Old Enemies -- Chapters 10, 11, and 12
Chapter 10 Cheetara looked at Panthro and saw the mighty panther pull his nun-chucks in front of him. He held them tight with the ends only being held up by his thumbs. The panther had his palms out toward them as if to say he was giving up. She knew that he didn’t want to hurt the Thunder Guard members but if they had no choice they would have to. The cheetah flipped her bo-staff to do the same as Panthro but the Thunder Guard continued to advance. The ThunderKittens saw what the elder ThunderCats were doing and made an almost imperceptible move of their heads. Panthro’s incredibly trained cat’s eyes saw the move and his eyes widened. WilyKit and WilyKat took this as a ‘yes’ and slowly reached into their pellet pouches. They both pulled out two capsules and slowly brought them for all to see. Then the Kittens nodded to each other and threw the pellets down. Smoke billowed in the room and the ThunderCats headed for the door. Mumm-Ra coughed but Vultureman just laughed as the control room door could be heard to have opened. “Thunder Guard after them!” He commanded. The soldiers were disorientated for a few seconds but they soon found their way out the door. Mumm-Ra and Vultureman stepped out into the hallway until the smoke cleared inside Cat’s Lair’s center of operations. “I think you give those ThunderCats way too much credit Mumm-Ra. They fled like little babies.” The vulture laughed. “I thought we were going to control the ThunderCats. If those Thunderians kill them, how are we going to get Lion-O and the Sword of Omens? Their blasted leader will come over here and use us as target practice.” Mumm-Ra ignored the over confident Mutant’s remarks. “You wanted him and the others here. Killing the others would certainly bring that cub to us. If he is angry, he’ll attack without thinking things through. He’ll make mistakes and we’ll get what we want much easier. Don’t forget you miserable mummy, I’m not as dumb as my compatriots.” Vultureman squawked. “Oh ssso we’re dumb. Did you hear that Monkian?” The sudden appearance of Slythe and the other two Mutants caused Mumm-Ra and the transformed vulture to spin around. “That’s what I heard the traitor say.” Monkian agreed with the reptile. “Well well, so you finally decided to show up. Out in the desert long?” Vultureman challenged. “You forgot that sand is grate for leaving footprints and it makes it easy to hunt prey.” Despite the vulture’s new size and strength, Slythe came right back with his own challenge. “Mutants, I’m sure that we can work something out together.” Mumm-Ra interrupted the pissing contest. They gave the mummy a look. “The Thunder Guard is after the four ThunderCats, let us go back to my pyramid.” Mumm-Ra suggested. “What if they come back?” Jackalman asked. “The Thunder Guard will come here when their task is completed. They are still under Vultureman’s control and will do whatever he tells them.” The ever-living source of evil responded. Then Mumm-Ra snapped his fingers and all five were transported back to the black pyramid. After a few minutes of complete silence, there was movement inside the control room. A panel on the floor shifted and was moved away to reveal four ThunderCats. They emerged from their hiding place and Panthro placed the panels back over the compartments in the floor. “Thanks Jaga, you put those spaces in.” Cheetara said. “Yes and thank WilyKit and WilyKat for reminding me.” The panther smiled. Chapter 11 Back on New Thundera, Lion-O and the other ThunderCats had finally finished the last small ship. All five would fit in the craft, leaving the snarfs to man Cat’s Lair. “It’ll be an hour and a half before we reach Third Earth.” Lion-O said with worry. Tygra turned around in his seat and lowered his voice. “Pull yourself together. That’s the twelfth time you said that. We’ve been in situations like this before and you’ve never wavered. Don’t do this now.” It was uncharacteristic of the tiger to be so forthcoming but the Lord of the ThunderCats could see what he meant. Tygra had subtly hinted that if he and Cheetara being together was going to be a problem, then maybe he should rethink things. “We lucked out that Panthro had been working on this one.” Ben-Gali broke the uncomfortable silence that had settled inside the spaceship. He punched up the controls in front of him and the group watched as the hanger doors opened. “He figured it had at least another three days before it was finished.” The lion had seemingly snapped out of his earlier state and now sounded more like his old self. “Well that was without Tygra and Ben-Gali.” Pumyra smiled as the ship lifted out of the hanger. The afterburners were ignited and the vessel shot off toward Third Earth at a very fast speed. Meanwhile Cheetara, Panthro, and the ThunderKittens desperately tried to contact New Thundera. The others would be walking right into a trap and they needed to know what was going on. Since the Thunder Guard had shifted weapons controls into override it took a different combination of button pushes and switch flips before the communication channels were open. “Third Earth to New Thundera. Come in New Thundera.” Panthro called. “This is Snarfer on Third Earth. Boy are we glad to hear from you guys.” Came the response. “The Thunder Guard are under some sort of spell and they were given orders from Vultureman to kill ThunderCats.” The panther told the young snarf. “The others are already on their way. I’ll give you the frequency to patch through to them with a portable.” Snarfer said. “How are they coming? None of the other ships were close to being ready.” Panthro asked. “The small one that holds ten. Tygra, Ben-Gali, Pumyra and I hammered it together. Lion-O kept an eye on the communication channels, gathered supplies, and then helped us too. We were