End of Innocence

Sequel to Dark Secrets

Final Book

Part Two: Quest for the Fragments

Chapter One: The Supreme Decision

Cheetara stopped spinning. Her arms fell to her sides and she glanced up at the others with a gazed position. Leah clutched WilyKat desperately, in fear. She’d never seen Cheetara go into one of her trance visions. It scared her.

“I see,” she said slowly. “I see…the Diamond of Thundera. I see the Darkness. An awful darkness. It spreads like a disease, destroying worlds. Living creatures caught in its grasp feel their very cells tearing apart, their hearts ripped apart while the breath of life is still inside them. Then, the Darkness invades Thundera. It kills several hundreds. The Fishing Cat clan, the majority of the sabortooth clan. But the gods of Thundera don’t allow it to continue. Ali summons up the magic of the Diamond of Thundera. They destroy the darkness but…but not forever. And not without a price. All the gods are split into their mortal and immortal halves.”

Everyone looked a little embarrassed. That’s exactly what the Thunderkittens said.

“Ali knows that without their mortal halves, the prime of Thunderian gods, that their immortal halves will fade away forever. She knows that their mortal halves will never know about who they are in whole and the Darkness will win. So she traps them into the Diamond of Thundera. To sleep in hibernation until someone can help them find their mortal halves. Then it splits into ten fragments. Then the ten split into twenty pieces. Ten are embedded somewhere underneath Thundera’s core. Those can be found by a Daughter of the Sun.”

Everyone turned to WilyKit who leaned against her brother. Cheetara went on, but her voice was strained. She was losing the image.

“The larger ten fragments land on the ten moons of Thundera and acquire their strange powers.”

Again the adults looked embarrassed as the kittens began to look a little smug. 

“The Guardians of the Thunderian gods lose their memories. But we have to recover this diamond. The Darkness that attacked Thunderian was reborn. Inside…inside…Ce..si..r…a. Power is greater than ever. Only the Diamond of Thundera is a match for it. But if Cesira gets her hands on it…then…then. ” Leah clutched the kittens as Cheetara stumbled and mumbled. “I…I see no more.”

Bengali grabbed her shoulders and helped her sit down. Lion-o turned to the Thunderkittens and Leah.

“Forgive me,” he said gently. “I just…needed to be sure.”

Kit, Kat and Leah smiled at him and nodded.

Kit laid her hands on Leah’s shoulders. Then, her eyes grew wide. She looked down at Leah.

“So now, what?” Leah asked gently.

Lion-o turned to the Thunderkittens. “What else do you two know?”

“Well,” Kit said. “Cheetara’s vision was pretty much right on. But just recently, I learned something else. When the time was nearing for the gods to resurface, the fragments in Thundera’s core would disappear and merge with the moon fragments.”

“That’ll help us.” Bengali said. The kittens nodded.

Kat finished. “But only the Guardians of the ten gods can activate the fragments to reform into the Diamond of Thundera. With a Son of the Moon or Daughter of the Sun’s help. But the fragments are heavily guarded.”

“What powers do the fragments have?” Leah said suddenly. Everyone stared at her. Then Kit answered. Lion-o and the others listened intently.

“Moon Tenia: The Dream Moon. This Guardian was the only one whose job was to protect two gods. The Prince of the Gods, Coveen and the Princess of the Gods, Ali. Moon Helion: Power Over Fire. Moon Jilla: Power Over Ice. Moon Kuyia: Power Over Water. Moon Tylia: Power Over Animals. Moon Nightshowl: Power Over Earth.”

Kat picked up to give his sister a break.

“Moon Crytian: Power Over Memories. Moon Yuya: Power of Wind. Moon Winna: Power Over Plants. And finally,”

Kit finished with her brother.

“Moon Dynamian: The Emotion Moon.”

“The second most powerful.” Kit said slowly. Her brother finished.

“The Guardian had the ability to control emotions but ALSO had power over lightning.”

Panthro whistled through his teeth. They were talking some heavy-duty powers here.

Lion-o closed his eyes. He didn’t even want to think about what would happen if Cesira got her hands on this Diamond. Or even the fragments.

“Kittens,” Lynx-o said slowly. “How do you tell the Guardians from other Thunderians?”

The kittens sighed. “That’s the problem, Lynx-o.” they moaned. They laid their heads into their palms as Leah pushed them toward their chairs. They laid their elbows onto the table. “You can’t.”

“And then even after releasing the gods, we have to find their mortal halves.”

Lion-o sighed. “It’s hard, almost impossible. But if Cesira gets to the Diamond first…” he sighed again and rubbed his temples. “Kit, Kat call the Tower and the Lair on Third Earth. Tell them to abandon them. I’ll go get them in the Feliner.”

He rose and finished. “You’re right kittens. We have to go to the Moons. And we will.”

Chapter Two: Innocence Destruction Beacon Attack

Cesira walked along side her brother, feeling slightly annoyed. He had been leading her though tunnel after tunnel, corridor after corridor. Her feet were beginning to hurt. But as he led her on, her mind began to wonder. The attack that hideous shadow had made on Thundera and the destruction it brought forth. 

The whole battle came back to her in detail.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Cats’ Lair, everyone was preparing for the trip to the ten moons. Well, almost all. The tension between the twins and Panthro was growing with every minute.

Tygra and Pumyra were talking with Lion-o.He had decided that the first moons would be the most powerful or a few of the most powerful. Tenia, Kuyia, and Jilla were put aside for now. He had decided that they should split up into groups of four and three. The first moons would be Moon Helion and Moon Tylia. Tygra, Lion-o, Cheetara, and Bengali would go to Moon Helion. Panthro, Lynx-o, and Pumyra would travel to Moon Tylia. The two snarfs and kittens were told to stay behind.

“Aw, Panthro!” Kat tugged on the panther’s arm as he started to leave for the council room. “Can’t we come, please?”

The panther smiled a bit but shook his head. “Sorry kiddo. It’s too dangerous. Anyway, someone needs to keep watch and you and your sister’ll be safer here.”

Kat clutched his hands into tiny fists. “But we can take care of ourselves, Panthro,” he protested. Then, a new voice broke it. Snarf’s.

“Roow, Panthro’s right, WilyKat. You two are too young to go. You should stay behind to help us out.”

“Right!” Snarfer poked his head in and winked at Kat. The kitten merely sighed and flopped down on his bed, hands in lap. Sensing the tension in the room, the pair left the child and adult alone. Panthro smiled and dropped to the kitten’s level.

“Listen Kat,” he said gently. “We’ll be going to the Moons again. Maybe you can come next time. But for this time, sit it out.”

As the panther began to leave, Kat called, “But Panthro, Kit and I-“

“Kat,” he interrupted as he walked out. “I said no.”

WilyKat sat watching after the Thundercat for a while. Then, frustrated and exhausted, fell into dreams.

* * *

Princess Ali slept peacefully on her bed. Her mortal mother was counseling with the Thundercats so she had returned to the Palace of the Gods for the night. Unlike other gods, she spent most of her time on Thundera as did her brother, Prince Coveen. They liked it.

Ali felt a strange sense but ignored it and turned over. Her deep red hair flowed over her soft pillow like a sea of scarlet. Her soft hands clutched her other pillow tightly. The pure white of her hands shone in the moonlight from her window, gloves of shimmering silver.Just as she began to enjoy the pure peace, a hand grabbed her shoulder and gently shook her.

Opening her eyes, she saw her brother, Coveen, standing above her.

“What is it?” she asked, rubbing her eyes as she sat up. He pulled her up and tossed her a dress. It was one of her favorites. She stared at it and then at her sibling.

“What?” she asked as she began to strip. “What’s wrong?” she pulled her dress up and completed it with a tied sash. The sleeves were just off her shoulders and a ruby red. The dress ended at her ankles and on her feet were high heels of a rare Thunderian gem called Firestone. The pink sash was translucent so that it had the form of a silk gown. 

She ran alongside Coveen, pulling her hair back. As they began to tear outside, her brother handed her, her crown. She placed it onto of her head where it shimmered like diamonds in the moonlight. She stole a glance at her brother.

“It’s the shadow,” he answered. Unlike her, he didn’t have a crown but instead had a headband made of gems that he wore across his brow. His pants ended just above his ankles but the black boots reached over the red pants to his knees. His maroon shirt passed over his waist and he had his belt of black tied around his hips. His cape of red was made of a fabric made in the fires of Helion. He offered his sister his hand. She took it.

While gods matured quickly these two were extremely mature for three-year old gods. They had learned to talk and walk in their first year and unlike others, didn’t remain mature all the time. In fact, they typically acted like usual mortal Thunderian three-year olds but in intense situations, they revealed their maturity.

“Prince, Princess!” a familiar voice reached their ears. They smiled as they recognized Lyina, the Guardian of Moon Tenia and their Guardian. They glanced around and spied the other Guardians. Then they saw their adversary.

All the gods unleashed their power in a single burst. Ali saw the destruction the shadow had done. She saw it rip over planets as deadly plaques causing people to drop dead where they were. She looked down at their planet. Already this dark thing had started to plaque their planet, their Thunderians, not just worshippers but also allies. A dark hatred filled the Goddess of Goodness and Innocence. 

Coveen narrowed his eyes. The plaque had begun. Already, the Lady of the Thundercats, Lady Clanniss, Lord Claudis’s wife, lay dead, her infant son wailing in her arms. Reluctantly, he took his son from his dead wife. The Prince of the Gods hissed in disgust. Then he and his sister ordered it together.

“Bring us the Diamond of Thundera.”

One of the servants hurried to obey. Lyinna stayed with them. The shadow seemed to laugh. A dark beam sprung from it headed for the Prince and Princess. Lyina leapt in front and cried out, “Hidden Tenia Dome!”

Immediately a force field surrounded Prince Coveen and Princess Ali. But not Guardian Lyina. The dark magic hit her. Just as the Guardians of Tylia and Jilla ran out she collapsed and the dome faded. Ali and Coveen dropped to their knees and gathered Lyina in their arms. She smiled at them.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I…I failed. Please don’t…”

“Shhh,” Ali said putting her finger to her lips. “You’ve been friends with us, not just a Guardian. Don’t you DARE die!”

She merely smiled again and felt her heart beat slow.

Coveen put a hand on his sister’s shoulder. He had tears streaming from his eyes but he held out the Diamond of Thundera. Ali narrowed her eyes and said, “Coveen, this thing’s strong. If we don’t destroy it, most of the universe will die. We have to use Innocence Destruction Beacon Attack!”

“NO!” everyone cried. “That can destroy the universe!”

“Only if we don’t command it right. Even if it does, it can’t wipe everything out. Nothing can.”

They merely nodded as they watched all their gods place their hands on the sphere. It glimmered like a gem in the night. Coveen and Ali cried as one, “Innocence! Destruction! Beacon! ATTACK!”

With a huge flash, rays of power split from the Diamond. They spread over the universe. The worlds it had infiltrated with disease, the rays destroyed. The planets partially infected, it healed. But then, the price came as the gods’ immortal halves and mortal halves split in two.

* * *

Kat awoke with a start. His heart was pounding. Cesira knew about that attack. He knew it. If she… Kat couldn’t think about it. He got up and went to his sister’s bed. They had to go to the Moons, he knew. He knew it. And they had to go now.

Chapter Three: Sibling Rivalry

Cesira grinned as she remembered that battle. The battle had cost the Thunderians a grave amount. From that very day, the gods’ mortal halves, the prime of the pair, continued to grow and play with no knowledge that they were the lost gods and goddesses of Thundera. With no knowledge that if their lost halves rejoined with them, they would regain all their memories. That’s virtually all the gods’ immortal halves were. Memories. Memories and immortality. All the magic lived in the mortal halves.

“Sister, here it is.” Mumm-ra sneered gesturing to a chest. Cesira sneered.

“A box? Oh, that’s powerful.”

“Shut up!” he snapped. “If you would let me finish, and show some respect-“

“Respect?” she howled. “Me? Show YOU respect?” She threw her head back and let out a huge hearty laugh. “That’s good. That’s a good one.”

Mumm-ra fought to control his temper that was about to pop. His little sister laughed again and tossed her midnight black hair into his face and mumbled, “No wonder the Thundercats are in control. Look at what they’re up against. A mummy half eaten away.”

“All right! That is it! That’s it!”

Cesira turned to face Mumm-ra. She sighed and tossed her hair again.But as she turned to leave, a fierce blow to her back made her howl in pain. Whirling around, she glared at her brother. He laughed and told her in an acid voice.

“I’ll show you power, you worthless wench of Celeano.”

Cesira growled and fired a beam of power from her palms. Her brother dodged and fired another beam at her. Cesira dematerialized and then reappeared behind her sibling. But while she had more power than him, he had the experience that she lacked. He easily dodged and fired a beam at his sister.

Cesira screamed and clutched her back. Whirling to face her target, another blast of power escaped her fingertips. This time her blast hit her sibling on the side but it was only a scrape to the Mighty Mumm-ra. Cesira growled in exasperation.

“Having difficulty, little one?”

Cesira spat in disgust and lifted her hands for another attack. A ball of power flew from her fingertips. Her older brother caught it in his palms, laughed and flung it straight back at her. She screamed as the ball of power hit her square in the chest. She crumbled, clutching her bosom, desperately.

Mumm-ra fired another blast at his sister. She fell.

“Give it up, Cesira.” He gloated. “You can’t win.”

“No,” she hissed through her teeth. “Never,”

“Fine,” he sneered as he lifted his hand again. “Be stubborn.”

Cesira screamed as her brother hit her again with another blast of power. Normally, she could fight back but was in too much pain to concentrate. Another blast numbed her arms completely and her brother yanked her up by her black mane. She pounded against him the old-fashioned way, with her fists. But her fists were of only seventeen years. Her brother’s were much older and stronger. Her beats were next to nothing against his skin.

