The Sound Stones

At Castle Plun-Darr, Vultureman was sharing his ideas for a new invention that would help him and his fellow mutants stop the ThunderCats and the Children of Millennia. Slithe was already rejecting him, telling him his inventions were all failures. Even Jackalman wasn't interested. Seeing that his comrades weren't going to be of any help, Vultureman decided to work alone on this caper.

His idea was to build a sonic gun, a weapon capable of emitting noises of high frequencies that would cause one to lose their hearing. To make it work, he was going to need a Sound Stone. According to legend, the Sound Stones were secured in an old temple deep in Dark Side. That meant Vultureman would have to deal with the Lunataks, since Dark Side was where their home was located. Still, he was going to take the risk.

With a map in hand, Vultureman came to the ruins leading to the temple in Dark Side. He wanted to get this over with fast. He found the Sound Stones and was about to grab one, but the noise being emitted from them was hurting him.

Nearby, a hooded figure saw Vultureman trying to steal the Sound Stones and commanded the guardians of the temple to awaken. They were gargoyles. They were about to attack Vultureman as they saw him running off with one of the Sound Stones. Vultureman made it outside the ruins only to run into TugMug and Chilla. TugMug stopped the gargoyles with his gravity carbine and kept them in the air.

The Lunataks weren't here to rescue Vultureman. They came because they wanted to know why he was here. "So, Vultureman, what brings you to Dark Side?" Chilla asked.

Vultureman hid the Sound Stone behind his back and snapped, "None of your business."

Chilla exhaled her icy breath and froze Vultureman's neck, choking him. "Perhaps I can persuade you that it is my business," she hissed. Seeing Vultureman plead for the ice to be removed, she melts it off from his neck.

He inhaled sharply and showed the Lunataks the Sound Stone he stole. "I came for this. I'm going to build a sonic gun, which will make me the most powerful force on Third Earth," he gloated.

TugMug found that to be intriguing. "Why don't you come back to Sky-Tomb and tell us about this sonic gun?" Even Chilla seemed interested. Vultureman tried to back out of it, but the Lunataks weren't going to take 'no' for an answer. They forced him to come with them.

At the Tower of Omens, Lynx-O was in pain from the terrible sounds he picked up with his sonic hearing. Freya saw this and was worried. "Grandfather, what's wrong?"

"That noise, that sound," he groaned. "It's unbearable!"

"But I don't hear anything," said Joseph.

"Grandfather's hearing is much stronger than ours, Joseph," Freya reminded. "He can pick up sounds even from far away."

"Freya's right," Lynx-O groaned. "Its decibel level is deadly. But I must trace the source." But the sound was too painful for him to bear. Even so, he felt he had to try.

At Sky-Tomb, Vultureman finished working on his sonic gun and was testing it. The sound frequencies emitted from the weapon were powerful enough to break even the strongest glass. The Lunataks were impressed. He still had some adjustments to make, though, so he got back to work.

Finally, the sound stopped and Lynx-O was no longer in pain. He also managed to discover that the noise he was hearing was coming from Sky-Tomb. "The Lunataks have appeared to develop some kind of sonic weapon," he warned his friends. "At close range, it could neutralize my braille board and disable the Tower of Omens. We'll have to develop some way to counteract it."

"Seto is a sorcerer," Bengali recalled. "Maybe he could put up a protective spell."

"I'll call the rest of our friends at Cats' Lair and let them know what's happening," said Joseph. He got to the communication center right away.

The heroes at Cats' Lair got the message and agreed to start working on some sort of defense mechanism to counter the effects of the sonic weapon their enemies were working on. Panthro was doing some test runs, but they weren't coming out successful.

"I've tried every crystalized power source in the book and none of them can match the right frequency or hold it long enough," Panthro was saying. "I can't imagine what the Lunataks are using."

"We've got to come up with something soon, Panthro," said Mahad. "The Lunataks could attack at any time."

"Mahad, Panthro, Lion-O," Wilykat cried. "Get up here quick! Joseph is calling! There's trouble at the Tower of Omens!" And the three of the hurried to the control center.

Their images appeared on the telescreen. "Sky-Tomb is headed this way at maximum speed," Joseph alerted his friends.

"Prepare the Tower for action, Joseph," said Lion-O. "We're on our way."

The blonde nodded in response. "You heard him, guys. Battle stations now." And his friends get to their posts at the controls. "This could be the fight of our lives." He looked outside and saw Sky-Tomb approaching. "I just hope we can hold our own long enough until Lion-O and the others get here."

"We'll be fine," Seto assured him.

The Lunataks stepped out of Sky-Tomb with Vultureman and the completed sonic gun. The vulture mutant took aim at the Cats' Eye at the top of the Tower of Omens and emitted a powerful sound. It was too much for Lynx-O.

