One Last War to Fight Chapter Sixteen: Guyver Versus Guyver
ThunderCats Bio-Booster Armor Guyver One Last War to Fight Episode Sixteen ================================================================ It did not notice its new trappings any more than it had the strange being which had transported it. The eternal gloom and dank chill in the air were meaningless as the biomass grew and developed. Bones began to form within the writhing ropes of tentacular organics, followed closely by the respiratory and cardiac systems. The outer layers of armor began to form as the mass excreted organic resins which formed extremely durable living polymers. Weapon systems were grown as the host's brain finished developing and the consciousness was transferred. Steam rolled off of the newly-developed form as it switched to defense mode and -*test*-('")ed the connections to the brain. The host would awaken soon, and it would ensure that nothing would prevent that. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Lion-O's passed the critical stage," Pumyra said as the ThunderCats gathered in council that morning. Breakfast had been filling for the first time in weeks, and the difference in mood was palpable, bouyed by the good news. "I checked his vitals, and they're beginning to improve. I'll spend today preparing the herbs Tygra and the kittens gathered for use." "Excellent," Tygra said, openly smiling for what felt like the first time in years. "What news of the joint hunt?" "The Warrior Maidens will meet Cheetara and the kittens at the Unicorn Forest in two hours," Lynx-O answered. "Due to their traditions, and our own, Cheetara and WilyKit will join in the hunt. WilyKat and Sho will help tend to the children. Cheetara insisted Sho accompany her to learn the territories and peoples of Third Earth." "Kit's looking forward to it," Panthro added. "On Thundera, she would have been on her first hunt nearly a year ago." As with the Warrior Maidens, the women on their homeworld hunted the meat. "They've already left for the camp." "What news on repairs of the HoverCat?" Tygra asked before finishing off his coffee. Council was being held in the dining area of the Tower that morning, the light of the rising sun casting a stripe of light across the center of the round table around which they had eaten earlier. "I'll replace the thundrillium conduits after council," Panthro replied. "That'll only take a few hours. After that, it's just a matter of banging out the dents." "I'll lend a hand," Bengali offered. Tygra nodded, hoping that nothing would go wrong today. "If there is no other business?" Silence was his reply. "Very well. Council adjourned." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sho breathed in the clean scent of the grasslands into which the ThunderTank had entered after breaking free of the humid jungle canopy. The sun had just fully risen, its light glinting like fire off of the drops of dew which had yet to be burned off. The throaty roar of the powerful vehicle's engine vibrated through its frame in subtle counterpoint to its actual sound as Cheetara piloted it from her position behind the strange controls. He stood at the waist-high divider between the rear area and the driver's compartment and looked down as Cheetara's hands deftly adjusted the controls to keep the tank on a steady course. WilyKit sat up front with her, the kitten's hands fidgeting with excitement. WilyKat stood to his left, his chest barely clearing the partition. "How do you *drive* this monster?" he asked to break the silence. "Very carefully," Cheetara deadpanned. "Or, in my case," WilyKat added, "not at all." "You're too young to drive the ThunderTank," Cheetara admonished gently. "Aw, I could handle it. No problem." "Yeah," WilyKit replied. "You could handle it into the nearest ditch." "Hey, it was my first time driving! Cut a guy some slack, willya?" Looking at Sho, WilyKat said, "Girls, huh?" "Hey, don't drag *me* into this," Sho said with a grin. "Gee, thanks for the underwhelming support." "If there's one thing I remember, it's that it never pays to argue with women." Cheetara's laughter pealed out into the growing day. "Sho, you'll make some lucky woman very happy one day!" she said when her hilarity faded. Sho grinned at her statement. "If they have so few men, I wonder how they have so many children?" Sho mused. "Often, men from other human villages will marry into the Warrior Maiden tribe," Cheetara explained. "More often than not, the children are born female. It's rare indeed for a Warrior Maiden to birth a male child." Mostly due to the presence of the kittens, and partly due to Sho's own apparent innocence of such matters, Cheetara elected not to discuss the aspects of their culture concerning intimacy any further. The Warrior Maidens were not a society of prudes, but they *never* practiced any form of intimacy outside of their bedchambers. Otherwise, WilyKit would never have been allowed to venture into the former Treetop Kingdom without supervision. Cheetara had learned from the late Willa of how, with so few men, many of them would pleasure themselves when their desires peaked and of how some even found true love and intimate affection in each other's arms. Having endured her share of long and lonely nights, Cheetara could admit to - and relate with - using the former to keep from going mad with need. There were times when such was necessary as a release valve, and there was a certain satisfaction to be gained from it. Cheetara had no inclination to the latter, though she saw nothing wrong in it. Such love was known on Thundera, after all, and one's preference for love and intimacy was simply not a big concern. Sighing inwardly, she reflected on how quickly WilyKit and WilyKat were growing up. Before long, she surmised, they would need to have what was universally known and dreaded as "The Talk". Though the other ThunderCats had been the only family the kittens had known since practically cubhood, Cheetara still found the thought that they would tell them the facts of love and life instead of their parents to be somewhat inappropriate. Cheetara ended that train of thought. That conversation would come in time. They were, after all, still kittens. