Psyche Out

In the Black Pyramid, Mumm-Ra had something he wanted to show Alluro. He told him to look into the cauldron. Alluro obeyed and saw some sort of treasure chest. Inside was a treasure called the Egora Talisman. It looked like two snakes intertwined, like Mumm-Ra's trademark. Once every millennia, when the tip of the Black Pyramid is aligned with the full moon, the Egora Talisman gains awesome power. Mumm-Ra revealed that the treasure box containing the Egora Talisman was hidden somewhere in Dark Side.

The reason Mumm-Ra summoned Alluro to find this treasure was because Alluro was a manipulative Lunatak of psychology and could always fool his opponents by mesmerizing them. The Egora Talisman would give him self-confidence and even increase his power one-thousand-fold. Alluro listened and figured that if he had the Egora Talisman, everyone on Third Earth would submit to him; even his own comrades.

Deep in the forest close to Cats' Lair, Snarf was bored. Granted, he and the other ThunderCats came home from their vacation in Egypt a week ago, but since he came back, he hadn't had much excitement. "Life's no fun anymore," he complained. "The ThunderCats and the Children of Millennia are so busy, no one's got time for a game of hide-and-seek with old Snarf."

Suddenly, he felt someone grab his tail and say, "Gotcha!" causing him to jump out and screech. It was Jirachi. He laughed and said, "You spoke too soon, Snarf."

"Jirachi, you scared me half to death," Snarf snapped. "How did you know where I was hiding?"

The little monster showed him some strands of hair that came from Snarf's body. "Rule number one of tracking: when you're being tracked, don't leave behind a trail, or your pursuers will surely find you."

Lion-O laughed and placed his hand over Jirachi's head. "He's right, Snarf." Suddenly, the danger signal went off. Lion-O placed the hilt of the Sword of Omens close to his eyes. "Sword of Omens, give me sight beyond sight." He saw Alluro and he was close to Cats' Lair. "Come on, you two. We'd better find out what that Lunatak is up to." And they hurried home.

Alluro looked at the instructions again. There was a riddle. "Through mountains high and valleys low, to find the Egora Talisman you must go," he was saying, "Through stormy mist you take the ride, until you reach the unlit side."

Suddenly, he felt Ma-Mutt grabbing his pant leg with his teeth. This reminded Alluro of the time Sakuya viciously bit him and he hated that memory. Using his psych club, he commanded Ma-Mutt to release him. Ma-Mutt obeyed. Alluro then commanded him to play dead. Once more, Ma-Mutt obeyed. "Once I find the Egora Talisman, everyone on Third Earth will roll over and play dead at my feet." And he resumed his trek.

Lion-O, Snarf, and Jirachi were close by and they heard everything. "Egora Talisman?" Jirachi asked.

"Jaga once spoke of a treasure like that," Lion-O whispered. "Its bearer becomes supremely unbeatable and self-confident."

"There must be something we can do," Snarf said quietly.

"We must find the Egora Talisman before Alluro does," said Lion-O. He was going to need everyone's help for this one, so he raised the Sword of Omens and sent out the signal, summoning all of their friends and allies at the Tower of Omens. Bengali, Pumyra, Lynx-O, Freya, and Joseph all boarded the Thunderstrike and hurried to meet Lion-O.

Once they were all assembled, the lion began filling them in on the details. "If we could only figure out that riddle we heard Alluro reading, it would lead us to the location of the Egora Talisman." And he repeated the riddle to his friends.

"Stormy mist and unlit side," Jirachi repeated. "Maybe the Forest of Mists?"

"I think you're right, Jirachi," said Lynx-O.

"Then that means the Egora Talisman is somewhere in Dark Side," said Joseph. They all boarded the Thunderstrike and hurried to Dark Side by going through the Forest of Mists. As they rode through, the blonde couldn't help but whimper.

"Calm down, Joseph," said Bengali. "Lynx-O's gotten us through tougher spots than this before."

"Bengali's right," said Freya. "Grandfather knows what he's doing."

