From the Past of Third Earth, Part One:

Mysterious Prisoner, Chapter Six

Cheetara returned to the Lair, covered in sweat, and panting. Deciding that her room was too far away, she darted into Panthro's, stripped, and hopped into the shower. She heard him enter as she soaped herself up and enjoyed the feel of the warm water washing over her. "Oh, there you are!" he exclaimed, peeking in on her. "You've been disappearing regularly for days now. I hardly see you anymore."

She flicked water at him with a tired smile. "All I've been doing is asking every single one of our allies if any of them recognize Star. Pumyra didn't tell the rest of you?"

"We've all been busy or distracted." He stepped back and leaned against the wall opposite her. "It's been… interesting."

"Well, clue me in, I haven't been around the Lair lately. I'm guessing Lion-O and Star resolved their argument?"

"A little under a week ago. He relented and is sticking to teaching her pure self-defense, which I think is for the best. Tygra's been absolutely dead silent on the issue since then; I'm keeping an eye on him because I'm beginning to suspect there's far more going on in his head than he's letting on."

"I wonder if Bengali knows what his problem is…."

"Oh, he does, but to that youngster's credit he's keeping his lips sealed. I only know it's got something to do with an ex-girlfriend."

She shut off the water and squeezed her hair until it was only damp. Pushing back the shower curtains, she gratefully accepted the towel her mate handed her. "No wonder Tygra's hiding, then. It's difficult enough getting him to open up, I can only imagine how difficult it would be for him to talk about a failed relationship."

Wrapping the towel around her waist, she was distracted at the familiar sound of the lovebirds outside. Walking to the window, she watched the pair for a moment with a frown. On the surface, there wasn't anything immediately different from before; Lion-O was helping Star into the Thundertank, no doubt planning on taking her with him to get some more supplies from the Berbil Village. However, his hands lingered on her waist just a few moments longer than before, there was a level of eager expectation crackling between the two of them, and the way she was blushing—

"Panthro," Cheetara said slowly, turning a hard smile on him, "darling—"

He crossed his arms, unfazed. "Whatever it is, I didn't do it."

"Tell me with a straight face they haven't mated for the first time yet, specifically within the last three days."

"Okay. They haven't mated for the first time within the last three days." As her eyes narrowed at him, he shrugged. "The first time was five days ago."

"Oh, by Jaga, this is turning out to be a big mess!" She bent over at the waist, resting her elbows on the windowsill as she ran her fingers through her hair in exasperation. "Now he's going to enter the protective phase!"

"Hate to break it to you, Cheetara, but he entered the protective phase at least a week before they mated, possibly longer than that."

Her back snapped straight as she stood up in shock. "You're kidding. Before they mated?" At his nod, she couldn't help but splutter, "But we still don't know who she is!"

"On that point, I know better than to attempt to argue with you." He walked up to her and rubbed his hand up and down her bare back. "I would be very surprised if we find out who she is before she remembers herself," he told her sympathetically. "If she was as young as we suspect when Mumm-Ra imprisoned her, we can at least be confident she doesn't mean Lion-O any harm."

"I know, but it's the lack of information that's really bothering me. We have no idea why Mumm-Ra sealed her away or what he would do if he found out she was free again." As she glanced out the window again to watch the pair drive off, she asked, "Has anyone else figured it out yet?"

"That they mated? Everyone at this point; Snarf and I found the bedsheets, Lynx-O can't help but hear them, Pumyra's been banging her head against the wall when she thinks no one's around, and Bengali and the twins have been snickering about it for days. That pair can't hide it… not that they haven't tried."

"Tygra?"

Panthro considered that for a moment. "That's a good question."

She walked over to the bed, sat down, and picked up the list she'd dropped on the night table earlier. Every name she'd written on the page had been crossed out. "What are we going to do, Pantho? I'm running out of people to talk to, and Star's memories aren't returning in a way that makes any sense—talking horses, colorful furballs, heck, even being kidnapped by a gray-skinned midget. The Berbils are as clueless to her identity as we are, the Warrior Maidens have never seen any female like her, the Snowmen couldn't help—I'm so desperate for anything, I'm going to the Rock Men tomorrow, and I wouldn't even call them allies!"

