Thundercats Fan Fiction ❯ Last Life ❯ Chapter Twelve: Roaming ( Chapter 12 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Chapter Twelve
She shrieked with laughter as they skimmed over the river, touching the surface of the water just enough to stir up a small splash. Sammy was sprayed by the small waves that Wilykat’s space board stirred up. Wilykat made a sharp turn to avoid a rock poking out of the water as he and his sister raced to the other side on their space boards. His sister smirked and passed him, doing a small aerial twist, only to touch the embankment first.

“How do you like that, Wilykat?” The younger of the Wilys said smugly. There was a sense of self-satisfaction at having out done her brother at hover boarding for the umpteenth time during their nearly two years on Third Earth. Wilykat always had a little bit of trouble balancing on his space board, but then again, he always falls off the space board, he was still clumsy and a bit unbalanced. Maybe it has something to with their size difference. Panthro has always said to have only one person per space board, but here Wilykat is, riding with Sammy on his space board.

Maybe Sammy evens out his center of gravity. Wilykit thought to herself, her red gaze flickering to the little human girl hugging her brother’s waist from behind.

Wilykat just rolled his eyes, allowing a smile to tug at his lips. She could see the tips of his fangs as he got into a starting position. He was leaning forwards a bit with his feet locked in place. One foot was in front the other. “I can do that blindfolded!” The older Kitten said with a laugh. He glanced back at the eight-year-old girl behind him. “Ready?”
Sammy giggled with a nod, grabbing more tightly onto his waist. “Ready, Wilykat.” The girl replied. Sammy hugged Wilykat to her so that she would not fall off. Even if she did fall off the space board, the twins would fly after her with their lariats at the ready or she would at least fall into semi-deep water that would be only just above her head. Sammy did not take those swimming lessons for nothing. She happened to look up at the sky as she saw something flying overhead. There appeared to be a Monkey/Ape figure riding on a strange flying contraption, carrying a much smaller figure about Wilykit’s size.  It was a bit hard to make out, but it almost looked like…

“Catrina?” Just as she said her sister’s name, Wilykat’s space board slipped out from under her, taking off and causing the little girl to lose her grip on the young Thunderian before her. A sense of fright filled her entire body and Sammy found herself trying to at least grab onto the edge of the space board to catch herself.

Taking immediate notice of the lightness of his board, Wilykat quickly whipped out his lariat and tossed the looped end at Sammy. He caught the human by her arm before she hit the water. Wilykit came to her brother’s side and helped him pull Sammy back onto his space board.

Wilykat breathed in a deep sigh of relief as he held Sammy in his arms. “That was close. Lina would’ve killed me for sure.”  He said to himself, but cringed at his sister knocking him on his head with the back of her hand.

“Wilykat! You were supposed to make sure she was holding on and what made you take off so quickly like that?” Wilykit scolded her brother, but all anger was forgotten as Catrina’s stepsister pointed to the sky.

“C-Cat! I thought I saw Catrina!” The little girl blurted, not pausing to catch her breath. “That monkey thing was carrying her off towards the East? West? In that direction!” She pointed a finger in the direction of a swampy marshland that lay beyond an equally eerie forest.

The Thunderkittens exchanged looks with each other, both looking in the direction Sammy had pointed in. Wilykat blinked and bit his lip nervously. “What would Monkian want with Lina?”
“I think the correct question is, ‘what do the mutants want with Lina and why?’” Wilykit corrected. She looked back at her brother apprehensively. “Should we go after him or get the others?” She asked.

“What do you think?” She could hear the slight irritation in her sibling’s tone and Wilykit rolled her eyes. “Lion-O said we should protect Sammy if she’s with us before jumping in after Lina.”

“But Lina is one of us, Kat! Thundercats don’t leave each other behind!” Wilykit said more fiercely. The younger of the twins looked back at where Sammy said Monkian was headed and spoke again. “I’m going after her.” With that said, the ginger haired kitten shot off on her space board, heading to Castle Plun-Darr.

“Wilykit!” Wilykat called after his sister, but he casted a nervous glance at the girl in his arms. “Y-you know the way…forget it.” Holding Sammy with one arm now, the Thunderkitten used his free hand to put his index finger and thumb together to his lips and whistled loudly. Much to Sammy’s surprise, a pure white unicorn with smoky colored eyes came running out of the nearby forest. It stopped right at the very edge of the riverbank and looked at Wilykat with much curiosity. Wilykat stepped onto the riverbank and carefully placed Sammy onto the Unicorn’s back. “Take her back to Cats’ Lair for help, and Sammy, tell Lion-O that Lina was taken to Castle Plun-Darr. Hurry!”

Before Sammy could respond, Wilykat gave the Unicorn a good tap on its hindquarters, causing the female Unicorn to run off in the opposite direction. Sammy had no choice but to hold onto the animal’s neck as it ran over the plains. For such a frail looking animal, Unicorns were exceedingly fast.

