Spellbound

(Revised Edition, October 2002)

 

Chapter One

 

The fight was getting ugly.  Deep in the heart of DarkSide, weapons clashed among the warring parties on the ground while the vehicles in the air above fired upon each other with incredible intensity.  Such fighting had become almost a daily event in the life of the Thundercats and their foes, the Lunatacs and the mutants.  The battle took place on a plateau high in the bleak mountains of the area.  Cheetara, Tygra, Pumyra, and the Thunderkittens fought on the ground against Monkian, Jackalman, TugMug, Chilla, and Alluro.  Just a short distance away, Panthro and Lion-O manned the Thundertank, holding off Slythe in the Nose Diver and Vultureman in his flying machine.  On the opposite side of the battlefield the Thunderstrike, holding Lynx-O and Bengali, faced off with the Lunattacker.  An equally determined RedEye, Luna, and Amok drove that vehicle and fired back with ferocity.  The enemy teams were fighting one another so viciously to obtain the same valuable resource—a newly discovered Thundrillium deposit that could power either side for weeks with energy to spare.

It was Pumyra who had made the discovery that morning, while investigating some ruins in the area from a civilization they believed was dated sometime in Second Earth.  Distant readings in the unexplored territory hinted that it might be rich in the treasured ore of Thundrillium, and upon closer investigation, it was confirmed that she had indeed found some Thundrillium pebbles while sifting among debris on the ground.  She had later brought Panthro back to check out the area to see if it was worth mining.  Sure enough, their analysis indicated a fair amount present in the soil and hypothesized that there was likely an even larger deposit beneath.  A full team of Thundercats returned to excavate it, and they had just finished loading it when the mutants and Lunatacs ambushed them.  Not surprisingly, it turned out that the Lunatacs had been monitoring them closely ever since their initial entry into their territory, and once they’d figured out what they were doing, they planned to lay low until the mining was done, ambush the felines, and take the Thundrillium for themselves.  However, the Thundercats were no fools, and they had come into the area expecting trouble.  The planned ambush didn’t go quite as well as the Lunatacs and mutants had hoped however, and the battle was the result.

The ground fight was a stalemate.  It was five against five, with neither side having any appreciable advantage.  Things took a startling turn for the worse when a stray shot from above struck the ground in the midst of the scuffle and caused everyone to scatter.  Cheetara, Alluro, and Monkian scrambled backwards into one ruin, while the others fell back in the opposite direction.  Before they could get their bearings and fight again, another stray shot, this one originating from the Thunderstrike, blew open the wall of a sealed temple dangerously close to the three who were in ruins.  As soon as the ancient concrete crumbled beneath the fiery beam, a putrid green haze seeped from the wreckage and engulfed them.  They struggled to breathe within the noxious cloud of vapor, but its rotting stench overpowered them and brought all three of them to their knees, gasping for air.  Within seconds, the toxic gas in their lungs reached a critical level and each fell to the ground unconscious.  The murky haze then dissipated almost as quickly as it had formed, but despite that, Cheetara, Alluro, and Monkian each still lay there unmoving.

The others saw what had happened to their comrades and ran to the site, their skirmish temporarily forgotten in light of the tragedy that befell their teammates.  “Cheetara, no,” an anguished Tygra cried.  The tiger was the first on the scene, and he scooped Cheetara’s limp body up, willing her back into consciousness. “Cheetara, please, you have to wake up!”  He was vaguely aware of being surrounded by enemy and ally alike only a few moments later, but dismissed the thought as his main concern was his fallen friend.

“Great Jaga...” Pumyra whispered, tears in her eyes, as she beheld the ominously still form of the spotted Thundercat.

“She’s not!”

“She can’t be!” cried the two Thunderkittens.

Ignoring the Thundercats for a moment, Jackalman whimpered as he approached Monkian.  “Monkian, nyah, are you ok?” he asked apprehensively, kicking the other mutant’s still body lightly, waiting for a response.  There was none.

Chilla silently knelt next to Alluro and felt for a pulse.  She glanced over at TugMug, her stony face showing an uncharacteristic trace of distress.

TugMug returned her gaze.  “They’re dead?”  There was little, if any, emotion visible in the graviton’s tone.

