A/N: This is the first chapter of Era 3 and it takes place five years into the future after the previous chapter. The cub who Lion-O and Cheetara had is Lola, her first appearance having been in my one-shot 'A Seaside Adventure'. Plus, this chapter has taken a very long time to write as I have been so busy that I completely forgot about it due to college work…so I'm sorry if it's a bit short. I hope you all had fabulous holidays and that 2018 is being kind to y'all so far :D

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): Monday 2nd October 2017

Date finished (Chapter): Monday 5th February 2018

Song/s: Burn It Down by Linkin Park

Chapter 30: Burn It Down

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy, Wake up! Wake up!"

I groan and roll onto my front as my young daughter rapidly shakes my arms and pulls at my mane, trying to make me get up.

"Lola, go back to bed! It's five in the morning!" I mumble into my pillow, but the five year old doesn't give up on trying. "Fine, I'm up!" I yawn as I push myself up onto my elbows, looking at my daughter as she stands at my side of the bed, her tail twitching at the tip. I grab her and swiftly pull her under the covers as she squeals, laughing and squirming.

"Why are you up so early?" I ask as I yawn, to which she pipes up with "I'm bored and I want you to play with me! Kate...Kat...Kateran...Katz won't, and he yelled at me when I went into his room."

I sigh before looking back at Cheetara who is still asleep. "Well, you know what Katzeran is like, not to mention that he isn't very well after last night." I say, slightly amused at the fact that Lola still can't pronounce her older brother's name, before sitting up and getting out of bed, pulling my black dressing gown on over my pyjama bottoms and bare chest. The young cub drags me to her room and makes me sit on the floor with her, playing with her dolls for a while until Cheetara walks in, wrapped in her fluffy white dressing gown. I don't notice her at first, that is, until she gets our attention by coughing slightly.

"Mummy!" Lola cries before getting up and running to the cheetah for a cuddle. My wife picks the young Litah up before asking "So, when did this cheeky little monster con you out of your sleep?"

I yawn again before looking at the clock on the wall. "About an hour ago. I'm surprised that she didn't wake you considering how loud she was telling me to get up."

"Oh no, she woke me up, but I lay there until I fell back to sleep." Cheetara laughs, so I give her a hurt look, "It's the weekend and I needed a lie-in after last night. Besides, it's breakfast time, too."

I sigh deeply. Last night saw Katzeran being sick until the early hours of the morning after going to the birthday party of one of his closest friends and eating too much. Cheetara takes Lola down to the Dining Room as I go to check on our son.

I knock on his door before walking in to see him curled into the foetal position on his bed. "Hey, buddy," I say as I walk up to him and sit down before putting my hand on his forehead, sighing when I realise that he has a fever, "How are you feeling?"

Katzeran groans slightly before weakly saying "I still feel sick, Dad. I keep throwing up and it's horrible. My stomach hurts so much..." But before he can finish his sentence, the cub starts heaving and I realise that he's about to throw up again, and I only just get him into the bathroom on time.

"Right, you're staying in bed today and I'll get Pumyra to check you over," I say as I rub his back, "For all we know, you could have a really nasty case of salmonella poisoning or a stomach bug."

The young Litah groans as I help him get back into bed, and I notice that he's got his old polar bear plush by his side. "You know, I'm surprised that you still have this," I laugh as I pick it up, "It's seen better days, but it's amazingly still as white as it was when we got it for you." Katzeran chuckles as I give him the bear back, and he cuddles back into the blankets after I make him strip down to his underwear, showing his spots, rosettes and the grey stripe down his spine, "If you get any hotter, we'll have to trim your fur."

"But you can't cut my fur off! All the other kids in school will bully me! I mean, they do anyway…because I'm a Litah…" he complains weakly, so I sit back down on the edge of his bed as I ask "They bully you? Because you're a crossbreed?"

"Yeah…"

I growl slightly, angered by what my son has just told me. "What exactly do they say to you, Katz?"

He sighs. "They call me all sorts of foul names and they say that if I ever assume the throne, they'll revolt and kill me. They say that half-bloods can't rule Thundera and they'll make sure of it! Dad, they know what we are…they know you're a Barbary lion…"

"Do I need to go into your school and have a word with your headmaster? Because I bet you haven't said a word to them."

He sighs weakly before lying on his side as I gently rub his back. His fur is slick with sweat, so he's definitely going to need it trimmed. "Please don't go in…I'd rather be teased as I am now than have it made worse by having you go in."

I sigh and say "And I'd rather get it sorted than let it go on."

