Cheetara’s Greatest Battle

Chapter Six: Tatiana’s Arrival

Netherworld: Solitary Confinement

Friday Evening

“Did you see that? It worked! It really worked!” Tatiana laughed wickedly and spun around in circles.

“Yes, but the ThunderCat will have to be in a weakened state for our plan to work,” the Ancient Spirits of Evil replied.

Tatiana paused and inquired, “Have you determined a way to do this?”

“Of course. Rataro has agreed to help us.”

“Rataro!” she spat out. “That damn mutant! You’ve got to be kidding. We can’t trust him.”

“He’ll do his part, Tatiana. The rat is too greedy to turn his back now.”

She nodded reluctantly. “Okay, Ancient ones. If you say so, then I’ll trust him. When shall our plans proceed?”

The evil spirits answered, “We will do it at the best opportune moment. We will first strike tonight. Will you be ready?”

“I’ve been ready,” Tatiana hissed. “I’ve waited two hundred years for this moment. Nothing will stop me now!”

“Good. You remember what to do?”

She rubbed her hands together and stated, “Yes, I do. As planned, I will wait for your signal before I attempt contact again.”

“Then we shall be back later . . . be prepared at every moment.”

The air within the cell grew warm as the Ancient Spirits of Evil left the netherworld. Tatiana looked around the small area and grinned. It would not be much longer before she would be out of there. She would be back on Third Earth ruling it, as it should have been a long time ago.

When I get there, I will knock off those blasted ThunderCats quickly. Then I’ll make all the people my slaves. Once I have conquered Third Earth, I shall increase my territory to other planets until I rule the whole universe!

Tatiana stood in the middle of the cell and made her plans.

*****

Third Earth: Cat’s Lair

Early Saturday Morning

It was just after midnight. For the tenth time, Cheetara rolled over in her bed. Yesterday’s events kept re-playing in her head. It was enough to keep the cheetah awake. The main thing keeping her up was the shared moment between her and Lion-O. She wondered if she had done the right thing.

What am I doing? I thought that I sensed his love for me, but what if I was wrong? What if it was just my imagination?

I know I love Lion-O, and I desperately want him to feel the same about me. What if what I sensed wasn’t love but just inflated hormones? I know he has a weakness for beautiful women. What if Lion-O is mentally an eighteen-year old?

No, don’t be silly. He’s proven time and again that he has mentally matured to his true twenty-five year age.

What if he was not thinking straight from the medication? Did I take advantage of him during a moment of weakness? The more I think about this, the more I start doubting his feelings for me. This is getting me nowhere. We’ll just have to have a talk when he’s much better. Until then, I should back off.

Before Cheetara could think anything else, the alarm went off in her room. She quickly got up, put on her boots, and raced to the control room.The female ThunderCat turned off the alarm and turned on the monitor. On the communicator, a noise filtered through into the silent room. Cheetara realized it was the Thunderian code used when someone needed help.

She pushed a button and replied, “ThunderCats here. Do you read me?”

Nobody answered back. Cheetara tried several more times but to no avail. From the origin of the distress call, she attempted to locate the ship on the screen. The moon around Third Earth was blocking the ship’s view.

Knowing there was nothing else she could do, Cheetara prepared the runway so that she could get the Whisker into space. The cheetah was going to manually fly to the space ship and tow them in.

At that moment, WilyKit’s voice came over the communicator. “Tower of Omens to Cat’s Lair.”

“Cheetara here, Kit. What’s up?”

“Did you receive that distress call?”

Cheetara replied, “Yes, I did. It’s a Thunderian space ship.”

“Thunderian? What is a Thunderian aircraft doing all the way out here?”

“I don’t know, but I’m taking the Whisker to find out.”

“Wait and I’ll go with you,” the youth remarked.

“No, WilyKit. I need you to come here, and stay with Lion-O until I return.”

WilyKit nodded, “Okay, Cheetara. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Tower out.”

The cheetah turned off the communicator and ran to the Whisker not certain what awaited her.

*****

Almost an hour later, Cheetara piloted the Whisker close to the vicinity of the Thunderian aircraft. Her sixth sense kept warning her to turn around, but she ignored it. She was not going to let a Thunderian ship suffer just because her sixth sense had become unpredictable.

However, Cheetara soon began wishing she had listened to it. When the space ship came into view, she gasped and remarked, “The Rat Star!”

Rataro laughed and smirked, “I’ve got you now, She-cat!” He fired two energy bolts at the ThunderCat ship.

Cheetara took evasive action. She managed to out-maneuver one bolt, but the other was a direct hit. The impact made the Whisker shake. She almost hit the front panel with her head. The energy bolt weakened her considerably.

The mutant laughed again. He followed the Whisker closely and continued firing on her.

Cheetara set a course back to Third Earth. She and Rataro exchanged blows but kept missing each other. Finally, Cheetara got lucky. The Rat Star shook as it was hit.

“No time for this,” Rataro muttered. He lifted a new firing cannon on the Rat Star. “Let’s see what this can do.”

He aimed the weapon directly on the cockpit of the Whisker. With a smirk, Rataro fired the cannon.

