Path Into the Darkness
Part Four: WilyKit
Chapter Three: Secrets of the Past
“Welcome home WilyKat!” Pumyra’s cheerful voice rang out as the younger Thundercat stepped off of his ship. He had just returned, early, from his diplomatic mission to Plundarr. As he stepped off the ramp, Pumyra approached him and looked at his bandaged arm with concern. “Ouch, it looks like you were hurt in that explosion after all,” she said, frowning. “Ratar-O told us that you were just banged up a little.”
WilyKat shrugged. “Well, it’s nothing all that serious. Just that Thunderian ambassadors still aren’t too popular with some of the Mutants on Plundarr. Even with all of Ratar-O’s security, some terrorist fringe group managed to plant a bomb in the banquet hall. It’s hard to believe that after all the wars, and all that’s happened, that there are still those out there who don’t want peace.” He shook his head sadly. “I'm just glad no one was killed because of my presence there. My wound was one of the worst, and it’s just a lousy broken bone and a few scratches.”
“A few scratches? It looks like you had stitches to me,” Pumyra noted, pointing to the side of his neck.
He rubbed it absentmindedly. “Oh that, yeah, it ran a little deep, but it was nothing serious.”
The door to the hangar opened, and Lion-O and a pretty lioness close in age to WilyKat emerged. “Glad to see you back in one piece,” Lion-O called out warmly.
The lioness ran up and gave WilyKat a big hug. “Welcome home, handsome!”
“Leo!” he exclaimed brightly. “I'm glad to see you,” he said, pulling her close with his good arm. The lioness was his girlfriend of a few months, a Thunderian refugee named Leonora who had returned to New Thundera a couple of years earlier. “And you too Lion-O,” WilyKat added with a smile for his Lord.
“I hope Lynx-O has better luck than you on his trip to Plundarr,” Lion-O mused. Lynx-O had left earlier that morning, after a tense call from the Mutants. A discussion with the visiting Ambassadors and Ratar-O had convinced Lion-O that it would be best to send another Thundercat Ambassador in WilyKat’s place if one was willing, to show that they would not cave in to terrorist threats. WilyKat had been offered the option to stay, but he felt more comfortable back at home after the experience. Lynx-O had been very understanding and volunteered to take his place instead.
“So do I,” WilyKat said, glancing at his bandaged arm. “What about the Mutant and Lunatac ambassadors here on New Thundera?” he asked. “No one has threatened them, right? And how is Kit doing over on the Third Moon?”
“Everyone here is fine,” Lion-O assured him. “Chamela and Lushara have both been made very welcome and comfortable, and they have met with a few of the clan leaders. Things went better than we initially expected, and although some of the elders were clearly not happy to keep company with Plundarrians of either sort, none of them were hostile toward them. Some of the clans were surprisingly warm to them,” he told him. “As for WilyKit and Snarfer, we haven’t heard much from them, so we’re assuming that everything on the Third Moon is going well.”
“At any rate, we’re glad to have you back, WilyKat,” Pumyra told him with a smile. “Let’s go inside and say hello to everyone.”
WilyKat, Lion-O, and Leonora gave a nod of agreement and the four of them headed into Cat’s Lair.
* * *
As WilyKat and his welcoming party were coming inside, Panthro and Snoelle were alone in Cat’s Lair’s control room monitoring the incoming communications—or at least they were supposed to be doing that. However, that was often a dull job, and since nothing much of interest was going on, the very much in-love couple was snuggled together in the head control chair. Snoelle sat upon Panthro’s lap, leaning on his shoulder and nuzzling his neck, while he held his arm around her shoulders, admiring her lovely spotted features. They had only been alone for a few minutes, but Snoelle had been waiting for the opportunity to be alone with her mate so she could tell him some news she had found out earlier from Pumyra. Since things were quiet, she figured that the time had come.
“Panthro I have something to tell you,” she said, her voice purring slightly as she addressed him.
“What is it?” Panthro asked, curious. He couldn’t read the expression on her face, but he could tell that it was something that she was pleased with.
The snow leopard’s smile widened. “I know we’ve been trying for several seasons now, but this morning I had the hunch that our wish finally came true. Pumyra confirmed it for me a little while ago—I am carrying your cub.”
Panthro grinned from ear to ear. “Really? That’s wonderful!” He and Snoelle had been together for nearly five years, and much of the last three had been spent with the desire to add to the Lair children with a cub of their own. Despite trying they had not been lucky, and medical tests to validate whether Snoelle’s long stasis in ice had affected her ability to have children had proven inconclusive. It seemed that their wait was finally over, and that thrilled Panthro to no end. The panther was fond of children, and he had been one of the ones who spent the most time with the kittens in their youth back on Third Earth, aside from Snarf of course.
“I think so too,” she replied, and leaned in to give him a kiss only to be interrupted by the loud buzzer signaling an incoming call on the console behind them. “Timing is everything,” she sighed, as Panthro reached for the receiver.
