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 nai