Part One: Living Traitors

Sequel to: Sorcerer and Sorceress

Chapter One: Ratha

“Help Please! Anyone!”

Kit stiffened and her brother took the microphone. They had started to doze off. It was a good thing this came in otherwise Pantro would have found them ‘asleep on the job’ and they would have been left with some pretty sore rears.

“This is WilyKat of the Thundercats from Third Earth. What’s the trouble?”

“Thundercats? How many? Names, please boy!”

The twins shrugged but answered. “Myself, WilyKat. My sister, WilyKit. Our Lord, Lion-o. Our psychic, Cheetara. Pantro, our prime mechanic. Tygra, our architect. Bengali is our blacksmith and Pumyra our doctor.-‘

“Physician,” Kit corrected. Kat shot her an evil eye but went on,

“Snarf is our chef but can fight as can his mechanic nephew Snarfer. Lynx-o is our source of history. Now what’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry child,” the person said softly. There was so much static the twins couldn’t tell if it was a girl or man. “It just I’ve just been chased from my adopted planet by…corrupted THUNDERIANS!”

The twins nearly fell over. Kit dropped the charm she’d been playing with and felt her mouth drop open. She looked to her brother and mouthed no, no way.

WilyKat merely fought down tears and spoke to her softly, “Kit go get Lion-o. Then he’ll decide what to do.”

She nodded. Then, as she turned to head down the corridors a sound made her blood run cold.

“Please Help! I just lost my first engine.”

Kit stopped running. Throwing her arms to her sides, she called upon the power that had recently made itself known to her. A bright flash engulfed her, then as always, her body turned transparent before disappearing completely.

Lion-o tensed when a voice echoed through his head,

Lion-o! Get up NOW!

“WilyKit?” he asked sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes. He looked around but saw no one. He remembered, out of the blue, the child’s new found powers. Gulping because she used them rarely, he jumped up, wrapping a robe around his body.

“WilyKit?” he called again, getting to his feet.

A bright flash of light erupted in front of him. As it dimmed, Kit reappeared. Lion-o threw on his uniform and the child grabbed him by the elbow. He didn’t bother with questions as Kit dragged him from the room toward the control room.

Lion-o didn’t whistle as he had last time the kitten had used her power. As he was towed away, the child’s added beauty faded. Her waist length mane became the same as before, the color of it, her eyes, fur and lips dimmed. The faint glow dulled before vanishing away into oblivion.

“What’s wrong Kit?” he finally asked as she pulled him through the door to the control panel. Her brother handed him a sheet of paper with some location marks on it.Then, Kit spoke, addressing her Lord.

“We got a distress call from a Thunderian, I think.”

Kat nodded.

“She/he said that they were chased from their adopted planet by corrupted Thunderians.”

The lion dropped the sheet of paper. He stared at them both. The twins merely nodded. Lion-o felt a twinge of nausea. He always felt a little sick when he heard of more Thunderians like Grune.Especially when they attacked others of their kind. It went against the Code of Thundera and everything the Thundercats stood for.

He spoke again.

“Okay, you two stay here. Your guard shift isn’t over yet. I’ll take Cheetara and Tygra. Pantro will feel upset if he finds out I left without him so tell him only three were needed and he helped last time.”

Normally, the kittens resented being left behind but they knew their countryman could be dying so they nodded. Lion-o nodded back and took down the hall to retrieve his other teammates.

“I don’t believe this, Lion-o,” Cheetara commented as Tygra drove the Thundertank across the landscape at a good speed. “I thought we’d seen the last of corrupted Thunderians. The last thing we need is another Grune.”

“Cheetara,” Lion-o said slowly. “I think it’s more than one. The kittens said that this Thunderian said they’d been driven from their home. That would take an army.”

The Thundercats fell silent for a time as they let this sink in. One bad Thundercat was enough. But now they were talking about a whole group turned rotten. The Thundercats fought down a wave of nausea. They felt sick. Cheetara sighed and put a hand to her forehead to try and stop the throbbing pain.

Tygra tried to choke down the panic and sorrow that was building like a blockade in his throat. Whenever someone turned on his countrymen he felt that awful twinge of disgust and sorrow rise in his heart.

Cheetara felt troubled. Something kept warning her that something deeper was present here. She knew it was her sixth sense but refused to let it bug her. She knew she should probably say something but didn’t want her friends having anything else to worry about.

“Lion-o!” Tygra called suddenly and put his finger to a glowing dot on the small screen in the Thundertank. “Look we’re close to the wreck only a few more miles!”

Their lord nodded. Cheetara spoke up.

“Hurry Tygra! They could be hurt!”

The architect nodded. “Right Cheetara. Full Burn!”

    The tank suddenly fired up and sent them all shooting forward. They all clutched at the rough metal desperately. As the tank rumbled over the landscape, they could already see the smoke from the wreck.

As soon as they arrived all of the adults leapt out. The ship was very small. It was maybe half the size of the Feliner if that. The surface of it in itself was solid black. However like all Thunderian ships the symbol of the Noble Thundercats. They stepped up to it cautiously. A huge crack was heard and then slowly a section of the ship tumbled and fell onto the ground. This was followed by a loud moan of pain. Feminine.

The Thundercats shot panicked looks at each other.

“Lion-o!” Cheetara cried. “We have to get her out. She sounds hurt, badly.”

He nodded and they all as if on a cue ran for the ship. Working together, they managed to move the metal and debris aside enough to get inside. The ship was surprisingly simple. There were only about three suspension capsules. They were all crushed. One had a thin line of blood trickling from the shattered metal.

They immediately hurried to that capsule. A young female was pinned beneath it. She looked about twenty-two. She was of the white tiger clan. Tygra felt a rush of panic. She wasn’t of his orange tiger clan but she was a tiger nonetheless. That made her as much a sister to him as a blood relative.

