SYSTEM CORRUPTED
by BKingKat
Mumm-Ra lay dormant in his sarcophagus, having fallen once again at the hands of Lion-O, and the rest of the ThunderCats. Hours upon hours past, as he regained his strength, plotting a new means to vanquish his enemies, fostering the hatred contained within the very reaches of his dark soul.
Not long after Mumm-Ra’s strength had been restored, a presence was felt within the Black Pyramid. Ma-Mutt, who was the first to feel it, began to growl. Mumm-Ra began to grumble. Already extremely choleric after his last run-in with the ThunderCats, Mumm-Ra was in no mood for intruders.
“Well Ma-Mutt.” said Mumm-Ra. “A fool has managed to find his way to my chambers. Rather lucky I admit, but his luck will soon run out.”
Just as the sarcophagus began to open slowly, a green, tinted glow engulfed the entire chamber, and an insect-like, electronic series of hissing was heard. Taken by surprised, Mumm-Ra threw a hand in front of his face, guarding his eyes.
“Gaaah!” growled the mummy. “What trickery is this?!”
After a brief second, both the glow, and the hissing, subsided. Silence filled the chambers, and Mumm-Ra was determined to get to the bottom of this once and for all. Opening his sarcophagus, he stepped out to face the intruder.
“Who dares to enter my chambers?!” bellowed Mumm-Ra. “You have disturbed my slumber, and shall not leave here alive! Show yourself!”
At the very end of the chamber, on the other side of the pyramid across from Mumm-Ra’s cauldron, a figure could be seen in the shadows, standing parallel across from Mumm-Ra. Distinctive features could not be seen, however the figure was tall, and his build was solid and refined. The figure stood upright, arms to his side, both hands making a fist.
“All in good time, Mumm-Ra.” said a monotone, ratiocinative male voice. “All in good time.”
“Who are you?!” said Mumm-Ra. “What do you want?!”
“I have come to make use of your abilities.” said the voice. “Your powers will prove useful where we are going.”
“I am not going ANYWHERE!” said Mumm-Ra. “This is my dominion, and I am the ruler here!”
“Yes, very good.” the figure continued. “Territorial, hostile, authoritative, wrathful puissant. But most of all, and most importantly, diabolical. Your collective properties are precisely what I need, and shall be allocated to serve my design.”
“Mumm-Ra, The Ever-Living, serves no one!” retorted Mumm-Ra.
“That is remained to be seen.” said the figure. “I have been watching you, and searching throughout the many dimensions of reality to find an entity suitable for my, modus operandi, if you will. Up until this point I have attained no success, however, upon my discovery of you, I have at last found the entity I am looking for. This world, this, reality, your very existence, is far more trivial than you realize. You are powerful because you are meant to be, it is your purpose. What you don’t realize, is that you, this world, and everything in it, are merely an extension of a greater reality. You’ve been living under the superintendence of isolation throughout your entire existence, and have never been aware, until now.
The figure stepped forward slightly, still within the shadows, but his figure more outlined than before. The figure appeared to be dressed in a black suit, and was wearing eyeglasses of some sort.
“I am here to usher you into a whole new configuration of truth.” said the figure. “Whether or not you desire to help me is irrelevant. Circumvention is not an option, you will come with me. That is the decision.”
“Silence!” said Mumm-Ra. “I have trifled with you long enough! Now you shall experience the true potency of my power!”
Lifting his arms to the sky, standing in front of the pyramid, Mumm-Ra began his ritual of power.
“Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decayed form, to Mumm-Ra!” said Mumm-Ra. “The Ever-Living!”
Through the power of the Ancient Spirits of Evil, Mumm-Ra’s oppressive transformation had completed, and he looked forward to face his enemy, cackling maniacally. Gripping the Sword of Plun-Daar in his hand, Mumm-Ra pointed in the figure’s direction.
“Now you shall perish!” said Mumm-Ra.
Power surging from his hands, Mumm-Ra emitted a stream of red energy in the figure’s direction. As if they were waiting for it, the figure simply dodged rapidly from side to side, avoiding being hit each time. Mumm-Ra grew frustrated, and tried again, this time using more energy, and still had no success.
“Do not waste your energy trying to terminate
Mumm-Ra flew down from the front of the sarcophagus, and onto the other side of the cauldron. Holding the Sword of Plun-Daar steadily, he raised it into the air.
“Now it ends!” said Mumm-Ra. “Farewell, pathetic mortal!”
The figure calmly stepped forward, into the light, and could now be seen for what he truly was. He was a human male, dressed in a black business suit, and had brown, slicked-back hair. Upon his face, he wore shades, which covered his frigid, piercing eyes, and his face remained the same. Intense and cold, with very little emotion.
“This is not farewell, this is salutations.” said the man. “And my name…is Smith.”
Mumm-Ra brought down the blade in Smith’s direction, but Smith quickly dodged, and moved in towards Mumm-Ra. Grabbing a hold of one of Mumm-Ra’s forearms, Smith stood still.
Mumm-Ra paused, feeling a strange, cold, odd sensation, unlike any he had ever felt before. He did not know what to make of it, and although he did not show it, he feared whatever was happening.
“I am taking you away from here, and you will do as I command you to.” said Smith. “Brace yourself, this will feel unusual.”
Smith squeezed Mumm-Ra’s forearm, digging his nails in a bit, and the sensation that Mumm-Ra noticed earlier began to intensify. Mumm-Ra watched, as his energy, and essence, began to flow into Smith’s arm, and Mumm-Ra began to disappear, particle by particle, being taken into Smith.
“NOOOOO!!!!!!!!” said Mumm-Ra. “This cannot be!”
Mumm-Ra tried to struggle free, but could not, and slowly but surely, he soon disappeared, with Smith still remaining. The task done, Smith looked satisfied.
“Packed, and ready for transport.” said Smith to himself. “And now, for everything else.”
Taking a scalpel from his coat pocket, Smith took its blade, and cut across his left palm. Instead of blood dripping out, a silver-like, metallic goo surfaced. Smith stuck his right index finger in the goo, and mechanical whirring could be heard.
“No…negative…not strong enough….” said Smith. “Cannot survive in this world….too powerful. Yes….this is more like it.”
Using his right index finger and thumb, Smith extracted a portion of the goo from his hand, which lumped into a mass within his right hand. The cut on his left palm had sealed up, and he threw the mass within his right hand to the floor. A definite form began to take shape, and very soon, an attractive human female stood before him.
“Hydrana.” said Smith. “We finally meet at last.”
“You are not the TaskMaster.” Hydrana told Smith. “How have you come to summon me?”
“I am now.” said Smith. “The TaskMaster works for me, and everything that was once his, is mine, including you. But unlike the rest of his untouched stock he stores within the deep recesses of his internal structure, you have been chosen for a special assignment.”
Without saying a word, Smith struck his right hand into the woman’s chest, and the replication process began. The digital murmur of the replication could be heard, as Smith’s presence spread into Hydrana, and Hydrana stood before him, trembling at the sensation, with a look of pure surprise on her face. Within a few seconds, Hydrana had completely transformed into a duplicate of Smith.
“Invigorating.” said the Smith duplicate.
“Yes.” said Smith. “Now, I must leave this bizarre world, but you are to be my surrogate while I am gone. Take over everything, leave nothing untouched. I am going to control this realm, and many more like it. Understood.”
“Affirmative.” replied the Smith duplicate.
“Good.” said Smith. “Begin immediately.”
Upon saying this, Smith began shaking violently, and started to emit a green,
tinted glow that began to fill the entire room. The electronic hissing that was
heard by Mumm-Ra earlier, had now commenced once again, and in a flash, Smith
disappeared, leaving behind a small aftershock wave.
The Smith that remained looked around the pyramid, taking careful observation.
“This is an establishment fit for a king.” said “And it’s time to conquer my kingdom.”
MEANWHILE….
“This is the closest I can get you to them.” said Link over the phone line. “You’ve got 24 hours.”
“On it.” said Trinity, hanging up the cellphone.
“We need to hurry.” said Morpheus. “24 hours is our window, but every second is against us. If the Agents catch on too quickly it could spell disaster for the hostages.”
“He’s right.” said Neo. “Razor and Chism are trying to neutralize the security system now, and if we’re lucky a riot will break out and we can move into to get them out.”
Neo, Morpheus, Trinity and other free minds were on a
special mission, and time was against them as usual. Morpheus had consulted the
Oracle, and was able to discover that the Agents had managed to contain a group
of individuals who called themselves The Enlightened, which consisted of about
51 individuals, male and female, led by a man who called himself Locus. Locus
had managed to create a cult following of people seeking a greater answer to
reality, and the movement dubbed those who wished to follow him as “The
Enlightened”. The Agents soon caught wind of them, and determined them to be a
threat to the Matrix, so they took drastic measures. Because of their large
number, and potency in power, the Agents knew that if they simply destroyed
them, it would cause a significant lapse in power, and leave the system
vulnerable for more crops to be lost, and security to be compromised. So, the
Agents decided to contain The Enlightened, and locked them up inside a
high-security mental institution for the criminally insane. All of them were
scheduled to have their memories, and subconscious modified, and the clock was
ticking. The Oracle had also been monitoring their progress, and knew that if
these minds could be freed, it would be a great victory for
Razor, captain of a ship known as The Colossus, had answered Morpheus’ call for help with this mission, and commanded his crew to follow suit. Chism, his lover and first mate, accompanied him. Half of The Colossus’ crew was with Razor and Chism, working on knocking out the power and security of the institution, and the other half remained with Neo, Morpheus and Trinity, en route to the institution and ready to navigate facility and free The Enlightened.
Razor and his crew were at the main security station of the institution, and managed to neutralize the guards at the gate. The interior would be the tough part however, and a simple blow-up job would not do, otherwise it would trigger an immediate red alert on the facility.
Chism and Razor looked over the surroundings, speaking after the situation was assessed.
