Tygra stared out the window of the observatory in Cat's Lair and looked upon the area surrounding the lair. He was deep in thought, mostly thinking about how close he had come to having to answer WilyKit's questions about her parents. Great Jaga, I can't tell her. We all promised to protect them, to shield them, for their own good. he told himself. I don't want to hurt her any more than she has already been hurt with her memory loss, but I feel so guilty keeping the truth from them. Maybe they do have a right to know about their past... He thought some more, about all that had happened all those years ago. He was lost in memory when he thought he heard a long gone voice speak. "Protect them. Give them all they deserve." the voice was barely above a whisper, a soft feminine voice that seemed to come out of the air and vanish again like a gentle breeze.
Tygra looked up, but all was silent. His eyes were full of emotion and his voice came out in a near choke. "It can't be." He glanced around the room but nothing appeared to have changed. It was the observatory deck, peaceful as always. He shook his head. "I'm imagining things." Tygra then glanced out the window again. To his shock, he saw a faint blue light in the ruins of Old Cat's Lair. "Someone's down there!" he exclaimed. "Why in the name of Thundera would anyone be down there in the middle of the night?" Tygra dashed to the door, out to the landing bay, and hopped in the hovercat. He sped toward the ruin site, driven by a force that he didn't understand or question.
When he arrived he found the ruins dark and undisturbed. He let out an exasperated sigh. "What's the matter with me? Why would I run out here just because I saw one light? I was seeing things! There's nobody here!" he said. He was about to turn and leave, but paused when he saw a familiar object beneath his feet. It was a worn and weathered stuffed doll, in the shape of a bear-like animal native to Thundera. Tygra immediately recognized it and pulled it out. Each of the twins had one of these. He saw a tattered red bow around its neck. This was WilyKit's. WilyKat had the one with the blue bow. He turned it over in his hands and was overcome by another memory.
He heard the long-gone voice of Tessana, the panther Thundercat that had preceded Panthro, make an announcement to the group. "She has borne twin cubs. One male, one female. Both are healthy and all, including the mother, are expected to do fine."
"Ah, wonderful." Jaga replied with a smile.
"That is good news." Claudus added.
"Can we see them?" Chetland, the young cheetah noble, asked. "Can we see her?"
Tessana smiled. "Not yet, Chetland. She needs her rest. Snarf Clarece is seeing to the twins now, and the doctor has asked that she be allowed to rest. Tomorrow, perhaps. It is late."
Firestripe, the old wise tiger, smiled. "I am glad to hear this good news. She means a great deal to me, you know."
"She means a great deal to all of us." the white tiger noble, Sibera, added.
"What do the children look like?" Jaga asked.
"One twin bears the likeness of his mother strongly. The other appears more her father's child." Tessana answered. A tense silence settled over the group for a minute.
"Tell me" Firestripe began again "what was the time of birth?"
"The female was born first and her brother three minutes later." Tessana started, then hesitated. "The female was born at exactly midnight."
Tygra, who had been there and remained silent, gasped in unison with Sibera. "Midnight?" Sibera began "But doesn't that mean--"
"It is all superstition, nothing more!" snapped Tessana. "These children are in for enough difficulty already given the awkward circumstances of their birth without filling them with fears that are not based in scientific truth!"
"The words of the ancients are *not* superstition, Tessana." Sibera argued. "The birth hour of darkness is something to be taken seriously! Grune was born under that hour, on the hour, like that child!"
"Sibera, do not speak that name!" Claudus growled. "He deserted us! He is not to be discussed! He made his choices."
"We *all* make our choices, Claudus." Firestripe said somewhat coldly.
"Have you something to say to me, Firestripe? If so, please have the courtesy to speak plainly and not veil your true thoughts behind snide comments."
Firestripe sighed. "I did not mean for it to come out that way, my lord. It has been a trying day on all of us and the subject of Grune is a touchy one. I am tired, that is all. Now that I know she will be all right, I think I will retire for the night now. Good night everyone."
"I think I will too." Tessana told the others.
Claudus sighed. "I am tired too. Good night, Thundercats." he greeted them all, and retired to his quarters like Tessana and Firestripe.
Sibera was still scowling. "I don't care what Tessana says. The hour of darkness is not to be taken lightly, especially when born on the hour itself. I fear for that female child. She will have a harder time with her demons than others. And I hate to say it, but what I said about Grune was the truth. He has had much difficulty controlling his darker urges, and now that he has left us, I believe he has given up the struggle."
"If only it hadn't..." Tygra started.
" 'If only' is a useless phrase, Tygra." Jaga began. "We can never truly know what would have happened if things had been different. What is important is to understand the reasons why what does happen occurs and work from there."
"You're right, Jaga." Tygra took a deep breath, and then asked the question that was on his mind. "Jaga, has any decision been made about the children yet?"
