Resurgam

Part One

"Okay, what's happened now?"

Lion-O asked the question, half-knowing what the answer would be. A fault with this, trouble with that. For an allegedly straightforward structure, the Tower of Omens was taking some building. Yesterday, there had been a problem with the foundations. Today? Well, it couldn't possibly be good.

"Um, it's a bit unusual," said Bengali, frowning. "I'm not quite sure how to describe it."

"Simply," Lion-O said. "I've got a headache."

"Too much berry juice last night," the tiger quipped.

"The problem? Why I'm here? Remember that?" Lion-O retorted.

"Yeah, course I do. This way."

"Can't you just tell me?"

"Oh, no, you have to see this to believe it."

Lion-O found himself sighing with impatience. Not with Bengali, but with the way nothing seemed to go easy for them of late. Things had been made doubly worse now that a heap of Lunatacs had set up camp in Darkside. It was fast developing into a race to see which side could build their respective defences first. At this rate, Lion-O had no doubt that the Lunatacs would win.

Setting off after the tiger, he was, however, pleasantly surprised to see that progress had been made since yesterday. Granted, he should have been helping, but other matters had taken him away from the Tower. And yes, the Wollos had been very grateful for his help in diverting an attack on their village by giant insects and yes, they had insisted he stay for a celebratory drink. How could he refuse? He certainly didn't want to offend them. That one drink had turned into several he now regretted with every step that jolted his ultra sensitive head and caused it to ache evermore. Still, they had clearly managed without him and the base of the Tower was starting to rise above the flat plateau.

Bengali went inside and ascended several steps that were the beginnings of a staircase. Pausing, he motioned for Lion-O to join him.

"Well, what do you make of this?" he said, pointing to the wall.

On the grey slabs was a word, daubed in red. The writer had clearly been generous with the ink, for trails of it had dribbled down from the letters, making them almost illegible.

"'Resurgam'," Lion-O read out. "What does it mean?"

Bengali shrugged. "Beats me," he said. "That's why we sent for you."

"Well, I don't know. Have you asked the Berbils?"

Bengali glanced over to where the little creatures were gathered around a makeshift fire, warding off the dampness of the morning. "They were kind of nervous about it. Can't blame them. I'm not too happy myself, seeing strange words written in blood on the wall."

"Don't be melodramatic. Who says it's blood?"

In answer, he bent down and removed a cloth from a mound that lay on the lower step. A small heap of fur indicated that it was the corpse of one of the creatures that were to be found in the area. Long-eared and fleet of foot, only a very able hunter could catch them, so the Thundercats had found.

"All right, so it's blood. What else do we know?"

"That it's written by someone with very long fingernails, who's quite tall and wears a cloak."

"Oh really? And how do you know all that?"

Bengali sniffed and folded his arms in a rather superior manner. "There are scratch marks in the letters, suggesting long fingernails. Whoever it was stood on that bottom step to write. You can seen the traces of footprints in the blood. And you can see how high the word is up the wall. Must have been over six foot tall."

"And the cloak?"

"Ah. If you look on the rise of the lower step, you'll see several marks. That's where his cloak or whatever dipped in the blood and then rubbed up against it." A smug look crossed the tiger's face. "Well, d'you know anyone like that?"

There was that about his manner that made Lion-O feel decidedly irritated. Bengali had a certain cockiness that grated on his nerves. When he wasn't cracking jokes, he was trying to impress with his knowledge. It might work on the others, but not him. And Snarf was completely wrong too. Only people who are like you annoy you, he had said. Hah, what did he know!

"Not offhand," Lion-O replied to his question. "Let me think about it."

"So what shall we do in the meantime?"

"Wash it off and carry on. Use some common sense, Bengali, really!"

"Excuse me?" he spluttered. "There's some nutter around here daubing the walls with gore and you tell me to use my common sense? Well, Lord of the Thundercats, my common sense tells me to run and keep running. How about you?"

"It says that we need the Tower and we need it bad."

Bengali snorted. "Just because I beat you to the bathroom this morning."

"Well, you do take so long."

"Can I help it if I take pride in my appearance?"

Before Lion-O could reply to that, a hand clapped him solidly on the shoulder and a deep voice bade them both a good morning.

