"Well, Thundercat, it looks like you were right." Alphon’s keen eyes poured over a communication report as he met with Panthro, Servalla, Cougrois, and Leonari. Cheetara had begged to be excused and Servalla had been quick to back her up, saying the cheetah needed more time to recuperate.

"Told you we couldn’t have sent that transmission," Panthro grumbled.

Alphon bristled slightly. "Nevertheless, it is a Thunderan transmission coming from a Kentro static buoy. Explain."

"What exactly is the transmission?" Leonari asked.

After a minute of hesitation, the alpha wolf slid a computer pad over to the lioness. "That is your transmission. If it makes any sense to you, please feel free to enlighten us. We have run it through every known computer decoding system, and we have still come up empty."

"What is that?" Cougrois breathed, looking over Leonari’s shoulder.

"It’s just a bunch of numbers and letters," Leonari murmured. "It doesn’t look like it means anything."

"Let me see," Panthro requested, reaching for the pad. " ‘L-4 Out 1c RDv’? What’s that supposed to be?"

"Doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever seen," Servalla said. "Just a lot of weird letter and number combinations. ‘V-s WSc KnH’? Could they be coordinates?"

"Coordinates for what?" Cougrois asked. "There are too many letters to be coordinates. It’s more like a secret code gone horribly wrong. Anything you recognize, Panthro?"

"I know most of the old codes from the pre-destruction days, but this isn’t even vaguely familiar. Sorry."

Alphon drummed his fingers on the table in frustration. "It’s a Thunderan communication signal, it comes from a Kentro static buoy, it’s in a neutral zone as far as territory goes, and it makes no sense. What else do we know about it?"

"I guess we could ask Cheetara if she recognizes it," Panthro mused. "She handled more spy missions than I did. But I’m sure I’ve never heard of anything like this before and I don’t think she has, either. If we could contact Thundera, Wiley Kat could run it through the data banks."

"No go, Thundercat," Alphon stated flatly. "We’re not contacting Thundera for another few hours. I will not put my wolves in danger for the sake of an anomalous code."

Panthro nodded. "I understand, but Thundera still needs to know where we are. They probably think the worst."

"Let them," Alphon shrugged. "It will not be the first time that death is assumed in a war, and it will not be the first time that assumed death is wrong. For now, we run and hope that Kentro does not enter hyperspace while we are still so near their ships."

"What’s the matter? Scared of a fight?" Cougrois taunted.

"Of the fight? No, but I do fear the results," Alphon returned calmly.

"And you thought you were superior to the Thundercats," the cougar continued. "Sorry, pal, but I’m not afraid of death."

"Then you are truly foolish," Alphon said quietly. "The warrior who has no fear has no hope. The warrior who has no hope has no purpose. The warrior who has no purpose has no strength. And without strength, what is a warrior? Stupid cub, look around you!" The wolf’s eyes flashed and a snarl was building in his throat. "This is not a game; this is a hunt! And we are the hunted. If we do not fear, we do not live. I welcome fear, I welcome its advice, and I welcome the comrade who also heeds its warnings. Fear should never be allowed to control, that is certainly true. But neither should it be ignored."

Cougrois was completely silent, unsure about what to make of Alphon’s words. As for the others, Leonari studied the table, Servalla tugged at her hair, and Panthro cleared his throat. Alphon gradually calmed down and licked his lips. "Perhaps we should resume this another time," the wolf suggested.

"Exactly how long will it be until we can contact Thundera?" Leonari asked.

"It will depend on the Kentro forces. They seem to be pushing our direction, but they remain in real space. If all goes well, we should be able to contact Thundera in six hours."

"Thank you, Alphon," Servalla murmured. "We owe you our lives."

"I will remember that," Alphon warned. "And someday, I may remind you. But not today."

"Oh. Well, thank you for your generosity," Panthro growled.

The alpha male gave the panther a wolfish grin. "My pleasure, cat. Now if you will excuse me, I have a ship to run."

"What in Jaga’s name is that?!" Lion-O demanded. For the first time in days, the lion felt alive again. For some unknown reason, his mind had snapped awake and he could actually call himself alert.

"Unknown. Give me a second, I’m working on it," Kat answered. The young Thundercat was punching away rapidly on the sensor boards, trying to call up each and every reading collected from the area just north of New Thundera City. "Some kind of massive explosion," he finally said. "But I can’t tell more than that."

"Was that on the sensor perimeter?" a voice asked from the back of the control room.

"Bengali?! What are you doing up? Get back in bed," Snarf ordered.

The white tiger snarled at the snarf. "Rowrl, you guys can’t keep me out of the action that easily," he growled. "What’s going on?"

Lion-O sighed and turned to the stubborn tiger. "Kat already said he doesn’t know what’s going on. You’re right, it’s just beyond the sensor perimeter. We’re only catching the effects of the blast. When we find out what’s going on, we’ll let you know."

"What’s going on out there?"

The three Thundercats turned to see yet another white tiger standing in the doorway. "Serbino, if we knew, we’d tell you," Lion-O explained patiently. "Right now, we—"

"Lord Lion-O, we white tigers have sensor stations further out than you do," Serbino interrupted. "We registered an intense shock wave coming from the vicinity of the red tiger encampment. Do you have an explanation for it?"