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oswald Arthur Lisker shivered as the chill sank its damp fingers into his exposed skin as the armor left him. He gazed around in the cold gloom, fighting not to gag at the stench of mildew and age that seemed to seep into his flesh and at the palpable air of corruption that his lungs breathed in. He finally managed to focus on the glowing eyes of a demonic relief carved out of the stone wall across from the pool of bubbling sludge, then onto the stone sarcophagus resting in its fanged mouth. "Welcome." the gravelly voice said from seemingly every corner of the poorly-lit space. The grating of stone on stone echoed in the dimness as the lid of the sarcophagus slid open. Lisker focused on the red-cloaked figure as it slowly emerged. "Who are you?" Lisker demanded. "Where the hell am I?" "I am Mumm-Ra, the Ever Living." The hood raised and the cloak opened to reveal a withered corpse swathed in rotting bandages. "I brought your control medal here, Guyver Two." "My... control medal," Lisker said as his memories sorted themselves. "It was... damaged..." "It has restored itself." Mumm-Ra halted at the opposite edge of the pool. "And it has restored you. Welcome back to the land of the living." "How long has it been?" Lisker asked as he slowly sank to his knees. "Over two thousand years have passed since your battle with Guyver One. Or, should I call him Sho Fukamachi?" "Two... thousand years!" Lisker exclaimed. "Kronos does not rule this world," Mumm-Ra said as Lisker slowly regained his feet. "The organization you served is long dead. And it perished at Sho's hand." Lisker slowly gazed up at the withered form of Mumm-Ra. Kronos was... gone? Zoanoids did not rule the world? "He denied your masters, the Zoalords, their dominion over this world." Lisker gazed about his surroundings as the mummy's words settled in. Kronos was gone? Sho had won? "The Ancient Spirits of Evil told me of your impending awakening, and bade me bring you here." "Why?" "Guyver One still lives," Mumm-Ra said. "He must be dealt with." "Sho...," Lisker's mind cleared itself as the images of his fight with the boy took hold. "Yes, he'd been lucky that time... Wait, how do you know any of this?" "I know many things," Mumm-Ra said when he reached the edge of the pool. "I have lived for thousands of years." "Really?" Lisker couldn't believe what the zombie in the cloak was telling him. "What kind of shit is this?! Do you really expect me to believe it?" "I speak the truth, Oswald Lisker." The edge of anger in Mumm-Ra's voice was unmistakeable. "The world you know was destroyed in a titanic battle which ended not only Kronos, but most of humanity as well. Gaze into my cauldron, and see for yourself." Lisker rose slowly, shivering in the cold, and walked to the edge of the stone-ringed pool. He stared, transfixed, as he saw Sho and another Guyver slaughtering Zoanoids... getting into Relics Point?! The images were jagged and disjointed, showing him scene after scene of X-Day, and of the battles afterward, and finally... "It... *is* true..." Lisker staggered back, feeling sick to his stomach. "I told you as much," the mummy said smugly. "Why have you brought me here? "To serve in my cause of eradicating the ThunderCats." "The... ThunderWhats?" "They are an alien race of cat-like beings, who have befriended the native people of this world. They stand against the dark forces I stand *for*! I have need of a powerful Guyver such as yourself to aid me in watering the soil of Third Earth with their blood." "Sounds like a premise for a half-assed kid's show to me," Lisker replied. "You said Sho Fukamachi is here, too?" "Yes. He currently aids them. Perhaps..." "Perhaps only a Guyver can kill a Guyver," Lisker interjected. "I know. If my control medal hadn't malfunctioned back then, I would have killed him myself." "It is fully restored, now," Mumm-Ra said. "You no longer suffer a disadvantage." "Where is he?" Lisker snarled, his blood heated with rage and the cold against his naked form fading. "I shall send you to where he is headed. But first..." Lisker gasped as the light gathered about him to form the light brown Armani three-piece which he had worn prior to facing Sho the first time. "I trust that is sufficient?" "It'll do," Lisker said as he rose to his full height. "Good. Remember, though, that the ThunderCats are your enemies as well." "If any get in my way, they're as good as dead. But Sho comes *first*!" "I can accept that. Now, go." The light shot from Mumm-Ra's hands as the dark chamber vanished from his sight. Mumm-Ra focused the scrying pool on the grotto in which the Warrior Maidens awaited the arrival of the ThunderCats. He hated having to be so careful around Lisker, yet the ancient one knew first-hand how dangerous the power of a Guyver could be. "I must not underestimate him," he mused as he eagerly awaited the start of the show. "Lisker is on my side for the moment. I must make sure that does not change until I can deal with him." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lisker found the gloom of Mum-Ra's chambers replaced by burgeoning greenery, his own Armani suit having been restored. He had worn it when interrogating Sho and his fat friend, Tetsuro. I can feel him, Lisker thought as he trudged through the wood to where he knew Guyver One to be waiting. As he moved around the trunks of mighty trees and strange vegetation, Lisker's memories of that long-ago time sorted themselves properly. Sho had been fortunate the last time they had done battle. Two thousand years. It seemed impossible. Idiotic. Sho, powerful as he was, simply *couldn't* have ousted Kronos. He was a high school kid, for fuck's sake! Then again, Lisker thought as he angled through a copse of elms toward the sound of mosty female voices, Lady Luck could be a real bitch. He stopped just outside the outer ring of a clearing in the fragrant wood and gazed about the collection of women and children who were clad in short furs that left little of their figures to the imagination. "There you are," he hissed when he spotted Sho standing amid several human children, and one boy who strongly resembled a human cat. A woman with black-spotted blonde hair strode over to Guyver One, and Lisker saw how friendly she was to him. Were they lovers? Whatever. Sho kept his eyes off of the exposed lengths of toned legs and shapely curves as best he was able, though the task was proving difficult as the Warrior Maidens were stringing bows and donning quivers of arrows. He cast a quick glance at WilyKat and nearly smiled as the Thunderian boy feasted his eyes on a raven-haired maiden. "WilyKat," Sho said as he snapped his fingers in front of the boy's eyes. "Kat. Hey. Third Earh. Now." "What?!" "You were staring, Kat!" Sho