“Away, fly.” He hissed and tossed her away by the hair.

He turned to the box. “Hear me, Ancient Spirits of Evil, unleash the Ancient God of War, Ares, the Goddess of Discord, Eris, and the Goddess of Hate, Erida.”

Immediately a huge flash filled the cavern. From the box sprang three figures, one male, two female.The male was very muscular with black hair and he wore armor that was impenetrable. The two females were dressed very similar. Both had on black dresses but Eris had on black armor unlike Erida who had on a small tight dress. Her black hair hung loose about her shoulders, unlike Eris whose was tied in several different braids. Mumm-ra laughed.

“Now give me the power to control these gods of evil.”

The gods looked upon Mumm-ra and their eyes glowed bright red.

“No, Mumm-ra,” a voice cut in, weakened but evil. Mumm-ra turned and his younger sister fought her way to her feet. She glared at him and using the remaining strength she had, fired a blast at him. He fought back.

Cesira smiled and spoke but it was an evil voice that Mumm-ra had never heard before. Even he grew afraid.

“Listen to me, Mumm-ra. We must stop this quarreling. Several gods must try and distract the Thundercats before they leave. A delay to the Moons will give the other gods time to beat them to the fragments.”

Mumm-ra glared at her and asked, “What are you?”

She laughed. “You are indeed an impressive master of evil Mumm-ra. You know me not to be your sister. No, I’m you’re grandmother. The dark shadow that was reborn in Cesira. The dark shadow that controls her. The dark shadow that attacked Thundera. That is I. The Being that started Evil. Darkstar.”

Chapter Four: Outcast

Leah sat in her room, alone and feeling miserable. She felt like crying but she’d wept to sleep last night. She felt terrible. For something she had no control over. It had happened just a few weeks ago but yesterday she had used it for the first time. She regretted it. People were scared of her now.

But why?

Leah had pondered that question for hours. She was trying to help but instead of thanks, she got neglected. She thought of how her cousin Lyna had reacted. When she had helped her cousin, her cousin had merely stared at what she had done for a few seconds then slowly lifted her head to stare at her younger cousin. 

Tears filled Leah’s eyes as her cousin’s exact words pierced through her consciousness again.

“Get away! Get AWAY!”

Leah remembered her reaching towards her cousin asking, “What?”

“DON’T! Don’t TOUCH ME! Leave me ALONE! DON’T COME NEAR ME!”

With those words, her relative had torn away, screaming.

“Leah?” a voice called in. It was Lygina, her mother. Leah wiped her tears away.

“Yeah, Mom?”

“Sweetie, are you alright?”

“Yeah,” she lied. “I’m fine.”

Leah waited until her mother’s footsteps had died away, then she buried her face into her pillow and cried again. By Jaga, she thought. “Why me? Why do I have this gift?”

* * *

“Lion-o, please!” Kit and Kat each grabbed one of his arms and refused to let go. They were lucky that Panthro was doing some motivations on the Feliner. That gave them time to try and change lion-o’s mind.

“Why are you two so keen on coming?”

“Because the more people, the more fragments we can get.”

“They do have a point.” A voice called into the conversation.

The trio turned as the orange tiger walked in on them. He smiled at the kittens and gave each of their heads a ruffle. The twins smiled a tad. Then Tygra spoke again.

“But Thunderkittens, why ARE you suddenly so passionate about going to the moons?”

“We could explore Moon Tenia.”

Tygra raised an eyebrow at them.

“Okay, okay.” Kat said holding up his hands. “Just turn off the look. I hate the look.”

Tygra and Lion-o laughed.

“Alright,” Kit started where her brother left off. “Here’s why.”

“Last night,” Kat stated. “We both had a weird dream. About the battle between the shadow and the Thunderian gods.”

The adults looked at one another. Lion-o knew about that because as hereditary lord he had been tutored on the planet’s history when he was very young, as the twins had started study much older. They hadn’t gotten to that battle in “history class” yet. Tygra knew because he’d been in his late teens when it happened.

“The Prince of the Gods and the Princess used the Diamond,” the twins continued and they used, ‘Innocence Destruction Beacon Attack.”

“Innocence what?” Lion-o asked.

“The attack that is capable of…of…of destroying the universe.”

The adults felt a gasp of shock escape their throats. The twins spoke again.

“Cesira knows about that. And well, you figure out the rest.”

They nodded. Suddenly Snarfer tore in. 

“Lion-o! Leah’s village is under attack!”

Lion-o responded quickly. “Thunderkittens! Grab the spaceboards and try to hold them off. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

The kittens nodded and sped away at top speed.

* * *

“Leah!” 

The child turned to see her friends, WilyKat and WilyKit speeding towards her on their spaceboards. Kit swooped and scooped Leah up before a blast could hit her. As they tried to get her away to safety, she cried out, tears running down her face.

“MAMA! DADDY!”

The kittens started to turn around. They saw Leah’s parents trying to get away. But just as they were almost able to grab the kittens’ hands, a blast exploded from the ground. Leah screamed for her parents again. But all she saw was a flash of fire and a final scream as her parents burned to death right in front of her eyes.

Chapter Five: The Gods Mission

“Hang in there, Leah,” Kat said pressing Leah’s face away from the scene and into his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck, crying and sobbing. Kit tried to help her brother comfort her but suddenly they had bigger problems.

“Nice escape if I do say so myself.”

The twins looked up toward the source of the voice. From in-between the flames stepped a tall figure. Or taller than them at least. But it wasn’t his height that made him seem to tower over him. It was his features.

His face was an awful pale. It almost looked sickly. Peering out from that face were terrible eyes. They were slanted and a dark red. The coldness in them made the kittens clutch Leah and one another tighter. The figure laughed.

“Oh, don’t tell me we’re scared.”

Kat swallowed hard. “Who are you?”

The figure stepped closer and tossed his red hair back a tad. Then his smile ceased. In its place was an awful scowl expression. Leah clutched the kittens tightly but she could feel her friends shaking with fear. Still they climbed to their feet.

“Are we too brave for our own good?” he sneered. “As to who I am? I’m Seth.”

Kit and Kat knew he was a god. They’d known it in their hearts the first time they heard that icy laugh. Then out of nowhere they knew the reason for his attack. He was delaying them.

“You two catch on fast don’t ya?” a new feminine voice called it. It wasn’t as cold as Seth’s but it was definitely pitiless. Turning, they saw a new figure.

She laughed. Her hair was a midnight black and she had it swept back into a ponytail. Her clothes were of dark black leather. She almost looked like a Warrior Maiden. Except for the coldness in her deep eyes. She had a silver bow at the ready and had it pointed at them.

“My name is Artemis.” She announced. “Goddess of the Moon.”

Kit and Kat looked at their adversaries nervously. Their hearts were beating like jackhammers in their chests. They longed to hear Tygra or Lion-o or someone call out for them to hang in there. To call that they were coming. The air was silent.

The kittens didn’t dare use their magic. They couldn’t rely on it so much. Besides, if it DIDN’T work, they’d become too weak to fight back. Kit reached into her belt. Her twin did the same. Sweat building up on their foreheads, the twins withdrew two pellets.

Artemis laughed. “Foolish kids. You think a couple of pellets can harm us?”

Kit and Kat nodded at each other. As Kat stepped forward, Kit turned to Leah. Leah looked up at her with frightened eyes. Kit glanced around nervously. She made her decision. 

“Open your hand, Leah.” She whispered.

Leah did as she was asked. Kit slipped a small pellet into her hand. 

“Go Leah,” she said softly. “Take this. My spaceboard’s over there by those trees. I want you to go to the Lair. Tell them what happened. Someone’s always left behind. If you run into trouble throw this. But wait until you absolutely need to. Now go!”

Leah trembled as she saw the gods closing in. 

“But…but what about you?”

“Just GO!”

Leah fell but then was swiftly running. Artemis started after her but Kit broke in.

“Pick on someone your own size, you big coward!”

Artemis immediately whirled around and let her arrow fly. Kit dodged and was barely able to stay alive. The arrow was very sharp. And that girl seemed to have an unlimited supply. Her brother was busy dodging Seth’s magic. She could tell that Seth wasn’t even half-trying. Neither was Artemis. Had they been, Kit would have been dead with that first arrow. They were delaying them. Kit’s guess was that some other gods were already on some of the moons, searching for the fragments.

A fierce pain tore through kit’s body as an arrow pierced her left shoulder. She fell, clutching her wound.

“KIT!” her brother fell down beside her. He looked up at Artemis, a fierce and agonizing anger burning through his eyes. Then suddenly, a blast knocked her bow from her hands. She whirled around.

Kat cried out. “The Thundertank!”

Panthro and Tygra leapt out and were immediately racing towards the twins. Tygra noted Kit’s condition and turned to Artemis with a snarl. He swung his whip but the goddess merely laughed and flung it back at him.

Tygra jumped back, using his agility. He remained in front of the kittens. Kat refused to leave his sister. Tygra saw that Seth was tough opposition but Panthro was a tough fighter. He could handle it. He hoped.

“Tygra!” a younger voice called. Kat was getting to his feet. The tiger turned to face him. 

“Tygra! They’re delaying us! If I know Cesira, she didn’t send them to kill. She sent them to delay. There’s probably a couple of her servants already searching the moons.”

“Tygra!” Panthro called to him. He looked around. Tygra could see the hatred of his decision on his face but he said it nonetheless. “Retreat Tygra.”

“But the village.” Kit stammered.

“Kit! You can’t fight anyway!”

“Kit,” Kat told her. “They’re attacking to delay us. If we leave they’ll leave.”

Kit knew in her heart he was right. But she had no time to object anyway. Panthro towed Kat to the tank while Tygra scooped Kit up in his arms. As they drove off, Kit glanced back. Kat was right. The gods were gone. But would they be able to reach the Diamond fragments before Cesira?

Chapter Six: The Gift

Kit sat in her room, cradling her injured shoulder. It made her arm feel numb. Tygra had put some medication on it but it still hurt. The good news was that Lion-o and Panthro announced that the Feliner would be ready for takeoff tomorrow. They knew the gods could attack while they were gone but if they got a hold of the Diamond it would be worse consequences. Jagarua, Torr, and Leah agreed to watch Cats’ lair and Thundera for further attacks.

“Kit?” a voice called. Kit smiled. It was Leah.

“Hi kid.” She said slowly.

“Are you okay, Kit?”

Kit smiled again. “Sure, why?”

“Just worried. Those gods seemed real powerful.”

“They were. That’s the problem with gods. Their power.”

“Will our gods be able to beat them?”

“I don’t know. With the strength of all the Thunderians, probably. But…”

“But you don’t know huh?”

Kit sighed. “No, I wish I did.”

“But Kit. Can’t you use your powers to take a peek into the future or something?”

Kit laughed. “If I could, I don’t know if I would.”

“Why not? If I had that kind of power, I’d have a ball with it.”

Kit giggled. “Well, for starters, if I use it too much I grow weak. Also, you can’t rely on power like that. It’ll find a way to stab you in the back.”

“I thought that..”

“Magic is one thing. It’s your ability to use it for good that gives you power. Your loyalty is a power in itself. And Lion-o always says that the truest and most powerful strength comes from inside from in the heart. And I believe him.”

“You mean, love can be magic?”

Kit laughed. “I guess you could call it that. It’s kinda complicated. Something I don’t even understand. I think it’s something no one will truly get until they actually unleash the power of their loyalty.”

Leah smiled. “You sound like an adult.”

Kit blushed. “Thanks, I think.”

Leah smiled and then felt the tears come. “But my parents.”

Kit wrapped her arms around Leah and the child just started to weep and sob. Kit just held her. Having been through this herself, she knew that nothing she said could make Leah feel better. All she could do was hold her.

“I’m sorry Kit,” Leah said swiftly drawing away. “I’m not..that is..”

Kit pulled Leah to her again and smoothed her hair. “Leah, I’ve been where you are. And I’m telling you: holding the tears in makes it worse. So here’s something my own mother used to tell me. Don’t be ashamed of your tears. It’s okay to hurt. And it’s okay to cry.”

Leah stared at Kit a moment before bursting to tears again. All Kit did was rock with her slowly. Just as Leah began to dry her tears, her hand fell on Kit’s left shoulder. 

“Oww!” Kit screamed suddenly and out of reflex jerked her arm up to her left shoulder. Leah stood there ashamed for a minute then, she climbed onto her friend’s bed. She slowly pried her friend’s hand away. She saw the wound and winced.

“I…I’m sorry Kit, or should I call you Noble WilyKit. That’s actually your legal title.”

“No! Please. You’re my friend. And it’s okay.”

Leah suddenly looked so uncomfortable it was the kitten’s friendship instincts not her sixth sense that told her something was wrong.

“Leah? What’s wrong?”

“Well, it’s my gift.”

“What gift?”

“It started a few weeks ago. I got weird dreams about myself. After I saw Goddess Tinna, it got stronger. I think all her appearance did was draw out a power I’ve always had never revealed.”

Kit smiled. “What gift, Leah?”

“It’s well, never mind.”

“Leah? Are you sure you don’t wanna tell me? I won’t tell anyone.”

“You wouldn’t believe me.”

“Of course I would! You’re my friend!”

“It’s not that. I don’t believe it and I have it.”

Leah looked at her friend and then climbed onto her friend’s bed’s headboard. She pulled her friend’s shoulder strap down so she could see the wound. It was pretty deep. She decided then, this would show if Kit were true friend or false friend.

“I’ll use my gift now, Kit.”

