Lion-O felt the blade whistle just above his back as he dove out of the way. "I’m warning you," Mumm-Ra roared. "Stand still or it will be Pumyra’s head that falls."

"Let her go," Lion-O pleaded. "I’ll cooperate if you let Lynx-O and Pumyra go."

"Is that a promise?" Mumm-Ra asked.

Before Lion-O could answer, the communication screen suddenly flipped on. "Lion-O? Are you there? Snarfer, snarfer, I couldn’t find Snarf but I—" Snarfer stopped short as he saw Mumm-Ra with a lifeless Pumyra dangling from his hand and Lion-O sprawled on the floor before him. From the corner, Lynx-O groaned.

"Ahhh, Snarfer. I’m glad you could witness this," Mumm-Ra said as he turned to the screen. Lion-O scrambled out of the way but made no move to reclaim the Sword of Omens, which hung from Mumm-Ra’s belt.

"Snarfer, seal off the Lair. No matter what happens here, seal off the Lair and don’t let anyone in until the others get back from Lotari," Lion-O ordered.

"But I don’t want to stay here alone with Ma-Mutt. He stinks. And how will he be walked?"

"WHAT!?" Mumm-Ra raged.

Lion-O immediately perked up, seeing an out. "Say that again Snarfer."

"Like I was telling you, I couldn’t find Snarf so I brought Ma-Mutt back instead. I figured we could use him as a bargaining piece."

Mumm-Ra was literally fuming. He dropped Pumyra and started toward the screen. "Listen, you little pipsqueak," he hissed. "You let my dog go or I’ll—"

"You’ll do nothing, Mumm-Ra," Lion-O interrupted. He had pulled Pumyra out of the way. "Sword of Omens, come to my hand!" The Sword flew through the air into its owner’s outstretched palm. "If you want to see your pet again, I suggest you give Snarf back."

Mumm-Ra turned and glowered at Lion-O. "You’re playing a very dangerous game, Thundercat," he warned.

Lynx-O groaned and sat up. "Lion-O! What’s going on?"

"A little game of cat and mouse," Lion-O said. "What’ll it be, Mumm-Ra? Ma-Mutt or us? If Snarfer seals the Lair, you’ll never get inside."

"How dare you threaten me, the ever-living servant of evil!"

"Come on, what’s Snarf to you? You have no use for him," Lion-O reasoned.

Lynx-O had found Pumyra and was reviving her. "Ma-Mutt is your only companion, Mumm-Ra," Lynx-O said. "I don’t think you want to lose him."

Mumm-Ra lashed out in fury, but Lion-O countered with the Sword. "This isn’t helping," Lion-O warned. "You’re going to lose Ma-Mutt."

Mumm-Ra roared in rage. "All right! You win, Thundercat. I will send you Snarf. Let me have Ma-Mutt."

Lion-O laughed. "We’re not that stupid. Get Snarf first. Then we’ll trade."

Mumm-Ra hesitated. "He’s with the Lunatacs."

"What?"

"He’s with the Lunatacs," Mumm-Ra repeated. "Get him yourself."

"How did you get him over to the Lunatacs?" Pumyra asked weakly. By now she was sitting up but not feeling quite up to par.

"When they landed for water," Lynx-O said suddenly. "This afternoon, they landed for water. Is that when you made the transfer?"

Mumm-Ra nodded. "He’s in Skytomb. I’m not going to request him back. If you want him, get him yourselves."

"You realize you won’t get Ma-Mutt back until we have Snarf safely with us," Lion-O told him.

Mumm-Ra growled. "Very well, Thundercats. I will get you your precious Snarf. Meet me outside Cat’s Lair tonight. I’ll bring Snarf then." Mumm-Ra stormed past Lion-O and out the door.

"Can he be trusted?" Pumyra asked.

"No," Lion-O answered. "But I don’t see another way. Without the Feliner and with only the three of us, four counting Snarfer, we can’t take on the Lunatacs in Skytomb. They’d have to come to us."

"They still might come to us," Lynx-O observed.

"More than likely," Lion-O agreed. "Let’s get over to the lair."

"We’re almost there," Wiley Kat whispered.

Bengali grunted and swung Tygra down from his shoulders. He checked his friend’s vital signs. Sighing, he shook his head. "I’m worried about him. That electric shock shouldn’t have knocked him out for this long."

"Is he okay?" Kat asked.

"I don’t know. He seems okay, but he’s still unconscious. And that mind block’s in effect. Justry did say something about the chair giving him a really large dose…" Bengali trailed off.

"Maybe we should have looked for the antidote," Kat said.

"No," Bengali answered. "No, you were right. There was no time. We barely got out of there. And we’re still missing Kit. Will she join us at the Feliner?"

Kat scratched his head. "The plan was all kind of impromptu, but that’s where she’ll probably head if she can separate from the guards."

"Let’s find the Feliner," Bengali decided. "We’ll leave Tygra here until we know exactly what it’ll take to get to Panthro and Cheetara. He should be safe enough."

Kat nodded and began to move through the dense forest again. Bengali followed him. After a while, Kat stopped and looked around. "Wait a second," he hissed. He quickly scampered up a tree. After a few minutes, he returned. "I can’t see the Feliner."

"What?"

"I can’t see the Feliner. It’s the same clearing because I recognize the tree Kit and I climbed to sneak past the guards. But the Feliner isn’t there anymore."

"Where could it be?" Bengali asked.

"I don’t know. Do you want to look closer? I couldn’t see any guards."

Bengali thought for a minute. Time was of the essence. It wouldn’t be long before the ocelots found them. But they needed to find Panthro and Cheetara. "All right, but let’s be careful."

The two crept closer and closer to the clearing. Kat pointed. "Those are the Feliner’s tracks," he hissed. "That’s where we landed."

Bengali looked and could see the grooves in the grass. "But it’s not there anymore. Would Cheetara and Panthro have taken it somewhere?"

"Not if we were missing," Kat answered. "And I don’t think the ocelots would have let them."

"They must have been taken prisoner, then. That’s the only explanation."

Kat looked at Bengali curiously. "How do you get that?"

"Think about it. The four of you come to Lotari. Shortly following that, the two most hated prisoners on Lotari escape."

"I see," Kat interrupted grimly. "They suspect that you were aided in your escape and the culprits were the Thundercats. Which is partly true. But Panthro and Cheetara had nothing to do with it."

"The ocelots aren’t going to consider that," Bengali muttered.

"Now what are we going to do?" Kat asked.

Bengali rubbed his forehead. "Tygra needs medical attention. I can’t do anything for him in the woods. And we need to find a way to convince the ocelots that we’re innocent. We need to meet back up with Wiley Kit. We need to rescue Panthro and Cheetara. We need to find the Feliner." He looked up at Wiley Kat. "Where do you want to start?"

"We’re going to need help," Kat answered.

Bengali nodded. "Justry. Justry can help us. Tygra convinced him of something the other day. I don’t know how, but I know he’s changed his opinion of us. He can help us. We need to find him."

"Justry is your defense attorney, right?"

"Yeah, he is. Let’s wait for Kit and then find Justry. He might have some information, too. Right now, there are just too many things we don’t know."

Had Panthro not been chained to a wall, he would have paced. But as he was chained to a wall, he found other things to do. Mental pacing became a form of exercise. Since being put in this cell and firmly shackled, he had seen no one. He wondered what Cheetara was doing. Probably the same thing he was. Fighting boredom and trying to figure out what was going on.

What was going on? He could understand that there were hard feelings between the ocelots and the tigers. He could understand that the ocelots would be upset with the death of their ruler. He could understand how their anger would be fueled by the idea that tigers were responsible for the murder. These were not difficult concepts. But what was difficult were the things that had happened since reaching Lotari. Something was wrong, but Panthro couldn’t identify exactly what. Their evidence they submitted had been denied. But any beginning computer student could have proved that the Feliner’s logs had been falsified. It just didn’t make any sense.