whispered, wanting to laugh. "I was *not*," WilyKat hissed. "It's your fib. Tell it as big as you want to." "I wasn't staring," he maintained stubbornly as Cheetara walked over to them with a quiver on her back and a large bow in her left hand. "Now, you stay on your best behaivior," Cheetara said as she knelt down before him. "No problem. We've got this," WilyKat replied. "And by the way," she said, her voice lowering and her eyes twinkling, "you *were* staring." Sho nearly doubled over, chortling as he fought not to erupt in gales of laughter as WilyKat's face flushed. "We weren't the only ones who noticed, either." WilyKat, for his part, looked up at the maiden again to see her looking at him with a raised eyebrow and a corner of her mouth quirked in amusement. WilyKit stood next to her, wearing a scowl that could abrade steel. "Boys..." she grunted. WilyKat's face glowed even brighter with embarrassment, and Sho felt certain that the boy's hair would catch flame if his face got any more red. His good humor died instantly as a presence pressed against his mind and a voice spoke in his native tongue. Cheetara looked up at the fair-haired human in strange clothes as he emerged into the clearing. His pale blue eyes glinted cruelly as he spoke in a language she had never heard before. Sho's back stiffened, his face contorting in anger as he whirled on the stranger. "Urusei, baka yaro!" Sho roared, clearly offended. His gasp on seeing the other human betrayed shock and more than a trace of fear. "Sho," Cheetara asked, "do you know him?" "He's... familiar..." Sho replied at length. "And I know he's trouble!" "I didn't know you were so conversant in English," he said. "That simplifies matters." "Do you remember him?" WilyKit asked as she arrived to his left. "So, it's true," the tall, athletic human said, "you *have* lost your memories. Let me re-introduce myself. My name is Oswald Lisker, former chief inspector for Max Pharmaceuticals, otherwise known as Kronos." "K...Kronos!" Sho stammered in disbelief. Images of the man before him surfaced from the black hole of his memories, spurred by terror and the feel of the contact with his mind as horrid realization slowly asserted itself despite his subconscious efforts to repress it. Lisker's cold blue eyes locked onto his own and sent a shudder racing through his body. "You would be ThunderCats?" Lisker asked as he looked over to Cheetara and the kittens. "Mumm-Ra sends his regards." Sho felt his anger rise at the mention of that name. Lisker chuckled as the Warrior Maidens notched arrows to bowstrings and aimed the needle-sharp heads directly at him. "He does, now?" Cheetara snarled from just behind. "He recruited me when he came to one rather obvious realization," Lisker said. He tilted his head from side to side and the vertebrea cracked audibly. "There's only one thing in this world that can truly fight a *Guyver*." At that one emphasized word, the air was shattered by a hammering explosion which bloomed a cloud of grass and topsoil and blasted the leaves off of nearby trees. Fear welled up within Sho as the Warrior Maidens present gasped and cried out in shock. The dust slowly cleared and revealed the towering figure within. The armor, save for its gold coloration, was nearly identical to his own. The organic material exposed where the plates did not cover was a shade of black that seemed to suck the light out of the air. The armored section over where the mouth should be bore the twin silver orbs of the sonic buster one over the other on his left, with two small vents sharing one main port on the right with a small spike curving outward at the chin. The small vents recessed in turn as each blew out a visible jet of air. "Another Guyver," Lisker finished, his voice sharing the mingled, almost mechanical, quality that Sho's had in the armor. "Oh, shit..." Sho croaked. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now what? Tygra thought with rising alarm as the Eye of Thundera growled from his hip. Pausing in the corridor which led to the hangar, he pulled the Sword of Omens free from the claw which was its scabbard to place the crossbars to his face. "Sword of Omens, give me sight beyond sight!" The ethereal haze gathered at the edges of the scene he beheld. "Oh, no..." Tygra said in horror at the sight of the gold-armored figure which stared down Sho and the kittens. The vision faded just as adrenaline surged into Tygra's blood and the distance to the hangar door vanished in moments. "Tygra!" Panthro exclaimed as he charged over to the HoverCat and two of his friends. "What on..." "Trouble at the Warrior Maiden camp," Tygra said quickly. "The Sword showed me that they were facing down..." "Dyme," Bengali snarled, smacking a fist into his palm. "No. It looked like another Guyver!" "No way..." Panthro's face paled at the implication. "You sure?" "Sho was in the Sword's vision, and he wasn't the one wearing the armor. Yes, I'm sure." "Guyver Three enters the picture," Panthro snarled as he and Tygra ran to the ThunderClaw. "I'll summon Pumyra and Lynx-O," the white Tyger said as he charged to the ThunderStrike. "We'll be right behind you!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lisker glared at Sho, not finding any trace of the Guyver he possessed in the whirling aura which surrounded him. He did notice, however, the kid's gaze locked onto his forehead. "Notice something different?" he asked as he tapped the control medal with the index finger of his right hand. "That's right," he purred as Sho's eyes widened in realization. "Good as new. A malfunctioning control medal won't save you this time." The sensor medallion to the right of the fin which curved from the head beam emerald's niche and the control medal's small shield jerked back as the arrow took flight. Lisker snatched the projectile out of its flight toward his head with a near contemptuous ease before snapping it in two with a squeeze of his fingers. He craned his head about to look at the trembling girl whose hands held the offending bow and snorted in derision. "Word to the wise, kid," he snarled as she tried to hide her fear. "You don't wanna piss me off." "Leave them alone, Lisker!" Sho roared, rage boiling inside him and tinting his vision red. "They're no threat to you!" "You got a point," the other Guyver replied while levelling a finger at the group of Warrior Maidens. "I've got better things to do with my time than kick around a bunch of women and kids." Sho tensed as Lisker's head turned back