He glanced at the paper she held. "I'm going to point out that you don't have the Micrits on that list."

"The inch-high people?"

"They're resourceful and intelligent. They see things the rest of us don't, and I'll bet you if Mumm-Ra did anything in their vicinity, he wasn't aware of them watching."

"Or he flat-out dismissed them because of their size." She folded up the paper and tapped the edge of it to her lips. "I'll talk to the Rock Men first, then stop by the Micrits afterward. I don't know what I'm going to do if I draw up any more blanks, though."

"You'll think of something. You always do."

Later that evening, after Cheetara had blissfully fallen asleep in his bed—a vision he'd love to just admire for hours if duty didn't call—Panthro headed towards the hanger with the intention of working on the Thundertank. On a hunch, however, he turned his steps towards the control room. Tygra should be on duty right now, he thought. I probably ought to check in on him and see if he's figured it out.

Entering the room, he spotted the tiger seated alone at the front of the room, tapping his claws on the panel as if he were either impatient or lost in thought. Normally far more observant than this, he didn't even notice he wasn't alone anymore until the panther had put a hand on his shoulder. Jumping slightly, he glanced up with a somewhat blank expression. "That's not good," he sighed despondently. "I didn't even hear the door open. Panthro… they mated already, didn't they?"

"They did."

Tygra reacted by banging his head against the panel.

"You know," Panthro stated, "for some reason I was under the impression you'd blow a gasket upon finding out."

"I did," was the muffled response. "Ask Bengali. I think he's still nursing bruises."

"I probably ought to chastise you about using your younger brother as a punching bag, but I'm going to change the subject instead. You weren't going to get your way on this."

"Protective phase early. So I heard." Tygra sat up straight, placing a hand against his forehead as if he were starting to get a headache. After introducing it to the panel, he probably was. "Lion-O's a good friend, I don't want to make him miserable… but there won't be any kittens from this union, and we can't afford that in our current situation."

"One or more of us was bound to remain childless, Tygra," Panthro added sternly. "There are three females, Lion-O only ever displayed a boyish awareness in Cheetara, he and Kit have no interest in each other at all, and none of us really want to force Pumyra to leave Lynx-O. The least we can do is allow Lion-O this, cubs or no cubs."

"I guess it's too much to ask that we do all we can to avoid extinction?"

"Some things are inevitable. Quite frankly, I'm afraid it would take a miracle to pull our species out of this mess."

Lion-O ran through the Black Pyramid as fast as possible, terror adding speed to his flight far more than any determination to win a race against Cheetara had. He knew one thing and one thing only: Mumm-Ra had Star.

Leaping over trap doors, dodging living bandages, and outrunning monsters that had no name outside of the screams of death, Lion-O raced towards the throne room, mentally begging every ancestor and deceased Thundercat that he wasn't too late to save Star from whatever the demon sorcerer had in store for her.

As if to rub in the rising dread of futility, he reached the entrance to the room he sought, but it was sealed with bars, preventing him from getting through. Somehow, even the Sword of Omens was useless; no matter how hard he tried to slice through the bars, the Sword didn't even leave a dent behind. Shouting in fury, he slammed the blade against the metal one last time; the Sword burst into a million pieces, each one sparking in protest before vanishing into thin air. Desperate now, he grabbed the bars and tried to wrench them out of their sockets with his bare hands. Behind him, those irritating living bandages caught up to him and wrapped themselves around his arms and legs, attempting to pull him away from the door.

"Star!" he called out, refusing to give up. "I'm coming for you!"