Those on the ground were so wrapped up in the situation that they barely noticed that the others had stopped their vehicles and approached to find out what had happened.  Lion-O and the other Thundercats surrounded Cheetara.  Pumyra gave her first aid, but it all seemed to be in vain.  “She’s not dead—not yet anyway,” the puma reported in a matter-of-fact tone that she used when giving medical opinions.  “She’s got a faint pulse, but whatever that green fog was must have poisoned her.  We have to get her back to the lair now,” she said authoritatively.

Lion-O nodded, and before he could give the order, Tygra and the Thunderkittens gently picked her up and carried her to the Thunderstrike.  The Thundercat Lord then turned to his foes a few feet away.  “Are they alive?” he asked, gesturing to Alluro and Monkian.

Luna turned around at the sound of his voice, her eyes ablaze with rage.  “What’s it to you?” she screeched.  “Haven’t you Thundercats done enough?  This is all your fault!  That shot came from the Thunderstrike!”

“My fault?” Lion-O replied, a bit taken aback by the venom in Luna’s tone.  “You ambushed us!  We were only defending ourselves,” he countered.  “I was just trying to help!  Whatever poisoned Cheetara also affected them.”

Chilla stood up, ignoring the lion for the moment.  Any other time she would have loved to ice him, but at the moment she was more concerned for Alluro, a thought that if she actually spent the time to analyze, likely would have disgusted her.  “Alluro’s still alive.  He has a pulse, but he’s not doing very well.”

Vultureman, who was trying to determine Monkian’s condition, turned to Luna.  “Caww, it’s the same with Monkian.  It’s clear that the vapor did something to them, that it was some kind of poison.”

In light of the vulture’s and Chilla’s statements, Lion-O took a deep breath, preparing himself to do what he knew in his heart was probably the “right thing” but was undoubtedly going to cause himself and his fellow Thundercats a heap of trouble.  He met the gaze of his enemies and addressed them.  “We’re taking Cheetara to the medical facility in Cat’s Lair.  Since those two are affected by the same condition, I’ll offer our medical facility to them as well—”

Slythe hissed in outrage at the lion’s statement.  “We don’t need your help, Thundercat.  We are capable of taking care of ourssselves, yesss!  Vultureman, get Monkian into your flying machine and back to Castle Plundarr immediately!”  The vulture cawed, and with a bit of assistance from Jackalman, loaded the brawny unconscious form of the simian into the back seat of the vehicle.

Meanwhile Lion-O turned to Luna, who narrowed her eyes at the lion in equal contempt.  “We don’t want or need your charity, Lion-O.  Lunatacs are light years ahead of Thunderians in scientific advances.  We can take care of ourselves.  We’re taking Alluro back to Skytomb,” she snapped as TugMug and RedEye carried Alluro to the Lunattacker.

Lion-O shook his head and sighed.  Part of him was almost relieved, but even though they were the enemy, he didn’t want to see anyone die because their leaders were too proud to accept assistance.  “Suit yourself, then.  I only thought it might help if just this once we worked together.”  He turned and went back to the Thunderstrike, dismissing the Lunatacs and Mutants from his mind, his thoughts now consumed with worry for Cheetara as he saw her prone on the seat, still unconscious.  Biting his lip with worry, he climbed inside and sat in his seat next to her.  A few moments later the Thundercats were airborne, bound for the Lair, taking the ill Cheetara home.

* * *

A short while later, Panthro, WilyKat, and WilyKit entered the medical room of Cat’s Lair, where a clearly distressed Pumyra was tending to Cheetara.  “Is there any change?” Panthro asked gently.

Pumyra looked up, her eyes red and bleary.  “I wish I could say there was.  She appears to be in a coma.  Tygra’s running a blood scan on her to see if he can figure out what happened that way, but I don’t think...”  Her voice trailed off and she fought back a wave of frustration and tears.  Losing patients was hard, and losing friends was even harder.

“NO!” WilyKat exclaimed.  “Cheetara can’t die!”

Before anyone could say anything else, Lion-O and Tygra entered the room, and Tygra cleared his throat.  All voices hushed in anticipation of an announcement, preferably a favorable one.  Unfortunately that was not what Tygra had come to say.  “I’ve finished the blood scan,” he began quietly.  “I know I’m not a doctor, and the life sciences aren’t my specialty, but... anyway, I have determined that inhaling that gas has somehow caused an irregular protein to form in Cheetara’s bloodstream.  I don’t know how or why, but the presence of that material appears to be what is keeping her in this unconscious state.”