Katz groans again and starts shivering, so I go back into the bathroom and soak a square of flannel in cold water, wring it out then walk back into his room and place the cold flannel on Katzeran's forehead.

"Thanks, Dad." he whispers softly, so I gently kiss his boiling hot forehead before saying "Now you try to get some more sleep, and I'll be back up after breakfast with Pumyra to get you checked out."

He nods and buries his head in the pillows, so I open his window to let some cool air in and leave the door open to allow the air to circulate, then I go down to the dining room to get some breakfast. I sit in my chair next to Cheetara as Snarf hands out dishes of candyfruit porridge.

"Sneeyarf, Sneeyarf! How's Katzeran doing after last night?" Snarf asks as he places a bowl in front of me. I sprinkle a spoonful of brown sugar on my helping as I grimly reply with "He's still being sick and his fever has crept up. I think he has a stomach bug or the flu. If you could check him over, Pumyra, it'd be great."

The puma finishes her breakfast before going with Cheetara to get Katzeran checked out as Lola wriggles into my lap. We talk about the news and the upcoming Spring Ball, which takes place in a few days, which eventually leads to a conversation about how we haven't been bothered by neither the Mutants nor the Lunataks. We started an alliance with Plun-darr shortly after Mumm-ra's defeat, which has been rather interesting at times, too.

"It's been rather laid-back ever since we defeated Mumm-ra, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has, and I love it that way," I reply as I cuddle Lola, "It means that we're safe to raise our cubs."

"Yeah, it does." Bengali chuckles as his and Pumyra's twin two year old cubs try to wriggle onto his lap, "Alisia! Bemani!" he cries as they pull at his fur, trying to climb up onto him, but he scoops the pair up and sits them in his lap as they giggle. "Kids, eh?" he laughs, to which I reply with "Oh, it's an absolute joy raising them."

The tiger simply chuckles again. "You can say that again..." he remarks as the twins grab at the tablecloth. That's the thing that makes me laugh about those two little pumigers – they both have their Father's mischievous streak, but then again, I can safely say the same thing about my two.

Almost all of us have cubs now – me and 'Tara have Katz and Lola, Bengali and Pumyra have Alicia and Bemani, Panthro and Marcia have a litter of three, namely Samos, Tristan, and Cathleen, and Tygra has twin boys with his wife, Annalie, named Tyrone and Kaylen.

It's never been a safer time to have a family, and Wilykat and Wilykit are young adults at the age of 25. Kit is already married to a young jaguar, and Kat is courting another young wildcat. I don't think I've ever seen them so happy, and I know I'm never going to forget about the crush Kit had on me when we were younger – me marrying 'Tara and having Katzeran helped her grow out of it. However, I do still sometimes find myself wondering exactly how different things would have turned out if I had have remained as a 12 year old cub. That outcome would have been wholly different, and perhaps unpleasant.

"Daddy, are you ok?"

Lola's questioning snaps me out of my deep thought, and I see everyone looking at me, with a guard stood at the other end of the table.

"Lion-O, my King, do you believe it?"

I look around in confusion, embarrassed at the fact that I don't even know what they were talking about.

"I'm sorry; I didn't quite catch what you said...?" I say lamely, to which the Guard replies with "There's a Barbary lioness downstairs who wishes to speak to you, My Lord, and we have every reason to believe that she is Lydia, your Stepmother..."

- (BORDER) -

I look down on the reptilian in pure hatred and scorn, willing him to just kill me on the spot. I lick my lips in vain attempt to rid myself of the foul metallic tang of blood, but nothing could ever be done to get rid of the screaming pains in my ribcage and sides.

"Sso, Lydia...how did you allow the cub to essscape?"

I growl in fury at the Mutant. There's no way in which they could ever force me to give away how I managed to help Leo escape. It's my sworn duty to my mate and stepson to ensure that he reaches safety and rejoins Jaga, the other Thundercats and his little brother, and I'll die before I give away where I sent the cub.

"You'll kill me before I even consider giving you the answer, you vile creature!" I hiss, and the Mutant snarls before taking a metal pole from a sheath on his belt.

"I'll force you to talk then...The pain will become sso bad that you'll be forced to talk in order to spare you from the pain of your existence, but you'll still die! Your entire ssspeciesss is extinct, Barbary lionesss...You may have well sssent the young Prince to his death..."

The pain of the sharp, warped metal striking my body is beyond belief, but I force myself to stifle my cries of pain. I will never reveal where I sent the cub...