“Cat’s Lair,” Panthro answered as the image of Snarfer and Queen Selene took form on the screen in front of them. Noting the expressions the two of them wore, both Panthro and Snoelle grew serious, and the snow leopard climbed out of her mate’s lap and stood beside his chair. “Snarfer? What’s going on?”
“Hi Panthro and Snoelle,” Snarfer greeted the pair of Thundercats. “I hope we aren’t taking you from anything important.”
“Nothing that can’t wait, Snarfer,” Snoelle assured him.
Selene nodded from beside the snarf. “We wouldn’t have bothered you if it wasn’t a bit of an emergency, but I’m afraid we’re having a problem of sorts here,” Selene informed them. “WilyKit has fallen, well, she isn’t feeling well. There have been some strange occurrences and she—”
“Oh no!” Snoelle exclaimed. “She wasn’t attacked too, was she? By terrorists?”
“Terrorists?” Selene replied. “Oh, Moons no, nothing like that,” she assured them. “Have there been incidents like that on New Thundera? Is Lushara all right?”
“She’s fine,” Panthro said. “There were some problems on Plundarr, though. WilyKat had to be sent back after some warmongering fringe group planted a bomb in Ratar-O’s palace. He said no one was seriously hurt though.”
Selene’s face relaxed visibly. “I’m glad to hear that. I’ll be sure and contact them next, though. I wasn’t notified of that yet.”
“What about WilyKit?” Snoelle asked. “You said she was ill?”
Snarfer shook his head. “Not exactly. It’s.... brrrrr.... weirder. She’s being haunted by ghosts.”
“Ghosts?” Panthro asked in disbelief.
Snarfer nodded. “Yep, weird stuff is happening to her, snarfer snarfer. She says things are hitting her and touching her, only we can’t see who’s doing it and she can’t either. And just a little while ago the ghosts attacked some of the others here too. They said they think she needs an exorcist. It’s really creepy and they’ve got her real upset.”
Snoelle shivered at the snarf’s account of the happenings on the Third Moon. “In the name of all the Ancients, that poor woman. She’s already had such a rough time with her disappearance and memory loss. And now demons,” she said with a sigh. “From what I know of them, they prefer to torment tortured souls, ones that are easily broken, for their amusement. What could possibly be making WilyKit suffer so badly that she’s captured the attention of evil spirits?”
“Brrr... maybe you’d better get Lion-O and the others here to talk about this,” Snarfer suggested.
“Snarfer is right, it is rather serious. The last attack was very physical,” Selene added.
Panthro nodded. “Hold on. I’ll round them up and get them in here.”
He placed Snarfer and Selene on hold, and made an announcement over the Lair’s intercom system for everyone present to gather in the control room. Within two minutes, each of the Thundercats on New Thundera including the newly returned WilyKat and his non-Thundercat girlfriend Leonora, as well as the two visiting ambassadors, the reptilian Chamela and the darkling Lushara, were gathered in the control room by the console. Panthro put the call back on line, and allowed the Lunar Queen and Snarfer to explain again what had happened on the Third Moon.
Snarfer filled them in on the details of the story of WilyKit’s outburst the night before, her account of the ghostly assault later that evening, and the subsequent ghostly attack on her, Luna, and Frostor in the library. Selene then went on to explain why they needed one of the Thundercats, preferably WilyKat, to go to the Third Moon to see WilyKit, as well as a Thunderian exorcist if such a thing existed.
WilyKat clenched his fist determinedly when he heard his sister needed him. “I’ll be there as fast as I can,” he informed the pair on the view screen.
“But WilyKat, you just got home,” Tygra said, shaking his head. “Besides, you’re injured. Maybe it would be better if one of us went instead.”
“My sister needs me,” he argued. “She would do anything for me, no matter what, and I’m not going to let her down again.”
Leonora sighed and squeezed his shoulder. “Again? Kat, you have to stop blaming yourself for her disappearance,” she said softly.
Lion-O nodded at met WilyKat’s gaze seriously. “She’s right. I understand that you want to help her, but from what Snarfer and Selene said, these ghosts might get rough. You really shouldn’t be risking further injury.”
“Fuck the injury!” WilyKat shouted angrily. The others were surprised to hear him curse, as it was not something he did often. “She needs me and I’m going, and that’s all there is to it,” he stated determinedly, and stomped out of the room without another word, bound for the hangar.
“Hissss devotion to his broodmate isss admirable,” Ambassador Chamela observed, smoothing her scales as she spoke. “She issss lucky to have such loyalty behind her.”
“It’s too bad that it clouds his judgment,” Panthro sighed. “Someone should follow him to make sure he doesn’t do something rash, like take off without notifying us.”
Lushara, the darkling Lunatac Ambassador, narrowed her red eyes purposefully and scanned her surroundings. “He doesn’t appear to be leaving the building, if that helps.”
Leonora glanced at the door through which WilyKat left. “Lord Lion-O?” she asked suddenly. When it was clear that she had the Lord’s attention she continued. “From the way he sounded, and from what I know of him, he’s going to go no matter what any of us says,” she stated nervously. “But maybe I could go with him? That way none of you would have to leave your posts here on New Thundera. I understand the importance of keeping as many Thundercats as possible here.”
