Netherworld: Solitary Confinement

Late Friday Night

“Have you made a decision yet, Tatiana?”

She was startled by the sudden sound of the Ancient Spirits’ voices. She hesitated for a moment but then replied, “Yes, I will do as you ask.” Tatiana agreed because she was certain this would be the only chance she would get to free herself from the netherworld.

“You have made a wise choice. We are very pleased.”

“Have you found a way for me to get out of here?” she asked hopeful.

“Errr, we are still working on that. We will find a way, you can be sure of that.”

Tatiana crossed her arms and inquired, “How are my people, the Cretians?”

“They have all died. No other Cretians exist. You will find many differences on Third Earth since you last were there.”

Although saddened by the news, Tatiana kept her feelings hidden from the Ancient Spirits. Now was not the time to appear weak. “What is it you would have me do, Ancient Ones?”

“Once you get back to Third Earth, your first priority will be to destroy a group of people. They are known as the ThunderCats. After you have accomplished this, Third Earth will be yours to rule.”

Tatiana threw her head back and laughed sinisterly. “That should be easy enough. I will do anything to rule Third Earth.”

“Don’t get so overconfident. The ThunderCats have the Eye of Thundera, which gives them their power. It is not to be taken lightly.”

“Really? How many of them are there?”

“There are currently ten of them, not including the two irritating snarf creatures.”

“Ten!” Tatiana laughed again. “You’ve got to be kidding me? I thought there were going to be at least hundreds of them from the way you described them!”

“Tatiana! We have already warned you not to be so foolish! They have been a thorn in our side since their arrival to Third Earth. As it is, not all of them stay on Third Earth any longer. There are only three of them there currently. The rest of them reside on their home planet, New Thundera. Your experience with the sword will be the device that brings an end to the ThunderCats once and for all.”

“How is that?”

They replied, “The Eye of Thundera is within the hilt of the Sword of Omens. This weapon is what the leader of the ThunderCats uses to fight us. We will provide you with your sword, the Sword of Crete, to battle those wretched ThunderCats.”

“But my sword has no special powers. It’s just a sword.”

“We will give you all the power you need, Tatiana! We will give you more details once you are on Third Earth again. For now, we must find a way to get you back here. We will speak to you again once we have determined a plan.”

“Yes, Ancient Ones. Yes . . .”
 
 

New Thundera: Cat’s Lair

Late Saturday Afternoon

Cheetara sat in the council room and drummed her fingers on the table. The weekly meeting had just started minutes ago, and she was already bored. Currently, Panthro, Lynx-o, and Snarfer were giving a report from Third Earth. The cheetah knew she should be paying attention, especially if she was going to volunteer to go. Her mind just would not co-operate with her.

“. . . and our thundrillium levels are running low again. We have to come up with another fuel source. Eventually, all the thundrillium will be used up,” Panthro reported.

“Panthro, haven’t you been trying to come up with another source?” Lion-O asked.

The panther nodded but shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve been working on it for four years. It takes time. Even during this period of peace, I’ve barely had enough time to test two different possibilities. They both failed.”

Tygra responded, “When you get back here, Panthro, I’ll help you. With your mechanical know-how and my chemical background, we should be able to come up with something.”

“That’s a good idea. This will be a top priority for you two,” Lion-O remarked. He looked back to the monitors showing the ThunderCats on Third Earth. “Is there anything else you need to report?”

“No,” all three of them said.

“Then, I’m assuming you haven’t received anymore strange signals.”

Lynx-o shook his head. “Surprisingly, no. Everything has been extremely quiet this week.”

“Good. Now is the moment of truth. Who is willing to go to Third Earth for the next shift?” Lion-O gazed around the council table as he spoke.

Talia and Tygra immediately glanced over at Cheetara. The cheetah looked back at them and at Pumyra and Ben-gali sitting next to her. She did not want to separate the two couples. Talia and Tygra were finally getting comfortable around each other, and Pumyra was finally engaged to Ben-gali. At that exact moment, she knew what she had to do. “I‘ll go.”

