Families of Different Worlds

After all of the artwork was done on the walls, the ThunderCats helped bring in the furniture they brought with them from the Berbil village and even the Wollo village. Once everything was all set up, they all looked at the room. The surrounding walls carried the layout of the Egyptian kingdom with the palace, the houses in the city, the pyramids, and the Nile River. The ceiling was colored like the night sky and there were glittering trails to make it look like a star-studded sky. The furniture consisted of a rocking chair, a changing table, a dresser for clothes and blankets, a cradle, and even a small chest full of toys.

Lion-O figured that this really did look like a nursery. He asked for his friends' opinions. "What do you all think?"

"I think it looks really nice," Cheetara said, satisfied.

Bengali thought differently. "It doesn't seem fit for a prince or a princess, but at least the baby will have everything he or she will need."

"I'm sure the baby will love it," said Wilykit.

"I hope Atem and Mystery will like it too," said Wilykat. "We should go and get them right now."

"Not by yourselves," Lion-O said as they were about to run off. "I'm coming with you."

"Go on ahead," said Panthro. "We'll wait here."

With that being said, Lion-O and the ThunderKittens left Cats' Lair and once again entered Pure Valley and went back to the Egyptian kingdom. Once more, they came to the throne room. "Pharaoh and Queen," Wilykit and Wilykat said with glee.

"Wilykat, Wilykit," the queen replied, "and, Lion-O, welcome back."

"Why this excitement," her husband asked. "Did you have a fun adventure back home?"

"Better than that," Wilykat was saying, "we have abig surprise for you two at Cats' Lair."

"A surprise for us?" the pharaoh asked.

"Yes," Wilykit answered. "Please come back with us to Cats' Lair and see it." Together, she and her brother smile pleadingly and stretch the word, "Please?"

Mystery chuckled at their demeanor. "Well, I suppose if you insist," she was saying, "then we would be happy to come with you." She tries to get up from her throne, but Atem takes her by her hands and pulls her up. "You are a gentleman, my love."

He smiles and replies, "What can I say? I have to take care of my wife and our child as well." And they both kiss and he gently touches her abdomen.

Lion-O smiled warmly at the sight. Atem is a good husband, he thought to himself. And I have no doubt in my mind that he'll be a good father to his child as well. And just looking at Mystery got him feeling excited inside. With only a few weeks left, it was hard not to feel excited.

The lion suddenly felt a wave of concern. Would it be all right for Mystery to take a walk through Pure Valley and on the way to the door to the world of Third Earth; especially in her condition? He asked the same question out loud to Atem and Mystery. The queen insisted that she would be fine and that a little bit of walking would be good for her. Besides, they would have reliable transportation arraged.

"You should take Kirara," Kisara insisted. "She can carry you around." And the nekomata left her side and walked over to Atem. The pharaoh gently lifted her up from the floor and she positioned himself on his shoulders.

"Wait for me," said Jirachi. "I'm coming too."

"Very well," the queen permitted, and Jirachi cheered. Rather than perch himself on Mystery's shoulder and give her more weight to carry, he instead flew over to the ThunderKittens. Wilykat laughed and placed him on his head.

When they stepped out into the courtyard, Kirara altered her size and became a big cat and Atem and Mystery climbed on her back. Lion-O climbed on after them. Wilykit played the Eon Flute to summon Latias and Latios and she and her brother climbed on their backs. They flew in the air for less than a few minutes until they came to a small space that served as a passage to the Pure Valley. They walked through the darkness and came to the Valley, but rather than walk to the door to Third Earth, the heroes decided to ride their companions. When they approached the door, they passed through and found themselves inside Cats' Lair.

The queen sighed and said, "Well, that went well. So what's this big surprise you have for us?"

"You'll see," said Wilykat. "It's just upstairs." He and his sister eagerly climb up the steps first. Atem and Mystery follow, but take it slow as they climb up, not wanting any accidents to happen. Lion-O was close behind them, making sure they would get up to the top safely. Once everyone made it up the stairs, the ThunderKittens took the lead once again with the others following them.

They stopped in front of the door to the nursery. "It's just past this door," said Wilykit.

"Are you ready?" her brother asks. Atem and Mystery nod and Lion-O opens the door.

At that instant, "Surprise!" the other ThunderCats happily cried out.

It was a surprise, indeed. "What… What's all this?" Mystery asked.

"It was all the ThunderKittens' idea," said Lion-O. "They told us since you guys are always visiting us at Cats' Lair, we should have a room for the baby too. So we all pitched in and built a nursery."

"They certainly had the right idea," said Panthro.

"Come on in," said Cheetara. "Take a look."

Mystery stepped inside first. She marveled at the furniture and thought it was beautiful. It wasn't like anything from back home, but that was what made it all so unique. She also saw all of the different blankets and thought they were adorable with all of the different designs of cats, stars, and rainbows. Atem stepped in as well and gazed upon the art on the walls. It was marvelous and the detail was incredible, almost like it was back home. Even Jirachi was fascinated.

"I love it," the queen said softly. She spoke up and said gleefully, "I absolutely love all of this!" She laughed and asked her husband, "Atem, isn't all of this amazing? Just look at it all! The furniture is beautiful and it's exactly what the baby is going to need."

Atem agreed. "And the art on the walls is just as incredible. Even the ceiling looks beautiful, looking like the night sky."

"And look at all of the fun toys," Jirachi said, opening the toy chest and taking out a plush cat.

"Get out of there, Jirachi," Snarf snapped. "Those toys aren't for you."

"I know," he said. "I just wanted to look at them."

Tears of joy began to brim in Mystery's eyes. She happily sobbed as she faced her friends. "How can we ever thank all of you?"