And then there had been the protective custody. Something about that wasn’t right either. When they had first ventured into town, there had been some strange looks, but the ocelots didn’t seem terribly angry with them. In fact, his first impressions of the ocelots had been quite favorable. Aside from the fact that they held Tygra and Bengali custody, they had appeared to be a levelheaded tribe of Thunderans. And the Thundercats were quite capable of taking care of themselves. Not only that, but the Feliner was parked a mile outside the main city in dense forest. Or, it had been there. It was now somewhere in the palace hangers. So why the protective custody? All it had done was prevented the Thundercats from moving about freely.

Panthro pulled against his chains, but they held tight. Something was wrong with the government. Ever since landing on Lotari, they had been under heavy government surveillance. And to quote Celotta, it was "for their own protection." But there had been nothing on Lotari remotely dangerous except for the government. The government seemed to be the only thing they needed protection from.

The turning of a key in the locked door caught Panthro’s attention. The heavy metal door swung open and five ocelot guards entered. Two assumed positions near the door, two took hold of Panthro’s arms, and one proceeded to unchain him. "Don’t try anything, panther," one of the guards warned. "We have unpleasant ways of dealing with insubordination."

The warning was unnecessary, as Panthro had already ruled out escape as an option. He allowed himself to be firmly escorted out of his cell. Ahead in the hallway, he could see Cheetara receiving similar treatment. The guards propelled him forward and he stumbled, trying to regain his balance.

He was directed into a room where Cheetara had just been chained into a restraining chair. Her guards were leaving the room. Panthro was pushed into a similar chair and felt the cold clamps lock around his wrist and forearms. The guards exited and the two Thundercats were left alone in the room.

"How are they treating you?" Cheetara asked.

"I haven’t been mistreated," Panthro answered. "But I could say a thing or two about their interior decorating. Maybe they could do something about this gloom and doom atmosphere."

"This room isn’t bad," Cheetara commented. The room in which they sat was completely white. It was a little disorienting but still a welcome change from the darkness of the dungeon cells. "Any thoughts on what they want with us?"

Panthro shrugged. "I don’t think the ocelots as a whole have anything to fear from us. In fact, I would be surprised if the majority of ocelots know Bengali and Tygra escaped. I think something in the government is what we really need to watch."

"My thoughts exactly," Cheetara agreed. "This entire ordeal has been one big government cover-up after another. So what do we do about it?"

"What can we do about it?"

The door to their room suddenly swung open, startling both Thundercats. Celotta and an escort of honor guards entered. Panthro tested his bonds, but there was no weakening in the steel that held him firmly to his chair. Celotta positioned herself imperiously before them.

"Well. I never thought I’d see the day when the Thundercats would betray us," she started.

"How have we betrayed you?" Cheetara demanded.

"Still playing innocent? Very well then, let’s begin with Bengali and Tygra’s escape. Or maybe your false evidence you tried to submit for the trial. It might be a little far-fetched, but I’m beginning to think that even Traun’s murder was not the act of two individuals."

"You want to talk about betrayal, let’s talk about your betrayal of the ocelots. The people you’re pledged to guide and protect," Panthro shot back.

Celotta’s eyes flamed. "Explain yourself," she said with a dangerous edge in her voice.

"Ever since we arrived, you’ve been keeping us away from the other ocelots. Why? What’s so dangerous? Do you fear that we might actually sway them to believe in justice rather than blind vengeance? What’s your relation in all this anyway? How much aren’t you telling us?" Panthro struggled against his bindings.

"How dare you!" Celotta’s eyes were flashing with anger. "How dare you accuse me of such things. I never wanted to see the ancient feud continued." She leaned close to Panthro. "Listen closely, Thundercat. I’m giving your friends until tomorrow’s sundown to turn themselves in. Otherwise, I’m afraid you won’t live to see them hunted down anyway. And you, cheetah." She turned to Cheetara. "The same goes for you. Let’s hope the murderers value your lives more than they valued Traun’s." With a final look at the stunned Thundercats, she swept out of the room taking her guards with her.

Panthro and Cheetara stared at each other. "Now what?"

Wiley Kit swung down from her perch on a low branch. She still had the feeling she was being followed, but couldn’t see anything behind her. And yet, since finally leaving the guards searching vainly around the castle walls for Tygra and Bengali, she hadn’t been able to shake the sense that someone was on to her. She had taken great care when disposing of her guard cloak and she still wore the brown cloak. But there was something in the woods that told her she wasn’t alone.

She landed in a crouch and continued to peer behind her. Nothing moved. Trying to convince herself that it was only her imagination, she continued on her hunt for the Feliner. She knew what general direction it was and she had begun to recognize parts of the trail. But her uneasiness had caused her to leave the trail several times and try to find whatever was following her. She always managed to come back to the path, but the journey had become increasingly time-consuming.

She started a swift jog. While she would never come close to rivaling Cheetara, Wiley Kit was fairly quick on her feet in her own rights. She hoped that whoever was trailing her would be forced into revealing themselves if they tried to keep up. And the trail was clear enough that she could pick up her speed. Of course, that also meant fewer obstacles for her stalker. But there were still plenty of dry twigs on the ground to crunch. She kept her ears peeled.

Though she didn’t hear anything, the feeling of pursuit was gradually fading away. She pushed herself to faster speeds. Five minutes of grueling speed and she suddenly plunged into the clearing that had once held the Feliner. Skidding to a halt, she quickly backed up into the safety of the trees. The clearing was empty.

Wondering if she had the wrong meadow, Kit looked around for something that would tell her otherwise. She soon identified the landing marks of the Feliner and familiar trees. Bewildered, Kit began to circle the meadow from the trees. Unless she was completely off her mark, Kat would have also tried to get back to the Feliner. Maybe he was around somewhere, too. Kat would know what to do.

And that’s when she heard it. The definitive snap of a twig as it was stepped on. Pivoting quickly, Kit searched the bushes behind her. Nothing. She held completely still and listened for more sounds. But when she heard the next sound, she wasn’t fast enough to react to it. The bushes were suddenly parted behind her and strong arms seized her, a hand firmly clamping itself on her mouth.

"Don’t make a sound!" a voice hissed in her ear. She was released and spun around to face her attacker. She found an ocelot in a black cloak eyeing her warily.

"Who are you?" she whispered.

"My name is Justry. I’m searching for your friends. Do you know where they are?"

Kit hesitated. "Why should I trust you?"

"Because if you don’t, Tygra won’t last another hour without losing his sanity, and Panthro and Cheetara will be executed tomorrow night."

Kit stared at the stranger. "And how do you know us?"

"Bengali and Tygra might have mentioned me. I am—was—their defense attorney."

Kit thought back to her two conversations with the tigers and recalled someone by the name of Justry. "Okay, but how do I know you’re the right Justry?"

"You don’t," the ocelot responded in exasperation. "But I know you, Wiley Kit, and if I wanted to, a shrill whistle would bring all the guards in this forest down on us. I could easily turn you over and collect a rather hefty reward. But I’m not. Why?"

"Because you want all of us at once."

"There is a time for caution and a time for action. Now is not the time for caution. I’m warning you, Tygra will not last another hour without the antidote for his mental block. He’s overdosed on it. Trust me. There’s only one of me and I have all the faith in the world that Bengali can take me out if he needs to. Please! You must trust me."

There was something in that plea that caught Kit’s attention. "Okay," she finally said. "But I don’t know where they are. This is where the Feliner was, and Kat would have tried to come back here unless they were stopped. But I don’t know where he’ll be now."

"Then let’s look," Justry said.

Kit adjusted her hood and led the way around the meadow. She began to swing a wide circle. If Kat were somewhere near, he wouldn’t be close to the meadow. He would be cautious and be as far away as possible while still being in sight.

After a few minutes of tense silence, Kit’s ears caught the sound of scuffling above her in the trees. She looked up but couldn’t see anything. Justry saw her pause and did likewise, using his knowledge of stealth to try and search out the source of the sound. He saw a flash of black and white diving through the branches. "Kit!" he warned.

