Netherworld: Solitary Confinement

Monday Night

Within her small cell, Tatiana sat in a corner. She drummed her fingernails on the cold, stone floor and continued to think of a way out of the prison. She was determined escape and make her way back home whether she was dead or not.

Suddenly, Tatiana raised her head up as she heard voices calling out to her.

“Tatiana, hearken to our call!”

“Who are you? What do you want?” She called out with no fear in her voice.

“We are the Ancient Spirits of Evil. We have come to bargain with you.”

Tatiana smirked and replied, “No way! You are the source of Mumm-Ra’s power. I was never able to defeat him because of you!”

“Don’t be so hasty, Tatiana. Mumm-Ra is no more ruler of Third Earth. We want you to take over as ruler.”

The prisoner stood up and folded her arms as she thought in silence. “Why should I believe you? Do you think I would fall into such an easy trap?”

“You are much smarter than Mumm-Ra. You are right to be suspicious. There are . . . matters that first must be taken care of before you could rule Third Earth.”

“Ah-ha! I knew it. Find someone else to do your dirty work for you. I won’t serve you.”

“Are you so sure, Tatiana? Think about it. We can get you out of this place and return you to Third Earth where you rightfully belong.”

She threw up her hands and sarcastically remarked, “And how are you going to do that? I’m dead, remember? Just look at me! I just have a soul. You can’t just say some mumbo jumbo spell and get me out of here. Besides, I told you I would not do any fighting for you, especially if that fighting is what caused the demise of your devil priest.”

“Mumm-Ra is not dead. He’s just . . . bounded up right now. As we mentioned before, you are much smarter and more resourceful than him. You could easily overcome our enemies. Then, you rule have complete control over Third Earth! Just take some time and think about it. We will come back for your answer later.”

The room grew quiet again. Tatiana sighed heavily. What would she do? Would she risk working for the ancient spirits to get back to Third Earth? Would there ever be another opportunity to get out of her prison?

New Thunder: Cat’s Lair: Tygra’s Lab

Thursday Afternoon

“I don’t know.” Cheetara sat in front of a rectangular table within the lab. Papers with markings were sprawled out in front of her. The cheetah shook her head, put her elbows on the table, and leaned her chin on her right palm. She stared at the blueprints on top of the pile. “I can’t make heads or tails out of this. Where does it begin?”

Tygra, who stood next to her on the right, threw his hands up in the air exasperated. He remarked, “If Lion-O can understand them, I know you can too.”

Cheetara turned and shot an evil look at him. “And just what is that comment suppose to mean?”

“Nothing,” he grumbled. “I just want to convince you that my night-alarm system works. If I can convince you, then you can talk Lion-O into using it here on New Thundera.”

“Don’t be so sure of that, Tygra,” she responded back. Ever since the incident in the hangar, they both had been avoiding each other as much as possible to her relief.

Talia stood on her other side and softly commented, “Everyone knows he values your opinion more than anyone else, except maybe Jaga. He will listen to you.”

“Look, it’s real easy to decipher these blueprints.” Tygra pointed to one section and began explaining them. By the time he finished, Cheetara was still shaking her head.

“I still don’t know, Tygra.” She looked at her friend again and sighed inwardly. “I know this means a lot to you. You seem to be confident in it. I’ll compromise with you. I’m volunteering to go to Third Earth for the next shift. I’ll use your system there. If I like it, then I’ll talk to him. However, if I don’t like it, I’m keeping my mouth shut. But if the night-alarm system is as good as you say it is, then you have nothing to worry about. Agreed?”

Tygra nodded and smiled. “Agreed. All I ask is that you give it a fair chance.”

“Why don’t we show her the Whisker II blueprints?” Talia suggested.

“The Whisker II? What’s that?” Cheetara questioned as she watched Tygra flip through the stack and pull out a new blueprint.

“It’s the aircraft Talia and I designed. We were calling it the Cat’s Eye, remember? But the author of this story forgot that our special goggles are called Cat’s Eyes. So we renamed it.” (ha ha!)

Just then, Lion-O walked by the lab. He glanced in the open door and saw the three ThunderCats talking around the table. He did a double take and entered the lab. “What are you three talking about?”