The lion studied Serbino for a minute before answering. The white tiger was shorter than most tigers, but he was a compact ball of muscle and his hard blue eyes were enough to stop a charging TugMug. He was a born leader, able to understand all facets of a situation while holding his own position at the same time. During the short time in which he’d come to know Serbino, Lion-O had gained a large amount of respect for the tiger. But one fault he’d noticed, and it seemed to be a common fault among the white tigers, was that Serbino lived entirely for the moment and reacted according to his instincts. "It could be an accident," Lion-O said hesitantly. "Maybe the red tigers have some explosives and they were set off."

"Or it could be the signal for invasion," Serbino observed. "We should mount a counter-offensive."

"They haven’t even attacked us yet!" Lion-O pointed out.

"And why should we wait for the first attack?" Serbino shook his head, soft white fur starting to gray rustling as he did so. "Ever since I met Sybar, I disliked him. It wasn’t just his disdain for the common tigers or his scorn for the white tiger clans. There was something deeper. He was too ambitious for a red tiger; he moved too quickly and too boldly."

"That’s something you’d expect from us," Bengali laughed.

Serbino glared at him. "You only deepen the stereotype."

"I think Bengali has implanted the stereotype too firmly to worry about that," Wiley Kat muttered to Lion-O.

"Shhh!" Lion-O waved Kat back to the sensor station and turned his attention on the two white tigers in the doorway. "Serbino, I understand what Sybar is doing to you and your clans. He’s doing the same thing to all of us. But there’s something here that I don’t think you quite realize. You’re both tigers. You both trace your roots to the same ancestors. There’s a bond there. It may be a faint bond, but if we can prevent it from breaking, I say it’s worth waiting for an attack. Surely Sybar isn’t capable of destroying his own kind. Exile yes, but—"

"HOLY THUNDERA!!!"

Everyone swung to look at Snarf who was peering over Wiley Kat’s shoulder. "Lion-O, we’ve got something here," Kat reported excitedly. "Two figures coming in fast. And one of them is a snarf!"

"Location!"

"Just outside New Thundera City. No signs of pursuit, but—"

"Check that," Bengali said grimly from a different sensor station. "Infrared is picking up invisible red tigers closing on their position. If we don’t do something, they’re toast."

"My tigers will handle this," Serbino announced.

"Negative!" Lion-O ordered. "We just went through this. If we can keep tiger from fighting tiger, I’m willing to go through almost anything. Kat? You and I will handle this. Snarf, take over here. Bengali, get back to bed. We’ll return shortly."

"You won’t return at all if you rush into it like that!" Bengali warned. "You need help!"

"We need to preserve the ancient codes. Tiger will NOT fight tiger!" Lion-O roared.

"Lion-O, the cost is too high," Bengali protested. "You can’t go out there. The two of you won’t stand a chance."

"We’re just trying to get Mantyro and Snarfer," Wiley Kat said. "We can handle it."

"You don’t even know for certain that that’s Mantyro or Snarfer," Serbino argued.

"If we lose you, who will lead us?" Bengali pleaded.

Lion-O stopped and stared at the tiger. "According to Sybar, anyone could lead better than I have."

"But Lion-O—"

"And he may be right," the lion interrupted. "You’ll find someone, Bengali. You, Lynx-O, Wiley Kit, any of the original team is qualified to lead. Don’t worry. The Code of Thundera will be your guide."

And before Bengali or Serbino could say another word, Lion-O raced out the door with Wiley Kat hot on his heels.

"He’s crazy," Serbino whispered.

"No, he’s loyal," Bengali replied. "And sometimes that amounts to the same thing."

"Brrr, I just hope he’s loyal and careful at the same time," Snarf murmured to himself.

Tygra sighed as cold ointment was rubbed into his scarred back. The chill dulled the pain to the point where it became bearable, though it did nothing to ease the throbbing. It’s only purpose was to prevent bleeding and accelerate the healing process. Any type of pain medication was forbidden to slaves, the philosophy being that pain was the best teacher of all. And Tygra was coming to believe that they were right.

"So what did you do this time?"

Pumyra’s soft voice broke into Tygra’s daze and he reluctantly stirred himself. "Spaced out on mine duty," he murmured.

"Wasn’t that what you were punished for yesterday?"

The tiger nodded wearily.

"My friend, this is probably none of my business, but…WHY?! What are you so busy thinking about that you can’t even work manual labor? You’re in this clinic more than all the other slaves combined!"

"It’s a combination of escape and sleep deprivation," Tygra answered quietly.

Pumyra shook her head and continued to work healing lotions into the tiger’s raw back. "We’re all a little groggy here. Induced sleep will do that. It will also shorten our life span if it keeps up much longer. But it’s not affecting me the way it’s affecting you. Why?"

"Possibly because I’m not even getting the induced sleep," Tygra murmured.

Pumyra stopped her rubbing. "What?"

"I was working in their communication department and started playing with the computers. This whole place is so interconnected it’s amazing. Anyway, I started pulling up schematics of our collars. I don’t have them figured out yet, but I did figure out how to turn off the mechanism that induces sleep. I tried it out on myself and it works. But I haven’t been able to turn it back on."

Pumyra moved in front of the tiger and stared at him. "You did what?!"

Tygra squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. "I haven’t slept in over 72 hours. I don’t know how much longer I can last."

"What have you been doing while the rest of us have been sleeping?"

"Sending out signals," Tygra murmured. "Trying to get through to—to home."

"Home?"

Tygra glared at Pumyra. "Yes, home. You remember home. That place where—"

"Okay, you don’t have to snap at me," the puma growled. "But how are you—oh, never mind. Show me how to work the collar and I’ll turn that mechanism back on so you can get some sleep."

