Rock and a Hard Place

Part Two

"You went to the Mountain of Destiny?" Willa gasped. "What rank stupidity!"

This was not quite the response that Lion-O had been expecting. While Tygra had carried on home to Cat's Lair, he and the others had gone to the Warrior Maidens' settlement to see if they could throw any light on their predicament. Given the look on Willa's face, however, he felt less than encouraged.

"After all our warnings, you still went there?" she continued. "I never thought you foolish, Lion-O, but your actions speak otherwise. No, I'm sorry, there is nothing we can do to help you. May the Great Mother take pity on your souls." With that, she turned to go.

"Wait," he called after her. "No one gave us any warnings about the place."

"Um, well, they did mention something about it to me," Panthro admitted.

"And you didn't think to tell us?" said Cheetara.

"What could I do?" he said. "We needed Thundrillium and we needed it bad."

"Not this bad."

Panthro slowly nodded his head. "All right, I admit, I should have checked it out. All I was told was that it was an evil place and that we should avoid it. But then, I thought, what the hell? We have the Sword of Omens and that always helps us out." He eyed it ruefully. "Well, usually it does."

Lion-O sighed and ran his hand through his mane. He couldn't blame Panthro. He probably would have done the same thing himself. The only difference was that this had turned out to be the one time that the Sword was powerless to help them. Quite frankly, unless Tygra came up with a wonder cure, Lion-O didn't hold out much hope for their survival.

"Is there anything you can tell us about the Custodis, Willa?" he asked. "We admit that we made a mistake in going to the Mountain of Destiny, but now we need your help. Really."

"All I can tell you is a legend," she said. "How, at a time when our people rose up to defend Third Earth against the excesses of Mumm-ra, the then Queen of the Warrior Maidens, Fayna, heard of a fierce tribe, who lived on the Mountain of Destiny. She led an expedition out to that accursed place and came upon the Custodis, who gave her a choice. I imagine it was something like the one they have given you. She succeeded in escaping from their clutches with her band of warriors intact. The knowledge of how she did this has been regrettably lost. All we know is that the Mountain of Destiny is an evil place and that no good soul should go there. We have a saying about the 'Choice of Fayna', which applies to a situation where a person is forced to choose between two evils."

"Yet somehow she did find a way out," said Lion-O. "All we have to do is work out how."

"Whilst keeping within the boundaries of the Code of Thundera," Cheetara reminded him.

"Weeow, that's pretty tall order," groaned Snarf. "Let's hope Tygra's having better luck than we are."

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

It wasn't good. In fact, if Tygra was honest with himself, it was unbelievably bad. This strange poison had managed to resist the many antidotes he had used against it, surviving by constantly adapting so that it was now more virulent and potent than the original sample. As an insight into the workings of the natural world, it was a thing of wonder, beauty even. However, Tygra was starting to get the impression that there was a hefty dose of magic keeping it one step ahead of his efforts. If that was the case, he knew his chances of defeating it were slim.

The sound of the opening door made him look up from his microscope. WilyKit and her brother wandered into the room and offered him worried, half-hearted smiles. He had explained the situation, without labouring the point that all the adult Thundercats could be dead before sundown. All the same, they would have to know sooner or later, and from the looks on their faces, he guessed they had already realised the seriousness of their predicament.

"How's it going?" WilyKat asked.

"Slow," he told him, "but these things usually take time."

The cub came up beside and looked him dead in the eye. "Tygra, be honest with us. How bad is this thing? We want to know. You see, Lion-O just contacted us. He wants us to ask as many people as possible about the Custodis." WilyKat started to twist his fingers nervously. "He sounded real worried. What's going to happen to you all if you can't find an antidote?"

Tygra sighed and dropped down to his knees so that he was on eye-level with the twins. He didn't want to have to tell them that their friends could soon all be dead. He didn't want to have to admit that he was as far from finding a cure as ever. He didn't want to have to see their tears. But they had to know and it fell to him to tell them.

"It isn't good," he said. "We were shot with a potentially fatal poison that could kill us. There doesn't seem to be a cure and, if we want one, we will have to kill the Custodis to get it."

"But isn't that what they want?" said WilyKat.

