Black Pyramid: Early Morning

Mumm-Ra stood with Ma-mutt within the black, musty room. The two evil doers gazed into the waters of the cauldron. With a sudden and heavy sigh of frustration, Mumm-Ra folded his arms and began pacing beside the cauldron.

"Ma-mutt, this has gone on too long. I should have been able to destroy those disgusting do-gooders the first day they arrived! Ugh, I would have too if it wasn't for that blasted Eye of Thundera. There must be a way I can prevent the Lord of the Thundercats from using the Sword of Omens," he remarked sinisterly.

Ma-mutt whimpered and laid his head on the edge of the magical waters.

The demon priest thought for a while as he continued his slow pacing. He finally walked up beside his evil dog and waved his arms over the cauldron. Past images of his encounters with the Thundercats appeared. The old mummy watched the haunting memories carefully and made a snide comment occasionally.

"Miserable mutants couldn't trap a cat in a bag."

"The Lunatacs can't ever be trusted."

"There's that blasted Eye of Thundera again."

"That almost worked...dang Cheetara and her sixth sense."

As Mumm-Ra continued watching the past scenes before him, he began to really study his enemies in action. The mummy saw Panthro using his strength, Cheetara and Pumyra running at their top speeds and using their agility to escape danger, Lion-O's remarkable skills of leadership, the twins cunning nature, Tygra's intelligence and invisibility, Bengali's blacksmith talents using his special hammer, and Lynx-O's light shield and wisdom.

Then a sudden jolt of inspiration overcame him. Mumm-Ra laughed evilly and picked up his faithful dog.

"Ah-ha! Ma-mutt, I've finally got it! I have come up with a plan so ingenious, so incredible, that I have amazed myself! And this time, the Sword of Omens cannot be used..."

The ancient mummy laughed again but much louder. Ma-mutt barked and licked his master's face. When the celebration stopped, Mumm-Ra dropped his companion onto the floor and turned to the cold waters within the cauldron.

"Ancient Spirits of Evil...

Transform this decayed form

...to Mumm-Ra, the ever living!"

The sound of violins being scratched horrendously sounded in the background. It use to annoy the hell out of the mummy, but he had grown to like it. To him, it sounded like cats shrieking.

"Now Ancient Spirits of Evil...

Grant me the form of....

a common housefly!"

Mumm-Ra's old, bandaged body changed to the minuscule pest. He buzzed his wings and flew out of the pyramid as Ma-mutt barked.

Cat's Lair: Later that morning

Mumm-Ra, disguised as a fly, flew to Cat's Lair and into Lion-O's room through his window. He flew under the young lord's bed. He saw Lion-O step out of his bathroom wearing a towel around his waist. He opened his closet door and pulled out his regular blue uniform. He pulled off the towel and put on his clothes. Afterwards, Lion-O looked at himself in the mirror and smiled.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" He told himself.

Mumm-Ra raised an eyebrow.

"You're just completely gorgeous. A hard buff chest, big muscular arms, rugged good looks. No wonder Cheetara finds you irresistible. Maybe I should stop teasing her and let her have me. I know she wants me."

Mumm-Ra rolled his eyes. "Oh, brother. How long is he going to continue rambling on about himself like this? He's not even all that as he claims himself to be." Mumm-Ra continue to groan, rolled his eyes, and shook his head as Lion-O posed in the mirror.

"Well, enough showing yourself how good you look. It's time for the rest of the world to see it," he told himself and exited the room.

Mumm-Ra flew from under the bed. "I knew the boy was arrogant, but I didn't think he was this far off. No matter. I'll cut his arrogance down to size when I'm through with him. MWHAHAHAHAHA!"

He flew to his dresser and saw Lion-O's comb. "Apparently the oaf, doesn't know how to comb his hair, otherwise he'd learn to tame that wild mane of his."

The evil mummy pulled a few strands of Lion-O's red hair from the comb and flew out of the room.

The next bedchamber that Mumm-Ra buzzed into was that of Cheetara's. He got there just in time as she was putting on her make-up. He saw her hairbrush lying on the small vanity in front of her. So he waited on her windowsill until he could get to it.

Cheetara closed her mascara and pulled out her blue eye shadow. As she put the color on her eyelids, the cheetah talked to herself.

"I wish that the berbils could come up with another color besides blue. This color went out ages ago."

Mumm-Ra thought to himself, "It will come back. These trends always do."

The female Thundercat sighed and continued talking.

"As if it matters anyway. Three long years you've waited, and what has happened? Absolutely nothing! Then the night when the Thunderkittens are gone, you expect something to happen, but noooo! If Lion-O doesn't hurry up and do something, I'm going to have to settle for Tygra."

Cheetara involuntarily thought of her and Tygra tumbling in a bed together and shuttered at the picture.

Mumm-Ra took in this piece of information. He always thought the Thundercat had a soft spot for her leader, but he had not been sure. No matter, because once his plan was in action, he would be ruling Third Earth again.

The cheetah carefully put a slight color of rouge on her cheeks then checked her appearance in the mirror. She picked up her brush and ran it through her hair.

"Why do I bother?" She asked her image rhetorically.

A sudden wave of cramping hit the cheetah. She flinched and grabbed her hip.

"Oh, great! Now I'm ovulating. What else can go wrong today?"

Cheetara slammed her hairbrush down and stormed out of the room.

"It's about time," Mumm-Ra muttered and flew to the vanity. He carefully grabbed one of the blond strands of hair and put it with the other hair. He then buzzed out of the room and went into the next room.

The next bedchamber was where Panthro slept. The panther was already out of the room, and Snarf was making the bed. Mumm-Ra flew around the area looking desperately for a strand of hair. At one point, he buzzed right past Snarf's ear. The furry creature swiped at the pest and screeched out, "Get out of here! I've got enough to do without having to worry about killing you, snarf, snarf."

Mumm-Ra grew irate and flew by Snarf again. As he did, the fly pulled out a hair from the creature's rear end. "What the hell..." Mumm-Ra thought.

Snarf yelped in pain and grabbed his butt as Mumm-Ra flew away unnoticed. Cheetara, Lion-O, and Panthro all ran into the room to check on him.

"What happened?" Lion-O asked.

"I think a fly bit me," Snarf pouted.

Cheetara and Panthro huffed and left the room.

"Flies don't bite," Lion-O commented.

Snarf rubbed his rear end and replied, "Well, tell that to my behind." He then whimpered in pain.

