I saved from the fire outside, and it'd be great if you could help me bring them back in."

I chuckle. The lion looks at me and asks "Lion-O? You are ok, aren't you?"

I don't answer him, just staring at him until he becomes uneasy. He slowly reaches behind him, so I launch at him as he shrieks in fear. "Lion-O! I'm sorry about attacking you but it was out of my control!" he cries as he rapidly moves out of the way, so I cackle and force myself to transform back into my true form, and Leo's face goes pale.

"Mumm-ra!" he cries, rapidly backing off as I advance on him, and I can clearly see the fear in his eyes.

"That's right, Leo. I should make you pay for what you did to me, but I'm going to let you live…for now…because I need you to do something for me!" I say coldly, and the lion growls as I see the purple glowing flames forming on his hands as his eyes change colour, seconds before he hurls a rapid volley of violet-coloured fireballs at me, which I easily deflect and throw back at him, knocking him back a few pegs.

He fearfully looks up at me as my shadow towers over him, and I seize hold of his shirt and pick him up off of the floor as he begs me not to hurt him.

"Pathetic!" I spit as he helplessly hangs in mid-air, "I thought you'd be more like your brother. He's younger than you, but he's braver than you in every sense of the word. He'd be disappointed in you if he knew about this!"

Leo snarls, bearing his fangs as he growls "Well it's not often that you have to go unarmed against the undead demon that keeps trying to kill your brother!"

I smirk before casually walking outside and taking off into the sky.

"Besides, whatever it is that you want me to do, you can forget it! I'll fucking die before I even consider helping you!"

I look down at the lion, amused by his brazen words. "You say that, Leo, but if you don't help me, then I'll torture your little brother in front of you, and due to your twin bond, you'll feel the same unthinkable agonies that he does up until it kills him and you feel the bond shatter."

Leo growls again. "Your threat is just words to me, Mumm-ra! You couldn't possibly even harm a hair on Lion-O's head because he has powers far greater than yours! He's wipe the floor with your sorry ass!"

I shock the lion, making him scream as the electricity courses through his body. "Watch what you say to me, Thundercat! Your life is expendable!"

Leo sighs before weakly saying "I'm not a Thundercat. I was once, but I left them when I was captured."

With that, I rip the arm of his shirt off, revealing the Eye of Thundera which is carved into the lion's skin, the scar coloured with black ink.

"If you are not a Thundercat, boy, then why is the Eye clearly tattooed onto your arm?"

"A remnant of the past…"

I sniff contemptuously before saying "Tell me where the ruins of the lion clan village is, or I'll kill you!"

"I'll never tell you!" he roars defiantly, "What don't you understand! I'm never going to reveal it!"

"Stupid cub!" I snap, and I let go of him – he falls through the air towards the ground as he screams, "For a second, I thought you had potential. However, there is always going to be a stubborn streak in your bloodline, and it'll eventually be your downfall."

I hear the branches of the trees breaking as he falls through them towards his inevitable death. However, I go to check that the fall has done its work. I see that he's landed on a patch of thick grass. He's bleeding, but when I go to see if he has a pulse, a blue glint catches the corner of my eyes, and so I look up and notice the ring of stone – the clan village.

I leave the lion laying on the forest floor and begin to make my way towards the ruins, and I notice the stone pillar in the centre of the circle which has a beautiful blue gem embedded within it. I place my hand on one of the outlying stones which has a smaller red stone, and the ensuing shockwave sends me flying. I growl with anger as I get back up, just as I hear a voice say "I wouldn't try that again if I was you."

"Satos!"

The ghostly lion laughs before calmly saying "I trust that you've heard the ancient tales, Mumm-ra? After my people fled the massacre of our clan, we set up a barrier to prevent certain types of people from entering the village. Evil ones with the intention to maim and murder may not enter, and if you for some unseen reason do manage to, your death will be fiery and fearsome."

"You seem to have forgotten, boy, that I am immortal. Death can never befall me."

Satos smirks before disappearing, so I unsheathe the Sword of Plun-darr before striking at the stone which I touched, only causing myself to get thrown back again. Again and again, I slice at the stone to only be met with the same result. Angered, I give a shout and ram the Sword straight into the red stone, and the shockwave is huge and is accompanied with a deafening boom. When I look up, I notice that the swirling colours of the barrier are gone. I cautiously get up to see, and to my delight, I am now able to walk past the stone, and it occurs to me that I have just destroyed the barrier.

"Finally!" I roar triumphantly as I stand in the centre of the circle of stone, "After all this time, the secrets of the Barbary lion clan will be mine! I will finally find out how to destroy Lion-O once and for all!"

- (BORDER) -

I jump as Lion-O suddenly lets out a sharp cry before falling to the floor, screaming in horror as he clutches his head. "Lion-O! Oh my God, what's wrong?" I ask as I try to sit him still, and another shock hits me when I see that his eyes are glowing an eerie bright blue colour.

"Darkness…Evil…Evil will befall us…He's done it…He's broken the barrier!"

"Lion-O, what are you talking about?" I ask as I try to help him to his feet.

He suddenly lets out a horrifically ear-piercing, keening scream before shrieking "Mumm-ra's broken the barrier to the ruins of the clan village! He has seriously wounded Leo, but he's…he's still alive…"

Then, with that, Lion-O collapses on the floor as I look at the other Thundercats.

"This is seriously bad, guys. Those ruins contain all of the secrets of the Barbary lions, so God knows what Mumm-ra will unearth there!"

To be continued…

Next time on Thundercats:

After breaking the protective barrier of the ruins of the Barbary lion clan village, Mumm-ra learns of the prophecy surrounding Lion-O's birth and of the powers that the young Lord of the Thundercats will inherit once he comes of age. Can Lion-O prevent his people's ancient secrets from getting out?

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