The Thundercats immediately took action. Grabbing a section of the metal they all said at the same time, “HO!”

The capsule moved easily but the young tigress was weak from loss of blood. She was unconscious. Tygra knelt by her and lifted her upper body to check her vital signs. He held her as he would the Thunderkittens, gently and with as much love as a father cradling a newborn cub.

“Tygra,” Cheetara asked slowly. “Is she?”

He shook his head. “If we can hurry her to the sickbay fast, she stands a chance.”

The Thundercats nodded. Without another word, Tygra stood up, cradling the young woman in his strong arms. She was pretty as most females were. Her fur was the same shade as Bengali’s but it was silky. Like all feminine Thunderians, her fur wasn’t coarse like a male’s but thin and silky.

Her mane fell to her knees and was snow-white. There were three black strips that rose from the bangs and traveled in wavy patterns to the shoulder length before becoming a single strip. He wasn’t attracted to her but he felt a link to this woman. She was of his kind.

The Thundercats hurried outside to the Thundertank. Tygra climbed in back while Cheetara called the Lair and Lion-o drove.

“Thunderkittens, I told you that you could go to bed an hour ago.” Pantro commented as he looked back around to find the Thunderkittens looking back at him. WilyKat shrugged.

“We know Pantro, we…we’re not tired.”

The panther swallowed a laugh as the little one smuggled a yawn. His sister was leaning against the chair he was sitting in. He tried again as he stole a glance at the clock.

“Kit, Kat, it’s three in the morning. I know you’re tired. You must be. Go to bed.”

They sighed but shook their heads. “Can’t Pantro,” Kat said softly slowly. He was dead-tired. The panther got up and walked over to him and his sister.

“Yes, you can,’ he declared crossing his strong arms. He pointed to the stairs. “And you need to go now.”

Sensing arguing was futile; the kittens sighed again and nodded. Kit, exhausted tore up the stairs first, anxious for the bed’s comfort even though she knew that her countryman could be dying. Her brother stalled. WilyKat turned back around and stared into the control room.

“Pantro!” The Thundercat picked the microphone up.

“Pantro here, go ahead Lion-o.”

“We found her. She’s barely conscious but we got her name, Ratha. We’ll find out more after she’s rested. We think she’ll be okay. But…”

“But what?”

“Pantro, she knows about Celeano.”

WilyKat jerked around and pressed himself against the wall. His heart was pounding. Celeano? What about her? What about that heartless demon? WilyKat felt the tears come before he could do anything about it. He was so caught up in his thoughts he didn’t notice.

Didn’t notice as he leaned against the wall, the bright red dove, identical to his birthmark that for ten seconds lit up like a star on his forehead.

Chapter Two: Feelings

Kat turned around. Pantro looked at him with a touch of irritation but mostly concern. He knew that WilyKat scarcely stayed up without his sister. The kitten stared at him. He shrugged. He didn’t have an answer.

“Well, what’s wrong?”

Kat sighed. Pantro knew him inside out. Of all the adults, he knew him and Kit best although Tygra came in a close second. He nodded clearly saying, ‘Yeah something is bugging me.’

Pantro drew the child into the control room and the kitten plopped at the adult’s feet on the cool tile. The panther stared down at him. Kat sighed again and leaned backward so that his back was soon hard against Pantro’s shins.

The adult rolled his eyes at the child’s reluctance but then lovingly gave his bright mane a ruffle. “What’s eating ya kideo?”

“I dunno,”

“You don’t know huh?”

        Kat nodded.

“You can’t fool me kitten. What is it?”

“Ratha, she said something about Celeano.”

In a split second, the panther caught on.

“You’re afraid she’s still around?”

The kitten put his head into his palms and nodded. Pantro put a hand in the child’s thick mane.“I know I beat her Pantro. With Kit. But what if it wasn’t permanent? What if she’s still around? What if she’s still a threat to us? Kit and I barely did her in. You guys helped.”

“Huh?” the panther said suddenly. “You never told us that.”

WilyKat nodded. “I wouldn’t have. We weren’t strong enough. We called for help. I remember that I was about to pass out and lower my arms but then it was as if you were lifting my arms up. Giving me strength and courage, I needed.”

“So you called on our souls huh?”

“Yeah, Thundercats stand or fall together.”

The panther nodded. The child continued.

“We then called upon innocence and then we both turned white. Or at least our clothes did. A yellow glow surrounded Kit and a blue glow around me. We beat her. I swore I saw her die but I’m not sure. I mean what if she just disappeared?”

“And what if she did die and you’re working yourself into a tizzy over absolutely nothing?” The adult countered, raising an eyebrow at the child. Kat shrugged and laid his head onto his knees. The panther stroked his hair again. He didn’t usually get so open or sentimental with the boy or his sister. But the poor thing looked absolutely worried sick.

An indication on the system showed an incoming message. Pantro turned around and the kitten stayed by him, a temple pressed against the Thundercat’s waist. Normally the panther would have shoved him away but tonight was different. The scent of anxiety was in the air.

“Pantro?” It was Cheetara this time.

“What’s up Cheetara?”

“We’re about ten minutes away. Lion-o says get sick bay ready.”

“Gotcha. Pantro out.”

The two Thundercats hung up. Pantro turned to the kitten, eyes shut with anxiety.

“WilyKat, Lion-o says-“

The Thundercat stopped and smiled. The kitten had his head in the panther’s lap, his eyes were closed. The last time he’d done that he’d been seven. Pantro looked down at him and remembered his dear friend, the child’s mother, Mighty Kitra. For the first time, he realized how much the child took after her.

Slipping his arms underneath the kitten, Pantro lifted him and cradled him in his arms. It had been so long since he’d actually carried him. He didn’t feel heavy because for starters WilyKat’s clan, the small cat clan, were naturally small and usually the heaviest ones grew to be one-hundred and twenty pounds, if that. The tiny kitten he had in his arms had weighed seventy-five at his last physical with Tygra.

