Revival
(Revised Edition, January 2009)
by Cheezey
Part Three: The
Chapter One
Back in 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. “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 plane are unsettling, and I can feel their influence here in the living world. It’s not right. 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.”
He put his arms around her. “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, settling into his embrace, “but I also hope that doesn’t mean that I’m right on the other count, either.”
Their conversation was interrupted as Tygra’s voice sounded 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.
She was right behind him, and prayed that it had nothing to do with her uneasy feelings. “Whatever it is, it must be urgent.”
* * *
While he waited for the rest of the Thundercats to arrive, Lion-O paced 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. 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,” 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,” said Cheetara. 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 on what had happened earlier, and she intended to bring that up at their meeting as well. She had been almost ready to call a meeting 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 held off.
Tygra noted the twins’ absence. “Where are WilyKit and WilyKat?”
“WilyKat isn’t back yet. That’s the other part of what this meeting is about,” Cheetara told them. “He’s very late, actually, and WilyKit and I were concerned about him. Earlier, when we 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 out of the blue Chet said his 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. How would Chet know about her? 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. I’m proud to know he inherited that, but—oh!” All of a sudden she was struck with a dizzying sensation, and she lost her balance. Both Lion-O and Snarfer reached to help her.
“Cheetara, are you okay, snarfer snarfer?”
“I… where’s Chet?” She looked at the others with a sense of panic that struck her out of nowhere. That time it was not just a sixth sense that she was feeling, but also gut maternal instinct. “Where is he?”
“Still in his room,” Snarf assured her with a twitch of his whiskers. “He’s right where you last saw him when you checked in on him during his nap.”
The color drained from her cheeks. “I haven’t seen him since I left him with you, Snarf.”
Snarf bounced up on his tail. “No, you were in there earlier, remember? I saw you holding him, clear as day. I didn’t want to interrupt—”
“Snarf, by Jaga…” Cheetara’s voice trailed off, horrified. “That wasn’t me.”
“What do you mean?” Lion-O looked back and forth between them, now alarmed himself.
“But I’m sure I saw you, snarf snarf.”
Tygra spoke up with a concerned frown on his face. “No, Snarf, she’s been in the control room all afternoon. She didn’t leave the whole time I was in here, and she was here when I arrived.” He paused and addressed the group as a whole, his tone grave. “You don’t suppose… that what Snarf saw was some sort of illusion? Someone disguised to look like Cheetara?”
“How? Mumm-Ra is gone!” said Snarfer. “He couldn’t have—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Cheetara was already halfway out the door. “I have to find Chet!”
“Damn!” Lion-O slammed his fist onto the council table in an unusual show of emotion. It was not like him to curse—old Snarf had raised him better than that, after all—but it slipped out with how he felt, like he was at his wit’s end. “My son, Mumm-Ra, and the Mutants and Lunatacs on top of all of it.”
The Thundercats that had not heard the news he had gathered them for gave him quizzical looks, so he explained. “Cheetara and Tygra are already aware of this, but the business with the twins isn’t the only reason this meeting was called. A little while ago I had a very disturbing visit from Jaga. 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.”
“So the Lunatac rulers had it after all.” Panthro frowned.
“Apparently. Jaga told me that Prince Silvian wants to get revenge on us for trying to take the MoonSaber all those years ago, and then he plans to take over New Thundera after we’re defeated. Ratar-O is after essentially the same thing—revenge for Jaga taking the Sword of Plundarr from Ratilla, and he wants to replay the debt with my blood. We’re going to have to fend them both off at once.”
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, and it sounds like he was 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,” 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 hit 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.”
“Maybe it wasn’t living, but ever-living,” Pumyra suggested in a low tone.
Snarf let out a wail. “No! We defeated Mumm-Ra! He should 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.”
Eyeing the Sword of Omens, Tygra asked, “Why didn’t the Eye of Thundera warn us?”
Cheetara fought back tears. “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?” Because she was old enough to understand the basic functions of the monitor and communications system in the control room, the Thundercats routinely posted her in there during council meetings.
“There’s a really big ship landing outside. It’s got a moon on it. 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.
His fingers tightened around the hilt of the Sword of Omens. “So Jaga was right. They have come for us.” He let out a heavy sigh. “We’ll have to get our weapons and defend ourselves.”
“But what about Chet?” asked Cheetara. “Our cub needs us, too, and so do the twins. If Mumm-Ra is 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 deal with them and they overpower us, all of Thundera could pay the price.” He could feel his heart breaking as he spoke. “As the Lord of the Thundercats I’m sworn to do 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 the Lunatacs defeat us, Chet will suffer anyway. Lunatacs only take survivors for slaves or prisoners, and historically they assassinate enemy leaders and their families.”
Closing her teary eyes, Cheetara nodded along with them. “I understand.” I love you Chet, and I’m so sorry, she called out to him with her mind. We’ll come for you as soon as we can, I promise! She did not sense anything coming back from him, and she prayed that was only because Chet did not know how to do so at his young age, and not because something terrible had already happened to him. That thought 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,” Snoelle said, rising to her feet. “This must’ve been why I was destined to return after all, so that I could finish what was started so many years ago.”
