“Can you move it?” Alluro asked quietly. Tug Mug shook his
head and frowned. If his gravity carbine hadn’t been crushed in the
cave in, the boulder would’ve been a mere pittance. As it was, the carbine
lay half buried under rubble. The two Lunatacs looked at each other for a
moment, then to Chilla. Her chest was moving up and down, but she had a nasty
gash on her head.
Turning to examine the boulder again, Tug Mug recounted what had happened
only hours earlier in his mind. As soon as they had confirmed the deposit
was indeed free of Thundercat influence, they had quickly set up shop. Luna
had ordered Alluro, Chilla, and himself to start setting up the mining equipment
for the slaves, while she, Amok, and RedEye kept a look out for
Thundercats.
Just as the three Lunatacs had entered, they heard the roar of the
Thundertanks engine and Lion-O’s voice commanding his sword to attack.
His attack had blasted the mouth of the cave, which, as they found out, was
highly unstable, causing a cave in. Tug Mug reacted first, and sprang
instinctively away from the falling rubble. Alluro and Chilla had not been
so lucky. A large boulder had snapped Alluro’s arm, and they had recently
dug Chilla out from under some of the looser rubble surrounding the
entrance.
The air in the cave was stale, and he was certain their time was running
out.
“They had better be trying to get us out,” Tug Mug grumbled
under his breath.
Lion-O stared in horror at his handiwork. He had only meant the blast
as a warning shot, but had managed somehow to cause a cave in, essentially
trapping, and perhaps killing, three of the Lunatacs. Although they were
indeed his enemy, the shock of actually being responsible for someone’s
demise was unsettling. Panthro and Cheetara, who had joined him when the
Sword of Omens alerted him to the Lunatacs activities, remained silent, waiting
for their Lords next orders.
Meanwhile, Luna gaped at the now blocked cave entrance. Had she just
lost a good majority of her team? She was not entirely fond of any of her
subordinates, but she most definitely valued their independent talents. RedEye
was the first to approach the rock pile, trying his best to detect any heat
signatures behind the rock. If there were any, he was unable to see through
the solid mass.
“Don’t just stand there!” Luna screeched, “Start
digging!”
RedEye regarded the rock pile for a moment, at a loss as to where
he should start. Finally deciding on a sizeable boulder, he stretched a moment,
and then began hauling rocks away from the entrance. The darkling was indeed
strong, but not super powered. He knew he would wear out long before Tug
Mug might’ve. Pushing the thoughts out of his mind, he focused on his
task. Soon Luna had Amok assisting him.
“Great Jaga, what have I done?” Lion-O whispered to himself.
Cheetara put a hand on his shoulder, trying to console
him.
“You did what you had to,” she said. The Thundercat Lord
shook his head in disagreement.
“I didn’t have to attack right away, Cheetara,” he
said, “I could’ve said something first.”
The cheetah remained silent. She herself had been thinking the same
thing, but consoling Lion-O seemed more important. Panthro cut the Thundertanks
engines and hopped out.
“Well then, let’s get to it,” he said grimly, walking
towards the rocks. He was not impressed by Lion-O’s rash behavior. Luna
and RedEye regarded the Thundercat suspiciously as they approached but did
not protest. They needed all the help they could get.
“How is she doing?” panted Tug Mug. The air was getting
thinner by the second. Alluro put his ear near her mouth and
nodded.
“She’s breathing, at least,” he said, his usually
overconfident voice somber.
“I’m going to try again,” the graviton said with
determination. He would be damned if he died in a hole in the ground on this
backwater planet. Alluro joined him this time, putting his back to the
rock.
“Ready? Push!”
The two male Lunatacs strained as hard as they could. Tug Mug threw
everything had left into the rock, his face slowly turning red. Alluro grit
his teeth and shoved his weight into the boulder, wondering if he was even
helping. With a desperate curse, Tug Mug slammed his body into the rock,
but to no avail. Alluro slumped to the ground, his body wracked with sobs
as he tried to take in enough air...air that wasn’t readily
available.
Cursing profusely, the graviton slammed his gauntleted fist into the
rock, hardly denting it. The lack of oxygen had taken it’s toll.
On the other side, the Lunatacs and Thundercats worked frantically,
their muscles tiring from the heavy boulders. It didn’t seem like they
were making any progress whatsoever. Even Amok looked winded, his pace slower
than usual. After what seemed like forever, they finally found the large
boulder that was, unknown to them, causing the trapped Lunatacs so much
trouble.
“Dag blast it!” Panthro growled, frowning at the giant boulder.
Maybe, if all of them were well rested, they could’ve had a chance at
moving the humongous rock. Now, he wasn’t so sure. Both RedEye and Amok
looked exhausted, and Lion-O and Cheetara were fairing no
better.
Luna glared at Lion-O, “Why don’t you use your sword, and
get that boulder out of the way?” she demanded, “Seeing as it caused
this in the first place.”
Lion-O bristled at the statement. The Thundercats were assisting in
retrieving the buried Lunatacs, and she was still ungrateful! He looked at
the sword for a moment.
“I don’t know...what if it cause a greater cave
in?”
“Does it really matter at this point, Thundercat?”
she hissed, sneering ‘Thundercat’.
“I suppose not,” he concede, favoring the troll with an
angry look.
He pointed the sword at the boulder.
“Chilla isn’t breathing,” Alluro said, his voice barely
a whisper. Tug Mug, who was now slumped limply against the rock, looked over
at the psi.
Tug Mug, slowly suffocating, responded with the only thing he could
think of.
“Shit.”
“Chilla?” Alluro asked, desperation apparent in his voice.
He shook her lightly, but her form responded limply. Tug Mug looked away.