Kit saw it but was too late to do anything about it. The falling mass hit her hard and she went rolling. Justry felt himself seized. His hood slipped back and the attack abruptly stopped. "Justry?" Justry found himself looking into the bright blue eyes of a very confused white tiger. "What are you doing here?"

A brown-cloaked Thunderkitten jumped down from another tree. "Who’s this?"

"My name is Justry," the ocelot answered. He turned to Bengali. "Where is Tygra?"

"Back over there," Bengali said, pointing. Justry hurried off. "What’s going on?"

Bengali caught up to Justry as they reached Tygra. Justry hastily pulled out a hypodermic needle and arranged Tygra’s arm. "I just hope I’m not too late," he muttered. He quickly injected Tygra and stepped back, waiting.

"What’s going on?" Bengali asked again with a warning tone in his voice.

"When I heard what happened, I did some very quick investigating. There’s a lot going on that we aren’t prepared to deal with. But Tygra’s mental block from the chair was a very heavy one. He had to be released from it or risk losing his sanity. Has he been unconscious since the electric shock?" Bengali nodded. "It’s because of the block," Justry continued. "It’s too big for Tygra to deal with. Hopefully, I got to him on time."

Kat soon appeared assisting a dazed Wiley Kit. "You really need to stop attacking my sister," Kat told Bengali.

"You were the one who signaled me to drop," Bengali argued.

"It’s okay," Kit said, trying to calm her brother. "I kind of had it coming, sneaking up on you guys like that."

Justry was ignoring all of this. His main focus was Tygra. The news he had gathered was disturbing and the actions of a few individuals had set him on edge. From what he had observed, Tygra had an exceptionally keen mind. If he was to make sense of the madness, he needed Tygra’s help. "Come on, Tygra," he silently urged. "You can pull through."

As if on cue, Tygra’s eyelids fluttered. Justry gently shook his shoulder. Slowly, Tygra opened his eyes all the way. He saw the last of the sunlight streaming down through the trees. He saw Justry’s concerned face watching him for signs of madness. He saw Bengali and the Thunderkittens arguing over something. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. "We made it," he whispered.

"Tygra?" It was Justry’s soft voice that beckoned. "I need you to give me a response. Any kind of response. Are you okay?"

Tygra opened his eyes again and started to sit up again. "Yeah, I think so." He absently rubbed his head. The last real memory he had was struggling in the chair and then casting an image in the corner. Then had come terrible pain followed by swirling madness. Even now, it made him uneasy to think about that darkness. It had a tangibility that gave him shivers. "We’re out of prison. We actually escaped."

"Not quite," Justry amended. "But it’s a relief to know that your mind is still with us."

"Tygra?" This time it Bengali’s gruff tone that called his name.

"Yes, I’m okay," Tygra answered before the questions could start. He turned back to Justry. "But I don’t understand what you’re doing here."

"It’s kind of a long story wrapped into one short afternoon."

"Maybe we’d better hear this story."

Justry watched Tygra carefully. "What made you decide to escape? You knew the probable consequences. I’ll tell you now that the only reason you made it was the unforeseen intervention of the Thunderkittens. Why? What made you do it?"

"The realization that the trial was merely a hoax and a large conspiracy was taking place in the government," Tygra said evenly. "Something I believe you knew about."

Justry shook his head. "I only suspected."

"How in the world did you figure out there was a conspiracy and what are we talking about?" Bengali demanded.

Tygra looked at Justry expectantly. Justry sighed and nodded. "Okay. You’d better sit down, Bengali. This is going to take a while."

"He’s not here yet, snarfer, snarfer." Snarfer impatiently paced the smooth floor of Cat’s Lair. "Where could he be?"

"If it’s all the same to you, Snarfer, I’m kind of glad he hasn’t shown up yet," Lion-O answered.

"Every second he delays is another second we have to prepare," Pumyra added.

"Prepare against what? All he wants is Ma-Mutt," Snarfer asserted.

"And us," Lynx-O amended. "We are Mumm-Ra’s most hated enemies. We bear the brunt of his anger. This is something we can never forget. And in harmony with this idea, we must prepare for the worst."

"Lynx-O, take a look at this," Pumyra spoke up.

Lynx-O tapped in with his Braille board. "I think this means trouble. Lion-O, Skytomb just landed outside Mumm-Ra’s pyramid."

Lion-O thought for a minute. "Mumm-Ra did mention that the Lunatacs were the ones holding Snarf hostage."

"He did, but he said nothing about the Ice Cutter being necessary, too," Lynx-O stated.

"We’re prepared," Lion-O said. "We can handle whatever comes along."

"Of course," Lynx-O agreed somewhat sarcastically. "Snarfer, would you assist me in something?"

"Sure," Snarfer answered. The two left the room.

Lion-O checked the scanners again. The faint blip that was the Ice Runner had begun moving toward Cat’s Lair. "Looks like we’re going to have company," he commented.

"I don’t remember inviting the Lunatacs," Pumyra said.

"They usually invite themselves," Lion-O retorted.

"This time, we’re prepared for them," Pumyra said, trying to reassure herself.

Lion-O sighed. "I’m beginning to wonder if we’ve ever been prepared for anything. Or will ever be prepared."

"Lion-O!" Mumm-Ra hollered from beyond the drawbridge. "I have come as we agreed."

Lion-O cautiously stepped outside Cat’s Lair. Lynx-O and Pumyra were both hiding in the shadows, ready to back him up. Snarfer was around somewhere, too. "Where’s Snarf?" Lion-O called.

Mumm-Ra stepped to the side. Snarf lay behind him, securely bound and gagged. He was struggling and looked like he was trying to say something, but it was a very effective gag. "And my dog?" Mumm-Ra asked.

Lion-O stepped back into Cat’s Lair and picked up the bound Ma-Mutt. He emerged again and started walking toward Mumm-Ra. On the steps of the Lair, he stopped. "Hand over Snarf and I’ll release Ma-Mutt."

"I don’t think so," Mumm-Ra objected. "We’ll trade at the same time."

Lion-O had known it would come down to this. It meant that he would have to cross the drawbridge to Mumm-Ra’s side. He also knew the Lunatacs were over there waiting, hiding. But he didn’t have a lot of control on the situation. He noted that Mumm-Ra had the Sword of Plun-Darr out and ready. Drawing the Sword of Omens, Lion-O began to walk toward the mummy.

When ten feet separated them, Lion-O stopped again. "Now what?"

Mumm-Ra stepped away from Snarf. "Put Ma-Mutt down. I will retrieve him and you will retrieve Snarf."

Lion-O prepared himself for anything. Mumm-Ra was being entirely too cooperative. But he couldn’t see any other way to resolve the situation. Sword extended and ready, he put Ma-Mutt down and eased away from him. Mumm-Ra edged away from Snarf. They both continued moving until they were close to their prospective targets. Then Mumm-Ra made a dive for Ma-Mutt while Lion-O leaped to Snarf and released his gag.

"It’s a trap!" Snarf hollered. "Get out of here, Lion-O!"

Lion-O didn’t really need a warning, as he had already spotted Amok suddenly charging out of the bushes in front of him. Cutting Snarf’s bonds, he scooped the snarf up and made a beeline for the Lair. Pumyra and Lynx-O were already outside, ready to aid their leader.

"You can’t run, Thundercat," Chilla hissed. Fire flew over Lion-O’s head. Tossing Snarf in the general direction of safety, Lion-O whirled and hoisted the Sword. Chilla’s ice breath nearly caught him as he did so, but Lynx-O leaped in front of him with his light shield. Pumyra’s marbles flew through the air and knocked Chilla backwards.

"Get them, Lunatacs!" Mumm-Ra ordered as he cradled Ma-Mutt.