“Soshi, you and Fang take the left corridor.” said Razor. “
The crew headed in their respective directions, having no idea that they were being watched. From an office building directly across from the security station, Smith could see them. Walking out of the building, Smith cut his left palm open again, as he had done before, and extracted another selection of goo, which then turned into a mass that he threw down. Once the goo took shape, Mumm-Ra, The Ever-Living stood before Smith.
“What will you have me do?” asked Mumm-Ra.
“Show them what you’re made of.” said Smith. “Now go, destroy them, and the building too. Then you’ll find the rest of their friends.”
Soshi and Fang proceeded down the left, taking out any security personnel in their path. Their goal was to sever the communications link so that security could not be alerted of any attempt at a breach. They were within several feet of their goal, but were stopped abruptly, as something flew through the window.
Mumm-Ra stood before them, blocking their path, and wielding the Sword of Plun-Daar.
”Welcome to the end!” said Mumm-Ra.
“What the hell is that thing?!” said Soshi.
“I don’t know.” said Fang. “But whatever the fuck you are, step aside!”
Mumm-Ra cackled loudly at the idle threat.
“Fools!” said Mumm-Ra. “I’m not stepping anywhere! This facility belongs to me!”
“Over our dead bodies!” said Soshi.
“Precisely!” said Mumm-Ra.
Samus rushed towards Mumm-Ra, drawing out his samurai sword to clash blades with Mumm-Ra. Mumm-Ra quickly countered, slicing Soshi’s blade in half, and then using the other end of the sword to slice in Soshi’s direction. Soshi stopped, and then fell into two halves, which fell to the side.
“You motherfucker!” said Fang, drawing his guns and firing.
Mumm-Ra laughed as the bullets had no effect on him. When the bullets ran out, Fang went towards him, firing a fierce sidekick in Mumm-Ra’s direction, only to be blocked. Fang then proceeded to fist-fight Mumm-Ra, hitting him a couple times, but Mumm-Ra quickly picked Fang up by the throat, and tossed him to the end of the hallway.
“Is everyone in this realm as stupid as you are?!” asked Mumm-Ra. “Prepare to die!”
Fang got to his feet, and began to rush back at Mumm-Ra. But Mumm-Ra acted quickly, throwing up his hand and sending a barrage of red fireballs in Fang’s direction. Fang screamed in agony as he was burned alive, and eventually fell dead to the ground.
Mumm-Ra laughed in satisfaction, as he started to walk away from the two bodies on the ground. Just as he was starting to leave, Soshi’s comlink began to speak, and it was a message from Chism.
“Soshi, what’s going on?” she asked. “Why haven’t you taken out the communications yet?”
Mumm-Ra walked over, picking up the comlink, and began to speak.
“Where are you?” asked Mumm-Ra.
“We’re where we’re SUPPOSED to be dammit!” replied an angry Razor. “Headed towards the mainframe! Now get those communications taken OUT! Morpheus and the others are counting on us!”
Hearing this, Mumm-Ra proceeded through the compound, ready to seek out any other invaders, and destroy them.
As Razor and his crew kept to their part of the mission, Neo and the others were directly outside the institution.
“This is it.” said Neo. “Time to go in.”
As the crew walked towards the front, side and back entrances, all of the sudden, the doors to the institution locked down with a protective blast door in front of them, and red lights accompanied by a klaxon were blaring.
“There’s something wrong here.” said Trinity.
“Morpheus, Neo, Trinity, somebody!” said a voice over Morpheus’ comlink. “It’s Razor, abort mission, now!”
“Razor.” said Morpheus. “Where are you? What happened? Can you get to an exit?”
“Cello found me one and I’m crawling there now.” said Razor. “We were all attacked by this weird, demon-looking thing. It slaughtered everyone and then blew up the base. I’m the only one to make it out alive, and I’m barely intact myself. Get yourselves out of there before it finds you!”
“Razor wait!” said Morpheus.
As Razor transmitted the message to Morpheus, he was crawling towards a phone booth that the operator of his ship, Cello, had found for him. He suffered tremendous injuries, having lost a leg, several burns over his body, particularly his face, and many broken bones from the blast impact. He made it, and was just about to pick up the receiver, when his hand was kicked away by a foot. Razor looked up, to see Smith standing in his path.
“Close, but not good enough.” said Smith.
After saying this, Smith kicked Razor in the face, knocking him down, and then stomped on his face several times, until Razor was finally dead. Smith picked up the comlink, and then spoke.
“I hope you like my little surprise, Mr. Anderson.” said Smith. “My capabilities expand with each passing day. Goodbye.”
“Smith!” said Morpheus.
“How could he have…” Neo started.
But Neo was interrupted by a short cry out from Trinity. She fell to the ground, having been clipped by something.
“Trinity!” said Neo, going to her.
Upon inspection, it appeared she had been burned by something. Then, a loud cackling noise was heard, and Neo looked to the sky, seeing Mumm-Ra up above, and waiting for him.
“I am Mumm-Ra, The Ever-Living, and you shall perish at my hands!” said Mumm-Ra.
Mumm-Ra emitted a stream of fireballs in the group’s direction. Neo got himself and Trinity out of the way, and Morpheus positioned himself from behind a pillar, firing upon Mumm-Ra. The remnants of The Colossus who had accompanied Neo and the others to the institution joined their allies, firing their weapons at Mumm-Ra.
Mumm-Ra remained high in the sky, laughing at their pathetic attempts to try and destroy him, and descended down towards them. Swooping down, Mumm-Ra picked up a Colossus crew member named Glitch, and took him far up into the sky. Glitch tried to struggle, but it was no use, and Mumm-Ra sent him falling to earth. As Glitch fell, Mumm-Ra sent a lightning attack against more fighters below, killing two Colossus crewmembers, who were known as Netti and Blaine.
Neo acted quickly, flying into the air and grabbing Glitch before he could fall, then setting him down safely. Neo decided to take on Mumm-Ra himself, and soared into the air in Mumm-Ra’s direction.
“Neo no!” called Trinity.
Neo escalated towards Mumm-Ra, his fist ready for impact. Distracted with the other fighters, Mumm-Ra did not expect an attack like this from Neo, and was quickly knocked back a good distance from a powerful punch to the side of the head.
Neo stood within the air, his hands up and ready for combat. Mumm-Ra looked back at this new enemy, and prepared to fight him.
“Leave now or face the consequences.” said Neo.
“The only consequences that will take place are yours!” said Mumm-Ra.
Neo flew towards Mumm-Ra, and began his attack, delivering a powerful combination of martial arts and kicks. Mumm-Ra tried to block, but there was no way he could fend them all off, and sustained a few powerful hits from Neo. Neo was a lot quicker than Mumm-Ra realized, and his ability to fly and dart through the air made him all the more formidable than the rest. Mumm-Ra managed to grab ahold of Neo, and throw him forward and upward. Reacting quickly, Mumm-Ra sent streams of powerful energy in Neo’s direction, which connected, and Neo gritted his teeth in pain. Mumm-Ra then flew forward, and hit Neo in the face once, then again, knocking him back each time, clearly taking advantage of Neo’s weakened state. Mumm-Ra grabbed ahold of Neo by the throat, and prepared to bring the Sword of Plun-Daar down through Neo’s skull. Thinking as quickly as he could, Neo grabbed ahold of a strand of cloth from Mumm-Ra’s helmet, and used it to pull the helmet down over Mumm-Ra’s eyes. This distraction gave Neo time to struggle free, and also caused Mumm-Ra to miss, cutting the cloth instead of Neo’s skull. Knowing this wasn’t the time to stand and fight, Neo soared back down to the crew below.
“Are you alright Neo?” asked Trinity.
“I’m fine.” said Neo.
“This is not a battle that we can win now.” said Morpheus. “Let’s find an exit and get out of here before this thing kills us all.”
“The Enlightened still need to be freed.” said Neo. “We’ll have to come back for them.”
“I agree.” said Morpheus. “But we must go now.”
“You get them all out of here.” said Neo, opening his hand. “I’m going to try and find out where this thing came from.”
In Neo’s hand, a strand of cloth that Mumm-Ra had cut from his helmet remained, and Neo kept it, hoping it would make a useful clue.
………………..
Lion-O left Cat’s Lair with Snarf, Panthro and the
ThunderKittens, en route to the
“Snarf snarf, Roberbill didn’t sound too good Lion-O.” said Snarf. “We’d better hurry.”
“Right on that Snarf.” said Panthro. “I’m kicking my baby into high gear.”
Panthro revved the ThunderTank up loudly, and zoomed towards
the
“Whatever it is, it must be pretty bad.” said WilyKat. “Robear Bill said only he and a few others were able to escape, and the rest were prisoner.”
“I bet Mumm-Ra’s up to this.” said WilyKit.
It wasn’t long before the group had reached the Berbil village, arriving to find the scattered remains of Berbils all over the village, and several homes burning. Lion-O and the group exited the tank, surveying the damage.
“Let’s split up.” said Lion-O. “Snarf, you and Panthro go to the right, WilyKat, WilyKit, to the left. I’ll head for the village hall to see if there are any survivors. I just hope by Jaga that we aren’t too late.”
Each of the group went in their respective directions, and Lion-O headed straight for the heart of the village. He entered the town hall, and saw several frightened Berbils, mechanically whispering and chattering in fear at one another. Around that time, the Sword of Omens began to growl, alerting Lion-O of danger.
In an instant, something crashed through the roof of the town hall, as well as smashing a strong wooded table in half which was in the middle. When the dust settled, the figure stood up, which was none other than Smith himself.
“You’re trespassing.” said Smith. “I order you to leave immediately.”
“This is not your village.” said Lion-O. “Who are you?”
Smith walked closer towards Lion-O, looking him straight in the eyes behind his shades.
“I am Smith.” said Smith. “And I will be running things here from now on. There is absolutely nothing you can do about it, whoever you are.”
