The next day the Plundarian Emperor declared a holiday, and opened the doors of the Grand Arena so that his people could squeeze inside to see the Lord of the Thundercats in chains, and witness the deaths of the enemies of Plundarr.  The Thundercats were in awe of the mass of people in attendance, and the Arena was not yet full. There were three large telescreens in the arena so that those not close to the arena floor could see the event.  Lion-O and the others looked at the screens and saw themselves being telecast. The roar of people was deafening as they screamed taunts, yelled, talked and laughed. The sun beat down unmercifully on the Thundercats, they were all sweating.  As all of the Thundercats looked up, they were blinded by the bright light, but could make out the familiar whine of the engines of the Thunderstrike and the Feliner as they were brought to the arena and landed.  Guards ran and attached chains to the ships. Kera, and Tygro were in a state of fear.  "They're going to tear us apart!" Said Tygro with terror on the edge of his voice. "No, they won't," Said Lion-O, "we'll get out of this." Kera leaned her head on Tygra's shoulder, and he tried to comfort her.  Tyger looked at Pumyra in fear. "It's alright son, we've been in tighter scrapes than this, right, Lion-O?" Lion-O nodded and tried to look confident. Wilykit's eyes were closed, she betrayed no emotion, in fact she held the situation in contempt, as well as the guards who were holding her.  Wilykit did wish however she had an acid pellet.
       Lion-O turned around when an object hit him, food. Soon all of the Thundercats were being pelted with foodstuffs, along with other items of garbage.  Panthro strained at his chains, and said with a growl, "Worse than being at a race in southern Thundera, damn pink necks!"  Lynxana had tried to pick the locks on her cuffs all night, her nail was broken and the crack went down to the quick and bled, eventually she had given up, she had resigned herself to death a long time ago, she just didn't know how it would come to her.  Lion-O looked at his friends as a cup ricocheted off of his head. "It will be alright. Please don't panic." The guards moved towards them, and told them to get up.
      The time was nearing noon. Ardua quietly allowed the guards to chain her, and she was carried to a transport, which arrived at the arena shortly thereafter.  Ardua was hauled up to the royal box, and thrown into a chair and held in place by her arms by her two guards.  The Emperor turned and scowled, then a crooked smile crept across his face.  "Guards, bring the Princess closer to the side. I wish for her to have a good view of the executions."  The guards picked up the chair on either side and followed the Emperor's instructions, then secured her arms again.  Ardua looked at the guards menacingly.  Below she could see the guards preparing the Thundercats for execution.  Tygra was bound to a post, he was to be flogged to death by his own weapon.  Lion-O was chained to a post as well, the back of the Thunderstrike was no more than eight feet away from his back, the Thunderstrike's engines would burn him to death when they turned on.  Wilykit, Pumyra, and Kera were shackled  onto the ground, it appeared that they were to be crushed to death one by one with the Feliner's landing gear, after Panthro had been torn apart.  Lynxana was tied to a stake and she was standing on a pile of wood, they were going to burn her too.  Tyger and Tygro were bound and hanging upside down.  The guards beside them had Cheetara's power staff, Panthro's nun-chucks, and the Hammer of Thundera, evidently they were going to beat them to death.  "You see, Ardua," Said the Emperor in a soft tone. "you cannot rule with kindness and understanding. The only way in which to control people thoroughly is through fear, and force.  Your grandmother, then your father thought differently. I had spent years grooming Daro, teaching him the realities of life, only to have your grandmother undermine me. She had to be punished, Ardua.  You must never allow yourself to be seen as soft, or caring for there will always be someone waiting in the wings to take your place.  When you rule, though you will still hate me, you will also find that I was correct." Ardua didn't know what was more frightening the prospect of the Thundercats' deaths, or that some of what the Emperor said actually was beginning to make sense.  Ardua looked at the Emperor as he picked up a microphone and addressed the sea of people.  Kera began to shift uncomfortably, and strain at her bonds, Tygro shook uncontrollably.