He strikes me again, hitting me hard in the stomach, and I can't help but scream at him. "Don't! I'm pregnant!" I scream, tears rolling down my cheeks at the fiery pain in my belly, but the Mutant gives me a cold, callous smirk.

"Iss that sso...? Well...you'll lose the cub before I'm finissshed with you, my dear..."

He strikes me again but harder this time, and I yowl in pain as I feel my cub squirm slightly. Me and Claudus were going to tell the boys a few weeks after we found out, but the destruction of Thundera put a wrench in the plans.

"DAMN YOU, WOMAN! TELL ME WHERE PRINCE LEO ISSS!"

"Never! I'll never tell you!" I roar, and he strikes me hard around the head, and everything goes cold and black...

I look up as the door opens, and my eyes meet those of a strong, young Barbary lion, and I realise that I recognise him immediately.

"Lion-O...My goodness, look at how you've grown!" I say as I stand up, and the look of shock and disbelief on his face registers with me far quicker than the crushing embrace that my youngest stepson gives me.

"Lydia...I can't believe it..." he says weakly, tears streaming down his cheeks, "How did you survive? Leo told us what happened to you - he said that the Mutants killed you after you helped him escape!"

I smile at him. "I managed to escape and was found by some other Barbaries. I lived with them until we reached New Thundera when it reformed – the Barbary Village in the Northern Mountains somehow survived the explosion of Old Thundera, and so I returned to where I had previously lived before marrying your Father. Years passed and we heard that you had been crowned King of New Thundera, and a few months later, we learned that you had married Cheetara and that she was expecting your first cub. When Katzeran was born shortly after your 21st Birthday, we celebrated as how the ancient traditions go, and yet again after Lola was born. You need to visit the Village, Lion-O. Everyone is eager to meet you and your brother – the descendants of the cat who was the saviour of the Barbary clan."

"Are they aware of our relation to Jansh'r?"

"Yes, but Satos rectified that. They're eager to welcome you and Leo into their lives – you yourself are like a God to them due to the Prophecy."

"How do you know about that?"

"Lion-O, I married your Father. He told me everything about the Prophecy concerning you." I say, and I sigh before continuing, "Plus, you have someone who you need to meet, too."

He gives me a confused look.

"Lion-O, you have a stepsister. A young lioness named Karys."

"Wait...What?"

The expression of confusion on his face is priceless. "Lion-O, I was pregnant when Thundera exploded and I gave birth to the cub five months after escaping from the Mutants. Karys is 20 years old and she is desperate to meet her brothers," I fish a photograph of her out of one of my pockets, "Here, look."

I hand him the photograph and he studies it with interest. "Wait, so she's my sister?" he asks, sounding extremely sceptical about the whole situation, "Why does she look like a white lion?"

I sigh. "I myself half White and half Barbary, but the Barbary shows more due to my Father being from the clan. Karys favours the white lineage due to the genetics of taking after the mother in female cubs."

"Ah...That explains it then..." Lion-O sighs, "I'm guessing that my Mother also hailed from the Village?"

I nod. "Your Mother, Queen Leandra, was once a Barbary princess. She and your Father were acquainted at a dinner party when they were young, and as Claudus was at the age to search for a mate, he saw your Mother and fell in love with her that second. It took him multiple attempts before she agreed to court him, and they fell in love and bonded closely, marrying at the age of 20 and having you and Leo in the following years when both were 27.

"Leandra's death affected your Father terribly. He became a shell of the man he once was, unable to recover from the loss of his soulmate..."

"But you married Dad when me and Leo were eight. Surely that...y'know...changed him back?"

I sigh again. "Lion-O, I loved your Father as much as he loved me, but we never bonded as closely as he did to Leandra. Barbary lions are one of the only few clans that mate for life, the others being the Cheetahs, Snow Leopards, and Tigers. Once you lose your lifemate, you never bond so closely with another person, nor do you usually live that long after they pass away."

He leads me to the upper floors before entering a room, where I see Cheetara with a young puma, accompanied by two Litah cubs who I immediately know are Katzeran and Lola.

Cheetara looks up as Lion-O enters, and when he gently pushes me in front of him, she gasps in shock. "Lydia...Holy Thundera, it's great to see you again!" she says as she smiles warmly and gives me a friendly embrace, and when I look at the pair of cubs, Lola immediately runs and hides behind her Father as Katzeran coughs weakly.

"Lola, sweetie, no need to be shy," Lion-O says as he picks the young cub up, and I immediately notice the tail and ears that she has. She looks like the female version of her Father, despite the spots, and Katzeran's resemblance to Lion-O is just uncanny, even with his long golden, red-streaked mane. "Lola, Katzeran," Lion-O says as he sits on the bed, "This is your grandmother."

