Chapter 2

"Lion-O?" came the soft, if shrill, call.

The young Lord of the Thundercats sat in the darkened kitchen of the Cat's Lair, clad in his sleeping clothes, a glass of plain water on the table before him.He stared into the glass as if the clear, cool liquid might suddenly illuminate and reveal all the mysteries of the universe to him.

Snarf hopped onto the chair opposite Lion-O, then lightly onto the table itself.He could see the hollowness of the youth's red, gold-flecked eyes, and knew what was wrong.It was becoming a regular thing in the months since the refugees' arrival on Third Earth.

Snarf cooed soothingly, petting the boy's red mane.Normally the gesture irritated Lion-O, who insisted on being treated like the adult he'd awakened as rather than the cub he'd been before the hybernation chamber.But not on nights like this.

"The same one, Lion-O?" Snarf asked softly.

The youth's only response was an almost imperceptible nod.

"Do you want to talk about it with ol' Snarf, snarf-snarf?" the little quadriped mewled.

"No thanks, Snarf," he said in a gravelly whisper." If it's all the same to you, I'd like to be alone for a while."

Snarf was taken aback slightly by the mild rebuff, but let it go.He'd been caring for Lion-O since infancy, and knew the boy took melancholy spells like this one.

"If you need me, you know where I am, snarf-snarf," he said.Then he hopped from table to floor, took a piece of candy fruit from the cooler, and left.

Lion-O listened to his nursemaid leave, his eyes fixed unblinking on the glass.With a quiet desperation, he willed his mind to be as still and cool as the water.

Fire...

He smelled it.There was no smoke in his room, but he could smell burning things.He rolled over in his bed and froze.

Like a vision from a nightmare, a massive figure loomed over his bed in the darkness.He stared at it, uncomprehending.This was all wrong.His house wasn't supposed to be burning.And certainly there should not be a reptilian Mutant standing above him, a huge axe raised in it's gnarled hands, ready to descend and split the child's skull.

Then the mutant gagged, dropping the axe to it's right.The steel point of a sword potruded from it's throat.The creature scrabbled at the deadly metal with it's hooked claws, then folded to the floor with a loud thud.

Behind it stood Jaga, Lord Defender of Thundera and his father's best friend.He pulled the Sword of Omens free of the mutant's carcass, then stepped over the body.He leaned down, drawing face to face with the young prince.

"Listen to me carefully," he said, his voice full of an icy, lethal calm that scared Lion-O more than anything the elderly warrior might have to say."There are bad things happening in the palace and all around the city right now.We are going to go get your mother, then go to a ship I have waiting."

Lion-O nodded, abruptly focused on his mother's safety.A monster like the one that had come for him might even now be looming over her bed.Besides, he had nothing to fear; Jaga was with him.

The pair stepped quickly to the door, then looked out; the way was clear.Outside, the smell of burning was more intense, the air warmer and thicker.There was sulfer in it, and a sweet smell he did not recognize, but that seemed to sicken him just with it's presence.

The hall was dimly lit be red emergency lights.They moved quickly down it, Jaga's eyes glowing an eerie gold in the gloom as he scanned the passage ahead, occasionally glancing behind for signs of pursuit.Jaga was good, Lion-O knew, and loved the boy like his own.But now he began to realize how very, very dangerous the Lord Defender actually was.

Several minutes of careful progress brought them to his parents' bedroom.As they drew near, Jaga stopped Lion-O and knelt down close to the boy.

"Stay here," Jaga said."I should only be gone a minute or two.If any mutants come by before I get back, run away and hide.I can find you wherever you go."

Jaga turned then, moved to the doorway, and glanced around the corner.He stiffened; Lion-O sensed something was wrong, something bad.Then the Puma Clan warrior spun into the doorway and disappeared.

Lion-O heard a series of shouts and curses, then the hissing sound of plasma weapons being fired.This was followed by several short screams, each cut off by the wet sound of flesh being hewn by steel.

He crept towards the doorway, his heart full of dread."Momma?" he called nervously, his voice choked with fear.Something awful had gone wrong, he knew it, but maybe Momma was okay, maybe Jaga could do something.Then he reached the doorway, stepped around the corner,

andsaw...

The glass crashed to the floor, swept from the table by a spasmodic jerk of a powerful arm.Lion-O looked around the kitchen for several moments before he remembered where he was and how he'd come to be there.

He looked at the clock and saw that Snarf would be down in a moment to start beakfast.He rose from his seat, retrieved a towel and cleaned up the mess he'd made, dropping the glass fragments into the recycler.He looked at the hole in the sink that had swallowed the shattered decanter.

His memories of the night from that point forward were much like the glass; broken fragments.He remembered Jaga carrying him; being handed up through the entry of the ship into the waiting arms of Panthro and Cheetara; watching Capitol City crumble as they lifted off; the Mutant attack, and the Sword of Omens awakening to defend him.Finally, being laid down in his hybernation chamber by the sad-eyed old warrior.