Lion-O frowned thoughtfully. “I don’t know, Leonora, it could be dangerous for you. You’re not a trained fighter, are you? And while I’m sure none of Selene’s people would harm you, I do think if there are supernatural forces at work you could be in danger.”
“I’m not afraid of any ghosts,” she protested. “I’m a Halerani.”
Cheetara’s sixth sense tingled at the mention of the name, and she got a flash of the lioness in front of her holding an ancient staff in a fierce and determined manner. “Halerani, the lion mystics,” she said. “Mediums who can see and talk to spirits at will, and when trained, drive them away. But I didn’t know any Halerani were left among the Thunderians. That clan hasn’t registered on New Thundera since the rebirth.”
Leonora closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “There are only a handful of us left, that’s why,” she explained. “Most of the clan died in Thundera’s explosion. Some of us made it to ships in time, but most of them didn’t. I probably wouldn’t have been spared myself, but my father gave up his place on an escape ship for me, and left the Staff of Dera in my possession.”
“The Staff of Dera?” Snoelle repeated, furrowing her brow. “That was once part of the Treasure of Thundera. It’s the sister piece to the Totem of Dera, used in spiritual cleansing. It was primarily used by Halerani for cleansing rites for troubled souls, if I remember correctly.”
Leonora nodded. “Yes, that’s what I’ve been told about it too. I was very little when Old Thundera was lost, only about four or so. The only family with me was my cousin Lerond, and the other Thunderians that were on our ship raised us both. Some of them knew what the staff was, although none of them were Halerani so they couldn’t show me how to use it, so I’ve just kept it safe with my stuff. The only other Halerani around is a great aunt of mine who returned a few months ago. She planned to put our clan into the registry but took ill so she hasn’t had the chance yet.”
Cheetara turned to Lion-O. “Maybe she should go. If she takes the Staff of Dera with her, maybe it could drive away whatever spirit it is that’s harassing WilyKit. It was said to have strong powers against the demonic.”
Lion-O considered the cheetah’s suggestion. “Well it is true that we’re spread fairly thin here, with Lynx-O and now Snarfer, WilyKit, and WilyKat away on Plundarr or the Moons. If you promise me that you’ll be careful, and that you and WilyKat will contact us for help if things get out of hand.”
“Oh, certainly. I wouldn’t presume to be able to take the place of a trained Thundercat,” Leonora agreed with a smile. “And like I said before, I don’t really know how to use the Staff of Dera, but I will try. I’ve never had a need for it before, but I suppose it’s time I learned. I’ll do my best, I promise.”
“The magical properties in many of the pieces of the Treasure of Thundera come naturally to their rightful owners,” Cheetara assured her. “I have a feeling it’ll be almost like instinct to someone from your clan.”
Leonora nodded respectfully in response. “Thank you. I will do my best not to let you down, Thundercats.” With that she bowed to them and left to find WilyKat.
Once Leonora departed, Lion-O returned his attention to the monitor where Selene and Snarfer were quietly conferring while they waited for a response from the Thundercats on New Thundera. Lion-O approached the screen and cleared his throat to get their attention. “We’ve made a decision,” he stated. The duo on the other end of the line turned their attention back to the monitor, and Lion-O continued. “We’re sending WilyKat and a lioness named Leonora. She isn’t a Thundercat, but she will explain her qualifications when she gets there. We’re confident that she will be able to help with the ghost issue, and that aside she is very close with WilyKat and he trusts her. Between the two of them, I think they can help get to the bottom of this situation.”
“I hope so,” Selene replied.
Snarfer frowned, as though he something else on his mind. “There’s one other thing that we didn’t tell you that you might want to know about,” he said hesitantly.
“What’s that, Snarfer?” Cheetara questioned.
“WilyKit is, well, kinda, brrr, pregnant,” Snarfer said, clearly a bit embarrassed by being the one to break the news.
A series of murmurs, whispers, and wide-eyed expressions of shock fell across the Thundercats gathered in Cat’s Lair’s control room. Snarf was the first to vocalize a reaction. “Who’s the father?” the surprised Snarf asked.
Standing silently in the back of the room, Tygra took a deep breath and closed his eyes as the news sunk in. Lords of Thundera, it’s happening again, it’s happening all over again. Just like her mother.
“A Lunatac,” Selene told them. “A hunter named Darkail who works for us as an Ambassador. Apparently he knew her during her memory loss and—”
The Thundercats exchanged more shocked looks as Selene spoke. Not only were they stunned that WilyKit was due to bear a cub of a man they hadn’t heard of before, but that he was a Lunatac was an extra twist they did not anticipate. It also struck them as odd and bit hurtful that WilyKit had opened up about her personal life to the individuals on the Third Moon but not her fellow Thundercats, her family.
“—the two of them were lovers,” the Lunar Queen continued. “Darkail is now missing, however. He requested a leave of absence just last night, and it was this morning that WilyKit remembered who he was to her. It’s a rather complicated situation. Anyway, we thought it best that all of you be made aware of her condition, so she receives the proper care,” Selene finished.
