Before I begin, I would like to dedicate this fan fiction to certain friends who insist on reading these little nuggets that I mine from my brain and go over the nitty gritty details before I send them off to Cheezey. I would also like to thank those who have inspired me to write. There is one person who fits both these categories for this story.

Way, way back many centuries ago, not long after the series began

Jaga lived on the planet Third Earth, a fine example of a born leader.

Jaga, Jaga and ‘Cats

Depended on Berbils for their candy fruit

Jaga, Jaga and ‘Cats

Spent all of their days in the trees with maidens.

Lynx-O was the eldest of the children of Thundera

with Panthro and Tygra the next in line

Cheetara and Black Claw with Snarfer and Snarf

Wily Kit and Kat took the total to nine.

Jaga, Jaga and ‘Cats

Bengali and Pumyra which leaves only one.

Jaga, Jaga and ‘Cats

Lion-O - Jaga’s favorite ‘Cat.

Lion-O wandered Cat’s Lair. It was his birthday and Jaga had hinted, in a vision, that he had a special gift for Lion-O that he had kept stowed away for this occasion. Lion-O could hardly keep still.

"Lion-O, follow me," Jaga said, as the rest of the Thundercats fell in line behind him. The astral form of Jaga led Lion-O and the rest down several corridors to a small box. "How did that get there?" Tygra asked.

"I don’t remember unpacking it," Cheetara said, looking to the others.

"Open it Lion-O," Jaga pressed.

"Jaga wants me to open it. This must be the gift he left behind for me," Lion-O said. Upon opening the box the Thundercats were dazzled by the amazing colored coat that their leader produced. "Wow, will you look at this. It’s got every color in it," Lion-O said. The others crowded around naming off the colors.

"It’s red and yellow and green and brown and scarlet," began Tygra.

"and black and ochre and peach and ruby and olive and violet," added Panthro.

"and fawn and lilac and gold and chocolate and mauve," Pumyra said.

"and cream and crimson and silver and rose and azure," said Wily Kit.

"and lemon and russet and grey and purple and white," remarked Snarf.

"and pink and orange and blue," finished Black Claw.

"I can’t see any of that, but the cut is very fine. Try it on Lion-O," suggested Lynx-O.

Lion-O tried it on and felt wonderful. The silken threads made him feel truly alive. "Wow. Thanks Jaga," Lion-O said.

But all was not well with the Thundercat leader. Some time later in the Tower of Omens, Bengali sat with his feet up on the table. "And then he had the audacity to tell me about some dream of his, where the twelve of us were gathering candy fruit, and how his fruit was ripe and delicious while ours were all dirt encrusted and rotting," he said.

"And then our fruit began to bow down before him, Snarfer, Snarfer," Snarfer said.

"Hmm. That’s similar to what Wily Kat was telling me. Except in his version it was eleven stars bowing down before his star, as well as the sun, the moon and sky," Pumyra said.

"You don’t suppose Lion-O is letting all this power go to your head, do you?" Lynx-O asked.

"I hope not. He’s been a good leader, but if this goes on . . . "

The next day, far from home, the Thundercats were eating a light meal when Lion-O turned to Panthro. "I had the strangest dream. All of your power tools began to come out of their tool boxes. Then they all began bowing down before me, worshiping me," he said.

"That’s it. I’ve had it up to here with you and your dreams," Panthro said, throwing his sandwich down. The remaining Thundercats helped Panthro tie up the Lord of the Thundercats and threw him in a ditch.

"I still don’t know why we’re going this way," Tug Mug grumbled.

"Because we have to get back to Skytomb. Luna will be very angry if we don’t hurry," Alluro replied.

"Wait a minute. Thundercats!" Tug Mug said. The pair were about to turn and leave when Tygra motioned them over.

"Could you use a slave, you hairy bunch of Lunataks?" Tygra asked.

"Young, strong, well behaved, going cheap," Cheetara said.

"And he reads and writes," Bengali quickly added.

In a trice the dirty deal was done. Silver coins for Jaga’s favorite Thundercat.

Then the Lunataks galloped off with a slave in tow, off to Skytomb where Lion-O was not keen to go. It wouldn’t be a picnic he could tell.

"What are we going to tell Jaga?" Pumyra asked.

"Not that any of us can actually see him," Black Claw pointed out.

"True. I know. Let’s tear up Lion-O’s coat, dip it in some ketchup and claim it’s blood. Jaga won’t know the difference. He’s a ghost!" Lynx-O said.

"I don’t understand why those Thundercats gave us Lion-O," Tug Mug said.

