Revival
(Revised Edition, January 2009)
by Cheezey
Part Three: The
Chapter One
Back in the Cat’s Lair, Snoelle stared out the observatory window with a feeling of dread. Although she knew that she should be happy she had been found, freed, and was home among friends, she could not shake the feeling that there was something wrong and it had to do with her failed mission to take the MoonSaber from the Lunatacs all those years ago.
Panthro approached her and noticed her somber expression. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, as well as can be expected anyway,” she answered with a wan smile, and then sighed. “I can’t shake the feeling that something awful is about to happen, and that it’s because of me and not recovering the MoonSaber. The vibrations from the astral world are unsettling and I can feel their influence here in the living world. It’s not right, Panthro. I just don’t know if it’s because I should be dead after all these years and some force is out of balance, or if it’s something more sinister than that.”
The panther put his arms around her in a consoling gesture. “I can’t imagine that you being found alive can be any kind of mistake. If you were meant to die in that ice, you would’ve.” Panthro’s views on spirituality were simple and uncomplicated, but full of conviction.
“I hope you’re right,” she said, easily settling into his embrace, “but I also hope that doesn’t mean that I’m right on the other count, either.”
The two were unable to continue their conversation further as Tygra’s voice interrupted over the intercom. “All Thundercats come to the council chamber immediately! This is an emergency!”
Panthro and Snoelle exchanged looks of alarm. “I wonder what that’s about,” Panthro said, already heading toward the door.
“Whatever it is, it must be urgent,” Snoelle replied, praying that it had nothing to do with the uneasy feelings that churned inside her.
* * *
While he waited for the rest of the Thundercats to arrive, Lion-O paced nervously across the floor of the council room. He, Cheetara, Tygra, Snarf, and Snarfer were already present, but there were still several Thundercats unaccounted for. “I can’t believe this,” Lion-O groaned. “After all this time, both the Mutants and the Lunatacs are attacking us out of nowhere? It makes no sense!”
“Well, no one’s attacked yet at least,” Tygra said from where he sat with anxious posture and folded hands. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and this will turn out to be a false alarm.”
Just as Tygra finished speaking, Pumyra entered the room with Panthro and Snoelle a few steps behind her. Snarf and Snarfer joined them a moment after that.
“That’s everyone in the Lair,” Cheetara said. Lynx-O and Bengali were still on Third Earth, and WilyKit had not yet returned from looking for WilyKat. Although Lion-O had called the meeting for other reasons, she had filled him in briefly on what had happened earlier with WilyKit, and she intended to bring that up as well. She had been almost ready to alert the others herself, but given that she had not heard from WilyKit asking for backup and that the Sword of Omens had not warned Lion-O of danger, she had held off initially.
Tygra noted the twins’ absence. “Where are WilyKit and WilyKat?”
“WilyKat isn’t back yet,” explained Cheetara. “That’s the other part of what this meeting is about. He’s very late, actually, and WilyKit and I were concerned about him. Earlier, when WilyKit and I were waiting for him, she asked me if I’d had any hints from my sixth sense that he was in danger. He wasn’t answering in the Feliner, and we didn’t see it approaching anywhere in our airspace. When I tried to get a sense of WilyKat, I had this awful sense of evil that reminded me of Mumm-Ra. Then Chet said something that made our blood run cold—he said Mumm-Ra’s name, and Torlei’s.”
“Torlei?” Pumyra repeated. “That dead Lunatac that he took as a bride back on Third Earth? I thought she was gone. And how on Thundera would Chet know about him? Or Mumm-Ra for that matter? He’s been silent as the grave for years.”
“His grave has never been silent,” Panthro grumbled with a frown. “Damned mummy!”
Cheetara nodded somberly. “There’s more. Chet also said ‘got Kat’ and ‘pyramid’. I think he was having flashes of a sixth sense. Ordinarily I’d be proud to know he inherited that but—oh!” Suddenly Cheetara was struck with an overpowering dizzy feeling, and she lost her balance.