Second, Pantro’s strength made it easier. His clan was naturally large and strong so when the kitten was fully-grown he could probably still pick him up. The kitten stirred in the adult’s arms but didn’t awaken.

Pantro took the stairs. He shifted WilyKat so that his back was pressed against Pantro’s lower arm and his neck supported by his upper arm. The child’s legs dangled over his other arm. As the panther looked at him, he couldn’t stop thinking of how sweet and innocent he looked when he slept.

When he entered the kittens’ shared room, he saw WilyKit already asleep. Moving the kitten a tad so he held him with one arm, the panther moved aside the sheets and then laid the child down. He stayed and looked at him for a little bit before starting to leave. From the corner of his eye, he saw WilyKit had collapsed on top of her sheets. Grabbing the quilt, he draped it over her before going to prepare sickbay. Something inside of him, something deep, told him that if something ever happened to those two, his mighty pride would snap like a twig.

Chapter Three: Discussion

The young Thunderian stirred. Her eyes fluttered and then slowly but assuredly opened. Her eyes were a deep blue. They were wide and seemed to take in everything around her. She seemed a little afraid but soon relaxed.

“Yes?” she managed to stammer. The tiger put a hand to her forehead and felt her pain again. She was beginning to wish she’d never agreed to do this. She wanted to go home. She wanted nothing more then to just be able to leave.

“How do you feel?” he asked gently. She smiled.

“Better than I did.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Do you feel up to meeting a few people?”

She grinned and nodded.

The tiger left her and then came back followed by his teammates. Ratha smiled at the young twins who came in by the panther. They were rubbing their eyes trying to get the sleep out. It was very early. Too early for kittens to be up. She realized. It was only a quarter after four. In the morning.

“Well Ratha,” Tygra said. “As I said I’m Tygra. This” he continued, gesturing to the lion beside him, “Is Lion-o, our lord. This is Cheetara,” he motioned to the tall cheetah behind him. Turning to the large panther, “Pantro our mechanic.” He smiled and the twins and pulled them a little closer. “These are WilyKit and WilyKat.”

“Greetings, Thundercats,” she said solemnly.

She paused to draw her breath then continued.

“I want to thank you for saving me. I was really afraid that dark-hearted brat was gonna do me in.”

“What dark headed brat?” Tygra inquired.

She spat. “Cesira. Celeano’s daughter.”

The Thunderkittens fell back. Pantro and Cheetara caught them before they could collapse. The two merely put a hand to their head and began saying over and over, “No, no! Not another one!”

Ratha looked at them. Then she turned to Lion-o.

“What’s wrong?”

The Thundercat Lord said gently, “Their mother was killed Celeano.”

“Oh,” she looked ashamed then turned to the kittens. They had stepped away from the adults and we’re gently massaging their foreheads. When the adults pressed closer to the Thunderian they remained backward.

“I think that she wants to conquer the universe. Turn it evil. Do what her mom couldn’t.”

The Thundercats nodded. The Thunderian girl continued.

“But she shouldn’t be that powerful. It’s like she has someone else inside her.”

Suddenly, without warning, WilyKat’s world spun. The floor beneath his feet swirled and he tumbled back, just as Kit fell to her knees to catch him in her arms.

Chapter Four: Trouble

“A washcloth now!”

“Stop shouting!”

WilyKat moaned and stirred slightly. A smooth hand caressed his face and he immediately knew from the feel that it was his sister. Then, a smooth coolness touched his face as she dabbed a damp washcloth over his skin.

He moaned. Kit called to the others. “Let me talk to him. Get out.”

Apparently they obeyed because she started talking.

“Come on WilyKat, wake up.”

His eyes fluttered and he was suddenly staring into bright amber eyes glittering with worry. Kit beamed but when Kat tried to sit up, she shoved him back down onto the bed. He flushed realizing that she had pushed him down by his bare chest. He was naked. He realized why because he felt the now faint fever in him that apparently had been much higher.

“Shh,” she told him, in her don’t-you-DARE-argue-with-me voice. “You need to rest. You’ve been out for two hours.

“WHAT!” he struggled to sit up again. Kit pushed him back down. He looked at her for a minute for trying it again. She once again pushed him back.

“WILYKAT!” she ordered like a mother. “Lie still and stay like that until I tell you otherwise or I’ll restrain you!”

Kat smiled slightly. “You sound like Mom.”

Kit swallowed but didn’t say anything about it. Kat stared into her deep amber eyes. For the first time, he saw his mother in his sister. She smiled at him. That smile was so familiar. Kit had her mother’s smile, her mother’s eyes. Yet instead of feeling warmed as he should have felt Kat shivered as if from a chill.

Kit fell so she was on her knees. She was looking her brother in the face now.

“What’s wrong, Kat?”

He shrugged. Kit looked surprised and even a touch hurt. Her brother told her everything. But he didn’t tell her this?

“Oh Kit,” he said upon seeing her hurt face, “I want to tell you but the truth is I don’t know myself.”

She seemed to relax. She smiled and pulled herself up to sit by him. She pulled his head up so she held it in-between her hands. She wound a finger into his unruly mane, playing with it, winding it around one finger. He leaned against her desperately as if all the strength had left him.

“Kit?”

“Yeah?”

“Why do you think Cesira turned rotten?”

The feminine child seemed a little surprised but shrugged. “Don’t know. Having Celeano for a mother probably didn’t help. I mean, you have to have some love to have even a chance of being raised right, right?”

“Yeah, but there’s something deeper. I know it. I don’t know how but I just know. I also think that she has a little something up her sleeve even her mother didn’t think of.”

“Whoa! You tellin’ me you think that this Cesira is even more evil than her MOTHER?”

He shrugged. “Don’t know. Just a feeling.”

