Trust issues -- Chapters 17 and 18
A reference is made to a doocube. For those that didn't read A New Beginning? or don't remember it is the device that the Lockti used to open doors that would not open on their own. I hope you enjoy these chapters. :) Chapter 17 “Everyone all right?” Lion-O called out into the darkness of the control room. “I’m ok. I need some light though so I can see if I can reboot the system and at least get the auxiliary power on.” Panthro said. The Lord of the ThunderCats pulled the Sword of Omens from the Claw Shield and said, “Ho!” The Sword glowed and the panther quickly went to work on the controls. WilyKit and WilyKat came closer and confirmed that they were fine as well. “What about Cheetara and Tygra?” Lion-o wondered. “I don’t know but I need to get to Pumyra.” Ben-Gali’s reply came ensuring the others he was all right. “Without the auxiliary power on, the doors won’t budge.” Panthro told them. “Don’t we have a doocube in here?” The white tiger asked. “We should.” WilyKat piped up. “It’s in the storage cupboard.” His sister chimed in. The two ThunderKittens went over to the cupboard using the light from the Sword of Omens as a guide. “It’s too dim. I can’t see the numbers on the lock to get it open.” Kit told them. “Ho!” The Sword obeyed its master and more light was thrown into the room. Within thirty seconds the Kittens had it open and found what they were looking for. “Got it!” Kat exclaimed. Ben-Gali quickly took it from the teenager and headed for the door. The Kittens grabbed two metal poles and went to help him force the door open. Panthro was still working away on the controls trying to understand why the auxiliary had not come on. “There doesn’t seem to be any power at all. None of the buttons appear to be working. I’ll have to go down to the power room and see what’s going on down there.” The panther said. “Take a flashlight and be careful. We have no idea how bad things were wrecked in the explosion.” Lion-O cautioned him as Panthro retrieved a flashlight from the storage cupboard. “When am I not careful?” He joked. The Lord of the ThunderCats smirked and shook his head. “We got the door open.” Kit told them. “Excellent. You Kat go with Ben-Gali, Kit you’re with me.” Lion-O said. The twins gave each other a quick nod and split up as they were told. Pumyra struggled to make it to the door only to realize without power it would not open. Frustrated she moved herself up against the wall and put her back to it. The pain in her midsection had subsided somewhat but she knew that she needed to be looked at immediately. There could be internal bleeding or the baby could be injured. It was then she heard footsteps in the hallway. “Ben-Gali!” She called out, wincing as she did. “I’m here sweetheart. We’ll get to you.” The white tiger reassured her as Kat handed him a pole and a second doocube they had retrieved. Within a few minutes, they had the door open and Ben-Gali was surprised to find her on the floor. Quickly, he got down on his knees next to her. “What’s wrong?” He asked, very concerned. “The explosion knocked me out of my chair. I have pain in my abdomen. It’s not as bad as earlier but I’m afraid…” the puma didn’t want to finish the sentence. “We’ll get Tygra down here and he’ll help you. Just hang in there.” Her husband promised. He turned to Kat and said, “Go get Tygra and hurry.” The teenage boy did as he was told and raced out of the room, flashlight in hand. Dolosa swiftly and stealthily moved through the hallways trying to find her target. She assumed that the Cats were off trying to get the lights back on. It wouldn’t matter once she inhabited the one that she sought. A few minutes passed and she found the one she was looking for. He was strong enough to take on the others and he would be blamed for what would happen. The ThunderCats would fall and then nothing would stand in her way of ruling the night. Quietly, she overtook her pray. He tried to scream out but she silenced him with ease as she climbed into his mouth. Chapter 18 Up in the gun bays, Cheetara slowly crawled over to Tygra. The tiger hadn’t responded to her calling name but after that explosion, it was hard to hear. There was a ringing she couldn’t quite get rid of. The smell of something burning permeated everything around her and it almost made her gag. She was almost to her friend when she felt someone touch her shoulder. She looked up and saw that her husband stood over her. He spoke to her but she couldn’t hear his voice. Carefully, the lion helped her stand up and walk over to a chair near the door. The cheetah could see that Kit was over trying to get Tygra to sit up. Lion-O left her side and went to help the girl teenager. Together the two managed to get him up and Cheetara could see that the orange tiger had a cut on his forehead and blood on his uniform. She knew that the cut could be stitched up and she hoped that that it was the extent of his injuries. As the three made their way over to her, someone else came through the door. The cheetah didn’t notice him until he faced her. He spoke to her and she tried to lip read. You’re first. The words made no sense and she gave her friend a look. Without warning a hand grabbed her throat and began to squeeze. She fought back trying her best to get rid of her attacker. She couldn’t hear Lion-O shouting and charging his way over. Nor did she hear the cries of WilyKit as she set Tygra down and ran to aid their leader. Then suddenly she found herself on the ground, gasping for air. Lion-O slammed into the attacker and forced him to release his victim. The two fought as WilyKit ran to get help. She bumped into her brother in the hall, who quickly told her to get Ben-Gali and he would try to help Lion-O. The two separated and Kat came upon the two fighting Cats. Lion-O had their friend, Panthro, in a headlock. Kat couldn’t believe what he was seeing. That’s when he saw the panther punch Lion-O in the gut. The lion released the engineer and got punched in the face for his trouble. Next Panthro pulled out his nun-chucks and spun them around. Lion-O grabbed the Claw Shield to protect himself. Jaga had expressly forbid ThunderCats fighting each other but it appeared that Panthro was not himself. Still he could not bring himself to hurt the panther. Kit raced into the sick bay and told Ben-Gali what was happening. The white tiger knew the situation wasn’t good but he didn’t want to leave Pumyra. “I’ll stay with her. You have to help Lion-O. Panthro has lost it.” Kit said. Ben-Gali nodded and stood up. “You’re going to be ok and so is the baby.” He promised his wife. She gave him a slight smile as he kissed her forehead and left the sick bay in a flat out run. Kit sat down next to her friend and tried to comfort her. By herself she could not operate the Extractor and she hoped the Pumyra and her cub would be all right. Back in the gun bay, the fight between the lion and the panther continued. Neither one had the upper hand as the battled. It was like Lion-O’s Trial of Strength. Dolosa couldn’t believe how strong the cub seemed to be, but he had to have a weakness. That’s when an idea hit her. The panther pivoted his back leg and kicked with his right. His foot landed squarely on Lion-O’s manhood, causing him to double over. Cheetara saw this and went at the panther from behind. When this happened Kat joined in, as did Ben-Gali who had just entered the room. The three fought to subdue the panther while Lion-O tried to regain his composure. It didn’t take much for the super power panther to throw the two weaker attackers off him. Ben-Gali was another matter. The white tiger had his arms around Panthro’s neck, trying to at least get him to wear down. He didn’t want to use his Hammer of Thundera on his friend and this seemed like the best option. Lion-O stood up and went over to the two. He grabbed Panthro’s straps in between the spikes and pulled the two closer to him. Ben-Gali let go of the panther’s neck and grabbed the straps on his back as well. “Seems we have you trapped.” The Lord of the ThunderCats said. “You would think that wouldn’t you.” Panthro answered. He swift thrust backward forcing Ben-Gali to go backward as well. The spikes went into the white tiger’s chest. He gasped as blood began to seep into his lungs. In one swift movement, Lion-O let go of Panthro, pulled the Sword of Omens out and aimed the tip of the magical blade at the panther. “Jaga forgive me. HO!” The blast of energy shot forth from the Sword and exploded just before the panther sending ultraviolet light rays in every direction. To Be Continued...