She focused her mind and the power rose inside her again. She put her hand to her friend’s injury. As she slid her hand over it, Kit felt the pain diminish. As soon as Leah swept her hand down and removed it from Kit’s skin, the pain vanished completely. Kit stared at her. Leah nodded. Kit turned her back towards the mirror to examine her wound. She gasped in shock. Where Leah had swept her hand had been over her wound. It was now gone! Not even a scar remained.

Chapter Seven: Journey to the Moons

Kit slept uneasily. Leah stayed with her throughout the night. But although Leah slept well, Kit was nervous. She and her brother were to search for the crystal of Moon Tenia. They were excited but Kit was also scared. Who knew what was on that moon? It could be…

Kit sighed and tried to shove the thoughts from her mind. It was nearly two o’clock when she slipped into a troubled and uneasy sleep. Her dreams were haunted. The thoughts of the terror the Princess of the Gods had placed around this fragment petrified her. Not only was it deep in lake but in that cavern where it was kept were indescribable horrors. 

“Kit?” a hand placed itself on kit’s shoulder and shook her. Kit turned. “Come on, kitten,” the voice said again in a gentle tone. “It’s time to get up. The Feliner leaves in an hour.” Kit slowly opened her eyes. Cheetara smiled down at her. Tygra was waking her brother up. As Kit sat up, Cheetara saw that Leah was next to her and was clutching her tightly.

As Kit glanced down at her, Kat motioned that he thought he and Tygra should leave the cheetah and his sister alone. The two males quickly left.

“Cheetara?” Kit asked slowly, playing with her hair. “Is Leah gonna be alright alone?”

“Kit, Torr and Jagarua will be here.”

“Not that kind of alone.”

Cheetara thought a moment then she realized what the child meant.

“Her aunt and uncle have agreed to take her in. They’ll be joining the others here at the lair when they return from a mission looking for refugees. The spaceport got a distress call and they rushed out to help. Don’t you worry about Leah. She’ll be fine.”

Kit merely sighed. “I know but seeing her in this kind of pain made my own resurface.”

Cheetara hugged Kit slightly and the two climbed to their feet. Kit dressed quickly before grabbing her bag. The two hurried down to the hangar where the others were waiting in the Feliner.

“Kit and Kat, you two head to the back. This trip will take longer than it took us to get here on New Thundera from Third Earth. We can’t go full speed because of the massive meteor showers around the moons. So why don’t you two go catch up on some sleep. The rest of us will pilot the Feliner.”

For once the twins were thankful they were young. They retreated to the back gratefully. When Tygra crept to the back to get some breakfast for everyone, he spied the twins asleep on their bunks, out like lights.

* * *

Leah sat up slowly. She stretched and looked around. Kit and Kat were gone. They hadn’t wanted to wake her. She got up slowly, toying with her pendant. Looking out the window, she spied the last glance of the Feliner before it vanished. She swallowed hard and mumbled softly.

“Just be careful Thunderkittens. Be careful. Don’t you DARE leave me too.”

* * *

Kit and Kat sat up and stretched. They got up and slowly walked toward the cockpit. Panthro and Bengali were at the controls. With faltering steps, they spied over the two adults’ shoulders.

“Roow, hello kittens.” Bengali smiled turning his head.

“You two DO realize there was a reason I told you to go to bed early.” Panthro said slowly but he couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face.

“Is that…” Kit started pointing through the main screen. 

“It’s huge!” Kat exclaimed.

Bengali smiled. “Yes that’s Moon Tenia.”

“The largest of our moons.” Panthro added. “Think you two can tackle that moon alone?”

“We’ll give it our best shot.” Kit promised.

“That’s all we can ask.” Panthro replied. “You two have the special communicators I made for us?”

“You mean those ones that can signal you guys with that symbol like the Cat signal?”

Panthro laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Bengali filled them in on the plan. “Each group with search for a week and then we’ll meet back up on Moon Tenia. The last group will keep the Feliner but everyone else will carry supplies.”

The twins nodded. They were nervous, Bengali could tell. He shot them a grin. 

“Why don’t you two go get some rest?”

The kittens nodded and wordlessly retreated to the back. 

The twins gave up trying to sleep an hour before they entered the cockpit. Now they just felt more nervous. Kit sat on her bottom bunk and her twin leaned upside down from his bunk and grinned at her. She punched him lightly on the cheek and leaned on her back on her bed. Then she got up.

Kat sat up himself and watched his sister. She walked over to the small window their cabin had and looked outside. The sky was pitch dark with only sparkling stars as light. The dark shape that loomed ahead towered like a vengeful god’s hand. Kit wrapped her arms around herself and tried to close out the cold. But it didn’t work.

Suddenly a warm cloak was thrown over her back and shoulders. She turned and Kat laid his chin on her shoulder. She smiled and then sighed. Then, suddenly embarrassed she pulled from him. Kat merely smiled and stood by his sister. He remembered Kit had been wounded on that shoulder.

“I’m sorry sis.” 

Kit turned. Then she realized what he meant. “It doesn’t hurt anymore Kat. I’m just…tense.”

Kat stared at her shoulder. He saw then, the wound wasn’t even there. “Kit!” he exclaimed. “Your wound, it’s gone!”

Kit bit her lip. Leah had told her no to tell anyone she thought would hate her for her gift. Then Kit relaxed. She realized that Leah trusted Kat as much as she trusted her. 

“It was Leah.”

“Leah?”

“She swept her hand over it and it vanished.”

Kat stared at her. They were nearing Moon Tenia. “It’s beautiful sort of.” Kit murmured. Kat suddenly felt drawn to it as well. Then suddenly Kit spoke.

“Kat?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s Leah.”

“What about her?”

“I…I think she’s a guardian.”

Chapter Eight: Mysteries of Tenia

“Go with care, kittens.” Tygra said slowly. The children shot him a wink and said.

“Don’t worry Tygra.”

The tiger smiled. “Do you two know how to work these tracking devices?”

The kittens shrugged. Tygra sighed and then pulled his own out.

“You direct the apex of this apparatus around and when it senses the flood of the portion of the Diamond’s magic, the heart of this detector will illuminate and glisten unremittingly in the same track and will lead you to-“

A finger tapped his shoulder. He turned and faced Cheetara. She shot him a look and said, “Speak Thunderian Tygra.”

Tygra blushed. Being alone on Third Earth for some many months, he was used to speaking scientifically. But the twins were lost.

Tygra laughed. “You point the tip of the detector around and when it catches the magic wave that the fragments give off, it will flash in one direction that is supposed to be where the fragment is.”

“Oh,”

The twins pulled theirs out and turned them on. They sent Tygra a salute and waved goodbye as the Feliner took off. The groups had changed a tad. Tygra, Cheetara, and Pumyra were going to Moon Helion. Lion-o, Panthro, Lynx-o and Bengali were going to Moon Tylia. No one else knew their second moon but the kittens did. Their cat suits were the only ones that hadn’t worn through in the past months so they were headed for Moon Jilla next.

“So,” WilyKit said as she directed her device around, “Where to first?”

“There!” Kat said suddenly. He pointed to his left. His locator was burning brightly in that direction. The twins nodded at each other and started off.

“Look,” WilyKit said plainly. Kat was frozen in awe. They were staring out over a huge lake. And it was HUGE! In WilyKat’s opinion, you could have taken all the rooms in the New Lair and the old One, placed them in a straight row, end to end, and you still would not have filled one half of this lake. 

But it was more than size. It was beautiful.

The surface was crystal clear and it shimmered in the faint light that seemed to come from nowhere. Kit knelt by the surface and stared into the pool. The water was strange because it disoriented her face. Her mane appeared longer. She liked that look. To her shock, her detector beeped now and flashed towards the far end of the lake. 

“WilyKat,” she said getting up to face her brother. “I think the fragment’s over there, somewhere.”

Kat nodded. His twin stepped into the lake. But then leapt back in severe pain. She crumbled to the ground, clutching her ankle. 

“Let me see, Kit.” He ordered her, putting his detector on the ground. Gently, he peeled her hands away. He winced. The water had burned her skin from the ankle to her toes. He winced again. “Ouch.”

She nodded. “We’ll have…to fi..ind another way to it.”

Her twin agreed. “Can you walk?”

“Yeah, you start ahead and I’ll catch up once I give my ankle a brief rest.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Go.”

* * *

Kat walked along the outer shoreline of the lake. “This is Lake Imorla.” He decided. “Only gods could enter it and live according to the legends. Still, if Ali wanted to become full again, to once again be Ali, Princess of the Gods, there must be another way in.”

He wandered around the shores a bit. He spotted a section near the lake that was flattened. He sat down by it and just inhaled the air for a minute. He knew time was short but he needed a small rest. The lake was huge and it had already been a chore getting to the other side. It was a long walk and the terrain was rough. His feet hurt.

As the child walked, he began to realize something. This felt familiar.

Suddenly, the ground collapsed underneath him. He let out a yelp of surprise as he fell. He didn’t fall very far. About the distance it was from a regular sized tree to the ground. But the ground was hard.

He looked up. The area he’d fallen through suddenly closed up. He was left in pure darkness.

He fumbled for his flashlight but a surge of pain hit him so intense that he nearly passed out. He slowly took his breaths, one at a time. He remembered that sometimes if you fell on a hard enough surface, a simple trip could kill you. What..what if he was dead? It was so dark here.

But as he began to get afraid, another wave of pain seized him.

“Well, there’s the answer to that question,” he muttered as he finally turned the beam of his flashlight on. “I must be alive. I hurt too much to be dead.”

The child stood up slowly. He had a major headache from that fall. But as he looked around, his eyes grew wider than the Eye of Thundera. All around him was a cavern of what looked like crystal. Only it wasn’t. It was Trunla. It was a stone on Thundera similar to Third Earth diamond. The difference was simple. 

Trunla was ten times as hard.

Besides that, it was the same. The same beauty.

Kat walked slowly looking at the awing landscape. Soon, he didn’t need his light anymore. A strange bluish light filled the whole cavern. He glanced up. And saw fish.

He gasped. Somehow this cavern had formed a dome that allowed it to pass directly under the lake. That was the beautiful light. For a minute, Kat just stood and watched the fish swim by. Many were beyond description. One looked as if it were made of Thundrillum. 

Kat slid along the surface. It was slick enough that he was half-slipping, half-skating. But the further he traveled, the more alone and scared he became. He remembered that the Ali had planted many traps and guards around this fragments. And his sister wasn’t there. He could handle himself but his sister helped a great deal.

Tears filled his eyes as he walked. If he couldn’t get out of here, she might never find him!

And her ankle! He thought in a state of panic. Can she walk? I should have stayed with her! Dear Jaga, I should have…

The kitten’s thoughts vanished in an instant. He caught sight of something in the wall. He approached it slowly. Then as he saw it, he screamed.

Staring back at him was what remained of a Thunderian soldier. All but his eyes had fused by some magic into the Trunla itself. His corpse was the stone now. Clutched in the soldier’s right hand gleamed the Sword.

The Sword of Omens.

Kat shook his head. When he opened them, the soldier was gone. He was confused for a moment, then realized:

“Moon Tenia, the Moon of Dreams. But there are two types of dreams. Dreams full of hope and wishes and your darkest fears. Your wishes of the Diamond’s power and your fears of the demons that guard it are free here even if your other fears aren’t.”

Ali and Coveen’s power was sending his nightmares of this journey on him. Yet, they were real. He could see the Sword. He had felt the stench of rotting flesh. The line of the barrier between reality and dreams was gone. Here in this cavern, there was no difference.

Here, his darkest fears, the fears that since he learned of Ali and Coveen’ magic sometimes kept him awake were free to the gods’ magic. And if the magic chose, his nightmares of monsters and ancient demons that supposable plagued this place,

Would become as real as the breath on his neck.

The breath on his neck.

Someone was behind him.

Chapter Nine: Protectors of the Fragment

WilyKat whirled around, heart pounding and saw…nothing.

The adrenaline still pressed against the walls of his veins. He tried desperately to get his heart from lightning rate to normal pace. Once more he wished for his sister. They would both have been afraid but been braver with each other. He slowly was able to get up.

“KIT!” he cried. Maybe she could hear him. He received no answer.

WilyKat sighed and continued onward. The cave began to get darker and colder. Rubbing his arms, he tried not to think about it. He felt alone. Not just physically, but inside his mind, in his head, he was alone. Until recently, he’d wondered about what Kit had said their mother had told her when she went through time. That they were more powerful than she was. They hadn’t stopped time when they battled Celeano. But their mother had never been able to stop it either. They had merely slowed time down, just as their mother had. They knew they hadn’t stopped time, now. When time stopped, in theory, the strands of time would become visible, a bright flash would erupt, then supposable the strands would freeze. The fact that Kitra could stop time was myth.

WilyKat shook his head, trying to forget this. He felt scared and alone. The cave loaned over him and the odd shapes sent shivers down his spine. He sighed. He walked onward.

The walls were getting narrower. So narrow that he could barely squeeze through the corridors. Yet he managed to keep his spirits up. To keep from thinking about his fear and to keep from worrying about his sister, he thought back to his mother.

He saw her again. Those deep amber eyes that she’d passed onto him and his sister gleamed at him, clear as day. Her fine red and black mane that unlike Kit’s had three strips, that she always keep pulled into a long braid. Her fur, a mixture of the tannish color of WilyKit’s and the coffee coloring of Kat’s.

Kat swallowed hard and desperately tried to forget. 

Though Thundercats were supposed to forgive, he knew that he and WilyKit would never, ever be able to forgive Celeano for what she did.