Darkness fell upon the room, the only source of illumination coming from the sickly light of the enchanted cauldron. Barely visible, Mumm-Ra appeared behind a stone altar, holding a struggling Star in his arms. "You're too late, Cub," he sneered, slamming the woman onto the altar with one hand, a sickening crack ringing through the room. "She won't escape my clutches this time!" As if to emphasize his point, he punched her in the face, breaking her nose and temporarily dazing her.

Lion-O struggled to free himself, holding onto the bars for support now as the living bandages started to pull him back. No matter how hard he resisted, he never seemed to gain an inch, all of his energy being wasted as he watched helplessly. He tried to shout, shriek, yell, anything; only the softest of a whimpered whisper came from his throat. "No…."

Mumm-Ra, laughing, tore her chest open and ripped her heart out. As she screamed, staring at the ceiling wide-eyed in horror, the demon priest kept mutilating her, removing her innards and tossing them aside like broken toys. Blood spilled out on the altar, splattering left and right as she finally fell silent, her body twitching as her life slipped away.

Finally able to cry out, Lion-O felt the bandages give way as he yanked at them, shredding them into thread and dust. The bars completely pulled out beneath the full force of his strength, clanging as he tossed them aside and ran into the room.

Mumm-Ra was gone, only the echoes of his malicious laughter remaining as Lion-O crashed into the table, gazing down in distress at the dead eyes of his mate….

….and with a jump, he blinked and stared at the ceiling in his own room. Ignoring the panicked beating of his heart, he reached out frantically, sighing in relief as he made contact with Star, his hand cupping hers. As his heartbeat slowly stopped beating its tattoo in his ears, he sat up, glancing down at her and resisting the urge to groan when he saw that her sleepy blue eyes were looking right back at him. "I'm sorry, Star," he said, rubbing his hands over his face as if he was trying to wipe away the last vestiges of the nightmare. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"I know you didn't," she replied quietly. "You were still asleep until a moment ago." She sat up as well, holding the blanket to her chest as she sat on her heels beside him, gently brushing some of his hair away from his face. "I guess everyone has bad dreams."

"This was a particularly frightening one," he acknowledged, lacing his fingers between hers and gripping tightly as he held the back of her hand against his cheek. He didn't need a lot of reassurance, just enough to make it crystal clear that she was still alive and well beside him. "I dreamt that Mumm-Ra had killed you."

She was silent for a long while, as if unsure of how to answer his statement. "That would explain why you were so agitated, even asleep," she finally said. "I would've woken up screaming. Do you… do you want to discuss it further?"

He met her gaze, fully aware that she was nervous at her own suggestion. It would open a number of dark doors that neither of them wanted to even consider, let alone discuss in detail… however…. "We'd have to talk about it sooner or later," he sighed, pushing back so that he could lean against the headboard, never once letting go of her hand. "I guess now is as good a time as any."

Shifting a little so that she faced him, still sitting on her heels and keeping herself barely modest with the blanket, she asked, "So… what would you do if I did die?"

"I don't know," he admitted after thinking very carefully for a moment, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. "All I'm certain about is that I would be absolutely devastated. If someone—Mumm-Ra or one of the mutants—killed you…. I've already had to be warned once not to use the Sword of Omens on one of my friends when I thought you were in danger; I don't care if it's as natural as Bengali claims, I'm terrified of the monster I could become if I lose you, no matter whom the anger is aimed at."

She considered what he said, her lids lowering in thought. "You'd be stopped before it got to that point," she stated firmly. "I remember what you told me about the Sword—that it would break and lose its magic if you used it against any of the Thundercats—and I also remember that Lynx-O only had to speak to you to stop you. The others would hold you back before you did anything permanently damaging, physically even if necessary. I'm certain of it."

He smiled slightly. "I'm glad someone's certain of that. Maybe if you repeat that to me a million times I'll start to believe it."

"Your friends are always there for you, even now. They won't abandon you if anything happens to me, and I'm positive they'll keep you from losing your head." She tilted her head slightly to the side. "Have they ever let you down before?"

"No."

"Then trust that they won't let you down later."