"Or why they wanted silver coins for him. They’re just lucky I had them," Alluro said.

"But why did they call us a hairy bunch of Lunataks?" asked Tug Mug.

"I don’t know. But when you’ve got as little hair as I do, you take such things as compliments," Alluro said.

The Thundercats returned to Cat’s Lair concerned about what Jaga would think. Finally they determined that Jaga was probably around somewhere so Panthro broke out into song,

Jaga appeared before his prized friends and asked what had happened. Wily Kit, the most adept at lying, began. "Well Jaga, we were picnicking when Mumm-Ra took us by surprise. He obliterated Lion-O at once, leaving only his blood stained coat," she said.

"By all the stars in the heavens. How can this be?" Jaga sobbed, vanishing so that they wouldn’t see him cry.

Back in Skytomb Alluro looked at his new slave. He was quite happy having an extra set of hands, and Lion-O worked perfectly. "You know. I could sure use another drink," Alluro said.

"Would you like your Pepsi with ice?" Lion-O asked.

"Yes. And try to find one of those bendy straws. I prefer them," Alluro said.

"Of course, master. What color straw would you like?" Lion-O asked.

"Hmm. I think I’ll have a green one this time," Alluro replied.

As Lion-O wandered through the halls seeking the kitchens, he heard a voice call him through an open doorway. It was Chilla. "Lion-O, come here you stud muffin," she said, obviously quite desperate for some physical attention.

"I’m sorry Chilla, but Alluro wants me to get him a drink," Lion-O said.

"Oh let Alluro get his own drink, I need you more," Chilla said seductively. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the room.

Alluro paced back and forth in his lab. How was he supposed to finish off his latest invention, one that would convert the stone in Cat’s Lair to cheese, if he didn’t have his caffeine? He dropped his notes and stormed down the halls to see what was taking the Thundercat so long.

Chilla was very annoyed that Lion-O was somehow resisting her advances. Then she smiled evilly. She could hear Alluro coming down the hall. Quickly throwing off her cloak she grabbed Lion-O and pulled him on top of her, crying out for help as she did.

Alluro burst into the room, Chilla needed his help, what he found caused his mouth to drop and his fists to clench tightly. "Lion-O, I’ll see you rot in jail. The things you have done are beyond the pale," he said, grabbing Lion-O by the shoulders and dragging him down to the detention block.

Now into Lion-O’s prison cell were flung two very frightened men. "We don’t think that we will ever see the light of day again," said Tug Mug.

"Hey Lion-O help us if you can. We’ve had dreams that we don’t understand," Red Eye said.

Both men were servants of Luna the Queen. Both in the dog house for doing their thing.

Lion-O thought for a moment. He wasn’t sure why they were asking him for dream interpretations but he was willing to give it a shot. "Tell me of your dreams, my friends, and I will tell you what they show. Though I cannot guarantee to get it right, I’ll have a go," he said.

First Red Eye, trembling, took the floor. Nervously he spoke of what he saw. "There I was standing in front of a tree. I picked some candy fruit and I crushed them for sauce. I gave it to Luna, who ate from my bowl. I tried to interpret but I am at a loss," he said.

Lion-O thought for a moment before making a guess. "You will soon be free my friend, so do not worry any more. Luna will let you out of here, you’ll guard as you did before."

Next Tug Mug rose to tell his dream, hoping it would have a similar theme. "There I was standing with baskets of bread. Far in the distance I saw mutants approaching. They ran to my basket and ate every slice, give me the message, like his would be nice."

Again Lion-O thought for a moment. "Sad to say your dream is not the kind of dream I’d like to get. Luna has it in for you. She’s going to teach you etiquette. Don’t rely on all I said I saw, it’s just that I have never done this before." Tug Mug gasped in horror and Red Eye moved to console his friend. Just then Luna and Amok came down the stairs.

"Red Eye. I want you back at your post. I need you guarding Skytomb. As for you Tug Mug, you and I have some lessons on manners!" Luna shrieked, as Amok dragged Tug Mug away.

A few days passed and Luna found herself tossing and turning in her bed. She was having a horrible dream. She quickly called Alluro and the others to help her. She explained her dream to them but none of them knew what it could possibly mean. Then Red Eye said "Lion-O is good with dreams. He predicted what you would do to Tug Mug and I."

"What are you waiting for? Go get him, now!" Luna demanded.

Chained and bound, afraid, alone, Lion-O stood before the throne. His service to Luna had begun. "Tell me your problems, mighty one," he said.