Amok and Luna charged right into Lynx-O catching him off guard and knocking him to the ground. Lion-O was on them immediately, forcing them back from the fallen Thundercat. Alluro tossed his psyche club toward Lion-O, who saw it coming and repelled it with a blast from the Sword of Omens. Luna screamed at him and sent Amok racing toward him.

Red Eye shot a bolt of electricity at Pumyra who neatly flipped over that and toward him. Red Eye couldn’t react fast enough and Pumyra was soon behind him. A hard kicked knocked him forward. But TugMug had taken advantage of this. His gravity carbine fired and Pumyra barely got out of the way. Lynx-O, recovered from his encounter with Amok, leaped to her aid.

Snarfer had dragged his shaking uncle into the safety of Cat’s Lair. "Don’t worry, Unc! Lynx-O has a great plan, yep. I helped."

"Well, snaaarrrfff, you’d better do something quick! I think we’re losing."

"Ten years ago, when Traun first came to power, there was a minority push to seek vengeance on the tigers," Justry began. "It was led by Traun’s younger brothers who felt honor-bound to avenge their ancestor Spotrol. Traun tried to ignore it and most of the people were content enough to let things slide. But this movement began to grow to dangerous and was starting to engage in acts of terrorism." Justry sighed. "Traun vowed that if there was to be blood again between ocelots and tigers, the tigers would have to be the ones to start it. Traun didn’t want to be responsible for more of it. But his younger brothers were mounting so much opposition that they could no longer be ignored. They either had to be appeased or stopped. Traun decided to stop them."

"What exactly where the ocelots calling for?" Bengali asked.

"A return to Thundera and the extermination of the tigers who banished us," Justry said softly. "It wasn’t something the average ocelot wanted. As a people, we still harbored anger over our exile, but Lotari was our home now and we loved it, too. But then there were Spotrol’s descendents. A lot of them called for vengeance and retribution."

"How did Traun try and stop them?" Wiley Kit asked.

"He started to declare some of their activities illegal, hoping that would break the group up. When it didn’t, he started propaganda for the peaceful acceptance of our exile. That backfired on him. More began to join with Spotrol’s Children, as they were calling themselves. Ultimately, he just declared the group a criminal organization and started to round them all up. Needless to say, there was quite a bit of resistance to this."

"How successful was this ‘round up’?" Tygra questioned.

"It wasn’t," Justry answered. "Ultimately, all it did was force the group underground. For a while, it seemed to work. Especially when Traun had his own brothers imprisoned and executed. There’s no question that Spotrol’s Children had a problem with morale after that one. But even then, they hung on and continued to recruit. But now they were nowhere near as powerful as they were earlier. They had lost their most powerful and influential leaders. There didn’t seem to be a way to regain them. At least, that’s how it looked. Recent events are leading me to believe otherwise."

"They now have powerful members," Tygra concluded.

"Exactly." Justry fell silent.

Bengali began to get impatient again. "Maybe I’m just not seeing things clearly, but how are we arriving at these conclusions?"

"Wait," Wiley Kat spoke up. "When we infiltrated the prison to go after you and Tygra, we were assigned to escort you back to your cells. But we wouldn’t have been if we didn’t give the gate guard a password. I heard the guard in front of me say ‘Spotrol’ and so I said it. But I was told to be quiet because not everyone knew of the group and they needed to lay low until the trial was over. And they assumed Kit and I were new recruits."

"So members of Spotrol’s Children must have always been guarding the two of you," Kit announced.

"None of which proves high government involvement," Bengali argued. "We may be working with something Celotta can fix."

"Not if the corruption goes very high. If Celotta is counseled by Spotrol’s Children or the army is run by Spotrol’s Children, she has very little control. And the people are not overly fond of her. They won’t rush to the rescue. And from what I’ve seen," Justry said, "this corruption is high. You remember that evidence your friends brought? I found it earlier today. And it’s completely accurate. And I also found the original tapes from the security cameras. You’re not in them. But according to the government, none of this evidence is accurate. And instead of reasons, they give only vague responses. I’ve never been able to meet with your friends. That’s something else that should have been allowed. There’s no doubt that Spotrol’s Children are controlling things."

"What else can you tell us about this group?" Tygra asked.

"Not much," Justry said sadly. "They work secretly and it’s difficult to find anything reliable about them."

"We’ve been having that problem a lot, lately," Bengali commented.

"I can tell you they have a lot of secret research going. The mind block was something they developed. Celotta decided to take advantage of it. The chair they put you in, Tygra, was another product of Spotrol’s Children."

"So they have weapons which will exploit my mental powers," Tygra summarized. "What about Bengali? What can they use against him?"

"To tell the truth, I don’t think they considered the white tigers as a real threat. Their determination and skill in battle are well known, but for that, Spotrol’s children simply enhanced stealth techniques. And added the strategies of strike first before your opponent knows you’re there, things like that."

"Anything else?" Wiley Kat asked. Justry shook his head.

Wiley Kit suddenly remembered something Justry had said to her. "Excuse me, but when you first found me, you said something about Cheetara and Panthro."

"Right," Justry confirmed. "They’re being held prisoner in the palace. And if the four of you don’t surrender, they’re going to be killed tomorrow night."

"There’s got to be something wrong with that under interstellar law," Kat protested.

But Tygra shook his hand. "Actually, if the ocelots can prove they aided our escape, the ocelots have all the right to prosecute them. And if that means death, well, that’s what it means."

"So what’s the plan?" Kit asked.

"Free them," Bengali said simply.

"Not so fast," Justry objected. "You can’t just walk into the palace like that."

"What else can we do?" Tygra asked.

"I don’t have an answer for you," Justry said. "But they’ll be waiting for you to do something just like that. And when you do, they’ll be ready for you. And Celotta will be exploited again. I don’t think she realizes what’s happening."

"But we do," Bengali argued. "And since there isn’t an alternative, we have to act. Thundercats don’t abandon each other."

"Are you with us?" Tygra asked.

Justry rubbed his head in frustration. "I don’t think you realize what you’re doing. But I’m with you, for better or worse. Let’s storm the palace."

Panthro’s back protested as he was thrown roughly into the steel-restraining chair. The guards left the room and he looked over at Cheetara. "Why are you looking so smug?"

"Because I’m optimistic about our chances," she answered vaguely.

"What chances?"

"Guess who we’re about to meet with."

Panthro growled. "I’ve been doing nothing but guessing since we first got here. If I have to do any more guessing and speculation, I’m going to go nuts."

Cheetara laughed, though Panthro really couldn’t see what was so funny. "Okay, don’t guess. I’ll just tell you and ruin the surprise. We’re meeting with Mandora to go over what rights the ocelots have to keep us here."

The panther stared at her. "What good is that going to do?"

"We might find a way to convince her to do some investigation on her own. All she’s going on is Control’s assertion that everything checks out and the ocelots are well within their rights. But they aren’t. You can see that, I can see that, and if Mandora sees that, we’ll turn the tide of hatred."

"Oh," Panthro responded. "Just how did you manage this meeting? I’m surprised Celotta agreed with it, as angry as she is right now."

"She didn’t," Cheetara said. "Her cousin Stealon did. I managed to get one of the guards to deliver the message to him."

"How do you know who Stealon is and why is he important?"

"Do you remember the first day we were here and we left the Thunderkittens alone with the Feliner? That’s when I met him. I remembered him because if something were to happen to Celotta, something like what happened to Traun, he would be next in line. And he struck me as a fair Thunderan."

"And he set up this meeting with Mandora?"

"That’s what the guard said," Cheetara replied.

At that point, Mandora entered the room. She was looking faintly flustered. Things were probably happening too quickly for her liking and being so far away from Control, she had quite a bit of jurisdiction she usually didn’t have. "What do you want, Thundercats?" she asked without prelude.

"Under what law can the ocelots hold us here?" Cheetara shot back.

Mandora continued looking slightly flustered. "A certain interpretation of clause 3 in the Interstellar Criminal Rights Act and the application of standard custody laws can be used to justify their actions."

