Cheetara’s Greatest Battle

Chapter Nine: A Hard Decision

Third Earth: Tatiana’s Castle

Sunday Evening

“The mutants have been captured. Mandora is taking them to Wayoutback. This time, Rataro is with them.”

Tatiana quickly glanced up at the water flowing into the air. “I’m not surprised. Rataro was right. Those mutants are imbeciles.”

She looked back down at her arm as she bandaged it. She muttered, “I can’t believe those idiots can’t handle those wretched ThunderCats. Even Rataro was no match for them.”

“It looks like you didn’t do so well yourself, Tatiana.”

She put the end of the bandage in her mouth and ripped it with her teeth. “I was caught off guard. You didn’t tell me that the claw shield could be used as a weapon. I thought it was just a shield.”

Tatiana tied the loose end and rubbed her arm.

“That is true, but we warned you not to underestimate the ThunderCats. You should be prepared for anything that they might throw at you.”

“Don’t worry, Ancient ones. Next time, I will succeed. When I get the Sword of Omens, I will become immortal! Then I won’t have to worry about injuries such as this,” she stated confidently and pointed to her arm.

“You almost gave yourself away. You must be more careful. If the ThunderCats figured out who you really are, it could be your undoing.”

“I know that,” she sneered. “That ThunderCat symbol strengthened the She-cat momentarily. I had to leave the scene to get control again. But I returned, didn’t I?”

“Yes, Tatiana, you did. And you did remarkably well for your first encounter with the Lord of the ThunderCats. His injury will soon heal. When it does, you will have a harder time defeating him.”

“With the mutants gone, I’ll have an even harder time,” Tatiana admitted. “I need to figure out a way to get him away from the others.”

*****

Third Earth: Cat’s Lair

Sunday Evening Meeting

“No way, snarf, snarf. I’m not doing it.”

The ThunderCats around the council table stared at Snarf. He raised his arms into the air. “I say we just have it without him.”

“We can’t do that, Snarf,” Ben-gali replied from the wall monitor. “He’s our Lord. He should be here.”

Tygra stood up and looked around. “Well, someone’s got to go get him.”

“How about WilyKit? I don’t think he would hurt her.”

WilyKit elbowed her brother hard into the chest. “Shut up, Kat! Why don’t you go?”

“I may be young, but I am not stupid,” he retorted back.

The ThunderCats were concerned about Lion-O. Right after the Mutants had been captured, the young lion had gone into the lair and locked himself into his room. Every now and then, they would here something crash against the wall. They had no idea what had fueled his temper. As a matter of fact, this was the first time they had really seen him this angry.

“It’s too bad that Cheetara’s not here. She would do it,” Panthro remarked.

Tygra sat back down and nodded at Panthro. “Yes, you are correct about that.”

Suddenly the doors to the council room opened. Lion-O appeared in the doorway and walked in. Everyone held their breath as he pulled out his chair and sank into it. He folded his arms and replied, “Sorry I’m late. Let’s get this meeting over with.”

Tygra nodded again. He looked over at Talia and Pumyra. “I think one of you should tell us what you found out.”

The two women glanced at each other. Talia gave a little chuckle. “Go ahead, Pumyra. You do it. I know you’re about to burst at the seams keeping it in.”

“Thanks, Talia. We hit pay dirt when we visited Mumm-Rana first. Come to find out, Tatiana was born several hundred years ago. She was Cretian, a race of people that no longer exists. But Tatiana was born with telepathic powers. Mumm-Rana instructed her on how to use these powers. Tatiana was then suppose to use her powers for the Cretians. She was a good leader at first, but she got too greedy and tried to take over all of Third Earth. To summarize, Mumm-Ra killed her in their last battle. Mumm-Rana sent her spirit to the netherworld.”

Pumyra paused to take a breath. She then continued with the story. “Mumm-Rana believes that the Ancient Spirits of Evil brought her spirit back to Third Earth to serve their purposes. Her telepathic powers probably had something to do with it.”

Lion-O listened to the information carefully but did not say a word. Tygra cleared his throat and remarked, “So that’s how she can disappear. Tatiana uses her telepathy to transport herself from one place to another. I knew it couldn’t just be an illusion.”