to him. "And Mumm-Ra's the one with a wild hair up his ass when it comes to ThunderCats. Personally, I could care less." Sho tensed as Lisker stepped nearer. "Tell you what, people. I'll give you all five minutes to clear the fuck out. If you don't, well, I won't make any special effort to keep from killing you. The clock's ticking as of now." "No, Lisker," Sho said as he stalked toward the other Guyver. "What, you want to go at it now?" Lisker asked. "You *do* know how many will die if we fight now, right?" "I won't fight you here," Sho said, trembling. "The Warrior Maidens have lost one home, and I won't let them lose another!" "Sho..." "No, Cheetara," he said, cutting her off. "This is gonna be a fight no matter what. I won't let the Unicorn Forest be destroyed in the process." He stopped before the towering form of the enhanced Lisker and glared into the face of his armor. "In other words," Lisker said, "you don't want your friends to see you beaten. Fine. Whatever." Lisker shrugged his shoulders, indifferent. "Name the place and call the tune, kid. I'll be there with my dancing shoes on. But, you really should slip into something a little more armored." "GUYVER!" Sho roared. Another explosion burst into the morning air as his own armor appeared and merged with his body. The process took only a second, and Sho was disheartened to find that Lisker was still a head taller than him. "Then follow me," he said as he commanded the gravity controller to lift him. He was rewarded with the sight of Lisker joining him immediately after. Cheetara stared into the sky along with the kittens and Warrior Maidens. The mutters of relief and amazement from the humans vanished as her sixth sense took hold and the forest became the red stone of a deep gully deep in the distant desert. She found herself staring helplessly at Lisker as he pried his chestplate open and the light... "Sho," she said as the vision faded. "He's going to die..." "Cheetara?" WilyKit asked fearfully. "I have to get there! Stay with the ThunderTank!" Cheetara tore off after the two Guyvers, unsure of what she could do but certain that his life was in grave peril. "WilyKat, what're you doing?" WilyKit asked as her brother leapt into the ThunderTank. "You know you can't drive that beast!" "I *can* use the communicator," he shot back as he dialed in the Tower. "Tower of Omens, come in! Lynx-O..." "The ThunderCats have left already," Snarf's voice replied through the speaker. "I'll patch you through to Tygra." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "We're on our way, WilyKat," Tygra said as he piloted the ThunderClaw in the direction of the Unicorn Forest. "Sho and that other Guyver flew off in a big hurry," he said, "and Cheetara tore off after them!" "She *what*?!" Panthro exclaimed. "She said something about Sho not surviving. I think her sixth sense went nuts!" "Her emotions can affect her visions," Tygra said. Panthro cut him off with: "And when's the last time her sixth sense went wrong?" "Good point. Which way did they go?" "Southwest," WilyKat said. "There's another stretch of desert that way." "I know," Tygra said as he changed course. "Are your spaceboards in the ThunderTank?" "No." "Then stay with it," Panthro barked. "We'll be back for it soon." "Got it! Over and out!" "What the hell is she thinking?" Panthro said as the ThunderClaw altered course. "If two Guyvers are about to mix it up, what can she do?" "Let's just hope we get there before she thinks of something," Tygra replied. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Perfect, Sho thought as he touched down on the stone surface. The sun seemed not to have risen any further due to the direction he had chosen. A narrow expanse of stone stretched over the gully he had chosen for this battle, the shadows still deep pools as Lisker landed across from him. "Nice choice," Guyver Two remarked. "And here I thought all the good desolate hellholes were on Mars." "Glad you approve," Sho snarled as he began to circle. Lisker imitated his slow arc as the two Guyvers sized each other up. "I killed you. I know I did." "Wrong, kid, you only *thought* you killed me. Kronos retrieved my control medal," Lisker explained as the two circled about. "It only took two thousand years, but I'm back. And I'm ready to stomp your ass but good." "We'll see!" Sho shouted as he leapt upward. At the zenith, he used the gravity controller to yank him down at an angle to Lisker as he extended both feet. Lisker crossed his arms in front of his head as Sho's feet slammed against them with an air splitting boom and Guyver Two was forced backward several feet, the tips of his feet digging deep gouges in the stone beneath. "Using one of my moves?" Lisker asked as he uncrossed his arms and grasped Sho's ankles. "Get your own!" Lisker began to whirl on the spot, swinging the other Guyver in a rapid arc before releasing Sho's feet. Lisker howled with manic glee as Guyver One slammed into the narrow strip of rock which served as a bridge between the edges of the ravine. "WHOOOF!" The air was violently forced from his lungs when his back slammed into the natural bridge with enough force to lodge him in its center. Intense pain radiated in sickening waves from the impact, blurring his vision as he fought to extricate himself. "Just like old times, kid," Lisker snarled as he hovered just above. "Damnit!" Sho shouted as he smashed his fists into the remains of the bridge. The rock splintered outward from the twin blows, freeing him as the gravity controller raised him to Lisker's level and the remains of the bridge's center plummeted to the ground. "You can't take me on the ground, Fukamachi." Sho growled in growing rage at the snide tone of the other Guyver. "What makes you think you can take me in the air?" "We'll see about that!" He fired the beam in his helmet in a short burst, which Lisker dodged easily before landing a diving double punch into Sho's stomach. Lisker followed along, using Sho as a windbreak before hammering him into the earth below. Owww.... Sho ignored the agony as he rose from the crater he'd made with his back. Lisker, having sprung backward with grace that would have made a ThunderCat envious, landed gracefully in front of him. "You just don't get it, do you?" Lisker's words dripped with condescencion as Sho brought his vision back into focus. "If you want to be the champ, you don't just strap on the gloves and get in the ring." "Try strapping *these* on!" The sonic swords extended at a thought, humming