      Cheetara caught an image, then a feeling of mortal fear, absolute terror crept over her.  Her cubs, and mate.  Cheetara walked as quickly as she could out of her room, and ignored the dull pain radiating from her legs.  As Cheetara burst into the control room she yelled, "Bengali, contact Claud-Us tell him to go in, NOW! But Cheetara, Lion-O said," Cheetara cut Bengali off, Brod rose with fear for his mate. "Something is terribly wrong, call them now!" Tears began to flood Cheetara's eyes as she gripped Bengali. "Rowrr, alright!" Bengali followed Cheetara's impassioned plea, he had known her to be wrong only once, and that was not her fault.
       "Jetcat? Yes Claud-Us here. Go in Lion-O needs you, NOW!" Claud-Us hesitated for a moment, but then gave the orders. "Wilykat, we're going in! Triangulate the position of Lord Lion-O and the others, then send the coordinates to us, set your scramblers, and activate the hyper drive."   Claud-Us looked at Kelec. "Set our scramblers too, and follow the Thunderbolt."  Both ships broke their orbit and careened into the atmosphere of planet Plundarr.
      The Emperor rose, and began to speak to the rolling mass of people. "My subjects, before you I have brought, Lion-O Lord of the Thundercats, and his compatriots.  Let the festivities,"  The guards moved closer to the Thundercats and the arena's noise level tripled, Lion-O was about to summon the Sword of Omens when a disturbance in the royal box got the attention of the guards. The guards ran in the direction of the stands where the Emperor was located when two guards fell to the ground. The microphone picked up the noise in the box, and broadcast it all over the arena.  "I mean it!" Ardua panted gasping for breath. "I'll break his damned neck, i'll do it too, I don't have anything left to loose!"
       The Emperor's guards backed off as Ardua tightened the chains that bound her wrists around the Emperor's neck.  Ardua growled and shook the emperor.  The arena began to grow silent. "You wanted a monster damn you, you have one! Tell them to move away or else!" The Emperor ordered the guards to leave the box.  Ardua who still had a strong grip on the Emperor moved to the door, locked and barricaded it as best she could. Ardua hooked the Emperor's neck in her arm and grabbed the microphone. "Your Highness," Scoffed Ardua. "tell the guards to release the Thundercats. NOW! The Emperor ordered the guards to unchain them, and they complied.  Ardua with still a tight grip on the Emperor spoke again. "I had a little time to do some reading while here vacationing on your lovely little planet."
      The Thundercats were released one by one. Lion-O rose and summoned the Sword of Omens to his hand, and held his arm aloft.  In the space of a few seconds the sword was in his hand. Lion-O chased the guards away and began releasing the rest of his fellows himself, with the sword's energy blasts.  Each respective Thundercat then picked up his or her weapon, which the guards hastily dropped.  As the Thundercats removed the chains from the vehicles, and Lion-O summoned the other Thundercats, Ardua's rant continued.
      "I have learned that I can challenge any member of the royal family to their title.  Emperor, I challenge your claim to the throne of Plundarr!"  A gasp went through the arena.  "You have to accept my challenge too, your hellness, or else you forfeit your claim to the throne.  If I win I abdicate my title as Empress and the Thundercats and myself will leave unharmed. If I loose I die and the Thundercats now that they are free, will have no problem bringing this whole arena down around your cankered ears, the only reason why they haven't yet is because they were probably afraid you would hurt me." Ardua took a breath. "I know you can't fight me yourself, so choose your champion."
      Ardua released the emperor, he couldn't harm her after she made her challenge, then jumped the small distance down to the arena floor.  The emperor stood and spoke. "Go, Thunderian and make your peace, for soon you will die."
