One Last War to Fight Chapter Eight: Counterattack
ThunderCats Bio-Booster Armor Guyver One Last War to Fight Episode Eight -------------------------------------------------------------- The sun began its slow trek below the horizon as it had for millenia beyond counting. The sky grew from brilliant blue to a blazing gold as shadows lengthened on the hard packed floor of one of Third Earth's many desert regions. The remaining rays of sunlight glinted off the burnished steel of the Cat's Eye poised atop the Tower of Omens. Lion-O glared at the screen which displayed, in visual output, the signals received from the Braille Board. None of it was good. "The Treetop Kingdom is totally destroyed," Lynx-O said, more to fill the ominous silence than to inform. "I am picking up survivors grouping four miles south, near the Plains of Fertility." "How many?" Panthro asked. "More are arriving by the hour. As of now, thirty." "Out of hundreds," Tygra cursed. The image on the screen shifted to the Berbil Village. "The Berbils, fortunately, fared well. Few of their numbers were lost, though their village is completely wrecked." "How did we miss these new ships?" Lion-O asked. "I do not know. However, it is plain that their intent had been to divide our forces and leave an open path to Cat's Lair." "We might as well have rolled out a red carpet," Bengali snapped. "I find it hard to believe," Lion-O said with a shake of his head, "that one human boy is why Mumm-Ra orchestrated this whole attack." "He cannot be the entire reason," Lynx-O replied. "The attack was directed at us and our allies. It was not a sweeping search." "Which could mean that Mumm-Ra knew where he was, and decided to kill two birds with one stone." "I agree with Tygra," Pumyra spoke up. "He wanted to wipe us all out and capture that boy at the same time." "We can worry about Mumm-Ra's schemes later," Lion-O snapped. "Right now, four of our own are prisoners of the Mutants. We need a plan, now." "According to what the Braille Board is telling me," Lynx-O began as the map of the known territories of Third Earth zoomed in on Castle Plun-Darr, "The Mutants have now four starships, along with hundreds of Skycutters. Their Nosediver brigade, from what Panthro and Tygra have told us, seems to have been nearly decimated. They still posess a rather large number of those, unfortunately. It is also confirmed that the Mutants have at least one Warbot in their posession as well." "Looks like most of their forces are concentrated in the Desert of Sinking Sands," Pumyra added as the data streamed below that particular point. "Yes, however I am detecting troop movements toward Castle Plun-Darr even as we speak." "Then, if we're to have any chance, we have to move tonight." "It appears so, Lion-O." "How are our weapons looking?" "The ThunderTank took one hell of a beating," Panthro replied, "but she's still got plenty of fight in her." "The HoverCat is out of commission," Tygra said next. "It still needs to be towed here for repairs." "The ThunderStrike is good to go," Bengali added. "The ThunderClaw is pretty banged up," Panthro said fourth. "I don't think it'll take the stress of a rescue mission. That leaves us two vehicles against..." "An entire army," Lynx-O finished. "We don't have a choice. We have to rescue the others." "There is one more option, Lion-O," Tygra said. "Sho." "What?" "Tygra's right," Panthro said. "From what I've seen, that kid's loaded for bear. We could use his help." Lion-O considered for a moment. All this began with myths concerning Guyver. Could he really trust Sho? There was no time to think about it. "Very well. I'll wake him. In the meantime, make any repairs you can. Lynx-O and Tygra will analyze what we know of Castle Plun-Darr and the Mutant army. We don't have any time to lose, so light a fire under it, ThunderCats. Once I speak with Sho, I will confer with Lynx-O and Tygra." "HO!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The room was simple in design and decor. A small desk rested against the wall across from where he lay on the single bed, next to a modest closet. There were no decorations on the plain white walls, the setting sun through the window providing the only source of real color. Whomever slept here obviously wasn't much on frills. Sho winced at the small pains that twinged in his back as he sat up. He couldn't remember ever being so exhausted. What had he... Oh. Yeah. The battle, the fight with that Mumm-Ra creature. What had it meant when it said that all this had been to capture him? Why did that statement bring only anger and resignation? Why not fear? Why did it seem so familiar to him? "You're finally awake!" screeched a voice from the right. Sho, startled, swiveled his head and nearly fell backward onto the floor. The tiny creature stood barely a foot and a half tall, covered in red fur with yellow streaks. It almost seemed like a strange form of housecat. "GAH!" "Did I scare you?" "W...what... who are you?" "You act like ya never seen a Snarf before!" "Well, if you must know, I haven't." At least, Sho thought, I don't think I have. "Well, the name's Snarfer! You must be Sho!" "That's right." It didn't seem dangerous, at least. "Snarfer, huh?" "That's me! Yep, sure is!" "Well, then, Snarfer," he asked the annoyingly cheerful creature, "Where am I?" "You're in the Tower of Omens!" it chirped. "I heard about how you tangled with Mumm-Ra! Really gave him what for! Yep!" The small creature balanced itself on its tail, forepaws balled into fists and pounding the air. "Riiiight..." What was WITH this Snarfer? "So, um, what's a Tower of Omens?" "Perhaps I can answer that," a male voice said from the doorway. Sho looked up at him and gasped. He was easily three times Sho's size, covered with powerful muscle that stretched the too-small blue tunic he wore. At his hip was what looked like a lion's paw, from which the hilt of a dagger protruded. Firery red hair hung about his head like a mane, the bangs framing cat-like eyes. "This is where we ThunderCats are staying at present." "Lion-O!" Snarfer said. "I didn't hear ya come in!" "Could you excuse us, Snarfer?" "Sure thing! Yep! Will do!" "He's certainly cheerful," Sho said as Lion-O fully entered the room, the door sliding closed behind him. "He is, at that. So, your name's Sho?" "Yes." "I'm Lion-O, Lord of the ThunderCats." "I'm honored," Sho said with a bow of his head and shoulders. "Listen, Sho, I'll be upfront with you," the lion-esque man said. "I require your help." "My... help?" "You've already met two of the other ThunderCats, in the Berbil Village." "They were the ones fighting those jackal guys, weren't they?" "Panthro and Tygra," Lion-O replied. "Yes, they were." "Oh." Sho rested his chin on his knees, more confused and frightened than ever. "That mummy said it was after me. That all of this was because of me. But, why attack those Berbils? They seemed harmless to me." "The Berbils," Lion-O began with a heavy, weary sigh, "weren't the only ones to suffer assault." "Huh?" "The Treetop Kingdom was also attacked." "Oh, no..." Sho's heart turned to ice in mid-beat. The Warrior Maidens... Willa... "Are they okay?!" "Our Lair was also..." "Is Willa okay!?" Sho nearly screamed. "I won't lie to you, Sho. I don't know." "No..." Lion-O saw the pain, the guilt etched on Sho's face. Did he really believe Mumm-Ra? Did he honestly think that this was all his fault? "Willa told me," Sho began, "that you live in a place called Cat's Lair." "It was destroyed, too," Lion-O answered. He ignored the rage that brought up. He needed to be calm. "Four of our own friends were captured." "All of this to capture me..." "Sho..." "No. It was about Guyver. About that weird armor." Sho's voice grew hard, venomous. "Why? Why did that Mumm-Ra kill so many to try to get it?!" "Don't you know?" "No, Lion-O, I don't! I don't remember anything! I don't know what this Guyver thing is, how I got it, nothing!" "Listen to me," Lion-O said. He squatted down beside the bed, his face level with the nearly hysterical boy's. "We can help you recover at least some of your memories." "You... can?" Sho asked, hopeful. "We know of a scholar that has researched... well... who may know something about you." Sho thought about that, let Lion-O's statement roll around in his brain. There was so much he didn't understand. He looked over at the man-lion, saw the emotions in those cat-like eyes, and knew that Lion-O was telling the truth. He could help... (You must come to me,) the voice said. (I can help you.) Maybe. But, the Warrior Maidens.... Willa... the Berbils... these ThunderCats... they have all suffered from this attack. An attack that was meant to catch him... (Come to me...) "You said that some of your ThunderCats had been kidnapped by these Mutants?" The ones that reminded him of those vague figures he had called Zoanoids... "Yes. Cheetara, WilyKit, WilyKat, and Snarf Osbert." Innocent people had been killed, captured, because of him. Because one depraved creature wanted the armor. Wanted the Guyver. Wasn't it his responsibility, then, to help set things right? To do as much as he could? (You mustn't waste time like this!) that voice replied. Sho was coming to dislike it. (Far more important things are at stake!) "I'll help you. I don't know all of what I can do, please believe that, but I will do what I can." Lion-O nodded in reply, and with a grin said, "That's all I ask of you. Follow me to the control chamber." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I don't believe it," Slythe growled as Jackalman stood across from him and Primor in the main control chamber of Castle Plun-Darr. The jackal's right arm was held in a sling at his stomach, a thick bandage around his vacant head. "It just isn't possible!" "I tell you, Slythe, I saw it!" Jackalman pro-*test*-('")ed. "Mumm-Ra is dead! He was killed by something that looked a lot like that Guyver he showed us!" "Are you sure you're not just making this up?" Primor sneered. He had no idea what this Guyver thing was, or much about Mumm-Ra, but none of what the Scavenger was saying added up. "It must be embarrassing. Two ThunderCats stomped a Plun-Darr mudhole in your ass and walked it dry, and you had nearly a hundred Nosedivers." "Shove it, you filthy ape!" Jackalman screamed. "I know what I saw!" "You... DARE... to talk to me that way! You worthless piece of..." "ENOUGH!" Slythe roared. The jackal and the monkey fell silent, both staring at the reptile."I have heard the others this incompetent fool led to the Berbil village, and they say the same thing. All from your crew, if I recall correctly, Primor." "Really." The ape's nostrils flared at the verbal barb, yet held his tongue. Slythe made a note not to underestimate the Primate captain. He seemed a good deal smarter than other monkeys Slythe had met. "So..." Slythe paused, thinking. This could be his chance. "Mumm-Ra is badly wounded, yess?" "That weird Guyver blasted a hole in his chest you could throw a Snarf through." "If so," Primor ventured, "Then he is indeed dead. No living creature could survive such a wound." "That'sss the problem," Slythe replied. "Mumm-Ra iss NOT a living creature." "Ah, yes. You told me he was undead." "I do not think thiss killed him." We should be so lucky, Slythe thought. "However, we will have no better chance to be rid of him once and for all, yess?" "Ahhh..." Jackalman said as the realization hit him. "We can take him out now, and not have to worry about him getting rid of us once we've done his dirty work!" "This makes no sense at all," Primor grunted. "I don't give a flying fuck through a rolling donut about this Mumm-Ra. We have four ThunderCats in the dungeon. Why are we not torturing them?" "I agree with him," Jackalman said. "Why don't we just put those damned cats through some pain, and THEN worry about Mumm-Ra? After the beatdown he just took, I think that undead mummy will keep for a night." --------------------------------------------------------------------- Four pairs of hateful red eyes glowed in the blackness deeper than the darkest pits on Third Earth. They were all that passed as signs of life in the silent, still tomb that was home to Mumm-Ra. The mage himself slept, his body far too ravaged to be stirred from its death-like slumber. The eyes each looked at one another. He had to rest. There was no way, even if they woke him now, that he would have enough power to do what must be done. Mumm-Ra wouldn't even survive being awakened for at least two weeks. The damage to his undead body had been that extensive. There was only one recourse. The eyes faded, and the tomb chamber was in total blackness again. It was time the overambitious Slythe learned who the TRUE masters of Third Earth were, and what their wrath could be. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "What the hell?" Primor shouted. He stood before the doors which stubbornly refused to open, his face confused. He pried at them for a brief moment before yanking his hands away with a startled curse. "What iss it?" "The doors... They're hot!" "What...?" Jackalman cringed - something he did very well - and looked about. "I have a bad feeling about this..." "You snivelling coward!" Slythe shouted. "You're scared of your own damn shadow! This is jusst a malfunction, yess!" "Mutants...." The voice seemed to come from everywhere, the air suddenly cold. "What was that?" Primor asked as Jackalman searched in vain for someplace to hide. Slythe couldn't answer, couldn't even speak as four spots on the metal floor began to bubble and warp. Jackalman and Primor heard the screech of disfigured steel and saw the growing blisters on the floor swell and reach up to the ceiling. None of the three could move as the tortured flooring screamed and twisted into four beast-man statues whose hideous heads touched the rough stone ceiling. Slythe and Jackalman knew what they were. They had seen them numerous times in Mumm-Ra's tomb, had heard him call upon them time and again. "WHAT IS THIS?!" Primor hollered as the eyes in each unholy statue glowed. "Slythe," that hateful voice echoed. "T... the statuesss... Mumm-Ra livesss!" "He's sent them after us!" Jackalman cried as he cowered at the corner of an instrument panel. "We're done for!" "We know of what you plan," the voice from the disfigured statues said. "You think you can eliminate Mumm-Ra? You miserable misanthropes DARE to believe that YOU are the supreme source of evil?" "We had no intention of..." "SILENCE, REPTILE!" they boomed. Slythe clutched his hands to his ears, moaning in pain. "We know of what you intend to do! You believe that you can replace us as the lords of Third Earth?" Them? Slythe thought. Wasn't Mumm-Ra...? "Of coursse not, your..." "DO NOT SPEAK UNLESS WE COMMAND YOU TO!" Their voice hammered into Slythe's brain, threatening to rupture his very soul. "It is OUR power which rules Third Earth. It is OUR power Mumm-Ra calls upon! And, it is our power that will destroy you if you dare to disobey us!" "I... Undersstand..." "We are pleased that you do," they rumbled. "We are your masters. Do not forget that." "W... we won't!" Jackalman cringed. "You have imprisoned four ThunderCats," the statues said. "You intend to torture them, then use them as bait for the damnable cats which remain free." Silence. "Well?!" "We... do..." Slythe replied at length. "Though we would love to see them in unbearable agony, there is no time for such things. They are to die." "We intend to execute them all, once..." "WE DID NOT COMMAND YOU TO SPEAK!" Slythe remained silent, shaken to the very core of his being. How could Mumm-Ra command such terrifying power? Unless... No. Don't think. Not now. "You are to kill them before the rising of the sun!" the Ancient Spirits of Evil said. "Do you understand?" "Yesss!" "Be warned, Mutants," their voice rumbled, "that the price for your failure shall be hellfire eternal!" With that, the eyes faded from the faces of the statues. The metal that had been twisted into their bodies bubbled and warped once more, sinking into the floor as the ancient ones left the control chamber. "What..." Primor began... "in the universe were they?" "We have to do it!" Jackalman shrieked, more from fear for his own worthless ass than desire to get rid of the ThunderCats. "We have to kill them!" "And we will," Slythe replied. "But, have we not waited too long for this chance?" "What the hell are you talking about?" "Ssimple, Primor," Slythe said, fighitng to keep his voice steady. "Those... things... want our ThunderCat prisoners dead by ssunrisse." "I figured that part out for myself!" Primor replied hotly. "They didn't ssay that we couldn't be creative about it, yess?" =========================================== Sho chose not to think about the total insanity he had experienced since waking in the Treetop Kingdom nearly three weeks ago. Standing among these ThunderCats, going over scenarios for rescuing their comrades from an enemy he had only known for a few hours, agreeing to aid them... it was completely crazy. Yet, at the same time, all too familiar. He could feel the tension in the air, stretched taut through the spacious control center of this Tower of Omens. Sho hated to think what would happen if any of those strained lines were to snap. "A full-on assault would never work," the one called Lynx-O said as they all stared at the map on the large viewscreen. "Our only chance is to sneak in." "It's safe to assume," Tygra added, "that the Mutants will be looking for us to try something like that." "Perhaps," the blind ThunderCat replied, "But our approach will not be something they expect." "How so?" Lion-O asked. "We know how their search radar works," Panthro said, taking over the briefing. "We can fly above it, but there's the problem of getting down to the castle itself. That's where Sho comes in." "From what Panthro has told us," Bengali said, ice-blue eyes staring directly into his own. Sho felt everyone's eyes on him, expectant. "You are capable of flight." "Yeah, I am. I got it. If we come in over their radar, I can get below." "Right," Panthro said. "You're not big enough to set off their radar, even in your armored form." "So... what do I do from there? I don't think I can make myself invisible." "No," Tygra replied with a slight grin, "But I can make *myself* invisible." "Really?" "Really." "Sho," Lion-O began, "first you are to get Tygra down to the roof of Castle Plun-Darr. From there, he can sneak in and find our friends." "No problem. What next?" Sho was beginning to feel positive about the whole thing. "Once Tygra finds the other ThunderCats," Pumyra said, "he'll need a distraction to get them out." "This, Sho," Lynx-O explained as the viewscreen showed the image of what had to have been a giant gargoyle - wings spread - converted to a fortress, "is castle Plun-Darr." "Looks cozy," he deadpanned. "In the head is their control center. Once Tygra finds our friends, you are to go in and... how shall I phrase this..." "Smash the living hell out of it?" "Well said," the lynx replied with a wide grin. "Panthro and I will be in the ThunderTank," Lion-O said, "while Pumyra, Bengali, and Lynx-O man the ThunderStrike. We'll keep the outer guards busy." "Once I'm done in their control room," Sho said, "I'll go looking for Tygra. Four people's a lot to escort out. I'll cover them from inside." "I was just about to say that," Lion-O replied. "But, be careful." "I know how these Mutants fight," Sho said, suddenly determined to get the mission underway. "I can handle them. And believe me, I will." ---------------------------------------------------- *CRACK!* Cheetara gritted her teeth as the length of barbed leather whistled through the air and left a trail of fire across her back. She had lost count of how many times the whip had bitten deep in her skin. Her back was alight with burning pain; she felt the trickles of blood that ran down the back of her shredded leotard to drip onto the filthy stone floor. *CRACK!* Another, this time on her legs, and a scream nearly escaped her clenched lips. The iron shackles bit into her wrists - suspended from the ceiling - and tiny rivulets of blood seeped down her bound arms. She refused to cry out, as much for the kids who were witnessing this as for her own pride. She would not give the Mutants the satisfaction of... *CRACK!* "Ssso, one isn't enough for you?" Slythe said from behind as the whip struck her on the rump. "I think we can arrange for two, yess?" "You... will... never hear me... scream..." Every inch of her backside hurt, the movement of air alone agony. "Much as I'm enjoying this," Jackalman said as he picked up another wicked-looking whip and walked in front of her, "we really should get rid of them soon." Cheetara noticed the bandages that adorned his scrawny frame and took a small measure of satisfaction. Someone had to have worked him over. "We will," Slythe promised. "But for now, jusst enjoy the moment, yess!" --------------------------------------------------------- Tygra's muscles tensed as the ThunderStrike neared Castle Plun-Darr, thousands of feet above the surface of Third Earth and above the Mutant's search radar. He could hear the engines whine in pro-*test*-('") as they passed through a stray cloud. The vehicle wasn't meant for such altitudes, nor was it meant to carry so much weight. He and Bengali shared a pod, while Pumyra and Sho occupied the opposite. This had to work. It was crazy, ill thought out, and possibly suicidal, but it still had to work. There was no other way. There was no communication, not even within the ThunderStrike. There could be no chance of the Mutants getting any kind of warning. Tygra waited, not even speaking to Bengali, waited for the other tiger to tell him it was time. -------------------------------------------------------------- Lion-O resisted the urge to look through the Eye of Thundera to see how the imprisoned ThunderCats were faring. He already knew. He sat tense across from Panthro, every nerve tight, every second seeming to last a year. This plan was insane, but all they had. If it didn't work, then the ThunderCats were dead. Pure and simple. It would work, he told himself. It had to. "We're gonna pull this off," Panthro said, as if reading his thoughts. "We will," Lion-O agreed. "Or we'll die trying." "Let's hope it doesn't come to that." "Amen." ------------------------------------------------------------------- Cheetara wanted to scream, to give voice to the torturous agony which she endured. Seconds stretched into hours and minutes into years as Jackalman's whip struck home just under her breasts. She felt a rib crack, the white-hot bolt of agony racing to her brain. Blood oozed from over a hundred wounds, her wrists and ankles shackled and immobile. Her vision grew hazy, sounds coming as if through the depths of the ocean. All she wanted was to shut her mind down, to escape this horrible torment somehow... But, deep beneath that, a terrible anger burned bright. A fierce will to survive kept her from fading away, though her body was far too weak to fight. The Mutants had done their jobs well with those whips. "So, still won't cry out, eh?" Jackalman said in his sniveling voice. She vaguely heard WilyKat cry out in rage, couldn't make out his words. What Slythe said, however, lanced the cloud of agony which enveloped her brain. "So, if our whips on your lovely body won't do, then perhaps this whelp will suffice!" -------------------------------------------------------------------- Sho felt the ThunderStrike ease to a stop just as the translucent canopy slid noiselessly open. He didn't feel the cool air of the night as he threw himself into space. Castle Plun-Darr was a tiny speck on the darkened ground below, drawing his attention for a brief moment before he locked onto Tygra's position. Dark as it was, Sho found he could see as well as if it were day. He focused on the gravity controller, halting his flight enough to catch the falling ThunderCat. He heard the ThunderStrike sail clear of the drop zone just as his arms wrapped about Tygra's midsection. "So far so good," the Thunderian whispered. "We want to aim for the precipice just above the castle's main chamber." "Got it," Sho replied as he commanded the orb to lower them. The sensation was strange, as if he were only allowing gravity enough power over him to drag him gently back to earth and could revoke that privilege at a whim. What else could this Guyver thing do? ------------------------------------------------------------------ "So, he's actually going through with it," Agito said as he huddled near the small campfire, his cloak wrapped about his weathered frame for additional warmth. "Idiot." He didn't fear for Sho's life. On the contrary, he almost felt sorry for those Mutants. Sho was bound to discover more of the Guyver's abilities before the night was out, and none