Psiarik, Alluro, and Vultureman landed outside the black pyramid. Alluro eyed it in disgusted disbelief. "What the hell…" he muttered. "It looks just like it did on Third Earth. I knew Mumm-Ra had it in for the Thundercats, but relocating to their planet just to eliminate them is a bit extreme, even for him."

"Caww, I think the Ancient Spirits of Evil banished him here or something along those lines, for failing too many times," Vultureman informed him.

Alluro snorted. "I always did think he was a loser."

"We have to go inside that place," Psiarik said.

Alluro nodded and led them to the door. "Vultureman and I have been inside this place more times than either of us care to dwell on," he said. "We can lead the way inside."

Alluro went in first, and led them through the twists and turns of the ancient structure. When the three of them entered the main chamber they saw both WilyKit and WilyKat chained up on one side of the room and little Chet on the other.

Kat heard them enter. "Help us! Whoever you are, please let us down!"

Psiarik stepped out of the shadows first and hurried towards Chet. He recognized him as the child that had called out to him, and quickly attempted to free him. Alluro and Vultureman just stood and watched, their features obscured from the sight of WilyKit and WilyKat by the shadows of the pyramid.

WilyKit noticed that the individual unchaining Chet was a Lunatac and was instantly suspicious of him. "Hey! Don’t you dare harm him, Lunatac!" she threatened.

Psiarik looked up, annoyed. He noticed the Thundercat insignia on the pair of felines held in chains. "I’m helping him, you idiot. He asked for my help."

"How?" WilyKat asked.

"A psychic distress signal. Call me a good samaritan." Psiarik found the release mechanism for the cub’s shackles and lifted him out of them. Once Chet was safely in his arms, he turned towards the exit. "Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to save my wife, Thundercat."

Alluro laughed and stepped out of the shadows with Vultureman. "You Thundercats never change, do you? Even grown up, the two of you are still annoying beyond belief."

"Alluro!" exclaimed WilyKit.

"And Vultureman!" WilyKat said with equal surprise. "What rock did you two crawl out from under?"

Psiarik turned to Alluro with a puzzled look on his face. "Dad? You know them?"

"DAD?" both WilyKit and WilyKat exclaimed in unison.

"Boy, some people really shouldn’t reproduce," WilyKit remarked.

Psiarik’s face darkened. "Comments like that aren’t going to help convince us to free you two as well."

"CAWWWW!" Vultureman squawked in outrage. "You aren’t seriously considering freeing those Thundercats, are you?"

"You should, unless you want to be here when Mumm-Ra and Torlei destroy our worlds and everyone in them with the

Incantation of Destruction," WilyKat said.

Vultureman was not impressed by the male Thundercat twin’s dramatics. "They’re fighting on your planet. What’s that to us?"

"You bird-brain, do you really think it’s only Thundera they’re planning on decimating so they can rule the remains in evil?" WilyKit snapped. "They’re going to take out Plundarr and all five of its Moons right along with Thundera using that spell! Why else would they go to such extreme measures to get all three swords involved?"

"We heard Mumm-Ra’s plan," WilyKat continued. "He’s created false illusions to trick all three sides into fighting one another so the swords will clash. He gave Ratar-O the Sword of Plundarr and appeared to him as his ‘trusted ancestor’ Ratilla to get him to try and take over Thundera like it was his destiny. He disguised himself as Jaga to trick Lion-O into fighting them all. He even appeared as a dead sorceress to some Prince on the Moons of Plundarr to get him to come and attack because of some false story about Lion-O plotting to break into his palace and steal the MoonSaber. They’re probably all fighting right now."

Psiarik’s face drained of color when he realized the implications of what the two bound Thundercats told him. "You mean... that wasn’t Chillandra that appeared to Silvian? That was Mumm-Ra?"

"Oh, shit," muttered Vultureman.

"Please," WilyKit pleaded. "Just this once, don’t hold our differences against us. If you free us we’ll help you stop the battle."