"Can be," Cheetara said, leaping on Mandora’s hesitation. "But don’t always. Why not always?"

"Rivalries," Mandora answered. "They are sometimes abused.

"And this doesn’t look like an abuse?" Panthro demanded.

"Mandora," Cheetara said calmly, smoothing over Panthro’s interruption. "Look around you. Think of the traditions of the Thundercats. Would we be responsible for aiding the escape of Bengali and Tygra if there wasn’t cause for it? There is corruption in the government. Take a closer look at the evidence. Look at the evidence we brought to counter it. And then tell me you don’t see it, too."

"It would appear we have nothing to talk about," Mandora answered shortly. "Unless you have anything of substance to discuss, I will leave."

"This isn’t justice, Mandora. You’re chasing the wrong evil, Evil Chaser," Cheetara pleaded. "Just take another look at the issues. You’ll see."

Mandora started to leave the room. Halfway through the door she stopped. "I can’t give you what you ask for. Legally, I can’t release you. But I will look into things." And with that, she left.

Cheetara gave Panthro a large grin. "See? What did I tell you?"

"From what I can see," Panthro answered, "we aren’t out of the fire yet."

Kit and Kat had made short work of the hidden video cameras that watched the outer walls. Now Bengali was slowly melting his way through with his hammer. Along with the antidote, Justry had also managed to get Bengali’s hammer and Tygra’s whip. Tygra was already invisible and over the wall, making sure Bengali didn’t attract unwanted attention and dealing with the few guards that decided to investigate. It had given Justry a chill to watch the Thundercat vanish. The horror stories about tigers and their mental powers had left a scar in the hearts of the ocelots that nothing would ever quite erase.

After a long thirty minutes, Bengali squeezed his way through the hole in the wall. Tygra became visible as the other followed. "They’re making rounds every ten minutes," he whispered. "I’m afraid those three might be missed in a while." He indicated some unconscious guards off to the side.

"We’ll have to chance it," Bengali hissed back. "We’ve come too far now."

Tygra nodded. "Where now, Justry?"

Justry thought for a moment. "I suppose it depends on what you want to do. If you want to free the others and fight the ocelots here on Lotari, I say let’s go find them and get out of here. But if you want to get away from Lotari, which is something I recommend, you’re going to need the Feliner. That’s parked in the back of the palace. And there won’t be much time to get it ready for flight after you rescue the Thundercats. I would suggest splitting up."

"If we split up," Wiley Kat asked softly, "how will we find each other again?"

"Can you get us to the Feliner?" Tygra asked Justry. Justry nodded. "Okay," Tygra said. "Here’s the plan. Justry, Kit, and Kat will search for Panthro and Cheetara. Bengali and I will warm up the Feliner and clear a runway. We’ll hold it for you and wait for Panthro and Cheetara. After that, we’re out of here."

"If the three of us are searching for your friends, it’s easiest if we split up now. The Feliner isn’t hard to find. Just around back, you’ll see some really large doors. Through them is the garage. But don’t go in that way. You’ll set off every alarm in the palace. There’s a side door on this side of the palace toward the back that shouldn’t be alarmed, though it will be guarded. Go in that way and then just keep veering right. If nothing else, you’ll hear the noise of the shuttle bay and there are windows. You’ll be able to see in."

Bengali and Tygra nodded. "Let’s go," Bengali whispered.

"We’ll wait for you. Good luck," Tygra said. The two tigers disappeared into the night.

"All right, Thunderkittens. Let’s get going," Justry said. Neither Thunderkitten was cloaked. They wanted mobility that the cloaks would have hampered.

Justry led the way through the palace gardens quietly. They saw a few guards, but the guards weren’t paying much attention to details and didn’t notice the three trespassers. After a while as they approached the walls of the palace itself, Justry stopped them and pointed. "See that window? That’s a window on a spiral staircase. If I’m right, your friends will be in the basement and that stair leads to it."

"How are we going to get up there?" Kat whispered. The window was on the second story.

"Like we got past the guards in the clearing," Kit said unexpectedly. "The garden trees. We can climb them and jump to the window’s ledge."

"Good," Justry approved. "Come on, up this tree." The ocelot and the Thunderkittens scampered up the tree and eased out onto on of its branches that ran by the window.

Kit took the lead. Keeper her balance as the branch began to sway under her weight, she moved as far out as she dared and gauged the distance. The jump was not too far. Gathering herself, she sprang for the window and landed perfectly on the ledge. Quickly peering inside, she waved back. "The coast is clear," she hissed at them. She jumped down onto the stairs so others would have a chance to land on the window.

Kat sailed in next. He jumped down and moved away as Justry followed him, slipping a little on the ledge but getting inside. Justry motioned them closer. "We’re going to have to be extremely careful," he said in a voice that could scarcely be heard. "On the first level, these stairs pass next to the guards’ quarters. They use this stairway to move between floors."

"How do you know so much about the castle?" Kat asked.

Justry hesitated for a moment. "Celotta had a sister. She and I were—close. She died a long time ago. I used to come over and spend time with her in the castle." Justry shook his head. "That was years ago. Let’s go."

Very carefully, the kittens descended the stairway, following Justry’s cautious lead. They reached the first floor and Justry motioned the kittens against the wall. He examined the door leading onto the main floor of the palace. Nothing moved. He quickly waved the kittens past him. They continued their descent.

Upon reaching the first sublevel, Justry paused again. "Now I’m not sure of the layout," he confessed to the kittens. "I usually didn’t come down here. The cells aren’t laid out in any particular order. We’re just going to have to resort to old-fashioned searching."

"Then let’s start searching," Kit said, getting impatient.

"Right," Justry muttered. "Follow me."

He eased out of the stairs and into a corridor. The kittens followed him. About twenty feet down the hall, it split. "Which way?" Kat asked. No one was in sight either way.

"I don’t know," Justry whispered. "But we need to stay together. Let’s try this way," he said, pointing to the left. They had only gone a few feet when they heard someone cry out behind them. Coming down the right-hand fork of the hall was a troop of four guards.

"You there! Stop!" The guards started running toward the three.

"Run!" Justry ordered, shoving the Thunderkittens forward. The three raced forward while one of the guards behind them hit an alarm. Other guard began pouring into the hallway. Justry darted down a different hall. "We’ve got to find some stairs," he panted.

"Won’t they close them off?" Kat asked.

"If we get there first, that won’t be a problem," was Justry’s answer.

Guards suddenly appeared in front of them. Pursuit had almost caught them. "Smoke them!" Kit shouted. Kat immediately threw smoke bombs behind them. Kit tossed some in front. The three continued to race forward into the black smoke. Kit felt a guard’s hand seize her wrist. Kicking out blindly, she connected and continued. "Kit!" Kat suddenly hissed in her ear. He grabbed her shoulders. "This way!" He shoved her into what felt like another room. The smoke was thinner and Kit could make out what seemed to be supplies. Kat propelled Kit toward a large flour barrel. "Get inside," he ordered. He popped himself into a barrel next to Kit’s. She jumped inside, buried herself in the flour, managed to hold back a sneeze, and waited.

The commotion outside was beginning to diminish as the smoke cleared out and the guards were able to see again. Kit heard some of the guards start searching the storage room, but the Thunderkittens weren’t found. The alarms were still blaring overhead. Eventually, the sound of the guards died away. Kit cautiously poked her head out of the barrel.

Kat toppled out of his, coughing. He stopped long enough to look at her and laugh. "You look like a ghost."

"So do you," she answered, sneezing as she did so. She tried to brush herself off. "Where’s Justry?"

Kat grimaced. "We were separated. And then I found the storage room. We didn’t stand a chance out there, so I pulled you in here. I don’t know where Justry is." He shook himself, but most of the flour continued to cling. "Any ideas on what our next move should be?"

Kit shrugged. "You’re as lost as I am."

"Let’s just keep looking," Kat suggested.