of them meant anything good for the aliens from Plun-Darr, the would-be conquerors of Third Earth. What worried Agito was what would happen once Sho regained his memory of what he had. From there, the memories of the Fall of Second Earth couldn't be far behind. Hibernating for over two thousand years could have addled his memories... Or... "Hmph. It's happened before." Agito smiled. Sho had likely hidden the knowledge from himself, out of a fit of guilt. If nothing else, Guyver One also had one hell of a conscience. Being partly responsible for the death of the world he was trying to save would likely lay on a guilt trip of epic proportions. But, Agito knew he was working on borrowed time. Mumm-Ra wouldn't be out of the picture forever. He had to get to Sho before then. He had to make sure Sho visited the Village of Scholars, visited Duncan. The book would at least get Sho to trust him, and from there... "Heh heh..." ----------------------------------------------------------------- The flight had been gentle enough, as had the landing. The two Reptillian guards that had been posted had been easily dealt with as well. Despite himself, Tygra recalled the time when he had been held prisoner in the dark walls of Castle Plun-Darr. Strapped to the Four Winds, coming within an inch of death, feeling the catapults tightening with each increase of the light... He forced those memories to the back of his mind as he slunk through the twisting halls, focused on getting down to the dungeon levels. The other ThunderCats were counting on him. The hallways were choked with foul-smelling Mutants, mostly Simians and Scavengers. Reptillians were definitely in the minority, and no Avians - to which the late Vultureman had belonged - were around. Though invisible, Tygra still felt vulnerable surrounded by so many enemies. He kept his breathing soft, his steps light as he dodged around loafing guards and ignored the sounds of drunken revelry. Party while you still can, Mutants, Tygra thought. It's about to come crashing down on your heads. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sho looked down at the top of Castle Plun-Darr's main control center, residing in the head of the giant gargoyle. He lay on his stomach, not wanting to cast any kind of shadow in the moonlight. He couldn't see the ThunderTank in the forest which surrounded the otherwise barren foundation of the fortress nor could he find any trace of the ThunderStrike. On the grounds far below, he spotted several apes and jackals walking around, laughing. C'mon, Tygra, he thought nervously while eyeing the wrist communicator Panthro had given him. Give me the signal. Deep within, in a place Sho didn't even know he had, he wanted to dive in there and bust heads. The fact that these Mutants dredged up the faint images of monsters he couldn't quite identify, coupled with what they had done in the service of Mumm-Ra, made the thought of opening up a can of whoop-ass seem better all the time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He slowed as Slythe's hissing voice echoed into the torch-lit hallway. No guards were present, no one outside the door to the dungeon. "Pretty brave for a ThunderBrat," an unfamiliar voice said. "We'll try to make this as painful as we can." Tygra's stomach clenched at the sight of WilyKat chained, Slythe and two cronies standing ready with cruel-looking whips. He activated the signal from the comm-circuit in his whip before charging in. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hit it!" Lion-O roared as Panthro keyed the ThunderTank and the massive engine screamed to life. The rear treads threw dirt into the air as they gained purchase and sent the near-indestructible machine rocketing forward. It was time for the Mutants to learn what payback was all about! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lynx-O dropped the ThunderStrike toward the ground, weapons already locking on to available targets as they came within range. Despite his calm nature, he felt a rush of excitement at the coming battle. "All weapons ready," Bengali's rough voice said. "Same here," Pumyra added. "Remember, we are to fire on ground targets only until their Skycutters appear." "We know!" Bengali snapped. "We'll separate then!" "Then, let us proceed." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Go time!" Sho shouted when the wrist-comm began to flash. A quick leap propelled him into the air, and Sho allowed gravity (the fact of which was still a novel thing) pull him downward toward the bulbous red eye. The ThunderStrike's engines became audible as his feet shattered the glass surface of the castle's right eye. The shock of the impact - though he had fallen from nearly seventy feet up - was absorbed by his armored legs. The scattered group of lizards and monkeys each stared in open-mouthed shock as Sho rose to his full height, mouths wide in stunned surprise. Sho wasted no time, firing the laser on his forehead into the chest of a lizard-like Mutant, felling it in one blast before turning the weapon on the others. Each short burst scorched through a body, sending the Mutants in the control room down one by one in rapid succession. "Now for these computers," he said as he fired on the banks of instruments that administrated and monitored the interior of the castle. Each unit exploded in a glorious manner as the emerald beam melted their insides, filling the small chamber with noxious smoke and flame. -------------------------------------------------------------------- ?What was that?? Primor grunted just before the door to the dungeon exploded inward. The Simian captain managed to avert his face a milisecond before the shrapnel would have rendered him blind, tiny daggers of splintered wood instead embedding themselves into his left arm and back just as a blue bolo whip lashed out and struck Slythe true across his pale belly. The Reptillian fell backward with a howl as Primor's vision cleared enough for him to see the form of a ThunderCat standing in the ruined doorway. "Let. Him. Go." Tygra bit off each word as he readied his whip again. "NOW!" "Tygra!" WilyKat shouted, his chains rattling as he struggled. "I knew help was comin' snarf snarf!" The fiery rage that had burned so hot in his blood changed on the sight of Cheetara's battered form on the filthy floor of the dungeon. The flames receeded, leaving behind a cold murderous need in its wake. ThunderCat or not, he would draw blood for this. "One ThunderCat?" Slythe mocked as he regained his feet. "Trusst me, I will enjoy ssending you to your death!" "Who said I was alone here?" Tygra replied "Nyeh heh haaa... even if the other cats are here, don't think they can help you! Even now, guards are coming this way!" "That doesn't matter, Dog." "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" Jackalman screamed, his own whip at the ready. WilyKat watched as Tygra faced down the three Mutants. The elder ThunderCat wouldn't have any problem with Slythe, Jackalman, and that unknown monkey, but what about the others in the castle? How would he get us all out? He felt the noise before he heard it, the subtle vibration in the titanium links that bound him. Had that been there before? The answer to that question, and to the matter of how they would all escape, became apparent less than a minute later. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The blood coated the carapace of his armor, splattered on the walls of Castle Plun-Darr along with the remains of the Mutants who had met their deaths at his blades. The two swords shimmered on his arms, each swing having cleaved their bodies as easily as slicing bread. He stood alone amid the scattered corpses in the narrow hallway, the rest of the guards who had challenged him having run for their lives. And reinforcements. Sho ignored the distant feelings that stirred in the back of his mind, in that locked-away place. This wasn't the time for reverie. He had to get to Tygra before the ThunderCat became overwhelmed by Mutants looking for a far easier target. The dungeon should be right below me, if I remember those blueprints right, Sho thought. Taking the stairs isn't going to work. He focused his thoughts on the gravity controller, on the weapon he had used against Mumm-Ra. The power built at his waist, flowing up to his hands... What if it's too strong? The power died instantly. What if that pressure cannon just went through the dungeon? Just how powerful was it? What if he killed the people he was trying to help save? "Okay," Sho said, "time for a new plan." Could he just punch through the floors? How thick were they? How could he... Sho froze as the control medal began to glow, and the armor's thoughts became his own. He saw his own armored face, the twin metal orbs over his mouth. What was it trying to tell him? After a moment, he understood. A sonic buster. That might work.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WilyKit shook her head at the sound. She heard her brother's shackles rattling from the ceiling, the clanking growing louder by the second before a dull thud sounded from overhead. "What was that?" the monkey called Primor grunted. WilyKat's chains rattled louder, her own and Snarf's joining the dischordant symphony as another - louder - thud was heard. "Sounds like something collapsing," Jackalman replied. *THUD* The noise became louder still, reverberating, mounting pressure on her eardrums. She could feel the floor start to vibrate slightly as the clanking of chains grew in intensity. What in the world... *THUD!!* "It'sss right over uss!" Slythe cried in alarm, clutching the flaps of flesh at his head. WilyKit clapped her hands to her ears - a gestrue that proved totally useless - as the cracks rapidly formed in the roof of the dungeon. "What's going on?" she screamed as the top of the prison gave way with a mighty cracking sound. Dust from the pulverized stone rained down on the gathered Mutants and ThunderCats as a shadow landed heavily amid the debris. WilyKit tried to stand, yet the chain linking her wrists to her ankles only allowed an awkward crouch, and stared openly at the strange visitor. He was easily the tallest... man?... she had ever seen. He stood partially shrouded in the cloud of dust that was all that remained of the ceiling. Flickering lights fell through the hole above him, and the hole above that one, and the hole above that one... "Shneeeeyaarf..." Snarf moaned, "this can't be good!" "Oh, no!" Jackalman cried as the shadowed figure stepped into a patch of clearer air. "Sorry I'm late, Tygra," it said. "Better late than never, Guyver," Tygra replied with a nod. "Shall we?" "Um..." Snarf said from WilyKit's right, "did Tygra just call him 'Guyver'?" "I think so," she answered, "but how does he know Tygra?" What in the world was going on? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "HO!" Another torrent of energy lanced from the blade of the Sword of Omens, knocking a Nosediver off-course and into the foul moat which surrounded the Mutants' stronghold. Explosions in the sky flashed their light on the rocky ground as the three parts of the ThunderStrike took care of the Skycutters above. "Tygra's taking too long!" Panthro shouted as he whipped the ThunderTank about. "If he and Sho don't come out of there soon, we're gonna end up dusted!" "We'll hold out as long as it takes!" Lion-O roared over the din of combat. "We've come too far to abandon our friends now!" "I hear that!