"You don't have to thank us," Wilykat insisted. "We wanted to do all of this for you."

"You're our friends and we love you," said Wilykit.

"And we love you," the queen returned. "All of you."

"Our gratitude for what you've done is more than we can say in words and even express," said Atem. "Thank you, ThunderCats."

The queen let out a laughing gasp as she felt the baby moving inside her. "Oh, you," she said, looking down and placing her hands on her belly.

"Did the baby kick?" Tygra asked.

"More like jumped for joy," she replied.

"Maybe the baby is saying 'thank you,'" Jirachi figured.

Wilykat walked up to the queen. "You're welcome, baby prince or princess," he said softly.

"I don't know if you can hear us," Wilykit was saying, "but we can't wait to see you."

Mystery placed her arms over the ThunderKittens to hug them. They softly gasped as they felt the baby moving as they were hugging Mystery.

Tygra urged them away. "Come on, you two; let's give the queen some space." He stopped as he felt Mystery take his hand. She smiled at him and placed his hand over her stomach. Tygra softly gasped and smiled as he felt the child move. Mystery began letting the rest of the ThunderCats take turns putting their hands on her to feel her child.

In the Black Pyramid, Mumm-Ra emerged from his sarcpophagus and walked towards his cauldron. "What activity disturbs me from my rest?" he asked himself. He looked into the cauldron and was surprised at what he was seeing. "King Atem and Queen Mystery," he said. "I have not seen those two rulers for several months. But what's this?" He looked closer at Queen Mystery and noticed her protruding belly. "The queen," he was saying, "she is with child." Now he understood why he had not seen much of her in so long.

Ma-Mutt looked at his master and whined.

"Yes, Ma-Mutt," this is a serious matter," said Mumm-Ra. "As you and I both know, Queen Mystery is not just one of the Children of Millennia. She is also the heiress of the Great Goddess herself. She holds the Millennium Star, the most powerful force in existence. And the child she is carrying will no doubt inherit that power." He softly growled. "And judging by her size, it will not be long before the queen gives birth."

An idea suddenly clicked in his mind. "But wait, maybe I can use this to my advantage," he figured. "Seeing that the ThunderCats have graciously built a nursery at Cats' Lair, they want the child in their home. And there is no doubt that the pharaoh and queen will bring their child with them when they come to visit their ThunderCat friends. And when they do, the ThunderCats will be on babysitting duty. And then, I, Mumm-Ra, will use the child to destroy both the ThunderCats and the Children of Millennia."

Ma-Mutt barked in response.

"Yes, my horrendous hound," the mummy said. "That child may just be the key to the undoing of the ThunderCats and the Children of Millennia. For now, we shall let them cherish this moment while they can. But just to be safe, let's keep this our little secret. I cannot trust the mutants or the Lunataks with something as serious as this. If they interfere, it could ruin our plans."

Ma-Mutt nodded and grunted in response. Mumm-Ra looked into the cauldron once more and cackled.

Back at Cats' Lair, the heroes assembled in the dining room, happily conversing as they were having lunch. Tygra spoke up. "Lynx-O and Panthro and I have worked together to add a few additional modifications to the nursery. We set up a system for it to be soundproof from the inside, that way the baby won't be disturbed or frightened by any commotions in the Lair."

"The nursery is also connected to all of the other rooms in the lair and can be monitored in the control room as well," Panthro added. "That way we can all be on alert."

"That's very helpful," said Mystery.

"Of course it is," said Snarf. "You know what they say: it takes a village to raise a child."

Lion-O shook his head in amusement. "He just means we're all willing and eager to help with the baby."

"And we greatly appreciate that," said Mystery. Being surrounded by her friends and family like this made her feel safe and happy. "I feel like this is the way it should be; us being here like this. Ever since we all met and became friends, we've not only opened our homes to each other, but we've also shared our worlds with each other. We've also even found family in one another." She looks down and rubs her belly. "And now the baby can have two families; us in Egypt and all of you here on Third Earth."

"Yeah," Wilykat agreed. "So what does that make us, exactly?"

"Well, I suppose it makes us aunts and uncles," Cheetara figured.

"Oh," Wilykit sighed. She thought about it, then said, "I don't know. I feel like I'm too young to be an aunt."

Her brother got an idea. "Maybe we could be cousins."

"Good idea," she agreed.

"I suppose I could be a grandfather," Lynx-O figured. "Papa Lynx-O, yes, that has a nice ring to it." He hoped Freya wouldn't mind the idea, given she already considered him a grandfather. Atem and Mystery certainly didn't mind, given their parents were no longer alive. They both figured that the old lynx would make a good grandfather figure.

"I would definitely love being an aunt," Pumyra said, and the others began chattering in agreement.

Bengali cleared his throat. "So, Atem, Mystery, have you guys decided on any names yet?"

The queen smiled and winked at him playfully. "That would be telling."

"You'll all just have to wait until the big day," said Atem. "Will you be there?"

"Are you kidding?" Panthro asked. "No way we'd want to miss it."

"I didn't get a chance to attend your wedding," Pumyra was saying. "I certainly don't want to miss the birth of your child."

"We'll be there, Atem," Lion-O promised. "It would mean more to us than we can say."

"And it would mean as much to us," the pharaoh returned. He decided he would be the one to personally escort the ThunderCats to the palace when the time would come. Lion-O and the others liked the sound of that. Once more, the pharaoh and queen shared a kiss and Atem placed his hand over his wife's belly. The ThunderCats' hearts warmed at the scene. They couldn't wait for the baby to come.

It will soon be time for Atem and Mystery's child to be born. What will that mean for the Egyptian kingdom and Third Earth? Tune in to the epic conclusion in Children of Millennia: Thunderian Chronicles: Part 4.