"They have made the only decision that can be made. Since the father cannot be in the picture, the children will remain in care of their mother, here, for the time being. The truth cannot be made into common knowledge, the scandal would destroy us. We have all agreed that this way is the best, and the mother is the strongest advocate of this."
"I wish it didn't have to turn out this way." Tygra sighed.
Sibera laid a hand on his shoulder. "I understand. I also have faith that whatever unfortunate circumstances these children have been brought into the world with, we can do our best to make it right."
Tygra nodded. "Yes, it is the least we can do."
The memory faded and Tygra felt another wave of guilt wash over him. "We did do our best. We did what we thought was right." he said aloud. Although he knew this was the truth, he couldn't help but feel guilty that he had lied to the twins. Lying was wrong, and even if it was to protect them, he still felt he had done them wrong. Perhaps now that they were grown they did have a right to know. "Oh, dammit..." he muttered "I don't know what's right or not!"
"Of course you do, boy." a voice sounded from behind.
Tygra whirled around to see a face he hadn't seen since they had left Thundera before the explosions. An old snarf female stood there, a smile on her stern face. "Snarf Clarece!" he exclaimed. "Was that your light I saw down here?"
The old snarf nodded. "Yes, Tygra, that was me, snarf snarf. I have been on a journey from the Valley of the Snarfs to come back and see Cat's Lair once more. I couldn't help but overhear your worries. You are questioning whether you have done right by WilyKat and WilyKit?"
Tygra was so excited to see her that he didn't question the fact that she was old and weak and travelling alone in the middle of the night. "Yes, Clarece, that I have. WilyKit asked me about her parents not long ago. I could not tell her, but I could not lie either, and I fear my unwillingness to answer has only made her want to question farther."
Clarece nodded. "Indeed, she was always willful, even as a child. But they aren't children any more. They have grown. WilyKat is a strong and brave man, and WilyKit is a beautiful and proud woman. Unfortunately WilyKit right now needs answers more than anything. Her life as she knows it is falling to pieces around her. She is desperately searching for the thing that will have it all make sense. Sibera was right, the darkness could consume her if she does not take care of herself. Even now, it draws her nearer to madness."
"How do you know all this?" Tygra asked.
"I raised those children from infancy until their near adolescence. Osbert may have taken care of much since, but I knew and loved those children like they were my own. I don't believe I ever lost the connection. Somehow I just know, snarf snarf."
Tygra nodded. "So what should I do, Clarece? Should I tell them the truth? It could tear us all apart if we are not careful. This secret nearly destroyed us once. Thundercats lost their lives because of it."
"Those Thundercats lost their lives because of Grune, not because of the secret." Clarece corrected him. "Secrets do not kill, it is those that cannot handle them that do. In the past, it would not have been right to tell them the truth, snarf snarf. But times have changed, the children have grown, and their needs are different now. You will know when you next see WilyKit whether or not you should tell her what she asks to know. You are an honorable man, Tygra. I know you will make the right decision, snarf snarf."
"Thank you, Clarece." Tygra said, his voice heavy with emotion.
Clarece smiled again. "Tygra, my dear, you are tired. I see it in your face. Go on home and rest."
"All right. Would you like a ride back to the lair?"
Clarece shook her head. "I will make it to where I need to go in my own time. I will be fine. Go rest now."
"Ok. I will see you soon, Clarece."
Clarece simply nodded and watched him hop in the vehicle and head back for the lair.
Tygra parked the hovercat and went upstairs to the control room, where Snarf Egbert was on night watch. "Egbert, how's watch?" Tygra asked.
"All right, snarf snarf. Hey, why did you take off like that earlier? I wondered what happened! I tried to reach you on the communicator but I couldn't get it to respond! It was like it was being blocked from being received."
Tygra frowned. "That is odd. We'll have to get Panthro to look into that. Maybe it needs fixing. Anyway, my trip outside is what I came here to tell you about! I was at the ruins. I saw a light there from the observatory earlier and I went to check it out."
"No, I have been on watch all night and there was no light there, except for when you went there. Why did you go out there? What light did you see that our equipment didn't pick up?" Egbert asked.
"The light was a lantern of a traveller. I had a nice talk with her. I hadn't seen her in years. She's coming here later."
"Who?" Egbert asked with interest.
"Snarf Clarece." Tygra replied.
Egbert's jaw dropped. "That's impossible!"
"No it's not. I lived with her for years, I know it was definately her." Tygra argued.
Egbert shook his head and shivered. "Nope, no sir, couldn't be, snarf snarf."
"Why not?" Tygra asked as a strange feeling came over him.
"Rowr, Tygra, Snarf Clarece died almost two years ago."
Go on to Part Four, Chapter One
Actually, it didn't seem very stormy. But it was nighttime. Main page.