"Yes, but you know that we would never do that."

"You're all going to die, aren't you?" WilyKit said, starting to sob. She threw her arms around his neck and clung to him. "Don't die, Tygra. We'd miss you. We need you."

"I know, young WilyKit," he said, gently rubbing her back. "I hope it won't come to that, but if it does, you have to be brave Thundercats and carry on without us." He freed himself and smiled at the downhearted pair. "Now, why don't you two get to work doing what Lion-O asked and I'll get back to finding this cure."

He watched them wander out, silently cursing whatever fate had brought them to this. As much as he tried to concentrate, worry for them blocked out all other thoughts. What would become of them? They couldn't stay in the Lair - it needed too much maintenance. The Mutants would be after them as soon as news of their deaths got out. He supposed that the Sword of Omens would chose WilyKat to be the next Lord of the Thundercats, but he was still too young to be able to wield its powers effectively. With such fears gnawing at his soul, he went to the Thundertank and used its onboard communicator.

"Cheetara? Are you there?"

"Yes, Tygra. How are you getting on?"

"Not good. Actually, I'm worried about the twins. In case we don't come through this..."

"I've asked the Warrior Maidens to take them under their protection," she said, as if reading his mind. "It might help ... for a while."

"Yes," he agreed, knowing what she meant. The Warrior Maidens were noble and brave fighters, but there was only so much they could do against the Mutants' greater firepower. "What are you doing?" he asked, hoping she had something positive to tell him.

"We're going through the Warrior Maidens' records, seeing if there's anything that can help us. Lion-O went off on his own about an hour ago. I don't know where he's got to, but I hope he comes back soon."

He caught the slight edge that had entered her voice. "Why, Cheetara? What's wrong?"

There was a moment's uneasy hesitation before she answered. "Well, it's just that my leg is starting to feel numb again."

Tygra groaned inwardly. He had been trying to ignore the increasing lack of feeling in his own leg for the better part of half an hour. Cheetara had just confirmed his fears. Their time was running out.

"Don't panic," he tried to reassure her. "I'll keep working on it."

Leaving the Paw Hangar, he was almost bowled off his feet by WilyKat. "Come quick," the cub said breathlessly. "It's Lion-O. He wants you."

Up in the Control Room, their leader's voice sounded grim when Tygra took over the communicator. Switching it from loudspeaker to private, he quickly explained the current situation.

"And I'm going to bet that you haven't been able to find a cure, right?"

"No, I haven't," Tygra said wearily. "There's still time."

"It think it just ran out," said Lion-O. "My left arm is fast losing all sensation. Leave everything and come and pick us up. I might have a plan."

With that, the channel fell silent. In his heart, Tygra knew that Lion-O was right. He also knew that his failure to find a cure had forced them into an impossible situation. Either kill the Custodis, which was unthinkable, or die themselves, equally unacceptable. Unfortunately, right now that seemed to be the only option. Sending the twins off to collect their belongings, he prayed for their sakes that Lion-O had found a way out that did not involve their extinction.

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

"You still haven't told us what you're up to," Panthro said as they sped back to the Mountain of Destiny. "If we're all gonna die, I'd like to know in advance."

"I hope it won't come to that," said Lion-O. "I can't promise you anything, but I do have a plan. I'll say no more, because I don't want to raise anyone's hopes unnecessarily."

"I could do with some hope," sniffed Snarf. "Brr, tell us, Lion-O."

He shook his head firmly and looked away towards the massive bulk of the mountain looming in the distance. To his ears came hushed words from the rear and he sighed with some annoyance. "I'm not deaf, you know," he said. "You don't have to whisper."

"We're concerned, that's all," said Tygra. "If you at least told us-"

"No," Lion-O said, interrupting him. "Just have a little faith in me and do exactly what I say."

"We have no problem with the faith," said Cheetara. "It's the mystery that's got us worried."

Lion-O turned away and absently rubbed his numb arm. "Let it be a surprise," he said.

They roared up the growth of trees at the foot of the mountain and Panthro halted the tank. The Custodis were already waiting for them.

"Stay in the tank," Lion-O told the others.

"But - " Cheetara began.