"Whatever you say. Personally, I think this rescue is looking more and more like a trap."

The kittens peered out into the hall. Guards were standing around talking at the far end. "If we go quietly, they may not see us," Kat hissed. Kit nodded. Staying close to the wall, the two slipped down the hall and turned down another. There were no guards in this hall.

"Now where?" Kit asked. "This way?"

"Sure," Kat answered. "One way is as good as the next."

But luck was favoring the kittens. As they proceeded down the next hallway, they heard the sounds of guards behind them and jumped into the nearest room. The guards walked past without a glance toward the kittens. And Kit noticed the room was some kind of prison cell. "Wiley Kat! This is it! We’ve found some of the prison cells."

Kat looked around. "Then Panthro and Cheetara must be close."

Kit looked out and once again, the hall was empty. "Let’s try that door," she suggested. "It’s locked."

They slipped toward the indicated door and peered inside. "Panthro!" they both exclaimed.

A startled Panthro glanced up in surprised. "What are you two doing here?" he demanded.

"Shhh! We’re breaking out," Kat hissed. He looked around and saw the keys to the cell hanging above the door. He jumped for them and grabbed them. He soon had the door open and he and Kit were unchaining Panthro.

"What is going on?" Panthro asked quietly.

"Bengali and Tygra are getting the Feliner ready for flight. We’re going to grab Cheetara and meet them there. But we need to find Justry. He’s who led us down here. We were separated when the guards found us."

"So that’s why the alarms went off," Panthro murmured. ‘I wondered what was happening." He looked at the Thunderkittens. "You realize we’re going to get into a lot of trouble?"

Kit and Kat grinned. "Isn’t that what we’re best at?"

"Right," Panthro groaned. "Cheetara’s just down the hall. Let’s hurry."

There were still no guards in the hall. Panthro led the way to Cheetara’s cell and amid her exclamations of surprise, soon had her out of chains and ready to go. "You wouldn’t happen to have our weapons," Panthro asked the Thunderkittens as they prepared to find the Feliner.

"Sorry," Kat answered. "I don’t know where they are."

"Guards," Kit suddenly hissed in warning as she watched from the door.

"They’re going to notice the empty cells," Cheetara declared.

"Looks like we’re going to have to fight our way to the Feliner," Panthro agreed.

Kit grinned. She’d had enough sneaking around. "Let’s go!"

The Thundercats leaped from their cells, startling the patrolling guards. They didn’t even have time to cry out. Two of them went down coughing on the Thunderkittens’ sleeping powder. Panthro knocked another out cold with a heavy slam into a wall. And Cheetara ran down an escaping guard and quickly knocked him unconscious.

"That wasn’t too bad," Kat commented.

"But we caused some noise," Panthro warned. "Let’s get out of here."

The four were off and running, but more guards suddenly appeared from behind them and started to give chase, calling for backup. "Do we stand and face them?" Cheetara called to Panthro.

"I don’t see another choice," he answered. The Thundercats skidded to a half and turned to fight. There were more guards this time and they were on guard for the Thundercats’ tricks. And more guards suddenly appeared from behind the Thundercats. They were completely surrounded.

The fight was fierce, but with the combined efforts of all the guards, the Thundercats had no real hope. A stung gun took Kit went down just before she threw a smoke marble. In the smoke, Kat’s face met a swinging guard’s fist and he was knocked out. Cheetara tried to make a break for it and lead some of the guards away, but in her haste she was tripped up and also stunned. Panthro managed to hold some of them off for a while and elude the flying stun bolts. But there were too many of them and he went down struggling in their holds. Chains were locked around him again. They waited for the smoke to clear and the other Thundercats were also chained. When they recovered consciousness, the guards started to march them down the hall. But not to the prison cells. They started to march them up some stairs. Panthro puzzled over this until he overheard some conversation between his captors. Conversation that had to do with prisoner executions.

Tygra inspected the two guards who lay unconscious before them. Bengali quietly crossed to the tiger and inspected their handiwork. "Is that all of them?"

Tygra shrugged. "I don’t know. But I don’t see anymore." He smiled. "They never saw me coming."

Bengali rolled his eyes. "You were invisible." He dragged the guards into an empty corridor. "From what I saw up ahead, the hanger is just beyond those doors."

"Same plan as before?" Tygra asked.

"It worked last time," Bengali responded.

Tygra nodded and quickly wrapped the whip around himself. Silently opening the door, he entered what he assumed to be the hanger. Ships were everywhere. He started looking for guards. Not seeing any, he retraced his steps into the hall and unwound the whip. "Looks clear," he whispered to Bengali.

"Weird." Bengali mused. "I would expect at least a few guards in there."

"It is a big hanger," Tygra admitted. "But there aren’t any by the entrance."

"Fair enough. Let’s take them out together."

The two tigers entered the hanger and began to search for guards. They were both very surprised when a loud siren started to go off. "Tygra?" Bengali asked.

"Nothing we did," Tygra answered. "My bet is the Thunderkittens and Justry have been discovered. We don’t have much time. They’re going to come here on a run."

"And guards, too," Bengali added. "They’ll expect them to get away in the Feliner."

"Speaking of guards," Tygra said, leaping into the air. His whip flashed out and Tygra was soon wrapped in it. Bengali looked around and saw what Tygra had seen. A pair of guards were running toward a monitor, trying to determine the nature of the emergency. Bengali ducked behind a plane. He figured Tygra would also want to know what was going on and would take the guards out when it was time. Bengali continued to look around the hanger. Something white gleamed beyond the black planes of the ocelots. It was the Feliner.

A sudden thud drew Bengali’s attention and he saw the two guards drop to the ground unconscious. Tygra appeared behind them. "It’s the Thunderkittens," Tygra confirmed. "They’re leading them all on a chase in the basement."

"The Feliner’s over there," Bengali pointed.

"They’re sending more guards to the hanger to make sure no one reaches the Feliner," Tygra said absently.

"There’s nothing we can do about it," Bengali pointed out. "Let’s just work on getting out of here."

Tygra thought for a moment. "Bengali, you warm up the Feliner. You know what needs to be done. I’m going to wait for the guards outside the hanger."

Bengali stared at him. "Rowr, I think that mind block’s done something to you. You can’t hold them off by yourself."

"What can you do against something you can’t see?" Tygra asked.

Bengali shook his head but really couldn’t argue with Tygra. He did have a point. "All right, but if you need help, don’t hesitate to holler."

"I think I can handle a few ocelots," Tygra laughed. He disappeared.

Bengali hurried to the Feliner and climbed inside. He quickly discovered that it was intact and no parts had been removed. He turned on a few screens and ran through a pre-flight check. It was a little low on Thundrillium, but not too bad. It could make it back to Third Earth. He programmed the engines to warm up. When the systems began to beep, indicating certain programs were done, Bengali looked up to make sure he wasn’t drawing attention. The Feliner’s engines were vibrating slightly and humming to themselves as they got ready to fire up.

Bengali hopped out of the Feliner and walked around, doing a visual inspection. He always liked to see things for himself rather than trusting to the computers. Everything looked all right. The engines purred as they cycled through their warm-up. A few more minutes and he could shut them back down, though the ventilation system would need to be turned on. And then the Feliner would be ready for take off.

Bengali began walking to the hanger’s main entrance and inspected the outer doors. He found the alarms, but didn’t find a way to turn them off. It would probably be easier if the Feliner simply blasted its way out, he decided.

He wandered back toward the Feliner and then back to the hall from which he entered. The door was closed and he could tell it was sound proof. But he felt vibrations on the other side. It was almost as if something was being slammed into the door.

Disregarding Tygra’s assertion that he could handle things, Bengali opened the door only to discover another door. Apparently, it was the combination of the doors that kept the room sound proof, because now he could clearly hear the sounds of a scuffle. The alarms were still going but now there were the sounds of guard shouts.