Tygra gave a deep sigh of relief. "There’s an activation chip just under the hook-up. Don’t touch that, it’s part of what induces pain. I found that out the hard way." The tiger gave a rueful smile at the memory. "Anyway, just off to the right as you’re looking down on it, there’s a series of thin, blue coated wires. Those are the wires through which the sleep commands travel."

"And yours appear to be disconnected from the activation chip," Pumyra observed.

"Getting them off was easy," Tygra moaned. "It’s getting them back on that I have trouble doing."

"Are they connected in any certain—wait, I see where you tore them off. Okay, hold still."

Tygra might have been frozen for all he moved while Pumyra gingerly maneuvered the wires in his collar. Occasionally, when she bumped the main activation chip, a sharp hiss would escape through clenched teeth. But for the most part, all was silent. After a long time, Pumyra leaned back and released a long breath of air.

"Sorry about that," she apologized. "I tried to hurt you as little as possible."

"I know," Tygra murmured. "Thank you."

"So, what have you been sending home?"

"I’ve been implanting signals in the Kentro static buoys. They broadcast messages on one of our coded frequencies."

"And what do these signals say?"

"Something I don’t think the Kentroans will understand," Tygra laughed quietly. "And if they do understand it, they know far too much about us and there’s nothing we can do about it anyway."

"So what are you sending?" Pumyra pressed, her curiosity rising.

"Nothing much," the tiger answered, almost to himself. "Just a game I used to play with a very close friend." Tygra sighed and shook his head. "So how is the escape plan coming?"

"What escape plan?" Pumyra asked bitterly, her mood taking an abrupt shift.

"We can’t give up," Tygra insisted. "We have to keep trying."

"Trying for what? You told me that in order to get out of here, we would need to travel through space for about ten days. And that’s if we make off with one of the better ships. But look at you. You can’t even survive 72 hours without sleep, much less ten days worth. It would kill us."

"Oh." The tiger closed his eyes and thought it over. "We need to get that device that puts us to sleep. We’ll have to take it with us."

"And we’ll have to live out the rest of our lives without ever hearing certain names, phrases, or being able to sleep on our own. And if the device ever broke, we’d die. In addition to all this, I don’t know how we’re going to come up with ten days worth of supplies for the two of us. The slave rations barely last me a single work shift. They won’t last for a trip back home."

"But I can get us a ship," Tygra said, trying desperately to hold on to the hope of escape. "And I can get us off Kentro. I’m sure of it."

"But you can’t get us any further," the puma told him sadly. "We can’t get the supplies for it. It was a nice thought and I would like nothing better than to get away from here, but we just can’t right now. Maybe when we know more about these things around our necks. Maybe when we can get more slaves to unite with us. Maybe. But not right now. For today, we’re stuck here and we might as well—"

"THERE you are!"

Pumyra and Tygra jumped and turned to look at the doorway. A large shadow was blocking the light from the hallway, masking the face in darkness, but there was no mistaking that figure: Greeb.

The two slaves obediently lowered their eyes despite their buckling pride. For now, the Kentroans were stronger. There was nothing to do but obey. The snap of a bullwhip as Greeb played with it indicated that they had done the correct thing. But is it the right thing? Pumyra wondered to herself.

"You are learning," Greeb sneered as he approached the slaves. "But now we must begin to unlearn. You are both finished here and will follow me. Did your feeble brains understand that?"

Pumyra bit her lip, but she was unable to keep from speaking out. "Master, I’m not quite finished yet. His back still needs treatment if it is to heal and the risk of infection—"

Greeb’s whip flashed into the air and Pumyra found herself landing on top of Tygra with a new whip mark across her stomach and left forearm. "Did I just hear what I think I heard?"

"No, master," Pumyra quickly whispered.

"What do you say when you have crossed a superior?"

Pumyra shut her eyes and tried to quell the rage building within her. "I am not worthy of my life as a slave and I apologize for my stupidity," she hissed through clenched teeth.

This was not good enough for Greeb who brought the whip down hard across the puma’s side and got part of Tygra as well. The latter was unable to suppress a cry of pain and Pumyra felt needles stab at her heart. "I’m not worthy of my life as a slave and I apologize for my stupidity," Pumyra tried again, this time for Tygra’s sake.

"Better," Greeb muttered. "Not perfect, but better. It will have to do. Now follow me. Both of you."

The slave driver turned and stalked imperiously out the doorway. He didn’t wait to see if the slaves would follow, for both Pumyra and Tygra had been defiant in this area before and had no desire for a repeat performance. With a quick grimace, Tygra eased himself off the examination table and braced himself on the puma’s shoulder. Together, they followed Greeb, wondering what the next few hours would have in store for them.

"We should have gone back for them."

"What was that?"

Wiley Kit looked up at the snow leopard seated beside her. "I said we should have gone back for them. We shouldn’t have left them in the Fire Zone."

A frustrated look crossed Snoedaro’s face. "Kit, I feel the same way. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s that you can’t go back. You have to go forwards. And if you wander forwards while facing backwards, you get into a lot more trouble."

"But we left them there! Why didn’t we go back? Why didn’t we—"

"Listen to yourself, Wiley Kit. You’re not even talking about them; you’re talking about us. You’re asking questions about our actions, not theirs. They might have made it. They might have pulled through. But those aren’t the uncertainties you’re concerned with. You’re wondering how we could have changed the situation. Stop thinking about us and think about them. They’re the ones missing. Nothing can change that now. If you really want to help yourself, think about why they’re missing, how they can get themselves back to Thundera, and forget about what we did or didn’t do."