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tygra let the Mutants go as they fled the room. They were unimportant next to the task at hand. He could always deal with Slythe later. For now, getting the other ThunderCats out of here was paramount. "I... knew you'd come," WilyKat said as Tygra ran up to him. "Where..." "The others are fighting outside the castle," the tiger said as he tried the kitten's chains. "Let me, Tygra," Sho said as he grasped the chain between WilyKat's wrists and pulled. The metal came apart with a decisive snap, with the chains on his ankles following a second later. Tygra, for his part, sailed his whip at the chains which bound WilyKit, snapping them easily before releasing Snarf. "Cheetara!" WilyKit screamed, "she's..." "I know," Tygra managed as he knelt down beside her. His gorge tried to rise as he beheld the savage wounds the whips had left on her body, at the blood which still seeped from them. "Uh oh!" Tygra ignored Sho. Cheetara was still breathing, but barely. "Tygra, we have a problem!" "What?" he said, looking up to see the medallions on the sides of Sho's helmet swivelling in their tracks. "Looks like the Mutants got their act together," Sho replied. "I'm counting about thirty heading our way fast! We're gonna be surrounded pretty soon!" Those things must be sensors of some kind, Tygra thought before rising to his feet. "How soon?" "About twenty seconds, I think." "Tygra..." "Cheetara?" Her voice was weak, laden with pain. "Take... the kids... Snarf... leave...." "Not without you!" "Just... Go!" she demanded, several wracking coughs following her shout. "Not happening," Tygra said. "We're all leaving together!" To Sho, "We'll have to fight our way out of here! Get ready!" "Wait," Sho said back, "we're still above ground, right?" "Yes..." "Then we'll just take the back door." "Back door? What back door?" Sho cupped his hands over the metal ball at his waist. The sphere of power formed in an instant, growing rapidly as he aimed it toward one of the walls. The orb launched with the force of a missile, slamming home into the rough stone with a mighty boom and the sound of rupturing granite. Cool air from the outside rushed in, blowing away the cloud that remained of the thick wall. "That back door," Sho replied as he and the kittens came over to Cheetara's prone form. "Come on," Tygra growled as he slung Cheetara's arm over his shoulder. He hoisted her to her feet, ignoring the cry of pain that came from the injured ThunderCat. The sounds of battle raged outside the hole Sho had blasted into the wall, the flashing glare of laser bursts and the mad glow of flickering flames across the barren surroundings of Castle Plun-Darr lending a hellish atmosphere. "Sho, I'll carry Cheetara. We're going to need some serious cover fire." "Leave it to me." With that, the small group of escapees charged through the hole in the wall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Lion-O! Do you copy?" About damn time! he nearly shouted as Panthro opened the channel. "Where are you?" "The eastern side of the Castle!" "How'd you end up there?" Panthro asked, the autocannons blasting at an approaching Nosediver and sending it up in flames. "Tell you later! Where are you?" "The northern front!" Lion-O yelled back. "Hurry!" "Got it! Out!" "Think they'll need a beacon?" "One signal, coming up!" Lion-O replied, hoisting the Sword of Omens skyward. "Thunder! Thunder! THUNDER! THUNDERCATS! HOOOO!!!!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The control room's ruined!" Jackalman screamed. "What damage..." Primor added as he looked through the holes which led several floors up. "Thiss cannot be..." Slythe groaned. He could almost feel the weight of those demon statues on his shoulders. "They mussst not esscape!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "What in the..." Sho gasped as the immense red beacon lit up the sky with a mighty roar. "To the source of the signal!" he heard Tygra shout. "NOW!" "Get moving!" Sho replied. "I'll cover you!" No sooner had the words left his lips than the sensors on his head snatched backward, showing him one of those Skycutter machines bearing down on their position. Guess I have my work cut out for me! he thought as the laser on his forehead fired off a blast that pierced the Skycutter's fuel tank, exploding it violently in midair. He focused the sensors ahead, seeing several Nosedivers darting around the now badly damaged ThunderTank. The bulk of the fighting was there. WilyKat had taken Cheetara's other side, bearing as much of her weight as he could while his sister carried the Snarf in her arms. Their progress with the wounded ThunderCat was slow - fatally so - and cutting a path through the ground vehicles ahead wouldn't do any good. "Tygra!" "What!" "Give her to me!" Tygra and WilyKat looked at him strangely for a moment, until the tiger nodded his head in understanding. "May Jaga be with you," Tygra replied as Sho eased the semi-conscious Cheetara onto his back. "I'll come back soon! Be careful!" With that, Sho launched himself forward as fast as his armored legs could carry him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bengali looked down as Sho rounded the east corner of the castle, Cheetara riding piggy-back as he charged toward the ThunderTank. "Tygra and the others are behind him," he heard Lynx-O say. "Why is he carrying her?" "Perhaps she is too injured to make it on her own," the old lynx said in his always-calm voice. "I have already contacted Lion-O and Panthro." "I'll head down and help with those Nosedivers!" "Quickly, Bengali!" Lynx-O exclaimed. "The Braille Board is showing another force of Nosedivers closing in on this position!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sho leapt clear as the pod streaked downward, blasting away two Nosedivers that had turned their attention to him. If whoever was in that thing could keep his path clear for just a few more meters... The ThunderTank rumbled directly for him, its armor blackend and shredded from constant attacks. The fact that it was still functional was incredible! "Just... a... little more..." His next leap carried him over the front of the tank to land hard in its rear space. "Cheetara!" he heard Lion-O shout. His horrified stare was locked on Cheetara's back. "Panthro! Straight ahead!!" "Got it!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Thiss iss Ssslythe," the replile said into the portable radio. "All unitsss are to converge on the ThunderTank! Ignore the ThunderStrike! That iss an order!" He stood atop the roof of Castle Plun-Darr, glaring hatefully down at the carnage below. If he could not kill all of the ThunderCats tonight, then he would at least take most of them. That should please those demons. He hoped. -------------------------------------------------------------------- "Glad to see you!" Tygra hooted as the rest hopped aboard. "Same here!" Lion-O said as Panthro spun the tank about. "Let's get out of here!" "I'm into that!" Snarf shouted as WilyKit set him down in the rear of the tank. "Lion-O!" "What is it, Lynx-O?" "Another group of Nosedivers are closing in on you fast! We've engaged more Skycutters up here!" "DAMN!" Panthro cursed as the ThunderTank crossed the narrow bridge that spanned the moat. "We're in trouble!" "What is it?" "The ThunderTank's pretty quick," Panthro answered, "but she's hauling a lot of weight, and she's pretty beat up!" "Can we outrun those Nosedivers?" "Not like this!" "I see them!" WilyKit shouted. They sailed over the rocky ground just as the ThunderTank entered the path through the forest. At least ten, likely twenty, of them were bearing down like malevolent mosquitoes, each lusting to tear at their flesh. Sho gasped as the Guyver communed with him once again, showing him another of its strange powers. The sight of it frightened him, stirring vague impressions that chilled his blood like ice. But, it could be their only chance. "Keep going, guys," he said as he stood. "And don't turn back!" "Sho, what are you doing?" Panthro demanded. "I don't know, but it might just save us!" Sho leapt clear of the tank, coming to rest on the soft grass as the Nosedivers screamed closer. The high-pitched whine of their engines filled his ears as he focused on the power. He felt it build, slowly at first, gathering momentum with each passing moment. He just hoped he was quick enough. "What the heck is he doing?" WilyKit asked as the man stood down the coming Nosedivers. "That's what I'd like to... hey..." "What is it, Panthro?" "Tygra, I'm picking up an energy reading nearby. It's... Great Jaga, it's huge!" "From Sho?" Lion-O asked. "Apparently. Just what is he..." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lynx-O shot down another Skycutter when the readings on his Braille Board went wild. Such energy! What could be generating it? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Slythe peered through the binoculars at the Guyver. Was that fool really going to stand down all those Nosedivers? He saw the armored man grasp the breastplates of his armor. What was he going to do, flash them? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- They were nearly on him. Sho counted almost forty of those Nosedivers bearing down on him. His chest burned with the power, aching for release. He grasped the breastplates on his armor, snatched them open to reveal the bulbous lenses beneath. The light gathered, glowed with the brilliance of a star. The light burst forth, turning night into day and filling the air with a sound like the end of the world. They could only watch, amazed, as the wide beam of pure white sizzled the air in its passing. The Nosedivers were enveloped by it, vanishing forever into its harsh glare as it screamed into the face of Castle Plun-Darr. The intense destructive power hammered the stone facade into nothingness in an instant. The entire spectacle lasted but for a few seconds, yet would be forever imprinted upon the minds of the ThunderCats. "By the moons of Thundera..." Tygra rasped. The earth itself was scorched, a smoldering trench surrounded by the blackened stumps of ancient trees. The Nosedivers were gone. "Vaporized," Panthro said, his dark skin ghostly white. "Completely vaporized. Not a trace left..." The front of Castle Plun-Darr was smashed in, the head of the gargoyle-shaped fortress retaining its shape for a moment before giving up and collapsing into so much burning rubble. The flames from within the remnants grew higher, greedily tasting the oxygen with each thundering explosion. "We have to be over a mile away..." WilyKat said in a small, frightened voice. At the foot of the destruction stood Sho, his shoulders slumped and his chest heaving for air. His legs buckled, spilling him to the ground as the armor vanished from his body to leave a human boy behind. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Slythe shook his head clear as the sun rose bright above the blasted plains on which Castle Plun-Darr sat. The light, that terrible light, still shone in his mind, the sight of forty Nosedivers being de-atomized burned into his memory forever. Such power, he thought. Such overwhelming power! Who could have known that this Guyver had such a terrifying weapon? How would he deal with this? "Slythe..." The Reptillian froze at the cold sound that seemed to come from everywhere. "Slythe!" "Oh, no! NO!" "You have failed..." "Please, Masters, forgive me! Had I but known! Had you told me..." "SILENCE!" "PLEASE!" He begged, he pleaded as the ephmeral images of the demon statues appeared in the morning light, surrounding him. "We told you the price for failure. Had you killed the prisoners you had taken, this could have all been avoided." "I BEG OF YOU! PLEASE! SPARE ME!!" His begging devolved into pathetic sobs as the Ancient Ones drew nearer. "One simple command, and you could not follow it! How can we forgive such incompetence?" "Jusst one more chance! I beg of you!" "As we promised..." Slythe's throat closed, choking on his plea, as the chasm at his feet opened. Within he beheld horrors beyond imagining, twisted demons and monsters reaching upward with their clawed appendages in eager anticipation of his flesh. The reptile's skin tried to crawl off his body as the burning pit grew wider to reveal even worse things below. "NO!" "As we promised," the Ancient Spirits of Evil proclaimed, "your failure has bought you hellfire eternal! You shall burn forever, tormented by the demons of all the hells!" "NOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Primor watched from a distance as the unnatural flames leapt skyward. So it was done. Castle Plun-Darr was destroyed, yet his own forces had suffered only nominal losses. He still had more than enough to conquer Third Earth. However, there was the matter of the Guyver... He had never seen a weapon with such power, even on a starship. If that thing was truly allied with the ThunderCats... Primor walked eastward toward the Desert of Sinking Sands. That daring rescue had been a sight to behold, despite his own defeat. With a force as powerful as that Guyver on their side, the ThunderCats could try even more daring attacks against his forces. His options were limited, yet Primor did not want to relinquish the planet of Third Earth. No true Mutant would run from the prospect of total rule over an entire world... =============================================