Kit sighed. She didn’t admit it to anyone but her brother but even four months later, she still had nightmares about that cold-hearted bitch. She always still saw the murders of her friends. She often woke up screaming and soaked in sweat. Once or twice she had crawled into bed with her brother for comfort, something she hadn’t done since she was six. He needed her as much as she needed him although being male he was little more embarrassed about admitting it.

Kat leaned even further into his sister’s side, she played with his hair a little more as he started to daze off. She started to pass out herself. The two leaned against each other desperately. Kat’s last words before dreams were: “Why do I smell trouble that is hidden by a good face?”

Chapter Five: Passed in Cold Blood

A small moth fluttered in front of her face. She glared at it. It seemed to shudder a little. Then, Cesira reached out with her hands and wrapped her fingers around it. In a rage and bored, she crushed the insect and then looked down at her hands. The creature’s insides were smeared over her hands.She smirked and wiped the remains on the grass.

Walking through the dark night air, her black dress ruffled in waves around her.

“Cesira.”

The child whirled around eyes wide and her nails pinched into her hands. A strange shadow suddenly appeared in front of her. She sneered and then spat with distaste. She knew this shadow. It had the same voice that had been haunting her for the past few nights in her dreams.

“Hello Cesira.” The voice hissed.

“What do you want?”

She tossed her black hair over her shoulder and walked right through the shadow. The shadow pursued her. She wasn’t scared. Nothing scared her. Absolutely nothing. She was Celeano’s daughter. The one demon that had frightened her was dead now. And good riddance to the bitch. By the spirits, she didn’t need her. The only thing she had to thank her for was the fact that she’d had her.

Had it been up to her mother, she wouldn’t be here. But her grandmother, on her mother’s side, had demanded a grandchild. She had stated that if their power was to live on and eventually reign supreme, there must be an heir.

So her mother had complied. Mostly because she knew that her mother was right. She must have someone to pass her power and evil onto. So her mother had taken a man from off the streets, long ago and raped him. Then with the ability to produce a child, had gone to her mother and had her bless the unborn creature. She refused to call it her “child.”

Even before she died when she had explained to her daughter what she must live up to, she hadn’t called her “Daughter” once. She had always referred to her as either, “Cesira,” or “you little wench.”

She didn’t love her.

Celeano loved no one. Absolutely no one.

When she had killed the Thundercats she had watched the twins for a few days just enjoying them drowning themselves in tears. Cesira remembered sneaking behind her mother to watch in fascination and joy at the twins’ sorrow.

She remembered watching WilyKat in particular. He was fun to watch. He was reluctant to reveal his feelings like most male Thunderians but when he did, it was a sight.

She remembered watching him collapse on his bed, crying, weeping until his eyes grew puffy and his throat dry. She remembered him holding his sister and holding his own tears in until she had fallen into dreams. Then he would pull her close, bury his face into her mane and weep like that.

She recalled him stepping outside the night they all perished, and the look on his face. The emptiness of his eyes, the lack of life on his face. She remembered the sorrow in his heart that she had seen clearly on his face.

She was different herself. She was one of those people that anyone within a foot of her could feel the evil vibrations coming from her. Her mother had killed Kitra. She remembered her bragging about that. She also bragged about the fact her father had killed the kittens’ father, an immortal ‘god.’ They weren’t really gods just immortal Thunderian sorcerers.

“Hello Celeano,” Cesira said to the shadow without surprise. She knew her mother would find someway to get in on the twins’ destruction. She had failed against them in direct combat and now when they were defeated would try to steal all the credit.

“Cesira,” Celeano commented her as she walked away. “Listen to me.”

“Why should I?”

“Because, I said you have to and if you don’t, I swear you’ll end up like Luther did!”

“Oooo, I’m sooo scared,” Cesira sneered tossing her black hair over her shoulder. “Whatcha gonna do? Haunt me to death?”

The shadow sneered and then growled in agitation. She knew she couldn’t do much. Matter of fact, haunting seemed the only option, for now.

“Perhaps,” she growled. “Perhaps not.”

Cesira was getting bored. Her mother had been talking to her in her dreams lately. Now she had to deal with the bitch in the day too? Jeez! She ignored her words mostly and pushed away again. But then the next words that she heard stopped her cold.

“I’ve figured out how to escape from hell.”

Chapter Six: Passed in Righteous Blood

He glanced down and felt his eyes fall on his sister. She had her eyes shut but tightened her protective grip on her brother subconsciously. He gently pried her fingers off and slid his feet to the ground.

Getting up, he grabbed a robe from the hook on the wall by his bed and wrapped it around him. With pausing steps, he walked to the edge of his window and stared out into the night. It had been two days since Ratha had appeared. Unlike the others who tried to get close to her and offer her comfort, Kat stayed as far away from her as possible. His sister acted the similar.

WilyKat’s thoughts began to wander. He didn’t tell anyone but he was beginning to doubt himself. He had fainted. How would he act upon confronting this Cesira? Could he face her? Could he?

He turned his gaze back to his sister. She stirred and flung her arm into midair. He felt a smile escape his lips. Then, he diverted his look back outside. The stars were bright but WilyKat felt anything but comforted.

He pulled his arms around him in a desperate attempt at warmth. His eyes closed. He spread apart his arms and felt the night air blow his hair and fur around. It helped a little. The coolness of the air against his face let him fell like there couldn’t’ t possibly be any evil out there. But like many others, the Thunderkitten knew of the ancient prophecy. All things must be in balance. There can be no good without evil, no love without hate, no heaven without hell, no light without darkness, and no innocence without guilt.

But it works in reverse too, Kat reminded himself. That means that evil can’t live without goodness, hate can live without love, hell can’t exist without a heaven, darkness can’t thrive without light, and guilt can’t survive without innocence.

He thought back. Way, way, way back. To a time when he wasn’t alive. To where no one was alive. His mother had told him about it.

