"I’ve done it!" Alluro cried out from the depths of his laboratory in Skytomb. "Knave thought himself so great by finding a possible route back to Plundarr, and now look at him. A failure! Hah! Trust that half-breed idiot to fail where Alluro, the great inventor has succeeded! Soon I will once more be on Plundarr." The hypnotist turned inventor looked at a monitor off to the side. "But this device won’t work here. The magnetic field around Third Earth is too strong here. A short trip will soon solve that problem," he said, packing his most valued belongings into a large duffel bag. He then set off down to the hangar, where the Ice-Hypno Flyer would be waiting.

"Where are you going?" hissed Chilla, as she put one of Tug Mug’s wrenches aside. The Ice Runner had been giving her problems recently and she suspected it was because the steering column was off slightly. "Ah, Chilla. The only person I’d be willing to share this information with. How would you like to return to Plundarr?" Alluro replied.

"What are you babbling about?" Chilla asked.

"What would you say if I told you that I invented a device that would take us back to Plundarr?" Alluro said.

"I’d say it was going to break before you got the chance to use it, or malfunction. Most of the rest of your stuff does. Remember that incident last week?" Chilla asked.

"Look. I apologized for accidentally turning you into a toaster. I was sure that the device would make you stronger," Alluro said.

"So, a toaster is stronger than I am?" Chilla hissed.

"No, that’s not what I meant. Look. Do you want to come with me or not? You’ll only have this one chance," Alluro said.

"What about the others?" Chilla asked.

"Who needs them? I don’t," Alluro said.

"Not even my brother?" Chilla asked.

Alluro suppressed a shudder. It was no secret that he and Knave didn’t get along. They had tried to kill one another on a number of occasions, fighting for Chilla’s honor. "You’re the only one I’m willing to take. If you insist on bringing Knave then I leave without you," Alluro said.

"What’s to stop me from icing you and taking the device with me as Knave and I return to Plundarr?" Chilla asked.

"Because I’m the only one who knows how to use it. Anyone else using it might send you to some other less desirable place, like Thundera," Alluro said.

"But Thundera is nothing but a pile of rock in space," Chilla said.

"Precisely why it is undesirable," Alluro said.

"Very well. Let’s go," Chilla said at length.

"Lynx-O. A Lunatak vehicle is emerging from the Forest of Mists. Two Lunataks are on board, Chilla and Alluro," Pumyra said.

"You take Bengali and Snarfer and investigate," Lynx-O said, "I’ll keep watch from here and keep you posted on any developments."

"Rowr. You’ve got it Lynx-O," Bengali said.

"Curse it. The Thunderstrike!" Chilla said, sitting in the rear gunnery position.

"Then blow it out of the sky. They’ll easily overtake us. What on Third Earth did Tug Mug build this engine out of? Tin cans and string?" Alluro cursed, pounding on the arm rest.

"Don’t worry about a thing. Let’s see how those cats like lasers!" Chilla said, switching the cartridge in the turret. She then proceeded to fire a barrage of laser bolts across the Thunderstrike’s hull.

"Return fire," Bengali growled. Beside him Snarfer and Pumyra played their fingers across the controls, sending their own blasts at the Ice-Hypno Flyer.

"Damn, we took a minor hit on the left wing," Alluro said, "Luckily we’re very close to the activation zone. All we’ll need to do is keep them out of the teleportation radius." Even before the words had left his mouth the Flyer was struck by another barrage of laser fire.

"We have to land. I don’t think the engine can take the strain!" Chilla hissed.

"All right. That looks like a suitable spot. Remember. Keep them 20 meters away from the device!" Alluro said, hitting a few controls.

The Thunderstrike landed a short distance from where Alluro had landed. The three Thundercats emerged from the vessel and stood face to face with Chilla and Alluro. The hypnotist threw his device to the ground nearby and produced his psyche club. "You cannot resist me Thundercats, you will back away and leave Chilla and I alone," Alluro’s voice intoned. Unfortunately Bengali had jumped out of the influence range of the crystal in time and was running toward the two Lunataks.

"Don’t worry Alluro, I’ll ice this Thundercat," Chilla said, moments before spewing a stream of cold at Bengali.

