Bad Influence

When the ThunderCats returned to Cats' Lair, they further discussed their disappointment in Wilykit and Wilykat for the trouble they caused while they were in the outskirts. They were also arguing about Luna. "I don't understand why you won't give Luna a chance," Wilykit protested. "She saved us. Surely we can trust her."

"We can't be sure of that yet," said Tygra. "There's still a lot we don't know about her."

"We need to be careful," said Cheetara.

"But Queen Mystery trusts her," Wilykat argued.

"Queen Mystery can make mistakes," Tygra pointed out. He meant no disrespect in his argument, but it was a fact that he had to point out. After all, nobody's perfect.

"Jaga advised me that Luna's intentions are not always as noble as she makes them appear to be," said Lion-O. "I know I said I was grateful to her for helping the two of you to get out of the mess you were in, but we have to consider the possibility that she was doing it for Max and Bakura's benefit."

"How do you mean?" Wilykat asked.

"Maybe she was in it to keep them from going after you," Panthro said. "That way, there wouldn't be a nasty confrontation. Maybe she didn't want Bakura or Max to get caught by Lion-O or the others when they were on their way to rescue you."

The ThunderKittens looked at each other. "We didn't think of that," said Wilykit.

Lion-O placed his hands on their shoulders. "We have to consider all possibilities, good and bad," he said. "But if it will put the both of you at ease, then I suppose it wouldn't do any harm to give Luna the benefit of the doubt."

"How do you mean, Lion-O?" Snarf asked.

"Despite all possibilities, none of us can be sure of what is true because we didn't really see what happened," he was saying. "Besides, the most important thing is that Wilykit and Wilykat are back with us safe and alive." Everyone agreed, but Lion-O wasn't finished. He looked at the ThunderKittens and said, "However, you are still being punished for the danger you put yourselves in. As we decided, you are confined to remain here at Cats' Lair for a week."

"That means no helping out on any missions," Panthro added.

"Or going to Egypt," Cheetara added.

"And don't even consider getting Mana involved in any of your antics when she and the others come over to help us or just to visit," Tygra warned.

The ThunderKittens were upset, but there was no use arguing. They brought this on themselves and they knew they deserved it for the trouble they caused.

During their confinement, the ThunderKittens had been helping Snarf do house chores as well as helping out with monitoring activities in the control center. Once in a while, Wilykit and Wilykat would play a game together or even read a book to keep themselves entertained. And when the Children of Millennia would come over to visit, they would have their own ways of keeping the ThunderKittens entertained. They would help Joseph make meals or snacks in the kitchen and Kisara and Freya would tell them stories of their adventures from back home in Egypt. Of course, Jirachi, Sakuya, Kirlia, and Kirara were also fun company, given how much they loved to play. Sometimes Jirachi would share his secret stash of candy fruit that he kept hidden in Atem and Mystery's room and Wilykat and Wilykit would read him a story and even teach him how to read.

As for Mana, she felt bad that the ThunderKittens were grounded and couldn't go on any adventures. She also agreed that being stuck at Cats' Lair doing chores and monitoring activity was boring, but the young mage figured that she had an idea on how to make it fun.

Once again, it was chore day at Cats' Lair. Lion-O and the others were out on a mission and Mahad was in the control center monitoring his friends with Snarf and Gallade. Everything was going smoothly so far, but they would fetch Mana and the ThunderKittens in case they would need help. Right now, Mahad was letting Mana help Wilykit and Wilykat do their chores. Mahad knew how much Mana loved spending time with the ThunderKittens and how it made them just as happy. Still, he also knew that his apprentice had a tendency to be as troublesome as the siblings were. And while Mahad trusted Wilykit and Wilykat and considered them his friends, he hoped he wasn't making any mistakes by leaving them be. True, Mana and the ThunderKittens knew how to be responsible, but they would still go about with their playful antics. That was what Mahad was worried about the most.

Downstairs, Wilykit and Wilykat got the mops and brooms from the closet. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Mana?" the boy asked. The idea of her using her magic to clean Cats' Lair sounded fun at first, but Wilykit and Wilykat remembered that Mana's magic did still tend to get out of hand sometimes. That was to be expected, given she was still in training.

"Don't worry," she assured them. "I've made objects move on their own lots of times before. And with the fact that my magic has improved a lot, nothing can go wrong. Stand back."

Wilykit and Wilykat move away and Mana incants a magic spell and moves her hands around rhythmically. The brooms begin moving on their own, sweeping the floors. Mana points to the dirty dishes and they begin washing themselves and stacking up neatly. Mana then points to the rags and sponges and they begin scrubbing the windows and countertops.

After the floors are swept, the mops begin moving around on their own, swishing around in the buckets and swaying on the floor. As always, Wilykit and Wilykat are amazed to see Mana's magic work. And seeing how everything is being cleaned up nicely, it's clear that her magic has gotten better.

"I think we can leave everything to itself," Mana figured. "Let's move on to your room."

"Okay," the ThunderKittens replied. When they stepped into the bedroom, Mana removed the blankets and bedsheets and replaced them with clean ones. The toys and books were also put back in their proper places.

"Thanks a lot, Mana," said Wilykit. "You really made our day fun."

"Yeah," her brother agreed. "If I were a magician like you, I'd get my chores done this way every day so I'd always have time to play."

The young mage agreed. "Magic definitely has its uses." Then she wondered how her master was doing. "I wonder if Master Mahad needs help with anything."