A beeping from the Feliner indicated the engines had completed their warm-up cycle. Bengali hurried back and shut them almost all the way down and turned on the ventilation systems. Now that the Feliner was ready, he had no qualms about entering the fight. Running back to the door, he was about to open it when he heard something that made him stop in his tracks. It was a sound he had never heard before, but he instantly recognized it. It was coming from Tygra and it was a scream of pure anguish.

From the safety of Cat’s Lair, Snarfer looked out at the losing Thundercats. "Uh oh. This isn’t good. We can’t use the plan until they’re all up on the steps." He stepped out and started hollering. "This way, Thundercats!"

Lion-O heard the yell, but was couldn’t do much about it. He was too busy dodging Amok and trying to avoid Alluro. "Come on, Lion-O," Alluro said as his psyche club kept getting closer and closer to the acrobatic lion. "You can’t last forever."

Lion-O felt the club try to take effect, but managed to shake it off. "I think you’re losing your touch, Lunatac," he retorted. He tried to get closer to Alluro and eliminate at least one opponent, but Alluro’s ball hung between the two of them.

"Amok! Squeeze him!" Amok nearly had Lion-O because of Alluro’s distraction. But Luna’s outburst had given Lion-O the time he needed to jump out of the way. Wondering what Snarfer had in mind, he started veering the fight toward Cat’s lair.

A jumping TugMug was having a contest with Pumyra. "Hold still!" he whined.

Pumyra managed to avoid another blast, but Chilla’s icy breath suddenly caught shot beneath her feet. "Is this fair?" she shouted. "What kind of cowards are you Lunatacs?"

"Cowards? Who are you calling a coward?" Chilla raged.

"Pumyra! Lion-O!" Lynx-O shouted. His light shield had fired a blast of light at Red Eye and the Lunatac was writhing before him. "Get to the Lair!" He himself was racing up the steps.

Pumyra was trying, but Chilla and TugMug were doing a very good job of keeping her busy. She anaged to get between the two of them and leaped just as TugMug fired. Chilla fell to the ground roaring ith anger under the influence of the carbine. TugMug hastily reversed it as Pumyra took off for the Lair. But she was suddenly frozen in motion. Mumm-Ra had entered the fight.

Lion-O had finally knocked Alluro out and was running away from Amok and Luna when he saw Mumm-Ra advancing on Pumyra. Jumping up the steps of the Lair, he whirled in the air and fired the word toward Mumm-Ra. Mumm-Ra’s hold on Pumyra was broken as the mummy was forced to turn the word of Plun-Darr toward Lion-O. And then Amok sent Lion-O flying into the side of the Lair.

Pumyra used the moment to gain the Lair with TugMug and Chilla in hot pursuit. "Snarfer!" Lynx-O ordered. "Now! Thundercats, jump!"

Reacting to the sound of his voice, a dazed Lion-O leaped into the air. Pumyra did likewise and the Lair beneath their feet suddenly erupted into arcing electric current. The Lunatacs were completely knocked out. Mumm-Ra stopped just short of the Lair’s steps as the current ceased and the three Thundercats landed.

"Now what, Mumm-Ra?" Pumyra asked the mummy.

"Your allies are out cold, with fewer enemies Snarfer can activate the Lair’s head, and we outnumber you," Lion-O said. "I think it’s time for you to leave."

Mumm-Ra glared. The moveable head started to pivot. The Cat’s eyes shot a warning shot at Mumm-Ra’s feet. Ma-Mutt barked a warning from across the drawbridge.

"I think you have what you came for," Lynx-O said.

"This isn’t over Thundercats," Mumm-Ra roared, backing up.

"I don’t doubt that for a second," Lion-O muttered. Snarfer fired another warning shot. "Go home, relic," Lion-O shouted.

Mumm-Ra blasted a parting shot at the Thundercats, which Lion-O’s Sword easily deflected. "How long do you give him before he’s back?" Pumyra asked.

"Too soon," Lion-O answered.

"Can we do something about the Lunatacs?" Lynx-O asked. "Amok in particular. He gives off a most distressing smell."

Bengali charged into the hall and assessed the situation. Both ends were completely choked with guards. A buzzing in the air was making it difficult to concentrate. Laser shots suddenly screamed overhead as the ocelots saw Bengali. Tygra was down the hall a little and visible, lying prone on the floor. Bengali leaped to the tiger, preparing to defend him.

"Halt!"

At the sound of the commanding voice, Bengali looked up, surprised. Weaving through the ranks of guards toward the two tigers was Celotta. Her green eyes glowed with anger. The gun in her hand never wavered from Bengali. Bengali held his ground and wondered what was going to happen next.

"Thought you could get away with it, didn’t you?" Celotta hissed angrily. She raised her voice so that all the guards could hear. "You thought you could murder me and throw the ocelots into chaotic anarchy. I knew you were trouble from when I first set eyes on you. But I never thought the Thundercats as a whole would have fallen so low. Was your exile from Thundera too much to handle?"

"What are you talking about?" Bengali growled. "Rowr, and what have you done to Tygra?"

"Nothing Tygra couldn’t have prevented, cub," Celotta returned. "There is a field around this castle that attacks those using mental powers like your tiger friend was doing. As for the rest, your Thundercat friends were found leading a rebellion in the dungeons below. And they aided your escape. What more can we say? Guards, seize him."

Any other time, Bengali would have resisted. But his stay on Lotari had taken most of his fight. It was futile. The other Thundercats were captured. There was no hope of returning to the Feliner. Celotta held him at gunpoint. Tygra lay stricken on the floor. What was the point? What was the use of resisting any more? Bengali stood quietly as the guards relieved him of his hammer and manacled his wrists.

"Take him to the chamber behind the throne room," Celotta ordered. "Him, too," she added, indicating Tygra with a nudge of her boot.

Bengali watched the organized break up of the guards as some returned to their posts, some took up positions around him, and others managed to get Tygra to his feet. Tygra was beginning to regain consciousness but still looked quite shaky. He was manacled and the procession started.

Bengali found himself walking next to Tygra who was unsteady. "What happened?" he asked quietly, trying not to let the guards overhear him.

Tygra stifled a small shudder. "I was invisible and fighting and suddenly it felt like someone was driving a wedge through my brain."

"They’ve got some kind of field up," Bengali whispered.

Tygra nodded. "I can still feel it. It’s strong. I wouldn’t want to try something like that again. So what are they doing with us now?"

They passed into a room that looked to Bengali like it could be a throne room. "I think we’re almost there. She said something about a chamber behind a throne room."

In front of them, the guards were opening a door. "I think we’re about to find out for certain," Tygra observed.

One of the guards shoved him forward. "No talking."

The tigers were escorted into the room and saw Panthro, Cheetara, Wiley Kit, and Wiley Kat already in there and firmly chained along the wall. Bengali was pushed against the cold stone wall and also chained. Tygra shared his fate. The guards stepped back and seemed to be waiting for something.

"I see they caught you, too," Panthro said, ignoring the warning looks from the guards.

"Very observant," Tygra retorted, testing the strength of his bonds.

"Our rescue didn’t work too well," Kat muttered.

"Where’s Justry?" Bengali whispered to Kit.

Kit looked at the tiger next to her and shook her head. "I don’t know," she whispered. "We were separated and we haven’t seen him since."

Celotta entered the room at this point. She surveyed the prisoners. "Well, here we all are at last. Guards, shut the door." She was quickly obeyed. She walked up and down, looking each one in the face as if she were trying to measure their fear. "I think before you die there is something you should know. This was all elaborately planned."

The Thundercats gaped at her. "What are you talking about?" Cheetara growled, though she had a pretty good idea.

"Just this, dear," Celotta answered. "There is an organization known as the Children of Spotrol. I belong to it. The guards in this room also belong to it. For generations, our goal has been the redemption of our great-grandfather. It has finally come to pass. I admit that only Bengali and Tygra were part of my original plan when I first killed that spineless cousin of mine. Traun was never fit for rule. It should have passed to me."

