The Lion Clan Headquarters

"If you are planning a war with the cheetah clan, I want you to stop it right now, Luther," Lion-O commanded.

As soon as Lion-O awakened that morning, he went to the elders of the Lion clan headquarters to stop the fight. No one knew where he went, and he wanted it that way. Once he stopped the war, Lion-O would talk to Cheetara and make up with her. He did not speak with Cheetara the rest of the day after their argument. He hated having an argument with Cheetara, and storming out the council room like a hothead certainly was not the way a leader or a husband-to-be should act. He spent years proving to Cheetara that he was mature and ready for an adult relationship, and after that argument, he began to think that Cheetara thought of him as a little boy again.

"Lord Lion-O, it's not us who wants to fight the cheetah clan. They want to fight us. They want to take over New Thundera and rule over us. If they want a war, then we must defend ourselves. You must lead us into battle, my Lord. With your Sword of Omens and your strategist skills, we can crush the cheetahs and banished their clan from all Thunderian events forever."

"I won't allow it," Lion-O said a little angry. "The cheetahs will not fight if you don't force them. Have you forgotten that I am engaged to a cheetah?"

"You have certainly been deceived, my lord. Your fiancé, Cheetara, is already a part of this. She will be the cheetahs' leader in the war."

"Cheetara will never do such a thing."

"Oh?" Luther questioned. "Rumors have been going around that Cheetara will lead the cheetahs into war against us. Would a real queen do that?"

"Cheetara told me that the cheetahs wanted her to lead them."

"And she has agreed to this?" Luther asked.

"I'm not sure. We had a disagreement, and I made the mistake of accusing her that she would fight. I didn't ask her what she was going to do."

"You were probably right to accuse her, Lord Lion-O. She may be betraying you as we speak."

"Cheetara would never do that."

"Why? Because she loves you? Or you think she loves you?" Luther questioned again, trying to put doubts in the young lord's mind.

"I know she loves me, and she's a Thundercat. She wouldn't betray the code or me."

"Well, in that case, my Lord. Let me tell you an eye awakening story. Did anyone ever tell you about a Thundercat name Cazar?" Luther leaned back in his chair.

"No," Lion-O answered.

"Have a seat, Lord Lion-O. I think you should know this."

Cat's Lair -- That evening

Cheetara waited for Lion-O to enter the council room. She hasn't seen him the whole day and was getting worried. The others were a little worried, too, but hid their feelings. While waiting for Lion-O to come back, she pondered on her decision.

"Yes, I was right in leaving the cheetah clan. I didn't betray them. I am doing the right thing by not fighting. If what I'm doing is right, then why do I feel so guilty? How can I lead Thundera as queen in the future if I'm having doubts about my past? Maybe I should leave the Thundercats. I'm not the right person to lead."

Katherine's blue image appeared beside Cheetara. "You are the right person to lead."

Cheetara turned her chair around and saw Katherine. "How can I lead if I have so many doubts about myself?"

"I had my doubts too, like all Ladies of the Thundercats. It's natural."

"I tried talking to Lion-O, Katherine, and it didn't go as I hoped. What should I do? Should I leave the Thundercats and lead the cheetahs into war?"

"I'm sorry, Cheetara, but I cannot help you. This is a decision you must make on your own." Katherine said and mystically disappeared.

Lion-O arrived at Cat's Lair not too long after Katherine's talk with Cheetara. The talk with Luther really hit him, especially the story of Cazar. "Cheetara could not be a descendent of Cazar, yet she does possess all the powers he had. No, I refuse to believe Cheetara would do what Cazar did." he told himself.

"Hey, Lion-O, where were you? We were all wondering what happened to you, especially Cheetara." Panthro said meeting the young lord in the main hall.

"I was talking to Luther about a possible war with the Cheetah clan," Lion-O answered.

"Did you get him to stop the war?"

"Not really, but Luther certainly had an interesting story to tell me about a Thundercat named Cazar."

Panthro was confused now. He was not really into the history of the past Thundercats. He folded his arms. "Who?"

"I'll explain to you later. Have you seen Cheetara?"

"Last I saw her, she was going to the council room."

Lion-O headed for the council room, thinking only about apologizing to Cheetara, not to bring up Cazar. When the doors opened, Cheetara looked up. She did not have any statements on her face, but she was looking tense. Lion-O pulled out a chair next to her.

"I owe you an apology. I had no right to accuse you of doing something without knowing the facts. I acted impulsively and like a hothead, and I'm sorry."

Cheetara smiled wanly. "Apology accepted."

Lion-O reached out for her hand and placed it in his. "I know we are going through some troubled times, but I'm confident that we can get through it."

"Thanks, I know we can too."

Lion-O was about to speak again to ask Cheetara what she would do. "I--"

The lair alarm went out through the whole lair.

"Trouble." Cheetara said.

"Let's go." Lion-O said authoritatively.