ThunderCats Bio-Booster Armor Guyver One Last War to Fight Episode Eight -------------------------------------------------------------- The sun began its slow trek below the horizon as it had for millenia beyond counting. The sky grew from brilliant blue to a blazing gold as shadows lengthened on the hard packed floor of one of Third Earth's many desert regions. The remaining rays of sunlight glinted off the burnished steel of the Cat's Eye poised atop the Tower of Omens. Lion-O glared at the screen which displayed, in visual output, the signals received from the Braille Board. None of it was good. "The Treetop Kingdom is totally destroyed," Lynx-O said, more to fill the ominous silence than to inform. "I am picking up survivors grouping four miles south, near the Plains of Fertility." "How many?" Panthro asked. "More are arriving by the hour. As of now, thirty." "Out of hundreds," Tygra cursed. The image on the screen shifted to the Berbil Village. "The Berbils, fortunately, fared well. Few of their numbers were lost, though their village is completely wrecked." "How did we miss these new ships?" Lion-O asked. "I do not know. However, it is plain that their intent had been to divide our forces and leave an open path to Cat's Lair." "We might as well have rolled out a red carpet," Bengali snapped. "I find it hard to believe," Lion-O said with a shake of his head, "that one human boy is why Mumm-Ra orchestrated this whole attack." "He cannot be the entire reason," Lynx-O replied. "The attack was directed at us and our allies. It was not a sweeping search." "Which could mean that Mumm-Ra knew where he was, and decided to kill two birds with one stone." "I agree with Tygra," Pumyra spoke up. "He wanted to wipe us all out and capture that boy at the same time." "We can worry about Mumm-Ra's schemes later," Lion-O snapped. "Right now, four of our own are prisoners of the Mutants. We need a plan, now." "According to what the Braille Board is telling me," Lynx-O began as the map of the known territories of Third Earth zoomed in on Castle Plun-Darr, "The Mutants have now four starships, along with hundreds of Skycutters. Their Nosediver brigade, from what Panthro and Tygra have told us, seems to have been nearly decimated. They still posess a rather large number of those, unfortunately. It is also confirmed that the Mutants have at least one Warbot in their posession as well." "Looks like most of their forces are concentrated in the Desert of Sinking Sands," Pumyra added as the data streamed below that particular point. "Yes, however I am detecting troop movements toward Castle Plun-Darr even as we speak." "Then, if we're to have any chance, we have to move tonight." "It appears so, Lion-O." "How are our weapons looking?" "The ThunderTank took one hell of a beating," Panthro replied, "but she's still got plenty of fight in her." "The HoverCat is out of commission," Tygra said next. "It still needs to be towed here for repairs." "The ThunderStrike is good to go," Bengali added. "The ThunderClaw is pretty banged up," Panthro said fourth. "I don't think it'll take the stress of a rescue mission. That leaves us two vehicles against..." "An entire army," Lynx-O finished. "We don't have a choice. We have to rescue the others." "There is one more option, Lion-O," Tygra said. "Sho." "What?" "Tygra's right," Panthro said. "From what I've seen, that kid's loaded for bear. We could use his help." Lion-O considered for a moment. All this began with myths concerning Guyver. Could he really trust Sho? There was no time to think about it. "Very well. I'll wake him. In the meantime, make any repairs you can. Lynx-O and Tygra will analyze what we know of Castle Plun-Darr and the Mutant army. We don't have any time to lose, so light a fire under it, ThunderCats. Once I speak with Sho, I will confer with Lynx-O and Tygra." "HO!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The room was simple in design and decor. A small desk rested against the wall across from where he lay on the single bed, next to a modest closet. There were no decorations on the plain white walls, the setting sun through the window providing the only source of real color. Whomever slept here obviously wasn't much on frills. Sho winced at the small pains that twinged in his back as he sat up. He couldn't remember ever being so exhausted. What had he... Oh. Yeah. The battle, the fight with that Mumm-Ra creature. What had it meant when it said that all this had been to capture him? Why did that statement bring only anger and resignation? Why not fear? Why did it seem so familiar to him? "You're finally awake!" screeched a voice from the right. Sho, startled, swiveled his head and nearly fell backward onto the floor. The tiny creature stood barely a foot and a half tall, covered in red fur with yellow streaks. It almost seemed like a strange form of housecat. "GAH!" "Did I scare you?" "W...what... who are you?" "You act like ya never seen a Snarf before!" "Well, if you must know, I haven't." At least, Sho thought, I don't think I have. "Well, the name's Snarfer! You must be Sho!" "That's right." It didn't seem dangerous, at least. "Snarfer, huh?" "That's me! Yep, sure is!" "Well, then, Snarfer," he asked the annoyingly cheerful creature, "Where am I?" "You're in the Tower of Omens!" it chirped. "I heard about how you tangled with Mumm-Ra! Really gave him what for! Yep!" The small creature balanced itself on its tail, forepaws balled into fists and pounding the air. "Riiiight..." What was WITH this Snarfer? "So, um, what's a Tower of Omens?" "Perhaps I can answer that," a male voice said from the doorway. Sho looked up at him and gasped. He was easily three times Sho's size, covered with powerful muscle that stretched the too-small blue tunic he wore. At his hip was what looked like a lion's paw, from which the hilt of a dagger protruded. Firery red hair hung about his head like a mane, the bangs framing cat-like eyes. "This is where we ThunderCats are staying at present." "Lion-O!" Snarfer said. "I didn't hear ya come in!" "Could you excuse us, Snarfer?" "Sure thing! Yep! Will do!" "He's certainly cheerful," Sho said as Lion-O fully entered the room, the door sliding closed behind him. "He is, at that. So, your name's Sho?" "Yes." "I'm Lion-O, Lord of the ThunderCats." "I'm honored," Sho said with a bow of his head and shoulders. "Listen, Sho, I'll be upfront with you," the lion-esque man said. "I require your help." "My... help?" "You've already met two of the other ThunderCats, in the Berbil Village." "They were the ones fighting those jackal guys, weren't they?" "Panthro and Tygra," Lion-O replied. "Yes, they were." "Oh." Sho rested his chin on his knees, more confused and frightened than ever. "That mummy said it was after me. That all of this was because of me. But, why attack those Berbils? They seemed harmless to me." "The Berbils," Lion-O began with a heavy, weary sigh, "weren't the only ones to suffer assault." "Huh?" "The Treetop Kingdom was also attacked." "Oh, no..." Sho's heart turned to ice in mid-beat. The Warrior Maidens... Willa... "Are they okay?!" "Our Lair was also..." "Is Willa okay!?" Sho nearly screamed. "I won't lie to you, Sho. I don't know." "No..." Lion-O saw the pain, the guilt etched on Sho's face. Did he really believe Mumm-Ra? Did he honestly think that this was all his fault? "Willa told me," Sho began, "that you live in a place called Cat's Lair." "It was destroyed, too," Lion-O answered. He ignored the rage that brought up. He needed to be calm. "Four of our own friends were captured." "All of this to capture me..." "Sho..." "No. It was about Guyver. About that weird armor." Sho's voice grew hard, venomous. "Why? Why did that Mumm-Ra kill so many to try to get it?!" "Don't you know?" "No, Lion-O, I don't! I don't remember anything! I don't know what this Guyver thing is, how I got it, nothing!" "Listen to me," Lion-O said. He squatted down beside the bed, his face level with the nearly hysterical boy's. "We can help you recover at least some of your memories." "You... can?" Sho asked, hopeful. "We know of a scholar that has researched... well... who may know something about you." Sho thought about that, let Lion-O's statement roll around in his brain. There was so much he didn't understand. He looked over at the man-lion, saw the emotions in those cat-like eyes, and knew that Lion-O was telling the truth. He could help... (You must come to me,) the voice said. (I can help you.) Maybe. But, the Warrior Maidens.... Willa... the Berbils... these ThunderCats... they have all suffered from this attack. An attack that was meant to catch him... (Come to me...) "You said that some of your ThunderCats had been kidnapped by these Mutants?" The ones that reminded him of those vague figures he had called Zoanoids... "Yes. Cheetara, WilyKit, WilyKat, and Snarf Osbert." Innocent people had been killed, captured, because of him. Because one depraved creature wanted the armor. Wanted the Guyver. Wasn't it his responsibility, then, to help set things right? To do as much as he could? (You mustn't waste time like this!) that voice replied. Sho was coming to dislike it. (Far more important things are at stake!) "I'll help you. I don't know all of what I can do, please believe that, but I will do what I can." Lion-O nodded in reply, and with a grin said, "That's all I ask of you. Follow me to the control chamber." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I don't believe it," Slythe growled as Jackalman stood across from him and Primor in the main control chamber of Castle Plun-Darr. The jackal's right arm was held in a sling at his stomach, a thick bandage around his vacant head. "It just isn't possible!" "I tell you, Slythe, I saw it!" Jackalman pro-*test*-('")ed. "Mumm-Ra is dead! He was killed by something that looked a lot like that Guyver he showed us!" "Are you sure you're not just making this up?" Primor sneered. He had no idea what this Guyver thing was, or much about Mumm-Ra, but none of what the Scavenger was saying added up. "It must be embarrassing. Two ThunderCats stomped a Plun-Darr mudhole in your ass and walked it dry, and you had nearly a hundred Nosedivers." "Shove it, you filthy ape!" Jackalman screamed. "I know what I saw!" "You... DARE... to talk to me that way! You worthless piece of..." "ENOUGH!" Slythe roared. The jackal and the monkey fell silent, both staring at the reptile."I have heard the others this incompetent fool led to the Berbil village, and they say the same thing. All from your crew, if I recall correctly, Primor." "Really." The ape's nostrils flared at the verbal barb, yet held his tongue. Slythe made a note not to underestimate the Primate captain. He seemed a good deal smarter than other monkeys Slythe had met. "So..." Slythe paused, thinking. This could be his chance. "Mumm-Ra is badly wounded, yess?" "That weird Guyver blasted a hole in his chest you could throw a Snarf through." "If so," Primor ventured, "Then he is indeed dead. No living creature could survive such a wound." "That'sss the problem," Slythe replied. "Mumm-Ra iss NOT a living creature." "Ah, yes. You told me he was undead." "I do not think thiss killed him." We should be so lucky, Slythe thought. "However, we will have no better chance to be rid of him once and for all, yess?" "Ahhh..." Jackalman said as the realization hit him. "We can take him out now, and not have to worry about him getting rid of us once we've done his dirty work!" "This makes no sense at all," Primor grunted. "I don't give a flying fuck through a rolling donut about this Mumm-Ra. We have four ThunderCats in the dungeon. Why are we not torturing them?" "I agree with him," Jackalman said. "Why don't we just put those damned cats through some pain, and THEN worry about Mumm-Ra? After the beatdown he just took, I think that undead mummy will keep for a night." --------------------------------------------------------------------- Four pairs of hateful red eyes glowed in the blackness deeper than the darkest pits on Third Earth. They were all that passed as signs of life in the silent, still tomb that was home to Mumm-Ra. The mage himself slept, his body far too ravaged to be stirred from its death-like slumber. The eyes each looked at one another. He had to rest. There was no way, even if they woke him now, that he would have enough power to do what must be done. Mumm-Ra wouldn't even survive being awakened for at least two weeks. The damage to his undead body had been that extensive. There was only one recourse. The eyes faded, and the tomb chamber was in total blackness again. It was time the overambitious Slythe learned who the TRUE masters of Third Earth were, and what their wrath could be. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "What the hell?" Primor shouted. He stood before the doors which stubbornly refused to open, his face confused. He pried at them for a brief moment before yanking his hands away with a startled curse. "What iss it?" "The doors... They're hot!" "What...?" Jackalman cringed - something he did very well - and looked about. "I have a bad feeling about this..." "You snivelling coward!" Slythe shouted. "You're scared of your own damn shadow! This is jusst a malfunction, yess!" "Mutants...." The voice seemed to come from everywhere, the air suddenly cold. "What was that?" Primor asked as Jackalman searched in vain for someplace to hide. Slythe couldn't answer, couldn't even speak as four spots on the metal floor began to bubble and warp. Jackalman and Primor heard the screech of disfigured steel and saw the growing blisters on the floor swell and reach up to the ceiling. None of the three could move as the tortured flooring screamed and twisted into four beast-man statues whose hideous heads touched the rough stone ceiling. Slythe and Jackalman knew what they were. They had seen them numerous times in Mumm-Ra's tomb, had heard him call upon them time and again. "WHAT IS THIS?!" Primor hollered as the eyes in each unholy statue glowed. "Slythe," that hateful voice echoed. "T... the statuesss... Mumm-Ra livesss!" "He's sent them after us!" Jackalman cried as he cowered at the corner of an instrument panel. "We're done for!" "We know of what you plan," the voice from the disfigured statues said. "You think you can eliminate Mumm-Ra? You miserable misanthropes DARE to believe that YOU are the supreme source of evil?" "We had no intention of..." "SILENCE, REPTILE!" they boomed. Slythe clutched his hands to his ears, moaning in pain. "We know of what you intend to do! You believe that you can replace us as the lords of Third Earth?" Them? Slythe thought. Wasn't Mumm-Ra...? "Of coursse not, your..." "DO NOT SPEAK UNLESS WE COMMAND YOU TO!" Their voice hammered into Slythe's brain, threatening to rupture his very soul. "It is OUR power which rules Third Earth. It is OUR power Mumm-Ra calls upon! And, it is our power that will destroy you if you dare to disobey us!" "I... Undersstand..." "We are pleased that you do," they rumbled. "We are your masters. Do not forget that." "W... we won't!" Jackalman cringed. "You have imprisoned four ThunderCats," the statues said. "You intend to torture them, then use them as bait for the damnable cats which remain free." Silence. "Well?!" "We... do..." Slythe replied at length. "Though we would love to see them in unbearable agony, there is no time for such things. They are to die." "We intend to execute them all, once..." "WE DID NOT COMMAND YOU TO SPEAK!" Slythe remained silent, shaken to the very core of his being. How could Mumm-Ra command such terrifying power? Unless... No. Don't think. Not now. "You are to kill them before the rising of the sun!" the Ancient Spirits of Evil said. "Do you understand?" "Yesss!" "Be warned, Mutants," their voice rumbled, "that the price for your failure shall be hellfire eternal!" With that, the eyes faded from the faces of the statues. The metal that had been twisted into their bodies bubbled and warped once more, sinking into the floor as the ancient ones left the control chamber. "What..." Primor began... "in the universe were they?" "We have to do it!" Jackalman shrieked, more from fear for his own worthless ass than desire to get rid of the ThunderCats. "We have to kill them!" "And we will," Slythe replied. "But, have we not waited too long for this chance?" "What the hell are you talking about?" "Ssimple, Primor," Slythe said, fighitng to keep his voice steady. "Those... things... want our ThunderCat prisoners dead by ssunrisse." "I figured that part out for myself!" Primor replied hotly. "They didn't ssay that we couldn't be creative about it, yess?" =========================================== Sho chose not to think about the total insanity he had experienced since waking in the Treetop Kingdom nearly three weeks ago. Standing among these ThunderCats, going over scenarios for rescuing their comrades from an enemy he had only known for a few hours, agreeing to aid them... it was completely crazy. Yet, at the same time, all too familiar. He could feel the tension in the air, stretched taut through the spacious control center of this Tower of Omens. Sho hated to think what would happen if any of those strained lines were to snap. "A full-on assault would never work," the one called Lynx-O said as they all stared at the map on the large viewscreen. "Our only chance is to sneak in." "It's safe to assume," Tygra added, "that the Mutants will be looking for us to try something like that." "Perhaps," the blind ThunderCat replied, "But our approach will not be something they expect." "How so?" Lion-O asked. "We know how their search radar works," Panthro said, taking over the briefing. "We can fly above it, but there's the problem of getting down to the castle itself. That's where Sho comes in." "From what Panthro has told us," Bengali said, ice-blue eyes staring directly into his own. Sho felt everyone's eyes on him, expectant. "You are capable of flight." "Yeah, I am. I got it. If we come in over their radar, I can get below." "Right," Panthro said. "You're not big enough to set off their radar, even in your armored form." "So... what do I do from there? I don't think I can make myself invisible." "No," Tygra replied with a slight grin, "But I can make *myself* invisible." "Really?" "Really." "Sho," Lion-O began, "first you are to get Tygra down to the roof of Castle Plun-Darr. From there, he can sneak in and find our friends." "No problem. What next?" Sho was beginning to feel positive about the whole thing. "Once Tygra finds the other ThunderCats," Pumyra said, "he'll need a distraction to get them out." "This, Sho," Lynx-O explained as the viewscreen showed the image of what had to have been a giant gargoyle - wings spread - converted to a fortress, "is castle Plun-Darr." "Looks cozy," he deadpanned. "In the head is their control center. Once Tygra finds our friends, you are to go in and... how shall I phrase this..." "Smash the living hell out of it?" "Well said," the lynx replied with a wide grin. "Panthro and I will be in the ThunderTank," Lion-O said, "while Pumyra, Bengali, and Lynx-O man the ThunderStrike. We'll keep the outer guards busy." "Once I'm done in their control room," Sho said, "I'll go looking for Tygra. Four people's a lot to escort out. I'll cover them from inside." "I was just about to say that," Lion-O replied. "But, be careful." "I know how these Mutants fight," Sho said, suddenly determined to get the mission underway. "I can handle them. And believe me, I will." ---------------------------------------------------- *CRACK!* Cheetara gritted her teeth as the length of barbed leather whistled through the air and left a trail of fire across her back. She had lost count of how many times the whip had bitten deep in her skin. Her back was alight with burning pain; she felt the trickles of blood that ran down the back of her shredded leotard to drip onto the filthy stone floor. *CRACK!* Another, this time on her legs, and a scream nearly escaped her clenched lips. The iron shackles bit into her wrists - suspended from the ceiling - and tiny rivulets of blood seeped down her bound arms. She refused to cry out, as much for the kids who were witnessing this as for her own pride. She would not give the Mutants the satisfaction of... *CRACK!* "Ssso, one isn't enough for you?" Slythe said from behind as the whip struck her on the rump. "I think we can arrange for two, yess?" "You... will... never hear me... scream..." Every inch of her backside hurt, the movement of air alone agony. "Much as I'm enjoying this," Jackalman said as he picked up another wicked-looking whip and walked in front of her, "we really should get rid of them soon." Cheetara noticed the bandages that adorned his scrawny frame and took a small measure of satisfaction. Someone had to have worked him over. "We will," Slythe promised. "But for now, jusst enjoy the moment, yess!" --------------------------------------------------------- Tygra's muscles tensed as the ThunderStrike neared Castle Plun-Darr, thousands of feet above the surface of Third Earth and above the Mutant's search radar. He could hear the engines whine in pro-*test*-('") as they passed through a stray cloud. The vehicle wasn't meant for such altitudes, nor was it meant to carry so much weight. He and Bengali shared a pod, while Pumyra and Sho occupied the opposite. This had to work. It was crazy, ill thought out, and possibly suicidal, but it still had to work. There was no other way. There was no communication, not even within the ThunderStrike. There could be no chance of the Mutants getting any kind of warning. Tygra waited, not even speaking to Bengali, waited for the other tiger to tell him it was time. -------------------------------------------------------------- Lion-O resisted the urge to look through the Eye of Thundera to see how the imprisoned ThunderCats were faring. He already knew. He sat tense across from Panthro, every nerve tight, every second seeming to last a year. This plan was insane, but all they had. If it didn't work, then the ThunderCats were dead. Pure and simple. It would work, he told himself. It had to. "We're gonna pull this off," Panthro said, as if reading his thoughts. "We will," Lion-O agreed. "Or we'll die trying." "Let's hope it doesn't come to that." "Amen." ------------------------------------------------------------------- Cheetara wanted to scream, to give voice to the torturous agony which she endured. Seconds stretched into hours and minutes into years as Jackalman's whip struck home just under her breasts. She felt a rib crack, the white-hot bolt of agony racing to her brain. Blood oozed from over a hundred wounds, her wrists and ankles shackled and immobile. Her vision grew hazy, sounds coming as if through the depths of the ocean. All she wanted was to shut her mind down, to escape this horrible torment somehow... But, deep beneath that, a terrible anger burned bright. A fierce will to survive kept her from fading away, though her body was far too weak to fight. The Mutants had done their jobs well with those whips. "So, still won't cry out, eh?" Jackalman said in his sniveling voice. She vaguely heard WilyKat cry out in rage, couldn't make out his words. What Slythe said, however, lanced the cloud of agony which enveloped her brain. "So, if our whips on your lovely body won't do, then perhaps this whelp will suffice!" -------------------------------------------------------------------- Sho felt the ThunderStrike ease to a stop just as the translucent canopy slid noiselessly open. He didn't feel the cool air of the night as he threw himself into space. Castle Plun-Darr was a tiny speck on the darkened ground below, drawing his attention for a brief moment before he locked onto Tygra's position. Dark as it was, Sho found he could see as well as if it were day. He focused on the gravity controller, halting his flight enough to catch the falling ThunderCat. He heard the ThunderStrike sail clear of the drop zone just as his arms wrapped about Tygra's midsection. "So far so good," the Thunderian whispered. "We want to aim for the precipice just above the castle's main chamber." "Got it," Sho replied as he commanded the orb to lower them. The sensation was strange, as if he were only allowing gravity enough power over him to drag him gently back to earth and could revoke that privilege at a whim. What else could this Guyver thing do? ------------------------------------------------------------------ "So, he's actually going through with it," Agito said as he huddled near the small campfire, his cloak wrapped about his weathered frame for additional warmth. "Idiot." He didn't fear for Sho's life. On the contrary, he almost felt sorry for those Mutants. Sho was bound to discover more of the Guyver's abilities before the night was out, and none of them meant anything