"What do you make of it?" Panthro said, eyeing the word thoughtfully. "Someone's name, d'you reckon?"

"A practical joke more like it," Lion-O said. "Looks like someone's trying to slow us down. And they're succeeding," he added quickly before Bengali had a chance to protest. "Ignore it."

Panthro nodded. "That's just what I said. But Bengali insisted on calling you."

Lion-O looked in his direction with some surprise. The tiger gave a sheepish smile. "Well, you are Lord and all that, so I guess you know what you're talking about."

It had never occurred to Lion-O that behind the bluster there was genuine respect. Maybe he had been a little hard on him. After all, it couldn't be easy, joining an already established team as a relative outsider. If Bengali was trying to prove himself, he could sympathise. Jaga knew he had been trying to do the very same ever since they had landed on Third Earth. Tolerance, Lion-O, he could almost hear the ghost of his mentor whispering in his ear. He could do that.

"Tell you what," Lion-O said. "I've nothing on today, why don't I stay and help?"

"Sure could use a hand," Panthro said.

"And the back-up would be nice," said Bengali. "In case our friend here comes calling."

"Does this nonsense really make you worried?" Lion-O asked him.

"My family was big on superstitions. If my granny looked out and saw a cloud pass before the sun, she wouldn't set foot outside the door. Call it nonsense if you will, but one day it was cloudy and she had to go out. Not five paces beyond our front door, she dropped down stone dead." Bengali glanced nervously at the bloodied wall and shivered. "If slaughtered animals and mysterious words on walls aren't ill omens, then I don't know what is."

"In that case I'll definitely stay," Lion-O said, giving him a pat on the back. "Don't look so worried. You've got your hammer, I've got the Sword of Omens. What could possibly go wrong?"

"Want me to make a list?"

Lion-O smiled at his nervousness and tried to reassure him. "Come on. I won't let it get you. Now, where shall we start?"

***************

By all accounts, yesterday had gone well. No trouble from Mutants, Lunatacs or Mumm-ra, considerable progress made on the Tower and a hearty meal before bed. Lion-O clambered down from the Thundertank and stretched his aching back. Twinges came from muscles unaccustomed to lugging around hefty blocks of stone. Still, more of the same today should work it off, he thought brightly. To his surprise, he found himself actually looking forward to it. There was nothing like standing back at the end of the day and seeing what one had achieved. The Tower had almost reached the first storey and Panthro was confident that today should see it rise to the second floor. Lion-O rubbed his hands together in anticipation of the work ahead and smiled to himself.

"Now there's a happy face."

Lion-O turned slightly at the voice. Cheetara wandered over and stood beside him to admire the view of the rising Tower. "Looks good, doesn't it?" she said after a moment.

"Sure does," he said. "At last things seem to be going right for us."

"Touch wood."

"Hmm?"

"You should always touch wood when you make statements like that so you don't balk your luck."

Lion-O gave a snort of laughter. "Don't you start. I had enough of that from Bengali yesterday."

"Yes, Pumyra was telling me. Someone had written something on the wall. He was worried, she said."

"It was nothing. Just someone's idea of a joke, that's all." He shot her a sideways glance. "And when did she tell you that? During one of your all night girly talks, I suppose."

A smile tweaked the corners of her lips. "Since you ask, no, it was earlier."

"I'll bet you'll be glad to get your room back to yourself."

Apart from the bathroom problem, the presence of three extra Thundercats was putting a strain on room in the Lair. As usual everything seemed to have come at once. The Berbils had begged space to store their harvest after the Mutants had burned down their silos, which had meant that the spare rooms were fit to bust. As a result, their three new friends were having to share with the other Thundercats. They had his sympathy. Lion-O wasn't sure he could tolerate such an intrusion in his room. Not that he minded having more people about, for the Lair could be eerily silent when everybody was out, but he found that he appreciated some space. Getting away from everyone was starting to be a problem, especially on stormy days, when suddenly going out in the rain seemed preferable to listening to Snarf and Lynx-O reminisce about the good old days. There were only so many times he could hear about Ethelbert Snarf's cake stall before the novelty wore off.

If he expected Cheetara to agree with him, however, he was surprised when she shook her head. "Oh, Pumyra's all right. When she is there, she's no bother. I'll miss her when they move to the Tower."

