Prologue
The howling wind and the driving rain slammed against the walls of New Cat's Lair in the dead of night while flashes of lightning illuminated the skies and thunder crashed all around. WilyKat stood up from his chair in the control room and stared at the clock. 03:23, it read. Although he was officially off night watch over twenty minutes ago and Panthro had taken over (he was currently downstairs double-checking the lair's storm protection systems and emergency power generators), WilyKat was unable to sleep. He was too worried about his sister. WilyKat paced the control room floor, a knawing sensation of fear and and dread filling him. He glanced into the monitor, which showed nothing but the terrible storm and the vague outline of his own reflection. Damn, I look tired! WilyKat noted as he looked upon the vague image. The few natural lines that had already formed in his face at his current age seemed even deeper and more pronounced in his exhausted state. He hadn't been able to go to sleep because of the unsettling feeling he was having about WilyKit. He couldn't place the feeling but he knew it had to do with her and that something was about to happen to her, but he didn't know what. He did know his sister was on his way back from a trip to Third Earth and he wondered how the Feliner would handle the landing in this kind of storm. Although the ship had been modified a number of times since, it was 20 years old now and he was concerned about how it would hold up. He didn't like flying it in anything but perfect conditions, and landing in this storm would be far from perfect. That must be what's bothering me, he decided, and cast another worried glance into the monitor.
The buzzer on the communications panel sounded. WilyKat punched the button to recieve the transmission. "Cat's Lair." he said in an official sounding voice.
"Kat! It's WilyKit!" a familiar voice rang out through the static. The connection was very poor, her words difficult to make out due to all the electrical interference from the storm.
"Kit! I was getting worried! Where are you? The transmission's not very clear, there's a hell of a storm going on..."
"Kat? I can barely hear you... listen I'm on the satellite fueling outpost on the far orbit of the Third Moon of Plundarr... I wanted to stop and check in with you while I grabbed something to eat... I should be landing in a couple of hours..."
"Listen Kit, be careful! This storm's awful... you might want to wait a while before heading back through it, I don't trust the Feliner in these electrical storms. It's gagues are old and who knows what might happen if you hit an electrical field... maybe you should hang out for an hour or two before heading back." WilyKat suggested. He hoped if he convinced her to play it safe that his nervous gut feeling about her would ease up and he could get some rest.
There was a loud crackle of static and a near disconnection. He heard her speaking some words he couldn't quite determine then "... going to stay for a while... storm is bad they say... see you by tomorrow... love you Kat." The connection then broke entirely, and he was greeted by the quiet hum of the disconnected communicator.
"I love you to sis." he finished, even though he knew she couldn't hear him. He stared at the communicator. She had called. She was safe. He should feel better. He could sleep now. Or could he? The uneasiness in his stomach didn't relent, in fact, it got worse. He retired to bed, tossing and turning. He didn't sleep a wink the rest of the night.
WilyKit never came home.
***
"You are such a jerk!" an irate Pumari howled at Chet. The girl swiped the water pistol from Chet's hand and shot him back with it several times in rapid succession. Chet simply snickered, ducked, and ran out of the dining area into the kitchen. Pumari followed in hot pursuit, determined to avenge her now soaked back. Stupid brat! she thought angrily. I'll teach him to shoot me with a water gun. The 11-year old girl was fast and should have been able to catch up to the 7-year old boy with little trouble, but that boy was half Cheetah and his mother was the fastest being on Thundera, so she had no prayer of actually catching him. Still, Pumari was swift as well, and could give him a decent chase. She pursued him, shooting at him and hitting him a few times. The water fight was stopped when Chet barrelled right into Snarf, knocking them both over.
"Snarf, snarf, how many times have I told you no running inside!" Snarf hollered.
"Sorry Snarf." Chet mumbled apologetically. Pumari lowered her head too. She hated getting yelled at by Snarf.
"Rowr, I'm getting too old for this..." Snarf muttered, and turned to the children. "You two have to take it easy." he explained in a calmer voice. "If you insist on running around and shooting each other with those silly water guns, take it outside. Am I understood?"
"Yeah Snarf." Pumari agreed. "But it was his fault. He shot me first."
A look of indignation crossed Chet's face. "Yeah well you chased me!"
"You started it, you little twerp!"
"Shut up!"
"STOP IT!" Snarf yelled.
"Easy there, Snarf." Panthro said as he entered the room. Cheetara, WilyKat, Lynx-O, and Snoelle followed him in, wondering what the noise was. "They're just being kids." Panthro argued in their defense.
"Don't I know it." Snarf snapped in annoyance.
Lion-O entered the room. "I just got word from Bengali and Snarfer on Third Earth... they arrived safely for their turn of Third Earth Duty. Just thought you all would like to know."
"That's great." WilyKat replied quietly. It was now the second term of Third Earth Duty since his sister had disappeared. He hated to think it, but he was genuinely afraid he was never going to see her again. He'd never been lonelier in his life.