Sammy tangled her fingers into the Unicorn’s silvery white mane as the forest and river turned into a rolling field of grass. She could tell that the unicorn was taking her through the Unicorn Forest for there was a magical feel to the air around them, or maybe it was just from the Unicorn, but whatever it was, the vegetation in these parts seemed healthier than anywhere else was and all Sammy could feel was peace. It was not long before they were out of the Unicorns’ Forest and out in the plains that lay between the Berbil Village and the Unicorns’ Forest. Sammy could see the huts of the Robear Berbils in the distance. Her heart was pounding with excitement, but her mind was on her sister.

How did she end up in the hands of the Mutants? Is she injured? So many thoughts were swimming around in her head that she was starting to get a headache. The third grader tightened her grip on the Unicorn and she held back the wave of sadness threatening to burst from her heart. She could not cry. Not when she had a mission to do. Stifling her tears, Sammy felt her body becoming filled with renewed vigor and allowed the Unicorn to carry her to the Thundercats’ home.

A few of the Robear Berbils that were working in the fields at the outskirts of the Berbil Village temporarily stopped their work to look over at her and give a little wave of greetings as she passed by on the Unicorns, but Sammy didn’t have time to exchange any pleasantries with them. The Unicorn sped up more at her urging. It was not long before she saw a small yellow streak running across the grounds, almost seeming to fly. Her heart leapt up with hope and the little girl steered the Unicorn in the direction of Cheetara.

It almost seemed like the Unicorn as was as fast Cheetara for it didn’t take very long for the two of them to catch up to the Cheetah Woman. Cheetara had looked over just in time to avoid colliding with them and she quickly stopped in her tracks, skidding up some loose earth. The Thundercat’s eagle orange eyes lit up in surprise as Sammy and the Unicorn approached her and stopped as well.

“What on Third Earth? Sammy?” Cheetara began in mild surprise. “What are you doing here? I mean…What’s wrong?” She was about to head back to Cats’ Lair when she had sensed something wrong, but Sammy coming to find her alone only served to confirm her sneaking suspicion that there was some kind of trouble. But couldn’t Lion-O or one of the others call for her over the Communicators?

The Unicorn waited patiently as Sammy slid off its back and ran up to Cheetara. She knew she might be needed still. Therefore, the female unicorn decided to wait.

“C-cat’s in trouble, Cheetara! And the twins! They ran off after the Mutants. They—I…” Sammy was near tears and Cheetara saw that the girl was severely upset. She reached out and gently ruffled the girl’s hair to calm her.

“Don’t worry, Sammy. We will find Lina. In the mean time, I’m taking you to Cats’ Lair.” Cheetara said softly. She gently picked up Sammy and hugged the human girl to her body before placing her back on the Unicorn. She could only guess the others had caught wind of the news by now and were headed back to the Cats’ Lair to come up with a plan. Cheetara climbed up onto the Unicorn’s back behind Sammy and the Unicorn whinnied before running off in the direction of the Cats’ Lair once more.

--

He saw Lion-O’s body becoming tense with anger, each muscle tightening from the apparent anger. Lion-O’s face was tightened and determination glittered in his golden eyes. Panthro knew that Lion-O was not going to give up until Lina was back unharmed and the Lunatacs were beat good. His time as the Lord of the Thundercats may have matured him a great deal, but it never did help Lion-O with his occasional burst of anger. Lion-O was still young and impetuous. So it was always expected for Lion-O to get angry easily and to be pressured and goaded into doing rash things. However, Lion-O has never failed to make up for his mistakes and to learn from them.

“Don’t worry, Lion-O, we’ll get her back.” Panthro reassured him, but his words did not reach his Lord’s ears. Lion-O was lost in thought about Lina. The Panther sped up the Thundertank once more and the catlike tank quickly placed the meadows of flowers behind them.

Lion-O clenched his teeth together, feeling a slight pain in the joints of his jaw. His heart was aching with worry. The Lord of the Thundercats was absentmindedly curling and uncurling his hands into fists without realizing it, not that he cared, but if anything else were to go wrong, he just might have to act in an unlikely manner that wasn’t befitting of the Lord of the Thundercats let alone a Thundercat. As they made their way to the Cats’ Lair, Lion-O spotted something white in the distance. It looked like a white horse with a single horn and on its back was…

“Cheetara and Sammy!” Lion-O said in surprise.

“What?” Panthro looked over at hearing his leader’s tone and he then turned his red gaze to the white dot in the distance. His lips curled back into a good-natured smile. “Hey, isn’t that Cheetara and Sammy? But why are they riding on a Unicorn?” The warrior asked in slight confusion. Not that Cheetara has not ridden a Unicorn before, but if Cheetara wanted to get around, she would use her short burst of speed to get to where she needed.

“Pull up beside them, Panthro.” Lion-O ordered. Lion-O had stood up slightly. Taking out the Sword of Omens out of the Cat Shield at his side, he held it up and swung it in the air. “Thunder! Thunder! Thunder! Thundercats! Ho!” A bright flash of red light bursted into the air, turning into the symbol of the Thundercats. This seems to catch the attention of the riders of the Unicorn for Cheetara looked back and the Unicorn came to a stop, only to rear up a bit.

