Key:

Flashback = Flashback (Obviously)

Dream = Dream

Time Passage =...

- (BORDER) - = perspective change

Vision = Vision

Anyway, chapter information:

Genres: Adventure and Drama

Warnings: Scenes of violence, and explicit language.

Date started (Chapter): Friday 31st March 2017

Date finished (Chapter): Monday 3rd July

Song/s: Run by Snow Patrol

Chapter 25: Run

I look around myself in confusion. So much is going on, and I don't know how to comprehend it all. I feel a hand settle on my shoulder, so I turn around to see Cheetara standing behind me with a concerned expression on her face. I don't look her in the eyes, knowing that I'm likely to start crying with worry. I'm amidst a mass of panic and I don't know what to do. This has been the second incident at the Village within a week, and I'm terrified for the safety of my older brother. "Lion-O," Cheetara says in a soothing tone, "We need to find Leo."

"I know."

"We should check the triage tent. For all we know, he could have been found."

I nod solemnly, and we make our way to the tent. Upon entering, everyone turns to look at me as I ask, "Has Leo been found yet?" I look over the sea of faces, but I can't see my brother anywhere. But Jøhba suddenly appears out of nowhere, shouting "Uncle Lion-O! Uncle Lion-O! Dad went back to the house! He wanted to try to rescue some of his things before the house burned down but he hasn't come back."

I kneel down to the lion cub's height as he says, "You are going to save him, aren't you?"

I hug my young nephew as I say, "Yes, we'll save him, Jøhba. I promise." Then, I stand up and run out of the tent, past the burned huts. Some are still ablaze, washing everything with a bright orange light. Eventually, I reach the hill on which my brother's home is. It's still burning, and I can see a pile of books and items outside as I approach, realising that it's all of my brother's possessions. I try to open the door, but it won't budge so I force the hinges off, causing it to fall inwards in a plume of thick smoke. Covering my mouth and nose, I run inside. The heat is unbearable and I can't see anything through the thick black smoke.

"Leo! Are you in here? Leo!" I shout, and then I trip over something lying across the floor. I glance over my shoulder to see my brother lying sprawled out on the floor, unconscious. I struggle to my feet then drag him to the door and out of the hut. The scent of burned fur is strong in the air seeing as how some of his fur is completely singed and he has a burn wound on his right calf. I pick him up once I catch my breath, which proves to be a fair challenge, and carry him back to the tent.

As I walk back in, the Ferrals look at me and gasp as I carry their chieftain up to a free bed and lie him down. "He's breathing," I say as Pumyra runs up to us, "He's breathing, but he has burn wounds on his calf. Smoke inhalation knocked him out."

I turn to look at Jøhba and Bräiden. Pumyra sees me and says, "Go and comfort them, Lion-O. You may just be their uncle, but they need you."

I nod then take my nephews to the Thundertank where Katzeran lies asleep across the seats. I pick my son up, making the cub yelp in surprise as he stirs, and sit down with the three of them. They cuddle into me and Katzeran falls back to sleep in seconds. Jøhba looks at me with teary eyes as he asks, "Uncle Lion-O, is my Dad going to be OK?"

I sigh before saying, "I don't know, Jøhba. When I dragged him out of the hut, he was unconscious from smoke inhalation..." Then I cut myself off upon realising that I'm probably saying too much to the eight-year-old cub...

...

That Afternoon...

"He's seriously lucky to have gotten off with what wounds he did."

I breathe a sigh of relief at Pumyra's words. I was seriously expecting the news to be wholly negative. I know that Leo suffered burn wounds to his legs in the fire and had suffered from smoke inhalation, and so I was expecting to hear that he had life-threatening injuries. Cheetara squeezes my hand as the puma continues.

"He's being given oxygen through an oxygen mask and we've cleaned his wounds, but there is still the potential for infection. He shouldn't have to stay here overnight because..."

Suddenly, Bräiden bursts into the Council Chamber and cries "Päpa y a'rynnxyj, L'ûencho! He's awake!"

I look at the young lion. He's panting hard, having run to find us as quickly as possible and I can see that he's agitated. We get up and follow him, running back to the infirmary to find my brother struggling to free himself from the drips connected to his arms, making himself bleed as he tears the cannulas from his veins.

Pumyra and Tygra rush to subdue him, but with one swipe of his arm, he knocks them both back as he growls and hisses menacingly. The very second he sees me, he rushes at me with a loud roar, his claws out fully. His weight knocks me over, making me yelp as my injured arm is moved suddenly. His claws rake into my chest and abdomen, drawing blood, then he roars in anger before whirling around and punching Pumyra around the face, knocking her back down again before he collapses in an undignified heap on the floor. I see the hypodermic syringe in his thigh, and I know that he's just been sedated.