He remembered now:

Long ago, a very long time ago, before there were Thunderians, before Lunatacks, and before Mutants, before the Sword of Omens was created, before suns formed, before there was such a thing as time, the universe was desolate place.

But it wasn’t to be forever. No, soon there was a swirl of flashes and glows, and ribbons began to twirl around in the blackness of the fourth dimension. Some were golden some blue but most were black and white. The white was dormant. Its power couldn’t be unleashed yet.

But the black ribbons took to work immediately. As the bands swirled about, throughout the stillness of space came a huge flash. Then gradually, things began to move ever so slowly. Time had been created.

WilyKat shook his head. All this thinking back was giving him a headache. But he couldn’t stop. Something told him that soon he would be reminded of this; something would put it to the test.

The universe was awful then. The evil ribbons, the black ones had created time but it had been useless. Everyone was all hate and no love. Blood was a common sight. Children went out and butchered animals and each other for the mere joy of it.

Men went out and pushed women around because they could. They would sometimes rip their limbs off their bodies just to hear them scream. They would tear their clothes off and force them onto the ground. No matter the place, it was common to hear screams as the men wrenched open the female’s legs and forced themselves into her. They would often hammer their fluids into her until she screamed tears streaming down her cheeks. Then they would release their grip and rip and tear at her with their nails until their cheeks were bloody smears. Sometimes, they let her live. But it was more common to hear the snap as they twisted their necks until they snapped like twigs.

Women were no better. They often went out and tormented the children. They would wrench their clothes off and whip and spank them until they fell to the ground weeping. Then up the children would come, ripped up by the scuff of their necks. They would be flung from place to place screaming as the deadly blows took their lives. But most were kept conscious to hear them suffer as they were coated with oil and set aflame.

But then she came. The savor. With her birth, the white ribbons came to life. They swirled forth and buried the black ribbons with their power. People grew joyous with love. The men and women began to marry and fall in love. Children played with each other without any killing and only occasional fights arouse.

To prevent them eternal torment and guilt, Altina, the most powerful Thunderian goddess, cast a spell of amnesia of them all. Only the Thunderian sorcerers and sorceresses were unaffected. So they passed the knowledge onto their kittens, so that such a horrid place would never happen to exist again.

“The gods,” Kat thought. ‘The one things that held more power than my mother and us. They are immortal. Cool.”

He smiled. He was beginning to feel better about himself. His mother had passed her power to them. She’d also passed her knowledge of right and wrong to them. Love and innocence lived on, passed through righteous blood.

Chapter Seven: Family Secrets

The Black Pyramid.

The stones glistened in the faint light from the lightning and Cesira grinned an evil smile. How perfectly well, perfect. The scenery fit her purposes. She neared the wall of the stone structure. Putting her hand on the cool bricks, they slid apart almost immediately forming a doorway for her.

She stepped inside and felt a swift wind blow into her face. It was moist but stale. The air around her felt murky and heavy. She felt dust at her feet and kicked at it absentmindly. It raised quite a cloud and the dark sorceress continued through it, letting the particles brush her skirt.

The tunnel seemed to stretch on forever. Bats circled overhead and they comforted her. One however landing on her shoulder and was definitely think of having her blood for dinner. But when she turned enough to catch it glance with her eyes, it took off immediately.

The bats always knew her.

In fact any creature of the night knew her. If they were blind, they knew her smell. If they were deaf they knew her eyes. If they were deaf and blind they knew her texture. Had they no senses at all, a strange sense echoing from around her screamed, EVIL.

Cesira felt her mind wander. She remembered what had happened after her mother had told her she could come back, solid and twice as powerful.

“Well,” Cesira sneered at her mother. “Pin a rose on your nose.”

Celeano glared at her. It was a look that would have halted anyone else. It was a look that would have made the mighty Thundercats tremble and cry in fear. Cesira spat and laughed as if she’d seen the funniest thing in the world.

The dark sorceress reached out and grasped at her daughter’s neck with razor sharp nails. Her fingertips went straight through her. She cursed under her breath, “Whore.”

“Takes one to know one.”

Celeano glared at her daughter. Cesira tossed back her black hair. Her mother’s words went in one ear and out the other. Nothing she said mattered. She’d failed. Now, a true sorceress would take over.

“Escape if you want, bitch,” Cesira spat. “But don’t expect me to return to you. From now on, I go alone.”

“And I mean it,” Cesira sneered to herself as she treaded deeper into the pyramid. The corridors were slowly becoming thinner but she wasn’t bothered. Some might have been from being squeezed so tight in a murky hallway, but not her.

She remembered that her father had been. He had been a First Earth Prince. The sands she was walking on, were almost the same as the sand on which she’d been conceived. Her father was named Ramonas. He ruled a country near Egypt. When he finally got married and had children by his own choice, he’d moved to Egypt. By doing so, he gave up his throne but he was convinced that he was finally happy.

But he didn’t know. He didn’t know that when Celeano raped him, she had purposely inserted some of her black magic into his bloodstream.When she left him, she erased his memory but her dark sorcery still flowed through his veins.

He had six children. Three girls and three boys. The girls were perfectly normal. They grew up normally. The two older boys were fine. But the youngest, Mishra, was different. When he turned thirteen, he began to change.

He grew bitter and unfriendly. Whenever someone was kind to him, he snapped back for him or her to mind his or her own business and leave him alone!

This reason led him to become an outcast. He never married. In fact, he couldn’t even stand the sight of married couples anymore, even his own parents. He regarded them with a disgusted look.

Then, he vanished. He was never seen again.

Mumm-ra will help me. Cesira thought. He must.

“Who dares enter the home of Mumm-ra?” a voice boomed.

Cesira smiled. “Hello Mumm-ra. Don’t say you don’t remember me?”

He stepped out of the casket. He remembered her all right. Most didn’t but the Ancient Spirits had reminded him long ago of her. He looked deep into her eyes. The tension in the air was thick as molasses.