He narrowed his eyes at her, noticing that she was very careful with her choice of words. "They're your friends, too, Star. They won't let you down, either."

She smirked a little, clearly holding back tears. "They better not. I don't want anything to happen to you." She untangled her fingers from his, bringing his hand up so she could lean her cheek against his palm. "I know we've really only known each other a short time, but you've become a part of me. I want to grow old with you, not lose you."

"I wish I could promise you I won't die. Unfortunately the best I can manage is the assurance that I'll make it as difficult as possible for my enemies to kill me."

"And if something does happen?"

"The other Thundercats will be there for you, Star." A sick feeling entered his stomach as a thought hit him, but it quickly dispersed as he considered the alternative. "Just promise me that if anything does happen to me you'll find someone else to spend your life with. I don't want you to be alone."

Her gaze met his, the tears still there, but her smile was far less mocking than it had been. "Only if you promise me the same if I die… and this time you'll be a good Lord of the Thundercats and find a nice Thunderian lady that can bear you children."

He grinned at her, unable to resist teasing, "Can she have bigger breasts than you?"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Yeah, good luck with that."

Glancing out the window, he tugged gently at her hand. "Come on, let's go back to sleep. We've only got a couple of hours left together."

As dawn broke, Slythe and Vulture-Man poked their heads over the bushes, spying on Cat's Lair like a pair of nervous thieves. "You think we probably should've gotten around to this sooner?" the latter asked. "Mumm-Ra has only so much patience after all."

"I haven't heard him complain yet," Slythe replied, "and I needed to get back at Monkian for winning the hussy bet."

"Uh huh… why do I suspect your getting-back-at-him had something to do with the romance novel bonfire outside the kitchens this morning?"

"Mind your beak, buzzard."

"Do you think than insane story Mumm-Ra told us is true?"

"What, with the little magical kids and their full control of the elements and creatures of Third Earth? It sounds like tripe to me… at least until I say out loud what got us on this planet in the first place, then I begin to question reality."

"I really don't see how ten or eleven brats could really be that big of a deal. I'm beginning to suspect Mumm-Ra's losing his marbles."

"Who cares? We're here to capture a female with big breasts, long legs, and a short skirt. Now does that contraption of yours detect her or not?"

Vulture-Man turned his attention to the machine that was on his lap, pressing a few buttons and wiggling the joystick back and forth. "It certainly picks up the Thundercats. Let me see here, we saw Cheetara take off much earlier thus we know she isn't in there, so that must be the snarf, a couple of the Thundercats are working on the Thundertank, someone is off by their lonesome in the control room, four of them working general repairs here and there, and—" He gave Slythe a sardonic look. "I found her, but I'm also fairly confident she will not be setting foot outside the lair for at least ten minutes."

"With the cub, is she?"

"Enthusiastically so."

They sat in silence for a moment before the reptilian leaned over to peak at the machine and asked, "Are we able to see what they're doing?"

The Rockmen weren't exactly hostile, but they made it crystal clear that they didn't trust Cheetara an inch. Two of them watched her like hawks as a third left to fetch Prince Pek, and it was all she could do to remain patient. She tried asking either of the guards if they'd seen Star, showing them the holo-image she had of the young woman, but they stubbornly crossed their arms and refused to even acknowledge her questions. Sighing, she toed the dirt with her boot in a poor attempt to pass the time.

The prince of the Rockmen didn't arrive until almost noon, and though she was agitated, she still managed to sigh in relief. "Prince Pek," she said apologetically, "I am so sorry to barge in on your people like this."

"It is alright, Cheetara," he replied, a far more pleasant conversationalist than the guards. "They said you were looking for someone."

"Looking for information on someone," she corrected, pulling one of the holo-images she'd made out of the satchel she had slung over her shoulder. She turned it on and presented the image she'd taken of Star. It wasn't anything special, just the young woman prancing happily down the stairs to greet Lion-O after he'd been gone all day. "She's been trapped so long she's having difficulty accessing her memories. All we know about her is that Mumm-Ra entrapped her in an underground prison for at least ten years, possibly fifteen. I know she looks grown now, but we're fairly certain she was a young child at the beginning of her imprisonment."