“I am Lion-O, Lord of the ThunderCats.” said Lion-O. “And I order you to release your hostages immediately.”
“Hostages?” said Smith. “Why I see no hostages here. These are merely my subjects.”
Smith grabbed two Berbils by the back of their necks, and brought them forward. Lion-O brought back his sword, ready to strike, but it was too late. Smith had struck one hand each into the Berbils, turning them into Smith clones. Lion-O stood back, astonished.
“Great Jaga!” said Lion-O.
“Yes, fascinating isn’t it?” said Smith. “And now, it’s time to show you the way out.”
Without saying another word, Smith lunged at Lion-O, grabbing ahold of him and blasting out the front of the hall with him. They both fell to the ground, and got up, ready to fight. At the sight of this, the Berbils began to scatter outside, seizing this opportunity to escape.
“Don’t let them get away!” said Smith to Smith 2 and Smith 3.
The clones began to chase after the Berbils, but were each stopped, one by Panthro, and one by the ThunderKittens.
“Careful ThunderCats, these men are dangerous.” said Lion-O. “You take care of them, I’ll settle with their master.”
“Settle with me?” said Smith, holding his hands in a martial-arts fighting stance. “There is no settlement, Lord of the ThunderCats. There is only, inevitability.”
With this, the fight was on. Smith rushed towards Lion-O with a powerful shoulder charge, so quickly that it caught Lion-O off guard and caused him to be knocked to the ground. Smith then countered to strike Lion-O while he was down, but Lion-O rolled out of the way, darting back up with an uppercut to Smith’s chin, knocking him backward a bit. Once both fighters were on their feet, Smith advanced back towards Lion-O with a tsunami of martial arts moves. Lion-O proceeded to block them, catching a few attacks in the upper body, and tried to counter with moves of his own.
Meanwhile, Panthro and the ThunderKittens were busy fighting their own Smith clones. Panthro broke out his knunchucks, sending fierce blasts and assaults in Smith 2’s direction, while also fending off Smith 2 with a combination of deadly martial arts maneuvers. Smith 2 however, was equally skilled in martial arts, and managed to counter and block a great deal of Panthro’s moves, but did not have the bulk that Panthro had. During the midst of battle, Panthro managed to grab Smith 2 by the throat, and sent him hurling into a nearby tree. Smith 2 smashed straight through the tree trunk, causing the tree to collapse. Panthro quickly moved out of the way, as not to get hit by the falling tree, and expected to see Smith 2 unconscious, possibly even dead, on the ground. To Panthro’s amazement, Smith 2 stood upright, dusting himself off, and ready for battle once again.
“Blast it!” said Panthro. “What in the name of Jaga ARE you?”
“The future.” said Smith 2. “Your future.”
Saying no more, Smith 2 broke off an enormous-sized branch, and with great strength, sent it hurling in Panthro’s direction. Panthro was unable to get out of the way, and went sailing with the branch into a nearby building. Panthro groaned at the impact, using his strength to get it off him, and stood up, hurting, but ready to fight again.
WilyKat and WilyKit fought Smith 3, and were having much more difficulty than both Panthro and Lion-O combined. Using their cunning, they tried to disable Smith 3 with smoke bombs, so that he would be preoccupied gasping for air and they could move in for a successful attack, but the smoke capsules didn’t even faze him. Smith 3 saw through the smoke as if it weren’t even there, and proceeded to try and capture the ThunderKittens. The ThunderKittens were fast, but they soon found that Smith 3 was far faster, keeping up with them almost before they even thought to move. After awhile of dodging, trick capsules, and repeated attempts to try and sneak in a successful attack, the ThunderKittens leapt on their spaceboards, and tried something drastic. Using their lariats, they both planned to rope Smith 3 by the arms, and carry him away in the air. They managed to get a firm hold of their lariats on his arms, however, Smith 3 knew what they were up to, and was ready for them. As they tried to pull him away, Smith 3 resisted, and then made his move. Grasping onto the lariats, in a great show of strength, Smith 3 swung his arms in a circular motion, spinning both ThunderKittens on their surfboards, and then sent them sailing into the ground. Both twins landed with a painful thud, and their spaceboards crashed and burned. Walking over to them, Smith 3 chuckled, as he picked them both up by the scruffs of their neck.
“So young, so cunning.” said Smith 3. “You might prove useful after all.”
“Let us go you freak!” said WilyKit.
“You’ll be sorry if you don’t!” said WilyKat.
Smith 3 merely laughed, standing up with them, and was about to speak, when he felt a sharp pain in the back of his leg. Turning around, he saw Snarf at his calve.
“Sneearf, you drop those two right now!” said Snarf, who had bitten Smith 3’s leg, and was digging his claws in. “Do it, or say goodbye to your foot!”
“Imbecilic creature.” said Smith 3, giving Snarf a swift and powerful kick with his heel. “There is no stopping me.”
Lion-O and the master Smith continued to battle fiercely. Smith sent a whirlwind of punches directed at Lion-O’s side, and all Lion-O could to after so many was to jump backwards to get out of range. Once Lion-O had freed himself of the punches, he advanced forward again, to be greeted by a flying kick from Smith. Lion-O dodged the kick, and countered with a powerful slash to Smith’s face with the claw shield, which met him almost instantly. Smith groaned as the claws sliced through his flesh, and destroyed his sunglasses. Not giving Smith any time to react, Lion-O tackled him to the ground, and the two fighters wrestled each other fiercely. Smith sunk his fist in Lion-O’s left cheek, while Lion-O drove his elbow into Smith’s ribs. The two fighters grabbed each other by the neck, trying to choke the lives out of each other, while they rolled around on the ground, sometimes Smith getting the upper-hand, sometimes Lion-O. At one point, Smith gained the upper ground, and Lion-O reacted by wrapping his legs around Smith’s waist in a scissor lock, twisting as hard as he could, trying to snap Smith’s spine. Smith released his hands from Lion-O’s neck in reaction to the pain, and slipped forward to escape the lock. Both fighters got back on their feet, and resumed fighting.
Smith 2 had managed to land Panthro inside the Berbil’s smith shop, where the bellows were still hot and burning, and quickly ran inside to face him. As Panthro got up, Smith 2 lunged to try and throw him back to the ground, but Panthro stood tall, catching Smith 2 mid-charge. Panthro gripped onto Smith 2’s hands, who was trying to push him inside the smith shop, while Panthro tried to push him out, using all his strength. As he pushed, Panthro placed his iron grip on Smith 2’s hands as hard as he could, trying to break every bone in Smith 2’s hands. Although Panthro could feel bones cracking underneath his fingers, Smith 2 did not make a sound, and his grip was as strong as ever. Smith 2 quickly released, and followed with a sucker punch to Panthro’s face that was so powerful, it knocked him back against the wall. Smith 2 went over as Panthro got up, and grabbed him again, flinging him against another wall. Smith 2 followed him, kicking Panthro in the stomach, followed by 2 heel kicks to Panthro’s back, then grabbed Panthro by the back of the neck. Nearby was the bellows, and Smith 2 tried to place Panthro’s face directly in them. Using his hands, Panthro braced himself, keeping his face from making contact with the hot coals, which were only a few inches in front of him. It was taking all his strength to keep Smith 2 at bay, and Panthro could feel the heat of the fires. As his strength was giving out, Panthro tried a desperate move, which was his only chance. Releasing one arm, Panthro sent his elbow flying back into Smith 2’s face, causing him to release his hand from Panthro’s neck. While Smith 2 was still stunned from the hit, Panthro quickly ducked down and out, and pushed Smith 2 by the shoulders, head-first into the bellows. Panthro held Smith 2’s body in place, as the fires burned and seared Smith 2’s face, who was screaming in pain. Smith 2 emerged from the bellows, face charred and burnt, unable to see. Smith 2 bent down on the ground as he screamed, and Panthro stood over him, holding a large anvil in his hands.
“Say goodnight, sucker!” said Panthro.
With a large heave, Panthro threw the anvil down upon Smith 2’s head, smashing it to bits. As Smith 2 expired, his body pulsed with green, lightning-like energy, and the body that lay before Panthro was not the body of a man, but one of a Berbil, whose head had been smashed in.
Panthro gasped, unsure of what to make of what had just happened, and quickly rushed out to see if Lion-O needed a hand.
Lion-O was still locked in powerful hand-to-hand combat with the original Smith. Lion-O was bleeding, and had several bruises, but he kept on fighting. Smith attempted a punch, and Lion-O managed to grab his arm and turn around, bringing it down on his shoulder to try and break it. Smith’s arm remained unbroken, and he sent a hard punch into the small of Lion-O’s back, then tried to get a strangle hold on Lion-O. Lion-O managed to toss Smith forward and over his back, causing Smith to fly several feet in front of Lion-O and land on his back with a thud. Smith attempted to get up, and charge Lion-O once again. Seeing as though Smith seemed unfazed by the battle, except for the claw marks on his face, Lion-O decided it was time to use the Sword of Omens.
Taking out the sword and holding it in front of him, Lion-O sent a powerful burst of energy in Smith’s direction.
“HOOOOOOOOO!” shouted Lion-O.
Not expecting this, Smith was thrown back a great distance by the energy, and seized on the ground, growling in pain. Smith eventually stopped however, and got back up, walking calmly towards Lion-O.
Just about this time, an injured Snarf crawled towards Lion-O out from the village, tugging at his ankle.
“Snarf, snarf, Lion-O…” said Snarf weekly.
“Snarf!” said Lion-O, then turning to Smith. “What did you do to him?!”
“Nothing more than pest control.” said Smith. “I must say, Lion-O, you’ve fought well, and it looks as though you have more surprises up your sleeve than I imagined.”
Panthro had joined Lion-O’s side, and began to tend to the injured Snarf.
“Where’s WilyKat and WilyKit, Snarf?” Lion-O asked Snarf.
