It wasn’t often that Vultureman got to work alone in peace and quiet in his lab. Being alone wasn’t usually the problem, as the other mutants had never liked Vultureman to begin with. His recent alliances with the Lunatacs didn’t help either, though he’d pointed out that Monkian and Jackalman had both enlisted Lunatac aid when he and Slithe ended up on the newly reformed Thundera. But this was rationalized away and Vultureman was still generally disliked among the mutants. Consequently, finding time to himself was never a difficult problem for the avian mutant. No, it was the peace and quiet that Vultureman found unusual. On a normal day in Castle Plun-Darr, it was anything but quiet. There were the moans and complaints of lower-ranking mutants, there were the yells and shouts of the upper-ranking mutants, there were the growls and shudders of the fortress’s huge furnaces and engines, and there were the constant fights and squabbles that seemed to come with simply being a mutant.

Vultureman could handle the noise of engines and the voices of the other mutants, but the fights were another thing, especially when they periodically spilled into his lab and disrupted crucial experiments. But on this unusual day, the mutants in general were subdued and quiet. Even the engines seemed to have found new levels of efficiency and their noise output was barely noticeable. Vultureman didn’t know what had caused this unusual stillness, but he wasn’t about to question such a blessing. Knowing it wouldn’t last, the mutant vowed to make the most of it and soon buried himself in his experiments.

He was allowed to work in his peace and quiet for about an hour, and then it all abruptly came to an end. Though he’d expected it, Vultureman was surprised. It wasn’t the end itself that was surprising, but the means by which his peaceful afternoon had ended. Banishing the tranquility of bubbling beakers and hissing solutions, two visitors strolled into the laboratory.

"Mumm-Ra?! Ma-Mutt?! Awwk, what are you doing here?"

Ma-Mutt growled a warning and sniffed the air in disdain. Mumm-Ra was as indignant as his dog, considering it beneath him to visit the mutants rather than summoning them to his pyramid. But under the circumstances, he lacked the power to summon anything. Trying to control his impatience, he glared at Vultureman until the mutant stopped squawking. "Better," he sneered, attempting to maintain the illusion of power though he was in his mummy form. "Now, I need something from you."

Vultureman stared at the two visitors in surprise and growing suspicion. He’d never known Mumm-Ra to come asking for help. If Mumm-Ra was upset about something, then it wasn’t unusual for the mummy to storm in. But if he needed something, he’d always summon the mutants to the Black Pyramid. Something about this wasn’t right. And why hadn’t he come as Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living? "What exactly, awwk, do you need?"

"Something that shouldn’t even tax a feeble mortal like yourself," Mumm-Ra responded with a snarl. "Less than a week ago, you and the Lunatacs developed a weapon that exploited Cheetara’s sixth sense. I need the plans for that weapon."

"The Telepathy Beam?" Vultureman’s surprise and suspicion found new heights. "You want the plans for, awwk, that? But it doesn’t work against the Thundercats anymore. Why do you want that?"

"My reasons are my own, mutant!" Mumm-Ra raged. "I do not divulge them to weaklings such as yourself. And unless you are willing to risk angering me further, I suggest you do as I command. Give me the plans for the weapon."

Warning bells were still ringing in Vultureman’s head, but now that he knew the reason for Mumm-Ra’s visit, he could stall. "Well, if you really want them, they’re yours. There’s just, awwk, one problem: I don’t have them. Alluro does."

Mumm-Ra’s eyes narrowed and the lab seemed to grow colder. "Then you shall retrieve them for me and deliver them to the pyramid."

Vultureman could feel a flood of anger rising within himself and struggled to force it down. "Can’t you get them yourself? I’m working!"

"Do not force me to repeat myself," the mummy hissed.

"All right, I can have them ready for you in a few days," Vultureman snapped.

"Tonight!"

The mutant stared at Mumm-Ra in disbelief. "Tonight? Maybe you haven’t been keeping up with the news. I’m not exactly on best terms with the Lunatacs right now and the mutants aren’t too keen on me, either. I can’t get the plans by tonight."

Mumm-Ra advanced slowly on Vultureman who involuntarily cringed and started to back away. "Tonight," the mummy growled softly. "Or it will be your last night." And with those words, he whirled around, swept his robes around himself, and slipped out of the room, leaving a very confused vulture behind.

"Lion-O?"

Cheetara’s soft voice turned the lion around, but he kept his eyes fixed on the ground. "I don’t feel like talking right now, Cheetara."

Cheetara pursed her lips together. Lion-O was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, Tygra had completely clammed up, and she was still lying helpless on the ground while Tygra did something to her leg. And Panthro—no, she wouldn’t think about Panthro right now. She had to put that aside. There wasn’t time for it. "You did what you could," she said to the grieving lion.

"Did I?" Lion-O glanced at the still panther lying beside Cheetara. "First Snarf. Now Panthro. How long before it’s you or Tygra and I arrive too late to help?"

"You’re lucky the Sword worked when you got here," Cheetara told him. "You told us yourself that some kind of field is trying to suppress it."

"If I was stronger…" Lion-O trailed off. He shook his head and blinked his eyes rapidly. "If I was stronger, this wouldn’t have happened. The Sword would have warned you. It would have warned Panthro. It would have warned Snarf. None of this would have—"

"That’s enough, Lion-O," Tygra broke in sternly. The other two looked at him in surprise. He hadn’t spoken since pronouncing Panthro dead, and he was now speaking as though Lion-O was a young and foolish cub. Cheetara had never heard Tygra use that tone of voice with Lion-O since the lion had been anointed Lord of the Thundercats. "We don’t have time to go over might-have-been’s and what-if’s," Tygra continued. "We need answers as to what killed Panthro and Snarf, and we need to settle a few other issues. Panthro died as a Thundercat. He will be mourned as one, but not now and not in the middle of a crisis. I think he would be disappointed in us. Snarf, too."

Tygra’s forceful words seemed to reach Lion-O, and Cheetara saw him once again shoulder the mantle of leadership as he had so many times before. With a deep breath, he composed his face and was once again the Lord of the Thundercats. "You’re right, Tygra." His voice was soft, but there was now strength to it. "Our first priority is to find any other Thundercats trapped in this world and then get out of here."

But Tygra wasn’t quite finished with Lion-O. "That’s our second priority, actually. We have wounded that need attention and that is our first priority. And there’s something else a little more pressing."

The tiger had lowered his voice to a more respectful level and the note of command was no longer there. But a new note of urgency sent shivers down Lion-O’s spine. "What now?"

Tygra sighed and shifted away from Cheetara’s leg though he kept his hands positioned on her inner thigh. "If you feel up to it, I want you take a look at this. No, not you Cheetara. You lie still."

Cheetara shot Tygra an indignant glare, but Lion-O laid a hand on her shoulder and firmly pushed her back down. Readying himself, the lion looked at Cheetara’s leg and was barely able to keep back a gasp.