"Please, just trust me on this," he said. They looked unhappy with the idea, but complied nonetheless. Leaving them, he leapt out of the tank and walked over to where the leader of the Custodis stood with an imperious expression on his face. "Several hours ago," Lion-O said to him, "you gave us an ultimatum - kill your people or die ourselves. This is my decision. There are too many people who rely on us. Whether you know it or even care, Third Earth needs us. I will not allow the Thundercats to be destroyed in this way. So this is what I propose. I will not be held to ransom where my friends are concerned. Give them the cure, then we will discuss the matter of your people's deaths."

Behind him, he heard the other Thundercats starting to protest, but he silenced them with a wave of his hand. Judging from the look on the leader's face, Lion-O guessed that he was giving the matter serious consideration. Finally, he spoke.

"Why should we agree to this? We have the advantage. Why should we give you anything until you have carried out our demands?"

"Call it a show of good faith," said Lion-O. "You don't trust us. Well, I don't trust you. How do I know that after we do this, you won't go back on your word and refuse to give us the cure? This way we will know that the cure does work. Besides, I will still be affected by the poison, so you will have a hold over me and, as I'm the only one who can use the Sword of Omens, the others cannot afford to lose me. They'll do exactly as I say."

"Will we?" he heard Snarf mutter. "Oh, my boy, snarf, snarf!"

The Custodis seemed to like his idea and were clamouring for their leader to accept his proposition. He relented at last, a little reluctantly, Lion-O noticed. At his call, one of the Custodis stepped forward, bearing a tray with four small bottles on it. He offered them to Lion-O, who took them and gave one each to his friends. He watched as they downed the contents, noted their visible improvement and breathed a sigh of relief. At least that part of the plan had worked.

He went to turn away, but before he could, Tygra caught his arm. "Lion-O, don't do this," he said.

"I have to. This is the way it has to be."

"No," said Tygra. He held out his still-full bottle of cure to him. "Let one of us take the risk."

In those few words, Lion-O saw that he knew what he intended. He smiled gratefully at his friend and took his restraining hand from his arm. "This is something I have to do, Tygra," he said. "I am the Lord of the Thundercats. The risk is mine. I can't ask this of you. Take the cure and be well."

Tygra stared at him for a long moment, then slowly nodded. "I understand. Jaga protect you, Lion-O."

With that, he turned back to the Custodis and once again faced their leader. "You kept your word," he said. "My friends are restored to health. Now I will keep mine. With regard your demands, let me make this clear. You will not blackmail us into breaking the Code of Thundera. I will not give in to your demands. I have a choice now and I would rather die."

The smug look slowly fell from the leader's face and was replaced by red-cheeked rage. "You tricked us!" he yelled. "You said that when we had given you the cure, you would kill these Custodis. Your Code means nothing if you lie and double deal!"

Lion-O remained calm. "On the contrary, I said that I would discuss the matter. I made no promises to kill them. If you thought that, then that was your mistake."

"You will die without that cure," the grey creature sneered. "Then what will your friends do? You already told us that they cannot afford to lose you."

"They'll manage," Lion-O said. "The Sword of Omens will chose another to wield it in the name of Justice, Truth, Honour - and - Loyalty."

The last words were a struggle. He tried to ignore it, but the unchecked spread of the poison through his system was making his limbs leaden. Even his breathing was coming in painful gasps. He knew he was dying, but as he had told Tygra, this was the way it had to be.

Seeing his worsening condition, a nervous twittering started up amongst the gathering. "This is intolerable," said the leader of the Custodis. "You will obey us yet. Kill his friends!" Out came the blowpipes and their lethal darts were once again aimed at the Thundercats.

"Go!" Lion-O called to them. "Leave while you can. Just -" A spasm ripped through his chest and the pain brought him to his knees. And then his friends were at his side, supporting him as he collapsed back into their arms. "Go," he said weakly. "It doesn't matter about me. As long as you are all safe..."

"Oh, stop being so noble," Cheetara gently chided him, unable to prevent a quake slipping into her voice. "What were you thinking, Lion-O? Why have you done this?"

"Go," he said again. "The Custodis will kill you if you don't go."