"Why?" Bengali demanded. "What have we ever done to you?"

Celotta’s eyes flashed. "You dare ask that? You only exiled us from our home planet. You only cost Junglan his sanity. You only kidnapped Spotrol and separated us forever from his wisdom. My grandfather was his son and the last of my family to be born on Thundera. How dare you ask such a question of us."

"It’s in the past," Tygra tried to reason. "We have no control over the actions of our ancestors. They were not our own."

"We can’t punish your ancestors. But we can punish you." Celotta drew a long, wicked-looking knife.

"You’re only starting the feud again!" Panthro tried to get through to her. "Only this time, you’re going to be at war with panthers, lions, cheetahs, and the whole of the Thundercats."

"So be it!" Celotta shouted. "I will not be stopped!"

Beside him, Bengali felt Tygra suddenly stiffen. Bengali looked at him questioningly, but Tygra was intently watching Celotta. There was a pounding on the door and it was suddenly forced open.

"Celotta!" Guards were rushing in everywhere. There seemed to be thousands of them. They completely overwhelmed Celotta’s guards. A proud-looking ocelot strode to the center of the room. "Celotta, what is the meaning of this?" He was flanked by both Mandora and Justry.

"Stealon!" Celotta growled. In the rush, she had taken shelter between Wiley Kit and Wiley Kat. She now held her knife to the throat of Wiley Kat who was trying his best to look brave. "What right do you have to burst into my chambers—"

"What right have you to perpetrate a feud that ended generations ago!?"

"Don’t you dare question me, cousin. You share the same heritage as I do. You of all people should be on my side."

Stealon shook his head. "Not this time, cousin. Your assassination of Traun, your deception to the people, and your criminal acts with in the government itself all condemn you."

"You trail of evidence wasn’t too hard to follow once we knew what to look for," Mandora said coldly. "Your misuse of Control further heaps punishment upon your head."

"One further move and this kitten dies," Celotta warned. Justry had been inching forward.

"Celotta, what will his death profit you?" Cheetara asked gently. "You are not acting as a rational Thunderan would."

"Don’t you dare call me Thunderan!" Celotta screamed.

"But that’s what we ultimately are," Justry said quietly. "Our roots are Thunderan."

"Never!" Celotta was now completely hysterical. Wiley Kat was visibly sweating as Celotta become more and more erratic with her knife. It was far too close to his throat for comfort. "Never! I will never the claim the planet of my ancestor’s murderers." Celotta glared at Wiley Kat but suddenly shrieked and stepped back.

Her scream caught everyone by surprise. They all stared at the ruler of Lotari. But she didn’t stop screaming. She grabbed at her thick amber mane and continued her blood-curdling howl. Wiley Kat stared at her in surprise. And Celotta fainted.

Stealon caught her as she fell. "Take her and the other guards to the basement cells," he instructed quietly.

Some of the guards released the Thundercats. Kit threw herself at her brother and hugged him. "What just happened?" Panthro asked.

Celotta was carried out of the room, moaning something about the ocelot child she’d murdered. "I don’t know," Justry answered, "but something certainly shook her up." He glanced quickly at Tygra who merely shrugged.

"My apologies on behalf of Control," Mandora was saying to Bengali.

"Uh, thanks," the white tiger responded.

"And mine," Stealon said stiffly. "There’s been bad blood between our clans long enough. I hope that we have just seen the end of it."

"I hope you won’t think it rude," Cheetara said, "but can we get back to Third Earth now?"

"Of course," Stealon answered. "I completely understand. I will have much explaining to in front of my people and it will probably be safer for the Thundercats if you made a discreet exit."

"We’ve already deactivated the defenses in orbit. You can leave any time," Justry added.

"In that case, now would be great," Wiley Kat said quickly.

Stealon snapped his fingers. "Your weapons," a guard said, stepping forward and presenting the Thundercats’ confiscated weapons.

"The Feliner’s ready to go," Bengali stated.

"And so are we," Panthro added.

The Thundercats were boarding the Feliner when Tygra felt a touch on his shoulder. Looking back, he saw Justry beckoning to him. "Just a minute," he called to the Thundercats.

Justry led Tygra over to where Stealon stood. "We’d just like to ask you something," Justry explained.

"When Celotta jumped away from your Wiley Kat, she was staring at him like she’d done something horrible. Can you explain that?" Stealon asked.

Tygra hesitated before answering. "You turned off that mental field. You knew I would be able to do something."

"We thought it might come in handy," Justry said.

"I decided to use that. Celotta feared harming her own people. Innocent ocelots, that is. She had no compunction about murdering her own cousin, but she really did love her own people. What she did, she thought she did for their own good."

"She faced her worst nightmares," Stealon finished, a cold look coming into his eyes.

"No, she didn’t," Tygra said quickly. "Let me explain. Had I done that, I think she would have killed herself on the spot. I merely created a simple illusion. I created the illusion of a dead ocelot child. And put blood on her knife."

"Why couldn’t we see it?" Justry asked.

"It was for her mind only. It was direct. It was more real for her that way. If the rest of you had reacted, the effect wouldn’t have worked. It was harder for me, but I think it will be better in the long run. You’ll be able to say she was only hallucinating from too much stress. No one else saw it. I think it will help her heal."

"What about her sanity?" Stealon asked.

"Imagine only one demon in only one nightmare. And imagine that for five short seconds, you had to look at this demon. And then the demon disappeared. You would recover. And so will Celotta." Behind them, the Bengali yelled for Tygra. "I’d better be going. She’ll be fine."

Justry thrust his hand out. "Thank you Tygra."

Tygra shook. "No, Justry. Thank you for trusting us."

Stealon paused, and then offered his hand. "We are not in the habit of trusting tigers. But thank you for

proving that there are those we can trust."

"And you, for proving ocelots are also worthy of our trust," Tygra answered. He released Stealon’s hand and walked to the Feliner.

The ship’s engines roared as Tygra got in. It shot out of the hanger and climbed into the night.

"Yeah, you sure missed some fun and excitement," Lion-O said as he finished relating Snarf’s capture by Mumm-Ra.

"Don’t even talk to me about excitement," Bengali growled.

"What did you do with the Lunatacs?" Tygra asked.

Lion-O scowled. "Alluro wasn’t knocked out like the others. He never made it to Cat’s Lair. I knocked him silly before Snarfer threw the switch. But afterwards, we went in for a minute and he managed to wake them all up and get them back to Skytomb. They’re safe in Darkside by now."

"I think we’d better be getting back to the Tower," Lynx-O interrupted. He had heard Bengali yawning discreetly. "I think we could all use the rest."

Lion-O nodded. "From what you’ve told us," he said to the newly returned Thundercats, "you’ve had quite the adventure on Lotari."

"At least it’s over," Cheetara sighed.

"And maybe there’ll be more of a chance for peace between tigers and ocelots," Panthro added.

"Maybe," Tygra said. "There was still a lot of hatred left, though."

"But we won’t have to worry about Celotta anymore," Wiley Kat said.

Lion-O stood. "Well, some of us better get to bed. I’ll take first watch. Have a safe journey home," he said to Lynx-O, Pumyra, Snarfer, and Bengali. "As for the rest of you, bedtime."

"Yes father," Cheetara said with a smile.

"I don’t know about you, but I could use a rest," Tygra said.

"No problems here," Panthro said with a yawn.

The Thundercats left the council room. Lion-O made his way to the control room and ran through a standard scanner sweep. For a brief second, he thought he caught something on the edge of the scanners in space. "Odd," he muttered to himself. Running the check again, he decided it was nothing and thought no more about it.

The stealth ship screamed its way into deep space. The guards had been no match for her, and she doubted the ocelots even knew she was gone. Celotta laughed. Her day would come. The tigers who had once more exiled an ocelot would pay. The Thundercats would pay. They would all pay! She fired her rockets and set out to find new planets, new allies, and another chance at vengeance.