Tygra had managed to subdue the quivering leg muscles, but he could see where they have been severed. The bone glistened white beneath ripped tissues and blood continued to seep from the gaping wound. But Lion-O noticed something else that alarmed him. The leg was beginning to pale and the tissues inside were starting to turn a sickly white. He looked up at Tygra. "The blood flow…it’s—"

"My doing," Tygra said quietly. Lion-O’s eyebrows raised and the tiger shook his head in despair. "It’s my doing." Tygra cleared his throat a little before continuing. "Cheetara, I really don’t know how to tell you this. You have a difficult decision in front of you. When you were stabbed, your femoral artery was completely destroyed in several places. There is no way for me to repair it without the proper equipment, and with the extent of the damage, there is no way for me to stop the bleeding. You’ve lost a lot of blood already. I’ve cut off circulation to your leg by holding a pressure point on the inner thigh, but…" Tygra shook his head again, trying to find an easy way to put this. "Well, unless we get you some medical attention soon, you have two choices."

"What are they?" Cheetara asked, managing to keep the tremor out of her voice.

Vainly casting about for the right words to use, the tiger decided to say it straight out and hope it worked. "You can bleed to death in a matter of minutes, or you can lose your leg." Tygra was unable to even look at Cheetara during this time. He knew that to her, there would be little difference between the two options. Her strength lay in speed, and without her leg, she lost her most valuable asset. While her sixth sense was an added bonus and the newly discovered telekinetic powers further enhanced it, Cheetara would be the first to admit that she still had very little control over her psychic powers. They were unreliable at best. Speed was still her best ally and to lose that…

Sneaking a quick glance at Cheetara, Tygra caught the parade of emotions that raced across her face. Biting her lip, the cheetah met Tygra’s eyes. "You’re sure? There’s no other way?"

Lion-O placed a comforting hand on Cheetara’s shoulder. "Tygra, we need to be absolutely certain there is nothing else you can do. As you said before, we’re in the middle of a crisis. Is there anything else? Anything at all?"

"That’s what I’ve been trying to determine for the past ten minutes," Tygra answered, keeping his voice calm but inwardly cringing at the decision he was forcing on Cheetara. "If Pumyra was here, maybe she could see something that I can’t see and do something that I can’t do. But with what little skills I have—Cheetara, I’m sorry."

Cheetara nodded absently, still trying to grasp the situation. She no longer had feeling in her injured leg and guessed that some of the tissue was already dying. Lion-O was rubbing her shoulder and Tygra was holding her hand, but they couldn’t understand the turmoil she was going through. How could they? They’d never been faced with something like this and never would be. The nobles of the cheetah clans prided themselves on their speed to the point of arrogance. It had taken her a few years even after joining the Thundercats to accept that those slower than her were just as valuable. And now to lose her greatest talent! Feeling tears brimming on her eyes, she made her decision. She was a Thundercat. For better or worse, she had to continue. "Cut the flow of blood, Tygra."

The whispered words hung in the air and for a moment, no one could do anything. Then, with a quick squeeze of her hand, Tygra turned back to her leg, ripped some more of his uniform, and went to work. "I’m sorry," Lion-O whispered. "If only I could do something to help."

Cheetara couldn’t answer. She was feeling sick to her stomach, partly because of her injury and partly because of the decision she’d just made. She knew if she lost the leg, it would have to be amputated if they reached safety. When! she told herself. We will reach safety. But the thought made little difference. If they never reached safety, it would be because they died trying. If they survived, she would no longer be an active Thundercat. She couldn’t. She’d have to resign. She couldn’t force the others to protect an invalid.

"It’s done," Tygra announced quietly.

Cheetara was numb. She closed her eyes and felt Lion-O’s hand massage her shoulder. Tygra took her hand again, but it was no comfort. She was finished.

"We need to start moving," Lion-O said softly. "But we can’t leave Panthro here. What should we do?"

"You said you left Snarf. Can you lead us there?" Tygra’s voice was low, too, trying not to disturb Cheetara.

"I think so."

"Let’s go that way, then. We’ll take Panthro with us, and when we find Snarf, we’ll—we’ll bury them together." For a small moment, Tygra’s voice cracked. Of all the Thundercats, he’d known Panthro the longest. The two had been friends since the days of their training. And now that the panther was gone—the moment passed and Tygra was in control again. "One of us can carry Panthro, and the other can carry…" The tiger didn’t finish but indicated Cheetara with a jerk of his head. Lion-O nodded to show his understanding.

"I’ll get Panthro." Lion-O heaved a sigh and struggled to his feet. "You should be close to Cheetara to monitor her in case anything goes wrong." Without another word, the lion gathered up the panther and waited for Tygra to join him. Panthro was unusually light, as though something was missing. Lion-O tried not to think about it.

Cheetara had heard the conversation without really comprehending it. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, but they were too fast to track. Too fast. That would never be her problem again. She would never be too fast. Stop that, she berated herself. But it wasn’t any use. She couldn’t help it. It felt like part of her had died. Almost from a distance, she felt gentle arms slide under her legs and back. She was cradled against a firm chest of soft fur and her head rested comfortably on a strong shoulder. Opening blurry eyes, she saw Tygra watching her face intently.

"How are you doing?"

The compassion and concern in his eyes was too much. Cheetara couldn’t hold out any longer. With a strangled sob, she buried her face against him and started to cry, clutching at the remnants of his uniform with her bloody hands. Tygra didn’t say anything but simply held her, not moving until her shuddering sobs had begun to subside. "We’ll get through this," she heard him whisper. "We’ll get through this. I promise."

Cheetara nodded against his chest, allowing herself to be comforted. And with the gentlest of motions, Tygra rose and started off after Lion-O across the desolate land.

A silent laughter followed after them, mocking their futile efforts.

"Simply put, fellow Thundercats, we have a large problem." Lynx-O smoothed out the scroll before him so that those he sensed looking over his shoulder could see. "With the aid of the Braille board, I have translated this scroll and deciphered what could be the possible cause of our friends’ ailment. But knowing what is wrong and then doing something about it are two very different things."

"Where did this come from?" Pumyra questioned, squinting at the strange writing on the parchment.

Snarfer shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat. "I found it outside the Tower of Omens. Something left it there and then called me out to find it."

"Something?" Bengali wondered. "What kind of a something?"

"I didn’t see it, actually."

The white tiger frowned. "Sounds a little suspicious, if you ask me."

"Well, snarfer, Lynx-O thinks he knows who left it, but maybe you’d better hear that after hearing what’s on the scroll."

"Why’s that?" Wiley Kit asked.

"You’ll understand in a moment," Lynx-O answered. "But for now, we need to discuss the validity of the scroll’s contents. It’s from the first age of this world and tells of a being rivaling Mumm-Ra in evil and power."

"I don’t like the sound of this already," Wiley Kat commented.

"It gets worse really fast," Snarfer added.

"Don’t interrupt," Pumyra scolded. "Please continue, Lynx-O."

"Thank you," the lynx said. "As I was saying, this scroll speaks of a being known as Somnolar. Unlike Mumm-Ra, he has no physical basis in our world. He exists in his own form of reality and the author of these ancient writings states he will not darken his work with that reality’s description. Apparently, it’s a world of complete chaos, where things both do and do not exist." Lynx-O stopped and shook his head. "The translation of that part was a little unclear, but it didn’t seem necessary to dwell on it. The writer of the scroll goes on to describe his own experience with Somnolar and how the being was ultimately defeated."

"Maybe I’m not quite grasping the situation yet," Bengali broke in, "but what does Somnolar, or whatever his name is, have to do with the other Thundercats."