* * *

“WilyKat!” WilyKit limped around the lake’s edge, screaming her twin’s name. Her face was flushed with heat from running with the pain in her foot and her throat was dry from screaming so much. She had long since forgotten the pain. Her heart was pounding with panic. She’d gone in the direction of her brother as soon as the throbbing in her ankle ceased. 

Yet she hadn’t found a trace.

When it came down to it, her love for her brother stretched beyond being his sister. He was her best friend. As she darted about, looking frantically and close to tears, she took on the appearance of a panicked mother.

She tried desperately to calm down but found that nearly impossible. She tried taking deep breaths as Tygra told her to do in intense situations.

“Helps you think clearly.” He’d said.

“Well,” Kit muttered to herself, “When your only family vanishes without a trace Tygra, I’m telling you, NOTHING calms you down.”

She sighed again and called out,

“WilyKat! Darn you! Answer me!”

The only reply was the whispering of the winds through the rocks and water splashing against the shore.

She searched for several more minutes that led to an hour.

Finally exhausted, she dropped to her knees and tried to gather her feelings together. The splashing water somehow calmed her nerves and the scent of rare flowers invaded her senses. She stared down at the water and saw her reflection staring back at her. Her hair was tangled and sweaty. Some strands were stuck to her face. She climbed to her feet again.

“Kat! WilyKat!”

She surprised herself as the next word escaped her lips.

“Katty, where are YOU?!”

She put a hand to her lips, half-embarrassed, half-amazed. “Katty” was her nickname for her brother when they were younger. She hadn’t called him that since they were five years old. Yet, the word had slipped through her lips, like water. She looked around, maybe hoping that he would appear and laugh or tease her. 

Nothing.

The kitten fell to her knees and the wind whipped her hair around. She let her red mane fall in front of her face, hiding her tears. She dug her nails into the soft earth. Tears fell into the lake’s waters causing ripples. Her words came again but they choked as the tears strangled her throat.

“WilyKat! Where are you?!”

* * *

Kat thought he heard his sister. She had been very far away but he’d heard the choke in her words. He sighed. She was probably looking for him. But he didn’t even know where he was. How in the name of Jaga could she find him if even he didn’t know where he was?

The child suddenly whirled around. He saw nothing but his heart was still throbbing in his chest. It seemed to him that every nerve in his body was on red alert. He tripped suddenly. As he climbed to his feet a small stone of the cave fell onto his head. For a reason unknown to him, he looked up.

And screamed.

Chapter Ten: Lost in a Maze of Terror

“WilyKat! Please! You HAVE to answer me!”

Kit’s words were lost over the maze of rocks and water. She’d been searching for hours and still had found nothing. Tears clouded her vision yet again and this time she didn’t even bother to wipe them away. She didn’t feel ashamed.

“Oh, Kat, where are you?!”

Her legs ached, her eyes were red, blood-shot, and unknown to her the day had since ended. She took no note of the growing pain throughout her. Her thoughts were fixed on her brother and her brother alone.

She wandered around in the landscape. Her heart was a jackhammer in her chest.For reasons unknown to her, a conversation came back to her. Actually two…

* * *

Panthro stood by the twins’ cabin in the Feliner. He stared in. Kit was sitting by the window, her brother beside her. As he entered, Kit slumped and fell to the ground her brother not far behind her. Panthro gently knelt by them both and shook them awake. Kit yawned and sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes.

“Tired, Kit, Kat?” he asked with a smirk.

The kittens managed a smile and a nod. Panthro helped pull them to their feet than said,

“Makes sense to me, although I think you’ll find the beds more comfortable.”

The twins said nothing but climbed into bed. Panthro smiled as he started to leave but then, a small voice called and a tiny pull tugged on his right arm. He turned. It was Kit.

“Panthro?”

The panther turned and spoke softly to not wake her brother.

“What kiddo?”

“Panthro, Moon Tenia is beautiful isn’t it?”

He seemed confused. Then nevertheless responded, “Guess so, why?”

“I…I get strange vibrations whenever we get closer to the moon. Like a warm wave of energy.”

Panthro listened, awestruck.

“Like it was home, somehow.” Kit flushed. “Sounds pretty whacked huh?”

“Not at all,” Panthro countered, placing a hand on her shoulder. “See, you and your brother were born there.”

Kit jerked her head around and stared at him. “Say what?”

Panthro sighed. “Wake your brother real quick.”

The child hurried to obey and Panthro smirked. 

“Get up! Get up! Wake up, sleepyhead!”

“Aw Kit. Leave me alone!”

But he got up.

“What is it, Panthro?” Kit pressed. He gestured for them to come nearer. 

“All right, WilyKat I told you about me seeing Ali but I didn’t tell you what she told me.”

He nodded.

Panthro continued, slowly.

“All right. I was on watch in the control room when a voice called to me. I looked up and I saw Princess Ali. The Princess of the Gods.”

“Oh really Panthro?” Kit blurted out. “What did she look like?”

The panther smiled. “Well, she was transparent, probably from being separated from her mortal half. She had red hair that was a dull color. It was about shoulder-length. Her eyes were about the same shade as you two have. She had on a white dress but it didn’t have any sleeves. Anyway, she told me that she would show me the memories I’d lost.”

He paused.

“It was three years before the battle between the gods and goddesses of Thundera and the ‘Darkness.’ Some Thundercats and Thunderians were on Moon Tenia. Your…your mother was among them. So was I.”

Kit and Kat squeezed his hand. They could see how much the thought of their mother, his old girlfriend hurt him. It hurt them too. But unlike them, the panther was not the kind to give into weakness.

“Your mother went into labor then with you two. We couldn’t get her to the spaceship, so we carried her to the soft earth by a lake. Her nurse coached her by her head. I was the receiver. Kat you were first. I was the first person to hold you. Five minutes later, you came out Kit.”

The Thunderkittens listened softly, in awe. They’d been born on Moon Tenia. As the twins took this information in, Panthro realized that there was a phrase Ali had stated that he’d forgotten about. She’d said it as she faded away.

“Value the twins, Panthro. You’ll never know how much they care for you and you care for them until you lose them.”

* * *

Kit let out a yelp as the ground collapsed from beneath her. She fell down a crystal-like wall, sharp edges cutting her arms, legs and clothing. A sudden rip exposed her stomach and soon scraps and bleeding gashes appeared over her belly. By the time she reached the bottom, all her clothing was either dirty or ripped. She had barely enough left to cover her. That last memory was short. She just remembered reading up a legend with her brother about the diamond. Supposedly, the power of it increased with certain emotions. Kit forgot this in an instant. Her twin’s scream pierced her consciousness.

“WILYKAT!”

She ran. For some reason she knew exactly where to go. When she broke through a corridor, her heart leapt to her throat and then pounded like Cheetara’s running feet.

“Kit?” WilyKat saw her and lost his balance. 

The creature attacking him gave them both the total willies. It was a walking corpse. 

Literally.

It had the form of a lion but it walked on two legs and was just bones. Its front “paws” were clawed hands that clutched a scythe of iron. Before WilyKat could dodge, a skeleton foot pushed him into the ground with supernatural strength. The lion swung the blade in an arch.

“NO!” Kit screamed as she ran toward it, tears streaming from her cheeks and her heart praying to Jaga to save him. As she screamed, “NO!” once more…

The ten separate fragments of the diamond lit up with a strange pinkish energy.

Chapter Eleven: The Limit

Cesira walked through the walls. She’d sent Hera and Bast to the moons. Bast was to go to Moon Tenia while Hera was sent to Moon Helion. There was the possibility she’d send Ares and Erida to some moons but there was nothing definite yet. 

“But,” she laughed. “There is one more…”

Cesira stopped. Her real self, the real Cesira, was trying to break through Darkstar’s evil. 

“Give up brat!” Darkstar howled. She clutched the sides of her, no, Cesira’s body, and fell to the ground. She felt her muscles contract. She dug her dark nails into the skin of her arms and blood slipped out through small punctures. “You can’t win against me! I have thousands of years of experience! Your power can’t hope to conquer mine!”

“Don’t…I don’t care.” Cesira, the real Cesira stammered. “Fight…must…fight. Won’t be …con…controlled. Can’t…I can’t surrender…t..o….you.”

“Give up,” Darkstar sneered. “Why don’t you just surrender!?”

“Si…m…ple,” Cesira murmured. “If…if…I…gi..ive..up, you’ve…won. If….I…don’t…you…you’ll…lose.”

Darkstar let out a cry of pain as her granddaughter fought back. Her descendent was fighting back. Her willpower stunned Darkstar. She’d never met up with such an opponent. In her wildest dreams, she would believed Cesira could fight back this hard.

But she was weakening.

Darkstar suddenly leapt to her feet. She had won this time. Yet a fear overtook her. Her granddaughter’s heart and soul deep inside spoke softly.

“There will be another chance Darkstar. And I will defeat you.”

* * *

“WilyKat!” Kit ran forward instinctively. Digging her shoulder into the beast’s side, she sighed in relief as it fell. But it wasn’t out. Still, now her brother was up. She ran to his side while the creature was down.

“Kat are you alright? What happened? What is that thing?”

“Yes, he surprised me, and I have no clue are the answers to your questions. Now let’s get rid of this thing.”

“I hear you,” she smiled.

Both twins turned to the monstrosity. It stumbled to its feet and glared at them. Then it spoke.

“Give it try, kittens,” it growled with a deep piercing voice. The twins felt their hearts begin to race. Sweat gathered on their palms. Adrenaline began to shoot through their veins. Panthro had told them once,

“It’s good to be anxious and nervous before a battle. It helps you focus.”

But they were scared not just anxious.

Kat took a fire pellet from his pouch while his sister took an exploding pellet from her belt. They grabbed their lariats with their other hand. The skeleton merely laughed and charged at them. The blade at the end of its staff shimmered. It looked like Mongor’s scythe. 

“Looks like it?” the skeleton laughed. Then a sound like a goat’s voice escaped the creature’s throat. “Foolish brats, Cesira granted me vengeance. I AM Mongor! The upgraded version.”

The twins gasped. Mongor normally could be defeated by not looking at him. But this one was upgraded and knowing Cesira she eliminated that weakness. They tossed their pellets and quickly drew some more.

Mongor laughed and spun his scythe, easily knocking their pellets aside. The kittens knew their lariats would be sliced to ribbons so they tossed some more pellets. Again these were easily tossed away. Kit swallowed hard then narrowed her eyes. 

“We’re got a few more tricks up our sleeves you overgrown goat.” Kat turned to look at her. WilyKit closed her eyes and concentrated. WilyKat turned to stare at her. Once again, the symbol of the sun shimmered on her forehead. Then a cracking sound was heard. The sun symbol shattered and her sun wand appeared in her hand.

She twirled it around and then pointed it at Mongor. 

“Cosmic Comet Collision!”

Nothing happened. 

WilyKit turned to stare at her brother. He’d drawn his own wand.

“Moon Magic Blast!”

Again nothing happened.

“Foolish cubs,” Mongor sneered. “Don’t you know that this moon will drain magic away from anything tangible save a living creature?”

The kittens swallowed hard. Kit stuck her wand back into her belt. WilyKat did the same. Mongor charged at them. It was time for the old fashioned solution.

“Run!”

The twins had no choice but to run. They knew that their limited martial arts skills would be of no use against Mongor. Not as long as he had that wicked blade. But the ground wasn’t solid. They fell through a pit with a shriek. Kat caught the side and his sister with the other hand. She clutched him with all her strength.

“WilyKit! You’re cutting off my circulation!”

“Sorry. I’m scared. How are we gonna get down?”

Kat felt his grip slipping. “It’s not getting down I’m worried about sis. We GONNA get down. It’s the staying-in-one-piece-part I’m concerned about.”

Kit moved her arms so they were wrapped around her brother’s waist. He looked down and gulped. It looked like slides of crystal. And not smooth crystal either. It had jars and sharp edges sticking out everywhere. Kit saw this as well and gulped. Then, Kat’s hands slipped.

The kittens fell.

Kit screamed and reached for her brother’s hand. But at that exact second the paths of Trunla separated. Kit shrieked an unearthly scream as she lost sight of her brother. Soon however, she was letting out cries of pain until she finally landed in a dark room. There was no light. She sat up slowly, the aches increasing in her muscles. She could easily see a way out but…

“Then what, Kit?” she mumbled. “Stand in Mongor’s face and tell him off?”

“Kit?” a mystical voice called. She looked around but saw no one. Yet somehow she knew who it was.

“Princess Ali?”

“Yes. Your wand WilyKit. Use the wand. Tell it to evolve.”

Then the voice disappeared. Kit picked the wand up and put it to her eyes. She was confused but nevertheless obeyed Ali.

“Sun Wand of Thundera, I, WilyKit, Daughter of the Sun, command you to evolve.”

Using the last amount of power it had, the wand lit up and a huge flash temporarily blinded her. Then, her wand suddenly felt heavier. She finally could see and glanced down at it. And gaped.

It had turned into a reddish pole. But at the end glimmered a deadly blade. No two. One was smaller than the other. The larger one looked like a hook. Kit smiled. 

“Try this on for size Mongor.”

Chapter Twelve: The Hidden Strength

WilyKat lay on the ground, panting. He had been forced one direction, WilyKit in the other. He prayed she was all right. As for himself, he was feeling modest. His clothing was so torn there seemed little point in even wearing it anymore. Yet he was somewhat comforted by it. But his arm was bleeding. It was anything but a comfort.

Mongor had sliced his arm open. That scythe was something else. He tore some of the clean cloth from what was left of his uniform and wrapped it around his wound, trying it tightly. He still winced but Tygra’s lessons had taught him that it was necessary to stop the bleeding. 