Lion-O was still floored by the unexpected news, but he managed to nod politely in response to her statement. He at least felt better that it was not something WilyKit had intentionally kept from them, although it did concern him as to how exactly it would impact their lives as Thundercats and public figures, especially in light of everything WilyKit had been through already. “Very well then, thanks for letting us know,” Lion-O said in closing. “Tell her that we hope she feels better, and that WilyKat and Leonora will be there soon.”
“Will do Lion-O!” Snarfer replied with a bit of renewed optimism. “Bye Lion-O, bye Thundercats!” The screen then went blank, ending the call. Lion-O then turned toward the assembled Thundercats in the room.
Snarf’s features held a frown of clear disapproval. “Snarf, snarf, what in the name of Thundera was WilyKit doing with that Lunatac during her disappearance anyway?”
Lion-O opened his mouth to give the obvious answer, but Cheetara silenced him in time by speaking up first. “Snarf, it’s not going to do any good to get judgmental right now. What’s done is done. Our main concern should be that she’s all right. If she is having a child, then an attack from a ghost could have even more dangerous consequences for her and the cub she carries.”
Panthro sighed and looked toward Tygra. “Is anyone else here getting a sick feeling of déjà vu?”
Tygra nodded. “Indeed, Panthro. I hate this. It’s like the past has chosen to repeat itself, and like last time, there’s nothing we can do about it. It's like Sibera said all those years ago. The Birth Hour of Darkness—it is a curse.”
Lion-O frowned, puzzled at the exchange between the two elder Thundercats. “Sibera? Curse? What are you talking about? Who’s Sibera?”
“Sibera was a Thundercat that served under Claudus,” Cheetara explained. “She was the last white tiger Thundercat before we anointed Bengali back on Third Earth.”
Tygra nodded. “She was also Jaga’s fiancée and a kind woman, although some considered her to be very superstitious. But apparently there was something to her beliefs, because a prediction she made over thirty years ago seems to be coming true.”
“What happened to her?” Pumyra asked.
“She died,” Panthro finished. “She was killed by Grune the Destroyer, along with a red tiger Thundercat-in-Training named Scarlette.”
Lion-O, Pumyra, and Snoelle were horrified by that revelation. “I knew he was a killer,” Lion-O said, “but I didn’t know he killed so many Thundercats. I mean, I knew about your cousin…” he cast a glance at Cheetara, who lowered her eyes sadly for a moment, before he turned back to Panthro, “but I didn’t know he also killed Jaga’s lover and a Thundercat Trainee.”
“It was a terrible tragedy. During the Gatoria riots, which Grune incited, most of the Thundercats were dispatched to get it under control. Sibera and Scarlette were overpowered by some of the renegade thugs. Grune had given the order to leave no opposition standing and to take no prisoners, so they were executed by the mob,” Tygra explained, his voice heavy with emotion as he recalled the terrible day when he was given the firsthand accounts of the battle. “The rumor was that Grune heard their cries for mercy and appeals to their past ties to him, but he turned a deaf ear to them as they were being murdered.”
“My gods,” Pumyra said, shaking her head in sad disbelief. “How could he hate them that much?”
Tygra, Cheetara, and Panthro exchanged knowing glances while Snarf shook his head. “Rowr, are you sure you want to get into this?” he asked the three of them.
Tygra nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, I think it is time. Clarece was right, it’s no longer right to keep these secrets.”
Snarf’s ears twitched at the mention of Clarece. The old snarf recalled Egbert’s story about the night Tygra had seen what only could have been Snarf Clarece’s ghost out at the ruins. It spooked him just thinking about it, although part of him wished he could have spoken to Clarece as well. Even though he and Clarece never got along very well on a personal level, he had genuinely liked her in a way, and had always respected the other snarf. “Yes, I guess you’re right, Tygra. Rowr, it’s probably best that they know.”
“Know what?” Lion-O asked. Pumyra and Snoelle also seemed to share their Lord’s curiosity, as did the two visiting Ambassadors, who were still in the room but remaining respectfully silent.
Tygra took a deep breath as he prepared to relay the whole sordid story. He knew it had the potential to go badly, especially if Lion-O did not understand his position, but he was determined to see it through and not keep it a secret any longer. Part of him now felt ashamed for keeping it hidden for as long as he did, even though he felt in his heart that Jaga had been right to order it kept a secret all those years ago. But times had changed, and Jaga was gone. Lion-O was his Lord and he deserved the truth, no matter how late it was in coming.
Tygra stood up straight and met the gazes of the other Thundercats in the room who knew, and allowed their silent nods of encouragement to steel his resolve. “Panthro, Snarf, and Cheetara know this story, but the rest of you do not,” the tiger began. “At one time, Grune and Scarlette were lovers, deeply in love with one another, and had plans to marry. This was a long time ago, when I was still a youth and training to be a Thundercat. Scarlette and I were in competition, and we were both hoping to take the position that the previous red tiger Thundercat, Firestripe, was going to retire from. Scarlette and Grune fell in love while she was training, but she refused to marry him until she won—or lost, although I don’t believe she ever thought she would lose to me—the position.” He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, and then continued.