quietly in the still desert air. "Like this?" The spikes on Lisker's arms curved gracefully back as he brought his fists to the ready again. "If you wanna up the ante, kid, that's fine with me." Cheetara stopped at the lip of the chasm, having arrived just as Sho had been violently slung into the stone overpass, and winced at the thunderclap of the impact. She knelt down, knowing that the shadows in which she hid would be completely dispelled in moments, and realized that the other Guyver had eyes only for Sho as the young man shattered the remains of the bridge. His renewed offensive was rewarded with Lisker using him as a battering ram to smash a hole in the rocky earth. That *had* to hurt, Cheetara thought with a wince and a twinge of fear. She wanted to think that he would pull together, and it looked as though he would as both Guyvers engaged the blades on their arms and duelled in earnest. Both combatants swiped, dodged, and weaved with speed and agility that was impressive even by ThunderCat standards, yet she knew her vision would prove true. Sho had no chance of coming out of that ravine alive unless she could do something to change it. Cheetara chose not to think about the fact that she might very well cast aside her own life in the process. Her vision had been so powerful, so much like the vision that had drawn her, and by proxy Sho, to Lion-O's side in time for the young man to teleport him back to the Tower. Perhaps... "Gyaaa!" she yelped as the horrid screech pierced her ears despite the hands she'd clasped over them when the two clanged sonic sword with sonic sword. Sho snarled as the blade on his right arm was blocked by Lisker's, the cacophony of noise shattering scattered boulders and leaving cracks in the earth beneath. Tiny fissures began snaking up sides of the relatively narrow ravine as their blades forced each other's back and forth in a battle for dominance. "FUCK!" Sho shouted as he leapt backward. "I'll give you this, kid," Lisker said, his breathing only slightly labored, "you've gotten a little better." "Gee, thanks," Sho replied flatly, breathing more heavily than Lisker. None, *absolutely* none of his attacks had landed and the fact that Lisker's blades hadn't touched him seemed to be a matter of sheer luck. Or that Guyver Two was holding back. "But, not good enough!" Sho took to the air in time to avoid Lisker's lunging swipe, though barely. Now's my chance! He spun about, engaging the sonic buster a fraction of a second after one of Lisker's sensor medallions jerked back. Guyver Two leapt to the side as the tightly focused sonic burst shattered the spot on which he had once stood. Wasting no time, Sho jinked hard to his right in time to avoid a burst of emerald light before landing again. It had been a stroke of ill fortune, however, as Sho locked onto the charging Lisker too late to avoid his sprinting attack. Desperate, he managed to lock hands with Guyver Two, and their battle became one of physical strength. He's holding his own so far, she thought as the battle unfolded below. How much longer can he last? This area of Third Earth was unfamiliar to her, and there was no telling how much time would pass before the other ThunderCats would arrive, given that the Sword would direct them to the Warrior Maiden camp which was quite a distance away. Incredible... It was the only word which came to mind as the hard stone beneath their feet cracked beneath the pressure of each set of arms pushing against each other. The strength those Guyvers possessed was enormous! Cheetara found herself thankful that Sho had chosen to fight this battle well away from any inhabited areas. She freed her dormant staff from its gauntlet, yet refrained from extending it. Its heft was a comfort, even more, it felt right. She recalled the limited details of her vision as the two struggled against each other, and hoped that for once her sixth sense was wrong. "Not this time," she muttered as the tables turned against Sho once again. Sho grunted as Lisker forced his arms down another inch. He summoned every ounce of strength he possessed, yet Guyver Two seemed able to match his own reserves with ease and exceed them with just as little trouble. The attack was as sudden as it was brutal. With the force Sho was exerting against his enemy's arms, he was unable to resist as Lisker suddenly yanked backward and down, bringing Sho's face within easy striking range of the axe-like upward kick that slammed into his chin and starred his vision. Only Lisker's continued grip kept him from flying into the air, yet that grip also served as a weapon as he savagely twisted Sho's arms outward. He fought to resist the incredible pressure on his abused elbows, but the stunning speed and power of Lisker's ploy robbed him of any chance to prevent his arms from snapping as though they were dead branches on the floor of a forest. "AAAAAGHHHH!!" Sho's scream of intolerable agony echoed in the narrow ravine as he beheld his ruined arms. Helpless, he could only stand his ground as one of Lisker's sonic swords swung in an arc which slashed brutally through the armor and flesh of his abdomen and the organs which lay beneath. Blood gushed up his esophagus and erupted in a crimson burst from the vents which trapped and expelled toxins and other unnecessary elements of the air he breathed. Great gouts of it splattered from his wound and the exhaust ports as his reserves of strength rapidly fled him. Another slash followed that one, and another, as Sho's innards were mangled and torn with each swipe of Lisker's blades. A final, stabbing strike pierced his right breastplate. The vibrating blate ruined the megasmasher and deflated his lung with ease before he snatched it back out with a thick coating of Sho's blood. Standing wounded and alone, Sho had no chance to deflect the kick which sailed him into the sheer rock wall of the ravine with only a little less force than a missle and caused the hard surface to crater in the aftermath of the attack. "You're done," Lisker said as he stalked toward the badly wounded Guyver. Blood flowed in thin streams from the exhaust ports on his faceplate as he whimpered in terror and agony. Lisker rode high on the tide of his ultimate victory, his proper vengeance, as Sho shivered and fought to keep from sliding down the ruined rock against which he leaned. Cheetara extended her staff and tensed the muscles in her legs as the moment drew near. She knew what had to be done, and could feel the approach of the ThunderCats