Katzeran sits up, despite looking unwell, and says hi, but Lola buries her face into Lion-O's chest. "She's very shy." he says, so I reply with "I remember a little lion cub who was very shy about meeting me for the first time."

This makes him turn bright red as I chuckle. "Yeah, I remember that. I didn't feel too sure about you to begin with..."

I sigh yet again. "I'm honestly not surprised due to that lioness your Father was with before me...there's a reason why the Barbaries and Asiatics don't mix." I say as I cross my arms over my chest, "The Asiatics are evil to us..."

Lion-O groans. "I've got a meeting with the Asiatic elder soon too..."

"Good look with that," I scoff, "Az'takvis is a cold-hearted, callous man who is campaigning to keep the hunting of Barbary lions going and to get the Royal lions to disclose their clan to the public."

He groans again. "Well that's just great..." he says, and I hear the overly sarcastic tone to his voice.

"But remember, you're backed by the other lion clans – the Katangas, Whites, Capes and all the others, not to mention the Barbaries."

"I know, but the Asiatics are possibly the largest lion clan and they have the backing of the two largest lesser cat clans – the Servals and Caracals..." He has a good point, but they are weak from what I remember his Father telling me.

"Come on, we'd better go and get you some food and drink, and I need to let Leo know that you've been found..." he says, so he gets up, Lola still clinging to his back, and leads me to the Kitchen where Snarf is cleaning plates, and when he sees me, he immediately cooks up some food for me.

- (BORDER) -

"Patch my brother through. He needs to hear this."

"Right away, Your Majesty."

Leo answers the call almost immediately, and to begin with, he doesn't look best pleased. "Lion-O, I hope you've got a decent reason for disrupting me. I was in the middle of teaching the boys their daily lessons concerning the duties of the Chieftain of the Ferrals – I'm really busy."

"Leo, you're really gonna need to hear this!"

He sighs. "Ok, I'm listening. What is it?"

"I know you're never gonna believe this, but the Barbary lions have been found!"

"What, what?"

"It's true. We've found our people."

"But how? It's impossible! The Barbaries are almost extinct – we're some of the only ones left!"

"Or so we thought. Leo, Lydia is here. She survived."

He gasps. "She's alive?"

"Yeah. She escaped the Mutants and lives in the Barbary Village in the Northern Mountains."

"Holy...It does exist..."

"Yup. Mum came from there, too."

"I think I remember Dad telling us that because she was a Barbary princess."

"Yeah."

...

"Lydia...I can't believe it."

I smile slightly as I watch Leo hugging Lydia. She risked her life to save his. Jøhba and Bräiden watch cautiously. Jøhba is 14 and Bräiden is 22, and both tend to be a bit rebellious.

"Dad, who the heck is she?" Jøhba hisses, his fur puffing up, so Leo replies with "Jøhba, don't you dare be so rude, young man! She's your Grandmother."

He huffs and his fur stands completely on end. "But your Mum died when you were born."

Leo's fur bristles as he growls. "Jøhba, watch it!" Leo growls in Thunderian, so the young lion replies with "For Jaga's sake, Dad, can't you leave me alone?" and storms off.

Leo groans. "Little gobshite..." he growls angrily before turning to me, "I hope for your sake that Katz is nothing like Jøhba is...I could seriously knock some damn sense into him at times..."

Bräiden hurries off after his little brother as Lydia talks to Leo and me.

"I know this is such short notice, you two, but would it be at all possible for you both to come to the Barbary Village today and stay for a week?"

"If I did, then I'd have the issue of an overly-clingy five year old giving her Mother hell at bedtime..."

"I can, but I would more-than-likely get back to find that Bräiden has killed Jøhba...the rivalry between them is worse than what it was between me and Lion-O..."

"I'm afraid that you'd both have to come on your own. It's the only way for you to reconnect with your clan, both physically and mentally. I'm certain that everyone would understand you having to be away for a week, and you have a lot to learn that only another Barbary can teach you."

I sigh. Leo agrees to go, and when they look at me, I say "I'll see. Let me talk to the others and I'll let you know."

...

I quickly pack my bag for the week under the watchful eyes of my five-year-old daughter. I can sense her staring at me as I put my warm winter clothing into the case, and when I turn to look at her, she immediately goes back to playing with her pink rabbit teddy.

When I go into the bathroom to pack my wash bag, she pipes up with "Where you going, Daddy?"

