Path Into the Darkness

Part Three: Ghosts

*New Thundera, Present Time*

 

Tygra stood by the Cat’s Lair observatory window and stared at the darkened grounds below as his thoughts wandered.  The hour was late, but that night he was not tired enough to sleep.  Thoughts of WilyKit, her disappearance, and the nagging issue of her and WilyKat’s inquiries about their parents ate at him.  Although the twins had left for their ambassadorial positions on Plundarr and the Third Moon, and the questions of their parentage had not come up since that day a few weeks earlier, he was still troubled by the fact that they had asked.  Had WilyKit not been going through other problems, they might not have backed off their questioning at his demand so easily, and he knew that once they returned and she recovered from her memory loss that they might very well ask again.  What troubled him most about that fact was that he still had no good answer to give them that was not a lie.  Even the truthful answer to their question in the simplest form, that he and the other Thundercats of his generation had sworn on their Code in the name of Loyalty, to both the twins and their parents, not to tell the twins the seamy details of their lineage—would only serve to make them more curious and drive them to seek the answers that much harder.  He just wished they would drop it.  Unfortunately, he knew them too well to believe that would happen, and in all fairness he could not blame them for wanting to know.

 

He sighed as he mulled over the dilemma. Great Jaga, I can’t tell them who their parents are, the tiger mused silently.  Jaga, Claudus, Cheetara, Panthro, Snarf, and myself—we all promised to protect them, to shield them, for their own good.  It would be wrong to hurt WilyKit any more than she’s already been hurt by her memory loss, and how on Thundera would they take it?  How would Lion-O take it?

 

Tygra sighed and turned away from the window, his gaze falling on a portrait of the former Lord Claudus and his second in command Jaga in their prime that hung on the south wall of the room.  It was a painting that Lion-O had commissioned a few years ago, of the men he considered to both be his father in many ways, who he had cared for so much and lost so young.  Their smiling, confident faces looking back at him only served to make Tygra feel worse.

 

“They do have a right to know,” he said aloud, as if talking to the painting, although he knew full well that he was alone and he was only voicing his thoughts.  “But to tell them now, after all this time of keeping it from them… to break my word and hurt them…”

 

You swore to protect them, Tygra.  The voice that echoed in his mind like a stray thought seemed to have it’s own distinct tone, wise and feminine.  He blinked, certain he had heard it from somewhere outside of him, but that was impossible because there was no one in the room but him.  Protect them now with your code, the true Truth, Justice, Honor, and Loyalty you stand for.

 

Tygra’s eyes darted around the room wildly when he heard the voice for a second time.  He had no experience with mind speech or telepathy, and the voice he heard was not that of Cheetara or anyone else in Cat’s Lair or most certainly not his own.  “It’s nothing,” he stated decisively, as if challenging the foreign voice to speak in his mind again.  He glanced around the room but still nothing had changed and he was alone.  He shook his head, wondering if he was overly tired and his mind was simply playing tricks on him in his stress.  “That’s it, I’m imagining things.”  The rational, even tone with which he enunciated the statement strengthened his conviction.

 

Tygra paced back to the window and stared out into the night once again.  His gaze fell westward and to his shock, he spied a faint blue light in the ruins of Old Cat’s Lair.  “What the—someone’s down there at this hour?” he exclaimed in shock.  “Why in the name of Thundera would anyone be poking around in the ruins in the middle of the night?”  Then a terrible thought occurred to him.  Maybe it was not just a curious midnight explorer, but looters or vandals.  Such a thing was unthinkable, when the Old Cat’s Lair ruins were a veritable treasure trove of information, relics, and links to their lost past.  He had to get out there and make sure that the area was secure before any damage was done.

 

The issue of the twins and their parentage now dismissed temporarily for the more pressing matter at hand, Tygra quickly exited the observatory and dashed down the quiet corridors of the sleeping Lair, collected his bola whip, and hurried to the landing bay, where he consequently boarded and started the ThunderClaw.  The tiger sped toward the ruin site, driven by a great sense of urgency.

 

When he arrived he found the ruins dark and undisturbed, with no trace of looters, vandals, or trespassers anywhere.  Not even the blue light that he had seen from the observatory was visible anywhere around.  He dismounted the ThunderClaw and did a quick search on foot, and even turned invisible in case whoever was there had gone into hiding, but after several minutes of waiting and looking, he saw no one.  The tiger let out an exasperated sigh.  “Oh, what’s the matter with me?  Now I’m seeing things as well as hearing them?  I should have just gone to bed,” he berated himself.  “There’s nobody here, and there probably never was.” 