"Yes, I guess it must be good to have another female around to talk to," he said. It was then that what she had said struck him. "What d'you mean, 'when she is there'?"

"She doesn't spend the night in my room."

"Then where?"

Cheetara nodded towards the Tower. "With you know who."

Lion-O's mouth dropped open. "What! That's outrageous!"

"Oh, don't be such a prude. They're a couple, hadn't you realised?"

"They're not married. How can you condone that?"

Cheetara gave him a faint smile. "How people choose to live their lives is up to them, Lion-O. My family certainly had strong views on matrimony and I follow them, but I don't expect the rest of the world to think the same. Anyway, from what I gather, they're very much in love."

"Are they!" Lion-O huffed, starting towards the Tower. It just hadn't occurred to him. Pumyra was very attractive and, yes, if he was honest, he had had hopes of them having... well, something together. Sour feelings rose unbidden and grew in intensity as he hammered along. Now he knew why he didn't like that tiger. Wait till he saw him, he thought. He would be getting a serious piece of his mind.

His wish was granted sooner than he had expected, for as he approached the building, Bengali emerged surrounded by a huddle of twittering Berbils. He smiled with evident relief when he saw Lion-O, but whatever he had to say would have to wait.

"What's this I hear about you and Pumyra sleeping together?" Lion-O demanded.

Bengali stopped dead in his tracks and looked a little startled. "Oh, well, yes, we are. Is there a problem?"

"Since you ask..." A soft cough from behind him brought him to his senses. What on Third Earth was he saying! It was none of his business what they got up to. The Lord of the Thundercats was meant to be the model of restraint, in control of himself at all times, and yet here he was, shouting at someone who had done nothing to deserve his ire expect be with the person he obviously loved. There was a word for it, and Lion-O could barely bring himself to say it. Jealousy. Okay, he admitted it, he was a bit jealous, well, a lot jealous actually. But that was something he would have to deal with in his own time. For now, he took a deep breath and forced his more ungenerous feelings aside. "Since you ask, Bengali," he said, "no, there's no problem. When we get back to Cat's Lair, we'll see what we can do about getting you your own room. How's that?"

The tiger brightened up. "Wow, thanks. It's a bit tight in the spare room, I can tell you. And there I was thinking you were going to have a go at me or something. Silly me!" he said with a laugh.

"Yes, silly indeed," Lion-O said, trying to ignore the look that Cheetara was giving him.

"Anyway, now you're here," Bengali continued. "I've got something to show you. It's back."

"What is?"

"Our friend who writes in blood."

"'Resurgam'?"

Bengali nodded. "This time he's drawn us a picture too. I tell you this, Lion-O, the Berbils are starting to get freaked. Frankly, so am I," he said, giving a small involuntary shiver. "Come on, it's over here."

He started back into the base of the Tower and Lion-O was about to follow when Cheetara caught his arm. "You handled that nicely," she said.

"Who am I to stand in the way of true love?" he said. "I just wish..." Releasing a sigh that seemed to come from the depths of his soul, he suddenly felt very tired. "Oh, it doesn't matter."

"One day, Lion-O, someone will come along who'll be just right for you."

"Let's hope I still care by then," he said, giving her a rueful smile. "Well, let's go and see what's happened this time."

Once inside the Tower, he followed the line of agitated Berbils back to the spot where the mysterious word had appeared yesterday. Sure enough, as Bengali had said, there it was again. 'Resurgam', scrawled in the blood of the hapless creature slaughtered on the steps below. This time, however, above the word was a crude depiction of what appeared to be an eye. Almond-shaped and elongated, its upper and lower lids met at one end and extended out together. Above the eye, the brow hugged its strange shape, while on the lower lid a vertical line extended downwards with another coming from it at a ninety degree angle.

"Weird, huh?" came Panthro's voice as he bustled into view carrying a pail. "Don't know who this joker is, but he's starting to get on my nerves." He pulled a sponge from the water and prepared to apply it to the wall. For a long moment, he hesitated, his eyes fixed on the strange picture.

"What's wrong?" Bengali asked.