He sneered. She grinned.

“Yes, it’s me.”

“Hello Cesira.”

“Hello…brother.”

Chapter Eight: The Source of Pure Courage

“Thunderkittens?” a voice called in. Kat sat up and rubbed his eyes. Lion-o walked in and sat on the edge of the shared bed. Kat looked at Lion-o. He started to turn to his sister but Lion-o cut in.

“No WilyKat let her sleep. I really need to only talk to you.”

He motioned with his hand and WilyKat followed his lord out into the hallway. No one else was up.

“What is it Lion-o?” Kat slid his hands over his eyes trying to rub his sleep out. Lion-o knelt down in front of the kitten and put his hands onto his shoulders.

“Kat, listen. I’m really sorry to wake you up but I need to tell you something but your sister shouldn’t hear.”

“But Lion-o, I…” Kat started.

Lion-o shook his head and then put his finger onto the kitten’s lips. “Yes, I know. You don’t have any secrets from your twin. But trust me on this one, okay?”

Kat swallowed hard but nodded.

“Good. Now listen. Ratha’s told us that Cesira is still out to kill you two.”

WilyKat rolled his eyes. “You guys aren’t gonna become those parents-from-hell to us again are you?”

Lion-o laughed. “No, you’ve shown us you can take care of yourselves but I do want you to be careful okay?”

“Yeah okay but tell me Lion-o. What did you really want to tell me?”

Lion-o sighed. “Okay. Ratha wants us to check out her home. She lives in a cave on Hook Mountain right now. I want you to go and check it out.”

“Me?”

“Yes,” the Thundercat tightened his grip on the cub’s shoulders. “You are the only one who can do it WilyKat. Your sister’s good at sleuth but you’re excellent. You think before you rush in headlong. Most of the time,” he added with a small smile. “But your sister rushes into things. I just want you to find out what she’s up to, understand? You get in and get out. Nothing else.”

“Me?” he asked again and felt the edge of a panic. “All by myself?”

“Yes,”

Kat stared at his lord with wide and frightened eyes. By Jaga, he didn’t work alone! He..he couldn’t do this. He turned his face from his lord and fought down tears that only came with fear and anxiety.

“Lion-o?” he asked without turning around.

“Yes?”

“Ratha, I don’t trust her.”

“Why?” he asked pulling the kitten close to him again. Kat shrugged and tried to hide his tears with the back of his hand. He wiped them away but they left red strains on his fur. Lion-o looked at him. The kitten shrugged as an answer.

“Lion-o, I’m scared of her. Of Cesira.”

The lion smiled at the kitten. He looked up at his lord with wide and frightened eyes. Eyes more suited for a tiny cub than a teenage kitten. Lion-o’s grin faded. He looked at WilyKat.

“I mean,” the kitten continued. “I know I shouldn’t be…but I’m not brave like you. I’m not.”

Lion-o looked at the child a while. Then he looked over his shoulder toward his sister. She was still asleep. The Lord of the Thundercats returned his glance to the tiny kitten standing in front of him with ruffled nightclothes, hair and tear streaked cheeks.

The lion put a hand on the child’s back. “WilyKat? Come with me. I want to show you something.”

The kitten wisely followed him.

Lion-o opened a door and led the child into the Sword Chamber. The Sword of Omens lay bathed in a yellowish light. The lion stepped over to the Sword and lifted it to his eyes. He imposed, “Sword of Omens! Give me sight beyond sight!”

The crossbars curled and showed the Lord what he wanted to see. He turned to WilyKat. He held the Sword firmly in one hand and brought the cub’s hands up with the other. He slipped the handle of the mystical Sword into the child’s hands. He looked at the little one. “Look through the Sword WilyKat.” He ordered.

Scared a little by his lord’s tone of voice, WilyKat did as he was told. Through a faint blue light of circles, he saw an image.

It was himself. In that awful battle against Celeano. He saw himself call upon the Ancient Forces of Thundera, the source of lightning. He saw himself running toward Celeano with his bare hands to save his sister.

He saw that despite the pain she inflicted, he kept coming. He saw his twin and himself call upon the forces and strength of their planet. He saw them call to their friends. He saw them finally summoning the full force of innocence.

He saw the dark Sorceress scream, threaten, and cry out. Then, he finally saw her die, his magic despite the odds, conquering her. He felt a surge of embarrassment as he remembered how scared he was. The Sword’s curled bars uncurled and the kitten handed the Sword back to his lord.

“Do you see what I’m getting at, WilyKat?” Lion-o asked as he replaced the Sword on its stand. He knelt to the child’s height. The kitten shook his head. Lion-o sighed. “I’m trying to show you that you are brave, kitten.”

Kat shook his head again. “No, I’m not. You wouldn’t have been afraid. I was. I was really scared. I thought several times that I’d rather die because then I wouldn’t have to deal with the terror anymore. Brave people aren’t scared. You guys aren’t. You always say so.”

Lion-o rolled his eyes and then smiled. “WilyKat, that’s my ego. I need some work, trimming that down. But tell me: what on Third Earth do Pantro and Tygra teach you two?”

Kat must have looked confused. “Basic stuff.”

Lion-o nodded. “Listen to me, kitten. Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, but not absence of fear. Understand?”

Kat nodded.

“I trust you kitten. I have faith in you. I know you can handle this and together, we’ll send that spawn of Celeano’s back to whatever hell she came from. And you have the courage to do it, okay?”

Kat threw his arms around Lion-o. Lion-o hugged him back.

“Thank you Lion-o, thank you.”

Chapter Nine: Hatching An Evil Plot

Now she wandered throughout her cave, smiling silently inside beaming.She’d made this cave herself. The plans she’d found were so ingenious, she was sure some long dead Thunderian scientist had thought them up.