Wiley Kit glared at the snow leopard but eventually turned away. "Maybe I am more concerned about my own actions, but that’s because I feel responsible. I feel like I should have done something."

"We all feel that way," Snoedaro assured her. "But we can’t let those feelings become a distraction. Right now, we have to worry about getting home and stopping Sybar before he can pull off a successful coup."

"Right," Kit sighed, trying to get her mind off the five missing Thundercats. "So how far are we from Thundera?"

Snoedaro pulled up a few readings on the boards before him. "According to this, we’re about eight hours away."

"Eight hours. And the red tigers were going to attack when?"

"An hour, I think."

Kit swore softly. "We can’t even get this right. We’ll be rushing home to a funeral."

"Give Lion-O some credit," Snoedaro suggested. "He’s got your brother with him, and the white tigers are backing him."

Kit nodded slightly, allowing herself to be comforted for the moment. But at the same time, Snoedaro had reminded her that Wiley Kat was still on Thundera. If Sybar attacked Cat’s Lair, Lion-O wouldn’t be the only one to be killed. Wiley Kat would suffer the same fate. And as for Bengali and the white tigers… "Snoedaro, do you think it’s really possible?"

"Do I think what’s really possible?"

"Tiger fighting tiger. Panther fighting panther if Panya can organize them. Is it really possible?"

"Everything’s possible," Snoedaro hedged. "In life, nothing is impossible. There are, however, things that are improbable."

"And is this one of those improbable things?" the youth pressed.

The snow leopard grimaced and turned his attention to the sensor array. Kit waited patiently, knowing she would eventually receive an answer, and her wait was rewarded. "I don’t think so," Snoedaro said softly. "I think it’s very possible that tiger will fight tiger and panther will fight panther. If Sybar keeps this up, intra-clan battles are inevitable."

"We’ve got to get home," Kit whispered fiercely. "Isn’t there anyway to get us there faster?"

"We’re going as fast as we can," Snoedaro told her.

Kit shook her head and rubbed at her temples. "I know, Snoedaro. I know. I’m just worried, that’s all. I’m worried about Kat, I’m worried about Lion-O, I’m worried about everyone we left behind, and I miss Tygra and Pumyra. I just want to wake up from this nightmare and forget the whole thing."

Snoedaro sighed and laid a consoling hand on Kit’s shoulder. "Hang in there. We’ll get through this. One way or another, we’ll survive. I promise."

Mantyro’s head was pounding, his ears were ringing, his eyes were watering, his body was aching, and his feet were stumbling. He wouldn’t be able to last much longer. The black pellet Snarfer had thrown had worked, but Mantyro was beginning to think it had worked too well. He’d managed to get one of the most explosive powders known to Thundera in that pellet and contain it in a way that would prevent it from going off inside the scimitar. But once outside the scimitar, it was only a matter of time before one small jolt or a gentle nudge would ignite the volatile powders. The rapid pressure changes and the noise itself had popped the tiger’s ears and he was wondering if he would experience hearing loss. By opening his mouth, he’d been able to dispel some of the pressure, but the explosion had been so close that he wondered if it had been enough. Snarfer had been thrown forward and off the tiger’s back in the blast, and then he’d hit his head on a sharp rock. So now the little snarf was unconscious and Mantyro was forced to carry him. But the explosion had thrown Mantyro forward, too, and while he wasn’t unconscious, he didn’t think he could call himself truly awake.

An energy blast screamed overhead and Mantyro tried to coax a little more speed out of his weary legs. But during their stay with the red tigers, neither Snarfer nor Mantyro had been given food or water and it was telling on the tiger’s energy.

"MANTYRO!"

Heaving for air, the tiger looked up and almost froze. Above him, a Thunderclaw was making a fast dive toward him, its shadow racing across the ground and rippling over the dusty surface.

"Over here!" the tiger croaked, his whisper barely making it beyond his parched lips. He gasped and clutched at his chest, completely spent and unable to move another foot.

But he didn’t have to. The Thunderclaw was practically on top of him and hanging out one side was none other than Lion-O. Skillfully piloting the versatile craft, Wiley Kat turned the Thunderclaw on its side as it raced past Mantyro while Lion-O made a grab for the weak tiger. Seizing an arm, he pulled the exhausted Thundercat into the Claw while Kat instantly turned around and started for the Lair.

Placing Mantyro on the seat in front of him, Lion-O gently pried Snarfer from the tiger’s arms. "You worry about keeping your seat," the lion advised. "I’ll hold Snarfer. What happened to the two of you anyway?"

"Long story," Mantyro whispered. "Let’s just get out of here."

"No argument there," Kat said. "We’ll be back at the Lair faster than you can—WHOAH!!!"

The Thunderclaw took an abrupt nosedive, almost unseating all aboard it. "Kat?! What’s going on?!"

"Lion-O, they’re everywhere!"

"What? What are everywhere?" Lion-O looked around, but he could see nothing. "Kat, what’s wrong?"

Kat didn’t answer but made a sharp right turn, against almost unseating all the passengers. "Where are they coming from?" he demanded.

Mantyro stirred and turned his weary eyes skyward. "Illusions," he whispered. "For Kat’s eyes only, but I can sense them. They’re not real, Wiley Kat. Don’t pay attention to them."

Lion-O leaned forward. "Listen, Wiley Kat. When I went through the anointment trials, I couldn’t beat Tygra directly. I had to avoid him and see through his tricks. Don’t beat the illusions, see through them! They aren’t there. They aren’t real!"

"They aren’t there," Kat murmured, straightening out the Claw. "They’re not real. They aren’t there. They’re not—incoming!!!"