In the control room, Tygra, Talia, Lynx-O, Panthro, Snarfer, and Snarf waited for Lion-O and Cheetara's arrival.

"What's going on?" Lion-O asked.

"It's the Lunatacs on the Moons of Plundarr. There's trouble. They may be planning an attack on us. We need to make an emergency trip to the Lunar moon," Tygra said.

"Hmm. I guess I didn't convince them that fighting us is useless. Panthro, Lynx-O, and I will leave for the Lunar moon immediately. Cheetara, you will stay here and rule New Thundera until I return," Lion-O commanded.

Cheetara's eyes widen in horror. She did not want to rule, even not temporarily. What if the lion clan found out. This would cause war for sure. "Lion-O, I don't think I should, especially with the world in the state it's in."

"Cheetara, you can't let those people get to you. Whether they like it or not, you will be their queen. Now, please follow my command and lead in my absence."

Cheetara sighed giving up. "All right, I will."

Lion-O looked at Panthro and Lynx-O. "You two will go with me. The rest of you stay here." Lion-O left followed by the two male Thundercats.

Lion Clan Headquarters--An hour later

Luther stood as the other clan elders sat in their seats. Also in the room were the four tiger and panther elders sitting at the large table. He had just finished telling them about his encounter with Lion-O.

"Were you able to convince him that marrying Cheetara would be wrong?" Pantharo asked.

"Not exactly, but I think I have convince him to have doubts about Cheetara. He certainly was surprise about Cazar," Luther answered.

"Maybe we should talk to him again now, and ask him if he thought about taking the second-in-command power away from Cheetara," Lavarius suggested.

"Good idea, Lavarius," Luther said and typed in communications to Cat's Lair on the monitor.

"Cat's Lair here," Cheetara smiled and saw Luther's dark face. She frowned. "Cheetara responding."

"I wish to speak to Lord Lion-O," Luther requested.

Cheetara became nervous. "He's not here at the moment. He's on a mission and may not return for a few days." She regretted telling Luther that the moment it left her mouth.

"Who is ruling in his absence?"

Cheetara felt sweating popping on her head. She knew the lions were not fond of her ever since her engagement to Lion-O had been announced. She wanted to lie and say Tygra. Worried, she said, "Uh, I am. Could I--" The screen went blank in front of her face. She covered her mouth. "By Jaga, what have I done?" she whispered.

"So, Lord Lion-O didn't believe me. Doesn't he know that he's committed a crime against his own clan and promised the tiger and panther clan doom with us.

A loud noise outside rocked the lion clan headquarters.

"What was that?" Lanardi asked. A fireball crashed through the window.

"It's an attack," Tyland said.

Lionel pulled the cotton throw with the lion clan symbol on it off the wall. He covered the fireball with it, putting out the fire.

Lanardi walked to the broken window. "It's the cheetah clan! They are attacking us!"

"You see this, my friends. The cheetahs are trying to come to power again. This is all Cheetara's fault. She is responsible for this. We must fight!" Luther shouted.

"With help from both our clans, we should be able to crush them," Pantharo said.

Cat's Lair--Cheetara's bedroom

After being shut off by Luther, Cheetara decided to lay down. She felt that she did something wrong by saying that she was in control in Lion-O's absence.

"Maybe a good night's sleep will help me," Cheetara told herself. As she was about to turn off the lights, Talia knocked on her door.

"Cheetara, are you awake? It's an emergency."

Cheetara sat up. "Come in, Talia. What is it? What's happening?" Cheetara asked noticing Talia's distressed look.

"War has broken out between the cheetah and lion clans."

At Talia's announcement, Cheetara followed the female tiger into the control room. She watched on the big monitors as the lion headquarters was being attacked. "Oh, no!" Cheetara pounded the control panel with her hand. "Chase didn't listen to me," she said aloud to anyone who was listening.

"Chase! Cheetara, you haven't been talking to him again, have you?" Tygra asked.

"What would you have me do, Tygra? Ignore him completely because he's my ex. I can't do that. Besides, we've got worse troubles on our hands now." She looked around the room and felt the pressure of leading on her shoulders. "Snarf and Snarfer, stay here at Cat's Lair. Talia, Tygra, and I will go try to stop the fighting."

The two tigers followed Cheetara in the Thundertank. They raced as fast as they could to the scene of the fighting.

Meanwhile at the lion headquarters...

The walls shook and the windows broke as another blast hit the building. Luther yelled out, "We've got to get out of here. We will surely be killed if we stay here."

"How, Luther?" Lanardi asked. "We will be killed if we go out. There are just too many of them!"

Lavarius growled angrily and remarked, "I would rather be killed trying than sitting idly by!"

"Lavarius is right," Luther said.

Tyland spoke up and suggested, "Why don't we meet at the tiger clan headquarters? We will be safer there."

"Agreed," Luther replied.

Outside, Carvel continued barking orders to the cheetahs. "Fire again! We don't want them to escape!"