Bengali saw it coming. He’d known that the likely attack would come from Chilla. His only hope lay in firing the Hammer of Thundera in time. He raised it and pulled the trigger, catching Alluro in the chest. Then he felt the ice creeping along his body and soon found it impossible to move. "If I can manage to squeeze the trigger again, it might shatter the ice," Bengali thought, desperately trying to move.

Pumyra shook her head to clear it of the cobwebs. "Get clear Snarfer. I’ll handle this," she ordered.

"Yes sir, whatever you say Pumyra, yup, snarfer, snarfer," the cat replied.

"Now the two of you will get a taste of my marbles," Pumyra said, removing her belt. A handful of marbles were soon peppering the two Lunataks.

Snarfer ran off toward the device that Alluro had thrown, curiosity getting the better of him. It was an odd looking thing, round and flat, almost like a frisbee. "It must be some deadly weapon they planned on using on us," he thought, "maybe I can figure out how it works and turn the tables. Let’s see, I’ll hit this button and these ones over here and then I’ll aim it at Chilla, yup, I definitely will, snarfer, snarfer." He then whacked a big yellow button and felt the device begin to tremble in his little paws. "What’s happening?" he cried out.

Alluro gasped. The little fur ball had activated his dimensional traveler. He quickly estimated a twenty-meter radius and determined that he and Chilla were within range, as well as the three Thundercats. Both vehicles too would be caught and transported to wherever it was that Snarfer was sending them.

A thin beam of blue light extended from the device in question, pointing twenty meters straight up, before it swivelled down so that it was pointing down, twenty meters. This arc then made a full 360 degree turn, creating a bubble. There was a loud ‘pop’ and everything within the circle vanished, only to reappear on another planet.

"Ha! We’ve arrived Chilla. The little brat somehow did it. Quick, let’s get out of here!" Alluro said, snatching the device from Snarfer. Chilla hopped into the Thunderstrike and took off, headed for the Ice moon.

"Shouldn’t we go after them, snarfer, snarfer?" Snarfer asked.

"No, they have too much of a head start. Besides, we can’t just leave Bengali here like this," Pumyra said, rummaging through her pouch for a heat marble. "Stand back. I don’t want you getting hit by the blaze," she said, throwing the pellet at her long time friend.

Bengali fell forward and caught himself before he hit the ground. "Where are they? Did they get away?" he asked.

"Yes. I’m not sure how, but we’ve been transported elsewhere," Pumyra said, "they seemed overjoyed and left."

"Maybe it had something to do with the weapon they took from me," Snarfer said.

"What was it?" Bengali asked.

"I don’t know, no sir. But as soon as I hit the button on top it took us here, snarfer, snarfer," Snarfer said.

"Well? What do you think?" the one said to the other.

"I’m not sure. They’re definitely Feline. The question is, can they be trusted?" the other replied.

"We’ll have to take that chance. They were battling Lunataks. Come on," the first said, dragging the second forward.

"You look in need of assistance," a voice said. Bengali, Pumyra and Snarfer turned to see two Cats, one a male Lion, the other a female Tiger, emerge from the underbrush.

"We are somewhat confused, yes," Bengali admitted.

"Well, you’re in luck. We represent the Feline Underground. My name is Aker, and this is my friend Ghost," the male said.

"We’ll have to blindfold you of course. We can’t take the chance that you’re one of ‘them’," Ghost said.

"Understandable. But who’s ‘them?’" Pumyra asked.

"You don’t know? I find that hard to believe. None the less. ‘They’ are the servants of one of the two rulers here on Plundarr," Ghost said.

"Plundarr? We’re on Plundarr?" Pumyra asked.

"This is very odd. You don’t know who ‘they’ are. You don’t realize what planet you’re on. We’d better hurry. We don’t have time for blindfolds," Aker said, leading the group into the forest.

The Thunderstrike landed on the outskirts of the little ice town. Chilla led the way through the streets until she came to a particular house. "You wait out front, try knocking if you wish. I’m going around out back. This used to be where my father lived. Maybe my secret stash of machine parts is still intact," she said, leaving Alluro.

