THE PROPHESY PART
3
War. It makes for strange bedfellows, don't you think? Two people or
factions, determined to eliminate the other, can be convinced to set
differences aside to face a common foe. Such is the case of the Thundercats and
the Lunataks. Once bitter rivals for control of Third Earth, they now realize
that to prevent Mumm-Ra from destroying everything in the universe they must
band together, to present a united front. For, should Mumm-Ra gain all three of
the Swords of Power, he would be invincible.
* * *
"We made it!" shouted Cameo triumphantly. He was piloting the
Europa, a small ship that he and Psikaris had designed and built. The ship was
being powered by a new engine technology that they had been working on. It had
worked better than they'd hoped, cutting travel time between the Moons of
Plundarr and Third Earth by two months, twenty-nine days, and twenty-three and
a half hours. All aboard were pleased.
It was the usual allotment of Lunataks, minus four. Red Eye was still in
prison, Alluro had gone missing, Knave was recovering from being hit by a
deflected 'solar flare' of Psychro's, and Lura because they ran out of room.
Mystan turned to Cheetalia and thumbed the latch on the hatch. "Guess
it's our turn then," he said, climbing out onto the roof. Cheetalia
followed after, both crouching low to avoid being thrown off.
* * *
Cheetalia watched as Mystan's eyes closed. Then she felt energy swirling
around her, forming a protective bubble. She nearly cried out when she realized
that the Europa was no longer beneath them. But Mystan had asked to be allowed
to concentrate. He hated using his telekinesis on others, and especially over
great distance. The slightest distraction could cause the field to drop. Slowly
they lowered on a diagonal angle, landing neatly on the bridge leading to Cat's
Lair.
* * *
Aker sat down in his chair, exhausted. He'd had a long drive back from
Mumm-Ra's pyramid. Around him were all the Thundercats, except for three.
Pumyra was down in the medical room with Wily Kat and Panthro, tending to their
injuries as best she could. These injuries had been sustained as a result with
the Ancient Spirits of Evil.
The stories of what had happened in the pyramid were told, and when they
were done each person sat in quiet reflection. What could they do about
Mumm-Ra?
"Rowl! Look. The monitors are picking up something coming this way!" Bengali said, shattering everyone's reverie.
"It looks like the Lunataks!" Tygra gasped.
"Of all the times for them to attack," cursed Wily Kit.
"Maybe they're not here to attack, snarf, snarf. There's only two of them," Snarf said.
"Only one way to find out. Let's go," Cheetara said, leading the
group outside, wary of an ambush.
* * *
Once again stories were told, though this time Mystan and Cheetalia added
their own. The Thundercats and Lunataks agreed, for the time being, to form an
alliance to defeat Mumm-Ra. They all climbed into the various Thundercat
vehicles and prepared to take off.
* * *
Cheetara sat on the parked Thunderclaw, Tygra and Snarf behind her, holding
on for dear life. This was a situation she hadn't expected to get into when the
mantle of lord was given to her. Still, she was responsible for these people,
and it was her duty to ensure that every last person came back alive. She just
wished there was some easier way of defeating Mumm-Ra.
"Silly child, there is an easier way," a disembodied voice, audible only to her, said.
"What? Who said that?" Cheetara asked, noticing that time seemed
to have stopped. At least, no one was moving.
A strange house cat, though the same size as herself, appeared. She wore a long green dress and an elegant gold headdress. "There. That's better," she said, seeming satisfied that she'd been able to show herself. "Now then, as I was saying. There is an easier way to defeat Mumm-Ra. Sort of. You might still lose some of your friends, I'm afraid I can't promise you anything. But, if you were to send one or two of your friends into the realm of the dead, you might be able to barter for the life of Lion-O. He's had a wealth of experience fighting Mumm-Ra. I can't really explain it, but trust me. You'll need him," the feline said.
"Who are you?" Cheetara asked, puzzled.
"I am many things. Cat, goddess, sentient, but my name is Bast. That
will suffice for now. I will hold the gateway to the realm of the dead open for
a short time. The rest is up to you and your friends," the feline replied.