Then he'd awakened on Third Earth.They'd worked a treaty with the Berbils, done battle with Mumm-Ra and the contingent of Mutants that had followed them here.The Cat's Lair was almost finished, as was Panthro's Thundertank.

But through it all, every night, there were dreams, nightmares.And by day, he could never remember...

He had not realized he'd left the kitchen until he found himself standing in front of the concealed entrance to the Sword Chamber.He placed his hand against the stone that actuated the door, causing it to grind open.He stepped into the small room and allowed the door to close behind him.

The Sword of Omens rested on the ornate rack Jaga had ordered made for it years ago, when he first became Lord Defender.The Claw Shield lay unpresuming on the table below it.The glistening jewel called the Eye of Thundera was quiet, drawn closed into the vertical slit of a feline pupil.

He walked across the floor and took the weapon from it's resting place.It was his now,fallen to him as Lord of the Thundercats, only because Jaga had left no heir.It was alive, and aware, and he found himself wondering if it could grieve at the old man's demise.

Lion-O had weilded the sword on several occasions of late, but something always felt wrong when he held it.True, it responded to his commands and fought effectively, but there was no sense of union with the weapon, such as Jaga had shared.There was something between the young Lord and the Sword, something that formed a wall, keeping them from the symbiosis they were destined to share.

Is it me? Lion-O thought, trying to direct the mental message at the quiescent sword.Is there something wrong with me?

The Eye of Thundera gazed back at him, unblinking, keeping it's own counsel.

Above his head, Lion-O heard a door open and close, followed by light, fast footsteps.Cheetara, he thought, On her way to morning exercises.

Since arriving on Third Earth, Lion-O had found himself avoiding the lovely cheetah.He had gone into hibernation as a child of twelve and emerged a grown male of eighteen; being near her evoked reactions in him he was still learning to control.More than that, however, there was something about the regal grace of her, the way she carried herself, that reminded him of Minerva, his mother.So being near Cheetara was uncomfortable on several levels.

He gazed down at the Sword, wondering what to do now.It gazed back at him impassively.

"You're about as useful a toothpick, you know that?" he quipped.There was no reaction from the Sword at all.With a sigh, he took the Claw Shield and sheathed the Sword there.He pressed the shield to his thigh, as he'd seen Jaga do so often, and it adhered there of it's own accord.

Perhaps it was time to face down some of his own demons, he mused.Starting with the fleet-footed creature exiting the Lair.He was Lord of the Thundercats now, after all; there was no excuse for his being rude to her.Even if he made a fool of himelf, that was still better than being alone right now.

He waited a few moments, giving her a head start to avoid interrupting her run.He exited the Sword Chamber and started for the vehicle bay.The racket he heard as he drew near the entrance brought him up short.

Looking through the doorway, he could see Panthro at work on the engine of the Thundertank.The hood was up, obscuring Lion-O's view of the stocky panther.This likewise obscured Panthro's view of Lion-O, for which the youth was swiftly grateful.

As he observed, Lion-O heard a steady litany of swearing and cursing rising from below the hood of the tank.A second later there was a clatter followed by a startled, yelping cry.A wrench suddenly shot across the bay with enough force to break it against the far wall.

Lion-O backed away from the door and returned the way he'd come.He could walk around the vehicle bay to the front entrance and avoid the panther altogether.He felt shaken and a little nervous; he'd never seen Panthro so angry before.

Outside, he found Cheetara's tracks easily enough and set out to follow.It took almost an hour before he saw the cheetah stretched out in the sand, resting in the sun.She saw him coming and sat up, folding her long legs beneath her.

Lion-O reached her and said, "'Morning."

Cheetara looked back at him, her face inscrutible."Good morning, Lion-O," she replied softly.

The desert wind blew gently then and stirred her golden hair, blowing an errant strand across her eyes.She reached upwards with her left hand and brushed it casually to the side.With that simple gesture, she swept from Lion-O's mind everything he'd intended to say to her, entrancing him with the simple, untamed beauty of her.

Moments passed, and Lion-O realized he must look like an idiot staring at her in that way.Cheetara had not moved, only now she seemed a little sad as she looked into the youth's eyes.

Lion-O, desperate, looked around for something to talk about, and found it."Ouch," he said with a grimace."What happened to your shoulder?"

Cheetara's red eyes flashed gold.She leaned forward, glaring at him, her hands balled tighly into fists."None…Of…Your…Goddamned…Business," she snarled, then sprang to her feet and rocketed away from him.

Lion-O watched her streaking towards the horizon."But..." he said quietly, knowing she was already out of earshot.He sat down heavily in the sand and drew his knees to his chin and wrapped his arms around them.Now he was alone and he’d made a fool of himself.

What's happening to us? He thought.Everyone's drifting apart.Nobody talks, we don't eat together anymore.Panthro never leaves the vehicle bay, Tygra never leaves the lab.Cheetara's always out here running around.The Kittens keep to themselves...

He looked in the direction the cheetah had flown.I just wanted someone to talk to.

He swiped at his eyes angrily.He was a grown-up now.And grown-ups didn't cry.

Continued...