She glared defiance at the gathering around them. "They can go jump off a cliff if they're feeling suicidal. They won't get any satisfaction out of us. Right?" she said to the others.

"Sure thing, Cheetara," said Panthro.

"United we stand or we don't stand at all," said Tygra.

"Brr, they could kill us all and we still wouldn't agree to their demands," growled Snarf. He paused and scratched his head. "Did I say that right?"

"Close enough," said Panthro. "I say it's time to get tough with these wise guys!"

Before anyone could move, a sudden wind whipped up the dust and the air was filled with bright and noisy flashes. In the midst of chaos that saw the Custodis dashing in confusion in all directions, WilyKit and WilyKat leapt out from behind the Thundertank and grinned at their friends.

"Hey, don't forget us," said WilyKit.

"Yeah, fancy thinking you could leave us behind," added her brother. "We - er - hitched a ride," he said, jerking his thumb towards the tank's rear compartment.

"I thought we told you to stay with the Warrior Maidens," Panthro scolded them.

"It's what you said," WilyKit said. "We're Thundercats too, you know. United we stand - and we can't stand without you guys."

"Well, we could certainly do with the help," Panthro said.

With the dust settling, the Custodis had grown brave and emerged from their hiding places with blowpipes at the ready. An age seemed to pass as each side sized up the other. From sheer force of numbers alone, the Custodis had the upper hand. Yet they seemed to be waiting.

While the stalemate persisted, Tygra knelt down beside Lion-O and, lifting his arm, took his pulse. "Weak," he said to Cheetara, before looking down at him. "If only you'd stabbed yourself in the leg with that poison, we might have a little leeway."

"Sorry," Lion-O mumbled. "I didn't - think about it - at the time." Pain in his upper chest made him cry out and clench Cheetara's hand tightly. "Thank you - for standing by me - and - and for being my friends," he said as best he could from between gritted teeth. "Don't - think - too badly - of me."

"Don't die on us," Cheetara said with tears now streaming down her cheeks. "What will we do without you? Hang on, Lion-O. Don't leave us."

He tried to smile for her, but even that was too great a struggle. As he stared up at her, his breath caught in his throat and almost choked him. Panic flashed through his mind as he tried to breathe and found he could not. Then, through the black mire of unconsciousness, he became vaguely aware of someone forcing air into his starved lungs.

"Somebody do something," he could hear Cheetara crying. "You, Leader person, if someone has to die here today, let it be me. My life for his. For my friend, for Lion-O, I would give it willingly."

"Yes, I believe you would," said the leader. "But that is not required of you today."

Somewhere in the background, Lion-O could just catch the sound of someone approaching at a run. There came the scuffing of feet somewhere close, then cold glass was pressed to his lips. A burning liquid filled his mouth and tore down his gasping throat leaving a fiery trail in its wake. Confusion and looming unconsciousness was banished and before he knew what he was doing he had sat bolt upright, fighting for breath.

"What in Jaga's name was that?" he coughed. A pair of furry arms suddenly wrapped themselves around his neck and he looked down into Snarf's relieved face.

"Weeow, my little Lion-O," Snarf chirruped. "You're all right!"

"Yes, Snarf, I'm all right," he said. "But I thought..." Looking around, he saw the leader of the Custodis smiling at him. "You gave me the cure," he said, pushing himself up to his feet. He swayed a little and had to lean on Tygra to support himself. "Why did you do that, after all you said?"

"It is a great leader indeed, who can inspire such devotion from his followers," said the grey creature.

"They aren't my followers," Lion-O corrected him. Looking from one smiling face to another, he knew exactly what they were. "I'm pleased to be able to call them my friends," he said.

"It is the mark of good people, who would lay down their lives for their friends and their beliefs. It would have easy for you to kill us and save yourselves. But instead, you, Lion-O, chose to sacrifice yourself, so that your friends could escape. At the same time, your friends would not leave you to your fate. They put themselves in danger to stand with you."

"What do you care?" said WilyKit. "You wanted to kill us a minute ago. You still haven't explained why you didn't. Not that I'm complaining," he added quickly.