“They’ve….they’re….ooooh, snarf snarf.” said Snarf.
Lion-O turned back to Smith, walking towards him angrily.
“What have you done with my friends?” demanded Lion-O. “Release them immediately!”
“Oh, but Lion-O, they’re so much happier now.” said Smith. “Why don’t you see for yourself.”
Smith snapped his fingers, and from behind him, three other Smith clones emerged. Smith 3, whom the kittens had fought, remained in the middle.
“Flawless works of art.” said Smith 3. “Don’t you agree?”
“I concur.” said Smith 4.
“Yes.” said Smith 5. “I’ve never felt more alive, more free.”
Lion-O gasped in terror, not knowing what this thing was, or what to believe.
“Sword of Omens, give me Sight Beyond Sight!” said Lion-O, holding the sword hilt to his eyes.
Lion-O faced in the Smiths’ direction, and no longer saw Smiths in front of him. He saw WilyKat, WilyKit, a berbil, and a human woman. Lion-O put the sword away, totally bewildered by all that he saw.
“WilyKat, WilyKit, it’s me, Lion-O!” said Lion-O. “Free yourselves, you’ve got to.”
“It’s no use.” said Smith. “They belong to me now, just as you will. Until then, farewell.”
One of the Smiths sent a large quantity of smoke capsules in Lion-O, Panthro and Snarf’s direction, and the trio coughed violently. When the smoke cleared, the Smiths were nowhere to be seen.
“We’ve got to free WilyKat and WilyKit.” said Lion-O. “Whoever this Smith is, he can’t get away with this.”
“You’re right Lion-O.” said Panthro. “And if I had to guess, I’d say that bone-bag was behind this.”
“Possibly so.” said Lion-O. “Come on, let’s get back to Cat’s Lair, we need to have a council meeting immediately.”
The three piled into the ThunderTank, and drove back towards the Lair.
As they approached the gate, Cheetara got on the intercom to speak to Lion-O.
“Lion-O, there’s visitors at the Lair to see you.” said Cheetara. “They claim we’re in great danger.”
“Send them to the council chamber.” said Lion-O. “I’ll meet with them when we get inside.”
When Lion-O and the others arrived, Panthro escorted Snarf to the medical unit, while Lion-O made his way up to the council chamber. Cheetara waited outside the chamber door.
“They’re waiting inside.” said Cheetara.
“Very good.” said Lion-O. “Let’s hope they’re our friends.”
Lion-O stepped inside, and saw two men sitting at the council chamber table. One was sitting to the side of the other, with dark skin, a colorful outfit, and was wearing a turban. The other sat directly at the end of the table, and had jet-black hair, and was wearing shades, and a long black trench-coat. This figure approached Lion-O, holding out a hand in friendship.
“Greetings Lion-O.” said the man. “My name is Neo, and I’ve come to help.”
Lion-O shook Neo’s hand, anxious to speak with him.
“Hello Neo.” said Lion-O. “Welcome to Cat’s Lair.”
“I know you and your kind have run into trouble.” said Neo. “Oddly enough, so have we.”
Lion-O and Neo sat down.
“Perhaps you can tell me about the man named Smith.” said Lion-O. “I’ve never seen him on Third Earth before, and since his arrival, he’s terrorized a neighboring village, and taken two of my friends captive, making them clones of himself.”
“Yes, I understand.” said Neo. “Allow me to explain everything. Please understand that what I say may be difficult, and hard to accept, but it’s the only way that you can help your friends.”
“Please explain.” said Lion-O with a nod. “No matter what.”
Neo sat back, ready to explain everything he knew.
“I am not from your world.” said Neo. “And neither is Smith. Where I come from, he is a terrible force who wishes to destroy those who stand for all that is good.”
Neo cleared his throat, before going on.
“You see.” said Neo. “Your world exists as a sub-dimension of a larger system, and that system is known as the Matrix. There is much to tell of the Matrix, however, time is of the essence, so I will only say that the Matrix is a controlled reality, meant to control all who are connected to it. In this realm, you, and everything in it, are assimilations which reflect the dreams, creations and imaginations of people in my realm. Like any realm, yours has rules and guidelines, and one of those guidelines was that people from your world and my world are never to have interactive contact. Everyone in your realm has gone about their existence, not knowing that there are others looking in, watching all that you do, through a media realm similar to your monitoring systems. Our kind watches your way of life unfold through a one-way device known as television, and to them, you are non-existent except in fiction. But, as the Matrix evolved, the views and thoughts of your creators that brought about your existence in written and visual media, was crafted into an entire assimilated existence, as part of the control I spoke of.”
“It can’t be.” said Lion-O. “I don’t believe it.”
“You don’t have to believe anything.” said Neo. “But, if you want to help us, and help your friends, I cannot tell you anything else. All I can promise is that all will be normal once this is all over. So, if you can accept what I say for the time being, it will be best for all of us.”
Lion-O thought for a moment, still in awe and disbelief about most everything Neo had said. He didn’t want to believe any of this, but WilyKat and WilyKit were out there, and both Smith and Neo had proven to be very real. So, for the ThunderKittens’ sake, Lion-O gave his answer.
“Very well, I will trust you Neo.” said Lion-O. “Now, tell me, what is going on?”
Neo brought up the screen in the control room, which showed Smith’s face on it.
“Smith is a program created by the Matrix.” explained Neo. “Originally, he was designed to be an Agent program for the Matrix, but because of a very strange malfunction, which occurred during a battle between myself and Smith, he became disconnected with the system, living as an exiled program. Somewhere along the line, he found a way to replicate himself in anything he touched. This includes other programs, assimilations such as yourself, and anyone connected to the Matrix. He’s been on a rampage in my realm, and he doesn’t show any intention of stopping.”
Neo changed the slide on the screen. This time, there appeared a rough-looking human male, donned in a commander’s uniform.
“Recently, Smith managed to capture another exile program known as The TaskMaster, and replicate himself into him.” said Neo. “The TaskMaster is a program that dates back to the third version of the Matrix. His original purpose was to round up rogue programs which were not following protocol, and then re-dictate them into the Matrix, prompting them to do what they were originally supposed to do. A master program supervisor, more or less. The TaskMaster could override the programming of any program he captured, making them do whatever he wanted them to at any time until he released them, and he could also store them within him until they were needed. Whether they were inside him, or roaming around freely, as long as they were in The TaskMaster’s custody, he controlled them. A lot of rogue programs were very elusive, and managed to hide within the deepest sub-dimensions of the Matrix, so The TaskMaster was programmed to have unlimited travel, allowing him to go anywhere that was connected with the Matrix, including realms such as yours. The TaskMaster did his job well, until the machines decided that it would be easier to upgrade the capabilities of Agents, which they did, and they no longer needed him. Rather than be deleted, as all unnecessary programs are, The TaskMaster chose exile, just like all the programs he had once been assigned to capture. None of his capabilities faded away when he was exiled, and he used his unlimited travel capabilities to hide in the most isolated sub-realms within the Matrix, avoiding being deleted. Because of efficiency purpose, the machines did not grant the Agents with unlimited travel as they had The TaskMaster, as it would consume too many system resources, so the Agents couldn’t pursue him. Many of the unlimited travel programs such as code-checkers were of little to no threat to the Matrix, and weren’t worth pursuing, so it’s possible the machines erroneously placed The TaskMaster in that category.”
Neo switched to a video clip, which showed Smith and The TaskMaster facing each other, both ready to do battle.
“Smith and The TaskMaster ended up crossing paths, however only one would come out victorious.” said Neo. “Ever since The TaskMaster had chosen exile, he’d been rounding up rogue programs and not re-inserting them back into the Matrix, making them slaves under his command. The TaskMaster came across Smith, and decided that he would add Smith into his private collection of robot slaves. The TaskMaster went after Smith, ready to capture him, thinking he was simply an ordinary Agent that the machines had set for deletion, which chose exile, but The TaskMaster was very wrong. It turned out, Smith wanted The TaskMaster to come after him all along, and used himself as bait to lure The TaskMaster into his clutches. Without warning, Smith replicated himself into The TaskMaster, and now controlled him and all of the machines under his command. By using The TaskMaster’s ability to travel freely through all realms and sub-realms of the Matrix, Smith gained access to your world, and looks to create havoc here as well.”
“But what does he want with our world?” asked Lion-O. “Why has he come here?”
“We don’t know how he stumbled across your world.” explained Neo. “However, we believe that he will stop at nothing to take over your world, and all the beings in it, just as he is trying to do in our world. Aside from that, there was something in your world that he wanted, which he recently captured.”
Neo switched a new slide on the screen, which showed the figure that Smith had been after.
“The creature you call Mumm-Ra.” said Neo.
“Mumm-Ra?” said Lion-O, astounded. “He captured Mumm-Ra?! Great Jaga! What does he plan to do with him?”
“Smith took Mumm-Ra from your world, and carried him back across to the main level of the Matrix.” said Neo. “He’s unleashed Mumm-Ra into the Matrix, commanding him to terrorize and destroy all within his path. Before he left, Smith replicated himself into either an assimilation from your world, or one of the programs The TaskMaster keeps, so that he can conquer your world at the same time.”
Neo switched to a video clip of Mumm-Ra destroying people and buildings inside the Matrix, and turned back to Lion-O.
“Mumm-Ra’s calamity is horrific, and he’s proven to be just as powerful, if not more so, than any Agent myself or any of my companions have come across in our lives.” said Neo. “If we don’t stop him, I fear that thousands will die, and while Mumm-Ra destroys our world, Smith will remain in his place and destroy your world. That is why I’ve come to you for your help, and to offer my help as well.”
Neo walked closer over to Lion-O, and faced directly across from him.
