Wake Up

by PhantomMaws

A fan continuation of the original series, exploring relationships that were hinted at during the show. Set shortly after The Book of Omens, what if Mumm-Ra was not defeated but was biding his time in a plot to finally destroy the Thundercats once and for all? Set over three eras and 20 years. [UPDATE 15/12/23: NO LONGER BEING UPDATED]

18. Chapter 17: Not Gonna Die - Part I

A/N: Finally! *squeals with excitement* The new chapter is finally done! After nearly three months! #VictoriousFace! Anyways, I'm sorry that it has taken so long, but I have just moved up into Year 10, and i have to work harder than ever because I have my GCSE's next year... :'(

Hope you enjoy it! :3

Key:

Flashback = Flashback (Obviously)

Dream = Dream

Time Passage =...

- (BORDER) - = perspective change

Anyway, chapter information:

Genres: Adventure and Drama

Warnings: Scenes of violence, adult themes and explicit language. !CHARACTER DEATH!

Date started (Chapter): Thursday 23rd July 2015

Date finished (Chapter): Monday 14th September 2015

Song/s: Not Gonna Die by Skillet

Chapter 17: Not Gonna Die, Part I

"WHAT?"

"I don't know how it happened, but it did. The Sword of Omens only showed me Mumm-ra drugging them and that they were on Third Earth in the Phosphorous desert, not how he managed to get to them or how he sent them there." I say as I sit back in my seat and put my feet up on the table. Usually, if Snarf was here, he'd lightly hit me around the back of my head with a wooden spoon for putting my feet up on the table, especially if I was wearing my boots.

Snarfer purrs anxiously as he jumps up onto my shoulders, and then says "What are we going to do about rescuing them? We can't just leave them there; they'll die!"

I gently grab Snarfer under his arms and hold him in front of me as I say "Trust me, Snarfer. We'll get them back safely, I promise."

"But how can you be sure?"

He purrs nervously, then turns to look at Sebastian as the Wolfman says "You can trust us, Snarfer. As you should know by now, you can trust Lion-O because he keeps his promises."

I turn to look at Cheetara, who is cradling a very sick Katzeran in her arms. She picks up a bottle of warm milk and tries to get Katz interested in drinking it, but our son isn't having any of it. "Is there anything that you can do to help Katzeran whilst we're away on the mission, Pumyra?" I ask the puma as she sits down next to Bengali.

"There is a medicine that can cure influenza and we need to make a new batch, but our stores of the ingredients are running low. We'll have to go to your brother for some of the ingredients." she says as Katzeran starts squealing. After last night's 'joyful' time being kept awake for a few hours by our son's screaming, then waking up from that nightmare, I have a pounding headache and I just want some sleep.

"Sneeyarfer, Sneeyarfer! Good luck with that, Pumyra. Leo's a spiteful little..."

"SNARFER! That's my brother you're talking about!" I snap as I shoot a stern look at the red and yellow cat.

He shies away as Pumyra walks out of the room, and says "Well, he is different from who he was when he was a cub. Uncle Snarf told me about how he used to adore you when you were both younger; he's different now."

I sigh then say "Well, on with the discussion. As for the current stance with both Snarf and Tygra being stuck in the Phosphorous desert, a plan needs to be devised. I will take four of you with me to Third Earth in the Feliner, and the rest of you will stay here and man Cats' Lair. Cheetara will be in charge whilst we're gone because I will be taking Bengali, Sebastian, Lynx-O and Snarfer. It will be dangerous, but if we take all of the correct precautions, we should get everyone back alive."

"But what if that isn't possible?"

"Trust me, it will be. I can promise you that, Snarfer." I say, but the little cat purrs with anxiety.

"Sneeyarfer! But why do you want me to go with you? I'm not a warrior!"

"I know that, but you're an expert in electronics. We might need you for this rescue mission." I say as I gently pat his shoulders. I'm surprised that Jaga hasn't tried to warn me about anything. Usually, he appears to me and gives me some random smarmy speech about not rushing into the situation without thoroughly thinking. I turn to Cheetara and see that she's struggling with Katzeran, who won't stop squirming and crying as my wife tries to eat her breakfast.