Pek watched the image for a moment, finally shaking his head. "No, I have not seen anyone like her." At the strategic coughing behind him, he turned to the guard in question. "Have you something to add?"

"What of the travelers that visit your father's advisor every year?" the guard asked with a shrug. "That xenophobic couple. They appear to be the same species as this woman."

Cheetara resisted the urged to comment on the irony of a Rockman calling someone else xenophobic, biting her lip as she watched the way the guards and the prince acted. They're not going to let me into their kingdom to ask anyone else, she thought, mentally sighing. Not that I don't blame them; we almost started a war with them the last time. "If I leave this with you, Prince," she suggested, handing him the holo-image, "could you have your father's advisor ask this couple for me? If they have any information, they only need come to the Lair."

The prince took the holo-image, turning it off and on a couple of times curiously, before shutting if off completely. "They are very xenophobic," he warned her, "even compared to us. They don't even go anywhere near the Berbils. If they do know anything, I cannot guarantee they would come to you."

She blinked in surprise. "Not even—but the Berbils are harmless! They don't even like to hurt their attackers!"

He shrugged. "I don't know the whole story, Thundercat. I only know it has something to do with the fall of Second Earth."

She felt her jaw drop. She'd hoped by some miracle that this "couple" they were speaking of might be Star's parents, but it sounded very unlikely from the prince's last statement. "Second Earth… how old are they?"

"Not quite as old as Mumm-Ra, but not that far behind him—and they certainly don't look it."

Tygra stayed out of sight, waiting patiently for Lion-O to leave with Bengali on their daily rounds. The Thundercat lord lagged behind a bit, coming up with an excuse that sounded plausible but probably wasn't. "Let me just grab some provisions from Snarf," he told the white tiger, heading towards the kitchen.

Using his invisibility to his advantage, Tygra followed, keeping as quiet as possible; he wasn't planning anything underhanded, but he didn't exactly want anyone to know what he was attempting to do, either. Lion-O didn't need to reach the kitchen as he was met halfway there by Star presenting him with one of Snarf's picnic baskets. Their greeting was quite passionate—Tygra felt both uncomfortable and jealous watching them—but thankfully the moment was brief. "You need to get going," Star told her mate, pushing him gently away when he refused to let her go. "You have work to do, Lord of the Thundercats."

He groaned playfully, taking her hand in his and kissing her fingers enthusiastically. "I don't want to leave."

She grinned before pulling her hand away. "Too bad. Now get lost before I chase you out of here. Otherwise I won't sneak into your room tonight."

He winked at her. "Then I'll sneak into yours." Giving her one last quick kiss on her cheek as she giggled, he dashed back down the hall, clearly head-over-heels for the woman that twirled around in delight as she returned to the kitchen.

I believe I'm going to be sick, Tygra thought, irritated with himself. By Thundera, if the others think Lion-O and Star are obvious in company, they should be grateful they didn't witness that scene. He waited for a few minutes, intending to make it look as if he'd been off doing something else before confronting Star. After deciding a sufficient amount of time had passed, he walked down the hall to the kitchen, becoming visible again along the way. Well, if I'm going to tolerate this, I need to speak with her. Hopefully the answers she gives will ease my concerns.

Upon entering the room, he was greeted with the sight of Star washing dishes while Snarf dried and put them away. Glad to see that Star was making herself useful and not just sitting around wasting time, Tygra said, "Snarf, I was heading to the Berbils to help them with a silo they want to construct. Do you need me to get anything while I'm there?"

"Oh, sure!" Snarf put down the plate he was holding and ran to one of the nearby drawers, pulling a long list out of it. "I need a whole bunch of items… I suppose you'll only be able to get a few of them since Lion-O and Bengali left with the Thundertank…."