at the edges of her mind. She crouched low to the earth, already selecting the jagged outcroppings which she would use in tandem with her speed to reach the vulnerable young man, as Lisker boasted of his victory. Why do they always do that, she thought in exasperated annoyance as Lisker gesticulated during his monologue. Her blood chilled as he began to pry open his breastplate to expose the immensely powerful beam weapon beneath. Cheetara bolted, blessing her natural speed and agility as she bounded down the ravine wall. Sho wanted to scream, yet each attempt to give voice to the wracking, unbearable torment sent another shower of gore out of his throat and through the Guyver's exhaust vents and flooded his mouth with its coppery tang. Pain seemed to define every aspect of his existence, yet the eternal release of death seemed to come no closer. It's... keeping... me alive... he thought, and even that took great effort. "Thought you were pretty hot shit, didn't you?" Lisker halted his approach and aimed a finger at him. "Thought that nothing and nobody could fuck with you? Well, looks like you were wrong, kid. And I'll tell you why." "Go... go fuck yourself..." My throat's cleared? The armor's healing me! Sho realized, yet his hopes died aborning as he realized that he was still at Lisker's mercy. "Might snag one of those warrior women back in that forest if I'm feeling horny," Lisker replied with a cruel chuckle. "Anyway, you lean too much on the Guyver's weapons." He smacked a fist into the opposite palm with a sound like a gunshot. "You never learned to use the weapons you were born with. That's why you'll never beat me." He then pried the breastplate open, the better to allow Sho to see his death approaching... Lisker howled more from the shock than the pain as the cat woman seemed to appear out of thin air and spear the delicate lenses of the megasmasher with two impossibly quick jabs of the staff which she then twirled in her hands. "You... BITCH!" "I've been called worse," she retorted, backing toward Sho. "You really think you can save him?" Lisker had a merry laugh at the thought of the athletic-looking cat woman making a stand against him. "You must really have a thing for him." Oh, no... Sho couldn't believe that Cheetara had followed them all the way out here, and also despaired of her chances against Lisker. The mental image of her lying broken and bleeding on the desert floor was clear as fine crystal, and he realized with mounting horror that the picture was from Lisker's mind. No, Sho thought as he diverted as much power to his surviving megasmasher lens as he was able. I won't let her die! I *won't*! The deadly beam charged beneath the undamaged left plate with maddening sluggishness, its pulse weak and feeble. He was too wasted for a full burst, and with his mangled arms he had no way of exposing the lens, but be damned if he would just let Lisker kill one of the ThunderCats along with him. Cheetara edged backward, all attention on the Guyver before her. She didn't allow herself to feel any fear for the enemy she now faced alone, and she would not dignify his last statement with a response. "So, you took out my megasmasher," Lisker said with an ambivalence that bordered on arrogance. "I don't need it to deal with a little kitty-cat." "You keep thinking that." My speed will be my only advantage, she thought. I just have to hold him off until help comes. "But, and I want you to remember this, I *am* going to make you pay for it. Slowly. " "As though I've never heard *that* before," she snarled. She noticed the glint of the young day's sun which heralded the ThunderClaw's rapid approach. However, the momentary aversion of her gaze did not escape the gold-colored Guyver's notice, and caused him to turn about. "Oh. The cavalry arrives." Cheetara tensed at the unimpressed note in his voice. "Looks like I'll have to deal with them before I settle up with the two of you." "Cheetara..." His words were barely above a whisper, and that was all he could manage, "Open it..." The Cheetah glanced back at him, puzzled, until her eyes settled on the faint glow emanating from behind his surviving breastplate. He saw her glance back toward the oblivious Lisker then back at him with a short nod. This had better work, Sho thought as Cheetara's clawed fingers settled into the groove between armored carapace and purple membrane and pried the covering open with a slight pop. She stepped back quickly from the faint glow just before it flared brilliantly and burst into the world. Lisker's horrified scream nearly drowned out the lone megasmasher's roar as the beam hammered into his back and nearly made him one with the far wall of the gully before dying out abruptly. Sho gulped air as fast as he was able as exhaustion nearly dragged him into the black abyss of unconsciousness. Guyver Two's armor was blackened, even smoking in places, and his incoherent shouts of rage and pain echoed into the sky above. Lisker fell to his knees, cursing both in English and in Japanese with abandon. "Looks like you're not so tough after all," Cheetara said curtly as the ThunderClaw came to a hover above the gully and the roar of the ThunderStrike drew nearer. Lisker's tirade stopped abruptly, his mind conjuring sadomasochistic images of Cheetara that Sho's telepathic link received and would haunt his nightmares. "Just you keep one thing in mind, you pathetic slut," Lisker said in a low voice. "I wasn't going to bother with you cats at first." "I'm sure you weren't," Cheetara replied, sarcastic. "But thanks to you, this just got personal. Especially between me and you. Enjoy the time with your boyfriend. It won't last." At that, Lisker shot into the air as though launched by a rocket engine. "Sho..." The threat of Lisker gone for now, Cheetara allowed her mind to focus on the ravaged human. His arms were bent at right angles at the elbows, and the condition of his abdomen threatened to force what was left of her breakfast back the way it had come. Blood coated his armor, left fat trails down his legs and made a lake of red at his feet. "Chee..." He stopped, gasping for breath. "Thank... you..." "I didn't do it for thanks," she replied with a smile that she hoped was convincing. "Truth... Justice..." "Honor. Loyalty," she finished. "I think I see what that really means... Gggghhhh..." "Don't talk," she said gently as Tygra and Panthro rushed over and the ThunderStrike began its vertical descent. "Jaga's beard!" Panthro gasped once he saw the