They fired their cannon and this blast knocked the top of the building off.

Chase peered up and saw his enemies running out of the building. "They're getting away!" he shouted out and pointed at them.

Che'kar turned to the foot soldiers and commanded them to fire.

The clan elders heard the firing behind them and ran as fast as they could to their vehicles. One of the panther elders screamed out as a bullet hit him in the back.

Pantharo ran back to him only to see his fellow clan member die. Tyland put a hand on Pantharo's shoulder and remarked, "You get out of here! I will give us some time."

Tyland put his hands on his forehead and closed his eyes. He whispered, "Let the cheetahs see a violent thunderstorm. Make them see a fiery hail come from the clouds and land around them."

Candra and Chet looked up as they heard thunder. "That's funny. It wasn't cloudy just a minute ago," Candra remarked.

Suddenly, the cheetahs cried out as they saw fiery meteors coming down around them. They got up and began running around. Everything turned chaotic.

"Stop! It's not real cheetahs! Stop!" Chase tried yelling at them, but it only blended in with the fearful screams. He watched helplessly as the cheetah warriors ran off.

Meanwhile...

In the Thundertank, Cheetara yelled out as she saw the fiery meteors coming at them. "Look out, Tygra! We're going to be hit!"

Tygra glanced back at Talia, and she shrugged her shoulders at him. He then turned to Cheetara. "We don't see anything. You must be seeing a hallucination."

Her eyes widened, and then she remembered how tigers could create illusions. The female cheetah closed her eyes, trusting her long-time friend. When she opened them, the illusion was gone. "Hurry, Tygra. This isn't good. The tiger clan must be involved too."

Tygra increased the power of the Thundertank to its fullest speed. When they finally reached the battlefield, it was too late. In the floodlights of the tank, they could see that the lion headquarters had been destroyed. It was nothing more than rubble. A male cheetah stood around rummaging through it.

"Let's split up and look around. We need to make sure no one needs help," Cheetara commanded.

Talia and Tygra agreed, although the male Thundercat was a little suspicious. They took three separate routes and circled the area. Cheetara ran through the rubble up to the cheetah. "Chase! What happened here?"

He turned to her and waved his hand over the area. "We attacked as planned. You know that."

Cheetara clenched her fist and yelled out, "I told you not to do anything until I said!"

"You are not my leader!" He retorted back. "I only follow the cheetah elders. We were only doing what we thought was best for our clan."

He knelt down and pulled out a dark cloth. It was the lion insignia, but it had been burned and damaged during the fight. Chase held it in the blowing wind and said, "Victory is ours tonight."

"Oh, really," Cheetara icily replied. "I know about Cata. I know the real reason why you want to fight. You are only seeking revenge for your cousin's death. I think the cheetah elders will be real interested in hearing this piece of information."

Chase paused for a moment then laughed out loud. He then said, "Go ahead, my fair lady. Go ahead and tell them. However, I don't suggest it for your sake. I don't think Lion-O will be very pleased that you were not able to stop this battle. In fact, he's going to think that you were involved with the whole thing!"

"How can you say that?" Cheetara put her hands on her hips.

Chase grinned and replied, "Because it has been passed to the lion elders that you were involved. They'll tell Lion-O if they haven't already. Then you will be forced to leave the Thundercats. Where will you go then? I am the only one who will stand by your side no matter what. You remember that."

He paused again and looked at the horizon. "You can't stop the war now, Cheetara. The cheetahs are stronger than the lions now. But when Lion-O leads them, and he will, we won't stand a chance against the Sword of Omens. When it is all over, there will be a winner and a loser. With you as our leader, we will win. You are the only one strong enough to withstand the Lord of the Thundercats and the Sword of Omens. And the cheetah warriors will listen to you because they respect you. Will you join me in our fight, or will you let us all perish in vain? Think about it, precious Cheetara. The elders are waiting for me at headquarters." Chase looked back at her one last time then raced off.

The thought had never occurred to Cheetara that Lion-O might lead the lion clan. Would he have a choice as the lions began losing? The cheetah knew that Chase was right about one thing. The cheetah clan would never withstand the power of the Sword of Omens. No one could, except maybe her.

With more doubts clouding her mind, she walked the area and found Tygra and Talia kneeling by a Thunderian body. She ran up to them and noticed it was a panther who had perished.

Tygra peered at her and remarked, "This isn't good. It appears that the panthers and tigers are allies with the lions."

Cheetara nodded and solemnly replied, "Let's take him back to the panther clan. They will give him a proper burial."

"Are we going to do this for everyone who dies?" Talia calmly inquired.

"If necessary," Cheetara answered. The three of them carried the panther to the Thundertank. Tygra then drove to the panther headquarters and wondered what Cheetara and Chase had been talking about.

When they reached their destination, Tygra glanced at Cheetara. "You better let me and Talia do this alone. You may not be welcome here."

"He's right," Talia agreed. "We will be right back."