"I don’t know if you should trust them. Those two have a reputation for being sneaky and cunning," Alluro warned Psiarik.

"You don’t trust us? Look who’s talking," snorted WilyKat in disbelief.

Psiarik looked down at Chet, who squirmed in his arms. Although he hadn’t much use for Thunderians, he did have a soft spot for children. Chet smiled up at him. "Save Kat. Save Kit," the cub babbled.

"Free them," Psiarik said with a resigned sigh.

"Caww, I don’t believe this," grumbled Vultureman.

"I hope you know what the hell you’re doing," Alluro said as he and Vultureman reached into the telekinetic field to release the chains on the Thundercats. The hypnotist yelped in pain as the energy field stung his skin while he sought for the release mechanism on WilyKit’s shackles.

"No offense Alluro, but your sister’s a bitch. This little energy field is all her doing," WilyKit informed him.

"No argument there," growled the hypnotist. "Mumm-Ra’s made her into a monster."

"For what it’s worth, I’m sorry," WilyKit offered.

At that, Alluro scowled. "I don’t need or want your pity, Thundercat."

"Lighten up, she was just trying to be nice!" WilyKat defended her as Vultureman released him from his chains. Alluro managed to open WilyKit’s, and caught her as she fell out of the energy field.

Ignoring the barbs being exchanged between the Thundercats and Alluro and Vultureman, Psiarik looked to the feline pair. "So where’s this battle taking place?"

"Cat Lair! Cat Lair!" Chet said before any of them could answer.

"Then I guess it’s off to Cat’s Lair we go. I suppose you’ve got vehicles?" WilyKit asked.

"Playing ‘taxi’ for Thundercats and babysitting their kids! Caww, this is ridiculous! Damn it, I should have stayed on Plundarr!" Vultureman whined.

WilyKat sighed. "Look, we don’t like riding with you any more than you like riding with us, so let’s just get out of here and stick it to that damn mummy, all right?"

"For once, I agree with you," Alluro replied.

"Agreeing with a Thundercat," Vultureman sighed. "Maybe this really is the end of the world." The unlikely group of allies then hurried out of the pyramid and boarded the ship, racing towards Cat’s Lair as fast as they could.

The ship holding Luna, Amok, Selene, and RedEye hovered above the battlefield. "That’s it!" RedEye announced. "I recognize Silvian’s ship and—I think that’s the Rat-Star over there. There are Mutants fighting them down there too."

"Mutants?" Selene questioned. "Those barbaric creatures? I mean, Vultureman’s all right, but all the stories I’ve heard about them..."

Luna frowned. "No Mutant is a threat to Luna, or any other worthy Lunatac, and that includes that idiot Ratar-O, sword or no sword."

Selene glanced out the window. "Please, let’s just land and see if we can stop this madness in time."

"I’m on it," RedEye replied, and brought the ship to the ground on New Thundera.

In the field below, the battle was heating up. Everyone was too caught up in the combat to notice the darkening skies, increasing wind, and flashes of unnatural lightning happening around them.

"And how much longer will this magical incantation take, Mumm-Ra?" Torlei asked when she saw that her partner in evil had taken a break.

"The proper moment has not come. I cannot complete the last verse until all three swords meet in a physical clash against one another all at once. That has not yet happened."

Torlei frowned. "And if it doesn’t?"

"It will. Be patient."

Torlei heard the sound of yet another ship and saw Selene’s craft landing nearby. "Damn it! Look! Are they going to try and stop this?"

"Ah, they have arrived just as I knew they would. On that ship is your old friend Luna, along with Amok and RedEye, and Selene, Queen of the Moons of Plundarr. A relative of Luna’s in a rather ironic twist of fate."

"What?" hissed Torlei. "Luna is here? Oh, I must destroy her!" Torlei moved forward, but Mumm-Ra grabbed her arm roughly.

"Calm yourself, woman!" Mumm-Ra growled forcefully. "We will have our vengeance when this spell destroys the planet and all those on it, including Luna and her friends."