"I could go with him, Snarf," Star offered before Tygra had a chance to suggest it. "I like the Berbil village. Their fields are colorful and remind me of home."

Well, this is going easier than I'd planned. Good.

Not quite as familiar with the Micrits as Lion-O and Snarf were, Cheetara was far more hesitant the moment she knew she was near their territory. Finally spotting the signs that marked the terrain of the tiny people, she proceeded to walk very carefully, studying the ground cautiously before she put her foot down. Finally, she reached the nearest sign, slowly kneeling down to make it easier to converse with them.

To her surprise, she'd already drawn a very large crowd of the miniature individuals, almost hidden by the blades of grass that towered over them. A middle-aged male stepped forward as he pulled his brown beard, smirking at her. "We appreciate your caution, Big Lady," he told her, "but you didn't need to be quite that careful."

"I'd much rather be safe than sorry," she replied.

He shrugged. "Understandable I guess. What brings you to us?"

"I guess desperation at this point." She pulled another holo-image of Star from her satchel and showed it to the Micrits. "She was imprisoned by Mumm-Ra when she was young, possibly still a small child, and was trapped for so long it's hard for her to remember anything—at least a decade, maybe fifteen years—"

The small man shook his head, never once taking his eyes from the vision of Star running down the stairs happily. "It was longer than that, Big Lady, I guarantee it. The only ones that experience short incarcerations at Mumm-Ra's hands are you and your friends; everyone else spent at least centuries or longer confined, assuming they even escaped."

Cheetara stared at him in horror. "Then… she…."

"She is far older than she appears to be, and depending on how the demon priest caged her, even she might not realize how old she truly is." Still pulling on his beard, he asked curiously, "Where did you find her?"

"Underground," she answered, now looking at Star herself in a completely new light. "Far underground, sealed behind walls of solid rock…."

"…where there was no way for her to track the passage of time, I'll wager."

"No wonder no one knows who she is," the cheetah moaned, staring at the holo-image without really seeing it as the failure of her task started to weigh down upon her. "Anyone that might've recognized her would be dead by now!"

"Not necessarily."

She shook her head, turning her gaze back to the small male. "What?"

"Mumm-Ra is not the only immortal being on this planet, though he'd certainly like it to be otherwise. Have you heard of Mumm-Rana, Big Lady?"

"Yes, we've had occasional run-ins with her. But I've already spoken to her about Star; are you saying she does know?"

"Not quite. The Librarians would, and only Mumm-Rana knows where they are."

"The Librarians? I've never heard of them."

"Most haven't, and the few that have know to keep their existence a tightly kept secret. Of those rare individuals, only a fraction know how to find them."

"How do I find someone that can tell me where they are?"

He stopped pulling at his beard, and crossed his arms sternly. "I am one, but I do not give the information away to just anyone. The scarcer the people that know how to find the Librarians, the less likely it will be for Mumm-Ra to get his hands on them a second time."

"So they have reason to remain hidden." Sighing patiently, she asked, "What would I need to do? I must know before I promise anything."

"You're cautious. Good." He paced back and forth for a moment before turning to her once more. "You would have to promise to keep the information I give you to yourself. No one else must know, not even your closest friends."

She sat back on her heels, considering the options carefully. "I suppose… should anything else arise that might require going back to the Librarians, it could just as easily be me a second time."

He nodded. "Precisely. The other Micrits know that they can come to me so that I can find the information they need; this is not my own preferred method, it is the method of the Librarians."

Shutting off the holo-image, she placed it back in the satchel, thinking carefully. Am I really that desperate to find out who Star is? she mentally asked herself. Would I be able to keep such an odd secret to myself, not even telling the other Thundercats?

She glanced down at the Micrits, noticing that many of them were happily going back to their usual duties, the exception being the male she was speaking to. Then again, it's clear that the others know he knows the secret and are perfectly happy letting him be the only one. I think I can manage that: letting the other Thundercats know I have this secret, but must keep it to myself for the safety of these Librarians. Besides, we need to know who Star is; if Mumm-Ra felt the need to seal her away for centuries, it could be extremely dangerous if he found out she were free again… and there's no telling what Lion-O would do if something happened to her.