Snarfer and Lion-O were both at her side in a flash. “Cheetara, are you okay, snarfer snarfer?”
“I… where’s Chet?” she asked, looking at the others with a sense of panic that surged out of nowhere. That time it was not just her sixth sense that she was feeling, but also maternal gut instinct. “Where is he?”
“In his room I’m sure,” Snarf assured her with a worried twitch of his whiskers. “I just saw you in there checking on him during the nap I set him down for a short while ago.”
The color drained from the cheetah’s cheeks. “I haven’t seen him since I left him with you, Snarf.”
Snarf bounced up on his tail. “But I know I saw you! You were holding him, clear as day. I didn’t want to bother you when I passed so I didn’t say anything, but—”
“Snarf, by Jaga…” her voice trailed off in a horrified gasp. “That wasn’t me.”
“What do you mean?” Lion-O asked, his voice also rising with alarm.
“I’m sure I saw you, Cheetara. I wasn’t mistaken, and I can tell a cheetah woman from a puma, snarf snarf,” Snarf said indignantly, looking between her and Pumyra.
Tygra shook his head. “I can vouch that she was with me in the control room for a good while. She didn’t leave, Snarf.” A worried look filled the tiger’s amber eyes. “You don’t suppose… that it was some sort of illusion? Someone disguised to look like Cheetara?”
“But Mumm-Ra is gone!” Snarfer protested, not wanting to believe what the sinister signs hinted at. “He couldn’t have—”
Before Snarfer could even finish his sentence, Cheetara was halfway out the door. “Lords of Thundera! I have to find Chet!”
“Damn!” Lion-O cursed, slamming his fist onto the council table in an unusual show of emotion. It was not like the Thundercat Lord to curse—old Snarf had raised him better than that, after all—but he felt as though he was at his wit’s end. “My son… Mumm-Ra… and the Mutants and Lunatacs on top of all of it.” When the others gave him a questioning look, he sighed and elaborated. “Cheetara and Tygra are already aware of this, since I filled them in on it before you got here, but the business with the twins isn’t the only reason this meeting was called. I had a very disturbing visit from Jaga just before I had you all summoned here. He said that Ratar-O of Plundarr and a Prince Silvian of the Moons of Plundarr are both on their way, independently of each other, to challenge me and the Thundercats for revenge and to right what they consider wrongs we’ve done to their people. He also said that Ratar-O has the Sword of Plundarr and Prince Silvian the MoonSaber.”
Snoelle gasped. “I knew something awful was amiss, and it had to do with that sword, the sword I failed to get away from them.”
“So it was returned to the Lunatac rulers after all.” Panthro frowned.
Lion-O nodded. “Apparently. From what Jaga said, Prince Silvian wants to get revenge on us for trying to take the MoonSaber all those years ago and take over New Thundera after we’re defeated. And Ratar-O is after essentially the same thing—revenge for Jaga taking the Sword of Plundarr from Ratilla, and to replay the debt with my blood. We’re going to have to fend them both off at once.”
Just then, a panic-stricken Cheetara ran back into the room. “Chet’s gone, Lion-O! He’s not in the Lair and Pumari hasn’t seen him. He’s gone, taken by someone disguised as me, going by what Snarf saw.”
“No one should’ve been able to get into the Lair without us knowing,” the worried Tygra said. “We have heat sensors and alarms on all our doors and windows, and security cameras on the main entrances. No strangers came into the Lair today.”
“I installed that security system myself,” Panthro said, slamming his fist into the palm of his hand. “No living being should’ve been able to get in without whoever was in the control room knowing about it.”
“Perhaps that’s because it wasn’t living, but ever-living,” Pumyra suggested in a low tone.
Snarf let out a wail. “But Mumm-Ra’s supposed to be gone for good!”
Lion-O withdrew the Sword of Omens from the claw shield. “We’ve thought that and been wrong before.”
“Snaaaarf! Poor Chet! And the twins… oh, snarf snarf, he must have them too.”
“Why didn’t the Eye of Thundera warn us then?” Tygra wondered.