The Thunderclaw shot straight up and Lion-O tumbled off the back, flailing desperately at anything but missing all the way down. Mantyro grabbed Snarfer in time, but Lion-O was falling fast. "Kat, swing down! We’ve lost Lion-O!" the tiger commanded.

"Where?" Wiley Kat looked around wildly, confusion evident in his features. "Where is he? I can’t see him!"

Mantyro’s jaw tightened and he summoned the last vestiges of energy left in his exhausted body. "Hold this," he instructed, handing Snarfer over while pushing Wiley Kat backwards and moving himself to the front of the Thunderclaw. "And hang on!"

Under the tired guidance of Mantyro, the Thunderclaw leveled out and then dropped. To Wiley Kat’s eyes, there were still bombs and rockets exploding everywhere, but Mantyro didn’t change his course. He kept the Thunderclaw on a straight dive, gradually catching up with Lion-O and then flashing beneath him. Lion-O landed awkwardly on Wiley Kat with a thud and Mantyro turned for Cat’s Lair.

"Nice to see you guys again," Lion-O gasped. His heart was racing like a Feliner on full-throttle. "Where now?"

"Home," Mantyro answered curtly. "If we can get there. Hold on!"

Despite the tiger’s warning, Lion-O was almost unseated again as the Thunderclaw banked to the right. "Now what?!" Lion-O demanded.

"They’re using real rockets, but they’re using illusions to mask them," Mantyro answered. The Thunderclaw trembled as an unseen shock wave knocked it around. "And guys? I’m not sure how much longer I can track these illusions. I’ve been tracking illusions since my capture, and my mind is completely worn out."

"Not good," Wiley Kat observed. "So what do we do?"

"Hope we can reach the Lair," Lion-O answered.

The words had barely left the lion’s mouth when the Thunderclaw suddenly exploded beneath them. "NOW WHAT?!" Wiley Kat hollered.

"I thought you were watching for rockets," Lion-O shouted to Mantyro, looking around wildly as they began plummeting to the earth.

At this point, Snarfer, still in Kat’s arms, began to stir. "What’s going on?" he asked groggily.

"Don’t look down," Kat advised, squeezing his eyes shut as the ground rushed up to meet them.

"The Sword of Omens, Lion-O!" Mantyro yelled. "Use the Sword!"

Lion-O swept out the ancient blade, not knowing what he was going to do with it but willing to chance anything. But before he could act, the four falling Thundercats hit the ground hard. As he lost consciousness, Lion-O was vaguely aware of red tigers lowering their invisibility around him and a grinning Sybar advancing with a drawn blade.

"ANSWER ME YOU WORTHLESS SCUM!!!"

Pumyra stifled a groan as she was flung to the ground for what felt like the hundredth time. "I’ve told you all I know," she whimpered. At this point in the game, pride and self-respect were no longer an issue. She just wanted relief from this never-ending torture. She’d worry about vengeance another day.

It had all happened so quickly. When they were first broken on the spaceship, Greeb had provided some warning as to what they were up against. But this…this was different. She and Tygra had been separated and thrown into small rooms. Shortly afterwards, they had come. They had come bearing whips, chains, prods, and spikes. They had begun to question her. At first, she’d refused to answer. But then she realized that they really weren’t after information. They were just trying to get names and places out of her so that they could ridicule her. Everything she said was rudely flung back in her face along with a barrage of pain and agony. And after hours of abuse, Pumyra was ready to throw in the towel.

But her captors were not merciful. "Tell me again," as harsh voice snarled. "Who were your friends? Where were you born? Who were your parents? Who commanded you? Who were your lovers? Where did you live? What did you study?"

The questions went on and on, a stream of invidious demands that was beginning to haze Pumyra’s mind. Before long, she felt fists pummeling into her body, the questions growing louder and louder. It was more than the puma could stand. "Bengali was my friend," she cried, knowing she cried in vain but unable to refuse their demands anymore. "Cougrois was my friend. Cheetara was my friend. Servalla was my friend. Lion-O was my friend. Panthro was—"

"NO!"

A heavy fist snapped Pumyra’s head back and she could not forbear crying out as her skull slammed into the floor.

"No, they were NOT your friends! You had no friends! You don’t remember any friends! You had no family! You had no home! You were nothing! You ARE nothing. We gave you your life! The only life you know is with us! SAY IT!!!"

"I had no friends," Pumyra whispered, curling into a ball and starting to shake. "I had no home. I was nothing. I am nothing. I—"

"Like you mean it, slave. Louder!"

"I’m nothing," the puma repeated, louder this time. A whip was starting to sing through the air and before long, the lash would start to tear into her raw back. "I’m nothing!" Pumyra screamed in a futile attempt to stop the whipping.

"AGAIN!"

The sharp end of the whip tore into the puma’s back and she couldn’t help roaring in agony. "Please," she pleaded. "Make it stop. Make it stop."

"WHO ARE YOU?!"

Pumyra hid her tear-stained face from the humans. "I am nothing," she whispered. "I am nothing."

Glacion could only sigh as he walked into his council chamber for yet another meeting on defense. Just for once, the ice Lunatac wished they could talk about offense instead. He looked around the room, studying each Lunatac and trying to measure their despair.