"Here, let me take him." I say as I take our tiny cub from her. The litah starts crying harder as I gently rub his back. He coughs and splutters, each breath for air violently shaking his tiny, frail body, leaving him too startled to even continue crying. "I swear, Lion-O," Cheetara says as I carefully eat some of my toast "He looks more and more like you every day. But, you do realize that we might want to be careful when he gets older. Hopefully, he won't be a little shit like you were. You ran us and your father around in circles, and you drove Snarf mad. Plus, there was the time where you got arrested."

I chuckle slightly as Pumyra walks back into the dining room, carrying a bottle of deep pink medicine and a syringe. "I've got some medicine, but it isn't the medicine that can cure influenza. He might object about it and try to spit it out, but he needs to swallow it. It should help the illness subside until we have the proper medicine." she says as she takes the bottle of milk and puts a syringe of the medicine in the milk. She hands it back to me so I try to put the teat in Katzeran's mouth, and this time, he starts to hungrily down it.

"Well, we do still need a proper plan. We can't just rush in without a plan." Sebastian says as he polishes his katana.

"Can't we come, Lion-O? We're always stuck in the Lair, doing all of the boring stuff when we could be with you, helping kick some Mutant ass!" Wilykit says, so I reply "You can't come because it's too dangerous for a pair of kittens like you. Sure enough, you are both now 14, but you're too young for a proper battle; you could be killed. No. I'm not going to risk anything. You're still too young."

"Aww...Lion-O! PLEASE?"

"NO! You're both staying here!" I snarl, raising my voice slightly, making them both jump, as well as Katz. The tiny litah cub starts wailing forlornly again, not quietening down, even when I rub his back and gently rock him in my arms. I rest him on my chest and purr, trying to calm my son down and it works because he stops crying and mews, trying to crawl up my chest. I put him over my shoulder and gently pat his back once he completely finished the bottle of milk, and I feel him grab a handful of my mane.

"Lion-O, watch out! He's gonna..."

Too late, I realize that Katzeran is about to pull my mane; I yelp as he tugs my mane, and when I try to pull him off of me, he clings to me, not letting go as I try to get him off.

"Either way, as for the plan, we'll come low over the Phosphorous Desert from behind and skim across, making sure to keep a low profile as we go over the ruins of the old Cats' Lair." I say as Cheetara takes Katzeran and holds him as he falls asleep.

"Sneeyarfer! Sneeyarfer! This is going to be fun! Oooooh, yup! Absolutely brilliant!"

I look round at my friends. They all look determined. Tygra and Snarf have been on Third Earth too long already.

"Right then," Panthro says as he stands up "If we're gonna do it, let's do it!"

"THUNDERCATS, HO!"

- (BORDER) -

Later that day...

"Mumm-ra! Mumm-ra! MUMM-RA!"

I open my eyes and cautiously raise my head as the lid of my sarcophagus slides across. Ma-mutt impatiently grabs my foot and drags me towards the cauldron.

"What is it, oh mighty Ancient Spirits of Evil?"

"Look into the cauldron, Mumm-ra, and you shall see why you must prepare yourself!"

I walk towards the cauldron and wave my hand over the brackish waters, and I see the Feliner flying through the endless vacuum of space; the Thundercats are on their way to Third Earth! I can see Lion-O and Bengali piloting the Feliner, and Sebastian the Wolfman is sitting in the seat behind them, with Lynx-O and Snarfer sitting in the passenger compartment.

I can hear what they're saying clearly, and what I hear makes me roar with laughter:

"How much longer have we got left to go, Bengali?"

"Reowrrrr! Not much longer, Lion-O."

"I don't have such a good feeling about this, Ben. I have a feeling that Mumm-ra is watching us."

"Don't feel so uneasy. I'm sure everything's gonna be fine. You don't need to worry."

"I know...but I can't help it. This could be another trap like the one at the Black Pyramid. It's got the exact same feeling to it..."

"But it isn't a trap."

"You never know..."

I cackle deep in my throat as I pick Ma-mutt up off of the floor and start to stroke him, making him howl in demonic pleasure.

"Well, Lion-O couldn't me more correct! We'll just have to ambush them at the Tower of Omens. What a perfect place for the Lord of the Thundercats to meet his maker! Yes, we'll have to wipe him out!" I say as I walk around the cauldron "And once we do that, the Thundercats will fall in short order. The Sword of Omens shall be ours!"