Hot tears filled Cheetara’s eyes as she began to imagine the worst for her precious young cub. “I should’ve never let WilyKit go alone. We should’ve made sure we stayed in touch. And Chet… oh Jaga!”
The intercom to the room beeped and Panthro answered. “Pumari, is everything all right up there?” As Bengali and Pumyra’s daughter was young but old enough to understand the basic functions of the monitor and communications system in the control room, they routinely posted her in there during council meetings, since she was too young to be included on Thundercat business even as a trainee.
“There’s a really big ship landing outside. It’s got a moon on it,” the cub replied. “I know you don’t like me to call when you’re in meetings, but—”
“It’s okay, Pumari. You did good. Thanks.” Panthro let go of the button as he and everyone else in the room turned toward Lion-O awaiting his orders.
The lion’s fingers tightened around the hilt of the Sword of Omens. “So Jaga was right. This is the battle he foretold.” He let out a heavy sigh. “We must get our weapons and defend ourselves.”
“What about Chet?” Cheetara asked. “Our cub needs us, and so do the twins. If Mumm-Ra is indeed back and he has them, the Lunatac and Mutant attacks could be a distraction from the real danger.”
Lion-O grimaced as a cold and heavy blanket of guilt sat upon his heart and conscience. “The Lunatacs and Mutants are also a real danger, Cheetara, and they’re in our front yard. If we don’t confront them or we let them overpower us, all of Thundera could pay the price.” He sighed, even though inside his very heart was breaking. “As the Lord of the Thundercats I’m sworn into my duty to defend all of Thundera. I can’t break that oath, even if it means… even if it means I must wait to find my own son.” Forgive me, Chet, Lion-O thought balefully, and please be all right.
Tygra placed a sympathetic hand on Cheetara’s shoulder. “He’s right. We have no other choice. If these Lunatacs defeat us, Chet is as good as gone anyway. Lunatacs only take survivors for slaves or prisoners, and historically they assassinate enemy leaders and families.”
Closing her teary eyes, Cheetara choked back a sob of emotion. “I understand.” I love you Chet, and I’m so sorry, she called out to him with her mind. We will come for you as soon as we can, I promise! She did not sense anything in return, and she prayed that was because Chet did not comprehend how to do so at his young age and not because the worst had already happened to him. That was too much to bear, and Cheetara could only cope by forcing herself to focus on the imminent danger at hand and the upcoming fight.
“So this is it then; our confrontation with the holders of MoonSaber. This must’ve been why I was destined to return after all, so that I could finish what was started so many years ago,” said Snoelle.
“Let’s go, Thundercats,” Lion-O said with authority, and raised the Sword of Omens. “Thundercats—HO!”
“Thundercats—HO!” the others echoed, and raised their hands to join their Lord in the cheer before retrieving weapons and greeting the enemy ship.
* * *
In the second of the two royal lunar crafts bound for New Thundera, Selene sat in her seat wringing her hands anxiously. “Oh Aunt Luna, how could I have let this happen?” she lamented. “If Silvian attacks the Thundercats, they’ll kill him, and I’ll lose my brother forever. And Frostor, he’s been more of a father to me than my own was.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “If Psiarik’s dream is right, none of them will make it, and I’ll never be able to live with myself knowing I let them all go to their doom.”
“How could you’ve known for certain?” Luna replied. “Dreams are ambiguous and Psiarik’s dream never mentioned Chillandra. Of course you and Silvian would listen to a spirit of someone entrusted to guard your heritage.” She offered her a reassuring look. It was not a natural thing for Luna to be sympathetic, but she did not particularly enjoy seeing her relation so miserable, either. “I’m sure your brother can take care of himself, Frostor certainly seems sure of himself, and I can assure you that Chilla and TugMug won’t let a Thundercat get the better of a Lunatac without a fight.”
“Psiarik said that his dream showed it all, showed Silvian dead and me dead. By the Moons, what if he’s right and none of us come back?”
RedEye looked up from the console where he was piloting the ship. “We’ve made it through a lot worse than a magic sword fight, your majesty.”