good for the aliens from Plun-Darr, the would-be conquerors of Third Earth. What worried Agito was what would happen once Sho regained his memory of what he had. From there, the memories of the Fall of Second Earth couldn't be far behind. Hibernating for over two thousand years could have addled his memories... Or... "Hmph. It's happened before." Agito smiled. Sho had likely hidden the knowledge from himself, out of a fit of guilt. If nothing else, Guyver One also had one hell of a conscience. Being partly responsible for the death of the world he was trying to save would likely lay on a guilt trip of epic proportions. But, Agito knew he was working on borrowed time. Mumm-Ra wouldn't be out of the picture forever. He had to get to Sho before then. He had to make sure Sho visited the Village of Scholars, visited Duncan. The book would at least get Sho to trust him, and from there... "Heh heh..." ----------------------------------------------------------------- The flight had been gentle enough, as had the landing. The two Reptillian guards that had been posted had been easily dealt with as well. Despite himself, Tygra recalled the time when he had been held prisoner in the dark walls of Castle Plun-Darr. Strapped to the Four Winds, coming within an inch of death, feeling the catapults tightening with each increase of the light... He forced those memories to the back of his mind as he slunk through the twisting halls, focused on getting down to the dungeon levels. The other ThunderCats were counting on him. The hallways were choked with foul-smelling Mutants, mostly Simians and Scavengers. Reptillians were definitely in the minority, and no Avians - to which the late Vultureman had belonged - were around. Though invisible, Tygra still felt vulnerable surrounded by so many enemies. He kept his breathing soft, his steps light as he dodged around loafing guards and ignored the sounds of drunken revelry. Party while you still can, Mutants, Tygra thought. It's about to come crashing down on your heads. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sho looked down at the top of Castle Plun-Darr's main control center, residing in the head of the giant gargoyle. He lay on his stomach, not wanting to cast any kind of shadow in the moonlight. He couldn't see the ThunderTank in the forest which surrounded the otherwise barren foundation of the fortress nor could he find any trace of the ThunderStrike. On the grounds far below, he spotted several apes and jackals walking around, laughing. C'mon, Tygra, he thought nervously while eyeing the wrist communicator Panthro had given him. Give me the signal. Deep within, in a place Sho didn't even know he had, he wanted to dive in there and bust heads. The fact that these Mutants dredged up the faint images of monsters he couldn't quite identify, coupled with what they had done in the service of Mumm-Ra, made the thought of opening up a can of whoop-ass seem better all the time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He slowed as Slythe's hissing voice echoed into the torch-lit hallway. No guards were present, no one outside the door to the dungeon. "Pretty brave for a ThunderBrat," an unfamiliar voice said. "We'll try to make this as painful as we can." Tygra's stomach clenched at the sight of WilyKat chained, Slythe and two cronies standing ready with cruel-looking whips. He activated the signal from the comm-circuit in his whip before charging in. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hit it!" Lion-O roared as Panthro keyed the ThunderTank and the massive engine screamed to life. The rear treads threw dirt into the air as they gained purchase and sent the near-indestructible machine rocketing forward. It was time for the Mutants to learn what payback was all about! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lynx-O dropped the ThunderStrike toward the ground, weapons already locking on to available targets as they came within range. Despite his calm nature, he felt a rush of excitement at the coming battle. "All weapons ready," Bengali's rough voice said. "Same here," Pumyra added. "Remember, we are to fire on ground targets only until their Skycutters appear." "We know!" Bengali snapped. "We'll separate then!" "Then, let us proceed." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Go time!" Sho shouted when the wrist-comm began to flash. A quick leap propelled him into the air, and Sho allowed gravity (the fact of which was still a novel thing) pull him downward toward the bulbous red eye. The ThunderStrike's engines became audible as his feet shattered the glass surface of the castle's right eye. The shock of the impact - though he had fallen from nearly seventy feet up - was absorbed by his armored legs. The scattered group of lizards and monkeys each stared in open-mouthed shock as Sho rose to his full height, mouths wide in stunned surprise. Sho wasted no time, firing the laser on his forehead into the chest of a lizard-like Mutant, felling it in one blast before turning the weapon on the others. Each short burst scorched through a body, sending the Mutants in the control room down one by one in rapid succession. "Now for these computers," he said as he fired on the banks of instruments that administrated and monitored the interior of the castle. Each unit exploded in a glorious manner as the emerald beam melted their insides, filling the small chamber with noxious smoke and flame. -------------------------------------------------------------------- ?What was that?? Primor grunted just before the door to the dungeon exploded inward. The Simian captain managed to avert his face a milisecond before the shrapnel would have rendered him blind, tiny daggers of splintered wood instead embedding themselves into his left arm and back just as a blue bolo whip lashed out and struck Slythe true across his pale belly. The Reptillian fell backward with a howl as Primor's vision cleared enough for him to see the form of a ThunderCat standing in the ruined doorway. "Let. Him. Go." Tygra bit off each word as he readied his whip again. "NOW!" "Tygra!" WilyKat shouted, his chains rattling as he struggled. "I knew help was comin' snarf snarf!" The fiery rage that had burned so hot in his blood changed on the sight of Cheetara's battered form on the filthy floor of the dungeon. The flames receeded, leaving behind a cold murderous need in its wake. ThunderCat or not, he would draw blood for this. "One ThunderCat?" Slythe mocked as he regained his feet. "Trusst me, I will enjoy ssending you to your death!" "Who said I was alone here?" Tygra replied "Nyeh heh haaa... even if the other cats are here, don't think they can help you! Even now, guards are coming this way!" "That doesn't matter, Dog." "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" Jackalman screamed, his own whip at the ready. WilyKat watched as Tygra faced down the three Mutants. The elder ThunderCat wouldn't have any problem with Slythe, Jackalman, and that unknown monkey, but what about the others in the castle? How would he get us all out? He felt the noise before he heard it, the subtle vibration in the titanium links that bound him. Had that been there before? The answer to that question, and to the matter of how they would all escape, became apparent less than a minute later. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The blood coated the carapace of his armor, splattered on the walls of Castle Plun-Darr along with the remains of the Mutants who had met their deaths at his blades. The two swords shimmered on his arms, each swing having cleaved their bodies as easily as slicing bread. He stood alone amid the scattered corpses in the narrow hallway, the rest of the guards who had challenged him having run for their lives. And reinforcements. Sho ignored the distant feelings that stirred in the back of his mind, in that locked-away place. This wasn't the time for reverie. He had to get to Tygra before the ThunderCat became overwhelmed by Mutants looking for a far easier target. The dungeon should be right below me, if I remember those blueprints right, Sho thought. Taking the stairs isn't going to work. He focused his thoughts on the gravity controller, on the weapon he had used against Mumm-Ra. The power built at his waist, flowing up to his hands... What if it's too strong? The power died instantly. What if that pressure cannon just went through the dungeon? Just how powerful was it? What if he killed the people he was trying to help save? "Okay," Sho said, "time for a new plan." Could he just punch through the floors? How thick were they? How could he... Sho froze as the control medal began to glow, and the armor's thoughts became his own. He saw his own armored face, the twin metal orbs over his mouth. What was it trying to tell him? After a moment, he understood. A sonic buster. That might work.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WilyKit shook her head at the sound. She heard her brother's shackles rattling from the ceiling, the clanking growing louder by the second before a dull thud sounded from overhead. "What was that?" the monkey called Primor grunted. WilyKat's chains rattled louder, her own and Snarf's joining the dischordant symphony as another - louder - thud was heard. "Sounds like something collapsing," Jackalman replied. *THUD* The noise became louder still, reverberating, mounting pressure on her eardrums. She could feel the floor start to vibrate slightly as the clanking of chains grew in intensity. What in the world... *THUD!!* "It'sss right over uss!" Slythe cried in alarm, clutching the flaps of flesh at his head. WilyKit clapped her hands to her ears - a gestrue that proved totally useless - as the cracks rapidly formed in the roof of the dungeon. "What's going on?" she screamed as the top of the prison gave way with a mighty cracking sound. Dust from the pulverized stone rained down on the gathered Mutants and ThunderCats as a shadow landed heavily amid the debris. WilyKit tried to stand, yet the chain linking her wrists to her ankles only allowed an awkward crouch, and stared openly at the strange visitor. He was easily the tallest... man?... she had ever seen. He stood partially shrouded in the cloud of dust that was all that remained of the ceiling. Flickering lights fell through the hole above him, and the hole above that one, and the hole above that one... "Shneeeeyaarf..." Snarf moaned, "this can't be good!" "Oh, no!" Jackalman cried as the shadowed figure stepped into a patch of clearer air. "Sorry I'm late, Tygra," it said. "Better late than never, Guyver," Tygra replied with a nod. "Shall we?" "Um..." Snarf said from WilyKit's right, "did Tygra just call him 'Guyver'?" "I think so," she answered, "but how does he know Tygra?" What in the world was going on? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "HO!" Another torrent of energy lanced from the blade of the Sword of Omens, knocking a Nosediver off-course and into the foul moat which surrounded the Mutants' stronghold. Explosions in the sky flashed their light on the rocky ground as the three parts of the ThunderStrike took care of the Skycutters above. "Tygra's taking too long!" Panthro shouted as he whipped the ThunderTank about. "If he and Sho don't come out of there soon, we're gonna end up dusted!" "We'll hold out as long as it takes!" Lion-O roared over the din of combat. "We've come too far to abandon our friends now!" "I hear that!