      Ardua walked towards the Thundercats and smiled.  Panthro took Ardua into his arms and held her tight. Panthro opened his mouth to speak, but Ardua interrupted, "Thank you for raising me, and loving me, I know it must have been hard for you, me being the stubborn pain in the butt I am." Panthro simply smiled, brushed her face, and kissed her cheek. "I love you, Father. I love you too, Ardua."  Ardua moved to Wilykit, and Pumyra.  "I want to thank you for being my surrogate mothers, if I... you'll tell Cheetara, everyone that I thank and love them too?." Pumyra and Wilykit held Ardua close and each kissed a cheek.  Pumyra said with confidence. "You will be able to tell them yourself."  Ardua turned to Lion-O.  "Lord Lion-O." Ardua bowed. "Please be careful Ardua. Believe me, Lord Lion-O I have no plans to become a martyr today, but if anything does happen, please get out of here quick. I don't trust that the Emperor will keep his word." Ardua smiled at Lion-O. "Could you, sir?"  Ardua held out her still manacled hands. Lion-O shouted, "HO!" and a blue blast shot from the Sword of Omens, then Ardua's bonds fell to the ground.  Tygro and Kera approached Ardua and wrapped their arms around her briefly, then Kera in an upbeat voice said, "Kick some ass!"  Ardua walked up to Lynxana and smiled. "Thanks for coming to get me." Lynxana put her hand in Ardua's and said, "I owed you the favor."  Tyger walked up to Ardua and tried to hold back his emotion.  "Ardua, I" Ardua put her finger to his lips and shushed him. "I'm sorry I hurt you so much over the years. But, 'Dua," Ardua put her finger on Tyger's lips again. "Everything will be okay, Tyg, we'll be out of here in five minutes." Tyger pulled Ardua to him and  hugged her, then they kissed. Panthro and the others looked on in sadness.  The sweet goodbye was interrupted by the Emperor.  "Have you made your peace?" Ardua nodded. "Then meet your death. You might recognize your opponent."
      Lion-O and the other Thundercats moved the Feliner and the Thunderstrike to the farthest end of the arena, as far away from as many guards as they could get.  A large hulking Monkian centurion stalked towards Ardua.  Ardua was astounded at the size of the Monkian, she began to doubt her ability to defeat her adversary. Ardua was almost the same height as the Monkian, but he was muscular and had to weigh at least one hundred and eighty pounds, all muscle.  Panthro tried to sound confident when he said, "She can take him."
       Ardua, as the Monkian walked, watched for him to betray a weakness, or a faulty pattern of walking, there was none.  Ardua then slowly came to the realization that the Monkian guard she was facing was the same one that murdered her grandmother.  Ardua grabbed a guard off of the stands, knocked him to the ground, took his helmet and sword belt. The Emperor stood, his voice reaching over the din, "LET THE CHALLENGE BEGIN!"
      The Jetcat and Thunderbolt roared over the Plundarian countryside. "Claud-Us," said Wilykat "we're nearing a city, Lion-O and the others grid out here." Wilykat sent a transmission of a map to Claud-Us' computer screen. "Alright, Thundercats, switch on afterburners."
       Ardua and the Monkian sized each other up one last time, with a hoot the Monkian made the first attack.
       Panthro watched his student deflect sword blows and kicks.  Ardua successfully parried every sword blow, but then the Monkian punched her in the face, she reeled back in pain as blood trickled down from her nose. "Broken." She thought.  Ardua retaliated with a strong swift kick to his midsection, the Monkian was then in pain himself, he also vomited, which bought Ardua time to recover from her own discomfort.  After regaining his composure, the Monkian slashed at Ardua with his sword, aiming for her midsection, she dodged and he claimed only a cut on her arm. Lion-O blustered in amazement, "Lords of Thundera, she barely got away from that!" Panthro and Tyger looked at each other in worry.