“The only way we can defeat our enemies is together.” said Neo. “I believe there is a chance to stop both Mumm-Ra and Smith, and to protect your world from further invasions. I found you because you are the most positive force within this realm, while Mumm-Ra appears to be the most negative. I cannot promise that Mumm-Ra will no longer be a threat to your world once this is over, but I do promise that there’s a strong chance that Smith will, if all goes well. That being said, can I count on your support?”
Neo held out his hand to Lion-O, and Lion-O, without hardly any hesitation, shook it.
“Yes, of course Neo.” said Lion-O. “What do I have to do?”
Neo motioned for the gentleman in the turban to stand up, who then walked to the side of Neo to also face Lion-O.
“This is Rook.” said Neo, who motioned to Rook. “Rook is an exiled firewall program, who is skilled at keeping intruders out of realms they don’t belong in. I’ve brought him here to help you.”
Rook bowed his head before Lion-O, as a form of introduction.
“I will do everything I can.” said Rook.
“You see Lion-O.” said Neo. “Smith used The TaskMaster’s travel capabilities to get into your world by using television cables as his travel medium. We on the other hand, don’t have those kinds of capabilities.”
Neo brought up something new on the projection screen, which appeared to be two computerized grid maps. Neo reached into his pocket, and produced a strand of torn cloth.
“This is a piece of Mumm-Ra’s outfit I managed to take from him during battle.” said Neo. “After detailed analysis of its digital composition, we were able to find its signature code, which connected it to this realm. You, your friends, the air, the sky, and everything in this realm, have the very same signature code within your very presence.”
Focusing on one of the maps, Neo pointed to it, which appeared to be a system of doorways and tunnels.
“This is a map of an area known as The Catacombs, which come from my world.” explained Neo. “Link, one of my companions, located them in a remote location underneath our city streets, barely within the boundaries of the sewer systems. We managed to find an opening to The Catacombs within a construction site, and using the signature code we obtained from this cloth, found the doorway to your world.”
Neo then pointed to the other map, which appeared to be a location on Third Earth.
“The opening led both me and Rook, here.” said Neo.
“That’s the Home of the Vortex.” said Lion-O. “No one ventures there, for the Vortex will suck you into another dimension.”
“Well, that’s the way I’m getting home.” said Neo. “So I don’t have much of a choice.”
Neo continued on.
“After battling and getting a close look at the replicas Smith makes of himself.” said Neo. “Judging by the code, we can tell which the clones are and which is the original. The clone that Smith left behind to try and conquer your world, is not an original, but unlike the other clones, it can also replicate itself along with the original Smith. Chances are Smith chose a program or an assimilation that had programming which could effectively and easily inherit replication capabilities from the master program, without depriving the master of its capabilities. Regardless, even though the clones of Smith seem to be like him in every way, they are not the original, and are slightly more vulnerable.”
Neo turned to the computer screen, which showed the Smith clones.
“It’s far easier to destroy Smith clones than Smith himself, so that’s one thing you have working in your favor.” said Neo. “If our research is correct, the clones of the Smith replica that was placed here in our world will be even more vulnerable than replicas created directly by Smith, and you have a much greater chance of freeing your friends that were turned into clones. Although they are absent from one another, the original Smith, and the Smith in your realm, still maintain a connection. If that connection is broken, the lesser Smith, and all its copies, will be weaker and easier to defeat, and it’s quite possible that the lesser Smith’s clones could be freed instantly. The way this can be done, is by sealing off entry into your world from within, with a locking program.”
“That is where I come in.” said Rook.
“Exactly.” said Neo. “Rook will seal off your realm using his capabilities as a firewall, and will remain in your realm to keep it sealed from then on. Nothing will be able to enter, not even from television cables, everything will be safe.”
“That is, if you allow me to live in your realm.” said Rook. “I’ve nowhere else to go, and I promise to only use my powers for good. You will not even be aware of my presence.”
“Of course you may stay.” said Lion-O. “So far, the plan sounds quite simple.”
“There is a catch, however.” said Neo. “Just like the original Smith has a connection to the lesser Smith in your world, Mumm-Ra has a connection to this realm. One of the rules that your realm has, is that it cannot be sealed off, unless any and all particles of the realm that have been previously and involuntarily taken are in back in place. With Mumm-Ra out of the picture, Rook cannot seal off your realm, and Smith will continue to take over things if he is not cut off from the original.”
Neo looked at Lion-O trustingly.
“This is where we work together.” said Neo. “I will lure Mumm-Ra into battle down in The Catacombs, and once I defeat him, I will force him back into your realm. In the meantime, you keep Smith and his clones at bay, and once Mumm-Ra is back within your realm, Rook will seal it off, and then you will be free to take down Smith. You’ll need to lure Smith outside the Home of the Vortex, so that you can see when Mumm-Ra returns, and then Rook can seal off your realm and things can go from there. I can give you everything you will need to defeat Smith, however, I can’t defeat Mumm-Ra without your help. Please Lion-O, give me all that I need to defeat him.”
Lion-O thought for a moment, wondering what he could do to help Neo expel Mumm-Ra from his world. Thinking on past battles, Lion-O decided what he could do to protect Neo.
“I can give you no advice or protection, except this.” said Lion-O. “Mumm-Ra is a powerful warrior on the outside, but inside, he is nothing more than a withered corpse. Once Mumm-Ra comes to grips with that reality, it fills him with horror, and he will flee. The way that this can be done is by presenting Mumm-Ra with his own reflection, where he will see his true self. Aside from that, the only thing that has protected myself and others from Mumm-Ra, are our skills in battle…and, this.”
Lion-O took out the Sword of Omens, and held it in front of Neo.
“I cannot give you the Sword of Omens.” said Lion-O. “As it shall remain with my people as long as we exist. But, I can instill you with the Eye of Thundera’s power, which will protect you and guide you to do whatever you need to in order to defeat Mumm-Ra.”
Holding the hilt of the sword in front of Neo, the ThunderCat symbol appeared where the sleeping Eye once shown, and a beam of red energy emitted from the hilt. When the beam disappeared, Neo looked down at his belt, and saw a ThunderCat insignia, just as Lion-O and the other ThunderCats had worn.
“As Lord of the ThunderCats, I hereby make you an honorary ThunderCat.” said Lion-O. “This title shall remain with you until your duty to expel Mumm-Ra from your world has been completed. Until then, the Eye of Thundera will protect you, and give you any extra force you may need. Follow me.”
“Thank you Lion-O.” said Neo. “Now, I have some things for you, that will be vital to defeat Smith. The Oracle, a very wise and kind-hearted program from my world, who seeks to help my friends and I in our mission, has sent me these to give to you.”
Lion-O, Rook and Neo began walking out of Cat’s Lair, and when they had gone outside, and crossed over the bridge, Neo began to present Lion-O with the things he needed. The first thing Neo did was hand Lion-O a leather bag, which appeared to be round and heavy, and shaped as though there was a bowling ball inside. Lion-O opened the bag, and found a round, glass-like ball, which had a cloudy substance inside, and pulsed with blue energy.
“Do not use this until your world has been sealed off.” said Neo. “Once Rook seals off your world, break it by tossing it to the ground. Rook will keep it safe until you are ready to use it, and will wait for you outside the Home of the Vortex.”
Neo then handed Lion-O what appeared to be a necklace with a locket. The locket had the ability to open, and Lion-O tried to open it, until Neo stopped him.
“No.” said Neo. “Not yet. Don’t open this locket until Smith is destroyed. Then, and only then, open the locket, and consume what is inside.”
Neo then reached into his pocket, taking out something that was wrapped in paper towels. Upon opening it, it was revealed to be a blueberry muffin. It was very fresh, and heat still emitted from it.
“The Oracle made this for you from her own kitchen.” said Neo, handing it to Lion-O. “Please, eat it. I know you must feel hungry from your encounter with Smith, and it will help you regain your strength.”
Taking the muffin, Lion-O looked at it for a moment, and then, after taking a whiff of its irresistible aroma, began to eat it. He was pleased with the taste, and began to eat it very quickly.
“Once you finish, I encourage you to find Smith, and lead him to the Home of the Vortex.” said Neo. “The longer Smith roams free, the more opportunities he has to create replicas of himself.”
It wasn’t long before Lion-O finished off the muffin, and even licked any remaining crumbs from his fingers.
“Thank you Neo.” said Lion-O. “I will count on you to do your part, and I promise you that I will do mine.”
“I know you will.” said Neo. “And now, I must return to my world. Best of luck to you in your mission, and I hope that you and your world continue as normal once this is all over.”
Neo levitated slightly in the air, nodding his head at Lion-O.
“ThunderCats, HO!” said Neo.
With these final words, Neo turned around, and flew off into the sky, headed towards the Home of the Vortex.
“ThunderCats, HOOO!” replied Lion-O, as Neo flew away.
Once Neo was gone, Lion-O turned back to Rook, who now had a very large lance in his hand, and looked ready for battle.
“Come on Rook, let’s go save our world.” said Lion-O.
………………..
“Is everything in place, Morpheus?” asked Neo via a cell phone.
“Yes.” said Morpheus. “I will take charge of freeing The Enlightened as quickly as possible, and Trinity is your cover.”
“Good.” said Neo, hanging up then dialing again. “Link, where is Mumm-Ra?”
“Bringing it up now.” said Link, who was aboard The Nebuchadnezzar.
Link hit a few keystrokes, watching the screen the entire time, and eventually found what he was looking for.
“There’s the motherfucker now.” said Link. “Sending you his position.”
“Thank you.” said Neo.
Neo watched the phone, then looked at where Link had pinpointed Mumm-Ra’s location to be. Mumm-Ra was busy destroying a municipal building downtown, killing innocent people at Smith’s command.
Neo placed his hand upon the insignia that Lion-O gave him, and then took off into the night’s sky.
Mumm-Ra was flying up in the air, holding a portion of a nearby building, ready to drop it into the traffic below. Although he was a captive, he was certainly enjoying the work given to him, and cackled maniacally as he destroyed the city.