Shaking, the kitten climbed to his feet. He saw the way out of this pit and pulled his lasso out from his leather belt. Once again, he thanked the panther for giving it to him. It had held his weapons throughout the fall. Pulling his lasso out he wrapped one end around a spike high above his head. He sighed. It was so high. Much higher than he’d ever had to lift his body weight before.

He began to climb.

He had to rest as much as was possible when he was about three-fourths of a way up. If it weren’t for Panthro’s strict and tough training, he’d never made it this far. But still…

“Jaga,” he grunted as he began to pull his body up some more. “I hate this stuff in training.”

But he made it. He didn’t recognize this terrain but he did recognize the glow he was seeing, although it was faint. It was shimmering white shade yet seemed to have a golden tint to it. He swallowed hard.

He looked down at himself. 

His clothing was in rags. His hair was ruffled and stuck to his sweat-soaked fur. His face was a bright red and his breathing was fast. He had cuts, gashes, and scars practically everywhere. But he walked toward that light. As he crept nearer, the light became so bright, it was nearly blinding. Covering his eyes with one hand, so they were shielded a bit, he kept walking. 

When he entered this chamber, he was shocked. It was surprisingly simple. The room was in an oval-like shape. Unlike the rest of the cavern, the Trunla here was smooth as glass. There were no jagged edges and no pits. It looked like something out of a Trunla collector’s edition.

But he was oblivious to this all. In the center of the room was a pedestal made of silver Thundrillum. Floating above it was a golden gem. It looked like a cut gem for a woman’s ring.Yet it was spilling out the white light. Kat swallowed hard and again trying to turn his dry throat moist again. Then he mumbled what he himself could not believe.

“The Fragment of Moon Tenia.”

* * *

Kit smiled to herself again as she looked down at the mighty weapon she held in her hands. Then, she lifted her face and asked to no one unparticular.

“But….what is it?”

Then Ali’s voice echoed through her mind again.

“The Sun Glaive. It holds no power but it will shrink to fit on your belt. You may also remove the smaller blade to throw like a boomerang.”

WilyKit grinned again. 

“Wicked cool.”

She started up the wall. Then she found to her surprise that the glaive could extend to what seemed to be a billion times its size. She took a firm grip on the end and then thrust the blades into the ground. It rose up, lifting her like Cheetara’s staff.She found it was slower but it was less painful.

As she ran, she wondered where it had come from.

Once more Ali’s voice answered her every time.

“That is my own staff you hold, little one.”

“But, it seems so deadly! Unfit for the goddess of innocence and goodness!”

“You are very wise for your age, little one. You’re no older than I am. But there are a few things you don’t know about me. True I am the Princess of the Gods, the goddess of innocence, while you are the source. But if the world, or the universe becomes filled with evil, my brother and I, Prince Coveen and I, we have the power to end it.”

“What do you mean…end it?”

“Exactly that, we are just memories. That’s all. Our mortal halves hold the power. If needed, we can destroy the evil. Completely. It’s said to destroy innocence but that’s not true. It’s called that because innocent people can be killed. But it’s…it’s the…attack of silence.”

“Silence?”

“Yes, it’s saved until the universe or world is going to be destroyed by evil and guilt, Darkstar’s power, it’s our job to save the people. The attack you saw in your dreams. Innocence Destruction Beacon Attack. We may have the power to bring on innocence. But we can also bring on the silence.”

* * *

“Not so fast brat!” a sudden voice flared. Kat stared upward. Mongor leapt down. He swung the scythe. The kitten easily dodged but Mongor nicked his legs. He tripped. Before he knew it, the goat had a blade at his throat. But before he could swing, another blade blocked his own attack.

“WilyKit?”

Kit smiled at her brother. She nodded. She spoke to Mongor, calmly.

“Mongor, let the evil go. You…you have goodness inside you. I can sense it.”

“NO!” he swung his own glaive at WilyKit. She lifted her glaive and blocked the attack half-heartily. She saw that her brother saw the goodness in him as well. But Kat shook his head. 

“He’s lost Kit. We can’t save him.”

WilyKit nodded. She felt strange. Moon Tenia was bringing her inner soul, her inner self that was rarely revealed, out. She was the source of innocence. Her brother was the source of innocence. They were chosen to hold the seed of innocence for one reason.

It wasn’t the sorcery they held.

Nor was it their innocent age.

As hard as it was to believe, no one’s heart was totally pure. But the twins were chosen because out of the whole universe…

Their hearts were the most pure.

Pure enough that they felt remorse for this creature that would as soon as kill them as look at them.

Then the ground shattered the moment of pure silence that had settled over the group. Mongor swung his scythe toward WilyKit. She screamed. Not in fear for herself but this creature. If she could only save him. She felt regret because she knew she couldn’t. Then as she began to fear death as the scythe edged toward her neck, a ball of power struck the goat. He shuddered. Kit recognized her sibling’s voice. A voice that even in anger held the slight tremor that came from regret.

“Time Accelerate!”

Chapter Thirteen: Forbidden

Mongor shuddered. He backed away from WilyKit, his arms shaking. Kit stared at him. The bones that made up his body were trembling, shaking. Then they slowly began to age, growing yellow. He shuddered and fell to the ground. His bones began to turn to dust.

“What have you done to me?” he moaned.

Kit turned immediately. She was anxious to know as well. She whirled around to see where her twin was.

A swirl of smoke had surrounded her sibling. It was a light purplish shade. Mongor and WilyKit gazed on in shock.

The smoke parted like a curtain and WilyKat stepped through. Kit felt her mouth drop. Her glaive clattered to the ground.

Kat was glowing.

He spoke calmly as the red glow circulated from him.

“I’ve sped your life strand up, Mongor. It’s causing you to age. You’ll fade away.”

“WILYKAT!” Kit screeched. “That’s murder. I mean…”

Kat smiled. “You’re right sis. I wouldn’t kill someone who could be turned. This isn’t permanent. Mongor,” he said softly. “You’ll be reborn.”

“Reborn?” Kit asked softly. Kat nodded.

“You missed the first part of my attack sister.”

Kit swallowed. WilyKat called her sis but he’d never referred to her as ‘sister.’ Kat realized this too and flushed.

“My whole attack is ‘Resurrection Time Accelerate.’” He turned to Mongor. “I’ve sped your life up so quickly that your life strand will repair itself and you’ll be born again. It’s my gift to you.”

“Your gift?” his voice was curious now. 

WilyKat nodded. His knees were weakening and he began to feel light-headed, dizzy. 

“I’ve given you the chance to start over.”

Mongor stared deep into the child’s eyes and was awed by the innocence that gleamed in them. The evil he felt from Darkstar’s influence dulled. He’d been corrupted so long ago and it had wrecked his life. Now this little kitten was giving him another chance. His words before he vanished were two simple words:

“Thank you.”

Kat felt his knees buckle. He tumbled to his hands and knees. He caught a brief glance of Kit rushing to aid him. He tried to inhale deeply. But the air didn’t come.

He collapsed into a sleep he was afraid he would never wake up from.

* * *

WilyKat floated through a mist of black and red. There seemed to be no land or even air, yet he could breathe. His mane whipped around, yet there was no wind. He sighed deeply. Looking down at his body, he realized he was translucent. He swallowed hard.

“Oh, Kit.” He mumbled to himself. “Where am I? Where are you? Am I dead, Kit?”

Then a new voice. It was masculine.

“WilyKat.”

Kat looked around. He saw a bright flash. Then a form appeared.

The figure was smaller than the average adult. He was of Kat’s clan. He had hair about the shade of WilyKat’s with wisps of white around the edges. He had on the traditional Thundercat uniform, much like Lion-o’s only brown. His eyes were a kind amber.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Misko. I’m a Thunderian god. Or was.”

“You’re dead?”

“Yes.”

“Am…am I dead?”

“No, not entirely…my son.”

“Father?”

He nodded. Kat swam through the strange mist that made up this land. Misko stretched out his arms. He pulled his son into them and pressed him against his chest. Misko held him close. He remembered Kitra, his wife. He remembered that glorious day she announced she had twins within her, a little girl and a little boy. Kat looked like her.

“But,” WilyKat stammered. “Where…where am I then?”

“Your soul’s lost within your own mind. It’s weak. That attack took too much power. I’ll be honest. It IS killing you.”

Kat started to shake. Misko smoothed his hair and whispered soothing words in his ears. 

“Your sister is working to save you and it’s very likely she’ll succeed but it was that attack that did it.”

“Resurrection Time Accelerate?”

“Yes,”

“But I didn’t even know I had that power!”

“That’s just it. You aren’t supposed to have it. It’s a power that messes around with time. We don’t know what other life lines can be affected. It’s your forbidden attack.”

* * *

“WilyKat! Wake up!” Kit beat on his chest frantically, in a panic. He made no response to her. She grabbed his shoulders and lifted his body off the ground. Her brother’s head leaned back over her elbow. He was a dead weight in her arms. He wasn’t breathing.

“Wake up! Wake up! Oh please WAKE UP!”

Her brother once again fell limp in her arms as she shook him with all the strength she could muster. Tears began to stream down her cheeks. She pulled her brother’s face so it was pressed against her chest. She let the tears fall and buried her face into his thick mane.

As she did this, an eerie light surrounded the Fragment of Tenia. It spilled out more power, a strange reddish glow. Suddenly as Kit laid her sibling down, she knew what to do. All Tygra’s lessons came streaming back into her consciousness. She forced her brother’s mouth open and pressed her own lips to his. She pushed air out with all her strength, trying to give her brother air. 

She pushed with all her might then used more strength to press down on her brother’s chest. She kept this up. She refused to let him die.

“You aren’t going to die Kat,” she silently swore. “Your little sister’s gonna save you.”

* * *

Misko noted his son was beginning to fade. He smiled.

“Dad?” Kat asked suddenly, noticing himself. “What’s happening?”

“Your twin’s bringing you back.”

Kat hugged his father and then felt his soul slowly rejoin his body.

* * *

“BREATHE! BREATHE, BY JAGA, BREATHE!”

WilyKat inhaled deeply then gasped for air. Kit pulled him up to her breast and held him as a mother would, smoothing his hair. Then she scolded him.

“Don’t you ever do that again! You scared me to death!”

Kat smiled. He heard the relief in his sister’s voice. He clutched her tightly. Tighter than he ever had. She squeezed him back then leaned him against the wall. She stuck a finger in his face and hissed.

“Now stay there.”

WilyKat smiled. He knew better than to argue with his sister. She walked to the pedestal and then swiftly returned. She knelt by her brother and slowly opened her clasped hands.

Inside laid the Fragment of Moon Tenia.

For a second both gaped at it. It was very small, about the size of a small rock. It was made of a shiny goldish substance and it turned in Kit’s hands, spilling out energy. Kit looked at her brother and her eyes seemed to be asking, ‘What happened?’

“My forbidden attack,” he answered. “I’m not supposed to use it. Or I risk dying.”

Kit swallowed. “Don’t you EVER use that again.”

Kat laughed. “No problem, I don’t want to ever use that again.”

Then the subject dropped as they stared at the gem. They were unaware that Bast had abandoned Tenia and was waiting for them on Jilla. They were also unaware of the evil that was preying on one of their own countrymen.

* * *

Lyann stood by the entrance to Cats Lair. Her eyes burned with anger. Yet somehow she couldn’t hate the Thundercats. But she had every reason to. Yet she couldn’t and for some reason she couldn’t hate the kittens. Again she had every reason to. 

Suddenly, she saw Leah, that stubborn goody-goody walk out into the sunlight from the Lair. She felt her eyes grow darker and colder. The child was living there!

Lyann stalked off, throwing her hands up.

“Leah living there now? That’s it! All the votes are in! My life is now officially unfair!”

“You’re right,” a new voice called. Lyann whirled around. A strange girl was standing next to her. She had dark black hair and evil looking eyes. “You’re right. You do deserve better.”

Lyann cocked her head. Then the awful memories came. The reason why she hated the Thundercats so…

* * *

Lyann stared out the window. She was five years old. The city was burning. She saw her mother running towards her. Then the saber toothed cat fell in front of her. Lyann screamed. The cat slammed a club towards her. Lyann’s mother fell. She never got up. Lyann saw the insignia. A Thundercat.

* * *

“Listen to me Lyann,” the girl continued. Her eyes lit up with the same glow as she’d used on Alluro before. The girl was under her control. “I can give you revenge. Inside the Lair there is a tiny trinket. Called the Bracelet of Power…

Chapter Fourteen: Questions Unanswered

WilyKat awoke at the slight noise. The twins had managed to make camp near the large lake. It was nearly time for the others to return. They were grateful. With their spare clothes lost in the fight, they had only the shreds of their old clothing left to cover themselves. So they slept closely for comfort and warmth. WilyKat sat up and saw the Feliner in the distance. He turned to Kit. She still had the Fragment. She’d strung it on a chain that now hung around her neck.

“Kit?” he shook her gently. She stirred and slowly opened her eyes. She saw the Feliner and quickly climbed to her feet. The kittens stood together as the Feliner landed. They smiled. Tygra and Panthro were the first ones out. The twins, suddenly feeling a strange sense of relief and protection, ran over to them and wrapped them in hugs.

“Whoa,” Tygra said, backing up a little. “What a greeting.”

Then the adults got a good look at the kittens.

“Great Jaga! Let’s get you two inside and fixed up.”

The kittens had no rejection. Tygra and Panthro walked them into the Feliner where the others were organizing some things. Panthro took them to the room in back. Pumyra was busy with the others and the wounds were minor. Panthro could handle them.

While Panthro got the first aid kits out, the twins stripped what was left of their clothing. They sprayed off in the Feliner’s water facets and wrapped themselves in towels. Panthro came in then and began to tend to their wounds. WilyKat’s seemed worse for a reason. He was also weak. It unnerved the panther. 