Joseph managed to relax at that. He was happy that the woman he loved found someone to look up to and he was glad that it was Lynx-O. The blonde knew that his friends were right and he could trust the old lynx. When they made it out, Joseph praised the lynx. "Way to go, Lynx-O."

"We did cut it a bit close," he simply replied.

They all landed the Thunderstrike. "Next time, maybe we can try looking for a possible way around the Forest of Mists, if there is one," said Joseph.

"There won't be a next time, son of Millennia," said Alluro's voice. Sakuya arched her back and bared her teeth at the sight of him. "I remember you. You're that little monster who got wise and sucker punched me." Sakuya barked in response. Alluro didn't care. He showed them the treasure chest in his hands. "I beat you to the Egora Talisman," he bragged. "That means I'm invincible."

"Not yet, you're not," Joseph argued, firing his arrow.

Alluro dodged it. "Your primitive weapons are merely toys."

"Actions speak louder than words," said Lion-O.

"Not so fast," said Alluro. He took out his psych club and the sphere began glowing. "As I told your friend Joseph, your pathetic weapons are useless against me. You don't even have the power to lift your Sword."

Lion-O tried to resist, but his mind was giving in to Alluro's words, making the Sword of Omens actually feel too heavy for him to hold any longer.

Sakuya ran ahead, but Alluro saw her coming. "Don't even think about it," he warned her. "The same trick never works twice. You may have taken me by surprise last time, but this time, you're too weak. You can't even stay on your paws." And Sakuya fell flat on her stomach.

"Sakuya," Freya cried, but Lynx-O grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Wear this, Freya," he said, putting a blindfold over her eyes. He hoped it would protect her. It seemed to him that anyone who got close to the light of the sphere would give in to Alluro's mind powers.

Once more, Joseph drew his bow and aimed his arrow. "This has gone on far enough," he groaned, trying to resist Alluro's words and the power of his sphere. Bengali agreed. He took his hammer from his belt. Pumyra got her own sling ready too.

"You cannot move against me," Alluro told them. "There is nothing you can do. And besides, the Lord of the ThunderCats' feeble mind rests in my power." And he commanded Lion-O to kneel before him. The lion obeyed and got down on his knees. "Look, the Lord of the ThunderCats reduced to a groveling lackey," Alluro sneered.

"We're not finished yet, Alluro," Freya said defiantly.

"You look finished to me, Freya," he argued. "And what can you and that blind old man do about it? I'll be going after the rest of your friends now. And don't bother to warn them. It won't make any difference. They don't stand a chance now that I possess the Egora Talisman." And he took his leave.

"Doesn't make any difference," Pumyra weakly repeated.

"Don't stand a chance," said Bengali.

"No chance," Lion-O echoed, and Sakuya whined.

"There's nothing we can do," said Joseph.

Freya didn't like what she was hearing. She removed her blindfold and she especially did not like what she was seeing either. All of her friends were in a trance. Yet she felt fine. Was it because she was blindfolded? "Grandfather, Jirachi, Snarf, are you all right?"

"Yes, Freya," the old lynx answered. "Alluro's power over me faded. Are you all right, dear?"

"Yes, by blindfolding me, you protected me," she answered.

"I was too scared, so I was hiding behind Lynx-O," said Jirachi.

"I wasn't affected either," said Snarf.

Freya looked back at the others. "But Lion-O, Bengali, Pumyra, Joseph, and Sakuya are all still under Alluro's spell." It seemed their only chance was to get them home. They worked together to get their friends into the Thunderstrike. Once everyone was boarded, they began making their way out of Dark Side and through the Forest of Mists once again.

When they returned to Cats' Lair, the spell didn't wear off. The remaining heroes were going to have to work together to come up with a plan to stand against Alluro. But that was already proving to be easier said than done.

"Even on his own, Alluro is a formidable enemy," said Mahad. "And now that he's found Mumm-Ra's Talisman, he seems to be invincible."

"I just don't see how we can defeat him," said Panthro.

"That's the idea, Panthro," said Freya. "When Alluro was using his psych club, it didn't work on me because Grandfather blindfolded me. And since Grandfather is already blind anyway, it didn't work on him either."