With a grunt, Panthro snapped back to alertness and slapped the sponge on the wall. "I don't think I've ever known a place as crazy as Third Earth," he muttered while he worked. "Ever-Living Servants of Evil, demons and ghouls. You name it, we've had it. Now this." With the stain washed away, he took a step back to admire his handiwork. "Better," he grunted. "Well, come on, people. Let's not stand around here all day. We've work to do."

"Yes, although..." Lion-O paused when he turned and found that Cheetara seemed frozen to the spot. Her wide, unseeing eyes stared at the wall and her whole body was rigid. "Are you all right?" he asked, gently putting his hand on her arm.

The spell broken, she gave a violent shiver. "That thing," she said. "There's something not right about it, Lion-O."

"I agree," he said. "Someone's trying to frighten us and I don't like it. I trust Tygra did check to see if anyone had claim on this area before he chose it?"

"You can ask him yourself," Cheetara said. "He'll be home tonight."

"Good," Lion-O said thoughtfully. "No harm in checking."

***************

The daylight had long faded by the time Tygra finally arrived back at the Lair. Despite his protests about being tired and in need of a shower, a council meeting had been rapidly convened and the situation explained to him.

"When you say an eye," Tygra said. "Did it look like this?" He picked up a sheet of paper and scribbled a few lines, then turned it round to show the others.

"Yes, that's it," said Lion-O. "But how did you know?"

Tygra lowered the paper and sighed. "Well, when I was surveying the area, I came across a flat slab. It was old and worn, but I could just make out this drawing on it. I didn't think anything of it at the time. On reflection, it might well have been an ancient marker of some sorts."

"And did it have 'Resurgam' on it?" Bengali asked.

"Possibly. It was very worn."

"So what we're saying," Bengali continued, "is that we've trod on this Resurgam's toes and now he wants his land back. Is that it?"

"I guess so," said Tygra.

"Whew, well, that's all right then. And there was me thinking it was something more sinister."

"It might yet be," said Lion-O. "If this Resurgam does have a claim, why doesn't he just come forward and tell us? Why go to all this trouble?"

"Perhaps he thinks we might be nasty," said WilyKat. "After all, we have started building on his land without asking him. He might be frightened of us and so is trying to scare us off."

"Then all we have to do is contact him and tell him..." Bengali trailed off into silence after seeing the looks on the faces of his fellow Thundercats. "But we don't know who he is, do we?"

"There is one solution to our problem," said Lynx-O. "Since we know this Resurgam comes to the Tower at night, all we need do is wait there for him."

"I'll do it," said Panthro.

"Not alone," said Lion-O.

"I'm not afraid of some ferret-killing loony."

"All the same, I wouldn't put it past Mumm-ra to pull a stunt like this. I'm coming with you."

"And since I should have checked the site out more carefully, I'll come too," said Tygra. "And so will Bengali. Just in case."

"Thanks a bundle," Bengali muttered under his breath.

"And the rest of us?" said Cheetara. "What are we supposed to do while you're all out dealing with faceless horrors?"

"You can stay here and make yourself pretty," said Panthro. "This is man's work."

"I beg your pardon," she said indignantly. "What on Thundera...?"

"Someone will need to guard the Lair while we're gone," Lion-O said quickly before matters took a turn for the worst. "Cheetara, Pumyra, Lynx-O, can you see to that? And the rest of us, let's make a move. With any luck, we can have this settled before midnight and get some sleep ourselves."

***************

Cheetara slowed to a walk as she approached the Lair and allowed her running partner to catch up. Although nowhere near as fast as herself, Pumyra could maintain a fair pace that was satisfactory for both of them. Even when Cheetara did dash ahead, as she had now, Pumyra usually joined her without too much delay. It was fast becoming a comfortable arrangement that both intended to keep up even when the Tower became habitable.

Several minutes later, a breathless Pumyra came running up and fell into an easy walk beside her before voicing the question that was on both their minds. "Do you think they're home yet?" she asked.

"Should be," said Cheetara. "Plus, the bridge is extended, which means that Lynx-O must have let the Thundertank across." So saying, she smiled at her fellow Thundercat. "Don't worry so. He was all right the last time you spoke to him."

"Yes, I know," Pumyra said. "It's just that we've not spent a night apart for ages. I can't help but worry."