“Have any luck?” Panthro asked, them as he wrapped Kat’s arm with a bandage. He moved a little. Panthro grabbed his shoulder and held him still.

“You little imp,” the panther laughed. “Hold still.”

“But it hurts,” WilyKat hissed as the Thundercat wiped another wound with alcohol. 

“It would hurt less if you’d keep still,”

Kit smirked but the panther merely smiled back at her.

“I don’t know why you’re smiling kid, you’re next.”

WilyKit laid her chin in her hands and sighed.

“But,” she suddenly spoke. “in answer to your question, yes we had luck.”

She cupped her hands and held her hands out toward the panther. Then slowly she opened them.

Inside, hovering just above her skin was perfectly cut gem. It was very tiny. The tiniest of the fragments yet the most powerful. It was turning constantly, spilling white light in every direction. Panthro finished tying Kat’s wound then slowly reached to take it from her. Kit placed it into his hands gently. 

The panther stared at it. It spilled out more energy. The whole room seemed to fill with the white light. Then, WilyKat spoke.

“Ali and Coveen are trapped in that little thing?”

Panthro shook his head. “No. WilyKat it’s just their memories. The memory of themselves as god and goddess will awake their mortal halves. Their mortal halves hold the power. ‘Ali’ and ‘Coveen’ are just immortality and memories.”

For a second, the three sat there just staring at the fragment. Kit and Kat leaned against the panther’s side. As Panthro looked down at them, he felt that emotion again. Love. He loved all the Thundercats like brothers and sisters but these two struck deeper. They were like a daughter and son he’d never had.

Panthro sighed. The children had succeeded. But his group…

* * *

Lynx-o and Pumyra ran ahead of Panthro. This whole moon seemed like something from a dream. Both a dream and a nightmare. They’d already had to escape several animals. There were hundreds of animals here. They had been walking a while. Lynx-o sensed that they were nearing the fragment. 

“Panthro,” Pumyra said softly, in awe. “Look,”

He ran up and gasped in shock along with the other two. Panthro was still getting used to the fact that Lynx-o could see. That had been a pretty neat trick on the twins part. 

Beneath them in a valley were animals. Hundreds, thousands, millions it seemed.But that wasn’t what caused the shock inside their throats. It was the fact that for at least ten years these animals were extinct. Yet they were there, alive, in living color.

Pumyra knelt to her knees and rested on the ground. A small catlike creature bounded up to her. It had four legs and the ears of a rabbit. But it’s tail was like a cat’s. The fur covering her was snowwhite. Her deep blue eyes stared up at the puma with strange innocence. The female reached out to rub it.

“Pumyra! No!” Lynx-o grabbed her hand and yanked her up just as the creature spread its claws and sprang where Pumyra had just been, yelling a strange inhuman growl.

It didn’t take the Thundercats long to realize they were surrounded. Then a piercing laugh cut through the air.

The whole of them looked up and gasped.

Hovering above them was strange figure. She had long black hair. It flowed loose around her shoulders and her skin was a terrible white pale. The lips of her face weren’t red but black. Everything about this woman screamed out loud, “I’m evil.” Her dress was very tight and fell to her knees. She laughed again.

Then she waved her hand. A wave of black energy hit all the Thundercats knocking them all down.

“My name’s Erida. The goddess of hatred.”

With that she flung another wave of energy keeping them pinned down. Pumyra fumbled for her pouch and withdrew a pellet. She wasn’t counting on beating her with a pellet but maybe it would blind her temporarily and give them the chance to get up.

A huge flash lit up. As Pumyra hoped, the goddess’ power ceased just long enough. They all leapt up and immediately drew their weapons. Erida merely laughed again and struck back with another wave of power. Lynx-o and Pumyra collapsed but Panthro remained standing. He was burnt but he wasn’t out yet.

“Aw,” Erida sneered. “A strong one.”

Panthro narrowed his eyes and fired a blast from his nunchucks. Erida held out her hand to block it but instead of being a laser as she’d expected, it froze her hand. She yelped in surprise and pain. Then, using her other hand let loose a blast of black power that knocked Panthro to the ground.

“I’ll save you the trouble of going after the fragment Thundercats.” She raised her hand and the gem appeared. The Thundercats sprung at her only to be knocked backward. They hit hard and looked up in time to see Erida laugh and vanish with the fragment…

* * *

“Panthro?” a voice startled the panther from his thoughts. 

He turned and WilyKit was smiling up at him, her cheek plastered into his chest. He smiled down at her and smoothed her hair.

“You didn’t get the fragment, huh?” Kat asked, his face on the panther’s shoulder. The elder Thundercat looked at them in shock. The twins smiled.

“We can see it in your eyes.” They answered in unison.

He nodded. Kit and Kat put their smaller hands on the older cat’s. He looked at them in surprise. They smiled. He was confused. They’d been so keen on getting these blasted things and he hadn’t gotten one but they were both smiling at him.

“We promise you this, Panthro on everything sacred to us, that we won’t let the darkness destroy Thundera. OR our friends.”

He smiled and ruffled their two manes, laughing as they threw his hands off. Then suddenly, he asked.

“Tell me kittens, if it came down to it, who would you save? Thundera or us?”

He waited for them to say “Thundera.”

They didn’t.

Instead they looked at him in the eyes and said, “We hope it doesn’t come down to that.”

“If it did? You would save Thundera before us. Right?” he pressed. The kittens let their heads drop.

“We don’t know, Panthro. We don’t know.”

Chapter Fifteen: Ice and Water

The Thunderkittens slept soundly. Panthro stood by the door and watched them. He’d been standing there for a while. Tygra noticed this and walked up to his old friend. Placing a hand on his shoulder, he laughed softly,

“Look so innocent for such little rascals, don’t they?”

The panther nodded. “Yeah they do. Anyone who saw they on an average day would never guess they held the seed of innocence in them.”

Tygra nodded and looked at them. They seemed to fit the part almost. Who else would believe that Mumm-ra’s dog would make a turn around? He remembered Panthro telling him about the time the twins brought Ma-Mutt to the Lair. But it wasn’t that. It was what they said about Mumm-ra and Cesira. That short conversation had surprised the heck out of the tiger. It was WilyKit who’d said it.

“There’s good in them both, Tygra.”

He looked back to Panthro. He entered the room and sat by WilyKit, smoothing her hair. Both of the kittens were on the bottom bunk tonight. They needed the warmth. After Moon Jilla they would hate the very thought of snow and cold. Tygra scooped WilyKat up into his arms and sat on the edge of the bed, the kitten cradled in his arms. Panthro soon had done the same with WilyKit. The two adults just sat there, the twins asleep in their arms.

“Tygra?”

“Yes?”

“Earlier today, I asked the twins if it came down to it, if they would save Thundera or us.”

“And?”

“They said they hoped it didn’t come to that. Then when I pressed they said, “We don’t know, Panthro.”

The tiger nodded and shifted his arms as the child stirred. He pulled him closer to his chest. As he watched him sleep, memories fired back at him. He saw the kittens as younger cubs, barely five and yet whenever someone they were friends with was taunted, they would defend them. They saw them as eleven year olds when they first landed on Third Earth going back to Mongor’s temple to undo the damage so their friends weren’t hurt. They saw them as twelve year olds, leaving the Lair because they felt like burdens. And finally, he saw them face Celeano even knowing that they would probably die.

He knew then. “It would be us,” he muttered. “The Thunderkittens are loyal enough. They love us enough.”

Panthro finished the tiger’s sentence with him.

“That they would sacrifice a planet, their home, for us.”

* * *

Cesira walked away from her brother’s caldron. She was uneasy. She approached her servants. 

“Hurry. We must hurry. Kat has sped up the strands of time.”

“Well,” Artemis said softly. “He is the son of Kitra. Why are you worried?”

“His powers are approaching their peak.”

“But…what about when he and his sister defeated your mother?”

She shook her head. “When they stripped the universe of innocence, their powers weren’t developed. Not even half way….”

* * *

The thunderkittens waved goodbye to the Feliner. Lion-o was forced to extreme measures. Since they only had two fragments, the Dream Fragment and the Fire Fragment, they had to act swiftly. It was one person to a moon now unfortunately. Save the twins. They were younger and always together anyway. So they were sent to Jilla. Lion-o went to Nightshowl. Panthro went to Kuyia. Pumyra to Crytian. Bengali to Yuya. Lynx-o to Winnia. Tygra to Dynamian. Cheetarawent with the kittens.

“Well,” the cheetah said gently. “Shall we start off?”

The twins nodded. The kittens wrapped their arms around their bodies. Even with the Cat Suits they were cold. Cheetara was a little warmer because her clan’s fur was a tad thicker than the twins’ clan. She put her hands on the kittens’ shoulders and drew them a little closer.

“look!” Kit pointed ahead toward a cave entrance. “I remember reading the ice fragment was in a cave.”

The other two nodded.

“lead the way, kiddo.” Cheetara smiled. The female twin immediately bounded ahead with WilyKat and Cheetara struggling to catch up. Cheetara was cold so her speed wasn’t there. Also she couldn’t leave Kat by himself. They were supposed to stay together.

The two met up with WilyKit in the cave.

“Beautiful,” Cheetara said slowly. The kittens nodded in agreement. It was. There were odd shapes of ice and crystal here. The group crept forward catiously. Kit edged toward her scythe. She pulled it out. It was small now but she could enlarge it.

“WilyKit?” a voice said. “What’s that?”

It was Cheetara. Kit looked at her. She’d drawn her staff and extended it. Kit sighed.

“My wand ran out of power. Princess Ali told me to tell it to evolve.” The child giggled. “And here’s what I got.”

She extended it.

But not even Cheetara’s gasp of surprise made her feel better. Not even her twin’s smile. She felt something was wrong. Her grip on the scythe tightened.

* * *

“Torr!” Leah’s voice cut through the dull quiet of Cats’ Lair. The older Thunderian came running.

“What is it, Leah?”

“Lyann’s here. She hates Thundercats. Looks like she’s up to no good.”

The adult nodded. He quickly walked downstairs but was shocked by the loud crash he heard. Swiftly he changed course to the weapon’s room. Entering he saw the child pick something from the caskat and start for the door. Torr blocked her path. 

“Return that now, young lady.”

Lyann shook her head. “Don’t think so.” She charged straight at him. Before Torr could stop her, an agonozing pain shot through his back. He collapsed. Lyann leapt over him and called out, “Enjoy life Torr. It won’t last much longer. The Darkness is coming. The Silence.”

Leah charged in. Her heart stopped and she dropped by Torr, pulling his head into her lap. She looked up at Lyann. Her eyes narrowed. “What do you want? And what is the Silence? The Darkness?”

Lyann laughed and it was such an evil cackle that Leah shuddered. She pulled Torr close to her as the tears began to stream from her eyes. Lyann laughed again. 

“Yeah be afraid wimp! The Darkness is the Evil Rebellion! Evil will take over and use the Diamond to wipe out innocence. We’ll start over again! And this time evil will be the dominant power!”

Leah felt it. She knew what Lyann was refering to.

“The End of Life?”

“Yeah! Nice aren’t we?” Seth sneered. Lyann smiled and Seth put an arm around her waist. Both of them began to fade away. Lyann cried out.

“The Age of Life will end and the Age of Death and Destruction will begin!”

“You won’t do it,” Leah said softly. She looked up and smiled. “Kit and Kat will stop you.”

“Those twerps?” Lyann cried out in hot anger. “Those brats couldn’t beat me in a fair fight fist-to-fist, let alone save your miserable hide. Besides which, the Diamond is forged from the goodness and evil in the universe. You need Princess Ali and Prince Coveen to stop us, which you don’t have!”

“Whether we find the Princess and Prince or not doesn’t matter.” Leah swallowed hard but her words were true and rang with the truth. “I know the twins. They will pull out all the stops to defeat you.”

Seth spat. “It’ll be a futile fight, tiny one.”

“More futile now,” Lyann chimed in. She lifted her hand. On her wrist shimmered a golden band decorated with selected green gems and golden carvings. The Bracelet of Power. She laughed again. And vanished with Seth. Leah spoke gently to Torr, putting her hands to his wounds and focusing her powers. They slowly began to heal. She spoke.

“I trust my friends, Torr.”

He nodded than shouted a warning. Looking up, a lightning bolt of black energy shot down. Most likely from Seth. Leah bowed her head. There was no fear in her eyes. If she died, she’d be with her parents. If she lived she’d be with her friends. 

* * *

Panthro pulled himself from the waters of Moon Kuyia. Then saw his prize. Hovering above a pedestal of sea coral was the Fragment of Moon Kuyia. He smiled. Pulling his body up, he reached for it. Closing his hands around it carefully, it lit up with power.

* * *

Torr felt a strange warmth. He looked up. Gasped. Leah lit up with a faint bluish glow.

Seth’s power vanished before it hit them and Leah lit up brighter. Then the glow vanished and she collapsed as a bright flash eliuminated her forehead.

A seashell on the Cat Signal.

The Mark of Moon Kuyia.

Chapter Sixteen: In A Tiny Pellet

Cheetara sat up and stretched. The group had camped in the cave, though reluctantly. The she-cat smiled as the kittens clutched her tighter. They were cold. She slowly shook them. Kat opened one eye and glared at her. She smiled at him and gave his cheek a gentle nudge.

“Time to wake up,” she said softly. “We have to find that fragment.”

The cheetah started to get out the food supplies while the kittens got dressed. 

“WilyKat?”

The male kitten looked at his sister. She swallowed hard and he followed her glance. To his pellet pouch.

“What?”

“What pellets are you taking?”

“A glue, water, flame, and hallucination one.”

“And?”