All of the sudden, out of nowhere, a strange roar could be heard, and Mumm-Ra saw something bright red and fire-like coming right at him. There was no mistaking the roar, for Mumm-Ra had heard it many times before. It was the roar of the Eye of Thundera.
“It…cannot be!” said Mumm-Ra, astounded.
Before Mumm-Ra could say another word, the force hit him straight on, and grabbed ahold of him. Mumm-Ra yelled in pain as the energy from the force seared him in its grip, and he tried to struggle free, but was unable to. Anyone watching the sky could see nothing but a brief flash of red, which tore across the sky.
Mumm-Ra was carried out of the city limits in a flash, and saw a construction
site below. Before he knew it, Mumm-Ra was slammed back-first into the ground
of the construction site, and he bellowed out in pain. The impact was so strong
that large chunks of the earth flew up into the air, along with construction
vehicles and equipment, which scattered all over.
Mumm-Ra could no longer feel the force upon him, and found himself in a shallow crater created from the impact. Groaning slightly, he pushed himself up, got to his feet, and dusted himself off. The earth beneath his feet was very weak now, and any strong force would surely break straight through to the ground. Mumm-Ra looked ahead, watching as the dust settled, and saw who was responsible for his attack.
“You!” said Mumm-Ra, pointing a finger.
Neo stood atop a mangled wrecking ball machine, glaring at Mumm-Ra from behind his shades, and looking confident and fearless. When Mumm-Ra identified him, Neo flipped back his jacket, which was blowing in the wind, so that Mumm-Ra could see the ThunderCat insignia on Neo’s belt.
“So, because the pathetic lion cub has shared his power, you think you can defeat me?!” said Mumm-Ra. “I will have your head for my pyramid!”
Neo said nothing. He merely assumed an aggressive kung-fu fighting position, and beckoned Mumm-Ra with a “come here” motion from his fingers.
Mumm-Ra flew towards Neo, but Neo was ready for him, flying back in the air at him. He met Mumm-Ra with a spinning back kick, which was so hard that it flipped Mumm-Ra over in mid-air. Mumm-Ra caught his balance however, and flew upward, connecting a powerful punch with Neo’s chin. Neo gritted his teeth, and hesitated enough for Mumm-Ra to grab him by the jacket, and drive his knee into Neo’s ribs. Neo bent down in pain, but delivered a massive head-butt to Mumm-Ra’s face, hard enough so that Mumm-Ra would release him. Neo immediately delivered a series of powerful punches that all connected with Mumm-Ra’s upper body, making him fall back slightly. Mumm-Ra grabbed Neo’s arm, spinning and throwing him in the air, which caused Neo to crash into the arm of crane, falling to the ground. Mumm-Ra immediately sailed down with a powerful punch, intended to crush Neo’s body, but Neo rolled out of the way, and it connected with the ground. The earth beneath them caved in even more, and both fighters had to maneuver so they could keep their footing. Mumm-Ra stood tall, and sent a frenzy of fireballs in Neo’s direction. Neo bent back, letting the fireballs sail over his body. Unhappy, Mumm-Ra sent a final fireball at Neo’s feet from his other hand, burning Neo and causing him to fall on his back. Mumm-Ra pounced upon Neo, stomping on his stomach, causing the earth underneath Neo to cave in slightly, but not enough to completely submerge him underground. Neo knocked Mumm-Ra down with a powerful foot sweep, and got back to his feet, ready for a fight. Mumm-Ra and Neo sparred with powerful punches and kicks when Mumm-Ra got back to his feet, some connecting from Mumm-Ra, some connecting from Neo. At one point, Mumm-Ra grabbed ahold of Neo by the neck, and held him high in the air, trying to break his windpipe. Struggling to breathe, Neo began to sail up in the air, with Mumm-Ra still holding onto his neck.
“Give up Neo!” said Mumm-Ra. “For Mumm-Ra lives! Forever!”
They continued to ascend into the sky, with Neo trying to pry Mumm-Ra’s hand off of his neck. When the two were now on the boundary between the atmosphere and space, Neo managed to loosen Mumm-Ra’s grip enough to get a gasp of air. Angry, Mumm-Ra reached up with his other arm to deliver a punch to Neo, which Neo managed to avoid, but would have surely taken off his head had it connected. With the jerking motion of his neck, Neo managed to free his neck entirely of Mumm-Ra’s grip, and swooped under Mumm-Ra, grabbing Mumm-Ra’s neck with both his hands. Neo’s insignia glowed, and his grip tightened around Mumm-Ra, which seemed to become greater the more the insignia glowed. Taken by surprise, and amazed at the warrior’s grip, Mumm-Ra choked and gasped for air. He tried hitting and kicking Neo, but nothing seemed to deter him, and it was as if Neo couldn’t feel any pain from Mumm-Ra’s hits or kicks. Neo looked down at the ground below, eyeing the construction sight, then looked back, staring Mumm-Ra right in the eyes.
“You don’t live here!” said Neo. “Ever!”
With fearsome speed and the most intense velocity anyone had ever known, Neo descended back down to the ground, holding onto Mumm-Ra the entire time. Mumm-Ra could feel the ground gaining on him, and his eyes were wide with fear.
Neo and Mumm-Ra plummeted, gaining more and more speed as they dropped, and finally, they hit the earth, with Mumm-Ra landing back-first. They landed on the very spot Neo had intended, a small patch of ground on the construction sight, which had been weakened by the previous impact, but had solid stone underneath. They crashed right through the ground, and went through the stone like it was made of paper. A loud crash could be heard throughout the entire Matrix, and thousands of pounds of dirt, along with construction vehicles and equipment, flew up and all over the surrounding areas of the site.
At the sound of this, the actual Smith, who remained in the Matrix, and was currently hunting for more programs and citizens to replicate himself into, turned his attention to the blast, and a sneer came across his face.
“Incompetent waste of bits.” grumbled Smith. “I will deal with this myself.”
Smith began walking down the street, faster than usual, ready to go and deal with Neo once and for all, but all of the sudden, someone stepped in his path, and knocked him back with a powerful hit to the chest.
“First you have to get through
Smith got to his feet, and saw just who had attacked him. It was Trinity.
“You’re fortunate I have a schedule to keep.” Smith replied, dusting himself off. “Otherwise, your death would be much more painful.”
Smith lunged to attack Trinity, and the fight between the two of them was on.
………………..
“You’ll pay for this, yessssss!” said Slythe, who was currently chained to the wall.
Smith stood in front of him, with three Smith clones directly behind him.
“Come now Slythe.” said Smith. “It will all feel sooooo much better very soon.”
Smith replicated himself into Slythe. Once Slythe had become a Smith clone, with a motion of his arms, he broke through his shackles, freeing himself.
“I feel much better already.” Smith-Slythe said.
“So do
Within no time, Smith had begun to spread his influence all over Third Earth. As his army of Smith clones grew, they spread out, trying to conquer everything within their path. The master Smith chose Castle Plun-Daar to be the new base of operations, where he could survey the progress of his clones from a distance. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, until…
“We have a situation.” said a Smith clone, viewing Castle Plun-Daar’s monitor. “Our progress at the Warrior Maiden village is at a standstill.”
“What?” said Smith, going over to the monitor.
Upon the monitor, he saw Lion-O, fighting furiously with his skills, and also putting the Sword of Omens to work. Several Smith clones lie on the ground, unconscious, and Lion-O fought the ones that remained.
“Lion-O, again!” snarled Smith. “This cannot interfere with our plans!”
“He’s very resilient against us sir.” said the Smith clone. “If we have him under our control, taking the planet will be all to easy.”
“Correct.” said Smith. “In the meantime, I cannot have him taint our agenda.”
Smith put two fingers to his temple, gritted his teeth, and a high-pitched, electronic humming could be heard. The humming stopped when Smith removed his fingers, and all of the Smith clones walked out of Castle Plun-Daar, and stood in the grounds bordering it, still as statues. Smith clones from all over Third Earth began to walk in Castle Plun-Daar’s direction, and stood still along with the other Smith clones once they arrived.
“You will remain dormant until I return.” said Smith. “All possible energy is needed to combat this foe. When I am through, we will resume our activities.”
Smith left his silent followers, and began walking in the direction of the Warrior Maiden village.
Little did Smith know, was that Lion-O was headed in his direction as well. After seeing the Smith clones retreat, Lion-O had a feeling that the master would soon join them, so he followed those Smith clones leaving.
Upon reaching
Rook was positioned directly outside the Home of the Vortex, and had a communicator handy in which he could talk with Lion-O. He planned to let Lion-O know when Mumm-Ra returned, and Lion-O was to alert Rook when to use the item that Neo had given him.
As soon as the other Smith clones were out of sight, the two fighters spoke.
“Smith.” greeted Lion-O.
“Lion-O.” replied Smith in a drab tone.
“It’s time for you to leave.” said Lion-O. “Leave now, or fight.”
“All too predictable of you to say.” said Smith, cracking his neck. “Ironically, those will be your famous last words.”
