Thundercats Fan Fiction ❯ Last Life ❯ Chapter Six: The Test ( Chapter 6 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Chapter Six
Catrina’s eyes widened as she and Lion-O were engulfed in a light blue glow. She wanted to let go of the Sword of Omens, but the energy pouring from the red eye on the hilt seemed to keep her hand glued to the sword itself as well as Lion-O’s. She could feel her heart beating quickly in her chest despite the fear biting at her body. The girl took in a deep breath before gripping the Sword of Omens tighter. Her blue eyes seemed to be locked with the Eye of Thundera as she stared at the red catlike eye, earning what she thought was a blink from it. No sooner had she made eye contact with it than the Eye of Thundera opened and started to glow brightly.

Lion-O looked at the sword in surprise at seeing the sword reacting to Catrina. He watched as Catrina stared into the hilt, holding the blade close to her face. The ends of the hilt curled up as they often did when the Sight Beyond Sight was activated. His entire body grew tense from seeing the strange glazed look in Catrina’s eyes. It was almost rare that the Sword of Omens would stop working for him, only to work for someone else.

Catrina drew in a shaky breath before allowing the Eye of Thundera’s gaze to pierce her mind. Many images flashed through her mind, some of them of her past, and others of her desires. But one image stood out more among the others. It was of the instant the Thundercats were put into the suspension capsules. Jaga stood clearly in front of the row of suspension capsules. Catrina felt as though she were back in that very moment trapped behind the glass as he stared at her. She was not asleep yet, or at least her father had not pushed the hibernation button yet.

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Once everyone was fast asleep in the Suspension Capsules, Jaga walked over to the one containing his daughter. He stared at her through the glass, sadness filling his red eyes with tears. Lina mirrored his movements of placing a hand on the glass. “Papa.” Her voice squeaked as her blue eyes locked onto his crimson colored ones. Jaga took in a deep breath before speaking. He could not bear to let his daughter see him like this.

“Lina, my daughter.” The jaguar whispered gently, refraining from shedding a single tear despite his eyes burning with tears. “You must be brave and stay strong. The Eye of Thundera is about to test you and Lion-O both. What the test is, I do not know but I have done all that I can to keep you safe. I had missed most of your childhood, but I am to blame for that. I just hope you never lose yourself in this test and remember that I was always proud of you. I love you, Catlina.”

Lina’s eyes widened at seeing him lift his free hand to the button, though she could only see his hand from inside the capsule. Her heart leapt to her throat and fear gripped her entire body, holding her with an icy cold grip. She never liked being in small enclosed space such as this suspension capsule. “P-papa! No!”

The light sleeping gas that streamed into space pod cut off her words. The gas was odorless, tasteless, and invisible to the naked eye as it slowly clogged all of the young Thunderian’s senses. Her eyes became heavy with sleep. She could not hold out any longer. The more she resisted, the harder it became to stay awake. Lina could not hear the last words that her father spoke to her through the barrier that kept them apart. Her father’s voice became a faint, distant echo that was muffled and indistinguishable as sleep finally embraced her and led her into the darkness.

“Be brave my daughter. I will always be with you. Remember that.” He said these words with all the love he could muster. If only he could tell her all that was in his heart. The Jaguar touched two of his fingers to his lips before pressing them to the glass, wishing he were placing a comforting kiss on his child’s forehead. He then walked off to the pilot seat where he spent the remainder of his life, guiding the Thundercats’ ship to what would soon become their new home.

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Catrina breathed deeply, as if she had just been released by something that had been choking her.
Lion-O took the sword from her as he looked at her in worry. “Lina, what did you see? Are you ok?” The Lord of the Thundercats asked, looking his friend over. Catrina just nodded her head, her entire body trembling in his arms. The girl just gripped his tunic, burying her face into his shoulder. Catrina’s entire body shook from the force of her gasping for air as she tried to calm down.

“I saw my father, Jaga.” The thirteen year old whispered as the entire room returned to its normal state. Confusion graced Lion-O’s face as it did to the other Thundercats. The young Lord stared at Catrina, prying the Sword of Omens out of her hand and setting it back into the claw gauntlet at his side. Lion-O finally slipped his arms back around Catrina and held her close.

“What did Jaga want?” He asked curiously, keeping himself composed. He did not want to come off as a complete child for asking that question. Seeing as how he was forced to mature rather quickly after him and the Thundercats landed on Third Earth, but then he did not want to intimidate Catrina with his authoritativeness. It is always a constant struggle with Lion-O to be an adult that the older Thundercats expected him to be while his true self just wanted to break free and act like a complete child that he really was. Sometimes his true self-won and Lion-O would seemingly go off the deep end and do what Tygra, Panthro, and Cheetara considers rash and immature like taking the Thundertank out for a spin unsupervised for instance. But he always remained calm, cool, and collected for the most part.

Catrina took in a deep breath and composed herself. Like Lion-O, she, too had been forced to grow up and mature quicker than she would have liked, but in her case, it was all for her foster parents’ and Sammy’s sake so that she could take care of Samantha in their place. Rubbing her eyes a bit, the thirteen year old just shook her head.