"Let's go and ask him," said Wilykit, and they all went to the control room. "Hey, Mahad," she greeted. "Do you need any help with anything?"

"We got our chores done and we wondered how you were doing," said Wilykat.

Mahad looked at them. "Thank you, Wilykat and Wilykit, but I think I'm managing fine on my own. I also just spoke to Lion-O. He and the others will be back soon."

"Oh, all right," said Wilykit.

"We'll be sure to welcome them home when they get here," said Mana. "Come on, guys." And the three of them went downstairs.

When they got there, a shocking sight met their eyes. The whole area was flooding. "Great Jaga," Wilykat cried. He and the girls were up to their knees in soapy water. The mops were still swishing around and the faucet was still on. Wilykat approached the sink, but the lever was stuck. "I can't shut it off!" he cried.

Wilykit tried to grab one of the mops, but she couldn't keep a grip and ended up slipping and getting soaked. "Mana, do something!" she cried.

Mana tried incanting the magic spell to command everything to stop, but nothing happened. She was going to need her spell book for this. "Get on the table, quick," she ordered the ThunkerKittens. She climbed on after them and used her magic to make her spell book appear in her hands. She skimmed through the pages, trying to find the counterspell.

"Mana, hurry," Wilykit cried, seeing that the water was rising.

"I'm trying," she snapped. She had to hurry before Lion-O and the others would get here.

Suddenly, Mahad's voice shouted, "Disperse!" and everything began stopping. The mops stopped moving and the water stopped running. The place was still flooded, though.

At the same time, the ThunderCats were at the entrance of Cats' Lair. Cheetara looked down and saw water leaking out from under the front door. "What on Third Earth?" she asked herself.

Lion-O opened the door and water came rushing out. "By Jaga!" he cried.

"What's going on?" Panthro asked.

The only way to know was to get inside. They walked across the wet floor and came to the main area and saw Mana on the table protectively holding the ThunderKittens. The young mage smiled nervously, knowing she was in big trouble.

"What happened here?" Tygra asked.

"That's what I want to know," Mahad said, coming into the room. He looked at his apprentice sternly, hoping she had a good explanation for this. "Well?" he asked expectantly.

Mana chuckled nervously. "I can explain," she said nervously.

"Oh, I'm sure you can," Mahad said. "How many times must we go through with this? I have told you time and again, magic is not a game. It is also not meant to be used as a shortcut for doing chores. Just look around you. Despite your intentions of wanting to help out, you made a bigger mess of things," he scolded.

"But it's not her fault," Wilykit said, defending Mana. "We gave her the idea to use her magic to get our chores done on their own."

"It's really our fault, Mahad," Wilykat insisted.

"No, the fault is mine," he said, surprising everyone. "Knowing how the three of you can be, I should have been more aware of what you were doing while I was also keeping my eyes open in case Lion-O and the others would need anything." He turned around and apologized to Lion-O. "As Mana's teacher, I am most ashamed. However, I bear full responsibility for her carelessness."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Mahad," said Lion-O.

"It really doesn't matter whose fault it is," said Cheetara. "And besides, we all make mistakes."

"Well, perhaps," Mahad was saying, "but I cannot let this go unchecked."

Snarf got some dry towels and mops. "Don't worry about it, Mahad. I'm used to stuff like this."

Lion-O grabbed a mop. "We'll all pitch in." He looked at Mana and the ThunderKittens. "You can help out too. It can be your way of taking responsibility for what you've done."

"And when we're done, I'll take you home and we can discuss your punishment," Mahad added.

Mana groaned in response, but she knew she deserved it.

"First, I think you should head upstairs to your rooms and change out of those wet clothes," Mahad added. Mana and the ThunderKittens left the room and walked upstairs. Mahad sighed and asked himself, "What am I going to do with her?"

Tygra smiled in amusement. "I don't know how you even do it, Mahad, putting up with Mana and her mishaps."

"I've taken care of her practically her whole life," he replied. "I'm used to it." He manages to smile and say, "But you know, the more I see her use her magic – and whether her efforts result in success or disaster – that's how I know she's making progress."

"That means no matter what, she's getting better," said Panthro. "And the truth is, she can learn more from her mistakes than from her success."

"Exactly my point," Mahad replied.

Snarf trilled and said, "Yeah, well, if you ask me, I think Mana and the ThunderKittens are a bad influence on each other."

"Snarf," Lion-O said.

"Well, it's true," he argued. "They're basically partners in crime, involving each other in their antics and always causing trouble."

"But you know what," Panthro was saying, "that's what makes them best friends and a good team; always working together and helping each other."

"Besides, it's not all that bad," said Tygra. "Their teamwork has been helpful to us on many occasions."

"And they don't mean to cause trouble," Cheetara added. "They mean well and they just want to help out."

Mahad knew that all of his friends had good points. "Be that as it may," he was saying, "anything worth doing is worth doing well. It's good to have a little bit of fun, but it's still important to get things done responsibly." Besides, he wasn't going to let this go unpunished. Once they would get home, Mana would be in for a serious lecture. However, Mahad was going to remind himself not to be too hard on his student. He knew Mana like this and though her childlike ways did irritate him, he accepted that it was what made her who she was and he wouldn't change any of it. Her eagerness to help out, her ways of making everyone feel cheerful, finding fun in everything, they were all reasons as to why she represented the element of joy. Mahad knew as much and while most of it did exasperate him at times, he still loved every bit of it about her.