 

Tygra turned to make his way back to the ThunderClaw when his foot brushed against a half-buried object on the ground that had likely been unearthed but not noticed in the digging that took place earlier in the day.  As he bent down to examine it, he saw that it was a worn and weathered stuffed doll, in the shape of a bear-like animal once native to Thundera.  He immediately recognized the toy and pulled it out of the rubble.  Each of the twins had one of these a long time ago.  He noticed the remains of a tattered red bow around its neck.  This one was WilyKit’s.  WilyKat had the one with the blue bow, he remembered with a wistful smile.  Tygra turned the tattered toy over in his hands and was overcome by a flood of memories.

 

The now long gone voice of Tessana, the panther Thundercat that had preceded Panthro, made an announcement to the group of Thundercats and the trainee he was then assembled in front of her.  “She has borne twin cubs.  One male and one female.  Both are healthy and the two of them, as well as their mother, are expected to do just fine.”

 

“Ah, wonderful,” Jaga replied with a smile, drawing his lover Sibera, the white tiger Thundercat of that generation, closer to him.  She too smiled at the announcement.

 

“That is good news,” Claudus added, relaxing visibly.

 

“Can we see them?” asked Chetland, the young cheetah noble of that time.  “Can we see her?”

 

Tessana shook her head.  “Not yet, Chetland.  She needs her rest.  Snarf Clarece is seeing to the twins now, and the doctor has asked that she be allowed to rest and recover.  Tomorrow perhaps she will be up for visitors.  But not tonight.  It is late.”

 

The old wise tiger called Firestripe nodded in agreement. “I’m just glad to hear that they’re doing well.  She means a great deal to me, you know, and when I had heard the birth would be difficult...”

 

“Yes, she means a great deal to all of us,” Sibera added.

 

“What do the children look like?” Jaga questioned, his features taking on an inquisitive look.

 

“One twin bears the likeness of his mother strongly,” Tessana replied.  “ The other appears more her father’s child.”   A tense silence settled over the group for a long moment as if none of them knew what was appropriate to say.

 

Firestripe shifted his position and changed the subject.  “Tell me, what was the time of their births?”

 

“The female was born first and her brother three minutes later,” Tessana started, and then hesitated.  “The female was born at exactly midnight.”

 

Tygra, who had been present but silent, blinked in surprise as Sibera let out a gasp of shock.  “Midnight?” Sibera repeated, “But doesn’t that mean—”

 

“It’s all superstition, and nothing more,” Tessana snapped irritably, cutting the white tiger off.  “These children will have enough difficulty already given the awkward circumstances of their birth without growing up with the rest of us filling them with fears that aren’t even based in scientific truth!”

 

“The words of the ancients are not superstition, Tessana,” Sibera argued with a frown.  “The Birth Hour of Darkness is something that should always be taken seriously.  Grune was born under that hour, close to the apex, just like those twins and especially that female!”

 

“Sibera, we’ve agreed not speak of that cat here any longer,” Claudus growled coldly.  “Grune deserted us.  He made his choices.”

 

“We all make our choices, Claudus,” Firestripe stated, a cool and disapproving edge to his normally respectful tone.

 

“Do you have something you wish to say to me, Firestripe?  If so, please have the courtesy to speak it plainly and not veil your thoughts behind snide comments.”

 

Firestripe sighed.  “My apologies for my tone, my Lord.  It has been a trying day for all of us and the subject of Grune is a touchy one at best.  I’m tired, that is all.”  He turned to Tessana.  “Now that I know she and her cubs are all right, I will be retiring for the night.  Good night everyone.”  With that, the elder tiger bowed and left the room.

 

“I think that’s a good idea, for all of us,” Tessana agreed.  The panther nodded to her fellow Thundercats and followed Firestripe into the hallway.

 

Claudus watched them leave, and then sighed himself.  “Good night, my fellow Thundercats,” he stated quietly, and then left through a different door to retire to his own quarters.

 

Sibera on the other hand still frowned, upset by the way Tessana and Claudus had brushed her off.  She turned toward Jaga and Tygra, who stood beside the jaguar.  “I don’t care what Tessana says,” the white tigress said.  “The hour of darkness should not be ignored or otherwise taken lightly, especially when the subject was born right on the hour itself.  Whether they listen or not, I fear for that female child, just as I feared for Grune before he…” her voice trailed off.  

 

“Before he turned on us and left us,” Chetland murmured somberly. 