"If I interpret this correctly, they evince all the signs that they are under Somnolar’s influence," Lynx-O explained. "Although Somnolar doesn’t exist in our reality, he can enter our thoughts through arcane powers and, in essence, steal our souls. As I understand it, he works through dreams, which are the essence of our minds. And by controlling them, he controls us. If I’m right, Lion-O, Cheetara, Tygra, Panthro, and Snarf are all controlled by Somnolar and if we don’t act quickly, they will become his."

"It may be too late already," Pumyra said quietly. "Both Snarf and Panthro are brain dead now. Panthro went just before you got here."

"But are their bodies still alive?"

Pumyra’s brow furrowed. "Alive? No, Lynx-O, they’re gone." She fought down the trembling in her voice and continued. "As you instructed, their blood is still being circulated and they’re on artificial respirators, but they’re not alive. Their brains are gone and if I were to remove the machines, they would be completely dead."

"But they are on full life-support?"

The puma sighed, not wanting to talk about those two Thundercats. "Yes. They’re on full life-support."

Lynx-O nodded. "Good. There may still be a way to get them back if we can contact Lion-O, Cheetara, and Tygra in time. The problem is contacting them."

"What do you mean?" Kit asked. "They’re in sickbay. Can’t we contact them there?"

"They’re unconscious, Kit," Kat explained to his sister. "How do you talk to someone who’s unconscious?"

Kit glared at Wiley Kat, but before she could respond, Lynx-O broke in. "It’s worse than that, if this really is the work of Somnolar. Their bodies may be in sickbay, but their minds are somewhere else. Their minds are no longer in our dimension. They’re in some kind of separate dreamscape."

"That makes contact a little difficult," Bengali remarked. "And if we do manage to contact them, what do we tell them? How do we get them back?"

"It becomes complex and I’m not sure about the translation of the rest of the scroll. According to the author, Somnolar is supreme in his realm. He is his world’s only inhabitant. When others enter his realm, they enter as part of him. From what I can gather, Panthro and Snarf are now in his realm and part of him. When they become part of him, he has access to everything they are. He has their memories, their strengths, their weaknesses, their knowledge, everything. And with that knowledge, he constantly torments them. I don’t understand how it works, but that was the basis of the scroll. And apparently, when Somnolar steals someone away from a dream into his alternative dream, there is a small stretch of time during which that person has a chance to escape. But they can’t escape as a corporeal being. They must exist as Somnolar exists and challenge him in his own realm."

"But you just said you couldn’t enter Somnolar’s realm without being part of him," Pumyra protested, now thoroughly confused.

"You can’t, if all goes as it usually does. According to the scroll, a person will first enter a quasi-state of existence and in that existence, Somnolar will kill them as you would kill someone here. They experience a physical death, only they really aren’t in a physical body. But they think they are and because they believe it, their bodies in our reality follow their minds. Their bodies die. Somnolar has killed Snarf and Panthro. Once dead, they are officially his and enter his realm as part of him. But there’s still a chance to get them back if we keep their bodies here from completely dying. One of the remaining three will have to enter Somnolar’s realm and challenge him. Somnolar can’t face a challenger on his own grounds, and will be forced from their minds. The Thundercats will be restored. The last time Somnolar was defeated, and the only time Somnolar was defeated, he completely banished himself from this reality out of shame and refused to return. Until now."

The gathered Thundercats, with the exception of Snarfer who’d heard the entire story on the way to the Lair, stared at Lynx-O in bewilderment. "Let me try and repeat that back to you," Bengali finally said. "There’s a thing called Somnolar. When someone’s dreaming, he steals their mind away from their body and takes them to another dream. After doing that, he kills their mind part and it becomes part of him in his true realm. That person’s body, which is still here in our reality, dies because their mind believes they’re dead. Am I okay so far?"

"In essence, yes," Lynx-O answered.

"Good," Bengali sighed. "Okay, and then if that person’s body has been kept alive, they can be restored if someone else gets into Somnolar’s own little world and challenges him on his home turf. Sound right?"

"Correct."

"Great. Just one more question. How does someone challenge Somnolar on his home turf?"

"That’s one of our two main problems," Lynx-O responded. "The person has to die—"

"Die?"

Lynx-O frowned in irritation. "Please allow me to finish, Wiley Kat. The person has to die, but Somnolar can’t kill them. They have to kill themselves or have someone else do it for them. Once dead and not by Somnolar’s hands, they leave the quasi-existence realm and enter Somnolar’s realm as themselves. This is an automatic challenge and Somnolar can’t handle it. The person brings order to his world of chaos and they must leave. Somnolar will do anything to get them to leave, but they can’t leave on their own. Somnolar has to banish them from his realm, and in the process of banishing them, he banishes everyone he’s ever taken. When this happens, those who still have living bodies are restored to them and those who don’t are bound eternally to Somnolar’s realm."

"Who was this scroll-writer guy and how does he know all this?" Kit asked.

"This person was the only one, as far as history can tell us, who has ever challenged Somnolar. He was instrumental in restoring some of the victims. Unfortunately, that’s not all there is to him. He was…" Lynx-O hesitated, unsure if he should continue. Shaking his head, he decided to go on. "He was one of Mumm-Ra’s priests. Apparently, there was a feud between Mumm-Ra and Somnolar that ended with Somnolar’s banishment. Somnolar kept stealing Mumm-Ra’s servants and Mumm-Ra would give intended victims the power to protect their dreams. Eventually, the feuding become so intense that both enemies might have ended up destroying one another."

"Wouldn’t that have been a sorry shame," Kat muttered.

"But the priest who wrote these scrolls came up with this theory," Lynx-O continued, ignoring Wiley Kat’s interruption this time. "He allowed himself to be taken by Somnolar, and it worked. He killed himself in quasi-existence, entered Somnolar’s personal reality, and defeated Somnolar. As a result, he was heavily rewarded by Mumm-Ra, and the mummy lost a dangerous opponent."

"You said he killed himself once taken by Somnolar?" Pumyra asked.

Lynx-O nodded. "He took a weapon that was bound to his soul through some form of magic. As a result, Somnolar could not take it from him. Using this weapon, he held Somnolar at bay and killed himself. We have the same advantage. The Sword of Omens is bound to Lion-O, and so it must still be with him. That would explain why the Sword is missing here. It’s followed its owner. With the Sword, Lion-O can hold Somnolar off and, well, and kill one of the remaining Thundercats."

"Wait a minute," Bengali interrupted. "This scroll comes from a servant of Mumm-Ra? Do we have a good reason to trust it? And would the Sword kill a Thundercat? I guess there’s the Right to Death, but they’re not in that kind of situation."

"Can I go back to an earlier question?" Pumyra asked. "I want to know how we got our hands on this scroll. Something like this was probably kept in Mumm-Ra’s horde. How did it get out and how did it come to Snarfer?"

"Now we come to the most interesting part of the story," Lynx-O sighed. "Ma-Mutt brought us the scroll. It was his howling that Snarfer heard."

"Ma-Mutt!" the Thunderkittens exclaimed.

"I knew it was all just a big trick," Bengali growled.

"Wait a minute," Pumyra insisted. "I know it’s far-fetched, but give this idea a chance. It kind of proves the validity of this scroll. If Somnolar and Mumm-Ra were enemies like it says, it would make sense that Mumm-Ra would want to get rid of him again. That’s why he sent us the scroll. He can’t defeat Somnolar directly; he needs us to do it for him."