Cheetara sensed his feelings and gave him a sympathetic look. He smiled at her to let her know he appreciated her thoughts, but there was no feeling behind it. All he ever felt anymore was emptiness. Even his girlfriend, a Lion-Thunderian named Leonora who lived in New Thundera City nearby, couldn't really help him fill the void although she was probably the closest emotional companion he had lately. He knew the other Thundercats felt WilyKit's loss deeply as well, but he and his twin shared a special bond, a closeness that most others didn't understand. He didn't feel anything would be resolved until his sister came home or was found.
When WilyKit hadn't come home after a reasonable amount of time, they split up to try and track her down. They had gone to the satellite outpost on the Third Moon of Plundarr and attempted to try and find her, but every lead came up cold. All they had found was the abandoned Feliner and a couple of people, mostly luntacs that lived on the Third Moon who didn't care much for Thundercats anyway (they may have been at peace for almost five years, but some distrust and animosity did remain among the warring groups) who had only seen her the night of her disappearance. At one point, WilyKat had gotten desperate enough to put a call through to their new allies on the Third Moon and asked Psiarik and Selene if they could put some sort of word out on the missing WilyKit. They had been happy to comply with the request, but they couldn't find anything either.
Now it was three months later, and nobody had found anything on her. Lion-O had to tell the others that if she didn't appear within three more months, he would have no choice but to declare her presumed dead and possibly train someone to take her position. WilyKat took the news the hardest of all. He refused to believe she could really be gone forever, and he didn't feel like she had died. He may not have been psychic, but he knew that if she had died, he would feel it. Cheetara hadn't sensed it either, which had only made them more desperate to search and find her. Although Lion-O agreed with them, he had no choice but to follow the Thunderian laws, and Thundercats had to be trained to take place if one was killed or missing as soon as possible to ensure that there would always be enough trained noble warriors.
After three months of trying to find her so desperately and failing and feeling lonely and miserable, it only made it seem that much more miraculous when a fateful call was placed to the lair from the Valley of the Snarfs. Pumyra had run into the room, yelling excitedly and wearing a happier grin than he'd ever seen her wear. "That was Snarf Egbert! WilyKit's alive! She's in the Valley of the Snarfs! They've found her!" she announced.
WilyKat nearly fell over in shock. "She's... she's back? She's ok?" he stammered, praying to all the gods of Thundera that it was true.
Pumyra nodded. "Yes, it's true! Egbert's bringing her home now! She should be here within half an hour!"
"That's wonderful!" Snoelle exclaimed.
"All right! Now that's great news!" Panthro cheered.
Tygra smiled. "Yes, Pumyra, that is wonderful news!"
"Kit's comin' home!" Chet clapped excitedly.
"YAY!" Pumari echoed.
Lion-O felt a wave of relief wash over him. "Thank Jaga! I'm so glad! We have our WilyKit back!"
Cheetara felt a twinge of something with her sixth sense. She couldn't place it, but it made her nervous. Although she was just as thrilled as the others that WilyKit had returned, she had an ominous feeling that whatever was happening with WilyKit was far from over.
***
Snarfs Egbert, Oswald, and a female Snarf named Gertrude led WilyKit into a resting room in the lair where all of the Thundercats, except for Bengali and Snarfer, who were on Third Earth.
WilyKat sat next to her on the bed and took her hand. She still looked the same as she had when he'd last seen her, except for a dazed look in her eyes. It made him uneasy, like he had been that night when she had disappeared. "Kit," he whispered "I've missed you so much! Where have you been? What happened to you? Why have you been away?"
An expression of sadness crossed her face. "I-- I don't know, Kat. The last thing I remember is talking to you at the outpost, telling you I'd wait out that storm. A stranger, a man... a lunatac I think... he approached me after I hung up. He and I talked for a while but I don't remember what about or what we said. I don't even remember his name, although I know he told me. I'm not sure I could even recognize him again. It's all a blur. Talking to that man, whoever he is, is the last memory I have before today, when Snarf Oswald found me wandering alone in the fields near the Valley of the Snarfs. I don't know how I got there or where I've been." she said, her voice growing shaky as she fought back the urge to cry out of frustration.
"You don't remember anything?" Tygra asked, deeply concerned.
"I just told you all I remember, and it's not much. I've been trying and nothing comes to me."
Pumyra gave her younger friend a reassuring look. "You must be very stressed and tired, WilyKit. Why don't you get some rest? Maybe it will all come back to you once you've had a chance to recharge and reacquaint yourself in the familiar surroundings of the lair."
"That's a good idea." Snoelle agreed. "You must rest."
"You're probably right." WilyKit replied, and leaned back against the pillows.
WilyKat hugged his sister. "Welcome home, sis. We've all missed you. No matter what happened to you or where you've been, we're glad to have you back."
"I know." she answered, returning his hug. "Believe me, I'm glad to be back. I missed all you guys, that much I can be sure of."
The Thundercats gave their greetings and well wishes to her and left her to rest quietly.
On the way out, Cheetara cast another glance at her lying on the bed with her eyes closed. She felt that nagging sensation again. She couldn't get any impressions from it other than that it was unpleasant and possibly dangerous. She was now positive, however, that the disappearance had been the least of their problems. The real trouble was just beginning.
Go on to Chapter One