“Let’s go, Thundercats.” Lion-O raised the Sword of Omens. “Thundercats—HO!”
“Thundercats—HO!” the others echoed, and they raised their hands to join their Lord in the cheer before retrieving their 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? If Silvian attacks the Thundercats, they’ll kill him, and I’ll lose my brother. 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 argued. “Dreams are ambiguous, and Psiarik’s dream never mentioned Chillandra. Why wouldn’t you heed the words of a spirit of someone entrusted to guard your heritage?” It did not come naturally for Luna to be sympathetic, but she did not 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 any Thundercat get the better of a Lunatac without a fight.”
“But you heard what Psiarik said. He said that his dream showed it all, that it 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 pointed out. “Like I told you before, Alluro never had seer powers. Yes, technically it’s possible for any psi to manifest any of their disciplines, but heredity and training do matter. And his mother was what? A seer?”
“No, an empath,” Selene said, still not convinced. “He has occasionally seen things before, though. His stepfather was one, and I believe he helped him hone it a bit.” She frowned as another unsettling notion came to her. “Aunt Luna, you don’t think Psiarik might disregard my order and come after us after all, do you? I mean, if we truly are doomed on New Thundera, I’d hate to think he’d die with us too. The Moons need at least one of us…”
Frowning, Luna considered the most tactful way to answer. In all honesty, she imagined that Psiarik had indeed ignored her orders, and gotten on a ship to pursue them as soon as Selene was out of sight. His level of investment in it had been obvious to everyone when they had their argument, and if he was anything like his father, heeding sensible orders would not be his strong suit. However, seeing how upset Selene already was, even someone like Luna knew it would do good to tell her that.
“Aunt Luna?” Selene’s eyes were intent on her as she waited for an answer.
“Well… I think Psiarik will do what’s best.” Her answer was vague, not an outright lie, but she hoped it would be enough to mollify Selene. It was not often that Luna troubled herself with the feelings of others, and she was not sure she liked it.
Fortunately, that seemed to be what Selene needed to hear to relax a little. “Oh, I hope so.”
RedEye called out 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, watching the glowing orb of New Thundera come closer into view.
* * *
Hanging in their chains in the heart of the black pyramid, WilyKit and WilyKat watched helplessly as Chet, awake but fatigued from the Thundrainium, whimpered and sobbed. The poison metal had left his cries weak and pitiful, and their hearts broke from not being able 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, but the longer they waited with no help arriving, 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. Save me! 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 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 was watching the ship’s monitor with Alluro and Vultureman when Chet’s telepathic plea for help tore through his mind like a knife. The intensity of it, the hopelessness, despair, and the abject terror in it were so overwhelming that Psiarik reeled from it as though he had taken a physical blow. He steadied himself on the edge of the console as he recovered.
“What’s the matter?” Alluro asked.
It took Psiarik a moment to get his bearings. It was obvious that someone needed help, and that someone was very young and desperately frightened, in fear for his life. Something in the cry also resonated with him that whoever it was, he 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.”
Vultureman gave him a curious look. “Silvian?”
Psiarik shook his head. “No, it’s a child. A very young child. Land now, right here.”
After bringing up the landscape on the view screen, Vultureman frowned. “This is nowhere near 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 felt more agitated by the moment. The child’s anguish was no longer 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 also eyed the screen uncertainly. “To help someone you don’t know, likely some worthless Thunderian, when you were so worried about Selene before?”
Psiarik pushed past the two of them to get to the navigational controls himself. “You don’t understand! This is a child, a very little boy, barely old enough to talk. 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.” It was then that Alluro noticed a familiar-looking structure in the distance. Although he had never visited New Thundera’s black pyramid, its design was unmistakable. “I think I know where you’re talking about.”
Vultureman let out a squawk of disgust. “Wonderful. Just wonderful.”
As soon as he saw the pyramid, without even knowing what it was, Psiarik knew that it was there that the child was trapped. “There. He’s there. We have to get there.”
Although he did not share Psiarik’s opinion that saving some Thunderian child from Mumm-Ra’s tomb was going to help matters any, Alluro did not press the issue. He had ordered their mission to New Thundera, after all, so it was his call to make. “All right. If it’s what you think best.”
“Yes. Do it.”
Vultureman was not as accomodating. “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. Going on a wild goose chase in Mumm-Ra’s pyramid isn’t going to get us to wherever Silvian’s confronting the Thundercats, which as you can both see, isn’t here!”
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, Vultureman 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 that 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 Cat’s Lair, he eyed the monitor hungrily, eager for the upcoming battle. “Soon this entire planet will be ours, and the miserable Thunderians that’ve been a thorn in our side for so long will all 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 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 noticed 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 try get in my way in our moment of glory.”
“It’s got their royal insignia,” noted Jackalman. “I wonder why they’re here?” To himself, he added, I wonder if that’s what Mumm-Ra meant when he said Vultureman would see plenty?