RedEye was watching Thundera as the red planet sank below the horizon. TugMug was dozing lightly, occasionally twitching as though plagued by nightmares. Amok was staring at the floor and on top the bulky Lunatac, Luna was twisting her riding crop around and around, as though somehow she could take the current situation and twist it into something they could deal with. Starn was pouring over new casualty reports as well as the latest spy reports. As for Hypnon, he was watching Glacion and measuring the courage of his leader much as Glacion was measuring the courage of the others. Their eyes met and unspoken thoughts passed between the two Lunatacs. They’d been friends their entire lives and when one had faltered, it had always been the job of the other one to step forward. But the current war was something neither could face.

"All right, Lunatacs," Glacion said heavily. "What do we do?"

"You’re asking us?" Luna snapped. "You’re the leader. You should have all the answers."

"You never did," TugMug remarked.

"WHAT?!"

"Amok break TugMug," Amok growled threateningly.

"Stop it," Starn ordered sharply. His voice was soft, but pitched to carry. "We won’t get anywhere fighting among ourselves. I believe you, Luna, once supported that idea. Support it again."

Luna grumbled something, but she didn’t respond. Starn glared at her for a while and then turned back to his spy reports. Glacion ran his hands through his thick white hair. Hypnon immediately recognized it as a sign of anxiety, but said nothing. Glacion would have to sort through this himself. Hypnon had no counsel to give him.

"Is surrendering still an option?" RedEye suddenly asked.

The other Lunatacs looked at him in astonishment. "Did I just hear what I think I heard?" TugMug snarled.

"I know it’s extreme, but if we don’t do something, we’ll be exterminated as a species. Gone. Vanquished. Wiped out. Extinct. Do you understand what that means?" RedEye demanded passionately. "When Thundera was destroyed, why did the Thundercats suddenly stop fighting and start evacuating? They might have taken the mutants down with them if they’d continued the war. But they knew it would destroy them. They cared about preserving their race. Maybe we should think about the consequences if we continue fighting."

"If we surrender, it won’t matter if any of our race survive," Hypnon said quietly, his silky voice sinking deep within their minds. "They will destroy our culture, our traditions, and our beliefs. We might as well be exterminated."

"Hypnon’s right," Glacion said. "Either way, we’ll cease to exist. I say we go out fighting."

RedEye shrugged. "We’re not going out with much of a fight," he observed.

"And that’s why I called this meeting," Glacion announced. "We need something new and something different. We need something that will get this war moving again. We’re dragging. The mutants are dragging. Even the Thundercats are dragging."

"What do you suggest? Party favors?"

Glacion shot Luna a cold glare and resisted the temptation to ice her. "I was hoping for some intelligent input. Perhaps I came to the wrong place."

"Relax," Hypnon whispered, his voice taking on a soothing tone. "No one is thinking clearly right now. The enemy is to blame for that. Therefore, let us turn our thoughts toward them. Together, we will be able to think of a plan."

Starn cleared his throat and looked up from his pile of papers. "The Thundercats may have something brewing. According to our spies, they’ve found Control’s records of this Kentro Empire and are decoding them. If we wait a few days, we will have far more information to work with than we currently do."

"You’re certain of this?" Glacion asked. Starn nodded confidently.

"But what guarantee do we have that the Thundercats will share information?" Hypnon wondered. "True, we are allies. But the alliance is and will always be tenuous at best. They don’t truly trust us, and we don’t truly trust them."

"Do we have another choice?" Starn asked.

"I guess there’s RedEye’s option of surrender," TugMug growled. RedEye ignored TugMug and continued to watch the setting Thundera.

"That’s not an option," Glacion declared firmly. "And it will not come up again. Understood?" There were a few head nods. The ice Lunatac realized he would have to settle for that. "Very well, then. Let’s reconvene this council in a few days. Starn, I want the spies to move in for closer surveillance. And whatever they can do to stop that civil war on Thundera, have them do it." Starn nodded. Glacion sighed. "Well, then, I’m sure you all have other things to do. For now, you are dismissed."

Tygra lay curled in a ball of quivering, bleeding flesh. The humans had left him alone for now, but solitude was worse than any beating he could receive. While alone, he had time to think about exactly what he’d said and just how desperate he had become to escape punishment. Just how low could he sink? He’d said things in answer to their rapid questioning that he’d never dreamed he could say. He’d dismissed life-long friends and thrown away years of service to the Code of Thundera. He really was as worthless as he’d said he was.

NO! That’s just what they want me to think. But hard as he tried, Tygra couldn’t get the thoughts of shame and guilt out of his head. He’d thrown away all he’d ever valued in one session of whipping, beating, and verbal abuse. What had caused him to do that?

"I really am nothing," the tiger murmured, squeezing his eyes shut and starting to shake. "All these years, I’ve struggled against that idea and for what?"

Tygra could feel his resistance slipping away. After all, what could he offer his friends? Had they really even been his friends? Or had they merely put up with him? How many times were they the ones to rescue him? How many times did he force them to come to his aid? They’d seen him as a liability. He was a worthless, meaningless liability. Just dead weight on a team of warriors.

"No," Tygra moaned. "No, that’s not true. It can’t be true." But even as he fought against the ideas, they kept coming. He started running through names and faces, but he couldn’t envision his old friends without fear streaking his soul. With every name came a throbbing bruise, a bleeding cut, or a burning whiplash. Greeb and the other slave drivers had seen to that. So Tygra shrank deep within himself, huddled as a mental shadow and ready to throw it all away. And that’s when the memory came.