Everyone, except the two tigers, was slightly shocked at her announcement. They just assumed she would not have to go. Snarf frowned at the news. The red, furry creature quickly began to think of a plan to either get her to stay or Lion-O to go.

With as much muster as he could gather, WilyKat remarked, “Kit and I will go too.”

This time, everyone turned their attention to the twins. Cheetara smiled thankfully and replied, “I think that’s a great idea! You two can stay at the Tower of Omens, and I will take over at Cat’s Lair. It will give you two an opportunity to learn more about responsibility.” She looked over at Lion-O and said, “So, it’s settled. The twins and I will go.”

Snarf groaned quietly and hoped their leader could rectify the situation. Once again, Lion-O made him proud. “That’s a good idea. However, they will need to be checked on frequently and that is too much of a burden for one person. I will go with you, Cheetara.”

The cheetah froze for a moment. She was not expecting Lion-O to go at all. “It’s not too much,” she stammered. “They will be on their best behavior, won’t you?”

“We won’t do anything, honest!” WilyKat answered. WilyKit elbowed her brother to quiet him down.

“I’ll go anyway. There are some things there I want to check out personally.”

Cheetara looked at her leader and commented, “I’ll do it for you. There’s no need for you to go. You should stay here on New Thundera.”

Tygra caught her attention and said, “Wasn’t it you, at last’s weeks meeting, that said we have to respect Lion-O’s authority. Stop arguing about it. He’s going and that’s all there is to it.”

Admitting defeat, Cheetara leaned back in her chair. She crossed her arms and glared at Tygra’s grinning face wishing she had never spoken those words. They had come back to haunt her. She managed to say through her set jaw, “Tygra’s right. If you want to go, Lion-O, then you should go.”

He nodded his head at her and smiled. Snarf smiled too glad to see everything worked out. “We will leave tomorrow morning in the Whisker, so get packed tonight.”

Ben-gali growled and remarked, “You take Scooper with you, Kat. I don’t want to take care of that mangy mutt.”

The twins laughed and agreed to take their robotic dog. They were real excited that they were allowed to go.

“Oh, I almost forgot. There is more good news to report.” Lion-O looked at Ben-gali and asked, “Do you want to tell them, or should I?”

“I will,” he answered. The Siberian tiger took Pumyra’s hand and announced, “Pumyra and I are getting married.”

Everyone clapped and cheered for the couple. Pumyra beamed and was slightly embarrassed by the attention.

When everything quieted down again, Lion-O ended the meeting. They all yelled out, “ThunderCats! Ho!”

Third Earth: Cat’s Lair

Sunday Afternoon

Cat’s Lair came into view over the horizon as the Whisker got closer to its destination. It was a welcoming sight. Cheetara had not realized how much she had missed the place. So many things had happened there . . . so many fond memories.

After landing the Whisker safely in the hangar, Lion-O, Cheetara, Kit, Kat, and Scooper exited the aircraft. They met Panthro in the control room and exchanged greetings.

“Where’s Snarf?” the muscular panther inquired.

“He stayed on Thundera,” Lion-O answered.

Panthro raised his eyebrows. “Oh, really? I just assumed he would come with you, Lion-O.”

“He didn’t want to. He said Pumyra needed help planning her wedding.”

Cheetara interrupted the conversation. “How have you been holding up, Panthro?”

“Okay, now that I have gotten to drive my baby.”

The cheetah laughed and replied, “I don’t know why you love that Thundertank so much. You have another one on Thundera that looks identical.”

“It may look identical, but it’s not the same. The one on Thundera just doesn’t do everything this one can.”

“You can fix it up,” WilyKit commented. “You can fix anything.”

Panthro nodded and continued talking to Cheetara. “I’m leaving you in charge of my baby. If anything happens to it, I’m holding you responsible!”