“And it’s only a theory that Psiarik’s dream is a true vision anyway,” Luna argued. “Like I said, Alluro never had seer powers. I know all psis have a degree of ability in all their disciplines, but their powers are still hereditary to an extent. Lurella wasn’t a seer, was she?”
“No, she was an empath,” Selene answered, still unconvinced. “He’s seen things before occasionally though. His stepfather was one and I think he helped him hone it a bit.” She frowned as another unsettling notion occurred to her. “Aunt Luna, you don’t think Psiarik might disregard my order and come after us after all to try to interfere, do you? If we truly are doomed on New Thundera, I hate to think he would die with us too. The Moons need at least one of us, and I can’t bear the thought of him dying too…”
The elder lunar woman frowned and considered the most tactful way to answer. In all honesty she imagined that the psi had ignored her orders and found a craft to pursue them as soon as Selene was out of sight. His level of emotional investment in it had been obvious to everyone in the room when their confrontation had taken place, and if he was anything like his father, heeding sensible orders was not his strong suit. However, with how upset Selene was, even someone like Luna knew how well that answer would be received, so she did not say that. For a moment Luna found herself in the unusual position of actually caring about someone else’s feelings. Other than the rare instances where her loyal Amok made it clear that she had hurt him, the feelings of others did not matter to her.
“Aunt Luna?” Selene repeated, her eyes intent on her as she waited for an answer.
“Well… I think Psiarik will do what’s best.” Luna’s answer was vague, not an outright lie, but she hoped it would be enough to mollify Selene.
Fortunately it seemed to do so. The lunar queen leaned back in her seat and sighed. “Oh, I hope so.”
Over in the pilot’s seat, RedEye gave a status update. “New Thundera’s not too far now. We’ll be there soon.”
“Let’s hope we’re not too late,” Selene said, and watched the glowing orb of New Thundera come closer into view.
* * *
Hanging in their chains in the heart of the black pyramid, WilyKit and WilyKat looked on helplessly as Chet, awake but fatigued from the Thundrainium, whimpered and cried. The poison metal had left his cries weak and pitiful, and their hearts broke as they were unable to give him any comfort but their reassurance that they loved him and they knew help would arrive before long. The more time passed, though, the more hollow those words felt, and that in turn made them even more angry and resentful. Neither wanted to believe that Mumm-Ra and Torlei could succeed in their evil plans, but the longer they waited and no help came, the more they began to fear that their faith was in vain.
Alone where he was bound, Chet curled into a ball and wished as hard as he could to be taken out of the scary place. Don’t want to die! Help me! His young soul cried out in anguish. Although he did not understand or even know it, his extreme desperation came out as a psychic cry of distress that projected into the ethers, able to be heard by anyone whose mind was open to such activity. His mother was too far from the black pyramid where she was at the Cat’s Lair, but fortunately for Chet there was one individual, in a ship that approached New Thundera, that was close enough to hear it. That individual was Psiarik.
* * *
Psiarik had been watching the monitor on the ship along with Alluro and Vultureman when Chet’s telepathic plea for help tore through his mind like a knife. The intensity of it, the hopelessness, the despair, and the abject terror in it were so overwhelming that the psi reeled from it as though he had taken a physical blow, and steadied himself on the edge of the console.
“What’s the matter?” asked Alluro.
Closing his eyes and trying to focus after the assault on his senses, Psiarik slowly straightened. It was clear that someone needed help, and that someone was very young and desperately frightened, in fear for his life. Something within it also resonated that the child was connected to the conflict of the swords, although he did not know how he knew that or why. “We have to land. Now,” he said with quiet but unchallengeable authority. “There’s someone in danger down there and we have to help him.”
“Silvian?” Vultureman questioned.
Psiarik shook his head. “No, it’s a child. A very young child. Land now, right here.”
Vultureman brought the landscape below up on the screen and frowned. “This is nowhere near the Cat’s Lair. Silvian and the others aren’t here. If we land now, caw, we’ll be delayed from reaching them.”