Alluro knocked on the door, there was no answer. He tried opening it but found it locked. "That’ll be enough of that. Keep your hands at your side and turn. If you try anything funny, you’ll find yourself dead," a stern voice told him. He turned slowly and found a Psi-race Lunatak, two Ice Lunatak/Psi-race siblings, a darkness dweller, and a member of the royal family staring across at him. Any thoughts he might have had about using his powers were dashed the moment he took in the numbers.

"Why aren’t you kneeling?" the Psi-race Lunatak demanded.

"Should I be?" Alluro asked, regretting the words even as he said them. The royal member motioned and the siblings grabbed his shoulders and forced him to the ground. They then iced the knees, holding him in place.

"Does that answer your question?" the royalty asked.

"Completely," Alluro grumbled. Just then, the door opened.

"Chilla! Look out!" Alluro cried, even as the darkness dweller fired a black net at his friend. The male half-breed lashed out and smacked the one who’d fired the net while the female leveled her rifle at Alluro.

"Enough!" commanded the royalty, "Explain yourself Psychro."

"With all due respect, your majesty, this is the rightful owner of this house," the male half-breed, Psychro, said.

"And this one?" inquired the royalty.

"Is he with you?" Psychro asked, bending down to Chilla’s level.

Chilla thought she was seeing a ghost. Psychro had had a major crush on her when they were younger. Now it seemed he was re-entering her life. "Yes. He’s my close personal friend," she said meaningfully.

"Very well. Release them both and take them inside," the royalty said.

"You heard him Shade, remove the net!" Psychro said, grabbing the darkness dweller, Shade.

"There’s no need to get physical," she said, her right eye twitching, "if you do it again though I’ll bite your hand off."

Psychro helped Chilla to her feet and guided her within the little house.

Brief introductions were made. The siblings were Psychro and Psikaris Myntaello. The royalty was Luna’s cousin Tycho. The Psi-race was Mystan Benekasbeel, and the darkness dweller was Shade Twilight.

"Are you related to Red Eye?" Alluro asked.

"Why yes. I’m his daughter. Do you know him?" Shade asked.

"Yes, we left him on Third Earth," Alluro said, quickly detailing their adventures.

"It would seem that a history lesson is needed for you then. Mystan?" Tycho said.

"It’s quite simple really. About two or three years after Princess Luna’s disappearance the queen died. With no remaining heirs her uncle Aristarchus was placed on the throne. Many argued, though, that it was Tycho who should have been named King. The moons are now divided on this one issue. This moon, for instance, supports Tycho, as does the darkness moon. My own moon, the sand dweller moon, supports Aristarchus, as does the graviton moon and the moon of royalty. The planet below, we don’t care about," Mystan said.

"But Luna lives. What if she were to return?" Alluro asked.

"She would become queen. Quite frankly she would do a better job than Aristarchus, too soft hearted that one is. He would have us make amends with the mutants," Tycho said.

"The fool. The Mutants would sooner kill us than befriend us," Psychro said.

"Not necessarily, they’re too busy trying to find the Felines that they can’t be bothered with us," Psikaris said.

"There are other cats here?" Chilla asked.

"Yes. On Plundarr. They somehow avoided destruction and live underground somewhere," Mystan said.

"Then Bengali and Pumyra might find some allies. It doesn’t matter now though. Once I make a few adjustments to my transporter we can bring the rest of the Lunataks back. We could leave Luna behind, if you’d prefer," Alluro began.

"No. The stability here on the moons of Plundarr is not good. We need Luna to lead the people back to order," Tycho said.

"I’ll summon the Skycruiser," Mystan said, going outside.

A few minutes later the seven Lunataks were on board a massive ship that soared between the moons. Alluro and Chilla were given temporary quarters. The Myntaello siblings offered to act as their guides.

Aker led the quartet deep down underground into a large cavern. "They’re with me," he informed the guard, a young Ocelot. "Come on, the Lord of the Felines will want to see you," he urged. A tall Panther set down some notes and looked up. "Ah, Aker. You’ve brought some new recruits," he said.

"Yes I have Bagheera. This is Bengali, Pumyra and Snarfer. They claim to have come from another planet on which Felines still exist," Aker said.

"You’re kidding. You must tell me all you can," Bagheera said.

The group then related their tale.