“Yeah, but did Tatiana come back in her own body?”

Everyone stared shockingly at WilyKat. He shrugged and commented, “It was just a question. I just wondered since she was a spirit and all.”

Pumyra looked at Talia. “I can’t believe we didn’t think of that. We should have asked Mumm-Rana.”

“I suppose though that Tatiana would have to come back in her own body. Oh, and that reminds me, Mumm-Rana sends her condolences about Cheetara,” Talia answered.

“Is that all?” Tygra asked.

They glanced at each other one last time. Then they nodded their heads at everyone.

“Tatiana sounds a lot like Grune,” WilyKit remarked.

“I wonder if we could change her back to her good self,” Snarfer suggested.

Lynx-o answered, “No, Snarfer. I’m afraid that’s not possible. When someone becomes evil, it is because they already had that propensity already inside of them.”

“Huh?” Snarf asked quizzically.

“Don’t you see, Snarf,” the blind lynx continued. “Tatiana became evil because that greed was already inside of her. It just manifested itself later in her life. It is just like that expression my parents would tell me. The clouds never expect it when it rains. But when it does rain, the river changes color. However, the rain does not change the water itself in the river.”

Snarf stared at Lynx-o with a blank face. The others glanced at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

“Yeah,” Tygra stammered. “Thanks, Lynx-o.”

“I’m glad I could help,” he replied.

“Tell me Lynx-o, why would someone become disloyal?”

The elder ThunderCat thought about Lion-O’s question before answering. “I could only imagine that it would be for a selfish reason. Usually it’s a greed for something more that makes a person become disloyal.”

“You don’t think someone would become traitorous out of anger . . . or fear . . . of someone within the group, do you?”

“Why do you ask?”

Lion-O suddenly got a little nervous but hid it from the others. “No reason. I was just curious.”

“Well,” Lynx-o continued, “I guess it’s possible . . .”

Tygra motioned around the table. “I think we should figure out what Tatiana’s weakness is. We’ve got to know how to defend ourselves against her.”

Lion-O looked around the table then down at the claw shield. With a quick tug, he pulled it off and placed it on the table. “We know one thing for sure. She bleeds.”

The others saw the caked blood on the claws of the shield. They looked back at Lion-O then at Tygra.

The tiger sat in thought for a moment. He then commented, “Tatiana has to have food too. That’s why she stole from the Berbil village. This means she is not immortal. So, she can be taken into custody.”

“What will stop her from using her telepathic powers to escape?” WilyKit inquired.

“Good point,” Tygra admitted. “Now that the mutants have been captured, I think most of us can return to Thundera as early as tomorrow morning.”

Pumyra smiled at Ben-gali, and he winked at her.

“We will have the memorial service on Thundera Friday. However,” Tygra continued, “I think a few of us should stay here until then in case Tatiana makes another appearance.”

Lion-O started to disagree with Tygra but decided against it. He really did not want anyone at Cat’s Lair with him.

WilyKit replied, “Kat and I want to stay here and finish our six-month duty at the Tower of Omens.”

“I’ll stay here too,” Snarf volunteered reluctantly. The thought of being around Tatiana sent shivers up his furry spine. But, Snarf thought Lion-O needed him here.

Panthro volunteered to stay too. His main reason for staying was so that he could drive his ‘baby’, but the panther was not going to admit it.

“Then it’s settled,” Tygra announced. “We will take the Thunderstrike and leave the Feliner here. Meeting adjourned.”

“ThunderCats! Ho!”

As they were walking out, Talia whispered to Tygra. “You should have shown him the picture in that prophecy book.”

“What’s the point now?” he replied. “Cheetara is gone.”

*****

Third Earth: Cat’s Lair

Monday Night

Things were quiet in the lair once again. Lion-O preferred it that way. It gave him time to think without being disrupted so much. He was presently in his room that Snarf had cleaned up sometime that day. He was lying on his bed looking through Cheetara’s photo album again.

It just can’t be true. I won’t believe it. She wouldn’t do that to us . . . to me. Not Cheetara. She would be the last person to turn, right?

It could have just been my imagination. Maybe I have been thinking about her so much that I imagined it. It’s very possible.