extent of Sho's wounds. "Bet... I look... a fright..." the human managed before succumbing to a fit of wracking coughs. "That's one way of putting it," Tygra managed. The ThunderStrike came to a rest near the ThunderClaw. Once opened, Pumyra leapt from the left pod and raced to Sho's side with a small medical bag slung over her right shoulder. Having been a healer on Thundera, Pumyra had seen the various insults to the body inflicted both by accident and by design, but she had never seen someone in such wretched condition as Sho. He should be dead by now! she thought, incredulous. The blood which coated his armor was long dried and none flowed to stain it further. Pumyra gazed closer at the shredded mess which was Sho's abdomen, at the writhing mass of tissue which seemed to be... growing?! How was this possible? Reaching into her bag, she produced from it a selection of cotton swabs and clear vials. "What are you doing?" "He's healing, Cheetara," Pumyra said as she took a sample of reddish-blue fluid and placed the long-handled swab into a vial before sealing it. "You've gotta be kidding," Bengali said in disbelief. "I'm watching these wounds close themselves!" Another swab went into a vial. "I've never seen recuperative abilities like this!" "So... I'll... make it?" "I'd have to say so." Pumyra took the last sample, already wishing she had a proper research facility and a team to pore over them. With healing properties like that, the potential for medicine was staggering! She looked once more at the wounds to his abdomen and nearly did a double-take at how much it had healed in the short time she had needed to take samples. Even the damage to the armor was being reversed. It's healing as well, she thought. Just like I thought, that thing's alive. "Sorry about... all this..." "Don't stress about it," Panthro said in reply. "All in all," Pumyra began, "I believe it's safe to move him. The main section of the ThunderStrike has enough room for him to lie in." "Come on, kid," Panthro said as he took Sho's right side and Bengali his left. Sho's steps were infantile, slow and uneven as the two ThunderCats aided him as best they were able without jostling his savaged arms. "Easy... easy..." Slowly they managed to get him into the main section of the ThunderStrike and onto the floor behind Lynx-O's control console. Pumyra bounded in behind them and took up a position beside his head. "I'd like to observe this regeneration process," she explained. Panthro and Bengali nodded, both sickened and fascinated. "We have to pick up the ThunderTank and the kittens," Panthro said when the ThunderStrike cleared the gully and soared back to the Tower. "Looks like the hunt's out of the question." "There's still plenty of daylight," Cheetara replied. "I'll just be a little behind them in the tally." "I can't imagine you being behind *anyone*." Tygra's comment generated chuckles from the other two as they neared the ThunderClaw. Becoming serious, Tygra turned to face Cheetara. "You took a major risk, getting between those two." "I know that," she replied evenly. "The vision I had was far too strong to ignore." "And I'm not saying you should have. I'm just asking you to be more careful. We're facing stronger enemies than ever now." "Again, I know." "Right." Tygra held himself in check. He was dealing with a seasoned ThunderCat, after all. "What can you tell us about this new Guyver?" "He seems to have the same powers and weapons as Sho," she replied as the three boarded the ThunderClaw. "But that Lisker is a far better fighter. That seemed to be his edge." "Better fighter, eh?" Panthro mused. The aircraft launched into the brightening sky as Tygra plotted a course to the Warrior Maiden camp. "Not quite in your league, Panthro," she replied, "but yes." "With a Guyver, Lisker doesn't have to be." Tygra's words cast a pall about the ThunderClaw's occupants. "Are you sure you want to continue today's hunt?" "Lisker won't be bothering us any more today," Cheetara said. "We need the food the hunt will provide. Winter *is* coming up, you know." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pumyra winced as Sho's arms straightened themselves out with a sickening popping and grinding of bone which played counter to his strangled cry of torture. The rents in his abdomen were nearly healed, and the savage wound in his right chest had vanished completely. His breathing had become more regular as the lung which had to have been punctured re-inflated itself. "Easy, Sho," she said softly. "We're almost back at the Tower." And I can't wait to analyze those samples! "I know the pain has to be intense..." "Not all that bad," he gasped. "Guyver's dulling it." Perhaps, Pumyra thought, but not by much. She had little respect for the macho act Sho put up in not crying out in his suffering. She'd seen it time and again in patients on Thundera, and knew that he was in horrible pain despite his relative silence. Even so, she had never seen anyone so badly wounded which still clung to life. Nor had she seen anyone recover from such wounds at all, much less in the space of an hour. "Sho, may I ask you something?" "Like I'd say no?" "Heh. Do you have any clue as to how you're healing so quickly?" "None." "I didn't think so," Pumyra said, disappointed. "I had to ask, though." "No... problem... AH!" "What?!" "My arms..." Pumyra glanced down as Sho wiggled his fingers. "I can use them again." A wound like that should have required amputation, she mused in stunned shock. The regenerative properties of that armor were *amazing*! Pumyra glanced toward the medical bag which contained the secretion samples she had taken and wondered what gifts they would bestow. "Looks like it's done." The gouges in the armor had vanished entirely, leaving no evidence of any damage. "Yeah..." Pumyra watched, transfixed, as Sho's body shrank to its normal size and the purple undercoating slithered under the armor plating a fraction of a second before they leapt into the air and faded out of existence. The human lay still as stone, chest slowly rising and falling and eyes shut to the world. "I take it he is again well?" "He's asleep, Lynx-O." Gingerly, she inspected the blood-soaked tunic which ended in ragged tatters just above his flat stomach and sported a gaping hole over his right chest. His pants had been spared a thorough soaking of red, she noticed as she lightly ran a finger over Sho's exposed skin. Not a scar, she thought. No sign he'd ever been injured. Already her mind was focusing on what equipment she had in the infirmary and the research that needed to be done. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Goddamnit..." Lisker gasped as he leaned his chest against the immense tree in the middle of whatever forest he had managed to find himself in. Trees and desert, was that it? No cities? Were those amazon women all that remained of humanity? "Cheetara." He rolled the name of the cat-bitch on his tongue, fully tasting his newest target's monicker. That she had ruined his megasmasher was of no real consequence, especially since the Guyver had already healed it. No, oh no, she had denied him the revenge that was his right! He would take his time with that one, make it last as long as he possibly could. She would *beg* him to let her die! "You have failed." Lisker spun about to see Mumm-Ra standing before him, his ember-red eyes glowing with anger. "The kid got lucky," Lisker answered with a dismissive wave of his hand. "That's all." "Indeed, fortune seems to smile on that boy. And the ThunderCats as well." Even Mumm-Ra had to admit that, if not for them, his other main hurdle on the path to the ultimate end of the ThunderCats would have been cleared by now. The ruin of Lisker's back had nearly been healed when Mumm-Ra had transported himself to this remote section of jungle, and the demon reminded himself not to take this human lightly. He was, for the moment, instrumental to the force he had digging itself in. The damage to his armor had reversed itself during the brief conversation they'd shared, much to Mumm-Ra's surprise. "Come. There is a gathering of my forces far northeast of here. They will welcome you." "I suppose I could use a place to rest up. Besides, I need to train." "Train?" Mumm-Ra asked, perplexed. "For the next time I meet that son of a bitch. And I have a score to settle with a certain cat woman." "Cheetara, I take it?" "I'll bend and break that bitch every which way I can until I hear her ask to die." "Very well." I like this one! Mumm-Ra thought as he cast the spell which would bring them to the Mutant construction site. Perhaps he would be useful even after the ThunderCats had been eradicated. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another slave run. It was already tedious, despite the fact that this was only the second such raid Dyme had made since being left under the charge of that brute, Grune. Having travelled so damn far through the earth had done nothing to alleviate it, either. It just *had* to be this Wollo settlement. Grune had insisted on it. Had it not been Mumm-Ra's task for him to follow the Thunderian's orders, Dyme would have simply crushed him beneath the weight of thousands of tons of dirt. The son of a bitch thought he was King Shit of Turd Mountain, and Dyme was chafing beneath him. And, he thought, what the *fuck* is so special about these Wollo things, anyway? They looked like oversized upright hamsters so far as he was concerned. There were rather a lot of them, yes, but they were so damned short! Even though Grune had explained, in his own bellowing and blustering way, that they had made excellent slave labor before, Dyme could not see why. Oh, well, he thought as he seeped into the soil beneath their simple stone village. If it's Wollos he wants, it's Wollos that son of a bitch is gonna get. Salvador could barely contain his elation. His grandchild would soon be among the village of the Wollo people. He would soon see yet another generation of his family born, and would have a child to spoil as only a grandparent could. In its way, it was every bit as exciting as the birth of his daughter, Rosa. Salvador thought then, as he often did in such happily introspective moments, of the ThunderCats which had retrieved the wedding gift he had scrimped and saved to buy from one of the greedy Tabbot jewelers. A golden bracelet with two intertwined hearts, it had taken over a year to be able to afford it. It had been worth all the doing without, for Tabbots were known as fine jewelry crafters as well as greedy hogs. The sudden screams brought Salvador up short as the earth beneath his feet became syrupy and loose. He immediately sank to his chest, too stunned to be afraid, and found himself carried away in an irresistable tide of liquid earth as entire homes were capsized into the morass and their occupants either fell into or surfaced from the muck. Salvador, desperate, managed to wrench himself about in a desperate search for his wife and pregnant daughter, yet found no sign of them. "Flee!" Rosa's mother, Ximena, shouted in their native tongue as she helped her daughter run from the spreading area of hellish earth which was consuming their village. Rosa ran as well as she could manage, hands on her swollen stomach as the two women made their way to the village border. "Mama! What is happening?!" "Just *run*!" Rosa managed as best as she was able, until her mother's surprised shriek joined the cacophony of terror. She spun to see her mother sinking into the writhing mass which nearly reached her feet. Horror surged into her blood as Ximena screamed for her to keep moving. Terrified for herself, her fellow Wollos, and most importantly for her unborn child, Rose turned and waddled away as fast as she was able. Fear allowed her to move despite the cramps which were taking hold in her abdomen. Well, there's that done, Dyme thought as he contained the frantic struggles of the Wollos. Grune had better be satisfied. I'm getting tired of these slave raids. With that, the Zoanoid shifted his unnatural form back toward the site of the potential Castle Plun-Darr. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the Next Episode: Sho asks Panthro to teach him the martial disciplines in order to prepare for another meeting with Guyver Two. The Mutants meet Lisker, and another card is placed in Mumm-Ra's favor. Tygra orders a complete analysis of Sho's armor in the hopes that it will give enough information for the ThunderCats to deal with a Guyver set against them. Rosa flees into the forests surrounding the former Wollo village, heavy with child and feeling the pains of birth. Will the preparations of the ThunderCats prove sufficient to the challenges they face? Will Rosa give birth alone in the wilderness? And, what of the Thunderians in bondage to the Mutants? Events cascade in a waterfall of madness and voilence as the war continues. What will become of the ThunderCats and their allies? All this and more in the next episode of One Last War to Fight.