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tygra let the Mutants go as they fled the room. They were unimportant next to the task at hand. He could always deal with Slythe later. For now, getting the other ThunderCats out of here was paramount. "I... knew you'd come," WilyKat said as Tygra ran up to him. "Where..." "The others are fighting outside the castle," the tiger said as he tried the kitten's chains. "Let me, Tygra," Sho said as he grasped the chain between WilyKat's wrists and pulled. The metal came apart with a decisive snap, with the chains on his ankles following a second later. Tygra, for his part, sailed his whip at the chains which bound WilyKit, snapping them easily before releasing Snarf. "Cheetara!" WilyKit screamed, "she's..." "I know," Tygra managed as he knelt down beside her. His gorge tried to rise as he beheld the savage wounds the whips had left on her body, at the blood which still seeped from them. "Uh oh!" Tygra ignored Sho. Cheetara was still breathing, but barely. "Tygra, we have a problem!" "What?" he said, looking up to see the medallions on the sides of Sho's helmet swivelling in their tracks. "Looks like the Mutants got their act together," Sho replied. "I'm counting about thirty heading our way fast! We're gonna be surrounded pretty soon!" Those things must be sensors of some kind, Tygra thought before rising to his feet. "How soon?" "About twenty seconds, I think." "Tygra..." "Cheetara?" Her voice was weak, laden with pain. "Take... the kids... Snarf... leave...." "Not without you!" "Just... Go!" she demanded, several wracking coughs following her shout. "Not happening," Tygra said. "We're all leaving together!" To Sho, "We'll have to fight our way out of here! Get ready!" "Wait," Sho said back, "we're still above ground, right?" "Yes..." "Then we'll just take the back door." "Back door? What back door?" Sho cupped his hands over the metal ball at his waist. The sphere of power formed in an instant, growing rapidly as he aimed it toward one of the walls. The orb launched with the force of a missile, slamming home into the rough stone with a mighty boom and the sound of rupturing granite. Cool air from the outside rushed in, blowing away the cloud that remained of the thick wall. "That back door," Sho replied as he and the kittens came over to Cheetara's prone form. "Come on," Tygra growled as he slung Cheetara's arm over his shoulder. He hoisted her to her feet, ignoring the cry of pain that came from the injured ThunderCat. The sounds of battle raged outside the hole Sho had blasted into the wall, the flashing glare of laser bursts and the mad glow of flickering flames across the barren surroundings of Castle Plun-Darr lending a hellish atmosphere. "Sho, I'll carry Cheetara. We're going to need some serious cover fire." "Leave it to me." With that, the small group of escapees charged through the hole in the wall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Lion-O! Do you copy?" About damn time! he nearly shouted as Panthro opened the channel. "Where are you?" "The eastern side of the Castle!" "How'd you end up there?" Panthro asked, the autocannons blasting at an approaching Nosediver and sending it up in flames. "Tell you later! Where are you?" "The northern front!" Lion-O yelled back. "Hurry!" "Got it! Out!" "Think they'll need a beacon?" "One signal, coming up!" Lion-O replied, hoisting the Sword of Omens skyward. "Thunder! Thunder! THUNDER! THUNDERCATS! HOOOO!!!!" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The control room's ruined!" Jackalman screamed. "What damage..." Primor added as he looked through the holes which led several floors up. "Thiss cannot be..." Slythe groaned. He could almost feel the weight of those demon statues on his shoulders. "They mussst not esscape!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "What in the..." Sho gasped as the immense red beacon lit up the sky with a mighty roar. "To the source of the signal!" he heard Tygra shout. "NOW!" "Get moving!" Sho replied. "I'll cover you!" No sooner had the words left his lips than the sensors on his head snatched backward, showing him one of those Skycutter machines bearing down on their position. Guess I have my work cut out for me! he thought as the laser on his forehead fired off a blast that pierced the Skycutter's fuel tank, exploding it violently in midair. He focused the sensors ahead, seeing several Nosedivers darting around the now badly damaged ThunderTank. The bulk of the fighting was there. WilyKat had taken Cheetara's other side, bearing as much of her weight as he could while his sister carried the Snarf in her arms. Their progress with the wounded ThunderCat was slow - fatally so - and cutting a path through the ground vehicles ahead wouldn't do any good. "Tygra!" "What!" "Give her to me!" Tygra and WilyKat looked at him strangely for a moment, until the tiger nodded his head in understanding. "May Jaga be with you," Tygra replied as Sho eased the semi-conscious Cheetara onto his back. "I'll come back soon! Be careful!" With that, Sho launched himself forward as fast as his armored legs could carry him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bengali looked down as Sho rounded the east corner of the castle, Cheetara riding piggy-back as he charged toward the ThunderTank. "Tygra and the others are behind him," he heard Lynx-O say. "Why is he carrying her?" "Perhaps she is too injured to make it on her own," the old lynx said in his always-calm voice. "I have already contacted Lion-O and Panthro." "I'll head down and help with those Nosedivers!" "Quickly, Bengali!" Lynx-O exclaimed. "The Braille Board is showing another force of Nosedivers closing in on this position!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sho leapt clear as the pod streaked downward, blasting away two Nosedivers that had turned their attention to him. If whoever was in that thing could keep his path clear for just a few more meters... The ThunderTank rumbled directly for him, its armor blackend and shredded from constant attacks. The fact that it was still functional was incredible! "Just... a... little more..." His next leap carried him over the front of the tank to land hard in its rear space. "Cheetara!" he heard Lion-O shout. His horrified stare was locked on Cheetara's back. "Panthro! Straight ahead!!" "Got it!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Thiss iss Ssslythe," the replile said into the portable radio. "All unitsss are to converge on the ThunderTank! Ignore the ThunderStrike! That iss an order!" He stood atop the roof of Castle Plun-Darr, glaring hatefully down at the carnage below. If he could not kill all of the ThunderCats tonight, then he would at least take most of them. That should please those demons. He hoped. -------------------------------------------------------------------- "Glad to see you!" Tygra hooted as the rest hopped aboard. "Same here!" Lion-O said as Panthro spun the tank about. "Let's get out of here!" "I'm into that!" Snarf shouted as WilyKit set him down in the rear of the tank. "Lion-O!" "What is it, Lynx-O?" "Another group of Nosedivers are closing in on you fast! We've engaged more Skycutters up here!" "DAMN!" Panthro cursed as the ThunderTank crossed the narrow bridge that spanned the moat. "We're in trouble!" "What is it?" "The ThunderTank's pretty quick," Panthro answered, "but she's hauling a lot of weight, and she's pretty beat up!" "Can we outrun those Nosedivers?" "Not like this!" "I see them!" WilyKit shouted. They sailed over the rocky ground just as the ThunderTank entered the path through the forest. At least ten, likely twenty, of them were bearing down like malevolent mosquitoes, each lusting to tear at their flesh. Sho gasped as the Guyver communed with him once again, showing him another of its strange powers. The sight of it frightened him, stirring vague impressions that chilled his blood like ice. But, it could be their only chance. "Keep going, guys," he said as he stood. "And don't turn back!" "Sho, what are you doing?" Panthro demanded. "I don't know, but it might just save us!" Sho leapt clear of the tank, coming to rest on the soft grass as the Nosedivers screamed closer. The high-pitched whine of their engines filled his ears as he focused on the power. He felt it build, slowly at first, gathering momentum with each passing moment. He just hoped he was quick enough. "What the heck is he doing?" WilyKit asked as the man stood down the coming Nosedivers. "That's what I'd like to... hey..." "What is it, Panthro?" "Tygra, I'm picking up an energy reading nearby. It's... Great Jaga, it's huge!" "From Sho?" Lion-O asked. "Apparently. Just what is he..." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lynx-O shot down another Skycutter when the readings on his Braille Board went wild. Such energy! What could be generating it? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Slythe peered through the binoculars at the Guyver. Was that fool really going to stand down all those Nosedivers? He saw the armored man grasp the breastplates of his armor. What was he going to do, flash them? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- They were nearly on him. Sho counted almost forty of those Nosedivers bearing down on him. His chest burned with the power, aching for release. He grasped the breastplates on his armor, snatched them open to reveal the bulbous lenses beneath. The light gathered, glowed with the brilliance of a star. The light burst forth, turning night into day and filling the air with a sound like the end of the world. They could only watch, amazed, as the wide beam of pure white sizzled the air in its passing. The Nosedivers were enveloped by it, vanishing forever into its harsh glare as it screamed into the face of Castle Plun-Darr. The intense destructive power hammered the stone facade into nothingness in an instant. The entire spectacle lasted but for a few seconds, yet would be forever imprinted upon the minds of the ThunderCats. "By the moons of Thundera..." Tygra rasped. The earth itself was scorched, a smoldering trench surrounded by the blackened stumps of ancient trees. The Nosedivers were gone. "Vaporized," Panthro said, his dark skin ghostly white. "Completely vaporized. Not a trace left..." The front of Castle Plun-Darr was smashed in, the head of the gargoyle-shaped fortress retaining its shape for a moment before giving up and collapsing into so much burning rubble. The flames from within the remnants grew higher, greedily tasting the oxygen with each thundering explosion. "We have to be over a mile away..." WilyKat said in a small, frightened voice. At the foot of the destruction stood Sho, his shoulders slumped and his chest heaving for air. His legs buckled, spilling him to the ground as the armor vanished from his body to leave a human boy behind. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Slythe shook his head clear as the sun rose bright above the blasted plains on which Castle Plun-Darr sat. The light, that terrible light, still shone in his mind, the sight of forty Nosedivers being de-atomized burned into his memory forever. Such power, he thought. Such overwhelming power! Who could have known that this Guyver had such a terrifying weapon? How would he deal with this? "Slythe..." The Reptillian froze at the cold sound that seemed to come from everywhere. "Slythe!" "Oh, no! NO!" "You have failed..." "Please, Masters, forgive me! Had I but known! Had you told me..." "SILENCE!" "PLEASE!" He begged, he pleaded as the ephmeral images of the demon statues appeared in the morning light, surrounding him. "We told you the price for failure. Had you killed the prisoners you had taken, this could have all been avoided." "I BEG OF YOU! PLEASE! SPARE ME!!" His begging devolved into pathetic sobs as the Ancient Ones drew nearer. "One simple command, and you could not follow it! How can we forgive such incompetence?" "Jusst one more chance! I beg of you!" "As we promised..." Slythe's throat closed, choking on his plea, as the chasm at his feet opened. Within he beheld horrors beyond imagining, twisted demons and monsters reaching upward with their clawed appendages in eager anticipation of his flesh. The reptile's skin tried to crawl off his body as the burning pit grew wider to reveal even worse things below. "NO!" "As we promised," the Ancient Spirits of Evil proclaimed, "your failure has bought you hellfire eternal! You shall burn forever, tormented by the demons of all the hells!" "NOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Primor watched from a distance as the unnatural flames leapt skyward. So it was done. Castle Plun-Darr was destroyed, yet his own forces had suffered only nominal losses. He still had more than enough to conquer Third Earth. However, there was the matter of the Guyver... He had never seen a weapon with such power, even on a starship. If that thing was truly allied with the ThunderCats... Primor walked eastward toward the Desert of Sinking Sands. That daring rescue had been a sight to behold, despite his own defeat. With a force as powerful as that Guyver on their side, the ThunderCats could try even more daring attacks against his forces. His options were limited, yet Primor did not want to relinquish the planet of Third Earth. No true Mutant would run from the prospect of total rule over an entire world... =============================================