Lion-O shook his head and left the room.

Mumm-Ra had landed on the wall and watched the scene. When he saw Panthro, the mummy-fly would have hit himself on the forehead if he could. He cursed and said, "You idiot! Panthro doesn't have any hair. No matter, my plan will still work."

He then buzzed into Tygra's room as the tiger had just finished grooming himself. Tygra looked down at his furniture to check for dust and any hair that had fallen. Being meticulous as he always was, the tiger used his hand to sweep the strands into his trash. He then carefully rearranged all of his things so that they were exactly in their place.

"Snarf!" he yelled out. After a moment, Tygra shouted for the creature again.

Snarf bumbled into the room. "What is it, Tygra?"

Tygra pointed to the trash. "There's dirt in there. You need to replace it as quick as you can."

Snarf peered into the container and did not see anything. "Uh, sure, Tygra," he replied. "I'll get to it as soon as I'm through with Panthro's room. Oh, and Tygra, watch out for a fly. It bit me this morning."

Tygra nodded and watched as the furry creature waddled out of the room. He checked his appearance one last time and whistled. "You are one fine specimen of a male. It won't be long before Cheetara can no longer resist your handsome face, your charm, and your intelligence. Ha! Beat that Lion-O!"

The tiger put a hand on his chin as he thought for a moment. "I wonder if Ben-gali has to keep Pumyra away from me. It wouldn't surprise me. Hm, maybe I'll go sneak over to the Warrior Maiden village and see what Willa is doing today."

Mumm-Ra rolled his insect eyes and saw the tiger stroll out of the room. He then flew in and grabbed a strand of hair from the trash. He put it with the others, and then he buzzed out of the open window. After checking the twins' room and finding it free of any hair, Mumm-Ra headed toward the Tower of Omens.

Tower of Omens

When Mumm-Ra entered the Tower of Omens, he first went to Bengali's room. Bengali was putting on his uniform and he looked at himself in the mirror.

"You sexy tiger. Rrowl. You see the looks Pumyra gives you. She's crazy for you. I bet Cheetara is hot for you too. And why not? You are a tiger, the sexiest of all the cats."

Mumm-Ra groaned. "Here we go again."

Bengali took his brush and ran it through his hair. "I see Tygra giving Pumyra looks. He's tries anything with her and I'll use his whip and burn a hole right through his..."

A knock on the door interrupted him. He watched as Snarfer entered. "Breakfast is ready, Bengali."

"I'll be right there, Snarfer."

Snarfer left the room and Bengali put the brush down and exited himself.

Mumm-Ra flew in and took a strand of white tiger hair from his brush. "Nothing but a bunch of arrogant cats. I'll teach them."

The mummy flew to Lynx-O's room next. He did not think he would hear any arrogance or other nonsense there.

"Blasted kids! They know nothing about being Thundercats. They are all too hot for each other to keep their eyes on the monitors or battle. We almost lost the last one. Stupid Bengali looking at Pumyra when he should've been fighting Chilla," the old lynx complained and sighed. "Maybe you're just jealous because you don't have someone like they do. The only other woman you were attracted to ever since Thundera exploded was Mandora, but she wouldn't want anything to do with an old, blind geezer like you."

"And I thought he was the normal one," Mumm-Ra thought.

Snarfer entered and told Lynx-O breakfast was ready. When they left, Mumm-Ra found a strand of hair on a comb. He took it and left. He flew out and saw Snarfer walking with Lynx-O. Not making the same mistake twice, he quickly grabbed a strand of hair off the furry creature's head.

"Ow!" he waved his hand in the air. "Shoo fly." His hand hit the tail end of Mumm-Ra.

The mummy fly fell to the ground but got up and flew away. "Stupid Snarfer. I'll take care of him soon enough."

After inspecting Pumyra's room and finding it as clean as the Thundertwins' room, Mumm-Ra left the tower.

Mumm-Ra's Pyramid

As soon as Mumm-Ra entered his black pyramid, he changed back to his ugly mummy self. The demon priest looked around his inner sanctum for his loyal, putrid hound and shrugged when he could not find the dog.

Then Mumm-Ra asked the Ancient Ones for the potion necessary to get his plan started. The water within the cauldron shot up and changed to a greenish tint. The mummy scooped up the potion in an empty, metal container. He then shuffled out of his sanctuary to a dark, inner room within the pyramid.

The room looked like it had not been entered in a thousand years. Cobwebs filled most of the empty space, and a layer of dust covered everything within the room.

Mumm-Ra brushed away the cobwebs and dirt as he walked into his private lab. He sat the potion down on a back table then proceeded to mumble to himself. "Lion-O, Cheetara, Tygra, Snarf, Snarfer, Ben-gali, and Lynx-O. Seven."

He opened a drawer and pulled out seven small vials. Placing them evenly spaced on the table, Mumm-Ra filled them with the green potion. He then placed one hair in front of each vial. He had some of the green potion left in a small bottle. He planned to used that when he can get some hair from the Thunder kittens and Pumyra. He didn't want to think of how to get hair from Panthro.

While inspecting his work, Mumm-Ra thought to himself, "Hm, something's missing. Let's see...I have the hairs, the potion, a vial for each miserable cat...Oh! Cat! I knew I was forgetting something. I think this is a job for Safari Joe."

Mumm-Ra laughed wickedly and went back to his cauldron. He summoned the mean hunter and gave him his directions. Safari Joe agreed to help for the price Mumm-Ra offered to pay.

Within a few hours, Safari Joe returned to the black pyramid with the prey requested. Two tigers: a white Bengal tiger and an orange striped tiger, a lynx, a cheetah, a lion, and two Chihuahuas. Safari Joe got more for the two dogs, since they were harder to come by on Third Earth. He ended up stealing the dogs from Ro-bear Berbil, who had owned them as pets.

Mumm-Ra took a hair from each creature and placed the drugged animal in separate cells within the dungeon.

Cat's Lair: That evening

"How goes the treasure hunt?" Cheetara asked Pumyra over the monitor.

"Not to good. The kittens and I only found trinkets. How is everybody?"

"Fine. Panthro is out driving in the Thundertank. He said it helps him relax. Snarf and Snarfer are washing dishes. Lion-O's in the library. Tygra...well, he was really in a rush to get out of the lair after dinner. He said something about going for a walk but I have a feeling it's something else."

"Hmm, I wonder what that tiger is up to. Oh, well. It can't be important. We're heading back, so we will see you soon."