This, most definitely, sucked. This was his last thought as he slipped into
unconsciousness.
“Hooo!” shouted Lion-O, effectively obliterating the boulder.
Everyone shielded there eyes, and as the dust cleared, RedEye ran into the
cave, followed by Luna and Amok. The Thundercats waited in anxious anticipation,
unsure of what they should do.
RedEye came out first, holding a limp Chilla in his arms. He carefully
laid her on a flat section of ground and pressed his ear to her chest, and
then by her mouth.
“Dammit!” he cursed, quickly tilting back her head and clearing
her airway.
As RedEye began to attempt to resuscitate Chilla, Amok dragged Alluro
and Tug Mug out of the cave. As their lungs tasted the fresh air, they both
began to greedily gasp at it.
“It’s about fucking time!” Tug Mug finally managed
to breathe. Luna, glad that her henchmen had survived, ignored his comment
and laughed at him.
“I see this particular emergency didn’t effect you in
anyway,” Luna smirked, relieved that they were alright. Chilla was another
matter, “What happened to her?”
“She got buried in some of the rubble, and we dug her out. When
we found her, she was unconscious,” Alluro managed, still gulping in
air.
They looked on as RedEye pumped her chest, and then bent down, pinched
her nostrils and breathed for her, repeating the process when he was done.
She wasn’t responding.
“Is she...alright?” Lion-O asked tentatively. He was responsible
for this mess, and he wanted to help in anyway.
Tug Mug shot him a nasty look, “Does she look alright? She
can’t breath!”
Alluro wobbled over to Chilla’s side and sat next to her, watching
RedEye for a moment. His brow was creased in concern, and he intently watched
her for any sign of life.
“Dammit, Chilla, wake up!” RedEye demanded, leaning down
to breathe for her again. Alluro reached out and ran a finger over her cheek,
ignoring the looks he received from the others. It was no secret that they
were occasionally close. He lay down next to her, trying to hold back
tears.
“Please don’t die, Chilla,” he whispered in her ear.
RedEye returned to pumping her heart.
The Thundercats, amazed at the compassion the Lunatacs were displaying,
merely watched the scene unfold. Were there hated enemies really this close
knit? Or did they just not want to be short another pair of
hands?
After about 10 minutes, RedEye gave up, knowing that even if she was
still alive, lack of oxygen to her brain would’ve most likely rendered
her a vegetable, something the cold warrior would’ve never
tolerated.
“Why are you stopping?” Alluro asked in alarm, sitting up.
RedEye shook his head and stood up.
“If she hasn’t revived by now, she won’t. She’s
dead.”
His words went directly to Alluro’s heart and he stared at the
darkling with his mouth agape. Tug Mug muttered something under his breath,
and Luna looked at Chilla’s still from in disbelief. Without a doubt,
Chilla was her best warrior. They would feel her loss in times to
come.
“She can’t be dead...keep trying!” demanded Alluro.
RedEye favored Alluro with a sad look, and then turned away. The psi, desperation
apparent in his every move, stood and walked over to
RedEye.
“Keep trying!” he repeated. RedEye scowled at
him.
“She’s dead, Alluro!”
“I refuse to believe that!” he yelled back, grabbing his
psych club. Before RedEye could react, he was in the hypnotists thrall,
“You will keep trying to revive her, RedEye,” he said somewhat
smoothly. RedEye flinched for a moment, but ultimately obeyed, kneeling besides
Chilla and continuing CPR.
“Alluro!” Luna scolded, steering Amok over to him, “You
heard what RedEye said! Let it be!”
Alluro ignored her, and stared at Chilla’s face. He couldn’t
bear to lose her, not after all they’d been through together. Although
he knew she wouldn’t hear of it, he loved her dearly.
Then, as if Chilla had heard his thoughts, she coughed as RedEye bent
to breathe for her. He looked up at the others, startled. Lion-O breathed
a sigh of relief. The dark dweller turned her on her side and she coughed
violently, curling up into a ball.
“Chilla?” he said tentatively, leaning over her. Her eyes
fluttered up, and she shot RedEye a weak, but still angry
glare.
“So this is the only way you could get any action from me,
huh?”
RedEye laughed out loud, and grinned at the icewalker, “Sure
was. Welcome back, Chilla.”
“Thank the Moon gods!” Alluro exclaimed, dashing to her
side and helping her sit up. He ignored the pointed look RedEye gave him,
and hugged her tightly. She squawked in protest, but was too weak to push
him away.
“What’s going on?” she wheezed. Alluro smiled at
her.
“Nothing much,” he half joked. The other Lunatacs crowded
around her, save Tug Mug, who was salvaging what he could of his gravity
carbine.
Certain that Chilla was alright, the Thundercats began to leave the
scene. Lion-O was sure there would be other Thundrillium deposits. They had
a surplus currently, anyway. The Lunatacs watched the Thundertank take
off.
“Bastards,” Luna grumbled. Alluro stood up, and offered
his good arm to Chilla. She refused, and shakily stood on her own. Despite
her head wound, she was relatively unharmed, considering she had been buried
under rocks.
“They left?” Tug Mug said, more of a statement than a question.
RedEye nodded, and grimaced at Tug Mug’s mangled gravity
carbine.
“That’s going to take forever to fix,” he observed.
Tug Mug shot him a ‘duh’ look, and wheeled towards SkyTomb. The
others followed suit, with Alluro hovering close to Chilla in case she needed
further assistance.
“What about the Thundrillium, Luna?” RedEye said, looking
back at the cave.
“Later,” she said tersely, waving her crop in air dismissively,
“We’ve had enough for one day.”
The darkling agreed with her statement, not giving the cave a second
glance.
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