Cheetara laughed again at Panthro’s teasing as Lion-O commented, “We better get the Whisker unloaded. There’s much to do still. WilyKit, WilyKat, put your luggage into the Thundertank. One of us will drive you to the Tower of Omens.”

“Aw, we never get to drive the tank,” WilyKat whined.

“How about if I give you two a driving lesson in a few days,” Cheetara offered and put her hand on Kat’s shoulder.

His face lit up. “Really? Thanks Cheetara!”

“Yeah, cool!” WilyKit replied.

“If one of you even put a scratch on her, I’ll . . .” Panthro warned.

“Don’t worry,” Lion-O interrupted. “It will be fine. Come on, the Whisker isn’t going to unload itself.”

The ThunderCats began on the task. With all of them helping, it only took twenty minutes. Panthro offered to drive the twins to the Tower of Omens, since in his own words, “I won’t have any other opportunities to drive the Thundertank for a long time.”

With that said, Panthro, WilyKit, WilyKat, and Scooper drove off. Cheetara picked up her personal belongings and headed toward her old bedroom.

Tuesday Afternoon

Two days passed by quickly. Panthro, Lynx-o, and Snarfer had already left Third Earth. As she promised, Cheetara was in the middle of giving the twins their driving lesson. It also gave her an excuse to be away from Lion-O for the afternoon.

“WilyKat! Slow down!” Cheetara held onto the side of the Thundertank as it went over bumpy terrain.

“I’m trying to, but it just keeps going faster!” he yelled out.

“You’re pushing the wrong pedal!”

In the back, WilyKit screamed in fear. “Look out for that chasm!”

Cheetara’s eyes widened in horror. She quickly changed the driving controls to her side. “Hold on tight!” She tried to steer the vehicle away from the huge crack in the ground as she slowed it down. The tank’s massive size was too much. It veered on its side and fell within the chasm. With her quick reflexes, Cheetara initiated the front claws. They tore into the rocky side and brought the vehicle to a stop.

“That was a close one,” WilyKit quietly commented.

“Are you two okay?”

The twins nodded.

“We’re not out of trouble yet. We still have to get out of here. Hold on again.” Cheetara pushed a few buttons on the panel. The claws began pulling the Thundertank slowly out of the ground. When it finally reached the top, she drove the vehicle out of danger.

They all breathed a sigh of relief. Then WilyKit smacked her brother on the arm. “You moron! You almost killed us. Can’t you do anything right?”

“Hey!” Cheetara snapped. “We don’t talk like that to each other! WilyKat made a mistake. Let’s just be thankful that we’re okay.”

“But . . .” Kit groaned but stopped when she saw Cheetara’s expression.

“Don’t talk like that! All we have is each other. We cannot afford to be mad. Kat will learn from his mistake, and that is what is important.”

“Yeah, but aren’t you mad at Tygra?” she questioned.

Cheetara sighed and replied, “No, I’m not mad at him. We may have had a disagreement, but we’re still friends.”

Kat ran his fingers through his hair and said, “Gee, Cheetara. I don’t blame you if you never want to give me another lesson.”

“I’ll give you another driving lesson, but next time we’ll drive where it’s safer.”

Kat smiled at her and replied, “Okay. Are you going to drive home?”

“Yes, I am.” Cheetara recollected herself as she headed to the Tower of Omens. She dropped them off then drove back to Cat’s Lair. After parking the Thundertank, she entered the lair and found Lion-O in the control room.

She sat down at one of the side panels as he turned around. “How did the lesson go?”

“Kit did excellent. It’s WilyKat that I’m worried about. He almost killed us.”

Lion-O folded his arms and remembered the first time he drove the Thundertank. “Give him some time. He’ll learn. It takes a while to master it.”

“Maybe you can take them next time.”

“You don’t think that I’ll make them nervous, do you?”

She shot him a look of surprise. “No, I don’t. Why would you think that?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Oh, it’s nothing. At least, they’ve done a good job at the tower.”

Cheetara nodded and remarked, “Yes, they have, but its only been forty-eight hours. Let’s see how they do a couple of weeks from now.”