"You actually believe this packet of lies?" Bengali demanded.

"Quiet," Lynx-O ordered, startling everyone by raising his voice. "For what it’s worth, my instincts tell me that this scroll is sincere. I vote we take the measures this story outlines. We find a way to contact the three remaining Thundercats—"

"Good luck," the white tiger grumbled. Lynx-O continued right through his interruption as though he’d said nothing.

"—and we inform them that they must die at hands other than Somnolar’s."

"In other words, we tell them to kill each other," Kat observed caustically.

"I wouldn’t put it so bluntly, but yes," Lynx-O responded. "We tell them that the Sword must enable one of them to travel to Somnolar’s realm as themselves and not as one of Somnolar’s slaves."

"Great plan," Bengali commented with more than a hint of sarcasm.

"If you have another idea, please feel free to suggest it," Lynx-O responded calmly. "But keep this in mind. With such minimal support from the brain stem, the three remaining Thundercats will not last long. And if this scroll is right, Somnolar will finish them off before their bodies can shut down on their own. This means they have even less time. Since we have no other course of action, I vote we attempt to contact them and tell them of the scroll’s contents." The lynx listened as the others shuffled their feet or shook their heads in dismay. "Are we agreed in this or do we need to discuss this further?"

After a short pause, Pumyra spoke. "I’m with you, Lynx-O. It’s strange, but I feel the same. I feel we can trust this."

Snarfer was next. "No one has a better idea, and we need to do something. Snarfer, snarfer, we’ve gotta help Uncle Snarf and this seems to be the only way right now. I’m in."

"Me, too," Kit agreed. "If it’s good enough for Lynx-O, it’s good enough for me."

Wiley Kat and Bengali exchanged helpless looks. "I still don’t like it," the tiger eventually said. "But you’ll need some help in figuring out how to contact them and you’ll need somebody with his head on straight during this crazy scheme. Let’s do it."

"Right," Kat echoed. "But for the record, I don’t trust Mumm-Ra and I never will. And I don’t like the idea that he’s suddenly helping us. Something’s not right about this and there’s got to be a catch here somewhere."

"We’ll stay on our guard," Lynx-O assured the Thunderkitten. "And I haven’t forgotten Mumm-Ra’s ability to scheme. I have no doubt but that he’ll use this situation to his advantage if he can, but I feel something strange is happening in the Black Pyramid. It’s almost as if Mumm-Ra’s power is being—diverted." Lynx-O shook his head. "But we have more important things to worry about. We must contact our fellow Thundercats and we must do it quickly before they’re all lost."

"Or before we lose our sanity in the process," Bengali muttered as they all followed Lynx-O toward sickbay.

"Tygra?"

Tygra glanced down at the bundle in his arms. He and Lion-O hadn’t covered more than a mile or so with their burdens, but it was difficult going and both Thundercats were tiring quickly. He hoped Cheetara needed a rest, as they couldn’t afford to stop unless she required one. "You okay?" he asked.

"Can you put me down for just a second?"

Holding back a grateful sigh, the tiger nodded. "Lion-O? Hold up." Easing himself to his knees, he gingerly laid Cheetara down. "Don’t move around a lot," he warned. "We need to keep that leg as still as possible. I don’t want the bleeding to start again.

Biting her lip, Cheetara nodded. Lion-O was with them by then and had already set Panthro down. Cheetara forced her eyes away from the still body of the panther. It was too soon, and they couldn’t afford to start grieving now. Closing her eyes, she began to concentrate on the reason she’d called a halt. Something had triggered her sixth sense, but she couldn’t zone in on what.

"How are you holding up?" Lion-O asked quietly.

Tygra rolled his shoulders and tried to work out some of the stiffness. "I’ve carried easier burdens," he admitted. "I can’t shift her weight around at all because it might disrupt her leg. What about you?"

"I’d be willing to switch you anytime," the lion murmured. He looked over at Panthro’s body and quickly turned away. "I…I keep expecting him to look up at any moment and complain about being carried. He just doesn’t seem…gone. And yet…"

"He died protecting Cheetara," Tygra consoled softly, though grief was beginning to overwhelm him, too. "If he’d been able to choose a death, he would have chosen one like that. He died as a warrior. He died as a Thundercat." A knot was forming in the back of his throat, but Tygra pushed past it. "And it’s up to us to follow his example, Lion-O. We have to live as Thundercats. We can’t let our emotions take over. Cheetara needs our help right now."

"I know, Tygra." There was a note of irritation in the lion’s voice, but Tygra sensed it wasn’t directed at him. "I know all that," Lion-O continued. "But making myself believe it is an entirely different matter."

"Guys?"

Tygra was instantly at Cheetara’s side. "How are you? Everything alright?" The cheetah had suddenly become very pale and Tygra feared the bleeding had started again.

Cheetara clutched her head and winced. "Do you feel it?" she whispered.

"Feel what? Is it your leg?"

"Cheetara?" Lion-O knelt by Cheetara and gently pried her hands away from her face. "What’s wrong?"

The cheetah struggled into a sitting position despite Tygra’s protests. "Can’t you feel it?" she asked. "It’s out there. It’s waiting for us."

"Your sixth sense?" Lion-O guessed.

Cheetara nodded. "We can’t go forward. We have to backtrack, go around, I don’t know." She growled softly and clutched her head again. "It’s so unclear. Something’s wrong and I can’t see what. Something—something’s happening…"

"Are we in any immediate danger?" Tygra asked.

Cheetara continued to growl and clutch her head. "No," she finally answered. "Not now, but we need to move." Her eyes suddenly opened. "Yes. Yes, we have to leave. We have to go."

"Whoa there!" Lion-O grabbed Cheetara’s shoulders just as she was trying to get to her feet. "You’re not going anywhere like that. You’ll disrupt the artery in your leg."

"You don’t understand, we have to go now!"

Cheetara had barely finished her sentence when the earth beneath them suddenly began to shake and heave. Tygra and Lion-O were thrown to the ground in the quake and before they could regain their feet, a rift opened up. Caught on the edge and unable to balance herself in the midst of the tremors, Cheetara was thrown into the earth’s gaping maw.

"Cheetara!" Without another though, Lion-O plunged in after her with Tygra hot on his tail. Behind them on the horizon, a figure watched in amusement and raised his hands. The tremors changed direction and the hole closed back up, sealing its occupants inside.

With a hiss of hydraulics, Vultureman parked the awkward hulk of the Flying Machine outside the Black Pyramid. Beside him rested the plans for his infamous Telepathy Beam. Alluro had been more than willing to part with them, eager to rid himself of a reminder of the Lunatac’s most recent failure. But Vultureman still had misgivings about handing the plans over to Mumm-Ra. Something about this didn’t set right and the mutant was determined to have a talk with the mummy before making any commitments.

Plans clutched tightly against his chest, Vultureman approached the forbidding structure. Though he’d somehow expected the door to be open, the sight still gave him chills. Mumm-Ra didn’t need to invite mutants into his home. He could speak to them from within while they waited outside. Something was seriously wrong.

The vulture was tempted to just drop the plans and bolt. The mutants as a whole were not noted for their bravery and Vultureman could possess cowardice in an unusual degree when it came to the arcane. Science and physics he could handle. Things beyond that he viewed with suspicion and distrust.