Even if she had a good reason, Cheetara would not do that. I refuse to believe it!

Let’s face facts though. Who is the only person who can run as fast as Tatiana? Cheetara. Who has reflexes as quick as Tatiana? Cheetara. Also, this explains why Tatiana knew her way around Cat’s Lair.

Lion-O sat up and closed the photo album. He then stood up and clenched his fists. Growing frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair and bowed his head. He then looked up to the ceiling and pleaded, “Cheetara, if you can hear, please come to me! I can’t stand not knowing anymore! I need to see you. Please, Cheetara!”

Tears filled his eyes as nothing happened. He bowed his head again and fell onto his knees.

“Lion-O . . .”

He looked up and saw the blue form of Jaga standing next to him. “Jaga,” he acknowledged his mentor.

“You should know that Cheetara is not here in the astral plane. Nor is she in any other spiritual place.”

Lion-O shook his head and replied, “Don’t tell me that, Jaga! I can’t handle that.”

“Why does this upset you, Lion-O? Don’t you understand? That means Cheetara is still alive.”

“I know exactly what that means,” Lion-O retorted. “It means that it wasn’t my imagination yesterday.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about, but you have the power to find her.”

“What if she doesn‘t want to be found?”

Jaga paused for a moment then answered, “Do you know why we asked Cheetara to join the ThunderCats?”

Lion-O replied, “I thought it was because she won the cheetah trials.”

“That was part of it, Lion-O. She is a great warrior and will always be one. After her parents’ death, Cheetara got a little lost. She had no cause to fight for. Your father and I were afraid that our enemies would convince her to join them and their evil cause.”

“You don’t think she would have stayed with the cheetah clan?”

“No, Lion-O. Cheetara needed something more. But now that she has been a ThunderCat for so long, I have no doubts about her loyalty. You should not either.”

The Lord of the ThunderCats stood up with a determined look on his face. “Then I will go now. Creatures of darkness . . .”

“Are best fought at night. I know, Lion-O. You told me that before.” Jaga smiled at him and wrapped his cloak around him. “ThunderCats!”

“Ho!” Lion-O finished. Somehow, someway, he was going to get Cheetara back. It was then that the remembered his father’s words: She will be your greatest ally.

Keeping that thought in mind, Lion-O ran out of his room to the sword chamber.

*****

Third Earth: Tatiana’s Castle

Early Tuesday Morning

“Tatiana! Tatiana!”

Tatiana turned over in her bed. She grabbed a pillow and threw it toward the cauldron. “Leave me alone. I’m trying to sleep.”

She laid back down and closed her eyes.

“Tatiana! Lion-O is almost here!”

Those words made the woman sit up. She rubbed her eyes and remarked, “Lion-O? Coming here? What is he doing coming here?”

“It’s certainly not to bring us a gift! You better hurry and get your face shield on.”

She sighed heavily. “Yes, you’re right ancient ones.”

Tatiana reached for her face shield and put it over her head. She then pulled her hair out of it and let it hang down. As she mentally prepared herself for a fight, Tatiana laced up her boots. Then she waited for the Lord of the ThunderCats.

*****

Lion-O landed the ThunderClaw about two hundred feet from the castle’s entrance. He jumped off the aircraft and ran to the wooden door. He tried to open the door, but it was locked.

The lion growled. He backed up a few yards then rammed his shoulder into the door. The wood cracked but remained intact. Lion-O repeated the action. This time the door splintered open.

He entered the main room of the castle. He saw the three doors and knew he should take the door in front of him. With no hesitation, Lion-O opened the door and walked into the room.

The lit candles on the walls bathed the room in light. Shadows flickered with the slightest movements of the flames. The immensity of the room amazed the lion.

He scanned the room looking for Tatiana. Not seeing her, Lion-O walked up the stairs to the cauldron and back down to the other side of the room. He saw the empty bed and wondered where she was.

Footsteps behind him made Lion-O spin around. He saw Tatiana walking up the stairs on the far side of the room. She put her hands to her hips and smirked, “Well, well, look who as graced me with their presence. What do you want?”

Lion-O replied, “I didn’t come to fight. I just came to get Cheetara back.”