"I know what you mean. I would have felt a lot happier had I been there with them."

"Somehow I don't think they wanted us," said Pumyra with a laugh. "I had the feeling it was one of those male bonding sessions."

Cheetara frowned. "Yes, I wondered about that too. Panthro isn't usually like that. In fact, I don't recall him ever saying anything like that."

"Well, this thing has got us all on edge. I know Bengali has been out of sorts lately."

"In what way?"

Pumyra coloured slightly. "Well, you know."

"Oh, right."

"It's just the stress. He'll get over it."

"Well, I hope for both your sakes he does. This isn't the best place to be if you can't handle stress."

"How do you cope?"

"With the stress?"

"No, I meant the being alone part. I know I couldn't have coped on that island without Bengali. I'm not saying anything about Lynx-O. He's a good friend. But when I needed someone to hold me and tell me that everything was going to work out, I was glad that Bengali was there. I just wondered how..." She shook her head and looked away. "Sorry. I didn't mean to ask a personal question like that."

Cheetara cast her companion a friendly glance. "It's all right," she said. "I don't mind you asking. I guess I cope because I'm not really alone. We have each other. We're there for each other. Like you said, I'm not sure I could manage without them. They're almost... family."

"Like brothers?"

Cheetara saw the look in Pumyra's eye and caught her meaning. "Sometimes yes, sometimes no. We're in a funny situation and I've no wish to complicate matters. I guess I did feel kind of isolated before you arrived. It's nice to have another female about the place. You know what I mean when I say how much finding dirty laundry on the floor instead of in the hamper irritates me."

Pumyra giggled. "Not to mention the toilet seat being left up."

"Yes, and that."

Laughing, they continued across the bridge and up the steps towards the main doors of the Lair. Once in the entrance hall, they called to their friends, only to be met with stony silence.

"Strange," said Pumyra. "Where is everyone?"

"Let's ask Lynx-O," Cheetara said, going over to the internal communicator panel. She tried it several times without success. Somewhere deep inside of her warning bells were starting to sound. Something was very wrong. But given what Pumyra had told her, she had no wish to alarm her unnecessarily. "Probably a glitch in the system," she said, turning back to her. "Let's go up to the Control Room."

"Ladies, welcome home."

Cheetara's head snapped round in the direction of the voice. Panthro was slowly descending the stairs towards them, his hands clasped behind his back and a smile on his face. Any relief Cheetara felt in seeing her friend safe and well was smothered by the scream of her sixth sense that brought her to her knees. Pumyra was at her side in an instant, offering a supporting arm.

"Cheetara, what's the matter?" she asked with concern.

"It's not... not..." she gasped.

"I don't understand."

"Him!" Cheetara managed to get out. "That isn't Panthro!"

"Then who...?"

"Oh, clever girl," said Panthro, giving a slow, mocking hand-clap. "But not clever enough." At that, from the doorways that opened onto the hall appeared the other Thundercats. They stood stolidly blocking any means of escape, their eyes ablaze with a red glow.

Cheetara grabbed hold of Pumyra's arm and hauled herself to her feet. "Who are you?" she demanded. "What have you done to them!"

"You, woman, dare to question me? I am your master!" he roared. "Both of you, now, on your knees, where you belong!" When they failed to comply, he snapped his fingers and the Thundercats in his power started to crowd round them. "I said, now!"

Pumyra looked to Cheetara, alarm showing on her face. "What are we going to do?" she asked nervously.

"Bluff," Cheetara said under her breath. "And be ready to run."

"Where?"

"You see where Snarf and WilyKat are standing?" Her eyes flicked in the direction of the Generator Room. "Think you can make it past them?" Pumyra gave an almost imperceptible nod. Cheetara looked back to where Panthro was standing on the stairs, staring at them with a murderous expression on his face. "Okay, we'll do as you say, master," she said. "We don't want any trouble." She dropped to her knees and indicated to Pumyra to join her.

"Better," he said, indicating to the approaching Thundercats to stop. "It is good that you show me respect. Ordinarily, I do not tolerate the presence of the weaker sex. But I will need menials to attend to the needs of my followers while I bring this world under my control. You will serve us."