"Alright, Micrit," she said, convinced she'd found a way to make things work, even if it wasn't in a way she wanted. "I will keep the secret to myself. You have my word of honor."

"Words spoken can be easily forgotten."

She held her hand out to him. "I'm telepathic. You only need touch my hand to hear my thoughts and know that I do not make promises lightly."

Raising an eyebrow, he reached out to put his hand against her finger; a shock ran through her from where he touched her to her mind. With a pleased expression, the Micrit walked onto her palm. "Lift me to your ear, Big Lady. What I have to say is for you alone to hear." She did as she was told, turning her head so that she could easily hold him close without dropping him by accident. "You are to go to Mumm-Rana," he told her softly, so quietly she had to strain to hear him, "and say, word-for-word—"

For some reason, Tygra had been under the impression that Star would converse easily with anyone about anything. As the two of them walked in dead silence towards the Berbil village, however, he had to reevaluate his misconception; Star conversed easily about anything with Lion-O. Upon some serious reflection, the only two others he could honestly recall seeing her speak to without the Thundercat lord nearby were Pumyra and Snarf.

Unfortunately, starting a conversation—especially when he was looking for specific answers—was not one of Tygra's better skills. He was more than perfectly happy to let the other person speak, listening carefully for a moment to gently change the topic, and then slowly delving into what needed to be discussed.

Since Star wasn't talking, however, that meant he had to start a discussion.

I'm going to have to make her talk, he pondered, glad at least that the young woman didn't seem to think the lack of conversation was unusual. This would've been so much easier if she were a chatterbox. "So, Star," he said, hoping it didn't sound as forced as it felt, "how are you fitting in with life at the Lair?"

"Very well, thank you," she replied breezily, not even attempting to elaborate.

"Oh, good. And you're getting along well with the other Thundercats?"

"Yes."

Oh, for crying out loud, woman, talk! Give me something to work with here! "You seem to be getting along especially well with Lion-O," he stated through clenched teeth.

This time he got more than just a few words out of her; she snapped her head around to give him a sharp look, her usually sleepy-eyed countenance suspicious. "He's generous," she said after a moment, "and he knows what it's like to be sealed away a child and freed an adult."

He blinked in surprise, barely managing to keep his face straight. They're both far younger mentally than they are physically… no wonder they gravitated towards each other so quickly. Who else could understand them better? Noticing she was still watching him with that wary expression, he smiled kindly at her. "It hadn't occurred to me you two would find some unlikely common ground like that."

Her misgivings visibly melted away as she smiled back at him. "It helps. It's nice that we're able to talk so easily to each other. The rest of you are pleasant, too, but you sometimes make me feel like an idiot."

He winced. "It's certainly not on purpose. You look like an experienced adult, and I suppose we expect you to have the comprehension of one as well. You're not unintelligent by any standards, we just have to remind ourselves that you still have a lot to learn."

"I know. Lion-O told me it really irritated him at first, too."

"Aside from talking about the rest of us behind our backs, then, is there anything else you two discuss?"

"Lots of things. Mating, adulthood, babies, daydreams, nightmares, life on Thundera, life on Third Earth, what it means to be a Thundercat, the Code of Thundera, what happened in his past, what I can remember of my past, what the future might hold, friends, death—"

He looked at her in shock. "Death?!"

"We both had bad dreams last night." She furtively glanced at him, as if realizing what she'd said. "We couldn't get to sleep afterwards, and we… coincidentally met up in the kitchen and decided to talk about it."

Ah, they spent the night together. Probably not the first time, either, considering how naturally she let that slip. Nonetheless, concern at what would have the pair discussing death so early on in a relationship overcame any mirth that might've arisen from his thoughts. "What kind of nightmares?"