Vultureman entered the main room hesitantly, expecting at any moment to be assailed by something mysterious from evil’s twisted paths. But all was quiet. Too quiet. Something was missing from the atmosphere of malice, and Vultureman tried to place exactly what was wrong. It was almost as if power was being channeled somewhere else. "Mumm-Ra?" The vulture immediately cringed upon hearing his voice break the silence. "Hello?"

The soft rustle of robes behind him caused the mutant to spin around in fear and alarm. Ma-Mutt growled a warning and Mumm-Ra’s eyes flashed slightly in the darkness. "Follow me, mutant," the mummy growled.

Recovering from his initial surprise, the mutant followed Mumm-Ra back out of the pyramid. Blowing sand threatened to snag the plans away from him. "Look, I want to know, awwwk, what all this is about. I think you owe me that much."

"I owe you nothing, mutant!" Mumm-Ra snapped. Ma-Mutt snarled to emphasize the mummy’s point.

"If you want these plans, I say you have to give me something in return," Vultureman shot back. "Without them, whatever scheme you’re concocting won’t work. You need me."

"You are treading on dangerous ground," Mumm-Ra hissed. "Hand over the plans and be on your way."

"You dragged me back out into this sand storm to ask for the plans? Why couldn’t you, awwwk, take them in the pyramid? Or why didn’t you wait for me out here in the first place?" the vulture demanded.

"It is none of your concern," Mumm-Ra rumbled, reaching for the papers clutched in Vultureman’s fist.

"And what exactly are you planning to do with these?" Vultureman asked, backing up slightly. His paranoia was growing by the second and he wanted nothing more than to be away from the Black Pyramid. But something about the situation made him pause. "You can’t put together something technical like this. What good is it going to do you?"

This time, Mumm-Ra made no response. But Ma-Mutt did. Faster than the vulture’s eyes could track him, the dog shot into the air, knocked Vultureman down, and snapped his jaws tightly around the papers, tearing them from the mutant’s hand. Tail wagging with satisfaction, Ma-Mutt trotted over to his master and laid the plans down at his feet.

"Well done, my pet," Mumm-Ra said softly, rubbing the dog’s head.

Ma-Mutt grunted with pleasure and glared at Vultureman, daring him to retaliate. But Vultureman knew when to back down. Something about this still didn’t feel right, but he wasn’t going to pursue it any further. "Go ahead," he sneered. "Go ahead and keep those schematics, awwwk. But you’ll never be able to put it together, and it won’t work on Cheetara."

"If you stay here much longer, you’ll be the thing that doesn’t work," Mumm-Ra warned.

Vultureman backed further away from mummy and dog, considering what should be his next move. Warring emotions of fear and curiosity held him motionless for a few seconds, but ultimately, cowardice won out. Keeping an eye on Ma-Mutt, Vultureman made his way to the Flying Machine and powered it up. "Why should I care what he does with those worthless plans anyway," the mutant grumbled to himself as he maneuvered his vehicle off the ground.

Below him, with a slight trace of a smile and more than a hint of worry, Mumm-Ra looked through the plans and began walking away from the Black Pyramid. Not understanding, Ma-Mutt followed behind with a whine of anxiety.

Normally quiet and reserved, Pumyra was sorely tempted to lash out in frustration at the instruments before her. The accumulation of Thundera’s medical knowledge lay at her disposal, and she was helpless. She’d attempted every kind of treatment she’d ever heard of and a few she’d simply made up in desperation, but no matter what she tried, the comatose Thundercats failed to respond. Lynx-O, Snarfer, Bengali, and the Thunderkittens had eventually left sickbay, knowing there was really nothing they could do to help and hoping that Pumyra might find answers in solitude.

But she hadn’t. All of her attempts at initiating some kind of reaction in the brains of the sleepers had ended in failure. Not only were their brains unresponsive to electrical stimuli, their entire bodies were unresponsive to any kind of stimuli. Light, heat, touch, sound, smell, taste, it didn’t matter. The brain signals of those who still had signals remained undisturbed. There they were: five Thundercats, two of whom were clinically dead and three who could turn that direction without a moment’s notice. Her fists clenched in frustration, Pumyra glared at her patients. "How can I get through to you?" she demanded, ignoring the fact that she was talking to herself. "How can we tell you what you must know if we can’t even contact you?"

A small sound behind her caused her to twirl in surprise. She stopped upon seeing Snarfer in the doorway. He shuffled his feet uncomfortably and refused to meet her gaze. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I didn’t mean to sneak up on you."

Pumyra shook her head slowly. "Forget it. I’m just a little upset, that’s all."

Snarfer nodded and trotted into the room. "I guess it’s not going so well," he observed.

"No, it’s not," the puma agreed. "I’m not a full healer, Snarfer. I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know how to wake them. They haven’t responded to anything and I’m out of options."

"Maybe you should take a break and come back to it later," the snarf suggested. "You’ve been down here alone for over three hours."

"Three hours!?" Pumyra looked at a clock and realized just how late it was.

"We saved some dinner for you," Snarfer continued. "Bengali wants to shift the Lair to nighttime running, but Lynx-O’s not sure if it’s safe for us to sleep here. Somnolar might take us, too."

"Three hours," Pumyra murmured. "I had no idea. It seems you left only minutes ago. No wonder I’m so tired."

"And because you’re tired, snarfer, you’re not thinking clearly," Snarfer explained. "Why don’t you come up to the council room? We’re trying to decide how we want to do the sleeping thing. Lynx-O’s searching the scrolls to try and find out if it’s safe for us to go to sleep here where Somnolar’s already stolen five Thundercats."

"If he wanted us, he would have taken us by now," Pumyra declared quietly. "There’s nothing stopping him from sending us all to sleep like he sent Panthro and Lion-O to sleep."

"Maybe not," Snarfer shrugged, "but why don’t you come up and we can all talk about it together. Snarfer, snarfer, you need a break and you need to eat."

Pumyra was unable to hold back a small grin. "You’re sounding a lot like your uncle."

Snarfer puffed himself up indignantly. "I don’t have to stay here and be insulted," he growled menacingly.

"It was a compliment, Snarfer."

"Try again."

Pumyra laughed, something she hadn’t done since early that morning. "I’m very sorry Snarfer. You are quite different from your uncle with your own exceptional talents and unique characteristics."

Snarfer gave her a gracious bow. "Thank you. And now that that’s settled, follow me to the council room and we’ll get you some dinner."

With that, Snarfer bounced out of the room. Amazed at his ability to engineer a good attitude at a time like this, especially when Snarf was technically dead, Pumyra smiled. She could sense his unspoken worry and concern, but his youth and optimism were compensating. Vowing to follow his example, Pumyra left sickbay for the council chambers.

When she opened her eyes amid spasms of pain, Cheetara froze. It was completely dark. Even after sitting still for a few minutes in the hopes that her eyes would adjust, the complete blackness persisted. Was she blind? No, something told her she wasn’t. But that left her with only one other option. She was cut off from any source of light and trapped. As she continued to lie there, her sense of surrounding objects began to work. Cheetara soon regretted it. She could feel tight walls on all sides. There was a low ceiling bearing down on her. Pushing feelings of panic aside, she called out to her comrades. "Lion-O? Tygra?" She desperately tried to keep the growing tremble in her body out of her voice. "Is somebody there? Anyone?" The air around her was dank and musty and the ground beneath was rocky and sharp. It hurt her back, but she was too frightened to move.