He suddenly knew what she was asking. He reached into his pouch and with drew a very tiny pellet. It was smaller than the rest. It was also solid black instead of white. Their clan had created the pellets and so the kittens had some. They’d never told the others about these pellets though.

First of all there seemed no reason to. To the others, their pellets had always been dangerous. If they knew about these…

Also the formula for these weapons had long been lost. The four pellets that each twin had, eight in all, were the only ones left. But that wasn’t why they didn’t talk about them.

The kittens had sworn long ago to never use them unless there was no other choice. They were too dangerous. Those tiny pellets were the only pellets of the kittens that could kill…

* * *

“I’m cold, I’m tired, and I’m hungry.” WilyKit moaned as she followed her brother and Cheetara up the steep sides of the cave. The cheetah smiled a tolerant grin.

“I know Kit,” she said softly, “So am I.”

“And you don’t hear her complaining.” Kat shot at her, poisonously. Kit stuck her tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes. Kit sneered.

“No comeback?”

“Be quiet. I don’t like hearing you whine.”

“You should talk!”

“Whiner.”

“Wuss.”

“ENOUGH!” Cheetara yelled suddenly. The kittens stopped immediately. The cheetah whirled around and faced them, hands on her hips. The kittens stared at her. Even in anger, they hardly ever heard Cheetara raise her voice. They looked at each other, shame in their eyes. Cheetara continued.

“Act your age! We have something serious to accomplish here! If you’re going to argue, don’t say anything at all. Got it?”

The twins nodded. The adult continued ahead. WilyKit tugged her brother’s arm. He turned. She offered him her hand. She was cold he knew. When she was uncomfortable, she got annoyed easily. He smiled at her. He took her offered hand, gently. 

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. He smield back and they slowly hurried to catch up with the cheetah. Kat said softly,

“So am I. Sorry that is.”

Kit smiled. The whole stress of this mission was beginning to wear on them. The kittens soon caught up with Cheetara. She looked at them.

“We’re sorry.” They chorused in unison as they normally did, being twins.

She smiled. She knew the stress they were going through. Her sixth sense had revealed to her the end of the universe. What would happen if they didn’t get this Diamond…

* * *

Cheetara stood alone. The sky of Thundera, her home, usually a pale purple shade now burned the red of blood. The white clouds now were a black of death. Red lightning plummented the ground. Fresh grass turned brown at the light and withered to nothing. The cheetah surveyed the land. Everything was black, dying. She spied the kittens not far away. They had each other in their arms, Leah between them. A flash of red lightning plummented, straight for Leah. The female twin leapt from her sibling’s arms and stood in front of Leah. The pain hit her instead of the younger child. She collapsed. Kat caught her in his arms. Her face was splotched with blood and her fur was singed. Her clothing was torn and burnt as was her brother’s. Another flash and Cheetara couldn’t see them anymore.

She saw them running after a moment and prayed for Kitra to protect them. Then, sensing she couldn’t help them, ran towards the lair. It was still standing. But as she neared it, she saw that the others were abandoning it. But before she could run to meet them, a piercing laugh chilled her to her bones.

She looked up. A transparent face. The eyes were black, merciless. The hair was black and flowed around her until it reached the ground. The strands on the ground, grabbed for victims as if the were alive. It found Snarf and Snarfer. It wrapped around their chests and began to squeeze. Lion-o tried to run to their aid but a transparent hand suddenly lifted from the ground and swept him aside. He struck a pillar of the Lair. He went down, unconscious. The others rushed to help their lord up. Cheetara faced the figure. She lifted her arms and at the ends of her fingertips, the Diamond of Thundera shimmered. She laughed again and screamed aloud.

“I welcome the Age of Darkness!”

From the Diamond swept waves of black. Cheetara focused her mind and a telekinetic shield surrounded her. But the waves burst through it like it was wet leaves. Cheetara screamed as the waves wrapped her in darkness and penetrated her skin. Then an agonizing fear. Her cells themselves, turned against each other. She felt them battling withing her, killing each other, killing her. Her heart began to burn. It was still pumping blood. But then the darkness hit her heart. It sped up. Soon, her lungs froze. All her energy was needed for her heart’s rapid rate. She couldn’t even mutter a shriek as her heart burned itself out…

* * *

“Cheetara! Look out!”

The she-cat snapped out from daze and jerked her head up. All she saw was a white blur. Then, she saw the blade. She had her staff out in an instant. Her staff easily blocked the blade but now she saw the creature in the face. It looked like snow leopard only it had blades all over its body. She winced. With a turn of her staff she slammed the creature into the wall. It shattered. It was made from ice.

“WilyKit!” she called as more of the bladed creatures appeared. “Use your scythe!”

“Right!”

The kitten had her weapon out in an instant. Then she stopped. She turned to the adult while dodging the blurry beast.

“Cheetara! Uh, how do I use this thing?”

“You’re a kitten.” Kat cut in. He tossed a few pellets. They exploded and several creatures shattered.

“Improvise. Guess.”

Kit tore the smaller blade off and threw it. She prayed to Jaga and her mother to guide her hands. The blade whipped through the air so fast Kit could only see a blur. Several of the creatures fell and broke to splinters of ice. The blade flew back and clicked back onto her staff. She swallowed hard and struck with the larger blade. Then suddenly she whirled to her brother.

“WilyKat!”

“What?”

“Tell your wand to evolve. Maybe it’ll change like mine!”

Kat shrugged. He had seen a lot of weird stuff lately but he still felt strange speaking to a wand. But heck, he was out of other options.

“Moon Wand of Thundera, I, WilyKat, Son of the Moon, command you to evolve!”

A blur of blue light blinded him temporarily as had the yellow flash from his sister’s wand. Then he managed to open his eyes and he saw his wand change.

The sphere on top melted and traveled down the base of the wand, forming strange shapes. At the top of the wand, it bulged out. This formed the sheath. Because as he watched the transformation, the long gleaming white of a blade crawled from the sheath and then hardened forming a sword. He knew immediately if his sister’s scythe was Princess Ali’s scythe then this was Prince Coveen’s sword.

He drew the blade from the sheath and swung out at his target. 

His blade sliced through the creature as if it was air. His enemy shattered instantly. He turned the blade and got rid of the creature on his sister. She looked up at him. He barnished his sword like a child with a new toy. Kit giggled and got to her feet. She’d felt the same when she got her scythe. But it wasn’t a good time for giggling.

Despite their efforts they were outnumbered. The three were forced back to back until they were surrounded. Cheetara swallowed hard and swung her staff around. Kat did the only thing he could think of. He caught his sister’s eye. She nodded, though grimly. It was the only way. She caught the nervous look in her twin brother’s eyes. She grasped her brother’s hand tightly.

He pulled a black pellet from his pouch.

“I think I know a shortcut out,” she said softly. WilyKat stared at her. He shook his head.

“You can’t just run off. If you don’t get out in time…”

Kat looked down at the danger he held in his palm. He looked at her, tears in his eyes. Kit looked down.

“Cheetara can you out. Right Cheetara?”

The she-cat turned to them. “I can carry one of you out. But…do you have a plan?”

“Yes,” said Kit.

“Suicidial, but a plan.” Kat added grimly.

Cheetara asked, as the creatures began to close in, “Who’s with me?”

“Kat is,” Kit said softly. “I think I saw a way out that I can get to.”

Cheetara and WilyKat nodded. WilyKat said softly, voice choking, “Be careful.”

WilyKit nodded and hugged her brother. Then she extended her scythe a tad more and thrust the blades into the ground. She used her scythe like a pole to polevault over the creatures. 

Cheetara turned to WilyKat. This was the kittens’ game. She trusted them.

“Cheetara can you use your staff to get out of here? And then run?”

She nodded. Smiling, she squeezed the kitten’s hand. She saw the reluctance in his eyes.

“Good,” he said. “I’ll need some help. But when I say fast, I mean FAST!”

She nodded. “Get on my back. Speed is not a problem. At least not for a while. But I’m not as fast as I usually am. The cold numbs my muscles.” WilyKat nodded and climbed onto her back. Cheetara immediately jumped into action. She sprang over the creatures and began to run. The kitten tossed the black pellet behind them. The creatures were after them almost instantly.

“Now what?” she demanded as she kicked her legs into high gear. “Was this in the plan?”

He didn’t answer just screamed. 

“OUT! OUT! OUT!”

She immediately headed out. “We only have a minute,” Kat pressed. 

“I didn’t know you could delay your pellets like that.” She commented.

Cheetara launched herself into her maximum speed. Tears filled the child’s eyes as the cold wind blew past them. But then at the edge of the cave, Cheetara tripped and both the Thundercats went rolling over the landscape. WilyKat let out a yelp as he scrapped down the hard sides. Cheetara wasn’t far from him. They finally stopped about five yards from the cave entrance.The kitten leapt up and was immediately running again. He got about five more yard. And then he knew the time was up. With Cheetara near him, Kat dropped to the ground, eyes shut, ears covered. Cheetara looked up, curious.

The child’s pellet activated.

With a huge blast, the whole foundation of the mountain blew away and the mountain collapsed in a mass of snow and ice.

Chapter Seventeen: Emotions of the Moon

Cheetara could only gape for a few seconds. The shock of the blast knocked her off her feet and to the ground. She fell to the ground beside WilyKat. The wave of the blast rolled over him as he covered his head. Cheetara did the same. A shower of ice and stones fell suddenly. When the storm passed, WilyKat got to his elbows.He looked over at Cheetara and smiled. 

“That’s why I never use those pellets.”

Then as suddenly as the grin came, it vanished .He leapt to his feet and ran toward the rubble looking for his sister.

“Kit!” WilyKat began running towards the rubble faster and in a panic. Cheetara was not far behind him. The kitten sank to his knees in the ice and snow and began calling his sister’s name. He dug in the snow trying to find some trace of her. But no, nothing. He didn’t even find a piece of his hair. His heart began to pound and throb.

“I knew I shouldn’t have used it.” Kat let his head drop. His mane fell in front of his eyes. He felt his vision swirl as tears filled his eyes. He blinked and the tears began to stream from his eyes. They left icy trails down his cheeks. Cheetara put a hand on his shoulder. 

“I’m sure she got out in time, kitten.” She said softly in a way of comfort. But the kitten heard no real hope in her voice. Kat looked at her, tears in his eyes. He grabbed hold of his mane and tugged in desperation. He was close to becoming hysterical.

“Then where is she?”

The cheetah had no answer. She did however pull the child to his feet and spoke to him gently. She wiped the tears from his face with her palm. Then she smiled at him faintly.

“Let’s look further up. If anyone could survive a blast like that, it’s your sister.”

WilyKat managed a nod and followed the Thundercat up the snow and ice. The ice was cold and numbed his toes inside the thick boots. 

“WilyKit!”

“WilyKit!”

The two walked along calling the child’s name. With each unanswered call, WilyKat felt his heart begin to tighten more and more. By Jaga, if only he hadn’t used that pellet. If Kit was…

“She’s not,” he muttered to himself.“She’s not.”

“I’m not what?” a voice called. The voice sounded muffled as though something were blocking it. Kat’s heart started again. He knew that tone.

WilyKat whirled around and Cheetara followed his glace. Some snow and ice tumbled and fell. Kat ran over to it and began clawing at the ice, digging it away. Cheetara was soon by his side, quickly helping. WilyKat slowly uncovered a hand but it was burned. He felt tears fill his eyes and he frantically increased his speed. Soon he’d uncovered his sister’s two arms and was beginning to see the ends of her red mane.

Finally, He could see her face. She had red streaks of blood on her cheeks and burns on her temples and forehead. WilyKat dug his hands into the snow and pulled his sister the rest of the way out. She had her clothing ripped but besides that, seemed okay.

“Oh, Kit,” he cooed softly, touched her wounds gently. “Are you alright?”

“Oh, sure,” she responded, a smile working its way across her features. “I’m all torn up, I’m bleeding and probably won’t ever want to see those pellets again. I’m just dandy.”

WilyKat managed a laugh. He looked at Cheetara.

“Sarcasm. She’s fine.”

Kit suddenly stiffened. She remembered now. Her smile expanded until Kat was certain if it got any larger, he’d have to extend her face. She looked into her hand. She screamed out.

“Oh, I am beyond fine!”

She looked at Kat and smiled. “When I felt the blast coming I reached for something solid like a crystal. But it wasn’t connected. I fell. But as I fell I saw a glimmer in the distance. I followed it and reached it just before the pellet exploded. I’m glad. Look.”

She opened her palm.

Inside was the Diamond Fragment of Moon Jilla.

* * *

Lion-o walked back to the Feliner. He had the Fragment in his hand. Although tygra was on moon Dymanian, the further moon, Lion-o had the Feliner. Tygra had asked him to keep it for some strange reason. The lion had inwardly questioned why but he trusted the tiger.

Still, if one of the Thundercats summoned for help only Lion-o would be able to get there to help. With the dangers on these moons they would need at least two Thundercats to handle it. He shook his head. If only they had more than one ship. Maybe when they got back, Panthro could alter the Thunderstrike’s engines.

Lion-o stepped up into the Feliner. He was exhausted. He took the Fragment of Nightshowl and entered the hidden room the Feliner had that only few of the Thundercats knew about. Tygra, Panthro, and Lion-o knew about it because they spent the most time in the Feliner. The Thunderkittens knew because of their cunning and they never missed anything. 

He stepped into the middle of the room. There was a chest in the middle. But not a big one. This one he could hold in his hand. Lion-o picked it up and opened the lid. As he looked into it, a blazzing light nearly blinded him. But then as always, the light dulled and he could see again.

He blinked than looked at the contents.