 

Sibera nodded sadly to the cheetah.  “Those children will have a harder time wrestling with their demons than those born on other hours.  And although no one wants to hear it, what I said about Grune was the truth.  He was born on the Hour of Darkness and we can all agree that he has much difficulty controlling his darker urges, and now that he’s left us, I believe he has given up the struggle entirely.”

 

“If only it hadn’t come to—” Tygra began.

 

“‘If only’ is a useless phrase in matters like these, Tygra,” Jaga told the tiger youth.  “We can never truly know what would have happened if things had been different.   What’s important is that we understand the reasons why these things happen and work from there to avoid making the same mistakes again.”

 

“You’re right, Jaga,” Tygra agreed.  He then took a deep breath, and then asked the question that was on his mind but that he hadn’t felt comfortable enough to ask before now.  “Has any decision been made about the children yet?”

 

Jaga nodded resolutely.  “They made the only decision that can be made under the circumstances.  Since the father cannot be in the picture, the children will remain in care of their mother, here at Cat’s Lair, for the time being.  We can’t release the truth as common knowledge.  The scandal would destroy us.  We discussed this at length and agreed that this way is best.”

 

“Even their mother?” the tiger trainee pressed.

 

“Yes, especially her,” Jaga confirmed.  “And I will ask your word on your honor as a potential Thundercat that you not tell these children the truth about their past, either, Tygra.  We don’t want to hurt them with wounds best left healed by time.”

 

Tygra stood there silently for a moment, and then nodded affirmatively to the jaguar Thundercat.  “You have my word, Jaga.  I just wish it didn’t have to turn out this way,” the tiger sighed.

 

Sibera laid an understanding hand on his shoulder.  “I know, Tygra.  But I have faith that no matter what unfortunate circumstances these children have been brought into the world with, we can do our best to make it right.”

 

Tygra met her eyes and smiled optimistically. “Yes, that is the least we can do.”

 

The memory faded and Tygra felt a fresh wave of guilt wash over him as he recalled the night of the twins’ birth, and the night he had first made that promise to Jaga.  “We did do our best,” he said quietly into the cool night air.  “We did what we thought was right.”  Although that was the truth, he still felt ashamed that he had to lie to WilyKit and WilyKat, especially when he knew how unequivocally that they trusted him and the other Thundercats.  Lying was still lying, even if it was done in good intentions.  And what right did he and the others truly have to keep that truth from them now that the twins were grown and mature enough to handle it?  But then, if he did tell the truth, not only would he have broken his word to Jaga, but the lasting effects of revealing the real truth of the twins’ parentage…  “Damn it,” Tygra swore softly, “I don’t know what’s right or wrong anymore!”

 

“Don’t be silly, boy.  Of course you do,” a high-pitched female voice from behind him sounded.  

 

Tygra whirled around at the unexpected noise and saw a face he had not seen since he and the Thundercats had left Thundera during the exodus.  An elderly female snarf stood there, a smile on her stern red, pink, and white-furred face.  “Snarf Clarece!” he exclaimed, astonished.  “Was that your light I saw down here?”

 

The old snarf nodded to the tiger.  “Yes, Tygra, that was me, snarf snarf.  I’ve been on a journey from the Valley of the Snarfs to come back and see old Cat’s Lair once more.  I couldn’t help but overhear your worries.  Why are you are questioning whether you have done right by WilyKat and WilyKit?”

 

Tygra was so excited to see Clarece that he didn’t question the odd fact that she was old and weak, yet traveling alone in the middle of the night.  “Yes, Clarece, I have,” he admitted sadly.  “WilyKit asked me who her parents were not long ago.  I didn’t tell her because I couldn’t tell her, but I can’t stall her with half-truths forever either, especially once she also got WilyKat interested in hearing it.  I worry that my unwillingness to answer her questions has only made her want to delve deeper into the whole mess.”

 

Clarece nodded thoughtfully.  “Indeed, she was always a willful girl, even as a child.  But they aren’t children any more, Tygra,” she told him, her snarf tail twitching back and forth as she spoke to him.  “ The twins have grown.  WilyKat is a strong and brave man, and WilyKit is a proud and beautiful woman.  Unfortunately what WilyKit needs right now more than anything else is answers.  Her life as she knows it has fallen to pieces around her.  She’s desperately searching for something that will help it all make sense,” the elderly snarf explained.  “Sibera was right, you know, the darkness could consume her if she doesn’t take care of herself.  Even now, it draws her nearer to madness.”