“During that time, Grune went away to the Third Moon of Plundarr on a diplomatic mission that Claudus had set up, hoping to end the wars we were constantly engaged in with the Plundarrians of both the Moons and the planet itself. The peace mission failed, they always did in those days, but something worse than that happened to Grune while he was there. He changed,” the tiger explained. “He fell under the influence of some dark souls, particularly that of a Lunatac woman that seduced him. I don’t know exactly what happened between them, but there was a huge scandal when a picture of him kissing this Lunatac in some sleazy, low-rent club on the Third Moon of Plundarr was anonymously sent here addressed to Scarlette.”
“That must have upset her a great deal,” Snoelle said, listening intently to the tiger’s tale.
“It not only upset her, it devastated her,” Tygra said sadly. “When Scarlette received the picture, she cried for hours. She couldn’t believe that after all she and Grune had shared, that in a few short weeks he would betray her like that. She was almost inconsolable, and all of us, including myself, hated to see her suffer such heartbreak. What made it even worse was that there was a storm the night the picture was delivered, and our communication abilities were limited, so she couldn’t even put a call through to Grune on the Moons and hear his side of it. Some of us tried talking to her, and tried to reassure her that it could have been a mistake or a misunderstanding, but she wouldn't hear it. The picture was very incriminating, so I suppose I can understand why,” Tygra said with a sigh.
“But still,” the tiger continued, “there was nothing we could do to console her. Only one of us was able to get her to calm down enough to talk. A good friend of hers. Someone she trusted without question and admired without limit—Lord Claudus. He went to her quarters to speak with her, and was the only one of us she would even admit inside...” Tygra’s voice trailed off as he reached the uncomfortable part of the story. He did not know just how to say what he would have to say next, but he willed himself to get it out somehow.
“My father was a compassionate and caring man,” Lion-O agreed, unaware of Tygra’s rising apprehension or the reason for it.
Tygra nodded. “That he was. But...” he stumbled for a moment, “but there’s more to this than that, Lion-O. This took place before he married your mother, Lionari. In those days Claudus was much more of a reserved and aloof man. He was someone who cared deeply for his people, but rarely did he get close to them personally. Scarlette was an exception to that rule. The two of them had always been similar in many ways, and they grew to be close friends during her Thundercat training. But that night...”
“What are you saying, Tygra?” Lion-O asked, almost dreading the tiger’s answer, as he was not sure he wanted to hear his suspicions verified. The thought of his father, a respected Thundercat Lord, bedding the fiancée of one of his fellow Thundercats, someone whom he would have sworn loyalty to…
Tygra nodded as he noted the expression on the lion’s face. “For one night they were more.”
Lion-O’s face fell as Tygra confirmed his fear. Snoelle frowned, equally shocked that a Thundercat Lord would have acted with such impropriety, while Pumyra blinked in astonishment. “Please continue, Tygra.”
The other Thundercats in the room—including Cheetara, Panthro, and Snarf, who each already knew of Claudus’ indiscretion—eyed Tygra expectantly for a reply. The tiger shifted his stance slightly and picked up where he had left off. “The next morning, when Claudus left Scarlette’s quarters, we had our suspicions that something inappropriate might have happened between them, but none of us openly talked about it. It seemed wrong to gossip about Lord Claudus’ behavior, especially without proof and in light of how upset Scarlette had been that night.”
“Anyway,” Tygra continued, “the two of them didn’t act as though anything unusual had happened between the two of them. Over the next few weeks, none of us brought up the subject of Grune or the picture, mostly because we wanted to avoid the unpleasant subject of the night Claudus had spent in Scarlette’s quarters. Things returned to normal for a time, and we had all but forgotten about until the evening before Grune’s return from the Moons. Scarlette was unusually distraught about something she refused to discuss, and a closed meeting involving Jaga, Claudus, Firestripe, Tessana, and Scarlette was held until a very late hour. The younger Thundercats, Sibera and Chetland, were excluded from that meeting, as I was. None of us knew what it was about, but we had a feeling whatever it was, it wasn’t good. When they came out of the room, they were very grim, and our suspicions were confirmed. Scarlette informed us that she was pregnant—not by Grune, but by Lord Claudus.”
“My father?” Lion-O said, visibly shocked. “But he never said anything to me about that. He never told me that I had a half brother or a sister—”
“He sssstated earlier that Scarlette was killed, Lord Lion-O,” Ambassador Chamela suggested quietly. “Perhapssss it was before her cub wassss born.”
Cheetara shook her spotted mane. “No. Scarlette lived long enough to bear her cubs.”
“Cubs?” Pumyra repeated. “You mean she had—”
“Twins, yes,” Panthro confirmed. “A boy and a girl.”
Lion-O paled and gave Tygra a distressed look as he pondered the implications of what had just been said. “Wait a minute, Tygra. Twins? Are you saying… that WilyKit and WilyKat are...”
Tygra sighed, feeling both a feeling of immense relief and terrible guilt now that the secret was out, once and for all. “Yes. They’re your older half-sister and brother. Chronologically, anyway.”