"By Thundera," he cried.

"Grandfather," Freya cried, coming to his aid.

Vultureman attacked again, producing a sound strong enough to destroy the equipment. "That last blast knocked out all of our systems," said Bengali. "We'll have to make a run for it."

"Let's get to the Thunderstrike while we can," said Seto.

Pumyra coughed from the smoke that came from the damages the equipment took. "I can't see a thing. This smoke is blinding me."

"Don't worry, Pumyra," said Seto. "I can help with that." He raises his scepter and blows the smoke away. They hurried down to the ground floor and got aboard the Thunderstrike.

"We made it," said Pumyra. "Thank you, Seto."

"Thank me later," he said. "We've still got a fight on our hands."

Joseph looked out the window of his pod. "And it looks like help arrived just in time." He smiled as he saw Lion-O riding on the Hovercat with Mana flying beside him on Latias.

Mana contacted her friends in the Thunderstrike through the receiver in her hair. "You guys head to Cats' Lair. We've got a clear shot and we're going to take it."

Vultureman wasn't going to give them the chance. He struggled to get his sonic gun back in position. TugMug used his gravity carbine to lift it up and make it right-side-up again. Vultureman took aim at the Hovercat. The sound put both the young mage and the lion in a temporary state of shock and the Hovercat was stuck in a spin.

Lion-O quickly pulled himself together and got the Hovercat back under control. "Are you okay, Mana?"

"A little dizzy, but not too bad," she answered. "How about you, Latias?" In response, the red and white dragon softly howls in pain. She was a little disoriented from that attack. Mana saw smoke coming from the Hovercat. "Oh, no, Lion-O, we've got to get you out of there or you'll crash." Latias uses Psychic to stop the Hovercat and Mana uses her magic to pull him out and carefully set him down.

"Thanks, girls," he said gratefully. It was now time to call the others. He raises the Sword of Omens in the air and sends out the signal.

The heroes in the Thunderstrike saw the signal. "Seto, Joseph, take Bengali and Pumyra back with you to help Mana and Lion-O. I'll take Grandfather back to Cats' Lair."

"Are you sure, Freya?" Pumyra asked.

"Can you pilot the Thunderstrike by yourself?" Bengali asked.

"I've watched Grandfather from sitting beside him many times," she answered. "Plus, his braille board has been neutralized due to that sonic blast, so I can pilot it manually. We'll be fine. It's times like this when Grandfather and I have to find our way back by finding hope in the darkness." And her amulet shines.

Joseph smiles and nods. "Go for it, Freya. We believe in you." So he and his friends disconnect their pods and hurry back to the Tower of Omens. They make it back in time to help Lion-O and Mana get out of there and take them back to Cats' Lair.

When they returned to the Lair, Pumyra helped Latias out of the Thunderstrike and gently laid her on the grass. She also began treating the dragon's injuries. Back on Thundera, the puma woman learned many healing skills and knew how to treat different kinds of injuries. "Easy, girl," the puma said softly, soothing the dragon.

"Will Latias be all right?" Mana asked.

"Well, she doesn't appear to be seriously injured," Pumyra was saying. "Her hearing hasn't been damaged in any way either. Really, the attack from that sonic blast just put her in a state of shock." In addition, Latias was also still a little disoriented. She whimpered as she tried moving around. Pumyra soothed her once more. "Easy, Latias, easy."

Mana had an idea. She took a Persim Berry out from her knapsack. "Monster like Latias eat Persim Berries whenever they're confused. It helps bring them back to their senses." She places the Persim Berry close to Latias' mouth and the red and white dragon eats it. A few seconds later, her eyes clear up and she begins to feel more relaxed. She was no longer confused. "Good girl," Mana said, gently petting her.

Pumyra petted her as well. "You're going to be fine, Latias. Just try to rest now."

Inside the Lair, Mahad and Panthro told the others of their progress. "We've analyzed all the recordings," said Panthro. "It appears that the power source Vultureman is using is one of the legendary Sound Stones from Dark Side."

"There's a legend that the Sound Stones are guarded by a priestess named Sondora," Mahad was saying. "If she is still there, we can find her and tell her what's going on. Maybe we can also ask her to lend us one of her Sound Stones so we can have a better chance against Vultureman's weapon."

Lion-O agreed. "In the meantime, Cheetara, you organize a ground patrol to retake the Tower of Omens when we get back with a Sound Stone."

The cheetah woman agreed and asked Kisara to help out. They decided to enlist help from Seto, Tygra, Bengali, Pumyra, and the ThunderKittens. Mana decided to stay here and look after Latias.

Lion-O, Lynx-O, Freya, Panthro, Mahad, and Gallade made it to Dark Side and came to the ruins. They entered the temple and saw the Sound Stones. Mahad spoke up. "We request an audience with the priestess Sondora."