Then time resumed. In the dim corners of her awareness Cheetara knew where
the portal was. Just to the left of her current location. She dismounted from
the Thunderclaw and spoke to her friends. "Tygra. I need you and Snarf to
go on a separate mission. It's important," she said, as she hastily
explained what needed to be done. The two, though very confused, agreed and
took the Thunderclaw into the portal.
* * *
Although the pair were accustomed to travelling to strange and unusual
places, the realm of the dead was unlike anything Tygra or Snarf had ever seen.
The landscape wasn't your traditional bone littered dreary place. Nor was it
fire and brimstone or heavenly clouds. Instead it was a seemingly endless field
of some strange purple grain. The sky was a blood red colour, and nearby was a
stone temple. Since they couldn't see anyone around the two Thunderians decided
to go into the building.
"Stop! Who would approach the Lord of Death from the land of the living
must do so after mortal combat. For every living soul there is the soul of one
whom they have wronged. That is whom you must face," the doors to the
temple boomed.
Tygra paused. He had wronged someone? Someone who was now dead? But who could it be. He had always considered himself to be a staunch defender of the Code of Thundera. Having never intentionally harmed another. He paled, though, when he saw the red hued figure stalking through the purple grain. "Aqualor," he murmured.
"So, Tygra. You remember me. Glad to hear it," the half squid-half man said.
"I never wronged you," Tygra protested.
"Oh, but you did. Ever since I joined the Thundercats, we were at odds. You even tried to kill me once, just before you quit as Lord," Aqualor snarled.
"He's got you there, Tygra, snarf, snarf," Snarf said.
"I must get to the Lord of the Dead that I might barter for Lion-O's
soul. If that means going through you, so be it," Tygra growled, lunging
forward.
* * *
Mumm-Ra soared through the opening in the roof of his pyramid. It had been
an eventful day thus far and it was only likely to get more so. His blood red
eyes roved the interior, searching for the Sword of Plundarr, but couldn't find
it. Instead his eyes fell on an image forming in the cauldron. An image of the
Europa descending quickly. "So. The Lunataks have come to play, have they?
Did they not learn that Mumm-Ra the Ever Living cannot be so easily defeated?
They shall learn soon enough the price of their folly," he cackled maniacally,
flying out to meet them on the shifting sands.
* * *
Tycho looked out the window. The great pyramid materializing before him. Slowly. Closer and closer. Soon he would once more be in combat with Mumm-Ra, a battle he was not looking forward to. But the Lunar Blade was there. He could feel it. This puzzled him no end. What made him so certain that it was?
"Maybe because I'm part of you," the sword said. It
sounded feminine. He wasn't sure if that counted for anything. "Not
really, no. Listen up. My time is short. Three people are going to be needed to
take down Mumm-Ra. Well, two if you don't count Mr. Ever Living source of evil.
You and the other Sword bearer. Timothy, I guess. Stay alive and everything
will be argh!!!" The sword screamed loudly, and then was silent. When
he saw Mumm-Ra, he knew the reason why.
* * *
Mumm-Ra had been correct. It wasn't simply a case of all three swords
merging. Any two could be turned into one weapon. The Lunar Blade of Omens
shone in his hands, a warning beacon to the Lunataks that their time had come.
To his eyes the biggest advantage he had at the moment was that the Lunataks
were bunched up in one confined space. None of them could fly, after all.
* * *
In the Europa, similar thoughts were running through Luna's head. There was no way the Lunataks could do anything to Mumm-Ra while confined in the ship. "Cameo, land. We have to get down!" she shouted.
"Psychro, you take the controls and follow Luna's orders. I'm going to
try and stall big blue and ugly over there," Cameo said.
Once Psychro had moved closer, Cameo climbed out the hatch. He possessed the
ability to borrow other people's powers, but he could only hold one person's
powers at a time. Currently it was Mumm-Ra's. The catch was that since their
powers were drawn from the same source, neither could use magic to harm the
other. That left simple physical attacks.
"Surrender, Lunatak. You cannot defeat Mumm-Ra the ever living!" Mumm-Ra cackled, hurling a lightning bolt at the fleeing ship. Cameo easily absorbed it and flew closer.