"Tygra? Lion-O? Please, someone help me!" The walls were getting too close. She was crippled and trapped somewhere underground. And the walls were getting too close! "Anybody!?"

The earth around her shifted slightly and she could hear rocks grinding against each other. Who knew how far beneath the surface she was. She’d been too startled to gauge how far she’d fallen when she first hit bottom and then things just happened too quickly.

Vainly trying to swallow the fear that rose like bile in her throat, Cheetara pushed herself into a sitting position, careful not to upset her legs. She’d lost all feeling in her injured leg and couldn’t even touch it without feelings of revulsion coursing through her. A sharp ceiling brushed against her hair and she involuntarily ducked. A sob threatened to erupt from her throat but with sheer will power, she forced it back down. "Stay calm," she whispered to herself. "Calm. It’s okay. This is all an illusion. Just a dream. This isn’t real."

But the cold that crept over her bones was very real, as were the sharp rocks scratching at her arms and legs. It was too much. It was too real. The walls closing in, the darkness strangling her, the walls closing in, the moisture and chill freezing her body, the walls closing in, the ceiling that was falling, the walls closing in, the suffocation and the inability to move, THE WALLS CLOSING IN! Before she even knew what she was doing, she’d thrown her head back and a shriek of pure terror tore its way through her throat.

"Cheetara?"

From what seemed like miles away, a voice called out to her. Latching onto the sound like a lifeline, the cheetah hollered back. "Over here! Help me, please! Help!" Unable to control herself, she buried her head in her arms and sobbed. "Please help me."

There were now sounds of falling rocks as though a tunnel was being cleared. "It’s okay, Cheetara. I’m coming. Don’t panic; just stay put and I’ll find you."

Gasping in relief, Cheetara felt her pounding heart slow its frenzied pace. "Please hurry!" she urged, unaware of how shrill her voice had become.

The noises were much closer now and she could hear rocks being cleared away hurriedly and forcefully. "Cheetara? Keep talking to me, I’m almost there."

"Where? Where are you?!"

"Just a few meters away. Hang on and I’ll have you out in no time. Still with me?"

Cheetara let out a strangled moan. "Please," she whispered. "Please hurry."

"Coming as fast as I can, girl, just a few more seconds. This is like when we go Thundrillium searching and the Thunderkittens accidentally trigger a rockslide. Just like it. Nothing to worry about."

"No," Cheetara groaned. "No, it’s nothing like that."

"Sure it is." The voice was very close now, almost next to her. "It’s just like that. And Lion-O will blast out of here with the Sword and we’ll all have a good laugh about this later."

Cheetara felt a cascade of rocks tumbling down on her right side and she reached out blindly, hoping to make contact with her rescuer. A strong hand stretched through the newly formed hole and seized her flailing arm in a firm grip. With a strangled cry of relief, Cheetara threw her arms around Tygra’s neck and sobbed with gratitude.

"Shhh," Tygra soothed. "It’s okay, you’re safe now." He wrapped his arms around the cheetah’s shivering torso and vigorously rubbed her back, reassuring her of his presence. "It’s okay, there’s a way out now. And a bigger cavern where I just came from. Lion-O’s looking for the easiest way back to the surface." Tygra kept up a steady stream of talking, knowing it didn’t matter what he said as long as Cheetara could hear a voice other than her own. "We’ll get back up to the surface and keep walking. If we walk long enough, we’ll get out of here and back to Cat’s Lair. What do you think everyone else is making of our disappearance? Think they’ll be surprised to see us back?"

Cheetara said nothing in response, but her breathing calmed and she stopped shaking. Tygra slowed his rubbing and continued to talk, feeling Cheetara relax even more. "Remember the time when Panthro and I got caught in a cave with Slithe and Monkian? By Jaga, if you get to choose your cave-mates, don’t choose mutants! The smell was intolerable! And it took Lion-O forever to get us out because Jackalman kept getting the Sword away from him. I didn’t think we’d make it, but we did. Remember when you came in after me in the Cave of Time? We got out of that one, too. What about the cavern on Thundera where Mumm-Ra almost got away with the Treasure of Thundera? You’ve been in lots of caves and tunnels, and you’ve always made it out. Then there’s the tunnel that gets us to Darkside. You can make it through that one pretty well. And at least this cave doesn’t lead to a pyramid with an undead mummy. Lion-O can tell you about caves like that. Remember the mole people? They live in caves. I think it’s affected their minds, too, because they are some of the stupidest creatures I’ve ever run across." Tygra paused to check on how Cheetara was doing. Her breathing was back to normal and the tiger could no longer feel her heart pounding wildly against his chest. "Okay now?"

Cheetara nodded, though she didn’t release her firm grip around his neck. "Thank you," she whispered fervently. "You know how I can get around—things like this."

"No problem," Tygra assured her. "I’m just glad I found you. Let’s get you out of here and into the main cavern."

Cheetara felt herself gathered into Tygra’s gentle arms and held tightly against his chest. The path he’d made in trying to get to her was small and confining, but Cheetara could hold back her panic. Someone else was with her now. Shuffling forward on his knees with his head and shoulders hunched low, Tygra slowly carried Cheetara away from her rocky prison. She knew the sharp ground must be scraping against his legs, but he gave no sign of discomfort. Allowing herself to relax, Cheetara closed her eyes and waited until the journey was over.

"You can open your eyes now," Tygra whispered a few minutes later.

Cheetara blinked and was temporarily blinded by a dim light. After her eyes had adjusted, she made out the faint glow of the Sword of Omens in Lion-O’s hand. The lion was standing near a wall and examining cracks, searching for a weak point. This new cave was much bigger than the last one, with a ceiling far overhead. Taking a deep breath, Cheetara removed her arms from Tygra’s neck. "You can put me down," she murmured. "I’ll be fine now."

"You sure?"

Cheetara nodded. "Thank you, Tygra."

"Okay then. I’m going to help Lion-O, but if you need me, just holler." As the tiger lowered her to the ground, he couldn’t resist a wry grin. "I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere soon."

Cheetara smiled back. "Let’s hope you’re wrong."

"Good girl," Tygra approved. "Keep that attitude. I’m off to help our fearless leader." With a final glance to see that she truly was fine, he turned and moved over to aid Lion-O.

"Is she okay?"

Tygra nodded. "She is now. Find anything?"

"Nothing on this side. Our entrance has completely closed over. Let’s try the other side. Maybe the roof is weak and we can find something to build a staircase out of." Lion-O hesitated, aware that he was entering a touchy subject, but pushed ahead anyway. "What was wrong with Cheetara? I was sure that demon-thing had gotten her. How did you know she was okay?"

"The sound of her shouts," Tygra explained quietly. He looked at Cheetara who appeared to be resting. "Let’s talk about it over here," he whispered, motioning Lion-O to the other side of the cavern.

The lion nodded and the two moved close to the wall. "What do you mean? What about her shouts?"

