Old Enemies -- Chapters 13, 14, and 15
Chapter 13 Now back at Cat’s Lair, the four ThunderCats were herded into the cells in the lower bowels of the fortress. They would be kept there until the others arrived. In the meantime, the Mutants had the Thunder Guard begin the round up the leaders of every village. If there was to be a new world order than the leaders would be the ones that would need to be the example. Unbeknownst to the villains upstairs there was one downstairs which had other ideas. Cheetara sat in her cell trying to figure out what had just transpired. One instant she could feel something invading her mind and the next it was gone. However, she played along as if she was still under the control of the strange amulet Vultureman had. Panthro and the Kittens hadn’t been so lucky; it was obvious from their vacant stares. Now puppets to the puppet master, they would hinder her instead of help. The cheetah knew she had to find a way to contact to Lion-O and the others. She and the Lord of the ThunderCats shared a bond only those who had been chosen as mates could have. Perhaps through that and her more powerful sixth sense she could reach him. The cheetah pulled her legs up so that they were crossed in front of her. The cheetah closed her eyes and tried to channel her special ability as she had done before with the telepathy beam. Power welled up inside her and she could feel it coursing through every inch of her being. Lion-O. Lion-O. She called to him in her thoughts. Out in space, now only five minutes from landing on Third Earth, the Lord of the ThunderCats had a sudden pain in his head. He put his hands on his temples, trying to get the pain to subside. A voice called out to the lion; one recognized immediately. “Cheetara.” He muttered through clenched teeth. Tygra swiveled in his chair to find Lion-O in this position. He wanted to help him but the ship was about to enter Third Earth’s atmosphere. The ThunderCats piloted the ship through the air, the outside of the metal vessel getting tremendously hot. Once they were through, Ben-Gali and Pumyra took control of the ship while Tygra ran to the aid of Lion-O. “What happened?” The orange tiger asked. “Somehow Cheetara told me what was going on. She isn’t under Vultureman’s power.” Lion-O told him. “How did she do that?” Tygra wondered. “Cheetara’s sixth sense is more powerful than we realize, when she digs deep inside herself, she can accomplish almost anything. That coupled with her special connection with Lion-O must have given her the power to contact him.” Lynx-O spoke up. “That could also explain why she isn’t under the spell cast by that talisman.” Lion-O nodded. “We’re landing.” Ben-Gali informed the group. Once the ship was on the ground, the five disembarked and immediately fanned out to check the perimeter. Finding the surrounding field and rock formations to be clear, they now had to set up a plan. “You talked about beating them at their own game earlier, Lion-O. What was your idea?” Pumyra asked. “Tygra, you remember crawling into the main exhaust a few years back?” The Lord of the ThunderCats wondered. “How could I forget?” He answered. “Well what if you did that again? Only this time, I go with you?” The lion inquired. “What are you thinking Lion-O? It’s very risky to try to go down it without having the exhaust fry us to little kitty crispies.” Tygra had a very concerned look on his face. “Once we’re inside we can free our four comrades and break Panthro and the Kittens of their spell. The Sword should easily let them free of Vultureman’s hold.” He told them. “And what about us?” Ben-Gali asked. “You three, when the Cat’s Paw goes up, get inside and join us in the control room.” The fearless leader said. “So we’re fighting the Thunder guard until we reach the control room? Sounds like we’ll have our hands full.” Lynx-O smirked. “Yes. We don’t have many options but if they want us to come to them, then come to them we will.” Lion-O told them. Chapter 14 “You do realize this is absolute craziness, don’t you?” Tygra asked as the two climbed the outside walls of Cat’s Lair. “I realize that going into the exhaust shaft is dangerous but a full on frontal assault would be just as dangerous. Besides, I doubt they are using the Lair at maximum power anyway. If they were the Cat’s eyes would be lit up. Why are you so jumpy all of a sudden? You haven’t been yourself lately.” Lion-O wondered. “Neither have you. Perhaps it is because we became too comfortable with the relative quiet. I know that on Third Earth, things had been way too quiet. We relaxed and now we’re faced with dangers of old. We ourselves have become a little too rusty.” The orange tiger told him as he climbed up into the pipe. He motioned for Lion-O to follow him and the two were soon sliding through the ductwork. Meanwhile, Cheetara watched the room from inside her cell. She had heard movement outside in the hallway and had to be prepared should anyone enter the room. Not long passed before the door slid open and multiple members of the Thunder Guard brought in Rober-Bill and Rober-Belle, followed by Willa of the Warrior Maidens, and the leaders of the Balkans and Wollos. They were thrown into the cells that remained unoccupied and then the Thunder Guard left the room. Cheetara waited until the footsteps had disappeared then she reached through the bars of the cell to her left and whispered to the Berbils, “Rober-Bill, Rober-Belle, what are you doing here?” “Cheetara, we were about to ask you the same question.” Bill said, trying to keep his mechanical voice as low as possible. “It’s a long story.” The cheetah told them. Both bears nodded. “They said we were going to be made an example