"We'll see you when you get back. Cheetara out." Cheetara shut off the communicators and sat back in the main chair. She had a feeling something was not right. Looking at the monitor, she surveyed the planet. So far the Mutants, Lunatacs, and Mumm-Ra had been strangely quite.

Were they planning something?

The cheetah was not certain, and she really was not caring about an attack. She was not up for a battle in her condition.

Glad the day and her shift was over, Cheetara got up and left the room. She walked down the hall of the mighty lair to the library where Lion-O was. With everyone out of the lair except the snarfs; who would not go to the library and interrupt Lion-O, Cheetara decided to make a trip there. Maybe alone, she could get Lion-O's attention. She found the young lord in the library, sitting at a table, heavily engrossed in a book about Thundera's history.

Cheetara quietly walked behind her leader and placed her hands on his shoulders. She began massaging his tired shoulders.

"Mmm, that feels good," Lion-O said as he continued to read.

"These hands work miracles," she said in a sultry voice.

Mumm-Ra watched the scene within a bubble floating in the air. "Aw, such a soft, tender moment. Now would be as good a time as any to take care of them. Maybe this will help Cheetara with her ovulating problems. Mwhahahhahaha!!"

Mumm-Ra pulled out the samples of Lion-O and Cheetara's hair and mixed it with the hair from the lion and cheetah in the beakers.

Cheetara leaned closer over Lion-O. She pulled the book from his hands and closed it. She wrapped her arms around him. "I think you can take a break. You've earned it."

"Yes, I think I have," he leaned back and Cheetara stood up and continued to massage his shoulders.

Lion-O placed his hands on Cheetara's and lifted her hands off him. He walked her in front of him and pulled her face down towards his own to kiss her. Just as their lips were about to meet, Lion-O groaned in pain. He clasped his stomach and fell out of his seat. He rolled on the floor clutching his stomach.

"Lion-O! What's wrong?" Cheetara asked concerned leaning over him.

"My stomach! It's--OHH!"

Cheetara soon became overcome with pain herself. She cried out and fell to the floor, doubling over in pain.

"AAH!! What's going on?!"

As the two Thundercats screamed in pain, their bodies were overwhelmed with a strange metamorphosis. Tails came out of their rear ends. Fur grew all over their bodies. Lion-O's shoulders became more massive. His forelimbs began to grow. His sharp hands changed into claws. His red hair grew more and became deeper in color on his head and on his shoulders. His face stretched out more, making his nose bigger and whiskers grew on his face. He screams of pain changed into roars of anger.

Cheetara was going through the same situation too. Cheetara fell on all fours as her two arms and two legs changed into four long legs. Her body was covered in a yellowish brown coat with black spots all over. The cheetah's face had black lines from her eyes to around her mouth where her brown tear lines were. Her blonde hair was gone as a head of a cheetah with spots all over took over her human appearance. Instead of a loud roar, the cheetah purred fiercely.

When their pain was over, they looked at each other and noticed that their human cat bodies had changed into a wild male lion and a female cheetah.

Within the pyramid, Mumm-Ra laughed hysterically at the two Thundercats. He had tears coming out of his eyes, streaking down his horrid face.

Between outbursts, he said, "Now...it's the... snarfs....turn!"

He put their hairs in the appropriate vials and turned his attention back to the bubble.

Cat's Lair: Kitchen

Snarfer thought he heard a scream. He put a plate in the dish rack. He turned to his uncle who was sweeping the floor.

"Snarfer. Did you hear that, Uncle Snarf? I thought I heard a scream."

"Snarf. I think you're hearing things, Snarfer. Get back to washing dishes."

Snarfer was about to do what his uncle said when a pain hit his stomach, "Ooh. Gee, Uncle Snarf, I don't feel so good. Did you accidentally put a laxative in the food again? You know, to help your--Aah!"

"No, I did not!" the Snarf said indignantly.

When he saw his nephew fall off his stool to the floor, he ran to him. "Are you okay? Snarf. Snarf. SNARRRRRRFFFFFF!!!!!!" the furry creature screamed and fell on the floor, too.

The two Snarfs began to change shape as their tails shrunk to five inches and changed color. Their noses grew and their chubby bodies took shape into a smaller form. Their fur fell off leaving the Snarfs bare as they rolled over in pain. Small, coarse, brown hairs began sprouting out all over Snarf and Snarfer's body. Their ears pointed out more, and their nosed grew into small snouts. The snarfs' eyes bulged out of their face.

When the transformation was over, they noticed that they were not themselves but were Chihuahuas.

"Bark bark bark!" Snarf screamed in horror.

Snarfer whined and began peeing on himself.

Treetop Kingdom: Willa's quarters

Unaware at what was going on at Cat's Lair, Tygra hurried to met Willa at the Treetop Kingdom later that night. He was excited for seeing her tonight. Every month actually for the past year ever since they worked together with the mutants fire bombardment, they met secretly. Willa smiled warmly at the striped tiger as he entered her private quarters.

"I've been waiting for you," she said in a sultry voice.

"I'm sorry. I tried to get away from them as fast as I could. Shall we skip the formalities?" Tygra asked walking to her.

"Let's," she put her arms his neck and kissed him hungrily.

They were in the throws of passion as they tore each other's clothes off. Tygra eagerly pressed her body closer to his so she could feel the core of his desire.

"Oh, you're really into it tonight," Willa moaned pleasurably.

Mumm-Ra watched from is cauldron. "Mwhahahahahaha! This is the perfect time! Willa and Tygra are in for a big surprise," the evil mummy laughed evilly and loudly.

The wicked mummy mixed the tiger's hair with the animal tiger's hair in the beaker.

Tygra and Willa were slowly backing towards the bed when Willa felt something slide up her leg. She broke from him.

"What was that?"

"What?" Tygra asked.

"I thought I felt something slide up my leg."

"You mean my hand?"

"Oh, well, never mind," she said and continued to kiss him.

They fell back on the bed. Tygra, on top, kissed her all over, pleasuring her. Willa closed her eyes enjoying Tygra. He was amazing tonight she thought. It was like he was possessed with something else. She opened her eyes to kissed him again but let out a bloodcurdling scream instead.

"What's wrong?" Tygra asked.

Willa, too frightened to say anything, pushed Tygra off her, got out of bed, and gathered her clothes off the floor. She got a look at what really ran up her leg.

"That's what ran up my leg!" she pointed at his rear end.