“Wow,” Ambassador Lushara murmured under her breath. If she had thought her visit to New Thundera would be boring, being the first of her people to learn such a dark twist in the Thundercats’ history certainly made up for it. She exchanged looks with the reptilian Ambassador beside her, and it seemed that she shared her sentiment. Both had enough diplomacy to remain quiet as the Thundercats hashed out the issue, however.
Tygra however was unaware of the Ambassadors’ reactions. All he could see was the shocked, and then angry and hurt expression on Lion-O’s face, and he fumbled with words to explain the terrible situation. “Scarlette planned to raise the twins on her own after they were born, but she was killed in Gatoria less than a few weeks after their birth. Lord Claudus could not officially recognize the twins as his own, even after their mother’s death, for political reasons.”
“That’s shameful,” Pumyra said, frowning. “Did his flesh and blood mean less to him than his politics? What sort of way was that for a Thundercat Lord, an example of our Code, to behave?”
“I’m sure it hurt him deeply, Pumyra, but the way politics ran in those days, he couldn’t acknowledge the children without having his claim on the Lordship and the integrity of his clan called into question,” Cheetara stated quietly. “The scandal would have created a horrible political mess, and with the wars going on, Claudus couldn’t afford to let that happen. Not when the Thundercats’ energies were needed to fight the Mutant wars and fend off raiders from the Plundarrian Moons. Claudus did what he thought was best for Thundera as a whole.”
Tygra nodded. “His arranged marriage with Lion-O’s mother, Lionari, was only a few months away, and that would have surely been broken off in light of the scandal. Without the arranged marriage between two nobles of the lion clan, and legitimate heirs born to them, the lion clan’s claim on the Lordship would have been jeopardized. The twins would not be considered true heirs due to the fact that they were born out of wedlock, and to a non-lion woman to boot. It is unfair, but Old Thunderian society was very strict about such things. It was not like today, after the rebirth of our New Thundera. In our new, struggling society the clans have no issue with your marriage to Cheetara, or the legitimacy of Chet as your heir—but that was not how things were done before the Exodus. Neither Claudus nor Scarlette wanted to bring shame upon their clans, the Thundercats, or the Lordship for their mistake, especially if it would have had severe consequences for Thundera itself,” he explained.
“Hence, Claudus and Scarlette agreed that the truth of the twins’ parentage would be kept a secret. Only Thundercats of the time, myself, the few snarfs that served in Old Cat’s Lair, and the new Thundercats that joined the team after the unfortunate deaths in Gatoria were told the truth. Each of us swore on the Code of Thundera that we would never reveal that secret, especially to the twins themselves or any legitimate children born to Claudus, unless it was decided it was absolutely necessary,” Tygra finished.
A terrible silence fell over the room as the truth of Tygra’s words sank in to those who did not previously know it, and sad, knowing expressions filled the faces of those who did. Naturally, Lion-O took the news the hardest. Fighting back an emotional wave of shock, anger, hurt, and betrayal, he glared at Tygra. “You’ve known this for my entire life and never said a word?” he said incredulously, his voice rising in anger. “Even after the Exodus, after we thought Old Thundera and its laws and society gone forever, you never told me or the twins that we were family, that we had the same father, that they were my brother and sister?”
“You have to understand, Lion-O—” Cheetara began softly, trying to diffuse her mate’s temper.
The Thundercat Lord would not be calmed. “And you knew too, right?” he accused Cheetara. “All of you here—except for Snoelle, Pumyra, and I, and Bengali, Lynx-O, and Snarfer—you all knew about this, and never told us, even after all these years?” he demanded, furious.
Cheetara, Tygra, Panthro, and Snarf nodded and cast their eyes downward, while the two Ambassadors exchanged looks, not wanting to leave and miss the fireworks, but not wanting to draw attention to themselves in what was clearly a private conversation, either. Panthro stood and approached Lion-O. “Jaga told us when we were anointed so that we would understand the situation. He swore us all to secrecy. It was for your own good, Lion-O. You know we would never have agreed to something that was hurtful to you.”
“It was terrible having to keep such a thing from you, Lion-O,” Cheetara added. “I’ve wanted to tell you myself many times, but it wasn’t my place. We wanted to honor our word to Jaga and after all these years, we thought it was best to leave the issue buried so none of you would be hurt by it. If this situation with WilyKit hadn’t come up—”
“You wouldn’t have said anything at all?” Lion-O snapped coldly. “You would have continued to lie to me and the twins even longer, perhaps for our entire lives, and let us die without ever knowing the truth about who they are and who they are to me?”
“Please be reasonable, Lion-O,” Snarf piped up, his ears flat against his head in his obvious distress. “Calm down.”
“Try to see it from your father and Jaga’s point of view, Lion-O,” Tygra interjected. “It would have hurt the twins badly to know that they were children of the Lord of the Thundercats but could not be recognized simply because of who they were, and what clan their mother was from. Because they weren’t pureblooded noble lions like their younger brother. Imagine the rivalry the three of you would have had as children if you had all known that truth back then. By Jaga, Lion-O, the truth was even kept from your mother, Lionari, so she wouldn’t have to bear the burden of it.”