In answer, the leader of the Custodis bowed his head. Lion-O and the others watched as his body began to fade until he was nothing more than a small grey ghost. The other Custodis also underwent a similar transformation until they too became mere shadows of their former selves. The great purple gem atop the leader's staff glowed and gathered them unto itself. Around its light they swirled, a great mass of ethereal mist, from which came the voices of many speaking as one.

"We are the Custodis," they said. "We are the guardians of Terra Tertius. When we first came to this planet, this was a young world, without stain. Over the years, others came and brought with them great evil. Under Mumm-ra, the forces of darkness held sway and we were defeated. We retreated to this place and waited for the day when those would come with goodness in their hearts to defeat the evil that afflicts this world. Many have come and claimed to fight on the side of good, and we have tested them all and found them wanting."

"Like Fayna and the Warrior Maidens?" asked Panthro.

"They were brave and just," said the Custodis, "but we knew that they would never be able to defeat Mumm-ra alone."

"But I thought that Fayna faced your test and won," said Cheetara.

"Win she did, for she was not afraid to die for that in which she believed. But her warriors proved to be more obedient and they left when she told them to go. They fought with their heads and not their hearts, and that is why they would never be able to defeat Mumm-ra. If logic alone could defeat that Ever-Living Servant of Evil, we would have defeated him centuries ago. Sometimes, reason must be tempered with passion. Such qualities we have found in you, Thundercats."

"Nice way you have of going about it," muttered Snarf. "You could've just asked us, snarf, snarf."

"Forgive us," said the Custodis. "We had to see if you were the ones. We lured you here, as we have lured many before you, and we tested you. You have proved yourselves to be truly worthy. We can now leave this world, knowing that Terra Tertius is in safe hands."

A loud crack sounded as the gem shattered. Purple light enfolded the swirling mass and carried it up. The sun broke from behind a cloud and they spiralled upwards on its rays. Higher and higher they went until they melted into the greater glow of the heavens and disappeared.

"Thank Jaga they're gone," said Snarf, mopping his brow. "Real friendly sort of fellas, weren't they?"

"They meant well," Lion-O said.

"Meant well? Brr, they wanted to kill us! My little boy almost died!"

"Yes, don't do that again, Lion-O," Cheetara said. "My nerves are bad enough without you pulling a stunt like that."

"I'm sorry, but I had to take the chance," he said.

"A stupid one, if you ask me," muttered Snarf.

"It was no worse than what you all did," Lion-O retorted. "How silly was that?"

"That was different," said Cheetara. "We're supposed to do things like that for our leader."

"Don't argue with her, you'll never win," Tygra said, as he helped Lion-O towards the Thundertank. "But next time, will you trust us and tell us what you're planning?"

"And would you have let me go through with it if you had known?"

"No, probably not. All the same, you did well, Lion-O."

"It's what Jaga said. I had a choice between what was right and wrong. To kill them would have been wrong, so that left only one option."

"Well, Jaga might have said what was going to happen," Snarf huffed. "Instead of almost giving poor old Snarf a heart attack. Weeow, I thought our number was up."

"But the main thing is that it wasn't," said WilyKat. "We stood together and we came up trumps. How's that for teamwork?"

"Hey, kid, leave the philosophising to your elders," Panthro chuckled. "If anyone's gonna come out with smart remarks, it'll be me."

"You don't get much smarter than this," said Lion-O. "Thundercats - Ho!"

The others joined in and, laughing, they piled in the tank and roared away from the Mountain of Destiny. Lion-O watched as it vanished into the distance and reflected that yet another brush with disaster had been narrowly averted. It had been close, but then again it usually was. They had come through it, stronger and closer than ever, and lived to fight another day. If they ever wondered at times whether their struggles were worth it, they would remember the Custodis and know that, however much Mumm-ra or the Mutants tried to get rid of them, at least someone on Third Earth was glad of their presence.

The End

THUNDERCATS, characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Ted Wolf. All rights reserved. Stories, characters and incidents mentioned in this work are entirely fictional. Characters, names, etc. are used without permission and the above story has no official endorsement. This is a work of fan fiction, for entertainment purposes only and certainly not for profit. No infringement of rights is intended nor is any harm meant by its creation and existence. If this work brings a little happiness into this dreary old world, then so much the better. May you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Thundercats Forever! Ho!

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