Tygra, who was confused at Willa's action, looked behind him and saw that he had a tail.

"Where did that come from?!" He got off the bed and looked in a mirror. More hair and whiskers were forming on his face. No longer aroused, Tygra felt pain and doubled over.

His body, arms and legs began to change into a tiger.

"What's--What's happening to me?!!!!" Tygra growled one last time as his body completed the transformation into a tiger. He roared loud and powerfully.

Tygra looked at Willa. She could only stare in fright. He ran towards a window and she ducked out of the way as Tygra leaped out. Willa tried to fathom what had just happened, but nothing was making sense.

"I've got to get to the Thundercats." Willa put her clothes back on and left her kingdom running to Cat's Lair.

Mumm-Ra continued laughing and sputtered out, "Five...five down, two more...to go!"

He waved his hand over the bubble. The scene changed from the Treetop Kingdom to the Tower of Omens. He saw Lynx-O and Ben-gali monitoring in the main control room.

"In just a few more moments, I will be the absolute ruler of Third Earth once again. But I must hurry. I am growing weak, and I need to get back to my sarcophagus. Where is that miserable dog?" he suddenly shouted out as he looked around for Ma-mutt.

"Probably chasing berbils," he answered himself. Sighing, he placed the last two hairs in their vials and looked into the bubble.

Tower of Omens

Lynx-O was standing at the main controls and monitoring activity on Third Earth. Occasionally, he would glance at Ben-gali who was standing at a side panel. The tiger had his back turned to the blind Thundercat as he chatted with Pumyra.

A slight disturbance from the Braille board caught the lynx's attention. He turned back to the controls and pushed the buttons frantically. His senses told him that something was wrong. With Lynx-O's disability and Bengali not paying attention and talking with Pumyra, they didn't see Willa running towards Cat's Lair with a tiger running after her.

Before he could figure out what was wrong, Lynx-O screamed out in pain. He fell to his knees as beads of perspiration appeared on his forehead.

Ben-gali quickly rushed to him and asked what was wrong.

"Pain," Lynx-O breathed. "In...so...much...pain."

Ben-gali yelled over to the communicator at Pumyra. "You better get here quick! Lynx-O is not feeling well."

"I'm increasing power to full speed," Pumyra informed him without question. "I'll be there in a few hours."

Suddenly, Ben-gali felt like his insides were about to explode. He groaned loudly and doubled over.

"Ben-gali...Ben?! What's going on?"

The Thundercat screamed as hair began to grow over his body.

"Ben!" Pumyra tried once more. She turned to the twins inside the Feliner. "Let's get to Third Earth fast!"

Mumm-Ra's Pyramid

"Mwhahahahaha!! It is done!" Mumm-Ra laughed like a little child and clapped his hands gleefully.

He popped the bubble and watched as the image of the white tiger and lynx disappeared.

"It is over for the Thundercats! Nothing can save them now, not even the Sword of Omens." Mumm-Ra chuckled again and walked out of his laboratory. As the mummy headed toward his sarcophagus, he stepped in something cold and wet. He lifted his foot and scowled.

"Ma-mutt! Where are you, you miserable wretched dog?!"

Silently, Ma-mutt appeared from his hiding place and walked with his head down.

Mumm-Ra pointed to his foot and the floor and shouted, "How many times have I told you? Don't go in here. Go outside! Now clean this up."

The evil dog whined as Mumm-Ra cleaned his foot off in the cauldron. He huffed and entered his sarcophagus.

Back at Cat's Lair

Panthro steered the Thundertank under the claw and turned the engine off. He ran his hand lovingly over his baby and talked to the machine sweetly. The panther would have continued, but he heard barking within the lair.

"Ma-mutt? In the lair?"

Panthro pulled out his nun-chucks and ran inside the fortress. He stopped in the hallway in shock as he saw two Chihuahuas run out of the kitchen. They put their front paws on Panthro's legs and whined.

"What the..." Panthro started. He picked the smallest dog up by the neck.

"Doo-doo?"

His eyes shifted to the dog remaining on the floor. "Dumb-dumb? What are you two doing here? I need to take you back to Ro-bear Bill."

A loud growl sounded from down the hall. Panthro put down Snarfer (Doo-doo) and ran into the library. The sight he found shocked him even more. He saw a female cheetah rubbing her face against a huge male lion. She was apparently trying to win his affection.

"What is going on?" Panthro questioned out loud.

The lion turned to Panthro and snarled. He mistook Panthro as competition for the cheetah.

The ThunderCat's eyes widened. He raised out his hand and shook it. "It's okay. I'm leaving," he muttered. Although he was strong and brave, Panthro did not want to take any chances wrestling a four-hundred pound lion. He slowly backed out of the room and shut the door just as the lion leaped toward him.

"Thank goodness I found you, Panthro!"

He turned around to see Willa running towards him. She stopped and put a hand on his arm as she caught her breath.

"Willa? What is it?"

She pointed behind her and replied, "Tygra...there's something wrong with him."

Willa turned around and frowned. "That's odd. He was right behind me."

Suddenly, a tiger came around the corner slowly. He growled menacingly at the two humans.

Panthro grabbed Willa's arm and pulled her down the hall. The two Chihuahuas ran after them and into the control room. They did not want to get eaten. Panthro locked the doors and turned to face the warrior woman.

"Please tell me that wasn't Tygra."

Willa nodded quietly as Panthro sighed heavily. "What is going on?!"

He ran to the communicator and tried to contact the Tower of Omens. When he did not have any luck, he pulled up the monitors and saw a white tiger prowling the control room.

A sudden thought hit Panthro. He began to panic and changed the screen to the library within Cat's Lair. He saw the cheetah and lion rubbing against each other.

"Oh no! I've got to separate them!"

Willa walked up to Panthro's side and remarked, "I would like to see you try."

Panthro shook his head and looked at her. "You don't understand. If that tiger is Tygra, then the lion and cheetah must be Lion-O and..."

"Cheetara..." Willa finished the obvious.

Panthro nodded his head. He tapped the monitor and said, "If things keep up between them, Cheetara might get pregnant. I can't let that happen."

"Why not?"

"It will complicate things. It's important that anything that happens between them is out of love, not animal instinct. Besides, how could we get Cheetara back to herself if she's pregnant? Even if she turns back to human, what would happen to the baby?"

"You sound like Tygra." Willa observed.

"Tygra's not the only smart Thundercat," Panthro replied.