"She's right," said Lynx-O. "Alluro's powers didn't completely overpower us because of that very reason. So Freya and I will have to use that to our advantage to get that blasted Talisman away from Alluro."

"You can't go alone," Kisara protested.

"She's right," said Panthro. "You and Freya will need someone to help pilot the Thunderstrike. I'll go with you."

"I'm coming too," said Kisara. "You are my little cousin, after all," she reminded Freya. The younger cousin didn't object. So they all headed into the Thunderstrike.

They were already in the sky. Once more, Freya blindfolded herself and let her cousin take control. However, Alluro was already above them in his own aircraft. "Give in, ThunderCats. You too, daughters of Millennia. It's futile to fight me. You will be defeated."

"No," Panthro said defiantly. "ThunderCats never surrender."

"Neither do the Children of Millennia," said Kisara.

"You are helpless, Kisara," said Alluro. "You and your friends are in my power. Land the Thunderstrike now."

"No, we mustn't," said Kisara.

"Obey me, Kisara," Alluro commanded. "The Egora Talisman makes me invincible."

Kisara and Panthro were giving in, but Freya and Lynx-O were still able to resist. But only by so much. They couldn't see the light of the psych club, but they could still hear his voice. Lynx-O suddenly got an idea. He figured he could use the light shield strapped to his arm to reflect the light back at Alluro. It seemed like a good idea at first, but Alluro raised the power and the light shield was damaged from the overload of power.

"See how futile your struggle is," Alluro asked. "Now you and Freya have no choice. You must obey me."

"Grandfather," Freya cried.

"Freya, I can't fight his voice," the old lynx groaned. She wanted to argue, but she didn't have the willpower. She felt her resistance fading as well. She figured that Alluro truly was invincible.

Back at Cats' Lair, all of the heroes were in a trance. They tried to withstand Alluro only to meet the same result. They kept saying the same thing about being powerless and not standing a chance. "There is nothing we can do," Lion-O said, sounding dazed. "Alluro is invincible." And he tossed aside the Sword of Omens and the Claw Shield.

"We're powerless," Tygra said, tossing aside his bolo whip.

"It's all over," said Kisara, tossing her dragon staff to the ground.

"It's futile," Wilykit said, taking off her belt with her pellets and dropping it.

"We've lost," Joseph said, dropping his bow and quiver, and his arrows scattered on the floor.

However, the only ones who weren't affected were Snarf and Jirachi. "No, it can't be," the little monster protested. "You're ThunderCats, and you're also Children of Millennia."

"It's no use," said Seto. "We can't win." And he dropped his scepter to the floor.

"I just don't understand it, Snarf," Jirachi was saying. "Why weren't we affected by Alluro's spell?"

"Maybe it's because he thinks you and I aren't worth the effort, Jirachi," he answered. "But you and I are gonna show him that we're a force to be reckoned with. We're gonna go find that Egora Talisman, become invincible, and beat Alluro!" And they both high-five each other.

The alarms suddenly went off. Jirachi checked the screen. Alluro was just outside Cats' Lair. "We're ready for you, Alluro," said Jirachi. They picked up their friends' weapons from the floor and carried them outside. Snarf took the Sword of Omens, the bolo whip, the nunchucks, and the pellets. Jirachi took a few pellets too along with one of Joseph's arrows.

They saw Alluro's aircraft, but there was no sign of the Lunatak. They figured he was probably hiding, getting ready to strike. "Jirachi, why don't we go for a ride in this contraption?" Snarf asked. "We can use it to find Alluro."

"But we don't know how to operate it," the monster argued.

"Good point," said Snarf. He began fiddling with the buttons. "Maybe there are some instructions." He opened a latch and began digging through some junk until he found the treasure chest containing the Egora Talisman. "Jirachi, look what I got!"

"The Egora Talisman," he said cheerfully. "Yay, Snarf! Now we've got supreme self-confidence!"

"We're invincible!" they both cheered, high-fiving each other.