of but this was after they led us from our village under false pretenses.” Bill informed her. Cheetara’s mind began to process what she’d heard. There was a very good chance that “example” meant, “kill for all to see”. Not wanting to frighten them, she said nothing more about it. “There has to be a way out of here.” She told them. “These bars are sturdy. We can’t get out.” Belle spoke up. “There’s always a way. It is apparent that my message to Lion-O did not get through, so we’re on our own.” The cheetah said. She had no idea how wrong she was. Lion-O and Tygra exited the exhaust tube just in time before a blast of flames shot through. “Great Jaga, that was close.” Tygra said. “You’re not kidding. We would have gotten a really nasty sun burn.” The lion joked. His friend just shook his head and pulled up the map of the Lair’s lower levels off the computer. “Best way to go unseen is through the utility corridor, until it comes out onto level five. From there its about three hundred feet to the brig.” Tygra said. “That’s a long way to go before hitting our destination. Although there might not be any patrols since the Mutants think the others are under the power of the Amulet.” Lion-O figured. “We’ll give it a shot. Anyway I can raise the cat’s Paw about two feet and have it open for about a minute before someone in the control room notices anything.” The tiger told him. “All right, it’s better than nothing. Do it and we’ll get over to the cells.” The Lord of the ThunderCats said. Tygra punched in a code and then the two took off. Ben-Gali saw the Paw go up from their hiding positions and he quickly had the three sprint over. Lynx-O and Pumyra went first and then the white tiger began to squeeze through. A creaking alerted them to the giant paw coming down. Pumyra grabbed Ben-Gali and pulled. Between the two of them they just managed to get the tiger’s toes through the space before the paw came down. Chapter 15 Cheetara extended her bo-staff and jammed it between two of the bars. Using all her strength, she pushed on the staff, in an attempt to force the bars apart. They moved ever so slightly but it was enough for the cheetah to keep trying. Again she pushed and they moved some more. She was about to try it for a third time when the main door in the room opened. Quickly the escape attempt was abandoned and the cheetah put her weapon away. Two familiar figures then walked into the room. “Lion-O!” The name was barely loud enough for the lion to hear. He rushed over to the cell while Tygra punched in the code to open the cages on the desk that sat in the middle of the room. Lion-O waited for the door to open before pulling the cheetah to him. “I got your message.” He smiled. “Thank Jaga.” She said as she let him go. Freeing the others from their prisons, Tygra then came over to the two. “Time to free Panthro and the Kittens.” He said. “Indeed. I’ll try to keep the noise down.” The lion winked, knowing full well that the room was soundproof. “Thunder, thunder, thunder, ThunderCats HO!!!!!” The Cat Signal shot just high enough to fit under the ceiling. Panthro and the Kittens’ eyes glowed as well as their symbols. Within seconds they were free. “What the… how did we end up down here?” The panther asked. “It’s kind of involved but the bigger question is why the leaders of every village, this side of the planet are here.” Lion-O shook his old friend’s hand. “Those filthy creatures said we were to be made an example of.” Willa cut in. “Well why don’t we see what the Mutants and Mumm-Ra have to say when we show up in the control room.” The Lord of the ThunderCats told them. “What about us, Lion-O?” The other leaders wondered. “Stay here. It’ll be safer than in the middle of this. Willa you come with us.” The lion said. “My bow and arrows are locked away in the weapons room.” The leader of the Warrior Maidens alerted the group. “Then we’ll hit there on the way up.” Panthro smirked. “Besides I want to give those blasted Mutants a taste of something they’ll not soon forget.” Quickly the group headed out the door and up the main hallway. Not too far away on level three, Pumyra, Ben-Gali, and Lynx-O were finding the halls very empty. The three could feel that something wasn’t right. “Where is the Thunder Guard?” The puma asked. “I have no idea. They can’t all fit in the control room.” Ben-Gali said. The three rounded the corner and found the ramp to level two empty as well. However voices in the corridor ahead of it made them slow their pace. Hugging the walls, the three made it to the doorway where Ben-Gali poked the head of the Hammer of Thundera around the corner. The reflective surface told him all he needed to know. He quickly pulled the weapon back into the ramp and put it back in its holster. “What is it?” Lynx-O asked. “The entire Thunder Guard is in that hallway.” The white tiger told them. “So what do we do?” Pumyra wondered. “I have no idea. Going out there right now would be like committing suicide.” Ben-Gali said. “Perhaps a distraction is in order then.” Lynx-O told them. “What kind of distraction?” The puma asked. “We can use my light shield to temporarily blind them by reflecting the light from the main lamp overhead.” He said. “All right. But how do we stick it around the corner without anyone knowing?” Ben-Gali wondered. “Leave that to me. I’ll jump to a good vantage point and use it to buy you two enough time to get through.” Pumyra told them. The white tiger was about to object but she wouldn’t let him. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” The puma reassured him. “Well then lets do it. Good luck Pumyra.” Lynx-O said. With a nod and a smile, the female ThunderCat was gone. To Be Continued...