"I'm going away for a few days but I'll be back this time next week." I say as I walk back into my room. She tilts her head slightly, her ears pricking up as she watches me packing the last few bits.

"Can I come too?" she asks hopefully, her tail twitching slightly at the tip. I sigh slightly.

"I'm afraid not, kiddo..." I say, watching as her bottom lip quivers and her eyes brim with tears, her ears lying flat against her mane.

"Wh...Why not?" she croaks, her tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Because I need to go by myself, sweetheart. I'll be back again before you know it, though."

"I don't care! I WANT TO GO WITH YOU!" she wails, sounding distraught that I'm going away.

"I know, sweetie, but you can't." I say, holding the young Litah as she miserably sobs into my chest, "Hey, I won't be gone long. Plus, you'll have fun here with Katz and Mummy."

The cub sniffles and looks up at me. "But I don't want you to go away! I want you to stay here with me!" she cries, her whole body shaking from her heavy sobs.

"Oh Lola…" I sigh as I stand up, holding my daughter close to me, "Don't go getting yourself all worked-up, bab. I'll really be back soon, okay? In the meantime, you promise me that you'll be a good girl for Mummy and that you won't tease your brother. You know how irritated he gets when you do. And when you go into his room without asking, remember how he snaps at you when you do it?"

She sniffles again and knuckles her eyes. "Ok, Daddy…I promise…" She yawns and lolls against me, and when Cheetara comes in to tell me that Leandra is waiting with Leo to travel to the Village, I pass the cub to my wife before grabbing my case.

"This is going to be an interesting experience," I say as we walk down the corridor. Katzeran is waiting by the door, feeling a bit better after having taken an anti-nausea medication that Pumyra gave him earlier to keep the vomiting at bay.

"Will you tell me everything you learn?" he asks as he hugs me, so I sigh deeply. "Well," I say as I ruffle his mane, "That all depends on exactly what there is to learn, really. I don't want you knowing everything until you're old enough – some is too dark for a cub your age."

He scowls as I laugh, and after bidding goodbye to my family, I take my case to the transport and greet my brother and stepmother, hesitating when I hear Lola crying for me.

"She'll be alright, Lion-O," Lydia says as she places a hand on my shoulder, "She has to learn that you're not going to be around all the while, and to expect to be away from you at times. You've had to go away to Third Earth and Plun-darr for weeks at a time in the past."

I sigh as I put my cases in the trunk of the transport. "I know, but I'm always attacked by Lola when I get back. She's a holy little terror whenever I go anywhere."

We get into the vehicle and start our journey, and I can see the snowy peaks of the Northern Mountains in the distance. "Exactly how far up the Mountains is the Barbary Village?" I ask, to which Lydia replies with "Only 5 miles below the summit. Temperatures get as low as minus fifty degrees Celsius so I hope you're prepared for that. Plus, I hope you don't mind, but you two will be sharing a room."

Both me and Leo look at our stepmother then. "I'm sorry…what?"

"Oh, come on! Stop being so pathetic! You're both in your thirties now so sharing a room shouldn't bother you! And I don't want you two fighting over it either." Lydia says as she passes us each a cup of a thick brown liquid. "Um…" I say quietly as she looks at me, "If this is hot chocolate, then I can't have it…"

"Don't tell me you're allergic too?"

"Wait…who else…?"

"Your Aunt was so Claudus never let you two have candy or chocolate in case you were allergic to it too." she says as she takes the cup of chocolate from me and instead hands me a cup of hot mulled cider.

"Oh, so that's why he went nuts when he found out that we'd discovered his hidden toffee stash and pigged the whole jar…" Leo chuckles, and I can't help but laugh at the memory – we'd found the huge jar of bonfire toffee which Dad was keeping hidden in the pantry in the kitchen of the Lair, which me and Leo would raid often because of the spiced Mirabelle plums in sugar syrup which Snarf made, and we found the jar and ate five kilograms of bonfire toffee between us. We were sicker than dogs when Dad found us, stomachs painfully filled with a sickly mix of plums and toffee, and he then banned us from eating sweets and candy outright.

"Yes, he wasn't happy with you that day," Lydia chuckles, "I can still see his face now upon finding you both."

We grin sheepishly, and then we settle down in the back of the fancy car for the remainder of the five hour journey to the Village…

Next time on Thundercats:

After discovering that Lydia, his stepmother is alive, Lion-O stays a week in the Barbary Village to discover more about his family and his ancestry, but when he uncovers the shocking truth about his distant great grandfathers, it will leave him questioning himself in every way possible with the one question standing out above them all:

Are Barbary lions all hardwired to turn evil?

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