"You forget, mummy, that your magic is useless against me," Cameo replied, "but my wrist daggers should do a nice number on you."
"Apparently intelligence is not transferred when you touch people," Mumm-Ra chuckled, catching Cameo's arm. Slowly he began to squeeze.
"No!" came a panicked cry.
Mumm-Ra looked down and noted that the Lunarpests had landed and were
beginning to pour out of their ship. The one who had made the cry, Psikaris,
was even now breathing ice to capture his feet. Soon the others were beginning
to perform their preferred methods of attack.
* * *
Tygra felt like he had been fighting Aqualor for an eternity. All things
considered, he might have been. Time felt like it was all askew here in the Land
of the Dead. A stream of acid splattered a spot just a few feet from where he
had been. He had to end this, quickly. He hated doing it, mostly because it
gave him an unfair advantage, but he had no other choice in the matter. The
lives of his friends were at stake here. This was not something that he could
easily let go. He curled his whip about his body. It was time for a fast fade.
"Now you see me, now you don't," he said, stating the obvious.
Aqualor cursed and began firing at random. He didn't have the special
infrared sight that Red Eye of the Lunataks had. What he also didn't have was
an unlimited supply of ammunition. So when his gun did run out of acid, he was
forced to flip it around to use as a club.
Little did Aqualor realize that Tygra had not in fact moved much. He waited
patiently for Aqualor, in his paranoia, to face the opposite direction. Then he
popped back to the world of the visible and wrapped his bola whip around
Aqualor this time, effectively trapping him. "Now then. The Lord of the
Dead, if you will," Tygra said.
* * *
Tycho felt himself flying through the air. A unique sensation, but not an overly pleasant one given the circumstances. He had made the mistake of trying to tackle one of Mumm-Ra's legs. As he hit the ground, he took the chance to note how he and his allies had fared thus far. Psikaris had been the first casualty, taking a nasty blow to the head. Cameo and Psychro had both blindly charged in only to be batted aside easily, then the rest had started. Most of them were now laying unconscious. "Tycho! Stop gawking and get back in there!" Luna shouted.
"Not yet Tycho. Wait as long as you can. You must be alive!" the feminine voice urged him.
"You're still alive?" Tycho asked aloud.
"In a manner of speaking, yes," the voice replied.
"Great," Tycho muttered, slowly rising to his feet.
"Thee Thundercats are comeeng!" Tug Mug shouted from the distance.
"Finally," Luna grumbled.
"Never thought I'd be glad to hear that," chimed Tycho.
Indeed, Mystan, Cheetalia and the Thundercats were making good time to the
battleground. A human, Timothy, stood in the back of the Thundertank. "All
right everyone, you know the target. Now let's take him out!" He shouted.
* * *
Never in his life was Tygra ever able to describe precisely what the Lord of
the Dead looked like. He was a being composed of everything and nothing.
Skeletal and yet fleshy. Dark and yet also light. His voice was raspy and
melodic all at once. He was the sum of every creature that had died.
"Tygra. I see that Bast is once again interfering in my affairs. I'll have to have a word with her, one of these days. I already know what it is you want and why. Your quest is worthy and I know the outcome already. But for every gift, there is a price. You and your friend must remain here while Lion-O remains out there on the Primary Plane," the Lord of the Dead said.
"Agreed. My remaining here means little to me, if it will mean that my friends have a better chance at living," Tygra replied.
"Rowr! Me too," Snarf piped in.
"So be it. Let the force that binds you two to life now restore
Lion-O!"
There was a deafening crack of thunder as the two Thundercats felt weakness
overtake them. But when they opened their eyes, they saw Lion-O standing before
them in all his glory. "Don't worry, you two. Your sacrifices will not be
in vain," Lion-O said.