able to get it done pretty quickly.” The young snarf smiled with pride. “I hate to break up this mechanic’s session but we can’t be hanging around. Eventually someone is going to figure out that we gave them the slip.” Cheetara reminded them. “Right. Use the frequency 1-2 on the portable and you should be able to pick them up once they enter the planet’s atmosphere.” Snarfer said. “I’ll radio them and alert them to the situation.” With that the call was disconnected. Panthro grabbed the portable radio from the cupboard on the wall and the ThunderCats headed out of the Lair. “Where are we going to hide?” WilyKat asked as they walked toward the forest. “That is a very good question.” The panther replied. “Can’t we hide with the Berbils?” WilyKit wondered. “We can’t risk involving our friends. They could be killed for helping us.” Cheetara told her. “I think there is a cave system not too far away. That will be a good spot to hide.” Panthro spoke up after checking their surroundings. The others agreed that the caves were their best bet and quickened their pace. Over at the onyx pyramid, the Mutants and Mumm-Ra were trying to work out a deal. The ever-living source of evil watched as the squabbling between the Mutants continued. It was often a wonder how they got anything accomplished. “All right Mutants. Let us not forget that there is still a Tower of Omens to use. With some of you at Cat’s Lair and the others out there, this planet will easily be beaten into submission. Let us not waste time with immature name calling.” The miserable mummy interrupted them. “You are right, Mighty Mumm-Ra. But there is a traitor in our midst and he must be dealt with, yesss?” Slythe wondered as he jerked a thumb in the direction of the now shrinking Vultureman. “He did what any one of you three would have done and you know it. If you expect me to believe that the great Slythe was going to share all his new found power, then I think you’ve been inhaling too much of your own warp gas.” Mumm-Ra spat back at him. The argument continued until the Ancient Spirits of Evil interjected their own opinion. “ENOUGH!” The animal god statues boomed. “Use the Amulet of Seti to destroy your enemies for they have tricked you. Look into the cauldron.” The five evil creatures looked into the bubbling water and saw the ThunderCats running through the woods. “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” Mumm-Ra said. He snapped his fingers and all five cretins were gone from the pyramid. Chapter 12 In an instant, Mumm-Ra and the Mutants were in the forest. They could hear the underbrush being crushed not far away. Slythe signaled for the Mutants to fan out. The four moved along the bushes as silently as possible, hoping to catch the ThunderCats off guard. Panthro suddenly stopped in his tracks causing the three cats behind him to collide into the panther. WilyKat started to speak but Panthro stopped him. Cheetara looked around them and immediately sensed the presence of others in the underbrush just outside the clearing they stood in. “Jackal.” She hissed. Panthro nodded and jerked his head slightly to the side. “Reptile.” He kept his voice low as he put the portable radio down. The panther then signaled for the ThunderCats to pull out their weapons. Just as they did, the Mutants came charging from their hiding places. “So that was pond scum I smelled.” Panthro smirked as he was confronted with Slythe. “Hold your tongue, panther. It might be the last time you use it.” The reptile challenged. “So you want to try dog versus cat again Jackalman? It went so well for you the first two times.” Cheetara twirled her bo-staff in her hand. “Best three out of five.” The jackal snarled. “I think we can take this ape.” WilyKit and Kat smiled. “In your dreams Kittens.” Monkian beat the front of his shield with his fist. At that moment, a now regular size Vultureman stepped closer to the group. “I do believe you forgot someone ThunderCats.” The Mutant grabbed the jewel from around his neck and barked out a command. “Amulet of Seti, take hold of these ThunderCats!” Bright green light shot forth from the ancient talisman and it encircled the four cats. They tried to fight the strange light but to no avail. “Fall in ThunderCats!” Vultureman squawked. Panthro, Cheetara, and the ThunderKittens stood up straight and put their weapons back where they were normally stored. “Child’s play.” The bird smirked. “Now why don’t we get everyone back to kitty Cat’s Lair. No doubt they’ve tried to contact the others with that radio.” Mumm-Ra said. Vultureman issued the order and then used the Amulet of Seti to call all the Thunder Guard members back to the ThunderCats’ fortress. The small ship that was heading for Third Earth was about thirty minutes away from its destination when Lord Lion-O heard the Sword of Omens growl. Quickly he pulled the mighty weapon from the Claw Shield and put the hilt to his face. “Sword of Omens, give me Sight-Beyond-Sight.” A troubling scene was played before his eyes. “Great Jaga!” The lion exclaimed. “That can’t be good.” Ben-Gali said as he continued to check the ship’s navigational system. “What is it Lion-O?” Tygra asked. “I can feel a disturbance. Something is fighting for control.” Lynx-O told them. The others looked at him confused until their leader finally spoke. “Cheetara, Panthro, and the ThunderKittens have been taken control of by some ancient magic. Vultureman called it the Amulet of Seti.” “Now with the others under his control, no doubt those Mutants will try to take over the planet.” Pumyra scowled. “It would seem that this is their plan but they also intended to bring us to Third Earth and we have played right into their trap.” Tygra said. “So it would seem. But perhaps there is a way to beat them at their own game.” Lion-O told them. To Be Continued...