The sounds of claws scratching the door interrupted their conversation. Willa turned her back to the panther and remarked, "I would like to see you get to them with Tygra right outside the door."

Panthro thought for a moment then snapped his fingers. "I've got it. I'll make Tygra fight Lion-O."

"What?!" Willa shrieked. "Tygra will be killed for sure!"

"That will keep them occupied long enough for me to get Cheetara somewhere else. You stay here with Doo-doo and Dumb-dumb."

"But, Panthro!" Willa cried out but was ignored.

Panthro grabbed a tranquilizer gun loaded with tranquilizer darts behind a side control panel. Panthro lunged out of the door and knocked Tygra back. He heard the doors close as Tygra got back up and snarled at him.

"Come on, Tygra. I'm not afraid of you." Panthro taunted and sped off down the hall.

Tygra chased him into the library.

Lion-O and Cheetara glanced up at the intrusion. The lion noticed the tiger and growled, baring his teeth. He lowered his body so that he could pounce on the tiger.

"That's it," Panthro mumbled. He aimed the gun at Cheetara and fired. The dart hit her in the upper body. She stumbled and fell to the ground as another dart penetrated her.

Panthro then turned his attention to Lion-O. He shot two darts at him and then at Tygra. Soon, the three cats were sleeping peacefully on the floor. He carried them out one by one and put them in separate cells within the dungeon.

As he walked back to the control room, the panther wondered why he had not changed into a panther. He figured he had better check on Pumyra and the twins in the Feliner. Upon entering the control room, Panthro got in contact with Pumyra in the Feliner. She told Panthro that she checked on Bengali and Lynx-O. She sedated them, put them in the dungeons below the Tower of Omens, and she and the twins were on their way to Cat's Lair. That way, they could find some answers to the questions running through their heads.

In the dungeons of Cat's Lair, Tygra and Lion-O used their animal bodies to try to break their cages. Cheetara was no where in sight. Panthro put her in the farther dungeons in another room.

Catching a breath, Lion-O looked at Tygra and teased him, "You look like Tigger, you know that."

Tygra recalled finding an old book from First Earth history and remembered seeing a tiger called Tigger. It irritated him that a tiger would be displayed that way. Some goofy tiger bouncing on his tail going "Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoooo."

Tygra growled. "Take that back."

"Make me. Hey, see if you can bounce on your tail while you're at it. Heh. Heh."

Tygra growled louder and slammed his body against the bars. He only hurt his head. He walked around his cage quietly and realized something.

"Where's Cheetara?"

"Panthro must have put her in a separate dungeon room." Lion-O answered.

"He only did that to keep you two from mating. Don't deny it, Lion-O, I saw the way you two were when I came in."

Lion-O smiled proudly."Who said I was going to? We all know she thinks I'm irresistible."

"Irresistible to getting a swell head, you mean," Tygra retorted. "But, could we forget this silly arguing and figure out who's behind this?"

"Only one person could be behind something like this--Mumm-Ra."

"Yes, but why wasn't Panthro affected, and whatever happened to Snarf and Snarfer?" Tygra asked.

Berbil Village

While Panthro waited for Pumyra and the Thunderkittens return, Willa decided to take Doo-doo and Dumb-dumb back to Ro-bear Bill, unaware that they were actually Snarfer and Snarf.

"So, somehow Doo-doo and Dumb-dumb made their to Cat's Lair," Willa explained to Ro-bear Bill.

"You naughty dogs!" Ro-bear Bill scolded. "Running away like that. I was worried sick." the robot bear shook an angry finger at Doo-doo. "Doo-doo, you know better than to soil yourself. You have been properly trained for that." Ro-bear Bill took the leash from Willa and thanked her for returning his dogs. Willa left and headed back to Cat's Lair.

Entering his home, Ro-bear Belle had a bath running for the dogs. Ro-bear Bill put the dogs in the tub and he and Ro-bear Belle cleaned them. The two dogs put up a fight at first but soon calmed down. Afterwards, the robot teddy bears dried the dogs. Ro-bear Belle groomed Doo-doo while Ro-bear Bill groomed Dumb-dumb. Since Doo-doo was a girl, Ro-bear Belle sprayed perfume on the dog, dressed her in a pink dog dress and put a pink bow on her head. Ro-bear Bill put some cologne on Dumb-dumb and put a sweater on him.

Afterwards Ro-bear Bill fixed two bowls of Kibble and Bits for his two pets. Ro-bear Belle brought the dogs to their food bowls.

"Go on. Eat. Kibble and Bits are your favorite."

The two dogs looked at it and at each other. They had no choice but to eat. They could not communicate with the bear robots to tell them they were snarfs and not dogs.

Cat's Lair: Council Room

Panthro and Willa watched as the Feliner landed. He breathed a sigh a relief to see that nothing happened to Pumyra and the twins after talking to them. He still did not understand why he nor Pumyra and the twins were not affected. After greeting each other, they walked inside the lair.

"Panthro, we got here as soon as we could. What is going on?"

"I don't know, Pumyra. I thought you may have a guess as to what's happening?"

"When did everything get started?" WilyKit asked.

"It was like this when I got back from my evening drive."

Upon entering the council room, Panthro explained everything that happened in the lair.

"Well, it must involve magic," WilyKat pointed out.

"If magic is involved, then it must be Mumm-Ra." Kit added.

"Yes, but how did he do it, and how do we get the Thundercats back to normal?" asked Pumyra.

"I don't know, but we can't use the Sword of Omens since Lion-O isn't dead and the only other person he would relinquish power to is in the same predicament."

"How about the Totem of Dera?" Kat suggested.

"That won't work. The Totem of Dera can only heal the sick and bring inanimate objects to life." Kit said.

"Magic is involved, so we need to fight magic with magic. We just reverse what Mumm-Ra has done." Willa added.

WilyKat thought of something. "I know this is off the topic, but where are Snarf and Snarfer?"

Panthro thought for a moment. "I don't know. I didn't see them when I got back. Maybe....Lion-O and Cheetara ate them."

"I don't think so, Panthro. Lion-O and Cheetara may be animals now, but I don't think they would do something like that," Pumyra pointed out.

"We'll figure out where they are later. Right now, we've got to change the others back."

"Good point, Kit. My best guess is that we sneak in the pyramid and find out what Mumm-Ra is up to." Panthro said.

"When should we go?" Pumyra asked.

"Now. Let's do it." Panthro commanded.