At the sound of his voice, Cheetara quickly sat up straight in the chair and kept her eyes on the blueprints. Tygra and Talia turned to him as the male tiger answered, “We’re looking over the blueprints for the Whisker II.”

“Oh, the new aircraft.” Lion-O strolled toward them and stood behind Cheetara. He looked over her and remarked, “You’ve made a change, since I last saw this.”

“Where?” Tygra asked.

Lion-O leaned over Cheetara and pointed to a spot. “Right here.”

The action caused her to lose her concentration as the conversation continued. The cheetah could feel his breath tickling her neck. His scent wrapped itself around her so that she could not smell anything else. Although he was not touching her, Cheetara’s body felt electrified. For a moment, time seemed to stop for her.

“What do you think, Cheetara? Cheetara? Cheetara!”

Cheetara woke from her reverie as she heard Talia calling her. She looked over at her and said, “I’m sorry, Talia. I was daydreaming. What were you saying?”

“I was asking you what you thought of our modification. Tygra and I made a fuel control so we can monitor how much Thundrillium the Whisker II is using. That way, it can be used for other things besides emergency trips to Third Earth.”

“That sounds good,” she complimented. “Don’t you think so, Lion-O?”

“Yes, it does,” he answered. He stared at the back of Cheetara’s head and remarked, “It all looks perfect to me.”

Wanting to hurry and get out, Cheetara looked over at Talia and asked, “Why don’t we go into town now while we’re not busy?”

“Sure,” the female tiger replied. She moved over far enough for Cheetara to roll the chair away from Lion-O. Cheetara was then able to stand up and follow Talia out of the room.

“Wait!” Tygra called out. “I’ll go with you. There are things I need too.” He turned to Lion-O and asked him if he wanted to go.

To Cheetara’s relief, Lion-O turned down the offer. He said there were things left for him to finish at the lair. She, Talia, and Tygra headed out their home and jumped into the new Thundertank. Cheetara rode in the back making the two tigers sit up front. They made idle talk all the way into town.

A while later, Cheetara put her bag into the Thundertank and waited for Talia and Tygra to return. She leaned against the vehicle and folded her arms as she looked at the people going back and forth. One Thunderian in particular caught her eye. He was a male cheetah just coming out of a shop. He raised his head and caught her gaze.

When she realized who it was, Cheetara gasped and unfolded her arms. “Chase!”

He walked over to her. “Cheetara? Is it really you? I didn’t think I would ever see you again.” Chase laughed and embraced her.

“It’s good to see you too!. How have you been?”

They released each other and stood apart. “I’ve been okay. How about you? I see that you made it into the ThunderCat organization.”

Cheetara smiled and gazed down at the insignia on her uniform. “Yeah, I did.”

“I knew you would. You were always meant for great things. Do you like it as much as you thought you would?”

“Yes, I do.” She looked back at him and continued, “I love it. I really do. I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else. It makes me feel good to be contributing to something so important. What are you doing?”

Chase stared over the horizon and replied, “I’m helping the cheetah clan elders train the children and gather any lost refugees from other planets.”

Cheetara nodded in understanding. She went through the same training as she had grown. It helped her become the great warrior she was now. “That’s great, Chase.”

He looked back at her. “They would rather have the second best cheetah if they can’t have the best. I still don’t know how you beat me in the cheetah trials.”

The cheetah trials were a yearly tradition for the clan. Every sixteen-year-old was expected to participate. The trials tested various abilities such as speed and reflexes. Whoever won eventually became a leader within the clan.

“I almost didn’t win. You were a tough competitor.” Cheetara knew it had been her sixth sense that had given her the edge, but she did not want to tell him that.

“I saw Jaga in the audience watching us. Is that how you became a ThunderCat?”

Cheetara frowned and thought for a moment. “I didn’t know that. I’m not really sure. He and Claudus came to my house one afternoon to meet me, but it was before the trials. But they did not ask me to join until after the trials.”

“No matter, Cheetara. You’re one now, and that’s all that counts.” He paused for a moment and then remarked, “I was sorry to hear about your parent’s death. When I first heard, I wanted to come by and express my condolences, but I didn’t know what to say. I was afraid that you would still be mad at me anyway.”