“Is that a hint of pessimism I hear in your voice?”

“Yeah, I guess it is.” Cheetara sighed and explained, “They are only fifteen years old. They have a lot of stress and responsibility for someone their age.”

“True, but they’re ThunderCats. They are not ordinary teens.”

“I know that. And I wanted them to have this extra responsibility. They still have much to learn.” She put her face into one of her palms and looked down. “And I thought I had it hard when I was fifteen.”

Lion-O rolled his chair closer to hers. “Why? What happened to you at fifteen?”

Cheetara gazed into his eyes. “I had my heart broken two different times. First, Chase broke up with me.”

“Oh, that guy you and Tygra were talking about.”

She nodded as Lion-O looked intently into her eyes as if he was looking for something. “You still . . . have feelings for him?”

Cheetara was taken aback by the question. “No.” She shook her head and repeated, “No. It just took me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting Chase to do that to me.”

Relieved, Lion-O asked, “What else happened?”

“My father’s ship was destroyed a few months later. My mother was with him. Damn him!”

The sound of Cheetara cursing bewildered him. In all the times that he had been with her, Lion-O had never heard a foul word come from her mouth. He stared at her as she thought on the past.

“I told her not to go with him. Why didn’t she listen to me? Why?”

Lion-O put his hands on her shoulders and shook her. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

Feeling a heavy burden that needed to be released, Cheetara swallowed the lump in her throat. She explained, “I told my mother not to go with him. But she went anyway.”

“Cheetara, not everyone will understand your sixth sense.”

The cheetah could feel the anger building up within her again. She pushed him away as she shouted, “No, he was cheating on her! My mother went to reconcile their marriage. She said that she loved him too much and looked what it did to her!”

Cheetara turned to the control panel and slammed her fist on it. She bowed her head silently.

The Lord of the ThunderCats had no idea what to do. He stared at her back wondering if he should say something. When he saw her body shaking, Lion-O knew she was crying. He stood and walked up behind her. Turning her chair around, he knelt down and wrapped his arms around her.

Cheetara laid her head on his chest. Through her sobs, she stammered, “It’s my fault. My sixth sense failed me. I didn’t know they were going to be killed.”

“Don’t blame yourself. Your sixth sense can’t save everyone, not even your parents. It is not your fault.” Lion-O continued holding her until she stopped crying.

She pulled away from him and gazed at him again. Forcing a smile, she commented, “Thanks for listening. I feel much better.” It had been so easy for her to talk to him. Cheetara had also felt safe and secure in his arms.

Suddenly, her sixth sense went off inside of her. “There’s something wrong. My sixth sense is telling me that something is happening.”

“I’ll go check with the sword. You start scanning.”

Cheetara nodded as she watched Lion-O leave for the sword chamber. She ran to the main panel and searched the area. Lion-O came back in the control room with sword in hand. He stood beside her as he commanded, “Sword of Omens! Give me sight beyond sight.”

Within the eye, he saw the desert and the ruins of the black pyramid. “I didn’t see anything unusual,” he reported as he sheathed the sword into the claw shield. “Do you see anything?”

“No, I don’t. We better contact the twins and make sure they’re okay.” Cheetara pushed a button and called out, “WilyKat? WilyKit? Are you there?”

“We’re here,” Kat responded.

“Is everything okay there?”

“Sure, Cheetara. Everything is fine. Why?” Kit inquired.

“My sixth sense went off again. You contact us if anything out of the ordinary occurs.”

“We will,” they both answered.

Cheetara turned off the communicator and looked at Lion-O. “That’s odd. I wonder what’s going on.”

“We will keep a close eye on things.”

She nodded in agreement as her sixth sense went off again. This time, she kept it in. Putting her hand to her head, Cheetara lied, “I’ve got a headache. I think I’ll go lie down.”

“That’s a good idea. You go ahead. I’ll handle things here.” Lion-O watched her leave and knew something very bad was happening. He just wished he knew what it was.