Ma-mutt whines before trying to lick my face. "Ma-mutt! You damned dog! Stop it!" I snap, and the un-dead hound barks as the image changes in the cauldron, to that of Lion-O lying in the dark, buried in the rubble of a building, bleeding from his head and right leg.

"Make sure that Lion-O dies, Mumm-ra! Kill him, and you will have ultimate control over New Thundera and Third Earth!"

I cackle again as I drop Ma-mutt to the floor. "It shall be done, Ancient ones!" I say, then I raise my hands above my head and roar

"ANCIENT SPIRITS OF EVIL! TRANSFORM THIS DECAYED FORM TO MUMM-RA, THE EVER LIVING!"

I feel my bones starting to creak as my body rapidly changes. The bandages and material that covers me disintegrates as my muscle tone increases. "And now to set the trap! The cat trap!"

- (BORDER) -

"Make sure to bring her in steady, Bengali. Panthro will kill us if we damage the Feliner."

I watch Bengali as he slowly pulls the throttle back. I hear the mighty engines powering down as we descend through the sky.

"She's rigged for silent running so that we won't be detected, Lion-O. We'll be circling around Hook mountain then going over the abandoned Castle Plun-darr, seeing as the Mutants have all now moved onto New Thundera uninvited, and coming up on the Phosphorous Desert from the south. We should be there in roughly fifteen minutes to forty five minutes tops." the young blue and white Bengal tiger says as we fly low over the hunting plains. It's roughly the beginning of autumn on Third Earth, whereas it's the beginning of winter on New Thundera, meaning that the trees are all different colours.

"Y'know, Bengali. Sometimes I really miss living on Third Earth because I didn't have to deal with the job of being the king, but mainly because Mumm-ra, the Mutants and the Lunataks weren't so determined to kill us." I say as we pass over the ruins of the old Cats' Lair.

"So many happy memories, destroyed by the Mutants." I say as I sigh.

"This is where you originally lived before coming to New Thundera?" Sebastian says as he looks out of the window at the ruins "Tygra sure can design some awesome buildings!"

I flip some of the overhead switches before saying "I know. Anyway, prepare for this, guys. We've gotta bank the Feliner and make a 45 degree turn to the left!"

"Lion-O!"

I sigh then say "What is it, Snarfer?"

"Oooooh...have you noticed the giant bat trailing us?"

I look up, and see a massive black shape silhouetted against the sun. "Shit..." I mumble beneath my breath, then I raise my voice then say "Everybody hang on. I'm taking the Feliner low to the ground in hopes that..."

"LION-O! LOOK OUT! ABOVE US!"

I look up and see that the bat is going into a dive above us. As it gets closer to us, I realize that it looks startlingly like...

"MA-MUTT!"

"Hold on!" I shout, then I grab the controls and quickly pull to the left; the Feliner goes into a sharp barrel roll, and Ma-mutt narrowly misses us, letting out an ear piercing screech of annoyance as his talons close on thin air.

"He's coming in for another attack, Lion-O! Have you got any defences installed on this thing?" Sebastian cries as I pull the Feliner into another diving barrel roll.

"Panthro installed manually controlled lasers in the back and the mouth. Sebastian, get back there and man the turrets! We'll try and hold him off! Bengali, you take the controls!" I say as I open the controls for the lasers.

"Alright you, you miserable hound! Wanna play? Well, let's tango!" I say, then I aim the front-most laser at Ma-mutt as he flies towards us "OPEN FIRE!"

The sky is lit up with brilliant bright red flashes as I press the button down on the control stick, strafing Mumm-ra's demonic pet hound with laser fire.

The dog keeps avoiding it, so I continue firing heavily. "Keep firing! Keep firing!" I shout to Sebastian, and he catches Ma-mutt's front left paw; the dog's paw if quickly reduced to a bloody pulp...well...if you can call it blood. It's thick and gelatinous, like thick jelly when it drips onto the windscreen.

"SNEEEEYAAAAARFER! HE'S COMING BACK!"

I watch as Ma-mutt flies back towards us. "If I can time this just right!" I think to myself. Ma-mutt screeches as he bears his talons. I open fire again.