It was a beautiful memory. A memory he’d somehow managed to keep fresh and untarnished in this mire of despair. Peace washed through his tormented mind, and he knew that he could hold on to this memory with all his fading strength. Though his fears of remembering other friends persisted, somehow he managed to look past his fears regarding her. She’d always been there; she’d always cared. Her noble heart, her courageous spirit, her keen mind, her swift body…it was his one memory untainted by Greeb and the one he could cherish forever. He reached for her, captured her, locked her deep within his heart where his human captors would never find her. For a moment, he could almost see her lying beside him, dozing lightly in perfect contentment. His trembling, blood-stained hand stretched toward her, and in his desperate attempt to make this heavenly vision real, he whispered her name, putting all his waning strength behind his need to reach out and contact her.

"Cheetara…"

"TYGRA!!!"

Cheetara bolted upright in her small room. Her heart was pounding and a swelling headache told her she’d better lie back down, but Cheetara had room for none of these thoughts. That hadn’t been a dream. It couldn’t have been a dream. Her headache was proof enough of that. It had been her sixth sense. She’d felt Tygra call out to her. She’d sensed him. But how? And why now? Why not earlier?

"Tygra…" she murmured softly, trying to draw within herself and enter a psychic trance. "Tygra…"

"Cheetara?"

The cheetah opened her eyes in wild hopes and turned toward the open doorway. Her hopes fell as she saw Panthro and Servalla watching her, concern written on their faces. "Cheetara, are you alright?" Servalla asked. "We thought we heard you cry out. Everything okay?"

"Everything’s fine," Cheetara said a little too quickly. She rose to her feet but instantly had to brace herself against a wall. "I said everything’s fine," she insisted as Panthro rushed to catch her.

"Then you can call me a gravity Lunatac," Panthro growled. "Don’t insult my intelligence, Cheetara. Everything’s not fine. Now what’s going on?"

Cheetara felt Panthro prop her against the wall and Servalla take her pulse. "It was just a dream," the cheetah explained. "Don’t worry. Just an upsetting dream."

"Right," Servalla said sarcastically. "And that’s why all your vital signs scream psychic impression. Okay, let’s hear it. What happened?"

Cheetara closed her eyes and tried to think. If she told Panthro and Servalla about Tygra, they’d think she was crazy. They’d tell her it was only her way of dealing with grief. But she didn’t believe Tygra was dead, she never had, so how could she be grieving. Yes, the thought had crossed her mind. She’d be stupid not to look at the facts. But deep within her heart, she’d always felt that Tygra and Pumyra had somehow survived. But this didn’t help her now. She knew Panthro had given up his friends as lost and she knew Servalla had accepted this as well, but she couldn’t doubt what her sixth sense told her. Somehow, somewhere, Tygra was hurt and wounded. And he was calling to her. But how did she tell the others?

"Cheetara?"

"I’m sorry, Panthro," the cheetah whispered. "What was the question?"

Panthro’s eyes took on a worried look and he felt the cheetah’s forehead for signs of fever. "You had a psychic impression. Was it a warning?"

That was a question she could answer without lying. "No, it wasn’t a warning. It was more like—more like a call."

"A call?"

Cheetara nodded. "Someone was calling me. But it was too faint to answer."

"Do you know who was calling you?" Servalla asked.

A quick grimace and Cheetara made up her mind. She couldn’t tell the others about Tygra. From what she’d been able to gather in that all-too-brief contact, Tygra was in terrible pain. He was suffering and he was confused. He seemed to be calling her name like a lifeline. He was alive now, but there was no guarantee that he would be alive for much longer. She couldn’t fan their hopes only to douse them later. For now, Tygra would be her secret. "I’m not sure. Sorry," she whispered. "I wish I could tell you more."

Panthro looked at her skeptically. He’d been her friend too long to be fooled, and he knew she was holding something back. But he also knew that nothing would drag a secret from Cheetara once she’d made up her mind. "Okay," he finally said. "If you find out more, don’t hesitate to call. Right now, why don’t you get some rest."

Cheetara nodded. "Thank you, my friends. I think I will."

"Good," Servalla approved. "We’ll wake you soon. We’re almost out of range of the Kentro ships and Alphon says we should be able to contact Thundera within the hour."

Cheetara nodded again and lay back down, closing her eyes. She heard Servalla and Panthro exit the room and she heard the door slide shut behind them. As soon as they were gone, she sat back up. Panthro and Servalla were right. She needed rest. But Tygra needed her more. Concentrating, Cheetara gathered herself together and prepared to launch herself back into the psychic realm. Now more than ever, she knew she had to find Tygra.

"Something’s wrong."

The priestess jerked her head upwards. She’d been dozing off, waiting for the humans to arrive with a slave sacrifice. "What was that?"

The darkness began to gather around the pyramid’s cauldron. "Something’s wrong. Someone has breached the Void."

"Impossible." The priestess raced to the cauldron, joining the red-robed figure of her master. "The humans have perfected the fusion of science and sorcery. The Void cannot be crossed."

"Nevertheless, that is what happened," her master growled. He glared into the cauldron, commanding it to show him the breach. "A psychic thought," he finally announced. "A psychic thought has crossed the Void."

"Who?" the priestess demanded. "Who could possibly send a psychic impression across the Void? With Kentro’s technology, it should be impossible for any powers to get in or out of our empire."

"When you summoned me to this place, you brought me across the Void," the source of evil reminded her. "It is within the Void that I gather my powers. The Void is not impregnable."

"But only with the right technology," the priestess argued. "This pyramid is equipped in such a way that the energies of the Void can be tapped from this room. But you yourself know that your powers are limited once you step outside. You must return to regenerate much you like you did with your four spirits of evil. The Void cannot be entered or breached outside this structure. Powers outside our empire cannot penetrate within. That’s why the Thundercats are unable to see their friends. Their powers can’t cross the Void created by Second Earth’s technology."