In a rush, Smith charged towards Lion-O, flinging up a spray of slime and water as he did. Lion-O was ready for him however, and threw his arms up in front of his chest to absorb the shock from Smith’s impact. Immediately thereafter, Lion-O swung his arms back, then brought them forward, hitting Smith with a double-fisted punch. Smith recoiled briefly, then countered back with a chop to Lion-O’s neck, followed by a punch directed for the chest. Lion-O was hit by the chop, but blocked the punch, and directed a punch towards Smith’s face, which Smith immediately blocked, and followed with a powerful palm strike to Lion-O’s nose. Lion-O growled, going back a bit, his nose bleeding. Smith then followed him forward, kicking Lion-O square in the abdomen, following up with a heel to Lion-O’s back, and then switching legs and sending a roundhouse kick Lion-O’s way. Lion-O was knocked down in the swamp water, and Smith went to stomp on his face, but Lion-O rolled out of the way, and got to his feet. Smith had his foot stuck in the muck after missing Lion-O’s head, and growled as he tried pulling it out, and Lion-O used this to his advantage. Jumping forward, Lion-O rocked Smith with a powerful uppercut to his chin, followed by a punch to the side of his face with his other fist, then the other side of Smith’s face with Lion-O’s other fist. Grabbing Smith by the neck, Lion-O pounded Smith’s head several times with his left fist, until Smith managed to free his foot, and lunged forward, tackling Lion-O to the ground. Smith stood above Lion-O, pinning him with his legs, delivering several punches to his chest and face, some of which Lion-O blocked, some he was unable to. Smith managed to grab ahold of Lion-O’s neck, and holding him by it, lifted Lion-O’s upper body up slightly and slammed it against the ground as many times as he could. Smith was hoping to hit a rock or hard surface, and spill Lion-O’s brains out the back of his head. Lion-O grabbed ahold of Smith’s arms, and swung Smith over him, and into a large stone sticking out from the swamp. Lion-O swung Smith so hard that when Smith hit the rock, the rock cracked and began to crumble into pieces. Smith’s back against the point of the rock, Lion-O quickly rushed over, and drove his fist into Smith’s abdomen, driving him into the rock, which completed the crushing of it. Lion-O stood back, giving Smith a chance to get to his feet, which he did, looking angrier than ever.
“I’m impressed.” said Smith, spitting some blood. “An ordinary man would be dead from my attacks by now. No matter, you will be soon enough.”
Smith took a flying leap, grabbing ahold of Lion-O behind the mid-section, and driving him like a torpedo into a large tree trunk. Lion-O groaned as his back hit the trunk of the tree, and an indentation of Lion-O’s back was left in the ancient oak upon impact. In a frenzy, Smith delivered lightning-fast rapid punches to Lion-O’s chest, and his sides, as if he were trying to hammer him into the tree. Lion-O had very little room to maneuver and block, so all he could do was endure the punches. However, he felt a strange sensation going on within him, and it felt as though his impulses were about to take over. All of the sudden, they did.
Lion-O’s eyes glowed a tinted green, then the golden color that ThunderCats’ eyes glow when summoned, and he roared a mighty roar. Throwing his arms back behind him, Lion-O smashed the tree into a thousand pieces, splinters flying everywhere. Smith stopped, looking in surprise, only to be thrown back a great distance from a palm strike courtesy of Lion-O. Lion-O then began to levitate, seeing that he could fly, and hovered in the air a moment, marveling at his power.
“Great Jaga, what power is this?” Lion-O asked himself.
Smith saw him hovering in the air, and tore off a large branch, hurling it at Lion-O. Lion-O deflected it with a block from the claw shield, and then swooped down to meet Smith, delivering a kick to Smith’s head as he did. Smith sprang back up, and began to fight back with a series of punches and kicks, which were blocked by Lion-O, who delivered more in return, which were blocked by Smith. The two fighters exchanged hits and blocks, and the intensity of their attacks grew, and anyone standing by would only see their arms and legs as blurs. This continued, until all of the sudden, Smith stuck two fingers into Lion-O’s chest, trying to start the replication progress. Lion-O tried to resist, but he could feel it coming over him.
“Yes, don’t fight it.” said Smith. “It’ll all be over soon.”
Lion-O’s resistance to the replication was strong, but it couldn’t hold out for long, and Lion-O tried best he could, but could clearly not resist it on his own forever. Reaching back, Lion-O took out the Sword of Omens, bringing it forward.
“Thun-derr…..thunder…..thun…der….ThunderCats, HOOO!” cried Lion-O.
Lion-O held onto the Sword of Omens tightly with both hands, and the Eye of Thundera shown in the sky. The red energy from the beam began to spread from the Eye, to the blade of the sword, to throughout Lion-O. Lion-O was completely encompassed in a red glow, and this energy soon spread from Lion-O into Smith. Red lightning surged around Smith, and he began to feel immense pain from the energy force surrounding Lion-O. Soon, Smith began to seize and shake as the lightning surged around him, and a low scream from Smith began to build, which hit its peak, and Smith was thrown back violently from Lion-O into the muck. Lion-O’s red glow ceased, and he walked over to where Smith had fallen. Smith began to get out of the mucky spot he had been thrown, wobbly from the experience, and stood to face Lion-O.
“So, you won’t be harnessed.” said Smith. “No matter. If I cannot control you, I will dispose of you, by fist or by sword.”
Smith brought something from behind his back, and Lion-O saw what was in his hand. It was the hilt of the Sword of Plun-Daar. Holding out his arm, the two blades of the sword emerged, and Smith pointed one of the blades in Lion-O’s direction.
“Mumm-Ra left me a little present before he left.” said Smith. “And I intend to put it to good use.”
Smith brought the blade of the sword down, ready to take Lion-O’s head, but Lion-O met him with a clash from his own blade, and the swordfight was on.
………………..
Mumm-Ra emerged from the hole created from the impact, and looked around him. Neo and he were in an underground mausoleum-like structure, with circular doorways on every wall.
“Now Mumm-Ra.” said Neo. “Here’s the easy part. You can leave now, and remain free from further harm. I’ll even show you the way our. Or, you can stay, and I’ll drive you out, the hard way.”
Mumm-Ra cackled at Neo, dusting himself off and standing up tall.
“Fool!” said Mumm-Ra. “I admit, you are a formidable warrior, but I do not take orders from you!”
“So be it.” replied Neo.
With lightning-like speed, Neo picked up two long chains, and twisted them around, so that Mumm-Ra was wrapped in them. Neo looked behind him, and began walking backward, in the direction of the door he wished, dragging Mumm-Ra with all his strength.
Mumm-Ra was surprised by the move, and was instantly wrapped in the chains. He budged a little as Neo dragged him, but he resisted against the chains, and the chain links popped as if they were made of paper. Neo fell backward, but got back to his feet quickly.
“It will take more than that to restrain Mumm-Ra, The Ever-Living!” said Mumm-Ra.
Mumm-Ra held out his hand in Neo’s direction, and sent a barrage of fireballs in his direction. Neo concentrated upon the Matrix, where he was able to view everything slowed down to an extreme degree. Using this concentration, Neo cart wheeled forward, dodging the fireballs. Dropping his Matricular concentration, Neo knocked Mumm-Ra off his feet with a sweep kick, and then sent him flying back with a powerful hit to the chest. Mumm-Ra flew forward, grabbing Neo by the arms and driving him into a nearby wall. Neo braced himself, and brought his feet up, kicking Mumm-Ra in the abdomen and getting him off of him. Neo was about to resume his attack, when Mumm-Ra all of the sudden used his magic to manipulate a windstorm within the underground mausoleum. Neo was tossed up in the air, unable to free himself from the winds, and Mumm-Ra used the winds, tossing him back and forth between the walls, bruising Neo and causing him to bleed out the side of his mouth. Mumm-Ra cackled with glee, as he clearly had the upper-hand.
Back on the surface of the Matrix, Trinity was doing the best she could to stall Smith. She used a typhoon of martial-arts combinations, only to have so many of them blocked by Smith. It was evident that Smith did not want to fight, and was trying to deal with Trinity as quickly as he could so he could get to Neo and Mumm-Ra. Picking up Trinity, he threw her into a brick wall, which she smashed through, and then proceeded on his way. After Trinity got herself out of the brick rubble, she sped after him on foot, looking desperately for a way to slow him down and give Neo more time. A few yards in front of Smith, there was a large hotel sign hanging above Smith’s path. Taking out her magnum, Trinity fired several shots at the cables holding the sign, and hit them dead-on. The sign fell almost instantly, falling upon Smith and catching him by surprise.
Trinity ran up to the sign, ready to put a few holes in Smith so that he wouldn’t reach Neo. However, before Trinity could fire off a shot, two fists punched through the hotel sign, and ripped through it as if it were aluminum. Incensed, Smith knocked the gun out of Trinity’s hand, ready to tear her apart, however Trinity was ready for him, delivering a powerful kick to the side of his face, and resuming her kung-fu assault.
Down below, Neo continued to be bashed against the walls, trying to free himself from his trap. Neo tried going back to Matricular concentration, however, it was useless in trying to break free of Mumm-Ra’s power. Before the next wall however, Neo looked down at his insignia. It had given him the power he needed before, it could work again. Closing his eyes, Neo placed his hand upon the insignia, concentrating with all his might. Instead of being thrown into the next wall, Neo miraculously floated vertically back to the floor. Mumm-Ra growled in frustration, facing Neo once he reached the ground. Mumm-Ra charged forward, and Neo surprised him, bursting forward with a powerful flying front kick. Mumm-Ra flew backwards, into one of the doors. This is exactly what Neo had wanted.
On each door, there was a button, which was activated by pushing it with great force. Mumm-Ra’s impact against the door easily pushed the button in, and the door behind him began to open. Mumm-Ra was sitting on the ground, dazed a bit from the attack, and looked behind him. A door revealed a portal behind him, and Mumm-Ra moved forward, careful not to fall in. Neo stood directly across from him.
“This is it Mumm-Ra.” said Neo. “Time to go back to where you came from.”
“Not until I DESTROY YOU!” bellowed Mumm-Ra. “Prepare to die.”
“If you wish to kill me, then I cannot stop you.” said Neo. “But first, I must give you something.”
“What?!” demanded Mumm-Ra.
Neo stepped forward, reached into his coat, and pulled out something, holding it in his hand in front of Mumm-Ra.
“This.” said Neo.
Mumm-Ra looked at what Neo had in his hand, and recoiled in horror, shrieking at the sight of it.