*****

Back at Cat’s Lair, Lion-O was sleeping peacefully. He even had a smile on his face as his dream unfolded. His eyes opened and glowed as the Sword of Omens growled. The Lord of the ThunderCats got out of bed and ran to the sword chamber as fast as he could with the pain still piercing his side.

WilyKit almost ran into him in the hallway. “Lion-O! I heard the sword,” she panicked.

The lion wanted to ask WilyKit what she was doing there but did not want to waste any time. She followed Lion-O into the chamber and watched as he lifted the ornate sword from its holder. He lifted the sword to his face and the sidebars grew as he commanded, “Sword of Omens! Give me sight beyond sight!”

The Eye Of Thundera opened and showed Lion-O the trouble. His eyes widened as he saw Cheetara in the Whisker. She was still sitting in the pilot’s chair, but her upper body laid over the main controls. It was quite clear that she was unconscious.

The scene changed allowing Lion-O to see the Rat Star following the Whisker. Then the view was blocked by some kind of interference.

“Noooo!” Lion-O yelled out. He raced out of the room toward the control room ignoring his pain.

WilyKit chased after him and called out, “It’s Cheetara, isn’t it! Is she okay?”

Lion-O tried to bring the Whisker onto the main screen but the same interference kept him from seeing it. WilyKit ran beside him and remarked, “It’s no use. I stopped seeing it a few minutes ago.”

The lion slammed his hand on the panel in frustration. There was nothing he could do. There was no other aircraft on Third Earth. All Lion-O could do was wait and hope. He ran outside ignoring WilyKit.

She was not hurt by Lion-O’s actions. The youth could see the concern on his face and knew he was worried. As fast as she could, WilyKit got on the communicator and tried to contact her brother. She heaved a sigh when he answered.

“Kit? What are you doing there?”

“Kat, there is no time for questions. Just listen to me.” WilyKit explained everything to her twin brother. When she finished, she remarked, “You need to get here now! Then I think you should contact the others on New Thundera when we know something. We might need them to here.”

WilyKat nodded at his sister. “Okay, Kit.”

WilyKit turned of the communicator and ran outside to find Lion-O.

*****

Third Earth: The Castle

Early Saturday Morning

Within the dark waters of the cauldron, a hand emerged from the black depths. It fell back into the water. The water remained still and quiet for a long moment. Suddenly, the hand emerged again. This time it fumbled around until it grabbed onto the cauldron’s edge. Another hand came out of the water and also held onto the rim of the black cauldron. The fingers grew white and shook as a woman pulled herself out of the water. She gasped for air and rolled her body onto the edge of the stone walkway. Water expelled itself out of her lungs and rushed out of her mouth as she coughed.

The woman grew opened her eyes. She looked around her surroundings. She then looked down at her body and flexed her fingers. It felt good to be able to feel again. With all her strength, she sat up and stared at her image reflecting back at her in the water.

She was clothed in a black, leathery material. It clung to the curves of her body. A high-backed collar wrapped itself around the back of her neck and came toward the front. The outfit covered her arms and came to a vee on the top of her hands. Black tights covered her legs. High-heeled, black, leather boots encased her feet and laced up right past her knees. A protective face shield covered her face, much like Mandora’s but not quite as ornate. It left only the small area around her nose and mouth exposed. A red area streaked across the shield right where her eyes were, the only part that was not black. The top of the shield came straight across the forehead right at the point of her widow’s peak. Her black hair was pulled up into a high ponytail.

In the middle of her chest, an insignia blazed forth. It was the same as Mumm-Ra’s. In a red circle, a two-headed snake intertwined itself almost into a complete figure eight. A black leather belt wrapped around her waist. The left side hung lower because of the weight of her sword.

The water rose in the cauldron. A haze filled the room as the Ancient Spirits of Evil proclaimed, “Our servant has arrived! Soon, we will once again rule Third Earth! Hail Tatiana!”

Tatiana laughed but only for a moment. Her head filled with pain from the sudden movement. She felt extremely weak. “What’s wrong with me?”

“You are weak from the transition. Get your rest. We will make plans later.”

She nodded and stood up on her new legs. Wobbling a little, Tatiana managed to walk down the steps without falling. She found a bed within the curtains of white satin. As soon as her head fell on the pillow, Tatiana went to sleep.

*****

Third Earth: Cat’s Lair

Late Saturday Morning (Thunderian Time - about 11:00)

Early Saturday Morning (Third Earth Time - about 4:00)

Lynx-o, Tygra, and Talia were monitoring activity within the main control room of Cat’s Lair. The eldest ThunderCat was at the front panel. He was furiously typing on his Braille board receiving and sending information. He turned to the others and remarked, “I believe something terrible has just happened.”

“What is it, Lynx-o?” Tygra asked as he turned around.

“I’m not quiet sure. I think . . .” the lynx was interrupted as a voice over the communicator came through.

“Third Earth to New Thundera! Please respond!”

“That’s WilyKat,” Talia commented.

Lynx-o brought WilyKat’s picture onto the main screen as the two tigers walked to him. “This is Lynx-o.”