Tatiana threw her head back and laughed sinisterly. “The She-cat is dead. Go home before I decide to annihilate you!”

Lion-O grew angry. “I know what you have done, Tatiana. I know that you are using Cheetara’s body. And I know that she is still there. So, you either leave peacefully,” he pulled out the Sword of Omens, “or I’ll fight you until you’re so weak, that you must give up.”

The woman hissed and retorted, “I don’t think you know what you’re saying, boy! I plan on staying and ruling all of Third Earth.”

Growling, Lion-O ran up the stairs towards Tatiana. She pulled out her sword and blocked the strike. The swords clashed and sparks flew into the air. They continued exchanging blows and walked precariously on the edge of the walkway around the black cauldron. Every time the swords met, a thunderous noise filled the room.

The eyes of the statues began to glow red as the battle continued. They used their eyes to shoot at the walkway behind Lion-O. A piece of it broke and fell to the ground. Tatiana forced him back. Not knowing what was going on, he stepped on the weak spot. The walkway crumbled underneath his weight. Lion-O fell toward the floor.

Tatiana laughed and looked down. She saw him hanging on to the edge with his free hand. He looked up at her and let himself drop down to the ground. Tatiana gritted her teeth and leaped onto the ground. “You’re stronger than I thought. Let’s see how long you last!”

She swung her sword at him. He blocked it with the claw shield and struck back at her. They continued like this again for a long time. One never gave way to the other. Tatiana began to grow impatient. She often used her Cheetara’s telekinetic powers to shoot energy blasts at the Lord of the ThunderCats. He always ducked them.

“You’re weakening, Tatiana,” Lion-O huffed.

“As long as I’m in the castle, I shall never weaken,” she snapped back.

“Oh yeah,” he remarked sarcastically. Lion-O jumped backwards away from her. He then aimed the sword at one of the spirit’s statues and shouted, “Ho!”

The blast from the sword blew the face off of it.

“Nooo!” Tatiana cried out. She ran to him full of fury. They fought with their swords again for a while. At one point, Tatiana stumbled on her heel and fell to the floor. Lion-O took the free moment to blast the face off another statue.

Tatiana screamed out in anger and dashed at the lion. The swords clashed again and forced Lion-O to walk backward up the steps toward the cauldron. With her quick reflexes, Tatiana struck at him relentlessly. He turned and ran up the stairs to the top of the cauldron. Lion-O had only enough free time to blast the face off one more statue.

He turned back around to face her. Tatiana grinned when she realized where Lion-O was standing. She raised her sword and struck Lion-O on his injury as his back was turned to her. He cried out in pain and fell back on to the altar. The sword dropped down to the ground below. Chains appeared and snaked over him before he could respond.

As Lion-O writhed against the steel bonds, Tatiana laughed and commented, “Try all you want. You will never free yourself. You should have listened to me earlier. I warned you to leave before I annihilated you!”

She turned her back to him for a moment and caught her breath. Tatiana then faced him again and made him an offer. “However, I will not kill you if you will pledge your allegiance to me. We can rule Third Earth together! I‘ll even let the ThunderCat come out every now and then.”

“You may kill me because of it, but I will never give in to you!” he retorted back. “ThunderCats never give up!”

She shrugged and replied, “Okay, have it your way. Once you’re dead, I can use the Sword of Omens to make me immortal!”

Tatiana lifted her sword high into the air. Then she started swinging it down at his neck.

Lion-O’s eyes widened. He yelled out, “Cheetara!” as loud as he could.

To his shock, the sword flew out of Tatiana’s hand in mid-swing. She raised her hands to her head and cried out, “Noooo!”

Her whole body started glowing with a golden aura. She screamed out again and dropped to her knees. With one final cry, Tatiana arched her body and fell onto the ground below.

The chains around Lion-O turned to dust. He quickly rose up and ran down the stairs toward Cheetara’s lifeless body. He lifted her upper body up and removed the black shield from her head. His heart skipped a beat as he saw her face again, a face he once thought he would never see again.

Lion-O put his hands on her face and was relieved to feel breath coming from her nose. He shook her and softly said, “Cheetara.”

She slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times. “Lion-O,” she whispered and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m so glad you are okay.”