      Ardua chopped the Monkian's neck and knocked him off of his feet, and his sword flew out of his hand, but the Monkian managed to grab Ardua's leg, take his forearm, and  forcefully strike her leg at the knee. That moment told Ardua that it would take longer than five minutes to vanquish her foe. There was a tearing noise both in and out of Ardua's body, her first impulse was to howl in pain, but Panthro had conditioned her well, and she made little hint at the agony that she felt.  Ardua could still stand, and that was what mattered.  Ardua limped away and tried to get into a defensive position, but the Monkian attacked her damaged knee and she toppled to the ground wincing, Ardua got up again but the Monkian punched her square in the chest before she could launch a counter attack.  Ardua felt something in her chest give, then fell once again into the floor, which knocked the breath out of her, she swore she felt her heart stop.  Ardua had not even begun to pick herself up, when the Monkian was on her again, kicking her down again and this time grinding his heel into her sternum, giving her great pain.  Ardua managed to get her hands underneath the Monkian's foot, and with a strength fed by fear, and desperation, lifted the Monkian's foot off of her chest and sharply twisted his ankle. Ardua almost enjoyed the howl of pain she elicited from her adversary, but the pain she delivered made the Monkian angrier and even more bent on killing her.
       The Monkian picked Ardua up by the hair and shook her, then kicked her in the stomach. With the Monkian gripping her hair, there was little more she could do than wildly scratch, and kick, her strikes seldom reached her opponent, and when they did they simply angered him more.  Panthro and Tyger paced, watching the fight progress, they kept looking at Lion-O with growing unease.  Tyger asked in a fearful voice, "Why is Ardua fooling around with him Panthro? Why doesn't she finish him off? She can't," Panthro replied. "he's too much for her and she's fighting afraid." The battle wore on for a few more moments, Panthro punched the Feliner as the Monkian again and again attacked, and Ardua tried to defend herself unsuccessfully.
      The Monkian picked  Ardua up, she was facing upwards, as the light blinded her the Monkian vaulted her upwards, and held his arms rigid when she landed, her full weight bore down on her back, she heard pops and snaps, Ardua looked to her side in panic as she felt a burst of speed and an abrupt stop as she was flung into one of the arena walls.  Ardua's helmet snapped off of her head. As she slumped down, a smear of blood trailed down.
      Ardua was in misery as she felt something in her chest move as the Monkian picked her up face down and held her up, she offered no resistance, as she began to feel the full damage that had been inflicted on her. Ardua watched in absolute agony as her blood dripped down and soaked into the Monkian's white back hair, and her ribs moved with a life of their own.  The Monkian pulled Ardua back, and threw her onto the packed dirt floor as hard as he could.
      Panthro and Tyger both had to be physically held by the others as the Monkian raised his arm back and slashed Ardua's face with his sword.  Lion-O continued to watch the fight, and listened to the protests of the men behind him Lion-O growled turned and screamed, "ENOUGH!" A string of saliva strung from the corner of his  mouth. "STOP IT NOW, I COMMAND YOU!" Panthro and Tyger lessened their struggling. "If we interfere with this fight, we could very  well start a war with these people! I am not going to sacrifice the lives of hundreds of thousands of people for the life of one!"  Tyger and Panthro stopped struggling and let the clarity of the situation sink in they continued to watch. The Monkian had Ardua on the ground again, and he savagely kicked her in the back, and cut her again.  Ardua slowly moved as the Monkian took a few moments to catch his breath and showboat to the roaring crowd.
      Wilykit pointed and said, "Gods of Thundera, she's getting up!"  The others watched in amazement as Ardua rose, even from their distance they could see the deep bloody cuts on her body, and her blood stained face, but didn't appreciate the extent of her injuries until they looked at her image on one of the telescreens.  Ardua picked up her sword and and growled at the Monkian, her teeth were red with blood, he stood back as if he were looking at a creature possessed.
      Ardua's eyes blackened, and she began to weakly attack.  The Thundercats, as well as the spectators, watched in amazement as the Monkian and Ardua traded vicious blows with feet, fists, and then their swords. Ardua fought valiantly, and well, but the Monkian was too strong for her and the Thundercats watched as Ardua fell to the floor of the arena once again and didn't move.
      The Monkian kicked Ardua in the back again and she moaned, he picked her up by her shirt and slapped her face, she heard her neck pop.  Ardua looked at the Monkian and spat blood into his face, which made him stab her in the arm with his sword.