"Are you alright, Pumyra?" I ask as I get up and walk over to her. Tygra helps her up as Panthro and Bengali hoist my brother back into his bed. She groans and says, "I'm alright – I'll live. At least we now know that the violent reaction to anaesthesia isn't something that only you suffer from." She then sees my chest, which is still bleeding, "But he got you, though."

She grabs some antiseptic fluid and cotton balls as I sit on one of the beds and slip my shirt off, revealing the deep scratches on my chest and abdomen. She cleans them before saying "You won't need stitches, which is lucky because of how forcefully he scratched you."

I sigh before getting dressed again, then I head to the library. What Leo told me after the refugee's ship crashed still plays on my mind, and I've been told that my birth came with a prophecy. I don't know what I'm looking for, but I'll know when I find it. So many of the books are from Ancient Thundera and are written in its dialect, and there is a book on each of the clans, and there are books on each of the ancient Thunderians. I find a large book with an animal skin cover with Thunndrauugaan-lyjion – Saturjos written on it in gold, and I know that I've just found the book on the lion clan and Satos. I sit down at one of the desks and open the book, which is written solely in Thunderian. Many pages are missing, and I come to a family tree that starts at Satos. I see the names of my family, along with my Fathers, Katzeran's, and mine. Obviously, someone has kept the book updated recently, but now I have proof that Satos isn't only my ancestor, but also is a distant great grandfather.

"You're a direct descendent of the original lion clan, in the hundred and fiftieth generation, one of the sons of Satos as you're called, and possibly one of the last lions from that family tree aside from Leo and his sons."

I turn around upon hearing the voice to see Jaga standing behind me. "I don't understand..." I say as I look at the book I was reading again, "What does that mean? Does it mean that I'm not an ordinary lion or something?"

"That would be correct, Lion-O."

"But what about the Delta Ruins? Leo mentioned them a few days ago and I've never heard of such a thing. What are they?"

"Leo would be the best at explaining them to you, Lion-O. It's best to hear about them from another lion."

I sigh again before saying, "Ok...Thanks for the help though."

Jaga wraps his cape around himself then disappears, then the door opens and Cheetara walks into the library. "You're in here quite a lot at the moment," she says as she walks up to me and stops behind me, reading the book over my shoulder "I see that you're reading up on the history of the lion clan."

"Well, I would be if all of the pages were still in the book – a lot of them are missing."

"Strange. All of the other clan books are completely intact."

"All I want is to find out more about the Delta Ruins because Leo won't tell me anything about them, and it's pissing me off."

"There aren't any records of them in the book?"

"No."

"Well, an ancient story of the lion clan says that they are hidden deep in a forest on Thundera, but no one has found them."

"Well that's helpful."

"Quite. Well, you had better come and get some lunch. Snarf's made sandwiches and soup."

"How long have I been in here?"

Cheetara looks at the clock before saying "About two hours."

This comes as a shock to me. "I didn't realise that I'd spent so much time in here." I say as we walk out of the library towards the dining room. Cheetara slips her arm around my waist and rests her head on my chest as we walk into the dining room, then we sit down as Snarf hands us plates of food. Once we have eaten, I help Snarf clear up as Katzeran sits at the table doing his homework then sit with my son to help him. It's mathematics, something which I struggle with, but it's pretty easy.

However, fifteen minutes later, a young ThunderGuard member runs into the room in blind panic. "Lord Lion-O! Sir...!" He's panting so hard that he has to stop to catch his breath before continuing, "My King, scouts positioned at the city gates have spotted Mutant Skycutters and the Nosediver headed this way! Mumm-ra is with them!"

"What!" I shout, seconds before the Sword of Omens roars in warning of danger. I pull it from the Claw Shield and hold the Sword in front of my eyes as I command "Sword of Omens, give me sight beyond sight!"

Immediately, the blue fog fills my mind and I see the Mutants and Mumm-ra, but the mummy is carrying a dagger and shackles.

"Remember the plan, Mutants. Hold the Thundercats back so that I can capture Katzeran, then we'll make Lion-O choose between giving us the Sword of Omens or watching us slaughter his kid in front of him."

I lower the Sword as the vision fades, only just aware of how fast and hard my heart is pounding in my chest. I look at my son, causing him to nervously ask "Dad...Dad, what's wrong? What's going on?"

"It doesn't matter, Katz, OK?" I say as I pick him up and run out of the room. I have to hide him where he won't be found.