"They were bordering on hysteria," Tygra answered softly. "If she’d been attacked by our cloaked enemy, she would have never voiced fear like that. Pain maybe, but I didn’t hear any pain in her voice. So I knew she was okay and would probably feel more comfortable with only one person going in after her. And since I’ve seen her in that situation before and knew what to expect, I figured I should be the one to go."

"But what situation? What was wrong? What got her so frightened?"

"You’re familiar enough with the different Thunderan clans. You should know the answer to that one, Lion-O," Tygra chided. "Think of exploitable weaknesses in the cheetah clans. Anything come to mind?"

Lion-O tapped the hilt of the Sword absently against a rock wall. "Oh, I see. Claustrophobia."

"Unusually extreme claustrophobia," Tygra amended. "And Cheetara has it worse than most. She’s learned to cope with it until she finds herself in the dark and alone. That’s when it comes slamming down on her. I’ve only seen her like that once before, and that was long ago on Thundera. Mutant ships were ravaging some of the mountain outposts and we were sent to defend them. When our craft was shot down, we took shelter in a cave and the mutants caused a cave-in. We were trapped for several days before help managed to get to us. And after the first day, even my company wasn’t enough to ward off her phobia." Tygra shuddered at the memory. "Panthro’s face was the first one I saw coming through the avalanche of rocks. He took one look at Cheetara and rushed her out of that cave faster than Cheetara herself could have."

"Wow," Lion-O murmured. "I guess there’s a lot about Thundera that I still need to learn."

"Don’t let it get you down," Tygra said. "You were only a cub when we left. If you want—" But his sentence remained unfinished as Tygra suddenly stopped speaking and stiffened.

Lion-O glanced at him curiously. "What?"

"Listen. Do you hear that?"

The Lord of the Thundercats cocked his head and closed his eyes. He heard Tygra move slightly, he heard Cheetara’s deep breathing echoing off the cave walls behind him, and he heard… Opening his eyes, he looked toward the one area of the cavern they had yet to explore. "It’s coming from over there."

Tygra nodded and moved cautiously in the direction of the sounds. It was hard to identify what exactly the noise was. It seemed to be something roaring, but it was a different kind of roar.

"Wait," Lion-O suddenly commanded. He lifted the Sword and the distant walls were illuminated with its glow. "There. That’s what we’re hearing."

Tygra nodded and stared in awe. A few feet from where they stood, the ground dropped away into a deep chasm. Within the chasm, water rushed through countless tunnels carved in the rock. "Why didn’t we hear it before now?" the tiger wondered.

"It’s rising," Lion-O observed. "Maybe there wasn’t enough of it a minute ago."

"Maybe." But Tygra was having other ideas. He bit his lip and backed away from the edge of the cliff. "Lion-O, does it strike you as odd that the Sword is having no problem behaving as a flashlight?"

Lion-O’s brow furrowed. "I hadn’t thought about it, but you’re right. What happened to the dampening field?"

"I think we should stick together," Tygra suggested, moving in Cheetara’s direction. "There’s something our enemy said that…well, let’s just stick together."

Eyes narrowing in annoyance, Lion-O followed Tygra to Cheetara’s side. "What did our enemy say? He hasn’t said a word to me."

"Just a second and I’ll explain." The tiger turned to Cheetara and examined her bandaged wound. "How’s the leg?"

Cheetara sighed. "I’ve lost all feeling and I can’t move it anymore."

"You’re not supposed to be moving it in the first place," Tygra scolded. He carefully removed a few of the bandages to check his makeshift block of the femoral artery. "Well, with all our bouncing around, you’re still okay."

"Good," Lion-O said. "Now what about our enemy?"

Tygra grimaced. "I was thinking about some rather interesting coincidences that have developed. When our hooded-friend was confronting the three of us, he said something that I just now remembered. He told us that Snarf was contributing to our demise. This would be after he…" Tygra paused and looked at Lion-O. The lion’s jaw tightened, but he nodded to continue. Tygra gave Lion-O a sympathetic smile and went on in a softer tone. "Well, that would have been after Snarf died. And then he said something about sifting through Snarf’s memories. He knew he had to watch out for Cheetara’s speed, and I think that’s why he went for her first. He needed to get her out of the way. The way he said it, I think he got that knowledge from Snarf."

"So when he kills someone, he has access to their memories?" Cheetara asked.

"Call it crazy, but that’s what it sounded like," Tygra answered. "And when we fell down here, you, Cheetara, were separated. How many know of your…uh…your…"

"My claustrophobia? It’s okay, Lion-O has a right to know what happened a few minutes ago."

Tygra nodded. "How many others know just how difficult that is on you and what kind of conditions will cause a panic attack?"

"I think before now, just you and Panthro." Cheetara directed her next words to Lion-O. "I had quite a few fits during childhood but since joining the Thundercats, I’ve only had one major attack of claustrophobia. It was on Thundera in a cave with Tygra."

"He told me about it," Lion-O said.

Cheetara nodded. "Yes, well, the only Thunderans still alive who remember that day are Tygra and Panthro." Cheetara suddenly stopped and turned a little pale. "Or, Panthro was one of them, I guess." She shook her head and cursed quietly.

"But that just goes to prove my point," Tygra broke in, trying to get the conversation back on track. "Snarf didn’t know how much you hated enclosed areas, but Panthro did. And we were thrown down here after Panthro’s death. This thing we’re fighting can take the memories of our friends and discover our weaknesses."

"But what about Panthro’s death?" Cheetara asked. "If that thing had access to Snarf’s memories, it should have found something that would scare Panthro. Something like bats or bugs."

"I don’t think the demon planned on killing Panthro when he did," Tygra answered quietly. "It was going for you and Panthro happened to get in the way. And Snarf didn’t really know us by our weaknesses. He knew us by our strengths. He didn’t fight side-by-side with us in battle, and so he didn’t worry about compensating for weaknesses around him. Unfortunately, Panthro knew our weaknesses implicitly."

"And now that thing knows, too," Lion-O concluded.

"It knows exactly how to attack us," Cheetara murmured.

"And the sudden appearance of water over there could mean…" Lion-O stopped and looked at Tygra.

"There’s water over there?" Cheetara asked.

But before Cheetara’s question could be answered, the ground beneath them shook again. Three sets of eyes widened as the sound of crumbling rocks came from the direction of the chasm. The roaring of the water became loud and angry. The ground shook again.

"He’s just toying with us!" Cheetara snarled.

"And he’s doing a pretty good job, too," Lion-O growled as he strained to keep his footing. The shaking intensified and the sound of falling rocks grew louder.

"We’ve got to get away from the edge!" Tygra shouted, trying vainly to stand. But the convulsing floor refused to let either tiger or lion stand, and Cheetara was completely helpless.

Lion-O grasped the Sword of Omens and aimed it at the ceiling, but before he could utter a word, the ground beneath Tygra collapsed and the tiger was thrown into the chaos of the underground river.

"TYGRA!" Cheetara screamed. She scrambled to grab him, but it was far too late. "Lion-O, he can’t swim without his whip!"

"I know!" Lion-O snapped. He scanned the water for any sign of the Thundercat, but the underground river was fast. Tygra would be far downstream by now. Lion-O’s hands tore through his mane in frustration and indecision. He had to go after Tygra, but he couldn’t leave Cheetara in the cave by herself. What did he do now?