“It wasn’t him speaking directly to me. I saw a moment in the past before I was put to sleep in the suspension capsule.” She said softly, “He said something about the Sword of Omens testing us, Lion-O, and that…”

She froze at her own words, slowly turning her head to now stare Lion-O square in the face. Her entire body went rigid from shock. Sammy, holding onto Tygra, stared at her sister in complete confusion and worry. “Cat?” The girl asked in a quiet tone, “What’s wrong?”

“This…past year was nothing, but a test.” Her sister’s voice was quiet with every spoken word. The Thunderian closed her eyes to keep from crying. She hated crying in front of others, let alone to be crying at all. Catrina remained silent for a moment before opening her eyes again. Her blue eyes rested on Lion-O. “The test was to test us, Lion-O. To see how strong our bond is.”

Lion-O’s amber eyes went wide and he shifted uncomfortably on his feet, releasing the girl that would one day become his wife. His gaze flickered briefly to the sword by his side before looking back at Catrina. “But why?”

Tygra’s mouth pulled back into a thoughtful frown, his eyes narrowing in thought as well. Why did the Sword of Omens tear Catrina from the rest of them? So many questions were left unanswered in his mind. No one would ever be able to understand the Eye of Thundera, let alone know its intentions.

“Tygra?” Cheetara asked, her orange gaze going to her friend. She knew he had been paying close attention to the conversation and whenever he made that small hum, he was scanning his mind for any logical answers. She knew he was deeply concerned for Catrina.

Catrina noticed the deep concentration on her mentor’s face as well and she quickly turned to him. She gave the tiger a faintly small smile as she addressed him. “I don’t think you should strain your brain in trying to understand the Eye of Thundera, Tygra.” She placed a hand on his upper arm, startling him a bit. Blue eyes locked with red as Tygra turned his head to look at her.

His lips turned back into a small smile at seeing the concern on his student’s face. Tygra felt his heart jumping a bit at her concern. He gently pulled her into a hug. “I believe you’re right, Lina. No one can understand the Eye of Thundera. Everything happens for a reason.” He said softly,

Catrina’s entire body became tense in her mentor’s arms but she found herself relaxing in Tygra’s embrace, and she lifted her arms to hug his middle as best as she could despite their size difference. “You told me that when Mama died.” Catrina whispered, looking up at him now.

“Yes and I still stand by it.” She heard the man whisper. The girl quickly pulled away and turned her gaze to Panthro.

She shifted uncomfortably on her feet before speaking to the panther Thunderian. “Judging by the fact that you’re in here, it must mean that the repairs on the Feliner are done?” Catrina said softly to him.

Panthro’s lips curled back into a broad grin. His head tilted slightly in a nod as his red-orange gaze met with Catrina’s blue ones. The warrior held his stomach as he laughed a bit, still keeping that smile as he did so. “Of course it is, Lina. You think I wouldn’t be able to repair something I made myself?” He asked wholeheartedly.

Panthro’s sudden burst of laughter made Catrina jump a bit and feel a bit nervous. She found herself clinging absentmindedly to Tygra. “O-of course not.” She said meekly, giving him an awkward smile. “I never doubted you for a minute. Or a second.”

Another laugh escaped Panthro’s mouth and he quickly regained his composure. He was still grinning at her as Tygra gently reached out and placed his hand on Catrina’s shoulder. “You don’t have to be afraid of Panthro, Lina. He won’t hurt you.”

“I’m not scared of him.” Catrina replied. She released Tygra’s arm and looked at Panthro again. Panthro was a bit intimidating with the spikes that graced his shoulders and the nun chucks that hung  at his side added to the scariness. Even his deep voice made Catrina a bit nervous. Everyone laughed a bit as Tygra smiled at her.

“Anyways, how soon can we all leave?” Catrina looked back at Panthro in mild curiosity. It was then that Sammy looked at her in surprise.

“Cat? Does this mean…?” Sammy’s eyes widened at seeing her sister nod and the eight year old shrieked in happiness, throwing her arms around Catrina’s waist. She suddenly stopped herself and looked up at the Thunderian in pure confusion. “Wait, what made you change your mind, Cat?”

Again, Catrina shifted uncomfortably on her feet, keeping her gaze focused on the ground at her feet. Everyone’s eyes were on her and the same nervous feeling was returning to the pit of her stomach. “Um, well, it’ll only be a matter of time before the local authorities find out that Mom and Dad had died, if they weren’t notified already, and if and when they do find out, there would be a very slim chance that we won’t stay together.

And besides, I promised Mom and Dad that I would look after you, but also…” Catrina finally lifted her head and turned her gaze to stare straight at Lion-O as she continued. “I escaped Thundera with everyone, so, I want to be with my family.”

Panthro nodded. He reached out and ruffled Catrina’s hair with a chuckle. “Then we can leave whenever you’re ready, Lina.”

“Alright, but I’m sure we’re all tired from the excitement of today.” Catrina allowed herself to smile a bit. She finally felt a bit relaxed and glad for everyone murmuring his or her agreement. Catrina felt a bit tired from all the crying and stress that had built up within her from the events of this past week. It was only a mere week ago that Catrina considered her life normal (as far as the life of a Human went anyways) and the arrival of the Mutants and the Thundercats had changed all of that. Least did Catrina know that Fate had a lot planned for her.