Lion-O’s scowl deepened. “And because my father lied to her as well, that makes it somehow better? She loved him. She trusted him. I did, too, just like I trusted all of you.” The Thundercat Lord's hands began to shake from unspent physical anger. “I would’ve accepted the twins as my sister and brother, too, when I became Lord, but you never trusted in me enough to take that chance!”
“We trust you implicitly, Lion-O,” Cheetara stated, her own voice beginning to grow shaky under the emotional strain of seeing him so upset, and her own shame at having a part in it. “We didn’t want to burden you with it, or see the twins become resentful that by birth they could have been in your position if their mother had been a different woman.”
Panthro sighed. “We were wrong to have kept it from you for so long, Lion-O, and I’m very sorry for that,” he conceded. “But we did believe that we were doing what was best for you. None of our part in this was done to hurt you or the twins, Lion-O. We wanted the opposite.”
Tygra nodded in agreement with the panther. “That was Claudus’ one secret, and he suffered heavy guilt from it the rest of his life. You must know that your father loved the twins dearly, and even though he didn’t acknowledge them, that was why he made sure they were cared for and raised with every advantage in Cat’s Lair, even though they were brought up believing they were orphans. That’s also why they were trained so young as Thundercats. It was one way Claudus could give them the prestige and honor they deserved that he couldn’t give them by claiming them as his heirs.” Tygra let out a heavy sigh and shook his head to clear his thoughts. “None of us liked keeping this secret, Lion-O, but it had to be done. You must understand that,” he said, his voice heartfelt and nearly pleading with the younger Thundercat Lord to listen to him.
“Understand?” Lion-O echoed, snarling. “How can I be expected to understand that those I have trusted most in life—my father, my nanny, my guardians and mentors, and even my mate—have lied to both me and the twins, fellow Thundercats all of us, about something as important as this since our births? I know your intentions were good, but that doesn’t excuse...” his voice choked up as he fought back angry tears that threatened to come out. He swallowed hard to fight back the emotional display, not wanting another reason to feel humiliated, especially in front of the two silent Ambassadors in the corner.
“I can’t talk about this now,” he growled, clenching his fist. “It’s just too much. I have to be alone right now. Sorry,” he snapped, and abruptly left the room.
Snarf instinctively went to follow him, but Tygra stopped him before he got farther than two steps. “No, Snarf. Don’t. You’ll only upset him more. He needs to calm down before he’ll listen to any of us.”
Cheetara could no longer hold back her own tears, and they spilled down her cheeks as she realized just how badly they had hurt Lion-O by keeping the truth from him for so long. She was not so sure that they had done the right thing by finally telling him, after seeing how hurt he was, and how angry he seemed to be at her. “What have we done?” she lamented.
Tygra lowered his head sadly and sighed again. “I hope we did the right thing by telling him.”
Panthro nodded, although he too felt terribly about how the Lord had taken the news, although he supposed that he would not have taken it any better—and in fact might have taken it much worse—in his position. “We did. He’ll come to terms with it sooner or later. At least there are no more secrets between us, for better or for worse.”
“It’s better to know the truth, no matter how painful, than blissfully live a lie,” Pumyra agreed.
“Someone has to follow him and make sure he’s all right,” Snarf wailed, looking at the door through which Lion-O had departed.
“With all due respect, Lord Lion-O was given quite an emotional blow to deal with,” Lushara spoke up. “It might be best to respect his wish for privacy right now.”
“Indeed, I would want to kill ssssomeone if I were in such a posssition,” Chamela offered. “But perhapssss on Plundarr we handle thingssss differently.”
Panthro nodded. “I couldn’t blame you for that, Chamela. I’d probably handle it that way if I were in his shoes.”
“I’ll follow him and see if he would be willing to talk to one of us that didn’t know the story until now,” Snoelle offered. “If not, I’ll leave him his space once I’m sure he’s all right.”
Cheetara smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Snoelle.”
The snow leopard returned the smile, nodded, and departed to find Lion-O. Meanwhile, Pumyra tapped at the console she leaned against. She was upset, and more inclined to feel for Lion-O than she was to sympathize with the others, although unlike Lion-O she did believe that they meant well in their misguided secrecy. “Were you ever intending to tell Lion-O, WilyKit, or WilyKat the truth about their father?” she asked the remaining Thundercats.
Panthro met her gaze and shook his head. “You know, honestly, I don’t know if we ever would have if we hadn’t just come out with it like that. It’s not something we could just bring up out of the blue, and we were worried about how well they would take it. The twins still don’t know,” he added. “I don’t want to think about how WilyKit would react with the way she’s been lately, and I don’t think WilyKat would be happy about it either.”