The lasers cut through the soft fleshy parts of Ma-mutt's right wing as if they were paper. The thick, clumpy blood flies everywhere and drips from the wounds as Ma-mutt screams. He dives out of the way, so I put the controls of the lasers away then take over flying the Feliner as I say "Stop, Sebastian. I think we've shot at him enough to teach him a lesson!"

"He's back again, Lion-O! SNEEEYAAARFER!"

I look up and see that the wretched dog is flying above us, the wounds on his wings magically healing. He dives for us again, so I pull the Feliner into another steep and sharp barrel roll, to which the craft heavily objects. "Lion-O! If you do any more manoeuvres like that, then this baby will fly to pieces! The Feliner isn't built for barrel rolls!" Bengali shouts as I hear a loud bang from one of the engines. I know what I have to do. "Alright, you mangy mutt! I take it that you still want to play! Well, let's play the ultimate game of chicken!" I say, and then I push the controls forwards and the Feliner pulls into a steep, rapid nosedive.

"LION-O! REOWRRRR, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? PULL UP! WE'LL CRASH! PULL UP! PULL UP!" Bengali screams as the ground rapidly rushes up to meet us. I look out of the windscreen and see that Ma-mutt is doing the same as us.

"LION-O! PULL UP!"

I can see the ground getting even closer. Everyone starts screaming, but I quickly pull the joystick back; the Feliner quickly pulls up, the landing gear skims the grass, the claws creating massive gouges in the ground, but Ma-mutt doesn't realize until it's too late; he cannons into the ground at monumental speed before erupting in a bright flash of crimson light, then I see that he's in his usual canine form.

"Right. Time to get this sorted!" I say, then I pull the Feliner into a fierce right bank, in the direction of Hook Mountain.

- (BORDER) -

"What exactly do we need?"

Pumyra looks at me as I carefully cradle Katzeran in my arms. He coughs a few times before starting to cry.

"We need some rare medicinal herbs that only grow in this area of land, but we require the permission of Lion-O's brother to pick them." the puma says as I rub my cub's back.

This forest gives off a supernatural vibe. As we walk down the winding mud path, I realize that I feel like I'm being watched. I turn and look around behind me, but I can't see anything. Just seemingly endless darkness.

"Pumyra, how did Lion-O survive the fall off of that cliff? It was high enough for him to be dashed to pieces on the rocks below, but he survived it somehow, and only came away with a few cuts, bruises and gashes. That takes a miracle. He should be dead in all rights." I ask as Katz sniffles.

The puma sighs as we walk through the dense forest. It's so dark that I can barely see, but I can see just enough to keep to the path. Katzeran nuzzles into my chest, grabbing at my fur and sucking on his fists as he yawns, then I rub his back again as he starts coughing.

"I don't know how Lion-O survived. He was wounded, but I thoroughly examined him when we got back to the Lair, but the x-rays I had done on him didn't show any internal injuries apart from a slightly bruised ribs and a sprained tendon in his right elbow. He wouldn't let me make too much fuss over his wounds, but I had to stitch up the largest gash down the base of his back."

I sigh slightly before saying "He doesn't like anyone worrying about how injured he is, even if it's serious. If he'd ever get shot in the stomach during a battle, he wouldn't do anything about it until we'd won."

"He takes his pride too far."

I laugh at the puma's comment. It's so true. Lion-O does take his pride too far, and it quite often gets him into trouble. Sometimes, it can get him injured, too. He nearly got himself killed so many times on Third Earth.

- (BORDER) -

"There it is. The Phosphorous Desert."

I look down and see Tygra and Snarf running out from under an outcrop, wildly waving their arms and shouting something.

"Everybody hold on; we're landing the Feliner in the desert. It's gonna be a rough, bumpy landing." I say as I initiate the landing sequence, when the Sword of Omens suddenly roars in warning.

I unsheathe 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!"

The familiar blue fog seeps into the corners of my mind's eye, and I can instantly tell that something is wrong. I can see nothing but darkness, and a dull breathing noise is just audible to my ears. Then, a pair of deep, blood red eyes start glowing in the darkness. "Your time is fast running out, cub!" a voice snarls, then the vision cuts to static.

"Reowr! What did you see, Lion-O?"

"I...I...I don't know. All I saw was darkness, then a pair of blood red eyes appeared, and a voice said that my time is running out fast..."

"I don't like where this is going."