Mumm-Ra's Pyramid

Outside the black pyramid, Panthro explained his plan to the group. He thought of it on the way over. Panthro took off his insignia, and put it on the sand. He took out a remote control connected to a special helmet with dark visors. He turned it on. Using the control, Panthro sent his insignia in the pyramid from the top. Through his dark visors, he saw that the sarcophagus was closed, and Ma-mutt sleeping beside it. The insignia went further into the pyramid into the dungeons. There, Panthro saw the big cat animals of a lion, cheetah, two tigers, a lynx and oddly two dogs in their own separate prison. He could not understand that, but the big cats in the prison got him thinking. The insignia flew out the prison and into a room deeper down. There was a light on in the room. It looked like a lab of some sort. On the lab table were small packages of hair in groups of two. The labels had the name of a cat and a Thundercat together. In front of the hairs were empty vials. Next to the last batch of hair stood a bottle with some green mixture in it. Having an idea of what had happened, Panthro flew his insignia out.

"Well, what did you see?" Willa asked once Panthro retrieve his insignia.

Panthro rewound the recording from the camera within his insignia and replayed it for the group. After they saw the footage, he spoke.

"As you might have guessed, Mumm-Ra mixed the hairs of the Thundercats with the hair of the captured animals. He used whatever it is in the bottle to help him make the transformations complete."

"If I can get in Mumm-Ra's lab and analyze the contents in the bottle, I might be able to find a way to reverse the spell," Pumyra said.

"Analyze the contents? You know how to do that, Pumyra?" Willa asked.

"Yes, I did learn a few things from Tygra when I became a Thundercat."

"Why were there Chihuahuas in the dungeons?" WilyKit asked.

"Yeah, they looked like Doo-doo and Dumb-dumb," WilyKat added.

"You don't think..." Pumyra began to inquire.

"Snarf and Snarfer?" Willa questioned.

The Thundercats and Willa erupted in laughter. After rolling in the sands laughing for ten minutes, Panthro tried to break up the laughter.

"Okay....we got...to stop. We've got to defeat Mumm-Ra." Panthro said wiping his tears of laughter from his eyes.

"You're right, Panthro. It's just the thought of them like that is funny." Willa said sobering up.

"Here's the plan. We'll go in. Pumyra and I will get the hair samples and potion. The rest of you will stay guard and make sure Mumm-Ra and Ma-Mutt don't wake up." Panthro ordered. Everyone else nodded.

Quietly, they entered the dark pyramid. Panthro and Pumyra went into the lab to get the samples. Upon leaving the room, Panthro and Pumyra entered the dungeons where the big cats and Chihuahuas were held. The animals did not growled at their entrance. Instead they gave a pathetic whine wanting to be set free.

*****

"Stop that." Kit told her brother.

WilyKat was shooting small rocks at a sleeping Ma-Mutt with a rubber band. The evil dog would sometimes stir and wave his paw over his face.

"What?" Kat whined. "There's nothing left to do. Besides, he won't wake up." Kat said.

As Ma-mutt sleepily yawned, WilyKat shot a rock in his mouth. Ma-mutt opened his eyes and cough, choking on the rock. When he spit it out, the dog growled at WilyKat.

"Uh-oh."

"Idiot." Kit called her brother.

Ma-mutt begin barking to wake up his master. The twins tackled Ma-Mutt. On instinct, Willa pulled out her bow and arrow. She aimed it where the Thunder kittens were trying to tame Ma-Mutt. She released the arrow. It hit Mumm-Ra's sarcophagus. Sleep gas expelled from the arrow. The kittens got away just in time to avoid being affected by it. Ma-Mutt, on the other hand, fell back to sleep.

Willa wiped her forehead, "Whew, that was close."

WilyKit smacked her brother on the back of his head, "Why did you do that? We could have blown it!"

Little did Kit know, the small disturbance did cost them as Mumm-Ra slowly awakened from his sarcophagus. The others heard the rumble from the ancient mummy.

"Uh-oh," Kat said.

Mumm-Ra opened his sarcophagus and saw the twins and the Warrior Maiden.

"What? Thundercats? Oh, I know why you are here. You will never free your friends."

"Just try to stop us," Kit challenged him.

"Oh, I will stop you." The wicked mummy answered the challenged and raised his hands to the four statues around his magical cauldron. "Ancient Spirits of Evil.....transform--AAH!"

Mumm-Ra yelled as he was tackled by something out of the blue. He looked up and saw an angry lion growling at him.

"What the.." was all Mumm-Ra could mumbled as the lion's powerful roar overshadowed his voice and confusion.

Mumm-Ra knocked the lion off him. Upon getting up, he saw that he was surrounded by all the big cats he had imprisoned.

"I knew it was a good idea freeing them," Panthro said proudly.

"I'll get you for this Thundercats!!" Mumm-Ra cursed.

Mumm-Ra looked at the cats surrounding him. It could not be too hard. After all, he was Mumm-Ra, the ever-living. He could handle a few big cats. However, before Mumm-Ra could do anything, the animals jumped him at once. As he fought off the cats, the cheetah grabbed one of his bandages and began pulling it, unwrapping the mummy. While this was going on, the Thundercats and Willa made their escape.

Cat's Lair

As soon as they reached the lair, Pumyra ran to Tygra's lab to analyze the contents of the green liquid. Occasionally, one of the Thundercats or Willa, would check in on her progress. She worked for hours but would not give up. Something within her kept her going.

WilyKit and WilyKat took the Chihuahuas to Ro-bear Bill and explained what happened. Although the robot was confused by their explanation, he let Kit and Kat switch the pair of dogs. The twins could barely contain their laughter when they saw how Snarf and Snarfer were groomed and dressed. They each took a dog and went to the Tower of Omens to monitor things there.

Right before nightfall, Pumyra rushed out of the lab in excitement. "I've got it! I know what it is!"

Hearing her, Panthro came out of the control room and met her in the hallway. "It doesn't matter what it is. Do you have an antidote worked out yet?"

Pumyra's face fell. "No, not yet. But now that I know what this...this stuff is, finding an antidote shouldn't take me long."

Panthro nodded his head. "Good. Keep working. We can't afford to waste anytime. We don't know how much time we've got left. Lion-O and Tygra keep trying to escape their cages, apparently trying to see who can get to Cheetara first. Cheetara, herself, stays in a back corner looking depressed. There is no telling what Lynx-O and Ben-gali are doing. Then, there is the chance of the Lunatacs or Mutants attacking."