 

Tygra frowned, puzzled as to how Clarece could possibly have so much insight into the situation despite being absent for so many years.  “How do you know all this?”

 

The snarf padded a few steps closer to the tiger’s feet.  “Tygra, I raised those children from infancy until near adolescence.  Osbert may have taken care of them afterward, but I knew and loved those children like they were my own and I never lost the connection.”

 

Oddly enough, her explanation satisfied him for the time being.  “Then what should I do, Clarece?  Should I tell them the truth about their lineage?  It could tear us all apart if the Thundercats as a whole aren’t strong enough to deal with it.  This secret nearly destroyed us once.  Some Thundercats even lost their lives because of it,” he said, his voice thick with emotion and distress.

 

“Those Thundercats lost their lives because of Grune the Destroyer, not because of a secret,” Clarece corrected him firmly.  “Secrets do not kill, those that can’t handle them do.  In the past, the truth would have hurt them.  To grow up bearing the burden and shame of something that was not their fault would have been unnecessarily cruel to them, snarf snarf.  But times have changed, the children have grown, and their needs are different now.  You’ll know when you next see the twins whether or not you should tell them,” she assured him.  “You’re an honorable man, Tygra.  I know you will make the right decision, snarf snarf.”

 

“Thank you, Clarece,” Tygra said shakily.  Talking to Clarece had somehow released a great deal of the stress he had about the situation, and now he felt emotionally worn and drained after finally letting it out.

 

Clarece’s snarven features softened to a gentle smile.  “Tygra, my dear, you’re tired.  I can see it in your face.  Go on home and rest.  You need it.”

 

“You’re right,” he agreed, returning the smile.  “Would you like a ride back to the Lair, Clarece?  I’m sure the others would love to see you.”

 

The snarf shook her head.  “I’ll make it to where I need to go in my own time.  Go rest now.”

 

“All right, if you’re sure,” Tygra agreed hesitantly.  When she nodded back to him in assurance, he mounted the ThunderClaw.  “I will see you soon, Clarece.”  Clarece simply smiled and waved as he restarted the ThunderClaw and flew back to the Lair.

 

Once back in the confines of Cat’s Lair, Tygra made his way to the control room, where Snarf Egbert was on night watch duty.  Although Egbert did not live at the Lair, he and a few other snarfs from the Valley of the Snarfs had agreed to stay at the Lair and help during WilyKit and WilyKat’s absence.  “Hello Egbert,” he greeted him, “how is watch going?”

 

The chubby snarf turned around and smiled, happy to have the company on his graveyard shift.  “Hey Tygra.  I’m doing all right, snarf snarf.  By the way, I wanted to ask you, why did you take off like that earlier?  Is everything all right?”

 

“Oh, yes, of course,” Tygra assured him.

 

“Oh good,” a relieved Egbert replied.  “I didn’t know what was going on, so I tried to reach you on the communicator several times but for some reason I couldn’t get it to respond!  It was like it was being blocked or the battery just went dead.”

 

Tygra frowned.  “That is odd.  It was working fine last I used it, and I didn’t receive any calls on it, I assure you.  You were hailing the ThunderClaw, right?”

 

Egbert nodded a definitive yes.

 

“We’ll have to get Panthro to look into that.  Maybe it needs tuning,” the tiger said thoughtfully.  “Anyway, my trip outside is actually what I came here to tell you about.  I went out to the Old Cat’s Lair ruin.  When I was in the observatory earlier I saw a light down there and went to check it out.”

 

“A light?” a puzzled Egbert repeated.  “I’ve been on watch all night and I didn’t pick up on any energy readings in that area, except for the light on the ThunderClaw.”

 

“The light was a lantern of a traveler.  Perhaps it was too faint for the equipment to pick up.  Anyway, it was a nice surprise in the form of an old friend down there, and I good talk with her.  I hadn’t seen her in years.  She’s coming here later, by the way, that’s what I wanted to tell you.”

 

“Who is it?” Egbert asked with interest.

 

“Snarf Clarece,” Tygra answered.

 

Egbert’s jaw dropped.  “Schnarf…that’s impossible!”

 

“It was,” Tygra assured him.  “I lived with her for years, it was definitely Clarece.”

 

Egbert shook his head emphatically and felt a cold shiver run down his spine.  “You have to be mistaken, Tygra.  Nope, no way, it couldn’t be her, snarf snarf.”

 

“Why not?” Tygra questioned as a strange feeling came over him.

 

“Rowr, Tygra, Snarf Clarece died over two years ago.”

 

 

Continued

 

Back to Fanfic Archive