I turn to Sebastian then say "Nor do I, but..."

I'm interrupted by a familiar voice calling my name.

"Lion-O..."

"Jaga!" I say as I look at the jaguar as he materializes in front of me "What's wrong?"

"Lion-O," he says as he looks at me "I have come to warn you about something that is going to happen..."

"What? What's going to happen? Tell me, Jaga." I say, earning a confused look from Sebastian, who obviously does not know that I can talk to the jaguar.

"Lion-O, a Thundercat is going to die from this mission. You need to take extra care. Make sure that you proceed with caution."

I feel my heart skip a beat at the jaguar's words. I finally find my words and say "A...A Thundercat is going to...going to die? Who?"

Jaga shakes his head then says "I cannot tell you. It would make your heart break."

I sigh as he disappears. I've gotta try to prevent this.

...

"Lion-O! Sneyarf! Thank Jaga you're here! Reow, I thought I'd never see you again!"

I sigh as Snarf jumps into my arms and wraps his little fury arms around my neck, purring as he hugs me. Tygra smiles as he walks up to me. "It's good that you got here when you did, Lion-O. Our water supply was fast running out; I wasn't sure of when it would run out."

I sigh then say "You're extremely lucky."

"I hope that you haven't got to do anything. I should have some equipment at the Tower of Omens that is salvageable." The tiger says as we head for the Feliner.

I sigh slightly. "That shouldn't be a problem," I say as we climb into the Feliner "But I don't think that staying on Third Earth for much longer is a good idea. Jaga appeared to me and warned me that a Thundercat is going to die before we get back to New Thundera."

Tygra stops in his tracks. "Who did he say it would be?" he asks as he makes me look at him "Tell me, Lion-O."

I sense the tiger's unease. I squirm uncomfortably before saying "Y'know, you sound exactly like my father when you say that. Jaga didn't say which one of us would die. Tygra, we can't risk it."

"It's something that we need to avoid, but I can bet who is behind it."

"Well..." I say as I close the door to the hatch "Let's do this, then. We'll go and get the equipment, but on the first sign of danger, we jump ship."

...

Later that day...

"Sneyarf, Sneyarf! I don't like this, Lion-O! Can't we go back to New Thundera?"

I look down at Snarf and say "We can't go back just yet, Snarf. We've got some equipment that needs salvaging from the Tower of Omens."

The little red and yellow cat purrs nervously. "What, you're not afraid are you? We've lived on Third Earth for God knows how long." I say as he jumps up onto my shoulders.

"No!" he says, but he falters slightly and continues "Well...Reow! A little...What you said made me worried. What if it's you who's gonna..."

"SNARF!" I snap as I look at him with a serious look in my eyes "It's a one-in-seven chance!"

The red and yellow cat whimpers and cowers from me, before stalking off as he mumbles to himself "That boy'll be the death of ol'Snarf yet! Reow! If he'd only see the danger that is plain in front of his nose..."

I sigh heavily and head towards the entrance where everyone else is waiting. "He's getting too protective over us. Ever since Cheetara fell pregnant with Katzeran, he's been sticking by our sides." I say a we walk into the Tower of Omens. The dry, musky air is thick with the stench of dust, and the scents of the other Thundercats are strong in the air; tiger, panther, puma, lynx, wildcat, Snarf and cheetah, as well as the pungent, overpowering scent of male lion.

"We need to get to my lab." Tygra says as we make our way up the stone staircase. The steps are covered in a thick slimy substance, making climbing them treacherous, but we make it to the top. The main control room is dark and has the strong smell of dust and mildew, which is strange because it's been just less than a year since we left. "Tygra, do you have the torch?" I ask as I struggle to see in the pitch black darkness of the control room. The tiger rummages around in his bag before pulling out one of the torches before passing it to me.

I switch the torch on, illuminating the room in deep shades of bright light. Plant life seems to have overtaken everything, but I don't see how that's possible after only a year. "Bengali," I say as I turn to face the young Bengal tiger "Go with Tygra to the lab and check for any salvageable equipment, and if you find anything, load it on to the Feliner and secure it."

"Will do, Lion-O." the tiger says as he turns around and follows the tiger down the dark corridor.

"Snarfer," I say as I look at the little red and yellow cat "Do you know where the power generators are?"