“I don’t care!” Psiarik became more agitated by the moment as he continually felt Chet’s anguish. It was not as overwhelming or loud, but now that he had connected with it, he could not un-feel it, ignore it, or tune it out. “Land now!”
Alluro frowned. “To help someone you don’t know, likely some worthless Thunderian, when you were so worried about Selene before?”
Pushing past the two of them to get to the navigational controls himself, Psiarik remained insistent. “You don’t understand! This is a child, a very little boy, barely old enough to talk. He’s—he’s afraid for his life, trapped by something terrible and evil. Probably the same evil putting all of this with Selene and Silvian and the swords in motion. I can’t ignore it.”
“The same evil,” Alluro repeated and noticed a familiar-looking structure in the distance on the screen. Although he had never visited New Thundera’s black pyramid, its design was unmistakable. “I think I know where you’re talking about.” He pointed to the monitor.
Vultureman let out a squawk of disgust. “Wonderful. Just wonderful.”
The younger psi knew as soon as he saw the pyramid, even without knowing what it was, that it was where the child that called out was trapped. “There. He’s there. We have to land.”
Although he did not share his son’s notion that saving some Thunderian child from Mumm-Ra’s tomb was going to help matters any, Alluro chose not to press the issue. Psiarik had ordered their mission to New Thundera, after all, so it was his call to make. “All right,” Alluro agreed. “If it’s what you think best.”
“Yes. Do it.”
Vultureman was not as understanding. “Look, if we waste time chasing after some kid, we’re not going to get to the others in time! Alluro may think it’s in decent shape, but frankly, caw, this ship is a heap of junk as it is. Going on some wild goose chase in Mumm-Ra’s pyramid isn’t going to get us to wherever Silvian’s confronting the Thundercats, which isn’t here given I don’t see his or Selene’s ships anywhere!”
Fed up with being balked, Psiarik grabbed Vultureman by the scruffy feathers below his throat. Although he was lanky, the psi was still much taller and stronger than the scrawny avian. “I said to land the ship, Vultureman. That’s an order!”
Unimpressed, the vulture wrested out of his grip and glowered back at him. “This isn’t a royal vessel and you don’t have the authority to bark out orders at me when we’re not on your Moons.”
Alluro narrowed his eyes and raised his psyche club. “Perhaps not, but you’ll follow them when you’re outvoted, won’t you? And need I remind you this is my ship?”
“All right, fine. Screw up your mission. We’ll land,” Vultureman conceded irritably. “Just don’t complain to me when we finally get to Cat’s Lair and find everyone dead.”
“Just land the ship!” Psiarik snapped back at him.
Treating him as if he was a non-issue, Alluro pushed Vultureman aside and entered the settings on the console himself. “Landing sequence initiated.”
* * *
When Ratar-O’s ship entered New Thundera’s airspace above New Cat’s Lair, he eyed the monitor in anticipation, eager for the battle. “Soon this entire planet will be ours and the miserable Thunderians that’ve been a thorn in our side for so long will be our slaves.”
“And that annoying Lion-O will be nothing but a sliced up bloody mess, yesss!” laughed Slythe.
Jackalman folded his arms across his chest and smirked, his earlier misgivings from Mumm-Ra’s pyramid fading with the enthusiasm of his fellow Mutants. “Nyah ha ha, I can’t wait to see those Thundercats finally get what’s coming to them. Finally we can pay them back for locking us up on Way Out Back, interfering with us on Third Earth, and humiliating us over and over again. Now it’s their turn to be humiliated.”
“Hoo hoo, and what’s this?” Monkian questioned, noticing a Lunatac ship already at the Cat’s Lair. “Lunatacs?”
Ratar-O’s lips curled back in a sneer. “It figures that those nosy moon-dwellers would get in my way in our moment of glory.”
“It’s got their royal insignia,” noted Jackalman. “I wonder why they’re here?” I wonder if that’s what Mumm-Ra meant when he said Vultureman would see plenty? Jackalman wondered silently.