He paused for a moment, waiting for a question or interruption, but when none came, he continued.  “The good news is that I don’t think it will kill her—its growth has stopped, and we can keep her alive on an IV in this state.  That leads me to believe her condition won’t worsen without further exposure… but the bad news is that neither Pumyra nor I have nearly enough medical knowledge nor information about the toxin to find a cure for this sort of condition.”

WilyKit trembled a little when she took in the implication of what Tygra was saying.  Was it possible that Cheetara could really not wake up?  “It’s not hopeless, is it?  I mean, you can try to find some way to cure her, right?”

Tygra met her eyes for a moment before answering.  “Lion-O and I have determined two courses of action that we need to take.  One involves a complete investigation of the temple ruin that the poisonous green haze originated in.  Perhaps something there can tell us what we’re dealing with and how to cure the condition it causes.  The second is a little more difficult.  In order to learn more about the condition, I’ll need more blood samples for analysis and comparison as to how the protein reacts in varying physiological states.  Specifically, I’ll need blood samples from Monkian and Alluro.  It would be ideal if we could convince the mutants and Lunatacs to allow us to observe them here, but if that’s out of the question, perhaps they might be willing to let us have blood samples if they knew we would share any cure we might find with them.”

Lion-O picked up where Tygra left off.  “We decided that Bengali and I will investigate the ruins.  Pumyra, in the meantime I want you and the Thunderkittens to go to Castle Plundarr and Skytomb to get the samples from Monkian and Alluro.”

“But Lion-O, I’m the only one of us with any medical training!” Pumyra protested.  “What if Cheetara’s condition worsens?”

“Snarf has cared for the sick before as a nursemaid and knows some first aid, and Tygra has to keep on top of the scientific sample analyses.  Tygra said that it’s unlikely Cheetara will take a turn for the worse, and of all of us, you’re the only one with medical training.  You’re the logical choice to be the one to handle it,” Lion-O asserted.

Pumyra nodded.  “All right.  We’d better get this done as soon as possible.  Come on,” she said to the kittens, and started for the door.  The twins quickly followed her, while Lion-O went to find Bengali, leaving Tygra alone with Cheetara. 

An oppressive silence quickly descended upon the med room as Tygra watched the sleeping cheetah.  Her breathing was labored and her stillness unsettling.  We will save you, he vowed.  No matter what it takes.

* * *

In a harsher, more industrial and forbidding facility than the one of Cat’s Lair, Luna sat next to Alluro’s still form in Skytomb’s sickbay.  She was alone in the room with him while the others were brainstorming to find a solution to their dilemma.  Even Amok was elsewhere.  “I hope you know how much trouble you’ve caused,” Luna grumbled to the unconscious Psi, sounding more depressed than angry.  She frowned at him as she felt emotion building up inside her.  She hated the way his accident was getting to her.  It was her feeling that sentimentality was for the weak, and Luna certainly did not consider herself weak.  So why was it that she couldn’t bear the thought that he was likely to die?

A buzzer sounded on the intercom.  Luna hit the button automatically, almost thankful for the distraction.  “What?”

“Caw, Luna, is that you?”

“Vultureman?” Luna asked with surprise.

“Yes, Luna, I need a favor,” the mutant’s distinctive voice replied.

“Don’t you mutants always need something?” she grumbled.  “What now?”

“We don’t have adequate medical facilities at Castle Plundarr for Monkian.  I brought him here hoping you would let us keep him with Alluro.  Considering we were acting as allies, and we both need a cure, Luna, if we pool our resources...”

“Fine,” Luna answered flatly.  Working with mutants made her stomach turn with contempt, but she realized the bird probably had a point.  “I’ll have the doors opened so you can bring him in.”

“Cawww, thanks Luna,” Vultureman replied.  “You won’t regret it.”  The communication clicked off.

“I’ll believe that when I see it,” Luna muttered.  She turned to Alluro.  “When you wake up, I’ll get you back for this.”

* * *

Miles away in DarkSide, Lion-O and Bengali searched the ruins.  Thus far they hadn’t had much luck.  The temple wall that had been blasted during the fight had an inscription on it in an ancient tongue that they could not translate.  Guesswork led them to determine that it was some sort of warning, but beyond that, they couldn’t make anything out of the arcane writing.

Bengali ventured further inside, and Lion-O was starting to give up hope when he heard the white tiger shout from inside the ruin.  “Lion-O, I found something!”