“It‘s okay, Chase. That’s all in the past, and that is where I prefer to leave it.”

“I can only imagine what went through your mind when you knew about your father’s affair. I don’t know what I would have done if it had been my father.”

“You . . . know about that?” Cheetara stuttered.

He nodded and replied, “Yes. When we were dating, your father admitted it to me one afternoon. You must know that he felt so guilty about what he was doing, that he was trying to break away from his mistress. He promised me not to tell anyone.”

“Well, it still does not excuse him for what he did.”

“You still haven’t forgiven him, have you?”

Cheetara sighed and answered, “No, and I’m not planning on it either.”

“You’ve got to, Cheetara. If you don’t, your anger will start controlling you. Don’t let his actions ruin your life.”

“I’m not angry,” she denied. “I’ve got everything under control.”

Chase stared at her in unbelief but did not say anything. Instead, he wisely commented, “The anger may not hurt you, but other things will. Just remember that not everyone is like him.” He looked down at his watch and remarked, “I’ve got to get going. Do you mind if we meet to talk again?”

Cheetara was about to answer when she saw Tygra and Talia headed their way. “I’m going to be gone for six months to Third Earth. Maybe I can see you after I get back.”

When the two tigers reached them, Cheetara introduced Chase to Talia and Tygra. They exchanged handshakes with each other, but Tygra eyed the stranger warily.

Chase embraced Cheetara one last time and said, “It was nice talking to you. I’ll see you later.” She waved to him as he walked away.

Tygra growled, “Come on. We better get back to Cat’s Lair.”

Cheetara noticed his mood change and figured she better watch what she said during the ride home.

The Thundertank pulled up to Cat’s Lair. Talia had tried to make small talk during the ride home but to no avail. Tygra was obviously upset with Cheetara and refused to talk to her. Talia left the two of them as soon as the tank had stopped.

Cheetara followed Tygra into the lair and down the hall. “What is the matter with you?”

The tiger stopped and turned to face her. “You know perfectly well why I am upset. I can’t believe you would let him back into your life after the way he treated you.”

“What I do with my personal life is nobody’s business, especially yours!” she spat out.

“No, you’re wrong, Cheetara. When you’re a ThunderCat, your personal life is everyone’s business. We can’t afford to let anything happen to you.”

Fuming, she replied sarcastically, “Oh yeah? Why is that? Am I so important, that you guys can’t go on without me?”

Tygra ran his hands through his hair and answered, “You’re a valuable member of this organization. You don’t realize how much just yet.”

Hearing the fighting, Lion-O, WilyKit, and WilyKat exited the control room into the hall where Cheetara and Tygra stood.

Ignoring them, Cheetara retorted, “Yeah, and how would you know? I thought I was the psychic one!”

“What is going on?” Lion-O inquired demandingly. He was once again ignored as Tygra continued with his explanation.

“I can’t tell you! Jaga made me promise! It’s something you’ll have to find out on your own.”

“If you know something, especially if Jaga said it, then you’ve got to let me know!”

Tygra shook his head. “No, I can’t. I told you, you’ve got to figure it out on your own. But you cannot see Chase again.”

Cheetara put her free hand on her hip in defiance. “Why? You act like I’m going to marry him or something. We were just talking. Not that it’s any of your business! If I want to see him again, I will!”

“Oh yeah? You won’t if Lion-O forbids it,” Tygra shot back.

Cheetara glared at Tygra. She then turned to glare at Lion-O. Fuming inwardly, she made a fist with one hand and carried her bag with the other hand. She stormed down the hallway away from them.

Once the cheetah was out of hearing range, WilyKit remarked to Tygra, “Gosh. You two sound just like me and Kat when we fight.”

“Yes, we probably do. Cheetara is like a younger sister to me.”

Lion-O ordered the ThunderCat twins back into the control room. They whined for a moment but did as told. The lion then asked again, “What is going on?”

Tygra silently thought for a minute before answering. He finally replied, “There are some issues in Cheetara’s past that she has not resolved. Don’t worry about her though. She’ll be fine in a couple of hours.” “I hope,” he thought to himself.