"That’s too impersonal! She killed me, and she must pay for that at my hand. I want her to die slowly, tortured and in agonizing pain for what she did to me!"

"Forget her!" Mumm-Ra snapped impatiently. "If you go out there you risk exposing our plan to all of them and ruining everything we’ve worked so hard to orchestrate. Be satisfied that she will be incinerated in the blast and forget about it!"

Torlei scowled, but it was clear she was not pleased with it. "All right. I’ll stay here. For now."

In the thick of the battle, Ratar-O swung the Sword of Plundarr savagely at Lion-O. "Surrender to me, Thundercat! Your rule on Thundera has ended. Now it is time for the Mutants to dominate this planet and for you felines to serve us!"

"Your evil will never dominate this planet, Ratar-O, as long as I live!"

"After your treacherous plot against me and my people, Thundercat, you won’t live long!" Silvian yelled, and swung at Lion-O as well.

Ratar-O laughed as Lion-O narrowly dodged Silvian’s attack. "Too bad you didn’t take him out for me. Then I would have only you to contend with and not two of you. Not that I anticipate you being much of a challenge."

Silvian lost his temper. How dare that oversized garbage can dweller not take him, the Prince of the Moons of Plundarr, seriously? "You’ve insulted me for the last time, Mutant!" Silvian growled, and lunged forward again with the MoonSaber.

As Silvian made his charge at Ratar-O, Selene and those on her ship emerged and came out onto the battlefield, hoping to stop the fight in time to save her brother. It was too late. Seconds after Silvian went after Ratar-O, Lion-O swung at the rat with his own blade. Ratar-O jumped aside, and the Sword of Omens sliced into Silvian’s side with a fatal blow. The Lunatac Prince let out a loud shout of pain, clutched his side and fell to the ground. The fighting stopped, for a moment, as everyone looked on in shock and, in all but Ratar-O and his Mutants, in horror.

Lion-O gasped when he realized what he had inadvertently done. He had only meant to defend himself, and certainly not to kill anyone. Thundercats were never killers. He had even spared Mumm-Ra’s life once or twice. "Oh, great Jaga… what have I done?" the lion whispered, completely horrified as he saw Silvian fall to the ground and saw the blade of the Sword of Omens coated with his blood. "No... I didn’t want this... I never wanted to kill you... I was only defending myself..."

Selene saw the blow that had been delivered to her brother and screamed. "Silvian!" she cried, and ran towards the spot where he fell. She scooped him up in her arms and cried miserably. "No! Oh no, I was too late! Psiarik warned me, but I didn’t get here in time to save you," she broke down sobbing and held his dying body close to hers.

"Avenge me, sister. Don’t let them take what’s ours. Don’t let me die for nothing," Silvian whispered hoarsely, choking on his own blood.

Selene nodded numbly and wiped tears from her eyes, smearing a trail of blood on her cheek. She didn’t notice or care. She only cared that she was losing her only brother, her lifelong companion, the only one who had always been there for her, who she just saw struck down by the leader of their mortal enemies, the Thundercats. The Lunatac Queen began to truly understand why Luna hated them so much. She felt a wave of rage and hatred building inside her. "Don’t worry, Silvian," she said with fierce determination. "They’ll pay for this. I love you, and I’ll make them all pay for taking you from us," she vowed, trying not to fall apart completely.

"I—I love you too sis..." Silvian’s voice trailed off, and the last bit of life left his body. Luna and Amok went over to Selene and helped her to her feet. Luna was also visibly shaken at the death of her newly found relative.

Lion-O still stood there in shock at what had happened. Never before had he been responsible for someone’s death. He felt incredibly guilty, even though the Lunatac was his enemy, and helpless to do anything. He would have given anything to rewind the last five minutes of time that passed and not swing the Sword of Omens that once.

Cheetara saw her mate’s pain and placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "It was an accident, Lion-O," she tried to assure her him. "We know you would never intentionally kill anyone. You were defending yourself. He only came to this planet to attack you and take our planet from us in the first place."