The Fragment of Moon Helion twirled about, spilling out red waves of power. The Lord placed the Fragment of Moon Nightshowl down next to it. On the soft fabric that lined the box, it started to spin as well, spreading waves of brownish green power. But of the whole selection, it was undeniable that Moon Tenia was the most magnicient.

The fragment was smaller but it was the most delicatly cut. It hovered above the fabric and seemed to glow brighter than the others. Lion-o stood there staring for a while. Then he closed the box and went to his chamber in the Feliner. He decided to lay down for a short nap before going to meet the others.

* * *

Cheetara and the Thunderkittens walked back to the ruins of the cave. They saw another cave not far where they could rest up. The Thunderkittens declared they weren’t tired at all but Cheetara could see that they were lying. They were exhausted. Kit and her brother walked very close together and even joined hands at one point. By the time they reached the mouth of the cave and set up camp they were ready to collapse.

Cheetara sat down on her cot and asked the kittens.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“No,”

She shook her head. “Well whether you are or not, why don’t you two take a nap for a hour or so?”

“We’re too old for naps!”

Cheetara smiled again. “I don’t know about that. I’m going to take one and I’m older than you.”

With that she turned on her side and closed her eyes. She was tired and welcomed the comfort but inside she felt a terrible fear. Her sixth sense was growing stronger. Every time she closed her eyes she saw it again. The end of life, of joy.

And this time it was worse…

* * *

The ground shook again. Cheetara fell to her knees and clutched at the earth for support. But there was none. She looked up. Those gods had vanished. In their place stood Darkstar. She had summoned them together and they had merged into her. She was all of them together. She stood against the blood red sky, holding the Diamond. She laughed.

Cheetara stepped near her. She summoned her power up. She was special. Of all her clan members, Cheetara was the only one that was telekinetic. She glared at Darkstar. The evil woman merely cocked her head and laughed faintly. She lifted her head and raised the Diamond above her head. It lit up with red light. 

The beams traveled through the nearby village like bombs. Everything it touched burned for a moment and then crumpled to nothing. Cheetara looked through the village, tears rolling down her cheeks. The beams struck her countrymen, killing most of them on contact.Bodies littered the ground. She saw several children still alive but in pain, their bodies and hearts failing them slowly, painfully.

The beams fired again. She saw the Thunderkittens not far from her. Panthro had them in his arms. He swept them out of the beams rays at the last second. They were crying.

Panthro held them tightly, shielding them. She heard their words and they broke her heart.

“We failed. We promised we wouldn’t let you get hurt.”

Then, the beam came again striking Panthro on the back. The kittens cried out for him to stop. To save himself and forget them. He declined. He said he would protect them until he couldn’t anymore.

Princess Ali and prince Coveen didn’t the one thing that could save everyone. Immortality. They had learned it was a myth. The red glow was their power now. Their immortality only lasted so long, like energy. And it had burned itself out. They were no more immortal than Cheetara was. 

Cheetara faced Darkstar again.

She laughed. Lifting her hands, the Diamond filled with red power once more.

“Welcome the Age of Death, Thundercat!”

Then the beam of red shot towards her.

She concentrated. A shiel, she needed a shield. Then the beam hit her.

She collapsed, screaming. Her hair began to burn until finally it was a flame on her head. Her fur turned black and began to blow away. She howled in pain. She caught sight of Darkstar’s face. She laughed and pushed more power towards the Thundercat. Cheetara screamed again. She tried to concentrate but couldn’t. She was in too much agony.

She saw a strange silohette, no two. Then the pain…

* * *

“Cheetara! Wake up!”

The Thundercat’s eyes flew open and she saw the kittens shaking her. Their eyes were wide with concern and they had tears of panic in their eyes.

“Cheetara! Are you-“ Kat started. Cheetara held up a hand.

“I’m fine, kitten.” She said slowly. “Just a vision.”

“What did you see?” WilyKit said gently. The cheetah shook her head.

“It would give you nightmares.”

The twins exchanged looks. WilyKit tried again.

“Cheetara, you seemed terrified! Are you sure you don’t-“

“It’s alright Kit,” she said again. “I’m fine now.”

WilyKit and WilyKat were surprised. Cheetara hardly ever kept things from them. But they decided not to press the subject further. They couldn’t. Just then, the Thundercat signal flashed through the sky. Or what looked like it. It was the device Panthro made. 

“That’s Tygra!” Cheetara cried. “he needs help!”

“And we’re marroned here!” WilyKat said suddenly. His sister echoed him. 

The twins were severally troubled. While their own lives usually came first, if it came down to it, there was nothing they wouldn’t risk for their friends. Knowing the tiger was in danger and they were unable to help him, ripped them apart.

“Thunderkittens! Look out!” Cheetara word of warning surprised them both. A bolt of lightning bolted from above, spliting them up. WilyKit rolled one way, Kat the other. Another wave of power hit Kat. He looked up. A goddess. Catlike.

The kittens finally stopped rolling about and sat up near each other. Kit had a small brusie on her left arm but seemed alright. Kat groaned.

“Okay, this is getting old.”

He was sick of being attacked. But when he looked up he saw a new adversary. She was catlike. She would have seemed Thunderian except for her head. That was shaped like a original cat head. Her body was covered with brownish fur and her eyes were bright green. 

It was her eyes that alerted the kittens.

They couldn’t fight her.

She wasn’t evil. They saw the goodness deep within her. Her eyes held the clouded dark look of a possessed one. They couldn’t fight a person who was good. It went against their code. But then the cat goddess dropped down, her golden gown fluttering around her legs. 

“Give me the fragment twerps.”

The Thunderkittens looked at her. Then WilyKat asked softly.

“Who are you?”

The goddess threw her dress to the side, almost as if she were showing off.

“Name? Bast.”

The kittens looked directly at her. Then they heard Cheetara’s voice.

“Thunderkittens! Run! I’m coming!”

Bast merely lifted her hand and Cheetara flew back as if hit by laser fire. The kittens reached out towards to her. But a forefield by Bast held them in place. Cheetara screamed again as the goddess hit her with another blast of power. The kittens turned to face her, tears streaming from their faces.

“Leave Cheetara alone, please!” They begged. Bast smiled. She knew she’d hit their weakness.

“Give me the fragment.”

“NO!” Cheetara screamed at them. Kit looked at her. She was still in pain. Another few minutes and her brain would shut down from the trama. Kit turned to Bast. Kat turned to Bast. WilyKit knew what her brother was thinking.

She held out her hands and opened them, revealing the fragment.

Slowly, she stretched her hands toward Bast.

Chapter Eighteen: Healing

“Thunderkittens! No! Don’t you DARE!” 

Cheetara’s shouts echoed on their ears but never seemed to reach their brains. They knew they couldn’t let Cheetara die. They just couldn’t. Bast stared at them. She looked down at the fragment which the feminine child held out to her as simply as if it were a cookie a little girl was offering. The goddess stared into her bright eyes and swallowed hard with emotion. Both the kittens eyes were glassy with tears and some drops had begun to drip down their cheeks.

The goddess began to reach for the fragment. But for some reason, she stopped.

The cat goddess slowly placed her paws on the children’s arms. They glowed with power, two bright white glows, blinding. 

Cheetara watching gasped. Kit and Kat’s uniforms split, and turned into translucent white clocks which draped and fluttered around their bodies. Underneath those covering she could see that they were bare. They regressed to their purest forms. Bast stared at them. They looked the goddess directly in the eyes. She flinched as if in pain. She was. Pain from all she’d done.

The children spoke and their voice vibrated in the air.

“Listen to us. We can help you. Your heart is still good.”

The goddess looked at them and tightened her grip on their wrists. Her eyes burned with power.

“No! Give me the fragment! And then I’ll release your friend.”

Despite Cheetara’s protests and to the goddess’ absolute shock, the female child pressed the gem into her palms and closed the goddess’ own fingers around it. Then the male kitten spoke.

“Bast please. We want to help you. Please.”

The goddess again stared at them in total shock.

It had been so long since anyone cared about her. She stared at the children who looked back at her modestly. Even though they should have been angry beyond belief at the creature, they weren’t. She wasn’t in control of herself. She was good. Cesira, no not even Cesira, some ancient evil within her was evil. It wasn’t Cesira. Both the twins knew it. It wasn’t Bast either. They felt that too.

And they couldn’t feel anger or fury toward a innocent creature. Ultimantly that was what Bast, Artemis, the other gods, save a few, and Cesira were. They were victims of a greater force. In their hearts, the kittens felt that the only person they truly hated was Celeano. They didn’t know if she had been possessed or not.

Even though Cesira had kidnapped and tormented his sister, Kat felt no throbbing desire for revenge. He knew she wasn’t in control. How he knew he didn’t know. All he knew was that she was a victim. A victim he must heal.

“Thunderkittens,” the voice came from closer. The kittens turned. Bast had lifted her spell and Cheetara was walking toward them slowly. Bast glared at her. The Thunderian cheetah flinched but continued to approach. 

Bast screamed out.

“What do you mean you want to help me? I could easily rip your beating heart from your body!”

“Could you?” Kit asked softly.

“And if yes, will you?” WilyKat said gently.

Both Bast and Cheetara felt their jaws disconnect and hit the floor at what happened next.

Kit was the first. She slowly unbuttoned her cloak. It slid open partway, revealing the middle of her chest. As Bast looked at her, she could see the faint glow of white that circulated her. The ends of the cloak had been blown off the ground and now fluttered just below her knees.

Then the kitten slid the cloak completely off.

She was bare now. Her mane fluttered around her neck and temples slowly. Winds of ice whipped over her belly and blew some of her fur this way and that. She looked to her brother. He had done similar to her.

The male child was nude now as well. His cloak fluttered on the ground by his feet. His mane blew backward and tears came to his eyes. Not in fear but sorrow. He felt so sorry for this goddess. She was obviously good. Both he and his sister fell to their knees. 

Bast still held the fragment.

Yet she didn’t move.

Instead she and Cheetara were far too shocked to say anything. 

The Thunderkittens took the goddess’ hands and gently moved them. They let them come to a rest in the middle of their chests. Then in unison said softly.

“If you are truly as evil as you claim, show it. Rip out our hearts.”

* * *

Leah lay on a bed, Torr by her side. The glow of the mark had faded but it was still there.

Wringing out a washcloth, the older Thunderian gently dabbed her forehead with it. She moaned slightly.

“How is she?” a new voice called in. Torr turned. Jagara entered and sat by the kitten. She rolled over and moaned again. She groaned and shuddered. As Jagara sat by her she thought. She felt like an outcast most of the time, much like little Leah had become. Leah was rejected by many people because of her gift. Jagara had seen her heal Torr. Why they rejected her was a question that the sorceress believed she would never have an answer to.

Her own rejection was similar. Even on Old Thundera, she was cast from people. Some people feared her losing her temper at them. But that wasn’t usually the cause. She was feared because of her immortality. That didn’t mean she couldn’t be killed.And eventually, if the time came, her immortality would fade. She knew what she suspected Cheetara knew. The gods of Thundera were like her. Their immortality did not last forever, despite the name. Immortality was like energy. If it was used too much, it would vanish. That was like her life. If she was forced to become immortal to save her neck many times, she would be forced to be mortal the rest of her life.

It was this supposed ‘immortality’ that drew her friends from her. She and Leah shared that.

Both of them had been granted friends. The Thunderkittens opened their hearts to them. When both the females had revealed their gifts to the kittens, they’d said it wasn’t gross or starnge. They said that every one had a gift. Some people just couldn’t see the good person beneath the abnormal powers.

Leah voice came them, soft and afraid.

“Thunderkittens.”

* * *

Bast dug her claws into the kittens’ flesh, and knocked Cheetara aside. To her complete shock, there was no fear in the children’s eyes.

Then Bast stopped.

She screamed. The total realization of what she was doing came flying back. She saw the terrible things she’d done. The murder of an innocent kitten, blood of a child on her hands. She remembered in detail.

* * *

“Leave me alone!” the child backed up. Bast stepped closer, her mouth in a scowl. She ripped the child up by her white hair. The kitten’s deep blue eyes stared back at her, begging pleading. Darkstar’s power caused Bast to ignore this. Darkstar wanted the Thunderians to get the clue that she wasn’t playing around. Bast flung the child to the ground. She lifted her foot and slamed it down with a sickening crunch.

As she left, she wiped the blood off her boot.

* * *

Bast’s fingers relaxed. She withdrew them from the kittens’ skin. Burying her face into her hands she tumbled to the ground like a broken sapling. The kittens went to her and hugged her.

“You’re free now.” They said gently.

She nodded.

“WilyKit, Kat,” she said choking. “Take this. Stop Darkstar. Her evil can’t go on.”

Bast placed an item in WilyKit’s hand. The fragment of Jilla. In Kat’s she placed another.

The fragment of Tylia.

She smiled and began to fade.

WilyKat screamed out loud.

“Bast what’s happening?”

“Darkstar’s power was keeping me alive. It’s faded. I’m free.”

“NO!” Kit screamed. “You’ll die.”

“I’m glad.” Bast smiled. “Find the Guardians. Find the Diamond.”

She looked at Cheetara who had watched this display from her forcefield prison.

“Cheetara, you’re blessed with pure kittens. Love them well.”

Cheetara nodded. Now she too saw the goddess’ true self. Tears blurred her vision.

“But no matter what,” Bast stammerd to the twins. “Trust in your own pure hearts.”

Then, the goddess of Egypt, Bast, died.

The kittens wept for her. Cheetara wrapped them in her arms as soon as the forcefield faded. She said nothing. She couldn’t. It was Kit who broke the silence.

She held out her fragment. Kat held out his.

“Looks like we have a new mission.”

“Find the Guardians…”

End of Part Two

To Be Continued…

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