"You can ask Lion-O about his," she deflected easily.

I think I can rest assured she won't betray his trust. Good. I can cross that off the list.

"Mine… well, he and I suspect it was less of a dream and more of a memory. It was… too clean, if that makes any sense."

He frowned. "I think so. What happened?"

"I was running through the Black Pyramid, holding hands with my friend as she and I tried to escape. I'm sure it was when I was much smaller; it felt like the two of us just couldn't run away fast enough."

"Was Mumm-Ra chasing you?"

"I never looked back to see who it was, but I'm sure it wasn't him." She shivered. "However… I'm convinced it was another friend… one who'd betrayed us."

Before he could ask her any other questions, a canister flew through the air and landed in front of them. "Look out!" he shouted, getting in front of Star just before it blew up, engulfing the two of them in a red cloud of smoke. Coughing fitfully, he felt his strength drain from him all at once. "Thundrainium," he choked as he fell to his knees. "Star, run back to the Lair, now!"

To his immense relief, he didn't have to tell her twice. "I'll get help!" she shouted over her shoulder as she turned and fled, taking off at a pace most would envy.

"Bad move, Thundercat," Slythe said as he stepped out from behind the bush he'd been hiding in. "You're not the one we want, she is. At any rate, your advice to her was worthless; she might be fast, but she's no Cheetara. Jackalman will bring her down in less than a minute."

Tygra tried to get to his feet, not entirely certain he knew what to do, but not about to give up either. Unfortunately, all he got for his efforts was Monkian leaping upon him and chaining him up like a criminal. "I'm sure Mumm-Ra will be pleased to have him anyway," the simian chuckled. "Besides, if we threaten to kill him, the female might be more cooperative."

Slythe considered the idea, staring closely at Tygra. "Hmm… he's not the cub, but the Thundercats do tend to have that friendship thing going on." Unsheathing his axe, he glanced over his shoulder. "We'll test your theory, Monkian; here comes Jackalman now."

The jackal was not having an easy time with Star; while she was nowhere near as proficient as would be necessary to actually escape, she'd clearly taken Bengali and Lion-O's self-defense lessons to heart. Kicking, biting, scratching, and punching, she fought Jackalman at every step.

Upon landing a particularly vicious kick to the jackal's nether regions, she probably would've taken off again if Slythe hadn't held the blade of his axe to Tygra's neck and shouted at her, "I'll behead him if you dare run away again, hussy!"

She froze, half-turned to flee; Monkian ran over to her, grabbed her wrist, and dragged her forcefully towards the mutant leader, leaving Jackalman on the ground and holding his crotch in agony.

"What a good girl," the reptilian told her mockingly. "Now, while I'm convinced you're an idiot, I'm sure that cub Lion-O will be more than pleased to know you chose to save Tygra over saving yourself." Without warning, he smacked her hard across the face, leaving a handprint on her cheek. "That's for running off in the first place! Do it again, and I won't hesitate to kill Tygra and then chase you down myself! Bind her hands, Monkian!"

"Do I really need to explain what Lion-O will do to you once he finds out what you did to her?" Tygra snarled.

Slythe scoffed. "He'll have to prove it first." Turning away from the captured pair, he shouted at Jackalman, "Get up and walk it off, you wimp, then give Vulture-Man a call and tell him to get his flying machine down here! He's got a pair of prisoners to deliver to Mumm-Ra!"

"We're not going?" Monkian asked, surprised.

"Mumm-Ra wants the tramp, Vulture-Man can deliver the tramp with the Thundercat as a leave-us-alone bonus. I've got better things to do back at Castle Plun-Darr."

Notes:

1. The Rockmen had a far more prominent (and interesting) story in the comics, with the king and his son playing decently sized roles. Prince Pek definately struck me as less stubborn than his father, hence why he's more willing to work with the Thundercats. I promise once I clean my room and unbury my comics, I'll put the issue numbers here.

2. I like the Micrits and wished they'd shown up more often.