“What?”  Lion-O hurried inside to catch up to him.

“Scrolls.  Ancient scrolls,” Bengali answered breathlessly as Lion-O approached.  Holding a flashlight in one hand so that they could see it better, he held several rolled up pieces of what appeared to be very old parchment in the other.  “If we could get these back to the Lair and translate them, maybe one of these will tell us what we’re dealing with,” he said hopefully.

“Yes, if we can translate them,” he said with a nod.  “It’s the best lead we’ve got so far.”

* * *

WilyKit shuddered as she, WilyKat, and Pumyra approached the imposing mobile fortress known as Skytomb.  The three of them had just watched Vultureman and Jackalman carry Monkian in, and WilyKit herself wasn’t particularly looking forward to being the next to deal with the Lunatacs and mutants.  “At least we won’t have to go to Castle Plundarr now,” she murmured, though it wasn’t that much of a consolation, to herself or WilyKat and Pumyra.

“And we just have to convince our enemies who are armed to the teeth and outnumber us two to one that we want to take their sick friends to our home base, that’s all,” WilyKat said sarcastically.  “Should be a piece of cake.”

Pumyra smiled and rolled her eyes at WilyKat’s attempt to lighten the mood.  “Like Lion-O and Tygra said, we don’t have a choice, so we’d better just do it then.  Cheetara is counting on us.  Come on.”  The puma stood and bravely walked to the main doors of Skytomb with the kittens close behind her.  “Lunatacs!  Mutants!  We’ve come in peace!  We request an audience with you,” she called out.

A loudspeaker crackled.  “We have nothing to say to you, Thundercats,” TugMug’s accented voice answered.

“But we want to help you,” Pumyra argued.  “Cheetara is suffering from the same condition as Alluro and Monkian are.  If we work together, we can find a way to cure everyone.  All we’re asking for is a truce.  We’re all on the same side this time!”

“We’re only on one side—ours,” TugMug replied.

A second voice, an abrasive and shrill one, broke in.  “No, TugMug, let them in.  We will hear you out, Thundercats.  Enter.” 

They could hear TugMug starting to voice an objection before the intercom cut off, but the doors opened anyway.

WilyKat gulped.  “Ladies first,” he said nervously, gesturing to Pumyra and his sister.  WilyKit shot him a look, and the three entered together. 

Luna, TugMug, and Vultureman greeted them inside.  “What do you want?”

“Tygra figured out what’s causing the condition,” Pumyra explained.  “It’s an abnormal protein in the blood that’s keeping them comatose.  It won’t kill them, but we don’t know enough about it to counteract it or awaken them yet.  We were hoping that we could take Alluro and Monkian back to Cat’s Lair for observation and treatment so we could have more samples at our disposal to find a cure,” she said nervously, watching as Luna and TugMug’s already distrustful and angry expressions hardened further.  She bit her lip and pressed on anyway, trying not to give in to their intimidation.  “We’ll treat them with anything we find in exchange for your cooperation, and you have it on our honor as Thundercats that we will not attack or take undue advantage of any of you.  We’ll grant you full immunity and overlook our differences during our truce.  You’ll all be free to go your separate ways afterward.”

“How generous,” an unimpressed TugMug sneered sarcastically.

“Absolutely out of the question!” a furious Luna snapped.  “Alluro stays here.”

Vultureman nodded in agreement with Luna.

Pumyra sighed inwardly.  She knew that it wouldn’t be easy, and it seemed her prediction was right.  “All right then... may we at least take some blood samples for analysis?  We’ll share anything we find, including a cure, if you help us.  We just want a few samples, I swear, nothing harmful.”

WilyKat spoke up.  “Come on Luna, please?  I know you hate us, but you don’t want to let them all die because you were too stubborn and proud to work with us, do you?”

Luna glared back at the boy Thundercat, but relented.  “A few samples, nothing more.  And if I find out you found a cure and double-crossed us...”

Luna’s words brought a smile to WilyKit’s face.  “Thanks Luna.  We promise we’ll bring you the cure if we find it.  We really appreciate your help.”

“I didn’t do it for you,” the irritable Luna answered. 

She gestured for them to follow her and led Pumyra and the kittens to Skytomb’s med room, watching as Pumyra took the blood samples from Monkian and Alluro.  As soon as the samples were drawn, she ushered them out and through Skytomb’s main doors with a warning not to double-cross them and not to take too long.  Satisfied that they got what they had come for, they returned to Cat’s Lair as fast as they could.  Once back they handed Tygra the blood samples and waited. 