The lion was spared the agony of the decision when another tremor ripped through the cave and the floor gave way beneath both lion and cheetah. With a startled yell, they plunged into the icy waters and were almost immediately sucked under.

"Scratch plan one," Bengali sighed as he leaned wearily against the large windows of the conference room.

"We’re not beaten until we give up," Lynx-O chastised the tiger. "And I intend to pursue this plan until a better one presents itself."

"But Lynx-O, I told you I’ve tried everything. I don’t have any more alternatives. If we’re going to contact them, it won’t be through anything I can come up with," Pumyra protested.

"You’ve tried everything?" Wiley Kat asked. "You’re sure you didn’t leave something out? Did you try everything on all of them? Maybe some of them will respond where others won’t."

"Yes, Kat, I tried every method on every Thundercat in there, even Panthro and Snarf." The puma swore softly and clenched her fists. "I tell you, there’s no way of contacting them. They can’t hear us."

"But if that scroll was right, we’ve got to warn them," Kit pressed. "Lion-O’s the only one who’ll have a weapon in Somnolar’s realm. If he kills Lion-O and then gets to the rest of us, we’re finished."

Bengali cleared his throat and moved away from the windows. "I’ve never been in favor of this plan, but what would happen if we sent someone to sleep? Would they be able to get in touch with them and tell them what they need to know?"

"I have some good news and bad news regarding that," Lynx-O answered. "The good news is that we’re safe until Somnolar finishes with our five friends. He won’t touch us until he’s been able to assimilate the others and thoroughly peruse their memories. The bad news is that the option of sending someone after them is closed to us. I had considered that, but according to the scrolls, Somnolar finishes a job before moving on to the next task."

"And if he succeeds, Lion-O and the Sword will both be gone," Kit whispered. "We won’t stand a chance."

"Well, at least we’ll be able to stay close to them," Pumyra murmured. "We can sleep here tonight, and if anything happens, we’ll be right here to help."

"If that’s what we’re going to do, then I’m going to seal the Lair for the night," Bengali declared. "I’m edgy with no one up in the control room right now."

And just as the words had the tiger’s mouth, the alarms went off, signaling a security breach at the main entrance.

After one short pause of surprise, the Thundercats took off down the hall as one, instinctively forming into a spearhead shape for an offensive thrust through the door. Weapons at the ready, they skidded around a corner and faced the now-open entrance.

And stopped.

No one was there.

Bengali took charge of the situation without a break in stride. "Kat and Snarfer, get on a computer monitor, access security cameras, and run a diagnostic. Kit, scour the halls behind us. Make sure nothing’s inside the Lair. Lynx-O, stand guard in the entrance itself and listen for any sign of intruders. Pumyra, you and I will search outside."

"Got it," the Thunderkittens and Snarfer chorused as the scurried back into the Lair.

"Be careful," Lynx-O warned.

"We will be," Pumyra responded. The day had been too odd to not be careful.

The two Thundercats eased out of the Lair as Lynx-O moved in behind them. They immediately found a packet of papers lying casually on the front steps of the Lair. Bengali scanned the surrounding jungle while Pumyra leafed through what looked like plans for something. As she hastily read the papers, she suddenly froze in shock. "Ben?"

"What?" the tiger whispered.

"Do you know what these plans are?"

Bengali shook his head. "Anything of ours?"

"No." The puma’s voice was breathless and the white tiger turned to her in concern. She didn’t meet his gaze but continued to scan the packet in her hands. "I don’t believe it, but it makes sense. That’s the one thing we haven’t tried yet."

"What is it?" Lynx-O asked from the doorway.

"The Telepathy Beam. These are the blueprints for the Telepathy Beam."

"What?" Bengali peered over Pumyra’s shoulder and started to look over the papers.

"Don’t you see? It’s the one thing we hadn’t tried because we couldn’t. We couldn’t establish psychic contact with Cheetara. We didn’t know how. But maybe this can! Maybe this way, we can tell them what they need to know before it’s too late."

"I don’t know," Bengali said doubtfully. "This is a little too much. Mumm-Ra giving us some information on Somnolar? Far-fetched, but maybe. I’ll allow for it. Mumm-Ra giving us the means to defeat him? No way. That’s going too far for the old relic."

"What’s the difference between the two?" Lynx-O argued. "Either way, Mumm-Ra is helping us to defeat one of his worst enemies. Albeit, he saves the lives of five Thundercats in the process, but he does rid himself of a potential threat to his plan for world domination."

"What about us?" Bengali shot back. "We’re a threat to world domination. Why not let Somnolar take us out and then deal with Somnolar?"

"Because Mumm-Ra will then have no one to pit against Somnolar. He’ll have lost Lion-O, the only one with a weapon bound to his soul."

Bengali shook his head. "I see what you’re getting at, but I don’t believe it. Mumm-Ra’s all-powerful. Why does he need us?"

"But he’s not all-powerful," Pumyra pointed out. "We’ve proven that before. He can be beaten. And Somnolar might be more of a threat to him than we are."

"What harm can we do by trying this one last option?" Lynx-O reasoned.

"You’re going to need me to build it," the tiger observed.

"True," Pumyra conceded.

"You know you don’t have my support with this idea."

"No, but will you do it anyway?" the puma asked. "Please, Ben? We’re running out of options."

Bengali pushed past the two Thundercats back into the Lair and hit the intercom. "Bengali to Kat or Snarfer, are you there?"

"Kat here."

"What’s the report?"

The Thunderkitten paused before responding. "I don’t pick up any specific thing opening the doors. They seemed to open up by themselves. Computers are working fine. And we’re still the only life forms in the immediate vicinity, so no intruders."

Lynx-O joined Bengali at the intercom. "Wiley Kat, what about the security cameras? Do they see anything? Can you pick up any unusual sounds?"

"There is one thing," Kat said. "While Bengali and Pumyra were exploring the front platform area, Pumyra bent down and a packet of papers seemed to materialize in her hand. The cameras don’t see it before she picks it up. I don’t know if there’s a glitch in the system or what, but, well, that’s what happened. What’s in the papers?"

"It has to be Mumm-Ra," Pumyra stated. "He must have had some kind of invisibility spell on the papers."

"He could still be fooling our systems," Bengali growled. "He might still be out there."

"If he is, what then?" Lynx-O asked. "We can do nothing about it until he chooses to act. In the meantime, why not give our fellow Thundercats one last chance at survival."

"Pardon our interruption," Snarfer broke in over the intercom, "but what do the papers say?"

Kit turned the corner at that point and wandered over. "Hallways are clear. Nothing’s been in or out that I can tell."

"Please do it, Ben," Pumyra begged.

"You’re sure no one’s here?" the tiger asked Kit.

Wiley Kit looked around, realizing she was walking into the middle of a rather tense conversation but not seeing an immediate way out of it. "As certain as I can be," she stammered.

"I guess that’ll have to do," Bengali muttered. He turned to Lynx-O and Pumyra. "Fine. You win. I’ll build the machine, but Jaga only knows what good it’s going to do. Let’s get started." The tiger turned briefly back to the intercom. "Kat and Snarfer, the two of you should meet us in sickbay. We’re going to need some equipment scavengers in a minute."

The Thundercats in the doorway turned and headed back into the Lair. Had they paused to look behind them, they would have seen two shapes detach themselves from the outside shadows and slink into the Lair after the Thundercats.