      The Monkian looked at Ardua and smiled. "Are you ready to die?" Ardua looked into his eyes through a haze of pain, at that particular moment she didn't care if she did die, in fact it would have been a sweet release from her agony.  Ardua prepared to meet eternity for she knew it was running to meet her, silently prayed to the Gods to allow her into the upper world.  "Hoo, your friends are not going to leave here alive either, hoo."
      The Monkian threw Ardua forcefully back to the ground, and she winced.  Even as her logical mind told her to give in, a spark was beginning to turn into a fire, the natural urge of self preservation was beginning to surface. The Monkian looked up as the Emperor stood and addressed the crowd.  Ardua groped at her side, an eternity past seemingly as she shut out the roar of the arena, and desperately groped for her weapon.  Ardua's heart quickened when she found the pommel of her sword, then the grip.  Ardua looked at her opponent, and then heard the order for her death. Ardua swung the sword with all her might and slashed the Monkian's chest deeply, she followed that with a two footed kick to the groin, the hardest one she could muster.  As the Monkian fell to the floor and gripped himself in pain, the Thundercats watched Ardua rise.  Panthro looked into the telescreen and saw his daughter's face and said, "Oh, by the Gods no." quietly.
      The other Thundercats turned and looked and could see why Panthro's concern had been raised.
      Ardua pulled her bloodied matted hair out of her face, and the Monkian guard angrily arose. She thought of all of the people she loved and how their deaths were guaranteed, and then the kind eyes of the Queen. Ardua began panting hard, her nostrils flared, her lips turned upwards into a snarl, and her eyes squinted.  Kera looked at the telescreen and turned to Tyger and her brother and said quietly, "She's pissed!"

      As Ardua slowly stalked towards her adversary, one thought radiated in her mind.

                           Kill him.

        Ardua and the Monkian began to fight with renewed vigor. To the Thundercats' horror, Ardua's strength was fed by her anger, and showed them all a dark side to the woman that they all thought they knew.
       In the beginning Ardua had held back, she didn't want to hurt anyone, but as the renewed battle stretched on, Ardua allowed her anger more free reign, something the Thundercats had never seen her do before.  Ardua was trying her best to inflict as much damage as she could to the Monkian.  The Thundercats were all frightened.
      The Monkian struck Ardua several times with his sword and cut her badly as she attacked, but her fury, and adrenaline shielded her from the worst of the pain.  What pain she did feel drove her forward.
      Panthro watched sadly as Ardua stopped using any form of strategy, and merely lashed out at her opponent without mercy.  Panthro feared that Ardua wouldn't stop until the Monkian was dead.
       The Monkian who had miraculously been able to stand through most of Ardua's attacks began to show signs of fatigue, but her strength as well as fury was seemingly limitless.  Ardua panting, bleeding, sweating, hurting and stripped of reason pounded the Monkian until he fell exhausted onto the arena floor, cowering from the snarling beast.
      The Monkian tried to get up as Ardua slashed his side with her sword, he couldn't get away from her though, and was at her complete mercy as she kicked him down as he did her.
       Ardua knocked the Monkian's weapon out of his hand, then stood on his arms.
       As she stood unsteadily, Ardua closed her eyes and raised her face to the sky, the sun was still blinding. She raised her sword above her head painfully and listened to the crowd that had mere moments earlier cheered for her death, now beg to see the Monkian centurion die.  Ardua raised her head and emitted a sound that was a roar, scream, howl, and a growl rolled into one.
       As the primal sound echoed through the arena sound system, Panthro whispered quietly, fearfully "Baby, don't do it."
       The Thundercats watched in horror as Ardua's sword plunged downward, and the Monkian's scream joined her's.

      When the sword found it's target the Monkian, Ardua, and the arena were eerily quiet, disturbed only by the noise of the engines of the Jetcat, and the Thunderbolt overhead.