Shade Twilight, the daughter of Red Eye, was relaxing in her room while Knave, Chilla’s half Cheetah, half Ice Lunatak brother was off fetching her a cold beverage. The two had fallen hopelessly in love. For a few days it had remained a secret, until Tug Mug caught them kissing in the control room. The news had spread quickly and reactions were mixed. Alluro and Psychro viewed this news with great joy. With Knave out of the picture, it would pave the way for them to woo Chilla. Red Eye thought this a great thing. He figured that his daughter would get much the same slavish loyalty that Knave had shown his sister. Chilla’s reaction was yet unknown, for the time being.

"Shade. We need to talk," Chilla’s voice sounded strained, as though she were putting great effort into sounding pleasant.

"What about?" Shade asked, rolling onto her stomach.

"You and my brother. Are the rumors true?" Chilla asked.

"If you mean the rumors that I’m carrying his child, no. If you’re referring to the rumors that I’ve eaten all my previous lovers and have a special recipe set for Knave, no. If however you’re talking about the rumors that Knave and I wear the same clothes . . . " Shade said, enjoying seeing the anger and frustration mounting in Chilla’s face.

"Are you two sleeping together?" Chilla asked.

"We have, on occasion been sleeping at the same," Shade replied.

"Are the two of you having sex, with each other?" Chilla asked, struggling hard to keep her voice down.

"Oh, those rumors. The answer is yes. But only twice," Shade said. Chilla turned briefly, mulling over this new piece of information.

"I come bearing a warning then. Don’t hurt him or you’ll find a member of Clan Iespyk breathing down your neck," Chilla replied.

"Oh, Knave does that all the time. Gives me goose bumps," Shade snickered.

"I’m not kidding. Maybe I should tell you about the only two women Knave has dated," Chilla began.

Her name was Nebula, a darkness dweller like yourself and Red Eye. She was orphaned when her family, visiting our moon on vacation, was gunned down in the middle of a turf war. She began to live in the alley behind our house. Pretty soon she caught Knave’s eye, inevitable I suppose. The common ground they shared as outcasts. He invited her over and told her his feelings. She was about to answer when our father came in, she left before she could tell him, but I suspect she loved him. Then our father, who never liked his bastard son, told Knave that his girlfriend was working as a prostitute, despite her claims that she was working for a tailor in town. If I remember his exact words, they were "She’s a bloody whore. Not very good in the bed, as you doubtless know." There was a twinkle of joy in his eyes as he told Knave this. The very next morning Nebula was found dead in the alley. Knave admitted to me later that he had done the evil deed.

The second was named Apep. She was a beautiful woman who, like Nebula, was from the Dark moon. She was on his regular patrol for the Lunar security, though he knew little of her. One day she asked him to stop inside her house. She slipped a love elixir into his drink and had something of a torrid night with him. When her deceit was uncovered, and it was revealed that she had a husband, I set out to end her meddling, only to find Knave already there. Together we killed her and disposed of the body.

Chilla turned away from the window through which she’d been looking and saw that Shade had fallen asleep. She was half tempted to freeze the woman where she lay and end things then and there, but opted not to. "You’ve been warned," Chilla hissed.

Deep within Shade’s psyche two voices argued. The one was the real Shade, kind and loving. The other was an evil malevolent being that had taken root in her brain. She called herself, perhaps as a joke, Nightshade.

"What an annoying little witch," Nightshade said.

"She’s Knave’s sister," Shade replied.

"So what?" Nightshade asked.

"So we have to be nice to her. Knave seems to think it important," Shade said.

"True. He has been soft toward her," Nightshade remarked.

"We need to win her favor. Do something that will make her realize that we’re her friends," Shade said.

"And at the same time it could be something that helps us keep Knave. And I’ve got just the idea," Nightshade said, taking control of the body.