"Lion-O, what's happening?" I hear Cheetara ask as she runs alongside me.

"Mumm-ra's coming – he wants to use Katzeran to get the Sword, but if I don't give it to him, he'll kill Katz," I say as we run down the corridor, Katzeran clinging to me in terror, his claws digging into my back.

"We'll hide him in the ventilation shaft – he'll be well hidden there, especially in the Council Chamber." Cheetara says as we hurry to the room. I pull the cover off the vent then try to hoist Katzeran into it, but he squirms and wriggles, clawing at my arms as he shrieks "No! I don't wanna go in there! It's too dark and scary!"

"Look, Katz, I know that you don't want to, but you have to, OK? It is for your own safety, so you need to be a big, brave boy for me – you need to stay here and stay quiet. Can you promise me you can do that?" I ask, so the cub nods solemnly and allows me to shut him in the vent. "We just need to make sure to not make it obvious that he's in here." I say to Cheetara as we run out of the room, drawing our weapons. As we enter the Main Hall, we see the other 'Cats positioned to defend, seconds before the Mutants burst through the door, sending splinters of metal everywhere like javelins as smoke pours into the entrance hall, making my eyes sting. Then, when we're all caught off guard, they begin their attack. We rush to fight, but something doesn't quite feel right, and through my mated bond with Cheetara, I can tell that she can sense this too.

"This isn't right, 'Tara! The Mutants know that we're able to beat them, but they're still trying to attack us!" I say to her in Thunderian, to which she replies with "I know, Lion-O, and I'm glad that you're able to sense it as well. You saw Mumm-ra in the Sword with the Mutants, but he isn't here!"

"He must be looking for Katzeran! We need to find him before he finds Katz!" I say, then I turn to Tygra as he struggles against a pair of Jackalmen. "Tygra, have you guys got this?" I ask, to which he replies with "Yeah, we've got this. You two go and find Mumm-ra!"

I nod, then me and Cheetara make our hasty exit. "We stand a better chance of finding him if we split up...!" I begin as we run up the staircase, but then I hear Mumm-ra's booming cackle echoing down the corridor, sending chills down my spine. I look at Cheetara, and we both rush in the direction that it came from, only to stop as Mumm-ra materializes in front of us outside of the Council Chamber. I push Cheetara behind me as I growl "So, how's your plan going?"

The Ancient Egyptian demon priest cackles before saying "Perfectly! If you thought that you could hide Katzeran from me, you made a fatal mistake, Thundercat! I have ways of finding your cub, and when I do, nothing will stop me from killing him on the spot!"

"You'd be mistaken if you think that!" I snarl as my grip on the Sword tightens, and I feel the ancient magic flowing through my body. Without thinking, I launch myself at him, and he throws me at the door of the Council Chamber with such force that it breaks off the hinges. Winded, I struggle to my feet just as Mumm-ra prepares another magical attack. Cheetara growls defensively and rushes at him, blocking the spell, and preventing it from hitting me. "You'll have to try harder than that!" the cheetah snarls as she stands in front of me, allowing me to get to my feet.

"So brave, yet so foolish..." Mumm-ra chuckles, then to my horror, he punches my wife in her chest, sending her flying as he grabs me around my throat and pins me against the wall, "Now, tell me where your son is!"

"N...Never...!" I spit, so the mummy completely tightens his grip, strangling me. "We'll try that again, shall we?" he snarls, and he digs the tip of the dagger into my abdomen "Tell me where your son is!"

Again, I say nothing, just nonchalantly staring into his eyes and in a fit of rage, he slams me into the ground. The impact of my chest against the floor makes it feel like I've just been hit full-force with the Thundertank, and I cough uncontrollably, startled when I taste the metallic tang of blood at the back of my throat. But then Mumm-ra picks me up and hurls me across the room with ease, knocking the breath from my body as my head cracks against the wall. I feel the blood trickling down my neck and I know that I'm wounded...

"Dad!"

I feel my heart sink in my chest at the sound of Katzeran's voice, knowing that he's just given his hiding spot away. Mumm-ra cackles again before looking up at the vent. He tears the cover off and roughly pulls the young Litah cub out of by the nape of his neck, making my son squeal in pain. I growl in fury then snarl "I'll make you pay for hurting him like that!" but before Mumm-ra can react, a golden blur slams into him with a vicious roar, and I instantly know that it's Cheetara. She savagely attacks him as I watch. I only ever see this when Katzeran is threatened, but it's typical in female Thunderians that are mothers of young cubs.