"Well...Yeah, but..."

"Do you know how to kick-start the generators without the adequate required amount of Thundrainium?"

"Well...Y'see, Lion-O...It isn't exactly easy because without Thundrillium to power the generators, they won't work."

"But is there a chance that it can be activated by an electric pulse from a source of energy?"

"Well...There's a switch can be used to manually override the system, diverting energy from one source to another, but it's not a hundred percent certain that it'll work."

"But there is a chance, right?"

"Well...Sneeyarfer, Sneeyarfer...yeah, but..."

"No buts. Let's go and get this sorted." I say as I start to walk into the corridor.

We make our way down to the generator room, and when we eventually get there, I see that the generators are all completely burnt out, save for the back-up. "Sneeyarfer, Sneeyarfer! Lion-O, that isn't natural. The generators shouldn't be burnt out; we haven't been away from Third earth for long, and they look like they were mostly incinerated, but there isn't any sign of arson anywhere else in the lair. It's almost as if the generators caught fire, but didn't damage anything around it." Snarfer says as we look around the room.

"That's strange..." I say as I kneel down next to one of the generators and run my fingers down the generator; the steel is still hot, but the charred residue comes off onto my fingers. "Shit!" I snarl as my finger burns, singeing my fur slightly "The metal's still really hot!"

"Sneeyarfer, Sneeyarfer! But...Reow...That's not even possible! That fire would have had to have started less than a day ago, and have burned out moments before we got here, but the room doesn't smell of smoke like it should. I don't like this..."

"You sound just like Snarf when you say that. I'm pretty sure that there's a ventilation system that would take the smoke out." I say as I walk over to the backup generator. "Snarfer, go to the power switch and try to switch it on. If not, we'll have to use an electronically generated shock to the system."

"And how would we do that?"

"You're the expert on those things; you tell me."

Snarfer runs up to the power switch on the wall and jumps up onto his tail before grabbing the switch; he drops himself down, and a loud electric crackle echoes through the room, seconds before the lights slowly start to power on. "Snarfer, keep at it. The more you do that, the more of a chance we have at successfully powering up the generator." I say as I look at the dials and displays on the generators, which are slowly going from red to green.

Just as the lights power on, the Sword of Omens growls and roars in warning, louder and more powerful than usual. "What is it? Danger?" I mumble beneath my breath as I unsheathe the Sword from the Claw Shield. I hold the mystic blade in front of my eyes as I say

"Sword of Omens, give me sight beyond sight!"

The second the hilt curls, I instantaneously realize that something is far from being alright. The fog that creeps into the corners of my mind's eye is thick and black, and my vision is blank; nothing but static. I can hear garbled, robotic-like voice talking, then an ear-piercing screech fills my ears as the vision starts to fade, making me yelp in surprise and pain and drop the Sword.

Snarfer looks at me over his shoulder as he says "What happened, Lion-O?"

"I...I don't know. The Sword didn't show me anything but static, then I heard a garbled voice, and it ended with a deafening screech." I say as I sheathe the Sword back in the Claw Shield. Snarfer purrs anxiously before saying "That's not good. Sneeyarfer, Sneeyarfer! That's not good at all..."

He doesn't get a chance to finish his sentence before the alarm starts to sound. "Lion-O! Snarfer! Tygra! Bengali! Report to the Control Room immediately! This is pretty importa...aaaaggggghhhhhh..." Sebastian's scream echoes over the intercom. Important? I don't like the urgent tone in his voice. "C'mon, Snarfer!" I say as I run out of the room and up the now lit staircase to the top of the Tower. The second we reach the control room, the door bursts open, and I see Mumm-ra standing behind Sebastian, holding a dagger against the Wolfman's throat; Lynx-O is lying bound in ropes against the control panel, and Snarf is lying still, trapped in a net on the floor, presumably unconscious.

"You've got some nerves to turn up here, Mumm-ra!" I snarl as Tygra and Bengali run into the room after me, drawing their weapons as they stop one step behind me.

Mumm-ra cackles menacingly as he says "That's where you're wrong, Lord of the Thundercats!"

I tear the Sword of Omens from the Claw Shield and point it at Mumm-ra as I roar "HO!"