“I didn’t think about that aspect of it,” Tygra lamented, and slumped into one of the chairs. “It was just that when I heard about WilyKit and her unborn cub, my mind just kept drawing the parallels of WilyKit to Scarlette, and to some extent Grune, I guess, and it scared me. Sibera warned us when the twins were born that the time of day they were born holds extremely bad omens for individuals born on that hour, the Birth Hour of Darkness. Grune was born on the same hour, and we know all too well that he eventually gave into whatever dark forces influenced him. I’m worried that WilyKit is falling victim to the same influence from her birth hour, and that it’s somehow acting out some fateful pattern tying into Grune, her mother, or both. It made sense that the best way to fight these dark secrets is to bring them to light so they can be dealt with lest they overcome her or us.”
Cheetara nodded. “There could be something to that, Tygra. The universe works in mysterious ways.” She glanced at the door. “Do you think we should tell WilyKat any of this before he leaves for the Third Moon? If he could be made to understand and then explain it to WilyKit, maybe it would help her resolve some of her issues. You told me that she was asking you questions about her past, Tygra. Perhaps if we tell her now—”
“We’re too late,” Panthro said as keyed in a sequence on the control console. “He’s already left. The Feliner II just took off, with both him and Leonora aboard from the looks of it. They’re already on their way.”
Snarf sighed. “I guess we don’t have a choice then, snarf snarf. We can’t tell them news like this over a communication, it needs to be done in person. Rowr, we might as well wait until they return and tell them together, right here, with all of us present. Maybe by then Lion-O will have come to terms with it and he can help them deal with it.”
The Thundercats shared murmurs of agreement to Snarf’s suggestion to wait, and a tense silence filled the control room as they all wondered what to say or do next.
* * *
Snoelle rounded the corner of one of Cat's Lair’s twisty hallways just in time to hear a loud crash further down. She hurried along the corridor until she approached the doorway of the observatory, where she saw Lion-O lifting his fist from an end table, showing an obvious crack from where he had struck it with brute force. “Lion-O,” she addressed him quietly, “may I speak with you for just a moment?”
“I don’t want to hear you plead their case to me, Snoelle,” he said abruptly. “I don’t want to hear more excuses or lies or any of it.”
“I understand that,” she said, taking a few steps in. “I just wanted to make sure you were all right.” She glanced at the table beside him.
He sighed. “I needed to let it out somehow.”
The snow leopard nodded understandingly. “You’ve every right to be angry. You were lied to by those you trusted for a long time. Regardless of their intentions, that has to hurt. No one can deny that.”
Lion-O shoved the table aside and sat on one of the chairs in the room, his gaze regretfully falling on the portrait of Claudus and Jaga that hung in the room. “But they still want me to accept it and forgive them. How can I, Snoelle? What they did goes against the very Code of Thundera that we all stand for. And my father… I admired him so much…”
Snoelle took that as her cue that the Thundercat Lord would talk to her so long as she treaded carefully. She took a seat in one of the chairs and offered him a reassuring smile. “His mistake was a terrible one, compounded by lies and deceit,” she agreed. “No one could argue that what he did was wrong. I never knew your father, but I know his father—Katan, the Lord I served back in the days before my imprisonment on the Ice Moon—would never have stood for such behavior from his son. But Katan would have been very proud of you, Lion-O, and proud to call both you and the twins his grandchildren. Just as I know you have no trouble embracing them as your brother and sister.”
“I don’t,” Lion-O agreed. “I’m glad that the twins will finally know who their parents were.” He paused for a moment, his eyes fixed upon the picture on the wall. “I just hope they don’t regret finding out that their life here was based on a lie and hate us all for it. It’s not like I can ask them to forgive the others when I myself can’t.”
“They wouldn’t hate you, Lion-O, they love you. They’ll be angry, yes, and like you they’ll have every right to be.” She leaned forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Just try not to let that anger and that hatred you’re feeling right now consume you. Let it out and work through it, but don’t let it poison you.”
Lion-O met her eyes. “How, Snoelle? I can’t just forgive and look past what they’ve done.”
“And I wouldn’t ask you to,” she answered. “Just promise me that you won’t do anything in anger that you might regret later. Regardless of what they have done, they are still Thundercats, and Cheetara is still your mate and mother to your cub.”
“I won’t strip them of their titles, although I did consider doing just that and it would have served them right,” Lion-O growled, and then sighed again. “But that would not have been what is best for Thundera as a whole, and unlike my father, I wouldn’t let my pride take precedence over what is right and wrong. I don’t hate them, Snoelle. I care about them more than I can say—which is what makes this betrayal hurt so much. But I can’t pretend that I understand or accept their reasons for lying to me, or to the twins.”
Snoelle nodded, not knowing what else to say, and instead felt it best to just let him vent.
“It will take me a long time to decide what to do with this. But you can tell them this much—I will be staying in the west quarters tonight, and as long as it takes for me to sort through this. I would rather be left alone, too, unless Chet needs me, there is an emergency of some sort, or the twins report back with some news. Other than that, I wish not to be bothered.”
“I understand, my Lord. I will tell them,” she replied, and rose to her feet.
Lion-O smiled weakly. “Thank you for listening, Snoelle. You know where I will be if I’m needed.” With that he also stood, and departed from the room.
The snow leopard watched him leave, and then after a pause to straighten the disorder he left around the broken table, left to relay the news to the other Thundercats with a cloud of sadness weighing upon her.
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