"And this is the mess hall. Of course you won’t be eating there. You’ll eat with the rest of the commanding officers," Psychro said, "care for a drink?" purchasing a glass of wine.

"No thanks. I prefer to maintain full control of my faculties," Chilla replied, pushing his hand away.

"Your loss. Now, where to next? The view from the bridge is splendid. Especially as we get closer to the moon of darkness, you can see the glow from every building on the surface," Psychro said.

Psikaris and Alluro were sitting in front of a small work table off of the woman’s room. "The little hairball must have sat on it or something like that," Alluro spat.

"No need to get tense. Let’s relax for a minute. You’ll get it eventually," Psikaris replied, indicating a long couch in the next room. She found this sand dweller strangely attractive, though she couldn’t put her finger on a reason why. She was quite enjoying the quiet of this moment. Psychro would, of course, have a fit if he found out about her thoughts. No matter, he wouldn’t find out yet.

"Hmm. We must, of course, get you out of harm’s way. You don’t belong here on Plundarr. Your place is back with these Thundercats," Bagheera said.

"Thank you for your offer, but the only way back is in Alluro’s hands," Bengali said.

"And after we get it back, we could take the rest of you with us," Pumyra added.

"I will give my people that option, and I suspect that some will take it, but we are needed here. We know that there are other cats out there and we have to be there for them. While traveling to Third Earth would give us a chance to rest, we can’t afford to leave anyone behind, unlike what our ancestors did many centuries before my time," Bagheera said, "I’ll wait until you have the device again. All our resources, such as we can spare, are at your disposal. We’re fixing up your vehicle even as we speak, for instance, it should be able to make the journey to the moons by the time we’re done."

"Our ship?" Bengali asked.

"Yes. If I remember the markings right, it was called the Ice-Hypno Flyer?" Bagheera asked.

"The ship Alluro and Chilla flew. I’d forgotten about it," Pumyra said.

There was a knock on the door. "We’re coming with you," Aker said, entering the room.

"What? Why?" Pumyra asked.

"Because I’ve battled all my life and Third Earth sounds like a much more peaceful place than Plundarr. Here Felines die every day. I’ve seen such looks of agony in some of the twisted faces that if I even showed you one of them you would be ill," Aker said.

"And, from what you’ve said, I have friends on Third Earth. Tygra and I used to be pupils together, and my mentor was Black Claw. If the two of them are on your planet, then I would like a chance to see them again," Ghost added.

"But how did you escape Thundera? If you knew Tygra then you must have lived there," Bengali asked.

"I did, until Black Claw told me that I had failed my test of the Tiger. I went to the one place I thought I could prove myself. Plundarr. I met up with Aker, Bagheera and the others. I’ve more than exceeded my expectations," Ghost replied.

"You did it!" Alluro exclaimed, embracing Psikaris, "how?"

"It’s quite simple. I deduced that Snarfer must have thought it to be a weapon and hit buttons at random. When you teleported, his hands would have tightened reflexively, hitting these buttons here. This caused your problem," she replied, flushing.

"This is perfect. Now all we need to do is get back to where the device was activated in the first place and we can go back to Skytomb," Alluro said.

"I’ll see if I can find Chilla, and then ask Tycho for a ship down to the surface," Psikaris said.

The Ice-Hypno Flyer soared high into the heavens, the ice moon in its sights. Beside it flew two one man pods. Ghost and Aker had volunteered to accompany them on this trip. "Careful of that big cruiser," Aker’s voice crackled over the radio, "we don’t want to run afoul of the Lunar royal family."

"Thanks for the advice," Bengali replied.

Chilla and Psychro stood on the bridge. Tycho moved behind them. "You’re on duty soon, aren’t you Psychro?" he asked.

"I’ve still got another ten minutes," the hybrid replied.

"That’s pushing it. You’d best hurry and escort Chilla back to her quarters. Ten minutes isn’t long," Tycho said.

"Sorry to interrupt sir, but there are two Feline crafts and one unidentified craft heading for the ice moon," an aide said.

"Put it on screen," Tycho said.

"The Ice-Hypno Flyer!" exclaimed Chilla as the star field pattern shifted to show the vessel.