"You worthless liars!" shouted a furious Chilla.

"And that gives you justification for murder?" an equally angry Luna screeched.

"He was only here to stop you from taking the MoonSaber from us! He had no plans of conquest!" Frostor shouted.

"Jaga appeared to us and warned us of your attack," Panthro countered. "And now you’re only lying to save your own necks."

Selene heard the angry words flying around her, but couldn’t take her eyes off her brother. Her tears clouded her eyes until the still form of her brother was no more than a blur. She sat there silently, barely noticing when Amok lifted her to her feet, trying to clear her head and think of what to do to next.

In the shadows, Torlei turned to Mumm-Ra in a rage. "Look at what our waiting has cost us! The swords never met, and now the prince is dead! Without him using the MoonSaber against the others, we cannot finish the incantation! We’ve lost!"

"No, not yet," Mumm-Ra replied calmly. "There is one other who can use that sword against the others." He gestured towards Selene.

Torlei fought the urge to laugh as she saw the frail grief-stricken Queen leaning heavily on Amok. "That pitiful woman? Fight Lion-O and Ratar-O? You must be kidding. She probably can’t even lift that sword."

"Do not underestimate her, Torlei. She is of the same blood as Luna, and she is capable of strength. Losing her brother is more than enough incentive to push her to fight Lion-O and Ratar-O. She will take his place in the battle and when she does, we will complete our spell."

"You’d better be right, Mumm-Ra," Torlei warned.

Mumm-Ra flashed her a large "trust me" grin in response before the two refocused their eyes on the battlefield.

Selene stood beside Luna and Amok numbly and blinked the tears from her eyes. When she refocused them, they fell upon the MoonSaber, lying inert in Silvian’s hand. Avenge me, sister, Silvian’s voice echoed through her head.

"Yes," she said quietly, but with great determination. "I will avenge you." Without saying a word, Selene left Amok’s side, bent over, and wrapped her slender fingers around the MoonSaber’s handle. The instant she touched it, it sprang back to life and glowed just as brightly as it had while Silvian was fighting with it. She clenched it tightly and held it in front of her, ready to attack to the two responsible for her brother’s death.

"Annihilate them, Selene. They’ve more than earned it," Luna prodded her. Luna was more than a little upset herself. She had grown fond of Silvian, and the fact that Lion-O had just taken him from her only made her hate him all the more and want to see him suffer.

Frostor, meanwhile, saw Selene pick the blade up and remembered what Psiarik had told him about the dream and her falling dead if the three of them fought. "Selene, wait!" he shouted, trying to get her attention.

Selene heard nothing and stepped forward, an expression of pure hatred and fury on her normally gentle face. The wind picked up and another loud crack of lightning crashed above them all, and Lion-O couldn’t help but think, just for a moment, that it was Luna in front of him. The hateful expression on her face was identical to the one Luna had worn so many times when they had encountered one another.

"You murdering bastard!" shouted Selene. "You will face me and pay for what you’ve done to my brother!"

"I never meant to kill him," Lion-O said with grave honesty. "I swear upon the Code of Thundera that I never meant to kill him, only defend myself. It was an accident! You must believe that. I cannot tell you how sorry I am I’ve taken his life!" Lion-O doubted that Silvian’s sister would ever forgive him—he didn’t think he could ever forgive himself—but she had to know that he hadn’t meant to kill him.

"Sorry?" Selene raged. "You slaughtered my brother and try to tell me that you’re sorry? You killed someone who was only trying to protect what belongs to him and all of our people and all you have to say for yourself is that you’re sorry? I’ll show you something to be sorry for, you murdering cat!" the Lunar Queen snarled, and aimed the MoonSaber at him. A silver-blue blast sprung from the blade and shot towards Lion-O.

Lion-O yelped and deflected the unexpected attack with the claw shield.

Ratar-O found the entire situation amusing. "First the boy, now this useless and weak woman? Is this the best you Lunatacs have to offer?" he sneered, eyeing Selene. "Why don’t you go home, woman? Return to the place where all females belong, serving their men and having their children, and leave the battle to the men, the ones smart and strong enough to handle it?"