Alluro had his feet up on his desk. There was nothing like relaxing with a mug of hot coffee in his hands and the specs for the Ice-Hypno Flyer nearby. He was trying to come up with a new name for it. Tug Mug had given it to himself and Chilla as a gift. "The Alluro-Flyer? The Psi-Wing? The super powered high octane land/air vehicle?" he sighed and tossed the specs back onto the table. Maybe he’d just think about new ways of winning Chilla. There was a knock on his door. "Come in, it’s open," Alluro called out. He was surprised to see Shade enter. She was attractive, though she wasn’t his taste. Her outfit spoke clearly about her mixed personality. Black on one half, white on the other. A midnight blue cloak was draped about her shoulders. "Yes?" He asked. The Darkness Dweller raised her black clad hand and pointed it at Alluro’s chest. Then, with a sinister smile on her face, she flexed her fingers, allowing a net covered in sticky black goo to ensnare Alluro. With her white glove, immune to the goo, she dragged Alluro off.

Psychro tossed a stone high in the air and drew his rifle. In one clean shot he shattered it. "Perfect shot," he thought smugly.

"Psychro?" a voice called out, it was Shade.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Good. Need some help?" Shade asked. Psychro wasn’t sure what to make of the strange woman. He was tempted to try and win her heart, simply to annoy Knave, but had ruled out the possibility that making out with her would be liking making out with two women. "Sure thing. Just grab one of those rocks, through it in the air and I’ll blast it," Psychro said.

She waited for his attention to be off of her before trapping him like she had Alluro. The pair were trussed like chickens and carried down to Knave’s basement room. Her boyfriend had gone to work, keeping the brute men in line, so she was able to dangle both men from the ceiling like meat in a meat locker.

Psikaris approached Knave. "Tug Mug says that you still have the keys to the Ice Runner. I was going to take it for a spin, learn how to use it," she said.

"Not a problem, just don’t get it damaged," Knave replied, "they’re in my room. Give me a minute until Luna gets down here before I go. This is one of the few jobs she’ll actually do. Says she enjoys it."

"She is a little weird, isn’t she," Psikaris replied.

"You stupid brute man, keep moving or you’ll find yourself wishing that you didn’t have a hide for me to whip," came Luna’s screeching voice.

"That would be her. Let’s go before she changes her mind," Knave said, guiding Psikaris down the halls.

Ordinarily Psikaris didn’t mind going into other people’s rooms, Tug Mug’s being the exception to the rule, but when Knave opened the door to his both she and the hybrid gasped in horror at the two bodies hanging from the ceiling.

"Alluro!" Psikaris shouted, running to the man she loved, "Psychro!" she cried, turning to her brother. "What have you done to them, and why?" she growled at Knave. Strong hands tightened around Knave’s throat as he desperately tried to pull Psikaris off of him. Icy breath met icy breath as both Lunataks had the same idea. Knave quickly reached for his icepick and drove it into the woman’s side, causing her to let go and clutch at the wound.

Massive hands slipped between them and pulled the quarreling pair apart. Each was brought eye to eye with Luna, princess of the Lunataks. "What is the meaning of this? I could hear you all the way down the hall," she demanded.

"I can explain, my princess. Psikaris and I were coming to my room so that she could get the keys to the Ice Runner. When she saw Alluro and Psychro, she jumped me. I have no idea how they got like that or why they’re in my room," Knave said.

"He’s lying. He obviously planned to dispose of them later. I just got in the way," Psikaris said.

"Give me some credit. I’m not foolish enough to believe that I wouldn’t be the first suspect if both Alluro and Psychro went missing. Nor am I foolish enough to bring you down to my room where I’m keeping them," Knave said.

"If you didn’t capture them, who did?" Luna asked.

"Ungag them and find out," Knave suggested.

Amok dropped Psikaris to the ground and motioned her toward the captives. Both men tumbled gently to the ground and stretched aching limbs. "For once the bastard speaks the truth," Alluro said.

"It was his good-for-nothing woman. Shade," Psychro said.

"Ah. Things are becoming more and more clear. Shade hoped to impress Knave by bringing him his two most hated enemies. I am curious, Knave, what would you have done if Psikaris hadn’t been with you?" Luna asked, finally setting him down. Knave grabbed his icepick and hurled it clean through his pillow, stapling it to the wall. "Does that answer your question?" he asked.