The price for creating it had been several nights of pains in the legs, arms, and stomach cramps. The first night she remembered in particular.

“Sistina! SISTINA! Get your rear in here, damnit!”

The door slowly opened. The local Thunderian healer entered. She was sick of being treated as a underling. She sneered as she approached the Sorceress. She trembled upon seeing the mistress’s evil glare. She sank to her knees. Sistina was a phrase that meant: “You whore.” Cesira never called her by her name. She also wasn’t aware that whatever she did wasn’t by her own will. Cesira’s spell was controlling her.

“Yes, Mistress?”

“You didn’t tell me this spell would weaken and cause so much pain on me!”

“I-“

“Shut up!” Cesira spat. “Did I tell you to speak?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Don’t do it again. I saved you from your neglect ion. If you show disrespect toward me one more time, I swear that I will squeeze your head until I hear you skull fracture and crush your brain like a melon. Then, I will spit your blood in the faces of your countrymen!”

The feline trembled. Cesira grabbed her head to prove her point and pushed on it until her servant could bear the pain no longer and howled in pain. Cesira enjoyed this. She sank her nails into the woman’s temples until she drew blood. She pulled from the whorish Thunderian and ranked both her hands down the sides of her face.

Cesira smiled faintly, remembering the moment. She was about to set out to torture some of the rest of her prisoners when a voice called in, “Ma’am?”

Cesira whirled around, “Enter.”

The Thunderian female entered. It was the same one she’d tortured before. For the first time, she used her name. The name that would have given Lion-o pause with shock.

“Speak Pumyra.”

“I…we have spotted WilyKat coming. He was trying not to be seen but..”

“Enough Whore!”

She trembled and sank to her knees.

“Listen to me, bitch. I want firepower. Mutants aren’t strong enough and Queen Tartara and Tashi annoy me. My half-brother Mumm-ra’s too stubborn. My mother’s a whore and bitch in one. I’m going after those that know evil by name.”

“Wh..hat are you going to do?”

“You think I would waste energy using the full ounce of my power now? No you stupid witch! I’m going to do what my mother didn’t. Turn to people who know what they’re doing. Pumyra, listen to me.”

Pumyra swallowed hard.

Cesira’s voice had turned soft, light, dangerous.

“While I consider how to deal with the Thunderbrat, without killing him, need him alive to tell the others, you go and spread my evil.”

“What do you wish of me?”

“Go into Darkside and bring me Alluro and Chilla.”

Chapter Ten: Sorcery and Lunatacks: A Bad Combination

“So, you’re the deadly ‘Cesira’ everyone’s been talking about.”

Cesira tossed her hair over her shoulder. “That’s right Chilla. I’ve been observing you Lunatacks since I arrived here. You seem an intelligent race.”

Alluro sneered. “You obviously haven’t meet Luna.”

Cesira smirked back. For the first time in her life, she felt on equal terms with these…creatures. The female could hardly be a woman unless you used the word bitch. She was a cold and ruthless warrior. She was the kind of girl who would look evil in the face and not even flinch.

Now Alluro, he was a little different. But of all the other Lunatacks especially that little troll Luna, he was one of the smarter. With his psychic club, he could over will anyone and convince them to do whatever he wished. He would be useful.

“Yes Alluro,” she responded. “I haven’t and I don’t wish to. I need only you two to help me.”

Chilla spat. “Why should we help you?”

Cesira glared at her and the two icy stares met. Alluro crossed his arms. If a fight broke out, it would be interesting. Cesira suddenly laughed. She swept Chilla’s feet out from underneath her and pinned her to the ground, one foot pressed against her chest.

Chilla gasped in shock a second before the anger happened. She dug her claws into the girl’s leg and blew a blast of ice at her neck. It hit and for a second remained. Then, Cesira swept the ice from her throat and spun it back at Chilla. Chilla gasped in shock as her own breath encircled her neck.

She was unconcerned. Until the simple act of breathing became a chore then a task then finally impossible. The bitch was killing her with her breath! She frantically began tugging at her arms but some force held them down. She couldn’t concentrate either. She couldn’t melt the ice. This bitch was killing her!

Alluro meanwhile was taking in everything. When he saw Chilla’s magic flung back at her and then her unmoving he wasn’t concerned. He knew she was probably trying to take this Cesira by surprise. But then when Cesira pulled her up and she still didn’t move much he saw. She couldn’t breathe!

Alluro scarcely felt any feeling whatsoever but now he felt anger inside him that he never felt before. He leapt barehanded at the bitch and knocked Chilla from her. He soon had her on her back and was squeezing her throat with all his strength. Suddenly, she vanished from underneath him.

“What in the names of the gods…”

Suddenly a fierce laugh rung out. Alluro looked around his deep eyes alive with anger. He suddenly forgot about the Cesira problem and tore to Chilla. He lifted her up into his arms and stared down at her. Her face was paler than normal but she was also breathing normally again. He winced as he thought of what she would do if she found out this but then nevertheless climbed to his feet, cradling the Ice Lunatack in his arms.

“Ow, how touching.”

Alluro narrowed his eyes. “What do you want bitch?”

She suddenly reappeared, shaking her head and laughing. “Alluro, Alluro, Alluro,” she shook her head again. “Admit it! All these years and those years frozen in lava have meant nothing. You’re still carrying a torch.”

“If you have something to say, say it bitch from hell.”

“Oh, impatient are we?” she laughed again. “Alright. I want you two to do something for me. I need you to help with these worthless Thunderians. Torture them, drown them, you can kill them for all I care but I want Kitra’s children to myself.”

“Kitra’s children?”

“You know of Kitra?”

“Anyone with half a reason for living knows about her.”

“Yes,” Cesira nodded. Alluro felt Chilla stir but she remained unconscious for the most part.

“Her children?”

“You know them as the Thunderkittens.”

“What?!” Alluro screeched and nearly dropped Chilla. “Those little brats?”