* * *
Tycho mopped the sweat from his forehead and groaned when his hand came away
purple. Blood was starting to flow freely this day, and regretfully none of it
was Mumm-Ra's. The arrival of the Thundercats had failed to do much good. The
ever living source of evil had taken a beating, but managed to disable most of
his foes. Tycho's allies could be counted on one hand. Aker was struggling to
his knees. Boron was desperately trying to fend off massive swings from a more
powerful sword. Wily Kit was throwing her pellets at Mumm-Ra, hoping to
distract him. Tug Mug's gravity carbine had long proved useless, so the rotund
one was using himself as a weapon, tearing a nasty gash in Mumm-Ra's back.
There was Amok too, but he was too busy trying to tend to Luna to be of any
use.
Aker reached into his belt pouch and touched the Sword of Plundarr. He'd
half hoped that the combined might of the Thundercats and Lunataks would be
able to deal with this menace. But now it seemed as though that wouldn't be
possible. He raised the weapon high and the blades appeared. "Mumm-Ra!
Prepare to meet your end!" Aker shouted, running forward.
"Be ready!" the feminine voice warned Tycho. Just in time, too. Mumm-Ra had turned to meet the rushing Aker. When the Sword of Plundarr had struck the two merged sword, it had forced the latter to split back into its individual swords and knock both combatants to the ground. "NOW! Call me to your hand, Tycho!" the voice urged.
"Lunar Blade, I summon thee!" Tycho snarled, causing the sword to
fly into his hands.
Aker caught the full force of Mumm-Ra's fist as it connected with his jaw.
His grip on the Sword of Plundarr was gone. Mumm-Ra would soon be ruler, he was
sure of it. But then he heard the sounds he'd learned to love hearing.
"Sword of Omens, come to my hand!"
Mumm-Ra, now re-united with his customary blade, paled and turned toward the sound of the voice and the location to which the Sword of Omens went. "Lion-O. Can you not stay dead?" Mumm-Ra spat.
"Just as evil never sleeps, so too does good never die," came the reply.
"Will you shut up with those pathetically smarmy speeches?"
Mumm-Ra snapped, charging in.
* * *
"Listen to me Tycho. I don't have the time to explain this very
much. What is about to happen will change everything forever. When I say so,
let go of me. It is vital that you do so, otherwise it will mean your death.
Now, fight alongside Lion-O!" the sword pleaded with Tycho.
* * *
Mumm-Ra and Lion-O, as they had done so many times before, came together in
one spectacular confrontation. Their swords rang as they collided time and time
again. Both men saw Tycho approaching and knew that Mumm-Ra was in danger.
Little did they realize how much. Lion-O and Tycho swung at the demon priest.
"Now! Let go now!" Tycho heard the voice scream. He
obeyed immediately and threw himself backwards and amazing power ripped through
the ground, scattering the atoms of the two figures still holding their swords.
It took a moment for the light to fade. When it did, Tygra and Snarf were
sitting stunned a short distance off. A woman in a long flowing white robe,
with a hood covering her face beckoned Tycho to follow. None of the others
seemed to be able to see her.
"Tycho. You are, no doubt, curious as to what happened there," the woman said.
"You're the one who was in the Sword, right?" Tycho asked.
"That is correct. I have been granted permission to visit you, but only for a short while," she replied.
"What happened out there?" Tycho asked.
"When my people first built the three swords, it was with peace in
mind. We expected and allowed two of them to come together in anger and in
hatred, but never all three. We knew that someday it would though. Certain
safeguards were put in place. We felt that if the world were so corrupt that
there were three conflicting sides, that our power should not be put to use.
Both the bearers and the swords would be destroyed. Forever. It was only
because you let go that you were spared. I have grown fond of you, Tycho Lunar,
and you will be sadly missed," the woman said. She turned and glanced over
her shoulder. "I am sorry, but my time has come. Take care, my
friend."
"Tycho, what are you doeeng over here?" Tug Mug asked, rolling over.
"Just saying goodbye to a friend. Come on, let's go home," Tycho
replied.
* * *
The final showdown. The climax of a series of events. One which can never
be repeated. This often results in the death of one of the parties involved.
Here we saw the final showdown between Mumm-Ra, Lion-O and Tycho. Two of those
people were destroyed forever, and their weapons lost. Will this truly make
Third Earth a safer and happier place? We can only wait and see.
Back to Fanfic Archive