The hooded figure from before appeared and removed her hood. "I am Sondora, guardian of the Sound Stones," she announced. "Who are you beings and why have you come here? You do not appear to be thieves."

Mahad stepped forward. "I am Mahad. I am one of the Children of Millennia. These are my friends and allies: the ThunderCats. With your permission, we would like to use one of your Sound Stones."

Lion-O stepped forward. "My friend speaks the truth. We know that your other Sound Stone was stolen by Vultureman and he is using it for evil purposes."

Sondora believed that they were telling the truth. "By your voices, I know you to be good and your cause just. You may take a Sound Stone. But I must warn you, the one Vultureman stole is powerful. If you are to defeat him with the Sound Stone I will grant you, you will need a warrior who understands the power of sound."

Lion-O and Mahad smiled at each other, thinking of the same person: Lynx-O.

Cheetara and Kisara saw Sky-Tomb in front of the Tower of Omens. "It's so quiet," Kisara whispered.

"Try to relax, Kisara," Cheetara whispered. "We'll be fine."

Nearby, Red-Eye used his supervision to spot the heroes. "Did you really think you could stay out of my sight?" He tossed a disc at Cheetara and she escaped by flipping away.

"Not bad, Cheetara," Chilla hissed as she was walking towards her. "Now let me show you a really cool move."

"Think again, Chilla," Kisara snapped, and Kirara pounced on her. The nekomata grabbed Chilla's cape with her teeth and pulled it over the Lunatak.

"Let me go, you infernal feline!" Chilla cried.

Red-Eye tossed another disc, but Kisara raised her dragon staff and summoned her dragon spirits to destroy it, temporarily blinding him.

Alluro was about to attack Bengali with his psyche club, but Wilykit and Wilykat stopped him while riding on the Hovercat. "Thanks, ThunderKittens," the white tiger said.

"Anytime," Wilykit replied. "Have a little taste of your own medicine, Alluro." And she and her brother knocked the sphere back to Alluro and its light shined over him.

TugMug was trying to trap Pumyra in the effects of his gravity carbine, but the puma woman was too agile. Like an acrobat, she evaded his attacks with grace and ease.

"Such a lousy shot," said Tygra.

"You probably can't even hit us," Seto challenged. TugMug tried to attack them, but Tygra surrounded himself in his bolo whip and became invisible while Seto used his magic on the ground below TugMug, turning it into quicksand.

"Oh, no, help me," he begged. Seto used his magic to make the ground solid again. He also trapped the gravity carbine in a sphere of fire.

It wasn't over yet. Luna was riding in the Lunataker with Amok. Vultureman was inside too with his sonic gun. He emitted a powerful sound, causing the heroes' heads to ache.

As if on cue, the rest of the heroes arrived in the ThunderTank with their own sonic cannon. Lynx-O fired the sonic cannon and blasted the Lunataker. Joseph helped aim the cannon at Sky-Tomb and the old lynx fired. The Lunataks retreated to their fortress and began making their way back to Dark Side.

"ThunderCats, Children of Millennia, ho!" the heroes cheer.

Lion-O, Mahad, and Gallade returned to the temple to give back the Sound Stone they borrowed as well as the one Vultureman stole. "We've returned the Sound Stones as we promised, Sondora," said Lion-O. "On behalf of the ThunderCats and the Children of Millennia and everyone on Third Earth, thank you for your help."

"We are truly grateful," said Mahad.

"For centuries, we have guarded the Sound Stones well," Sondora was saying. "But now, things have changed. The mutants and Lunataks know of their power and if they ever stole all of the Sound Stones, Third Earth would know a new master."

"Their powers would be abused for evil purposes," said Mahad.

"Yes, Mahad, but you and your friends used their power responsibly and you have also proven you can be relied on for purposes of good," said Sondora. Mahad looks down and sees his amulet glowing, proving her words true. Sondora then uses her magic to transport the Sound Stones to another dimension where they will continue to be protected.

"Once again, Sondora, we thank you," said the mage.

"Yes, our enemies are many and powerful," said Lion-O. "We need all the help we can get if Third Earth is to be free."

"One day, Third Earth will be free," Sondora promised. "You ThunderCats and Children of Millennia will achieve that goal if you continue to work together as the friends and allies you are and as long as you have right on your side."

"Thank you, Sondora," Mahad said again. "But that alone is not enough, I am afraid."

"Mahad is right," said Lion-O. "We have to fight for our beliefs as well."

"Still, as long as you work together, your beliefs will be made true and you will always have the power to make it so," said Sondora. And she disappears as well. The mage and the lion smile at each other, knowing her words are true. Together, they return home to Cats' Lair.