“Yes. They killed my mother but I could care less about that. What I care about is one thing: innocence.”

“Innocence?”

“Yes, those little wretches carry the seed of it in their blood. Kill them and you kill innocence.”

“I’m up for that,” a hussy voice sneered. Alluro looked down. Chilla had woken up. He quickly set her down. She put a hand to his throat. “Don’t touch me again.”

“The male kitten’s coming now.”

Chilla spat ice. “I’ll ice the little twerp.”

“NO!”

The two stared at her. She thrust her hand to the sky. A bolt of lightning raced through the sky and penetrated the cave. It illuminated her. Her dark black eyes narrowed and then turned blood red.Her black hair rose over her head like flame. Much like her mother’s appearance in the Tower of Omens flames rose up from around her. But these were coal black. She spoke and for the first time a feeling rose from inside Chilla.

Fear.

She clutched Alluro and he stared at her. Her deep blue eyes were glittering with terror. He gulped because Chilla never unveiled her feelings. He turned back to Cesira.

“The wretches are mine.”

“However,” she said as Chilla regained her composure. “You can break them. I want you to help me here.” She waved her arm around. “These Thunderians are under my spell. The Thundercats will come for them. I need to you to keep the other Thundercats occupied. I have a way to break the twins. A plan not even my mother could have attempted.” She laughed again. “That’s why I don’t want the brat yet. He’ll tell his sister. Then, they’ll break gradually. Then, then we’ll get them.”

She smiled. It was an evil smile. “You two are the ones I chose. Out of the Lunatacks, you two have potential.”

The two Lunatacks exchanged glances, unsure of where this was headed. They finally shrugged and turned back to Cesira. Chilla spoke in her hiss of a voice.

“Where did all these Thunderians come from?”

“The Astral Plain.”

Alluro stared at her. “You brought them back from the dead?”

Cesira blew over the tops of her fingers. “Piece of cake. That’s why I need you. Most of these people can break through my spell at times. You need to rebreak them sometimes and remind them that their jobs are to constantly work on my plans. But sometimes breaking them isn’t enough. So…”

She stopped and then blew at the two from in-between her lips came a faint mist. It surrounded them both and they both glowed. “What was that?” Alluro demanded in unison with Chilla.

“A little magic. Didn’t do much. Just increased your powers by seventy percent.”

Chilla looked down at her hands. She suddenly blew on her hands. A small boomerang of ice appeared in her hands. She threw it up. It spun in a circle and immediately everything but Alluro, Cesira and herself was frozen solid. The room was at least a mile by two miles. Everything was coated, solid.

She laughed. “I think I’m gonna like this.”

Chapter Eleven: Knife in the Heart

He swore he was being followed. He turned around but saw no one. He gulped and told himself to be more careful. But it didn’t help his nerves. Still, he had a job to do. As he slipped to the entrance, he was careful to stay out of sight.

Before the kitten entered, he sub-consciously thought, “Kit, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about this. Forgive me, sis. Help me.”

He swallowed hard and ventured further into the cave.

The wind was cold here. Bitterly cold. Kat took the cloak Lion-o gave him and wrapped it closer around his body. The cloak helped a little. It was thick and made of wool from the Warrior Maidens Treetop Kingdom.

He was lucky that this cave was fairly large and had lots of kooks and crannies. He heard something behind him and quickly leapt up into the wall. His kitten abilities helped him find a foothold almost immediately. His claws dug into the stonewall.

Half-in shock from panic, the child clung to the side as if for dear life. He returned his glance back to the path below him. Two figures passed beneath him.

One figure had pale blue skin and white hair. He thought for a second it was Chilla but then shook his head. Chilla wasn’t that pretty!

This woman was different. Her thin white hair was tied in two braids and wound into a single ponytail that fell to the middle of her back. The dress she had on fell to her ankles with ruffles of light blue instead of white.

Suddenly the woman whirled around. Her face was clear.

That is Chilla!

Those deep icy eyes were enough to make anyone shudder. Kat swallowed hard as his feet slid on the ice. He wrapped his arms tighter onto the surface of the cave digging deep into the ice. His fingers began to slowly numb. He turned back to Chilla.

The man walking beside her he knew was familiar. That was Alluro. But different somehow. Taller, stronger, and more confident perhaps. His psychic club still hung on his hip, shimmering from the dark fires that lid this awful cave. It was brighter.

The two said very little. The words were always the same.

“Cesira has the breaker now. The twins will break.”

Kat swallowed hard. Something told him that he knew why. It had to be something they couldn’t fight against. But he’d fought Celeano. What could make him snap after that?

He decided to find out. Silently the kitten followed them.

WilyKat wiggled on his stomach on the ice over to the edge of the small plateau overlooking the large chamber. He gasped inside. There had to be a hundred, maybe a thousand Thunderians down there. But the woman at the front cut deep. That was Pumyra!

She spoke, “As you all know, Cesira’s plan is now in action. What better fate for everyone than to be slaughtered by people that supposedly stand for justice, truth, honor and loyalty?”

She smiled.

“I myself was in the Feliner with Bengali and Lynx-o when Cesira saved me.”

Cesira has her under a spell, Kat realized they all are.

“Now she has come up with the one thing that will insure us of victory. The twins are obviously our first problem but she has found the only person with the power to break them. And put her under her power.”

WilyKat swallowed. Pumyra stepped aside and gestured to the doorway.

“Welcome the twins’ destroyer!”

From the entrance came a woman. Her hair fell to her hips and her dress tumbled to her feet. She was pale and held the glow that all the ones brought back from the dead held for a time. Having brought his friends back, he knew a living ‘corpse’ when he saw one. But he wasn’t thinking about that. Those eyes jabbed a million swords deep into his heart. He felt the tears come and resisted the urge to run down there and cry at her feet. He knew those eyes.

It was Kitra.

His mother.

End of Part One