“No matter,” said Ratar-O. There was a dangerous gleam in his eyes as he clenched the Sword of Plundarr, and the serpent eye gems in it 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 his oath with cheers of victory, and their ship began its descent to the battleground that was forming at the foot of the Cat’s Lair.
* * *
Now 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 the 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 anticipation as the two groups faced off.
Silvian was first to speak. “I’ve 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 his challenger. 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 saw that he carried the sword Jaga had warned him about—the MoonSaber. That alone meant he would be a force to be reckoned with. Lion-O stepped forward and answered. “I am Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats. Who are you and why have you come to challenge me, Lunatac?”
Striding forward arrogantly, Silvian told him, “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 meant, of course, the MoonSaber that “Chillandra” had told him they intended to steal, but Lion-O leapt to an altogether different conclusion in light of what “Jaga” had told him.
Although he had been warned, he was still flabbergasted 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? 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 anything you see fit with oh-so-honorable words to keep your consciences clear?”
Cheetara was aghast. “How dare you speak to us like that? Who do you think you are?”
Frostor stepped forward, readying the weapon attached to his arm, a channeling device for the heat energy ice Lunatacs could emit from their hands. “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 acting against 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. He leapt forward, swinging his nunchuks at Frostor. “Defend yourself, Lunatac!”
As soon as he attacked, Chilla leapt up and spat an icy blast of air at Panthro, knocking him off balance and icing his left arm and leg. “Freeze, Thundercat.” She drew breath to ice him again, but she never got a chance before Snoelle charged in to defend Panthro. In an agile leap that rivaled one of Pumyra’s, she was on top of her before Chilla knew what hit her, and as soon as they hit the ground, Snoelle curled her fingers around Chilla’s throat.
That stirred the rest of them into action, and with a yell Silvian swung the MoonSaber. The mystical blade extended to an elongated battle form similarly to how the Sword of Omens did when Lion-O called upon its powers. Silvian charged at Lion-O, who countered the blow with an equally battle-ready Sword of Omens. Frostor aimed and fired at Tygra, but the nimble Thundercat dodged and cracked his bolo whip in the general’s direction to try and disarm him instead. Cheetara vaulted over TugMug, who fired his gravity carbine at her and barreled toward her with speed too close to her own for her liking, while Pumyra knelt by the iced Panthro and used a pellet to break the numbing ice off of him.
“You miserable ice witch!” Snoelle raged as she choked Chilla. “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 brought her knee up sharply against the snow leopard’s abdomen, loosening her grip enough for her to roll away. “Let go of me, feline!”
“I’ll 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 scrambled back to her feet. She drew the weapon she carried for battle, a spear that could elongate the way Cheetara’s staff could, from the leather bandolier that holstered it on her back, and struck at Chilla with it.
Chilla was up on her knees when the spear hit the ground beside her, and back on her feet a second later. After the conversation she’d had about Chillandra on the ship on their way to New Thundera, being mistaken for her by a Thundercat fueled her rage 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’s been gone for fifty years!”
The rant gave Snoelle pause for a moment, and she realized that she had been mistaken; their similarity in appearance existed for a different reason. “No, not Chillandra... but her kin. Her blood is in yours, and you mean to see her work finished by coming here with your prince.” She narrowed her eyes. “But I won’t let you.”
“As if I need your permission, Thundercat!” Chilla spat a frigid spray of ice at her, and Snoelle growled as the frost grazed her hair. She ducked and countered with another thrust of her spear, while the others continued to fight all around them.
From their unobtrusive vantage point, Mumm-Ra, now in his powerful ever-living form, and Torlei exchanged pleased looks. “Fools,” Mumm-Ra chortled. “They seal their own doom and have no idea that they’re doing it.”
“And in a minute, it’ll get better.” Torlei pointed to the Mutant ship as it landed just beyond the Lunatacs’ vessel. “Here come Ratar-O and his friends to liven things up.”
The arrival of the new ship caught everyone off guard for a moment. When its doors opened, Ratar-O, Slythe, Jackalman, and Monkian emerged, and Ratar-O raised the Sword of Plundarr so that its jagged blades extended and lit with their fiery glow. Upon seeing the skirmish in progress, he let out a hearty laugh that shook his belly. “So this is my competition? 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?”
Silvan spun around, his eyes ablaze with outrage at the insult. “I’ll give you ‘scrawny,’ Mutant!” He charged at Ratar-O with the MoonSaber drawn, but Ratar-O avoided the attack and swung the Sword of Plundarr back at him instead. Silvian dodged, and while the Lunatac got his bearings, Ratar-O took the opportunity to fire a blast of energy from his sword at Lion-O, who leapt back and deflected the beam with the claw shield.
“This is the moment,” Torlei said, her eyes glowing a bright red with excitement. “The three swords have met against one another in battle. Begin the Incantation of Destruction.”
“It will be my pleasure, my dear.” Mumm-Ra brought his hands together 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.