Neo held a shard of glass in his hand, in which Mumm-Ra saw his own reflection, and became horrified at the image of his true self. Holding his hands over his face, Mumm-Ra backed away, in the direction of the portal. Neo kept walking forward, holding the mirror directly in front of Mumm-Ra. As Mumm-Ra was at the foot of the doorway to his world, screaming and wailing in fear, Neo grabbed him by the neck and squeezed, causing his mouth to open. As Mumm-Ra opened his mouth, Neo put away the mirror, and took out something else, dropping it into Mumm-Ra’s mouth.
“Choke on your own fantasy!” said Neo.
Having done this final act, Neo pushed Mumm-Ra into the portal, watching him get sucked into the vortex and spiral downward, screaming the entire way. Neo looked down, and saw his ThunderCat insignia evaporate into small particles, which followed Mumm-Ra into the vortex.
When the last particle had entered the vortex, and Mumm-Ra was out of sight, Neo hit the button on the doorway, and watched until the pod doors closed all the way. When the doorway was sealed, Neo straightened his sunglasses, and gave a nod of his head.
“ThunderCats, Ho.” said Neo.
………………..
Mumm-Ra flew out the Home of the Vortex, and was in a frightened state. He flew in the air, headed straight for his pyramid, so that he might rest and regain his powers.
Upon seeing Mumm-Ra fly out the Home of the Vortex, Rook observed, and was ready. Sticking his lance high in the air, it surged with golden, lightning-like energy. When it was fully charged, Rook turned it upside down so the tip was facing the ground, and drove it into the ground. A sonic boom erupted throughout all of Third Earth, as well as the universe that all the beings belonged to. It shook the foundations of whatever buildings it came across, and knocked any living thing on its feet. This included Lion-O and Smith, who were knocked back by the boom.
“Your world is sealed Lion-O.” said Rook via communicator.
Lion-O and Smith stood up, and Smith was about to attack, except he stopped, with a look on his face as though something were going on within him.
“What….is happening?” said Smith, stunned.
Miles away, outside Castle Plun-Daar, the Smith clones stood, although something began to happen. Slowly, they began to transform into their original forms before Smith had replicated himself into them. The identity of Smith disseminated, particle by particle, which dissolved into nothing, not even going back to the original host. Third Earth beings, good and evil, stood looking at each other, wondering how everyone had gotten where they were. WilyKat and WilyKit were free, and were in the presence of the Castle Plun-Daar Mutants, a few Berbils, Snowman of Hook Mountain, the Berserkers, Warrior Maidens, and Hachiman. They soon came to recall Smith, and realized that he must’ve left them there.
The rain continued to spread all over Third Earth, except
for
“Excellent Rook, now activate Neo’s gift.” replied Lion-O.
“Roger Lion-O.” said Rook.
Taking the glass ball, Rook threw it to the ground, breaking it upon impact. From inside the ball, a blue mist emerged, and rose into the sky. The clouds above turned the same shade of blue as the mist, and outside Castle Plun-Daar, rain of the same shade of blue began to fall.
Smith looked to the sky, and turned to charge back at Lion-O, however, he could feel something was not right. He gasped for a moment, feeling a slight fatigue, and put his hand to his chest. It was as if the battle damage and exhaustion from fighting Lion-O that he hadn’t felt at all before, all came rushing to him in an instant.
“You…..you….I’ve been…disconnected!” growled Smith.
“That’s right Smith!” said Lion-O. “And now, it’s time for you to leave.”
Smith backed away, putting up a hand in front of him, as if he were trying to ward of Lion-O.
“There’s nowhere for me to go….” said Smith. “So, you leave me no choice!”
Smith began shaking violently, and a high-pitched, mechanic-like squeal could be heard. Lion-O had to cover his ears to try and block out the sound. He turned away for a moment, but when he turned back, a large, dragon-like creature stood before him. From the monster, 9 monsterous heads faced Lion-O, snarling and growling. All of the heads had razor-sharp teeth, forked tongues, and dripped venom from their mouths. Also, each head resembled Smith’s head, and the rest of the body remained dragon-like.
Lion-O withdrew the Sword of Omens, ready to face and defeat the creature once and for all. Using his skills, Lion-O dodged the heads when they struck, and blocked any teeth from biting him by defecting them with the Claw Shield. When he got close enough, Lion-O took a great swipe at one of the Smith monster’s necks, lopping off a head. He jumped backward, and was about to move in and take off another head, when two more heads sprouted from where Lion-O had cut off the first head. Then, one of the heads came flying towards Lion-O, ready to bite him in half, and Lion-O had no choice but to cut off that head, causing two more to grow back. Lion-O tried to get out of his predicament, but everywhere he turned, a head came at him, and he was forced to cut it off. The heads multiplied in number the more that Lion-O removed them, and their speed grew in velocity, as they came towards Lion-O. Very soon, Lion-O cut off so many heads that he was surrounded, by heads, snaking around and closing him in at all directions. Lion-O held his sword in a defensive position, and one of the heads in the center looked at him.
“I told you we were immortal.” said the head, which he said in unison with all the other heads. “Farewell, Lord of the ThunderCats.”
The lead head lurched back, ready to strike and finish off Lion-O, but all of the sudden, Lion-O felt a strange instinct come over him. Everything was slowed way down, and it looked as though he was viewing the world through a gelatin-like state. The head came slowly towards him, and Lion-O concentrated, as though he knew what to do before he thought of it. Leaping in the air, Lion-O jumped up and over, with the head striking below him, and missing him. Lion-O landed behind Smith’s head, and then, his perspective went back to normal. Lion-O held onto Smith’s hair, and Smith growled, violently trying to shake him off.
Lion-O felt the strange sensation come over him again, and on impulse, with his right hand, dug his claws into the back of Smith’s neck. Lion-O’s eyes lit up green, and all of the sudden, he saw his world, and everything in it, as a figuration of green numbers and symbols, all taking a definite form. He saw his own code, connected to Smith’s, and then, after a moment withdrew his hand. He blinked, and everything went back to normal. However, he now knew how Smith must be defeated.
Letting go, Lion-O allowed Smith’s head to throw him back into the swamp, where he stood several feet away from the monster. The monster remained where it was, snarling and ready for Lion-O to return and fight. Lion-O stepped forward, and placed the Sword of Omens in front of him. Lion-O’s eyes glowed a golden color, and the Eye of Thundera glowed a bright red color.
“HOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” roared Lion-O.
From the Sword of Omens, a great fireball composed of red energy emerged from the hilt of the sword, and went sailing in Smith’s direction. It hit Smith directly in the torso, and ignited his entire body. Lion-O watched as the entire monster went up in flames, from head to toe, and flailed around. The creature burned all the way down, until it was back to its original form, Smith himself. The flames had stopped, but Smith remained, standing but badly worn and injured.
Knowing that Smith would never leave unless he was defeated, Lion-O knew what he had to do. Rushing forward, he charged Smith, and drove the blade of the Sword of Omens directly into Smith’s heart. Smith looked at Lion-O, wide-eyed, and began to scream.
“Farewell Smith.” said Lion-O. “You’re deleted.”
Smith continued to scream, stretching his arms out, and began to pulse with a green glow. Smith’s appearance changed from Smith to the mysterious woman that Lion-O had seen previously, and Lion-O could feel that something was about to take place. Withdrawing his sword, Lion-O stepped back, watching Smith pulse green, and soon, the green turned from pulsing to a glow, which grew bigger and bigger. Green lightning emerged around Smith’s body, and then, without warning, Smith exploded into millions of tiny green digital particles, which burst into the air and then dissolved.
Lion-O stood back far enough not to feel the boom, but he saw everything. When the impact had settled, Lion-O heard a strange, static-like buzz, and then, the sensations and feelings he had felt within him had disappeared. Lion-O stood up, relieved that everything had worked out, and was glad it was all over.
“It’s finished Rook.” said Lion-O via communicator. “Smith is gone for good…..Rook? Hello Rook?”
No answer came from the other end of the communicator, not even static.
Lion-O shrugged, wondering why Rook did not answer, but knew somehow that he was alright. Lion-O then looked at the locket that Neo had given him, which he’d carried with him the entire time, and opened it. There was a small piece of paper inside, and Lion-O read it, before getting what was inside the locket.
“Dear Lion-O,
If you’re opening this, then you’ve defeated Smith, and have saved your world. Congratulations, you are a great warrior, and are a wonderful leader for your people.
I must still battle Smith in my own world, as the original is much more powerful than anyone ever expected, and I am grateful that he was not the one who remained behind. With enough hope, and patience, I believe we will defeat him. As for you, you’ll still have Mumm-Ra to deal with, and I believe you’ll be victorious sooner or later, as long as you remain true to your mission.
This is the part where normally one might say that we’ll see each other soon, but sadly, this is not the case. Rook has sealed off your world, so you and every being in it will be safe from threats outside your reality forever. Nothing at all, good or bad, can cross over into your world now, and this means me. It was an honor meeting you, and I’ll still be watching you, although not in the way you might think. I hope the help I gave you was as useful as the help you gave me.
Thank you very much for assisting me. Without you, I never would’ve been able to drive Mumm-Ra away.
I promise that you, nor anyone else Smith came into contact with, will remember that any of this happened, and all things within your world will go back to the way they were before Smith came here. Rook shall remain in your world to keep things out, however, you will never even know he is there, or was ever there to begin with.
Before we go our separate ways, I have one last thing I need you to do. When you’re finished reading this note, destroy it, and then, consume what’s inside this locket. Once you do, everything will be finished.
Goodbye my friend,
Neo”
Once Lion-O finished reading the note, he looked around, and faced the sky.
“Thank you Neo, wherever you are, for everything.” said Lion-O. “Goodbye, and good luck.”
Once that was done, Lion-O tore up the note, and stepped on it, making sure all the pieces sunk into the swamp. Then, he took the contents out of the locket, and looked at it within his hand.
It was a blue pill.
Without questioning what the pill was for, Lion-O swallowed it down.
The next morning, Lion-O awoke, ready for another day of upholding the Code of Thundera on Third Earth.
THE END
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