Tygra sat down heavily in his council chair and looked at the grim faces around him. He wondered if his face betrayed any of the haggard fatigue he felt on the inside. The last few days had been especially hard on the council, once word of what had happened to Castle Plundarr started to spread.

"I suppose you are all aware of why this meeting has been called," he said slowly. "Lion-O has killed again, and this time our shame has been spread to all the people's of Third Earth. This we knew yesterday, but I have recent, even more disturbing news.

"The Tabbots and the Wollos have withdrawn from our alliance. Messengers arrived hours ago to inform us that they were voiding our trade and protection agreements." He stopped for a moment to let this news sink in. "They said that a new alliance was being formed, and that the Nai were also joining, the Warrior Maidens had signalled they were leaning towards joining, and the Berbils had been invited. They...they also invited us to join."

"Let me guess, this new alliance is being led by Lion-O," said Cheetara, slightly apprehensive.

Tygra nodded. "Lord Lion-O, now," he said tightly. "Either he appointed himself ruler, or they did, in their mad gratitude for his destruction of the mutants. I can't believe Lion-O would sink so low. Next thing you know he'll be demanding tributes."

"Like the ancient kings did," said Panthro, though his deep, rich voice lacked any judgemental tone. He seemed to be stating a fact, nothing more. He was sitting with his arms crossed, and his head was slightly bowed in thought. He hadn't looked up from the table during the entire meeting.

"Why would they this, Tygra?" piped up Wilykat. "I mean, why would they choose Lion-O over us, especially after all he's done?"

"I can answer that one," said Cheetara. "In all our years of alliance, we could stop mutant attacks in progress, and we could help them pick up the pieces afterwards, but we could never stop the attacks for good. In one murderous act Lion-O did just that. From their point of view he's the good guy, Wilykat."

"But the Code--"

"Is our Code, Wilykat," Tygra broke in solemnly. "We can't force it on others, or expect them to understand our ways." He massaged his templessligthly with his strong fingers, which partially hid his face from the others.

He was ethical, but he was also analytical enough to realize they couldn't afford to lose the support of the Berbils. The Thundercats didn't produce anything. They had nothing to trade with other than their ability to protect people from the mutants. Now that was gone. It would be a long damned winter without Berbil fruit and Wollo livestock coming to their door. Lion-O had put them all in a terrible position.

"Lion-O, on the other hand, is one of us. So the issue before the council," said Tygra finally, "is what are we going to do about this?"

Panthro uncrossed his arms and looked up for the first time. "I say we join them."

Lynx-O's ears twitched and a few others gasped at Panthro's suggestion. Bengali stood up. "Rowl, Panthro's got a point." Bengali had always liked Lion-O. The hot blooded youth owed the lord much, and he practically worshipped the lion. He stopped cold when he saw the look Pumyra gave him. He sat back down quietly. "Rowl...or maybe not," he said, like a berated child.

"We can't join Lion-O," said Cheetara seriously, trying to back Tygra. "He's broken our laws. To join his alliance would be like taking him back as our king."

"Frankly, I don't have a problem with that," Panthro spoke. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I was born to serve a king. That is the role of a noble, and what my clan has trained to do since birth. Lion-O is a king. My king," he said solidly. Panthro had always seemed to Tygra like something of a relic from the wild old days, and he seemed even more so now.

Tygra stared at his old friend steadily. "No more kings, old friend. Their day has passed. It's time to find a new way, a better way. That's what we voted. Are you going to walk out on that now?"

"Yup." Panthro stood up and walked towards the door.

Tygra's face fell and he made a pained noise as the panther stalked to the exit. "Wait!" he cried. "We can work this out, Panthro! We're Thundercats!"

"Exactly. The Thundercats exist to serve the king. That is the way it was in the old days. And that's what I'm going to do now. I hope that you'll join me there, old friend," Panthro replied with a hint of resigned sadness, and then stepped outside council chambers.

Tygra looked stricken. "What about the rest of you? Do you all feel the same? That the council is not a good idea?"

Bengali worked his jaw, looking for a moment like he was going to stand up, but a few glances over to Pumyra kept him in his seat. Again Lynx-O's ears twitched, but he was silent. Wilykat looked up to Tygra with wide eyes, as he usually did. Cheetara rested her arm on Tygra.

Tygra smiled, and was about to speak when he heard Wilykat's voice pipe up. "Kit, what are you doing?!"

"I'm going with Panthro," she said simply. "Come on, Kat." She'd been so quiet since Lion-O's banishment. Positively brooding for Wilykit. Tygra often wondered what went on inside that girl's head. She was much more of a schemer than her brother, and she had an intensity about her that he lacked.

Wilykat seemed frozen in his chair. He and Tygra exchanged a long look. Tygra had practically adopted the young man when they had arrived at the old Palatial Lair. The shy youth reminded him very much of himself. "I...I'm not going, Kit," he stammered.

Wilykit seemed even more shocked than the rest of them. Then she seemed to harden, and nod at her brother. "Okay then, be that way." Tygra had never been a father figure to her. She seemed too domineering, too secret, for him to take her into his confidense. The slender young girl slipped out of the door Panthro had used. Tygra fancied he almost caught a tear sliding down her face.

Wilykat he didn't have to fancy anything about. Those two had been inseparable. Tygra stroked his temples again and tried to carry on with the meeting. Damn that Lion-O, he thought. He was tearing them apart. The Thundercats, Third Earth, he was tearing everything apart.