I hear rapid footsteps and see Jackalman running towards Katzeran, so I launch myself at the Mutant, placing myself between him and the young cub. The jackal backs off in absolute terror as I stalk towards him, forcing my fur to stand on end as I growl and snarl. I force a bellowing roar from the bottom of my chest, making the jackal scream in fear and cower away from me, begging me to leave him alone.

Suddenly, something rockets into my chest and sends me flying. All I feel is pain throughout my entire being as my body forcefully slams into the table then the wall, accompanied by the lingering threat of unconsciousness. It hurts to breathe, and I know that my ribs are either broken or bruised. I hear Katzeran crying, and when I look up to see what's going on, I'm horrified to see the young cub slung over Mumm-ra's shoulder. My son claws at the mummy's back as he writhes and squirms, instinctively letting out a high-pitched chirruping cry of distress.

"Dad!" he screams as he tries to wriggle out of Mumm-ra's grip, his arms outstretched towards me as tears stream down his cheeks "DADDY! HELP ME!"

Guilt overwhelms me as I realise that I can't help the young Litah...my son...I feel so useless. He's probably scared out of his wits and I can't rescue him this time. I don't even have the Sword of Omens because Mumm-ra took it...

A bright flash suddenly fills the room with an explosion, and I hear the unmistakable sound of metal striking something hard. A black figure walks towards me, and Leo appears out of the smoke with Katzeran on his shoulders. "I heard the alarms and Katzeran screaming, so I figured you could use some help."

He kneels down next to me as the ThunderGuard accosts the Mutants, and I notice the look on his face at him seeing my wounds. "Oh my God, what happened?" he asks as he looks at the wound on my head, "You're bleeding a lot!"

Breathless, I weakly say "Mumm-ra...threw me around the room...my...my chest...can't...can't breathe well...'Tara?" Leo anxiously looks around as he says "Cheetara's fine, Lion-O. She's slightly bruised and has a sprained wrist, but other than that, she's ok."

"M...Mumm-ra?"

Leo growls in anger. "The son of a bitch got away and the Mutants are going to be released. But that doesn't matter – you need to be checked over by Pumyra."

"Wh... What's this...? You care about...about the wellbeing of your...of your little brother?" I whisper before coughing, sending spasms of pain through my body. Leo smiles slightly then sighs, and then I hear Pumyra's voice as she walks up to us. "Leo, you shouldn't be out of bed! Those burns you got in the fire will take longer to heal if you don't stay in bed!" she says before looking at me as Tygra escorts my brother back to the infirmary. I feel so faint and dizzy, so I close my eyes in hopes of it passing quickly, but I rapidly black out.

- (BORDER) -

The Next Morning...

I groan before checking the monitors again. Nothing has happened since yesterday, and it's so boring. I took over night watch from Bengali at two, and it's now nine thirty in the morning. Usually, Lion-O would be doing this shift instead of me, but he's still in bed, having a lie-in as Pumyra told him to rest. Yesterday's attack saw him injured and now he's not only dealing with his wounded arm from the court trial, but also bruised ribs from being thrown around. Katzeran is at school, allowing me to relax. I absent-mindedly play with the Velcro strap on my wrist brace, distracted to the point that I don't hear Pumyra enter the Control Room.

"Well, with Lion-O the way he is, it'll take about two days until he's able to get back to his duties, but he hasn't got much of an excuse to stay in bed all day because I told him that he has to still get up and move around – it'll help his ribs heal quicker." she says, catching me unaware and making me jump. The puma sighs before saying, "You go and get some sleep, Cheetara. You've been up for hours and you look so tired."

"Nah, I'll be alright." I say with a stifled yawn "Besides, Lion-O was asleep last time I saw him and I don't want to disturb him."

"Unfortunately, he has to get up. He needs to exercise his chest, and you need to get some sleep because I don't want you collapsing from exhaustion. Last time you did, you made Lion-O have a panic attack, and it took forever to calm him back down again."

"I know, I know. I'll go and wake him up then get some sleep." I yawn before hoisting myself up out of my chair then walking out of the door and up the stairs towards mine and Lion-O's room. I can hear the young lion snoring from down the end of the corridor – so much for the supposedly 'soundproof' rooms. When I push the door open and walk in, I see that he's tossed and turned so much that the blanket is pulled taught around his lower abdomen and legs, leaving nothing to the imagination.

I don't want to wake him, but Pumyra told me to, so I walk up to him and very carefully shake his shoulder as I whisper in his ear "Come on, handsome, time to get up."

He groans as he stirs before yawning as he pushes himself up. "What time is it...?" he whispers as he knuckles his eyes.