"I know Panthro. Don't you think I want everything back to normal?" Pumyra sighed as she walked back into the lab. "That's what happens when they use your character infrequently. I'm surprised they can remember my name." Sighing again, Pumyra picked up an empty vial and began filling it with a blue emulsion.

Meanwhile, Cheetara paced around her cell, rubbing her sleek body along the walls. She sighed in desperation and plopped into a dark corner. She had this...need deep within her. It was something strange but exciting. The cheetah had felt pangs like this before, but never this strong. She knew it was her animal senses that was causing it, but she had no idea how to get it to stop. Well, except one way...

With all of her pent-up frustration, Cheetara cried out as loudly and fierce as she could. Instead of a roar, it came out as a purring sound. The noise echoed down the cold dungeon hallway to Tygra and Lion-O.

The male cats stood up in response. Lion-O darted to the front of his cage and roared back to her. He turned to Tygra. "That's it! I'm going to get out of here even if I have to break every bone in my body!"

Tygra rolled his eyes and laid back down. "It's useless. You'll never be able to get through those bars."

Lion-O growled and looked out into the hallway. "There must be a way to get out of here. I've got to try. Besides, we don't know if Mumm-Ra hasn't changed the others by now."

"Too bad the sword won't work this time," Tygra yawned sleepily.

"The sword! Of course!" Lion-O exclaimed. He sat on his haunches and raised a limb. "Sword of Omens! Come to my hand...er...paw!"

Although the Sword of Omens is magical and all-powerful, it lacked the ability to decipher lion noises. Lion-O tried several more times but in vain. He heard Cheetara's purr and grew more determined to get out of the prison.

"What are you doing?" Tygra asked as he saw Lion-O ram his shoulder into the bar.

"What does it look like? I'm trying to break the bar."

"All you're going to break is your bone," the tiger pointed out, closing his eyes.

Lion-O growled, "I'd rather break my bones trying to get out than lay around expecting someone else to save me."

Tygra popped his eyes open and stood up. "You take that back!"

"No, Tygra, I won't. You've done nothing but be hard on me, since we've landed on Third Earth. I won't take it any longer, do you hear me?"

"What, by the gods of Thundera are you talking about, cub? If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be respected as our true lord."

"Ha! You only brought up the trials, hoping that I would fail so you could be lord! You still treat me like a twelve-year old, and if you hadn't made that comment about me being mentally immature, the others would see me for what I truly am!"

"What? An egotistical little brat?" Tygra scoffed.

Lion-O roared and rammed his shoulder against the bar again. "You just can't stand it that Cheetara would rather be with me than you!"

The tiger laughed and mocked, "Yeah, well at least I'm not a twenty-four year old virgin."

"I hardly think sleeping with a warrior maiden counts," Lion-O huffed. "It's not like they have a choice."

Fuming, Tygra stood up and growled. "How did you know about that?"

"It's so obvious the way you act when your around one of them," Lion-O answered. He rammed his shoulder once more into bar. The loud sound of a crack broke the cold stillness. The lion howled in pain as Tygra laughed.

"I told you," he announced between laughs.

Lion-O glared at the tiger for a moment then turned to the front of his cell. The bar had bent at his last effort. Gritting his teeth, the lion pushed his way through the small opening until he was free. He smirked back at Tygra. "Have fun rotting in your cell!"

Tygra yelled out to Lion-O's disappearing form, "Wait! You have to let me out!"

Lion-O ignored him as he made his way to Cheetara. He found her slumped in a corner, her head turned away.

"Cheetara?" he whispered.

The cheetah raised her head, not believing her eyes. She stood up and raced to the front of her cell. "Lion-O!"

She stuck her front limbs out between the bars toward him. He walked up to them and laid his limbs on top of hers. "I'll get you out of there."

Cheetara gasped and cried out, "You're bleeding! You've got to go get help."

Lion-O shook his head. "No. I want to stay here with you."

"Lion-O," Cheetara pleaded. "don't worry about me. Go get someone to help you with that injury. You can get Panthro to get me out later."

The male lion had to admit that her idea sounded better than breaking his other shoulder. He agreed but promised to come get her as soon as he could. Cheetara warned him to be careful in case Panthro had changed to his animal form. Lion-O nodded and dashed out of the dungeon area.

Black Pyramid

After finally getting rid of the wild cats, Mumm-Ra sighed and looked at the mess he was in. His body parts laid scattered throughout the main sanctum. He yelled out in anger and snatched his arm lying nearby. Popping it back into place, the mummy mumbled and grabbed an extra roll of bandage from his sarcophagus. As he held his arm in place, Mumm-Ra slowly wrapped himself back together. After an hour of tedious work, he looked at himself, noticing a leg gone. He glanced around the room once, and again, not seeing the missing limb.

Ma-mutt laid in a corner, his tail wagging. It had not taken the malicious dog long to figure out he needed to run from the 'animals bigger than him,' leaving his master to fend for himself. Once they all had left, Ma-mutt came back to his home hungry. He found a bone and chewed on it happily.

"I'm gonna get those wretched do-gooders for what they did to me," the mummy groaned. He stood up on his one leg and began hobbling in search of his missing limb. "I've got to transform Panthro, Pumyra, and those despicable twins into animals while I have time."

The demonpriest paused for a moment as a thought occurred to him. He looked at his smelly dog and said, "In all that is evil and putrid, what kind of cat is WilyKit and WilyKat anyway?"

The evil dog lifted his head, barked, and continued chewing on his bone. Mumm-Ra waved a hand in the air as he answered himself. "Ah, no matter. I'll just change them to spiders, or something like that. Eeeeeehhhhh......" he screamed out as he slipped on a puddle of water and fell. Angry, the mummy looked once again for his leg, hoping that one of the cats had not carried it off.

He stared at Ma-mutt, a realization dawning on him. With flaming eyes, Mumm-Ra yelled out, "Ma-mutt! That's my leg you're chewing on, you pathetic pet!"

With a whimper, the dog stood up and ran off with the bone. He was not willing to give up his dinner. "Ma-mutt! Ma-mutt! Stop! Ma-mutt!!"

Suddenly, the mummy felt a sharp pain in his gut. He screamed and doubled over in pain. "Ma-mutt!"

Cat's Lair

Turning off communication with the Tower of Omens, Panthro sighed and leaned back in his chair. It had been a long, sleepless night for the Thundercat. But, he had to admit, at least nothing else had gone wrong.