"Gladly," said Cheetara. "Only, tell us whom we serve, master, so that we may better do your bidding."

"Soon all will know and kneel before me," he said. "Resurgam." Holding out his clenched fists before him, he closed his eyes and his face took on an expression of extreme concentration. As he slowly spread his fingers, a red glow like that in the eyes of their friends started to shimmer around his hands.

While he thus was rapt, Cheetara nodded to her friend. They were up and on their feet in an instant, somersaulting over Snarf and the Thunderkitten and through the door before anyone could stop them. Cheetara locked the door behind them and quickly hurried down into the depths of the chamber. Even before Pumyra was halfway down the stairs, she had powered down the generator and disabled the back-up systems. The chamber fell into darkness and an eerie silence settled over this place that was usually alive with noise.

"What are you doing?" Pumyra asked when she finally made it down to join her.

"Finding us a way out," she replied, keeping her concentration fixed on what she was doing. Just one more adjustment and a fierce whooshing sound echoed around them. When it died away, somewhere high above in the darkness sounded a regular thud on the locked door.

"That won't hold them for long," Cheetara said. "You have to leave now."

"Leave? How? Where?"

Cheetara took her hand and led the way through the gloom to the exit hatch of the power exhaust. "Here," she said. "Tygra used this to gain access to Lair once when we were locked out by Mumm-ra. Now you're going to use to it to get out."

"Me?" Pumyra started to protest. "But--"

"It's perfectly safe. I've just vented the system. It should be cool enough by now. In you go."

"You keep talking about me. What about you, Cheetara?"

Cheetara gave her a faint smile. "Someone has to make sure the generator doesn't come back on." She glanced up to where the door was starting to groan under the weight being thrown at it. "Go now, quickly. Bring back help. I'll be all right."

"I'll be back as soon as I can," said Pumyra, surprising her by giving her a hug. "Be careful."

"And you."

With that, Pumyra slipped inside the exhaust and started the upward climb. From above, the pounding continued with ever more vehemence until finally came a sound like the rending of metal. Cheetara watched as Resurgam made his way unhurriedly down the stairs, his body lit by an unearthly red glow. Pulling out her staff, she resolved to defend the generator with her life.

"Foolish woman," said Resurgam, pausing on the last step of the stairs. "You and that girl think you can stand in my way? It would take a far greater being than you to do that." He snapped his fingers and her fellow Thundercats moved in front of him. Too late, she noticed one was missing. Tygra's whip snaked round her body from behind, forcing her to drop her staff and pinning her arms to her side. Lion-O and Bengali stepped forward to hold her firmly between them, while Resurgam wandered over to stand inches away from her.

"Where is she?" he said.

"Who?"

It was the shock of the blow to her face more than the slap itself that made her catch her breath.

"Don't play games with me," Resurgam growled. "I ask you again, where is she?"

"I'll tell you nothing," she hissed.

"Then you are of no use to me," he said. "Let's see if your friends know."

"She may be in the power exhaust," said Tygra in a flat voice. "It gives access to the outside from here."

"Check it out," Resurgam ordered.

Obediently, Tygra stepped forward to the main control panel and started the warm-up sequence for the generator. A screen flickered into life and he pointed to a flashing dot about halfway up the exhaust schematics.

A cruel light filled Resurgam's eyes and the smile that twisted his lips made Cheetara's soul sink. Knowing what he intended, she tried to struggle free of her two captors, but they held her ever tighter and restricted her efforts even more.

"Fire up the generator!" Resurgam commanded. "Let's clear that blockage once and for all."

"No!" Cheetara screamed. "You'll kill her!"

Her cries were in vain. Under Tygra's hand, the power gird flared back into life and the generator began to power up. On the screen, the small dot was still a long way from safety. As a fierce hiss filled the air, indicating that the systems were back on line, Cheetara looked away and squeezed her eyes tightly shut. There was a roar as fire streamed up the exhaust pipe and then silence. When she forced herself to look back at the screen, the dot was gone.

Resurgam laughed at the tears that now flowed down her cheeks. "Weep for yourself, woman," he sneered. "At least her death was quick. For your insolence, you shall suffer. Take her to a cell," he ordered. "Throw her in... and throw away the key."

Oo-er! Whatever next...

Continued

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