An hour later he returned to announce the results of the analysis, which was that he had found the same protein anomaly in the blood of the hypnotist and simian that was in Cheetara’s.  During this time Lion-O and Bengali returned to the lair with the scrolls and did to translate them with help from the Lair’s computers.  It wasn’t easy, but they were able to piece together enough of it to read coherently, and the Thundercats gathered together to discuss a plan of action.

Lion-O stood and faced his fellow Thundercats.  “We have some good news.  This scroll tells of a poisonous vapor unique to this region that builds up in cellars and other sealed buildings.  We think it’s something caused by a chemical reaction in the soil.  The translation is iffy, but there is mention of an elixir that exists that can cure the condition caused by the gas, that can revive those that fall under its deadly influence.”

“An elixir?  So there is a cure for it?” Tygra asked hopefully.

“According to the scroll, it’s magical in origin, and can only be created by the hands of a people native to a hidden grove near the unicorn forest.  We assume that these people, if they still exist, are descendants of the civilization that once lived in that area and penned these scrolls.  The main problem is that these people are very secretive and not much is known about them.  Not even a direct name of reference is given, only a location.  They’re fabled to have great magical powers but they use those powers to protect themselves from outsiders, whom they generally dislike and distrust.  From what I understand, no one really knows who they are exactly or where in the deep forest they live,” Bengali explained.

“Or if they even still exist… but it’s worth a shot to search and find out for certain,” Lion-O added.

“Then we can cure Cheetara once we get the elixir,” WilyKit said, brightening considerably at the new glimmer of hope.

“And Alluro and Monkian too.  We did promise to help them since Luna and Vultureman gave us those samples,” Pumyra reminded them.  She wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of returning to Skytomb, but a promise was a promise, even if it was to an enemy.

“Yes, but we shouldn’t tell them yet,” Panthro interrupted.  “Once we get the cure, we’ll give it to them, but if we tell them what we’re doing too early on in the game, they may try to get it themselves.  And if that happens, Cheetara will never see that cure, you can guarantee it.”

Lion-O nodded.  “And all this will be moot if we can’t find these mysterious people of the unicorn forest in order to get the elixir from them in the first place, so that’s our main concern at the moment.  We’ll have to send out scouts to scour that entire area.  Can I count on all of you?”

“You know you can,” Pumyra assured him.

“Pumyra, I want you to stay here and make sure Cheetara maintains a stable condition.  I also want the kittens and Snarf to stay on watch here.  Lynx-O is on duty at the Tower of Omens with Snarfer.  That leaves the rest of us to search the forest.”

“Let’s go, then.  Cheetara needs us,” Tygra said quietly, casting another worried glance at the cheetah’s still form.

“Thundercats—Ho!” they shouted in unison, and left together for the unicorn forest.

* * *

What the Thundercats didn’t know was that Chilla, out in the Ice Runner, picked up a transmission between the Thundertank and the Tower of Omens that spelled out their whole plan in detail.  Scowling angrily at their deception, she headed back to Skytomb at top speed and filled the others, including Vultureman and Jackalman, in on the Thundercats’ plans to find the elixir.

“Those double-crossing hypocrites!” Luna screeched.  “They’re going to find a cure, and they didn’t say one word to us about it!”

TugMug growled and punched the nearby console.  “I told you not to trust those worthless felines, Luna.”

Vultureman stroked his beak thoughtfully.  “It isn’t over yet.  We’ll just have to, caw, beat them at their own game.  We can find the elixir ourselves and cure Alluro and Monkian, and leave the Thundercats hanging at our mercy to save Cheetara.  Given their, caww, foolish sentimentality, they’ll do anything we say to save her life, including surrender!”

“We’d better get out to the unicorn forest right away then and see to it that we get it first,” RedEye said.

“I agree,” Luna said, waving her crop.  “Chilla, RedEye, you two split up and search the forest.”

“Nyah, I’ll go too,” Jackalman spoke up.  “Call me untrusting, but I don’t exactly trust you two Lunatacs to not keep the elixir for yourselves and not give it to Monkian.”

“Have it your way, then, but don’t get in our way,” Chilla warned with a breath of frost, as the three of them left the control room, climbed into their vehicles, and left for the unicorn forest.

 

 

Continued

 

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