"It's twenty to ten in the morning." I say as I check the alarm clock. Lion-O almost throws himself out of the bed before suddenly stopping and roaring in pain as he moves his injured arm and chest. "Hey, hey, take it easy! You'll hurt yourself!" I say as I sit beside him, massaging his shoulders. I can feel the tight knots of muscle beneath my palms, and I immediately know that he's stressed.

"Mmmm...That feels so good." he says, and his back involuntarily arches as he begins to throatily purr, and I can feel the vibrations in my hands.

"Anyway, you bugger off so I can get some sleep." I say, so he gets himself dressed before leaving the room. "I'm thinking of going to visit the Delta Ruins later if you want to come with me." he says, so I reply with "Maybe, it depends on when I wake up..."

The lion nods before walking out of the room and closing the door, so I lie down to get some well needed rest.

- (BORDER) -

"Leo, I want you to take me to the Delta Ruins."

My brother looks up at me as I walk into his room in the Infirmary. He sighs before saying "Lion-O, in case you haven't noticed, I'm in no condition to go out walking around."

"But you magically healed the wound on my head from the Mutant attack the night before my wedding."

Leo sighs again. "Bräiden is coming with some of the healing salve. If you wait for a bit, we'll go together because if you go by yourself, you'll get lost and possibly eaten by the wolves."

He lies back down and closes his eyes. Impatiently, I cross my arms in a bit of a huff. I know that I can't wait, so I'll just go by myself.

An Hour Later...

"Lion-O, Sneyarf Sneyarf, I don't like this! We should turn back!"

I sigh as I turn to look back at the little red and yellow cat before saying "You can turn back if you want to, Snarf, but I'm not. We've finally found it and I'm not gonna go back until I've seen the Ruins up close!" I keep walking towards the great stone monuments. Something seems to be drawing me towards them – they seem to be calling to me, calling my name in an ancient language.

The rays of light that fall on the stone give off the effect of a rippling pool of water. Twigs and leaves crunch beneath my feet as I walk towards the large pillar in the centre, realizing that it's a large circle. Once I reach it, I place my hand on the smooth stone, and suddenly, I feel a rush of emotions that aren't my own...

Fire...

Just endless fire and flames mingled with the screams of people. I run for as long as possible, but it's not enough. The fear in my heart is overwhelming as I choke on the thick smoke...

I collapse to my knees, groaning and clutching my head. Snarf is by my side, so I grab him and plead "Snarf, please, make it stop! JUST MAKE IT STOP!"

He purrs nervously. "Sneyarf Sneyarf! Make what stop, Lion-O?"

"Th...Th..The voices...the voices in my head! Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!"

So much crying, so much screaming and begging. I can see someone running towards me – an adult lioness with a pitch-black mane and emerald green eyes. She's shouting something, and as she gets closer, I'm able to understand her; "Satos! Satos, where are you?"

"Mum! Over here!" I yell, fighting my way towards my Mother. She picks me up as she shouts "Terren! Come on!", allowing me to see what's going on; a large red-maned lion, who is obviously Terren, is battling against some kind of fire demon which is setting fire to the village. Suddenly, it spits fire at the lion, engulfing him in flames as I scream "Father! NO...!"

"For some reason, I knew I'd find you here!"

I look up as I see my eldest nephew walking towards me.

"How'd you find me?"

"I'm a hunter and a tracker – I followed you here. I found it...suspicious...that you were on the territory of the Ferrals."

"I just wanted to investigate these ruins..."

"Yes, the ruins of the original lion clan village. Father also has visions when he comes here, and he told me why. You and him are direct descendants of Satos, and you're the only two remaining pure-blooded lions from the original clan, so you're stating to develop some psychic powers."

I'm just about to ask the young lion another question, but my communicator device begins to crackle to life.

"Cats' Lair to Lion-O!"

"Reading you loud and clear, Cats' Lair. What's the problem?"

"You'd better get back as soon as possible, Lion-O. We've just had a transmission through from Third Earth. Lion-O, Hatchiman was slain in battle, and we've been requested to travel to Third Earth in order to attend his funeral on the Planet of the Red Sun."

Shaken, I simply say "Ok Tygra, I'll be back as soon as possible."

Bräiden looks at me with confusion, so I tell him about Hatchiman, then we continue on our way back to the Lair.

To Be Continued…

Next time on Thundercats:

After their fiend, the samurai Hatchiman is slain in battle, the Thundercats journey to the Planet of the Red Sun in order to pay respects to their late ally, but whilst the 'Cats are away, Mumm-ra decides to play dirty with New Thundera and destroy the planet. Will he succeed?

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