The Thundertank pulled up shortly a few moments later and Lion-O leapt out of the Thundertank. He ran up to Cheetara and Sammy as they slid off the Unicorn. “Cheetara, Sammy! Are you two alright?” The Lion asked worriedly. Before Cheetara could answer, Sammy ran up to him and threw her arms around his waist as best she could.

“Lion-O! The mutants! I saw one of them with Catrina and Wilykit and Kat went to rescue her. I think they said she was being taken to Castle Plunder!” Sammy sounded frantic as she hugged Lion-O. Her small body was trembling.

“That’s not right!” Surprise graced Lion-O’s tone as he looked at Sammy. “The image I received from the Sword of Omens told me she was captured by the Lunatacs.” Something did not sound right about this situation.

“Do you think Mumm-Ra is behind Lina’s kidnapping?” Cheetara asked, crossing her arms.

Panthro stroked his chin in thought. “I wouldn’t put it past him. It also might be possible that Tygra and Bengali are in trouble too. Didn’t Lina say they received a false message from us before running off to investigate?” He asked, but he heard Sammy whimper and he looked at her.

“Cat…” Sammy whimpered, her eyes beginning to tear up.
Panthro knelt to eye level with the eight year old and he gave the most reassuring smile he could muster as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Sammy. We will get your sister back. If she’s with Tygra and Bengali, then she’ll be safe until we rescue them.” The panther’s tone seemed to ease Sammy’s fears for she returned his smile with a weak one of her own and the girl wiped her tears away, though she remained hugging Lion-O’s side.

Before anyone could say or do anything else, Snarf’s voice broke through the communicator in the Thundertank. “Snarf to Thundertank! Are you there, Panthro? Lion-O? Anyone answer!” The Nursemaid’s voice had a worried tone and Lion-O received a feeling of unease as he answered the call.

“This is Lion-O. What’s your status, Snarf?” Lion-O asked, looking back at the others. Sammy retreated to Cheetara’s side, but her gaze never left Lion-O’s as Snarf responded with a nervous purr.

“Thank Jaga; you’re alright, Lion-O. Chilla and Tug Mug have taken Catrina. I fear that Tygra and Bengali are in trouble too because I could not get a hold of them. I also tried the Thunderkittens too, but no luck.” Snarf said. Fear slithered onto Lion-O’s face and he had to cough a bit to regain his composure. “What’ll we do now, Lion-O?”

“Just…get in contact with Lynx-O and Pumyra at the Tower of Omens and have them meet us at Cats’ Lair so we can discuss what to do.” The Lord of the Thundercats could not hide the fear in his tone as he gave this order to his former Nursemaid.

“Alright. I just hope the others are ok.” Snarf said before signing off. Lion-O sighed, resting his head on the back of the seat. He closed his eyes to gather his thoughts. Never had he encountered this much trouble. Everything was easy up until now.

“It’s settled. We will all rendezvous at Cats’ Lair, put a plan together, and rescue Lina, Tygra, and Bengali.” Panthro walked up to Lion-O’s side of the Thundertank and he patted Lion-O’s shoulder. “Come on, Lion-O. Sulking will not do anyone any good. You must be brave for Lina’s sake. She’s counting on you to get her out of those slimy Mutants’ grip.” He watched Lion-O take another deep breath before opening his eyes. A small smile graced Lion-O’s lips. It was not too happy, but at least a smile was better than a sulking Lion-O.

“You’re right, Panthro. The others are waiting for us.” With his confidence rejuvenated by his friend’s words of encouragement, Lion-O climbed out of the Thundertank and he walked up to Sammy. His hand reached out and rested on top of the girl’s head as he spoke to her. “I promise we’ll get Lina back. You can count on my Honor as Lord of the Thundercats.”

Sammy watched Lion-O cross his right arm over his chest, causing the others to copy him. “The Code of Thundera!” They all said in unison.

Sammy could not help, but giggle at the notion and she allowed her lips to curl back into a smile. She crossed her left arm over her chest while smiling at her friends. “Thank you, Thundercats.” The third grader said quietly.

The others returned her smile before climbing into the Thundertank. Sammy turned to the Unicorn that was waiting nearby. Smiling more, she reached out and touched the palm of her hand to the unicorn’s nose, stroking it gently. “Thank you for helping me find my friends.” The little girl said softly.

The Unicorn whickered softly and licked her cheek gently before blinking. The single horned horse stamped its foot a few times. Seeing that the little girl was safe and that she was no longer needed, the Unicorn gave a whinny and ran off back in the direction of the Unicorn Forest.

Sammy watched until the Unicorn disappeared in the distance before getting into the Thundertank after the others.

“Take us back to Cats’ Lair, Panthro. Pumyra, Lynx-O, and Snarfer should be there by now.” Lion-O ordered from beside the Panther. Panthro nodded and started up the Thundertank up before driving off, turning the tank around to head for their home.