"Well I was wandering along by the banks of a river when seven fat mutants came out of the water, uh huh. And right behind these fine healthy mutants came seven other mutants all skinny and vile, uh huh. Well the thin mutants ate the fat ones which I thought would do them good, uh huh. But it didn’t make them fatter like such a monster supper should, well the thin mutants were as thin as they had ever, ever, ever been. Well this dream has got me baffled. Hey, Lion-O, what does it mean?" Luna asked, doing her best Elvis impersonation. Lion-O paced the floor somewhat for a moment before speaking up.

"Seven years of bumper crops are on their way. Years of plenty, endless fruit and tons of meat. The farms will boom, there won’t be room, to store the surplus food you steal. After that the future doesn’t look so bright. Lunatak luck will change completely over night. And famine’s hand, will stalk the land, with food an all time low. Noble queen there is no doubt, what your dreams are all about. All these things you saw in your pyjamas, are a long range forecast for your Lunataks," he said.

"Excellent. Guards, release him. I want Lion-O to be in charge of gathering food and rationing it out so that we might live happily in the coming years," Luna said.

As Lion-O was led to his new office by Alluro the Lunatak turned to him and said. "No hard feelings right?"

"Of course not. Why would there be?" Lion-O asked.

"I just thought you might remember who put you in prison in the first place," Alluro said.

"It worked out for me in the end, right?" Lion-O said.

"True. Now could you help me with these lottery tickets . . . " Alluro began.

Back in Cat’s Lair things weren’t looking good. The Thundercats hadn’t known about the upcoming famine and so had been unprepared. They decided to hold a meeting on what to do.

"I hear that the Lunataks have plenty of food. Enough to last them a life time," Bengali said.

"But would they give any to us, their hated enemies?" Cheetara asked.

"We have to try, unfortunately. We’ll all go down, leaving Jaga here to guard the place," Tygra said, as new Lord of the Thundercats.

Lion-O could scarcely believe his eyes as he watched his former team mates slowly approaching carrying large sacks. From the looks in their eyes they didn’t recognize him. "Perfect. Now I can exact some measure of revenge. I’ll take them for a ride and surprise them in the end," Lion-O thought.

"Who are you?" Lion-O asked.

"We are the Thundercats, oh mighty one. We come begging for some of your ample food supplies," Tygra said, on bended knee.

"Tell you what. We shall dine and when we’re done you shall go home with your food," Lion-O said.

"Oh thank you, oh powerful one," Panthro said.

The feast itself was just that, a feast. The Thundercats gorged themselves on stolen candy fruit and breads. Meat of all variety was provided, washed down with goblets of wine. But, while the team ate, Lion-O nipped out around the back and planted a cup in young Wily Kat’s sack. When the team was ready to go, Lion-O turned to them all with a terrible stare and said "No! Stop you robbers, your little number’s up. One of you has stolen my precious golden cup." Lion-O started to search through the Thundercat sacks, everyone was nervous, no one could relax.

"Who’s the thief? Is it Tygra?" Lion-O asked.

"No," replied Red Eye, conducting the searches.

"Is it Panthro or Cheetara?"

"No and No."

"Is it Snarf or Snarfer?"

"No."

"Who’s the thief? Is it Pumyra?"

"No."

"Is it Lynx-O?"

"No."

"Is it Bengali or Black Claw?"

"No."

"Is it Wily Kit?"

"No."

"Could it possibly be Wily Kat?" Lion-O snarled.

"Yes!" cried Red Eye, pulling a golden cup from Wily Kat’s sack of food.

"Wily Kat you nasty youth, your crime has shocked me to the core. Never in my whole career have I encountered this before. Red Eye seize him, lock him in a cell. Through the key into Amok’s food!" Lion-O said. Each of the Thundercats fell to their knees. "Show him some mercy, oh mighty one please. He would not do this. He must have been framed. Jail us and beat us, we should be blamed," they said, realizing that Wily Kat was, for some odd reason, Jaga’s favorite Thundercat now that Lion-O was gone.

Lion-O knew by this that his team mates had truly seen the error of their ways. "Can’t you recognize my hair, is it hard to see? That Lion-O whom you thought was dead, your team mate, is me," he said.

"Lion-O? Lion-O? Is it really true?" Pumyra asked.

"Lion-O? Lion-O? Is it really you?" Wily Kit asked.

So Jaga came to Skytomb, no longer feeling dead. And Lion-O went to meet him in his Thundertank of steel, and Lion-O sang.

"I closed my eyes, opened the door,

Apologies to Andrew Lloyd Webber for butchering his music.

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