The panther learned then that you never say that, ever.

The doors to the control swished open. Panthro sat up and pretended to be busy at the controls, his back to the door. "Pumyra? Have you found an antidote yet?" he inquired over his shoulder.

Panthro waited a moment for an answer and became confused when the puma did not say anything. "Pumyra?" he called out, swiveling around in his chair.

He found himself looking into a pair of wild brown eyes. It almost made the Thundercat pee in his pants. "How did you get out, Lion-O?"

The lion heard the garbled noises coming from Panthro, not understanding a word. He growled in his animal voice, "Let Cheetara out of her cell!"

Panthro held up his hands and stood up in his chair. He silently wondered where he had left the tranquilizer gun. "Now, Lion-O, take it easy. It's Panthro, remember? I had no choice but to lock you up."

"Pumyra!" he shrieked as Lion-O put his front paws on the chair. "Pumyraaaaa!"

The doors hissed opened again as the puma walked into the control room. "By Jaga, this better be important..." Pumyra started but stopped when she saw Panthro trapped.

"The tranquilizer gun, Pumyra..." Panthro stuttered. "Go get it."

Frozen, Pumyra barely nodded her head as Lion-O saw her enter. In a flash, he jumped off Panthro and ran to the female Thundercat, trapping her against the wall. "I need your help," he tried to explain to her.

Pumyra just looked at him in fear. Lion-O sighed and nuzzled his head under her hand, trying to make her realize he was not going to hurt her.

Panthro ran out of the room while he had the chance. He came back in, tranquilizer gun in hand, and pointed the weapon at the lion.

"Don't you dare!" Pumyra yelled out at Panthro. She knelt down, seeing his wound for the first time.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Panthro asked.

"He's not going to hurt me," she replied indignitantly. Pumyra pulled the hair away from the wound. "He's injured, probably from getting out of his cell. We need to get him stabilized, so I can give him the antidote."

"You finished it?"

Pumyra nodded her head. "Yes. Funny but after I made it up, I found the exact same stuff in Tygra's medicine cabinet. He calls it 'Night-quill'."

It took some more convincing, but Panthro finally agreed to help her get Lion-O to the lab. She took care of the wound to the best of her ability, but as she explained to Panthro, she was not sure about the anatomy. It would be best to treat the wound after Lion-O was back to his original self. She forced a small amount of the antidote down the lion and stood back as he changed back.

"It worked!" Panthro yelled out.

As Pumyra handed Lion-O a blanket to cover himself, she turned to the panther. "You sound surprised."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Pumyra. It's just that you've never been this useful before."

"Well, if the writers had only given me more air time, you might find that I am very useful indeed." She turned her attention to Lion-O. "Let me look at that injury now."

He pulled back from her. "No. We've got to change the others back."

Knowing it was useless to argue with him, Pumyra agreed. "Go get dressed. You can help Panthro in the dungeon."

Pumyra handed Panthro two vials of the antidote. "I'm going to the Tower of Omens. Make sure Cheetara and Tygra take all the antidote in the vial."

*****

Later in the dungeon, Panthro gave a small vial to Lion-O and handed him a blanket. "Make sure Cheetara drinks all of the antidote."

The Lord of the Thundercats nodded his head and took off down the hall. He reached Cheetara's cell and threw open the door.

The cheetah ran to him, purring affectionately against him. He knelt down and ran his hands over her spotted fur. "I know you can't understand me, but you have to drink this."

Lion-O opened the vial and poured it into her mouth. She wrenched her head back at the awful taste. After a few minutes, Cheetara was back to her original self. She put a hand to her head as it throbbed, while Lion-O wrapped the blanket around her. "It feels good to be back to myself, even though I had to drink that horrible stuff!"

"It is pretty awful, isn't it?" he responded.

Cheetara glanced back at him and brushed his shoulder with her hand. "Your wound still needs to be treated."

He looked at his shoulder as he winced. "Yeah, but Pumyra went to the Tower of Omens."

"I'll treat it. It's my fault, anyway," she replied, a blush creeping over her cheeks.

Lion-O helped Cheetara to her feet. "That sounds only fair. But we aren't to blame for what...almost happened. I mean...it was only our instinct we were following, right?"

She turned her eyes up as if she was thinking. Cheetara then looked back at Lion-O as she edged closer to him. "Yeah, exactly," she whispered putting her mouth to his.

*****

Later that afternoon, the Thundercats met in the council room to discuss what had happened. That is, once their coma-induced sleep wore off, a side-affect of the antidote.

Lion-O, trying to keep a straight face as Cheetara ran her foot up and down his leg, told Pumyra, Panthro, and the twins what a good job they had done.

"Can you imagine what had happened if we had all been changed?" Kit asked.

"It could have very well meant that Mumm-Ra would have won," Lynx-O answered.

"It's a good thing that Panthro doesn't have any hair," Kat announced.

The panther shot him a look, crossed his arms, than began to laugh. "I guess being bald does have its advantages."

"Yeah, and you beat him without the Sword of Omens!" Ben-gali pointed out.

Tygra stood up and glanced at Lion-O. "I have to apologize to you, Lion-O. I didn't mean anything that I said."

The Lord of the Thundercats nodded his head in appreciation. "Thanks, Tygra. I'm sorry too. Shall we put the incident behind us?"

"I couldn't agree with you more," the tiger replied.

"Since this is over, we have a score to settle with a certain mummy," Lion-O said angrily.

From her corner, Pumyra began to chuckle which soon turned to full fledge laughter.

"What's so funny?" Kit asked.

Wiping the tears off her face, Pumyra replied, "I took care of Mumm-Ra. You see I had a little potion left, so I..."

When she had finished her explanation, the Thundercats began laughing with her.

Black Pyramid

Within the inner sanctum, a white Persian cat lazily sat on the edge of the cauldron. It meowed and watched a certain corner of the room. The cat's waiting paid off as a big, ugly, three-legged, gray rat ran from its hiding spot.

"Ma-mutt! I order you to stop chasing me at once," the rat shrieked.

The white-haired cat pounced on the rat and knocked it into the air.

"Ma-mutt!"

It fell into the waters of the cauldron and struggled to keep its head up. The rat swam to the edge and peered out of the water into a pair of yellow eyes. It shrieked and went back into the water as the cat swiped at it again. "Ma-mutt! Ancient Spirits of Evil! Help meeeeeee!"