"It does. In fact it also tells me that something needs to be done here, now. The three of you will clearly not be able to live under one roof. I therefore propose a fight. The losers will be exiled from Skytomb for one month. Should any further confrontations take place between you three and I hear about it, a second combat with identical penalties will take place. Tomorrow at dawn you will fight, starting atop Skytomb."

Shade growled from the shadows in which she hid. That Luna was a fool if she thought that Knave would bend to her will. She would be taught a lesson, a harsh one, in how not to treat the lover of Shade.

Knave stood on Skytomb’s surface. Although the drop to the ground wasn’t great, he would prefer being lower. Soon Psychro and Alluro arrived beside him. "I hope you’re happy. If you’d left Chilla alone," Knave began.

"Right, and if you had a tighter hold on Shade, Luna wouldn’t have gotten involved," Psychro said.

"Let’s just get this over with," Alluro said, turning to Luna for her orders to begin.

"Fight!" Luna shouted.

Alluro knew that he was seriously outmatched if this turned into a battle of strength, so it was important for him not to let that happen. He cast his psyche club’s crystal over the pair, "You cannot resist me, neither of you can. It is pointless to even try. Surrender now and jump off of Skytomb," Alluro said. Psychro, due to his own psi-race background, shook his hard to clear it of Alluro’s psychic thrall. Knave, on the other hand, was not experienced in such matters. "I cannot resist Alluro. It would be pointless for me to try. I should go jump off of Skytomb," he said and walked to the edge. Even before he hit the ground a black net, of the non-sticky variety shot out to catch him.

Luna looked over at Shade. The rules of combat had been that once a combatant fell he was eliminated. She supposed that there was no harm in Shade’s interference. "One man has been defeated. Which of you will join Knave as an exile?" Luna shouted.

Psychro plowed forward, fighting Alluro’s mental powers as hard as he could. If he defeated Alluro, he would have Chilla all to himself for one month without Knave or Alluro getting in his way. It would simply be a matter of time before the ice maiden warmed to his affections and he would once again have her under his power.

Alluro backed away quickly, searching his pockets for another weapon. A miniature welding torch. Perfect. As soon as Psychro was within range the hand-held weapon blazed across the Ice Lunatak/Psi-Race hybrid’s face. Psychro screamed in pain and swung wildly, seeking Alluro.

Psikaris had to turn away. The sight of the two men in her life who she cared most for were fighting it out, with one of them being sentenced to exile for one month. She wasn’t certain who to root for, if there even was a right choice. At Psychro’s scream she looked and saw the blackened face, knowing the scars that would form there. Psychro stumbled forward and was met by Alluro’s outstretched foot. He nearly fell then but her brother stopped himself and reached for that foot. When he found it, he jerked it hard and sent Alluro tumbling to the ground. He rolled across Skytomb’s side and hit the ground below.

"Psychro wins," Luna said. "Knave and Alluro have ten hours to get away from Skytomb. In one month they may return." Luna then guided Amok back inside.

Knave held his head high, Alluro at his side. Chilla, Psikaris and Shade stood in the doorway to Skytomb waving farewell. Finally Knave turned to his traveling companion. "Well? Where to?" he asked.

"Castle Plundarr?" Alluro asked.

"I don’t think I could stand to live there for one day, let alone a month," Knave replied.

"How about Mumm-Ra then?" Alluro asked.

"Trying to get pity from Mumm-Ra is like squeezing water from a stone, try again," Knave said.

"I don’t know. Why don’t you decide?" Alluro said.

"I thought you’d never ask. I say we defeat the Thundercats. Then we’ll have both the Tower of Omens and Cat’s Lair to live in," Knave said.

"And what makes you think we can do it?" Alluro asked.

"Well, I was rifling through that pirate ship we found and I came across the most unique item. The Dream Manipulator. I think we could have some fun with that," Knave said.

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