“No matter,” said Ratar-O. There was a dangerous gleam in his eyes as he clenched the hilt of the Sword of Plundarr, and the four serpent eyes on its handle flashed in tandem. “If the Lunatacs interfere, we’ll slaughter them too, and if their royals are there, all the better. It’ll make taking over the Moons once we’re done on New Thundera that much easier. Mutant-kind is destined for greatness, and we’ll rule it all!”
The rest of the Mutants echoed their leader’s oath with cheers of victory, and the ship began its descent to the battleground that was forming at the foot of the Cat’s Lair.
* * *
Prepared for battle with their weapons, the Thundercats with the exception of Snarf and Snarfer, who manned the control room, locked down the Lair, and kept Pumari safe, gathered outside their Lair to confront the Lunatacs. The main door of the Lunatac vessel opened, and Silvian stepped out, MoonSaber in hand. Frostor, Chilla, and TugMug emerged behind him, also ready to fight. In the distance and out of the notice of the preoccupied players on the battlefield, two shadowy figures lurked and watched in wicked delight as the two groups faced off.
Silvian was first to speak. “I have come to confront the Lord of the Thundercats,” he called out in an authoritative tone. “Which of you is he?”
Drawing the Sword of Omens, Lion-O evaluated the Lunatac that challenged him. The Lunatac prince was young, barely out of adolescence, was far shorter than he, and slight in stature. That did not seem to affect his confidence, however, and Lion-O also noticed that he carried the sword Jaga had warned him about—the MoonSaber. That alone meant he would be a force to be reckoned with. Stepping forward bravely, Lion-O answered his call. “I am Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats. Who are you and why have you come to challenge me, Lunatac?”
Striding forward arrogantly, Silvian replied, “I am Prince Silvian, royal heir to the throne of the united kingdom of the Moons of Plundarr. I’m here to stop you from taking that which is rightfully ours, Thundercat,” he said in reference to the MoonSaber that “Chillandra” had told him they intended to steal.
Lion-O, however, leapt to an altogether different conclusion from his statement in light of what “Jaga” had told him. Although he had been warned, Lion-O was still astonished to hear the Lunatac admit that conquest of Thundera was his goal, and that his justification was a belief that New Thundera was rightfully his. “Rightfully yours?” Lion-O exclaimed. “You Lunatacs don’t know the first thing about what’s rightfully yours! ‘Right’ and ‘wrong’ are words that have little meaning to raiders like yourselves.”
“Is that what your self-righteous code tells you?” Frostor snarled back at them. “The same code you use to justify any action you see fit with oh-so-honorable words to keep your consciences clear?”
“How dare you speak to us like that?” Cheetara shouted back at him. “Who do you think you are?”
Taking a stride forward and ready to use the weapon attached to his arm, a channeling device for the fiery energy ice Lunatacs could emit from their hands that focused it to be more damaging, Frostor answered, “I’m Frostor, Governor General of the Moons of Plundarr and loyal commander to Prince Silvian and Queen Selene. I enforce their laws and edicts, including stopping you presumptuous felines from screwing with us.”
“You’re the one that’s presumptuous, thinking you can come to our planet and do whatever the hell you please!” a furious Panthro growled back at them, refusing to listen to any more from them. “Defend yourself, Lunatac!” The panther leapt forward, swinging his nunchuks at Frostor.
As soon as she saw him move, Chilla also leapt up and spat a blast of icy air at Panthro, knocking him off balance and icing his left arm and leg. “Freeze, Thundercat,” she snarled, and then drew breath to ice him again. She never got a chance, however, for Snoelle rushed forward in Panthro’s defense as soon as she saw Chilla. In an agile leap that rivaled one of Pumyra’s, she was on top of the icewalker before Chilla knew what hit her, and as soon as they hit the ground Snoelle curled her fingers around the ice woman’s throat.