The Sword sends a massive bolt of blue energy towards the undead devil priest, who grabs it as easily as catching a ball. "Big mistake!" the mummy cackles as he looks me right in the eyes. My heart feels like it stops beating as he throws the ball of energy back at me. I bring the Sword of Omens up to deflect the projectile, and the second it touches the Sword, there's a blinding white flash, and I'm sent flying as an explosion reverberates round the room.

I hit the wall with a crunch, and collapse on the floor as my vision returns to normal. I can see that the room is on fire, and the others are getting up. I push myself up on to my knees then stand up. I can feel blood trickling from my bottom lip, and my left cheek is burning. Part of the floor has collapsed, and is continuing to break apart. "Everybody out! Now! RUN! The Tower won't hold out for much longer!" I shout as I struggle to run up to Lynx-O and Snarf. I grab the net that Snarf is tangled up in and start to cut at the rope cords with the Sword of Omens. My old nursemaid is lying limp and unconscious, bleeding from a gash behind his right ear. The floor under my feet starts to crumble, so I jump out of the way, just in time as the floor gives way. That was closer than I wanted.

I look up to see that Mumm-ra has vanished. The sly bastard! "Take him and get out while you can! I've gotta get Lynx-O!" I say as I pass Snarf to Bengali, before turning to look at the lynx, who is struggling to keep his balance as the floor, which is slowly sinking. Bengali says "Ok, but make sure to be careful, Lion-O."

He leaves with Tygra and Snarfer as I pull the Claw Shield onto my hand.

"Hold on, Lynx-O." I call as I run up to the gaping gap in the floor. I jump, and clear it with ease, before grabbing my friend. "Don't let go, Lynx-O," I say as I fire one of the grapple lines at the ceiling, lodging one in the stone. Just in time, I jump back over the gap before helping the injured lynx out of the control room. The second we're out of the door, the floor in the room completely caves in, revealing the flames that lick up the walls and creep onto the ceiling. "We've got to keep going!" Lynx-O shouts over the roaring of the fire "The only way out is down the staircase!"

I groan slightly. The staircase? That'd take too much time...but we have to chance it.

We quickly make our way to the door, and the second it opens, we run in.

"Hold on to me, Lynx-O," I say as I guide my friend down the long, winding staircase "The last thing you want to do is slip and break your spine." A piece of flaming hot metal dislodges from the ceiling, making me cry out in pain and clamp my hand over the burn as it lands on my shoulder.

"Lion-O, just leave me and get out while you can! I'm just holding you back! It's better I die than both of us..." Lynx-O says as I guide him on to the next step down, but I interrupt the lynx by saying "Neither of us are going to die, lynx-O. I'm getting us both out of here alive..."

I put my foot down on the next step, right on a clump of slime weed. I lose my balance, slipping backwards as I lose my footing. I try to grab the handrail, but the metal creaks then breaks as the sheer weight of my body presses against it...

I fall.

Time seems to stand still as the ground rushes up to meet me. My scream is barely audible as I hear Lynx-O shout my name, seconds before the staircase where I was standing mere seconds ago crumbles away and falls, sending out plumes of white dust as the creaking of breaking iron and stone rings in my ears. "This isn't good..." I think to myself "I can't die. I have a family; a wife, a cub. They need me, but here I am, falling to what will obviously be my inevitable death."

Tears stream down my cheeks as the ground gets closer. I can smell smoke, and I can taste the ash in the air; I can feel the heat of the flames below me, and the primal fear deep inside my being at the sound of the fire crackling. The Sword of Omens is just in front of me, having fallen free of the Claw Shield, so I grab it, mere seconds before I hit the floor, too stunned to even make a single sound.

It feels as if I have just been hit by the Thundertank at full speed. The sharp metallic tang of blood fills my mouth as the sticky red fluid trickles from the corner of my mouth as debris rains down around me. Every sound is muffled as my vision slowly fades to black, my body going numb as I drift into unconsciousness, and probably death as I am buried alive, the explosions and screams fading as my world is consumed by a thick black fog...

Next time on Thundercats:

Tensions are high as the Tower of Omens has been destroyed, taking the life of a Thundercat. As they struggle to cope with the loss of one of their ranks, one decides to step up the game, but as the funeral is planned, an old enemy of the Thundercats makes an unexpected re-appearance. Will they be able to cope, or is it the end of the Thundercats?

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