He held onto her tightly not willing to let her go again. It was Cheetara who finally pulled back. She stared into his brown eyes and remarked, “I can’t believe that you would risk your life to save me.“

“It was no more than what you would have done for me.”

“How did you know Tatiana was using me, Lion-O?”

He ran his hand through her hair and replied, “Tatiana may have changed the color of your hair . . . ” Lion-O then traced her face with his fingers and said, “covered your face . . .” He then ran a hand over the contours of her body. “. . . and covered your body, but there was one thing she forgot.”

“What?” Cheetara whispered still looking into eyes.

He grinned wickedly and revealed, “Your scent. I could smell you when she leaned over me to get the Sword of Omens.”

She smiled and kissed him. Lion-O returned the kiss but more fervently. After a while, he reluctantly pulled back and gazed into her amber eyes. “Let’s get out of this place.”

He stood up and helped her to her feet. Cheetara then pulled her hands away from his and turned her back to him. “I can’t go, Lion-O.”

The remark stunned him for a moment. He turned her back around and replied, “Of course you can go back, Cheetara.”

She shook her head and said, “No, I can’t. Tatiana’s spirit is still inside of me.”

“What? I thought she was gone!”

Cheetara shook her head again. “No, Lion-O. It’s not that easy. There’s only one way to get rid of her.”

With determination laced in his voice, Lion-O stated, “What is it? Whatever it is, I will do it!”

She looked into his eyes and placed her hands on his arms. “If you will shoot an energy blast into the cauldron with the Sword of Omens, a portal will appear. I can then use the portal to go to Limbo.”

Lion-O froze for a moment her words. He slowly began to shake his head and pulled away from her. “No, Cheetara. There’s got to be another way. You may not return if you go to Limbo.”

Cheetara lowered her head. “There is not another way. I can read Tatiana’s mind. I know that this is the only way I can get her out of me. That is just a chance I have to take.”

“I lost you once, Cheetara! I will not lose you again! You cannot ask me to do that!” he roared.

She looked back at him. “Please, Lion-O. You must do this. I don’t know how much longer I can maintain control. If Tatiana regains control, she will surely kill you and anyone else who gets in her way! I won’t exist either way.”

“Then I will come with you!”

Cheetara walked to Lion-O and took his hands into hers. “No, Lion-O. You must stay here. The others need your leadership to help them spread the Code of Thundera.”

“But I am nothing without you,” he admitted.

“As long as you live, I will be with you . . .” Cheetara touched his forehead. “. . . in here . . .” and touched his chest, “. . . and in here. This is one battle I must fight on my own.”

She looked into his eyes and pleaded, “Please, Lion-O. Don’t make me beg.”

Lion-O brought her close to him one last time. He thought about what she had said and knew she was right. He finally pulled back. “Okay, Cheetara. I’ll do it.”

He looked around the room and found the Sword of Omens lying on the ground. He walked to it, picked it up, and went back to Cheetara’s side. With their arms around each other, they walked up the steps together to the top of the cauldron. Lion-O looked at her one last time. “Are you sure this is the only way?”

She nodded her head. “Yes, I’m sure.”

Lion-O reached around to his back and pulled out her staff from his belt. He handed it to her. “I think that you might need this.”

She took the staff and smiled at him. “Thanks.”

Cheetara kissed him again then whispered, “Let’s get this over with before I start crying.”

Lion-O aimed the sword at the dark water within the cauldron. He extended the sword and shouted out, “Ho!”

The blast caused the water to start bubbling and foaming. A bluish portal appeared over the water.

The Lord of the ThunderCats took a few steps down as Cheetara walked to the edge of the water. She turned back around to him and raised her arm to her chest in salute. “ThunderCats! Forever!”

Those were the last words Lion-O heard as he watched her leap into the portal out of sight. As soon as the portal had closed, the walls around him began to shake. The square stones shook apart and started falling to the floor. He covered his head and ran down the steps to the floor. He ran outside to a safe distance and watched, as the castle became nothing more than a pile of stones.

With a few hours until dawn, Lion-O made his way to the ThunderClaw. He straddled the aircraft and went to Cat’s Lair without looking back once. That day, he told the ThunderCats everything that happened. Well, almost everything . . .