The violent brawl stirred the rest of them into action. With a yell Silvian swung the MoonSaber, and the mystical blade extended to its elongated battle form in a similar manner to the way the Sword of Omens did when Lion-O summoned its powers. He charged at Lion-O, who countered his blow with the already charged Sword of Omens. Frostor aimed and fired at Tygra, who dodged and cracked his bolo whip in the ice general’s direction in an attempt to disarm him. Cheetara vaulted over TugMug, firing his gravity carbine at her and barreling toward her with speed too close to her own for her liking. Pumyra meanwhile knelt by the iced Panthro and used a pellet to break the numbing encasement off of him.
“You miserable ice witch!” Snoelle raged, tightening her fingers around Chilla’s throat. “All these years and you’re still alive, not even aged? What deal did you make with the spirits of darkness for such a gift? Who did you sell your soul to, Mistress of the Cold?”
Chilla struggled and got her knee on the snow leopard’s abdomen, enabling her to deliver a blow that loosened her grip enough for her to roll away. “Let go of me, feline!” she gasped hoarsely.
“I will avenge myself for what you did to me, Chillandra, for stealing my life and the price my people paid when I didn’t return!” Snoelle shook with anger as she rose to her feet once more. She drew the weapon she carried for the battle, a spear that extended in a manner similar to Cheetara’s staff, from a simple leather bandolier that holstered it on her back, and struck at Chilla with it.
The ice woman was back on her knees when the spear hit the ground beside her, and back on her feet a second later. Given the unpleasant conversation she had with the others on the way to New Thundera, being mistaken for Chillandra by a Thundercat only fueled her temper to new heights. “You stupid inbred cat! I’ve never seen you before in my life. I’m not Chillandra! If you Thundercats had any brains at all you’d know she disappeared some fifty years ago!”
Pausing, Snoelle eyed the ice woman as she spoke her protest, and she realized that despite their similarity in appearance, she was not her former nemesis. The familiarity she sensed in her existed for a different reason. “No, not Chillandra,” Snoelle said as she made the connection. “But her kin. Her blood is in yours, and you mean to see her work finished if you’ve come here with your prince. But I won’t let you.”
“As if I need your permission for anything, Thundercat!” Chilla hissed, and spat a snowy breath at her. Snoelle roared in fury as the frost grazed her hair, but countered with another thrust of her spear, while the others continued to fight all around them.
From their unobtrusive vantage point nearby, Mumm-Ra, in his powerful ever-living form, and his dark bride Torlei exchanged pleased looks. “Fools,” Mumm-Ra chortled. “They seal their own doom and have no idea that they’re doing it.”
“And soon it’ll get better,” Torlei said, pointing to the Mutant ship as it landed just beyond the Lunatacs’ vessel. “Here come Ratar-O and his friends to liven things up.”
The distraction of the new ship caught everyone off guard for a moment. The doors to the Mutant ship opened and Ratar-O, Slythe, Jackalman, and Monkian emerged. As he regarded his enemies the Thundercats already engaged in a battle with Lunatacs that he loathed just as much, he raised the Sword of Plundarr, its jagged blades already extended and aglow, and approached them. “So this is my competition?” the rat Mutant mocked with a hearty laugh that shook his belly. “A Thundercat who spends more time on politics than battle on his ‘peaceful’ world, and a Lunatac Prince that’s no more than a boy, and a scrawny one at that?”
His eyes ablaze with outrage at the insult, Silvian turned from Lion-O to Ratar-O. “I’ll give you ‘scrawny,’ Mutant!” He charged at the rat with the MoonSaber drawn, but Ratar-O avoided the swipe and swung his own weapon back at him. Silvian ducked in time, and while the Lunatac got his bearings, Ratar-O took the opportunity to fire a blast of energy from the Sword of Plundarr at Lion-O, who leapt back and deflected the beam with the claw shield.
“This is the moment, Mumm-Ra,” Torlei said, her eyes glowing bright red with excitement. “The three swords have met against one another in battle. Begin the Incantation of Destruction.”
“It would be my pleasure, my dear.” Mumm-Ra brought his hands together in a formation to channel power from beyond and began to chant in an ancient tongue, a language once common to all three worlds and their ancient gods and spirits.
High above them all, the sky darkened and lightning began to flash. The destruction was beginning.