"You place far too much faith in technology," the bandaged figure snarled. "Science is but a passing era. When it is destroyed, another generation creates its own. But true power is eternal. It is the same from one age to the next. And some power beyond your science has penetrated the Void."

The priestess flung her golden spotted mane backwards and stared into the demon’s cauldron. "So who did it? Who overcame the humans’ technology?"

"I cannot say," her master admitted reluctantly. "It was over too quickly. But the breach came from within, and it was born of a great need. I have my suspicions, but we will wait a little longer."

"And while we wait?" the priestess asked.

"Watch the Thundercat slaves. If they are not broken by the humans, they can not be allowed to survive."

Boom…

The shuddering ground threatened to split Lion-O’s throbbing skull. His headache was reaching astronomical proportions.

Boom…

Whoever that was, they were going to pay and pay dearly.

Boom…

"Lion-O? Lion-O, come on. Get up. Get up, Lion-O. We can’t hold them back much longer. Rowr, we have to get back to the Lair. Lion-O, please get up! Lion-O! We need you, Lion-O. The Thundercats need you!"

Boom…

"Just need a little rest," Lion-O mumbled. His mouth felt strange and moving it was difficult. What had happened? And who was causing those blasted explosions?

Boom…

"Lion-O, in the name of all the Ancients, GET UP!!!"

Boom…

Someone was shaking him now, and it wasn’t helping his headache. But it was starting to bring him around. Slowly, ever so slowly, he opened his eyes.

He opened them just in time to see a powerful laser blast slam into the ground twenty feet beyond him. "What the—"

"Come on, Lion-O, we’ve got to get you out of here! Rowr, call the Sword! Blast it, call the Sword!"

"The Sword…" Lion-O looked down at his side and froze. The Sword and the Claw shield were both missing. And his mouth still felt funny. He felt paralyzed, almost. "What’s going on?"

Someone was hauling him to his feet now. "Call the Sword," the raspy voice commanded. "We’ve looked for it, but we can’t find it. Call it!"

"Bengali? What’s—"

"CALL—THE—SWORD!!!"

Lion-O was stunned into silence. The white tiger’s blue eyes flamed and he glared at the lion. Another laser blast fired overhead. Lion-O looked around and discovered himself just north of New Thundera City. The red tigers…

"Sword of Omens, come to my hand! I, Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats, command you!"

Lion-O heard a distant growling, and then a flash lit the sky. The Sword of Omens shot out of the air and into its master’s hand. It came in so hard that Lion-O was thrown back against Bengali who struggled to catch them both. "Now let’s get out of here!" the white tiger ordered.

"The others!" Lion-O protested. "Kat and Mantyro! Where—"

"Safely back at the Lair," Bengali answered, pushing Lion-O onto a Hover Cat. "Snarf was holding the red tigers back with the Lair’s laser while the rest of us searched for the Sword of Omens. But we couldn’t find it. And we weren’t going to leave because Sybar might have stolen it."

By this time, Lion-O had been shoved to the back of the Hover Cat and Bengali was taking off. "The white tigers—"

"Will cover our retreat," Bengali interrupted.

Lion-O shook his head. "But tiger fighting tiger. I specifically said that—"

"You’d be dead if it wasn’t for us," Bengali growled. "Rowr, warn us the next time you pull a stunt like that. To keep those tigers away from you, Snarf had to fire a wide-range stun blast at everybody. Including you."

"That’s why I feel so odd," Lion-O murmured.

"Hover Cat to Lair, come in," Bengali said to communications. "I’ve got Lion-O and the Sword. Have the white tigers retreat."

"Brrr, good to hear," Snarf answered. "But we’ve just had some news that you’re not going to like, snarf."

Lion-O leaned forward, trying to regain control of his paralyzed muscles. "What is it, Snarf? What news?"

"Lion-O!? Great to hear from you! Are you okay?"

"What news?" Lion-O pressed.

"Oh, right. Well, snarf, it’s like this. Tahee just contacted us. Know what he wanted? He wanted to know if Cat’s Lair could house the noble cheetahs until they win the southern steppes back."

"Until they win them back? What do you mean?"

"Just this. It seems that the panthers are revolting against us, too. Panya took over the southern steppes. And Tahee says the cougar and puma clans are divided down the middle and don’t know where to go, but they’re not fighting each other just yet."

"Whoa," Bengali breathed. "This just keeps getting better."

"Tell Tahee that he’s welcome to Cat’s Lair," Lion-O said heavily. "We’ll have to find room for the cheetahs somehow."

"But Lion-O! With all the white tigers, snarf, we don’t even have room for the returning Thundercats, much less all the cheetah clans."

"Do it, Snarf," Lion-O growled. "That’s your job for the next few days. Find a place for the cheetahs. I don’t care where, I don’t care how, just make sure they’re protected by Cat’s Lair. House them in the city if you have to, but make sure they’re protected."

"But then all of Thundera will know of the civil wars," Bengali protested.

"If they don’t know by now then they’re idiots," Lion-O sighed. "And we’ll need to up the defenses. Panya and Sybar will make a joint attack, no doubt. We must be ready for them."

"All our military efforts are going into the war against Kentro," Bengali argued. "We can’t afford to pull away from that."

"We can’t afford not to," Lion-O answered. "I once read about the evils of fighting a war on two fronts. I’ve tried to avoid that. But we no longer have a choice. As of now, the red tigers and the panthers are as much of an enemy as the Kentroans are."