“Thank Jaga,” WilyKat replied. “You’ve got to get down here now. Something awful has just happened.”

The three ThunderCats could hear the sorrow and despair in the youth’s words. Tygra spoke up, “What is it, Kat? What’s happened?”

WilyKat swallowed the lump in his throat as tears began to form in his eyes. “It’s the Whisker! It’s crashed on Third Earth.” He stopped for a moment then continued, “You could see the explosion for miles. It lit up the night sky.”

WilyKat whimpered and bowed his head unable to talk anymore.

“WilyKat! Who was on the Whisker?” Lynx-o inquired.

The teen looked at them. “Please, you . . . must come . . . quickly.”

“We will,” Tygra answered. “Where is everybody?”

The three of them feared that their leader had been on the Whisker. They needed to know for sure.

“Kit and Lion-O are . . . outside trying to . . . figure out . . . where it landed.”

“Cheetara was the flying the Whisker,” Talia stated softly.

WilyKat nodded and began sobbing.

“We will get there as soon as we can,” Lynx-o responded. He turned the screen off and looked at Talia and Tygra.

Tygra’s face was in a state of shock. He shook his head slowly and muttered, “It can’t be. This isn’t right. She was supposed to . . .”

Talia placed her hand on his shoulder and gazed at him. He felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. Tygra sighed and ordered, “Call the others in here.”

Lynx-o nodded and told all of the ThunderCats to report to the control room.

As soon as everyone had gotten there, Tygra explained the situation to them. Snarfer embraced his uncle as they heard the awful news. Snarf quietly worried about Lion-O.

“Ben-gali and Pumyra, you two stay here. The rest of us will divide up and take the Feliner and the Thunderstrike.”

Pumyra shook her head and commented, “No, Tygra. I should go. Cheetara may need medical help.”

“She’s right, Tygra,” Panthro agreed.

“I’ll stay here in her place,” Lynx-o offered.

Tygra reluctantly agreed. “Okay Pumyra, you are with us. I want to leave in ten minutes so pack quickly.”

He held out his hand, and the others placed their hands on top of his. They cried out, “ThunderCats! Ho!”

Pumyra hugged Ben-gali as the others left to their bedchambers. “I’ll miss you,” she whispered.

“G-rr-ow-ll, I’ll miss you too. Be careful,” Ben-gali growled. He kissed her then let her go.

Lynx-o turned his attention back to the monitor. “This is a terrible day, indeed. I just hope Cheetara will be okay.”

*****

Third Earth: Terrain of Jagged Rocks

Early Saturday Morning

The Thundertank roared over the jagged rocks causing it to shake. Despite WilyKit’s protests, Lion-O steered the vehicle over the terrain until they reached the crash site. It was hard to discern in the darkness, but the tank‘s lights lit up the horrible sight. There was debris in a two-mile radius of the initial crash point. Parts of the debris were still on fire from the explosion. They would have never known it was the Whisker that crashed just from looking at the scene.

Lion-O inhaled sharply. He jumped out of the Thundertank and turned on a flashlight. They would have to wait another couple of hours until the sun would rise and provide light. Until then, the ThunderCats had only flashlights to guide them. He began walking and scanning the area for anything that looked like a cockpit. Once in a while, he called out Cheetara’s name hoping she would answer.

WilyKit, WilyKat, and Scooper also leaped out of the ThunderCat vehicle. They took the opposite direction that Lion-O took. Deep down, WilyKit was afraid of what they might find. It made her stomach sick. Trying to ignore it, she walked beside her brother and dog. They took turns calling out Cheetara’s name and checking out every nook and crack.

This continued until way past sunrise. Getting exhausted, WilyKit groaned and sat down on a rock. She looked at her brother and replied, “This is useless. I don’t think we are going to find her.”

WilyKat hugged his sister as she began crying again. He held back his own tears. “We can’t give up. She wouldn’t give up on us. She might have survived. We don’t know.”

“Do you really believe that?” WilyKit searched her twin’s face for an answer.

He frowned and shook his head. His sister’s sobbing grew louder. WilyKat held her and watched Scooper continue to sniff around.

The mechanical dog would pause for a moment here or there but never stopped completely. After a time, he became excited and started barking.

WilyKit looked up at the dog then turned to her brother. “I wonder what he found.”

“I don’t know. Let’s go see,” WilyKat responded with a small amount of hope in his voice.

The ThunderCat twins ran to their dog. They watched as he dug into the dirt. He then whined and bent his head to pick up something.

Lion-O came rushing towards them. He stopped and panted. “I heard Scooper barking. Did he find something?”

They shrugged and pointed to the dog. Lion-O knelt down as Scooper whined again. “What is it, Scooper? What did you find?”

The dog walked to Lion-O. He placed something small in the lion’s hands. The Lord of the ThunderCats brushed the dirt off of it and gasped. The twins peered over his shoulder and saw the ThunderCat insignia in his hands.

Lion-O fell onto his other knee and brought the symbol to his chest. He looked up at the sky and screamed out, “Nooo!”

He then bowed his head and started crying. WilyKit and WilyKat wrapped their arms around him from behind and cried with their leader.