"Tractor beam it into docking bay three. Psychro, I want you and the rest of the royal guard to meet me there. Bring our guests too, they seem to know this ship," Tycho said, leaving immediately for a lift.

Psikaris and Alluro were the last to arrive. They got there just in time to see the three ships forced into the small area. "Weapons trained on them at all times," Mystan said, though the group was well trained enough to anticipate the order.

The hatches swung open and the Thundercats emerged. "These the three you mentioned?" Tycho asked, turning to Alluro and Chilla.

"Yes. They are," Chilla replied.

"I bet they’d like to go home, wouldn’t they? Wouldn’t they like it if we gave them that little device?" Tycho sneered. "It would certainly keep them out of our hair if we did."

"So would shooting them now," Mystan replied.

"True enough. Any other suggestions?" Tycho added, bemused.

"Only other option is to use them for certain tests," Psychro said.

"That would be inhumane, regardless of whether they’re our enemies or not," Psikaris said.

"I’d be just as happy opening the airlock and seeing how long they can breathe in space," remarked Shade.

"Hmm. Two decisions to kill you, one decision to experiment with you, and one non-decision. I think this means you aren’t going to be living very long," Tycho said.

"Then we’ll just have to hit you first. Now!" Ghost said, extending her powers to their limits, turning all five invisible.

Bengali raised the Hammer of Thundera and fired off several shots. Beside him Pumyra was throwing marbles and Aker was shooting small bolts of energy from his dagger. Snarfer was busy looking for some place to hide. Then he saw the other vessel in the docking bay. The Thunderstrike. That would be the perfect hiding spot. He made for it and crept inside.

Alluro cast his psyche club over the area he hoped the Thundercats were in. "Be sensible Cats, come out of hiding and turn visible. We won’t hurt you," he said, then under his breath, "much."

Ghost tackled the hypnotist before his powers would have any effect. His teleportation device flew from his other hand and rattled across the floor. The large yellow button was hit in the fall and, once more, a bubble with a twenty-meter radius was formed, sending all the combatants to Third Earth.

Psychro stumbled from the disorienting effect of the transport and heard a metallic crunch beneath his feet. "No!" Alluro cried, lying on the ground nearby with a Tiger on top of him. "My device, it’s ruined!"

"Where the hell are we?" Tycho asked.

"On Third Earth, your majesty, with no way of getting back," Alluro moaned.

"Blast you Thundercats!" Tycho said, raising his scepter to strike Ghost.

"No, don’t! It’s time to retreat. The Thundertank!" hissed Chilla. The Lunataks hopped onto the Ice-Hypno Flyer, most of them clinging to the wings, and soared off for Skytomb.

"Bengali, Pumyra, Snarfer. It’s so good to see you alive and well. I’m glad Lynx-O suggested we look for you here," Lion-O said.

"And we owe you our lives," Bengali said.

"But who are these two strange Thundercats?" Tygra asked, emerging from the back.

"Tygra? Is it really you?" Ghost asked, looking closely at the Tiger’s face.

"Ghost! What are you doing here?" Tygra asked, shocked.

"Let’s all get back to the Tower of Omens and catch up there," suggested Pumyra.

"I’d say I was pleased to see you, but I am most annoyed to hear the circumstances of how you got here. Chilla, you and Alluro are going to have some time to yourselves. In the brig! Tug Mug, take them away!" Luna said. Knave assisted Tug Mug in this process.

"I had assumed they’d come with your blessings. To hear the truth . . . " Tycho said.

"Lackeys. You can never depend on them," Luna said.

"Never. That’s why I only trust myself, and one or two others," Tycho said, indicating Mystan.

"I am honored to have your trust," Mystan said.

"He’s too stupid to try and betray me. The others? They might, someday," Tycho said. Psychro, Psikaris and Shade all took on shocked poses. "Red Eye will show your guard to their rooms. You and I have some scheming to do," Luna said.

"Indeed we do. It would have been nice to rule Plundarr, but Third Earth will suffice, for now," Tycho said.

"You’re welcome to stay here in the Tower of Omens. We always need people to watch over the Lunataks," Lion-O said.

"Especially now that they have new members," Lynx-O added.

"We’d intended to come here anyway, we just came a little sooner than we’d expected," Aker said.

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