"But you cannot defeat me, you wretched creatures," said Alluro's voice. He came out from behind the trees. "Give up, you cannot win." And he took out his psych club.

"You're wrong, Alluro," Snarf protested. "Jirachi and I have the Egora Talisman and now we're invincible."

"You little ones are a joke," Alluro laughed.

"No, we're not," Jirachi said defiantly, using his psychic powers to shoot Joseph's arrow. It pierced Alluro's leg and electricity began coursing through his body.

Snarf lashed the bolo whip, but lost his grip. He decided to try the nunchucks. "If at first you don't succeed," then he tossed them and they destroyed the sphere.

"You little upstarts," Alluro growled. They weren't finished yet. Jirachi and Snarf each tossed a pellet and they exploded at Alluro's feet. Then they charged at him with the Sword of Omens. "No, get back," Alluro pleaded. "Get away from me!" And he began running.

Jirachi smirked. "You're not so confident now, are you, Alluro?" He attacked with Swift while Snarf was waving the Sword around. Frightened, Alluro ran away. It seemed the humiliation would never stop for this Lunatak. Once more, Jirachi and Snarf high-fived each other.

When they returned to Cats' Lair, they saw that their friends were back to normal and they began telling everyone what happened and how they fought Alluro. "We told Alluro his days were numbered," said Snarf. "Then Jirachi and I gave him the one-two and shattered that dumb sphere on his psych club."

"And since Alluro was defeated and the sphere was smashed," Lion-O interrupted, "his psychological hold on all of us was broken."

"Snarf and I were a great team," Jirachi bragged. "Together, we were invincible." Then the thought came to him. "Although, I never got to see the Egora Talisman."

Snarf remembered that he never opened the chest when he found it. But when he opened the chest, he saw that the Talisman was destroyed. This meant that he and Jirachi never got any special powers at all.

"You guys were right about being a good team," Lion-O was saying, "but your self-confidence and power came from within yourselves, not from some external source."

"Ohh," Jirachi sighed, understanding the concept. Snarf just fell in embarrassment, realizing the truth behind it all and causing everyone to laugh.

"Snarf, Jirachi, I still hope the both of you learned something from your run-in with Alluro," said Lion-O.

Jirachi looked up. "I learned lots of things, Lion-O. You're really powerful when you work together as a team. I also learned how to use your tools." He interrupted himself and apologized for taking them without asking for permission. "I also learned that you should never take on a Lunatak on your own no matter how much you think you may know about them. But the most important thing I learned is what you just said, Lion-O. Your greatest strength comes from within yourself, not some outside source."

Lion-O gently placed his hand over Jirachi's head and rubbed it. "I'm proud of you, Jirachi. And if Atem and Mystery were here, they'd be proud of you too."

Bengali agreed. "I'm impressed you learned all that, Jirachi."

"Hey, I learned all that too," Snarf snapped.

"We were gonna give you credit too, Snarf," said Joseph. "After all, you guys worked together to save us."

"He's right, Snarf," said Jirachi. "Tell them about your great moves."

To start, Snarf took Panthro's nunchucks. "I dazzled Alluro with some fancy nunchuck moves after Jirachi surprised him with one of Joseph's arrows."

The blonde and the panther chuckled. "We couldn't have done better ourselves," said Panthro.

"We also had him on the run with some jumping and flying around," Jirachi added.

"Faster reflexes than I've had," Cheetara commented.

"And like Wilykat and Wilykit, we both used pellets to surprise Alluro," Jirachi added.

"You guys make a good team better than we do," said Wilykit.

"You should work together more often," her brother suggested.

Snarf and Jirachi looked at each other and agreed. They really did make a great team today and they hoped they would get another chance to do it again in the future. "I would like that," Jirachi was saying, "but I hope I get the chance to partner up with the rest of you too. I mean, you're all my friends and I love every one of you."

Pumyra held him in her arms. "We love you too, Jirachi. And, someday, you will get a chance."

"And we love you too, Snarf," said Kisara. "And maybe we'll get to partner with you too."

Snarf smiled, thinking how much he would like that.