"You chauvinistic flea-ridden piece of vermin," Selene hissed contemptuously. "I will show you the place of a woman—putting men like you in their place. Defend yourself!" She raised the sword again and this time shot an energy beam at Ratar-O.

Her aim was off so it only hit his arm, but it was enough to create a minor flesh wound on his arm and spring him into action. The infuriated rat swung his sword at Selene, who ducked it and took another opportunity to fire on Lion-O.

The battle among the leaders led the rest to resume their fighting. Cheetara fended off attacks from Slythe. Frostor, enraged at the loss of Silvian, fired heat beams relentlessly at Tygra. Snoelle again went after Chilla to settle her personal score. Panthro fought both TugMug and RedEye, who cornered the panther. Luna and Amok charged at Pumyra, while Bengali fought like a wildcat against both Jackalman and Monkian.

In the distance both Mumm-Ra and Torlei watched, focusing most intently on the leaders’ battle, eagerly awaiting the moment that all three swords would clash as Lion-O, Ratar-O, and Selene fought one another.

The ship holding the Thundercat twins, Chet, Vultureman, Alluro, and Psiarik had little trouble finding the battle site. When they saw all the ships in the same area on their scanners, they knew they had found the right place.

Vultureman brought an image of the fighting on screen. "Lords of Thundera!" WilyKit gasped as she saw the scene on the

monitor. "I haven’t seen a fight like this since—"

"—since we were children," WilyKat finished.

"We’ve landed." Alluro announced, shutting off the engines to conserve their fuel.

"Then let’s get out there and hope we’re not too late," Psiarik said decisively.

"Wait! What do we do with Chet?" WilyKat asked.

"We can’t bring him out into that battle," WilyKit said. "Being Lion-O’s son, he’s going to be a prime target for any of his enemies!"

"This is Lion-O’s son we’re babysitting?" Alluro said in annoyance. "I don’t believe this!"

"Well whose did you think he was?" WilyKit asked.

"Forget it, it’s not important who the kid belongs to right now," Psiarik said. "Just leave him in here. He’ll be safe. We can get him and return him to his parents when this is over."

"If you think for one minute we’d leave a helpless toddler with you Lunatacs and trust you to not—" WilyKat started.

Psiarik cut him off. "Listen, whatever problems you have with us, you’d better get over them. Isn’t that along the same lines of what you told us back at the pyramid? We took a chance and trusted you enough to free you. The least you can do is extend us the same courtesy! Did you think I wanted to free you, Thundercat?"

WilyKat eased off. "All right. But you had better swear that neither you nor any of your allies will harm him and that you’ll return him to us."

"I swear on my honor as a king that I won’t allow the boy to be harmed by anyone on my alignment," he agreed

WilyKit and WilyKat exchanged glances. "You’re the King of the Moons of Plundarr?" WilyKat asked incredulously. "Don’t take this the wrong way, but I thought the royalty on the Moons of Plundarr was descended from Luna’s race."

"It is. I’m a king by marriage only. The only surviving princess, Selene, is my wife, and we were crowned as King and Queen right after our wedding. But that isn’t important right now. We have to get out there and stop that sword fight."

WilyKit turned to Alluro and Vultureman. "What about you two? Do you agree not to hurt Chet?"

Vultureman sighed. "Caww, why not? I might as well let this day go and get even stranger! I swear I’ll be nice to the kid."

Alluro returned WilyKit’s gaze. "I agree. The boy isn’t the issue right now. Stopping that battle is."

"Then let’s go kick Mumm-Ra’s ass!" WilyKat shouted.

The others echoed their agreement and they ran from their ship onto the crowded battlefield. WilyKit and WilyKat immediately started yelling for everyone to stop and listen. Lion-O, Selene, and Ratar-O seemed completely oblivious to their presence and they continued to fight one another relentlessly.

As Psiarik stepped onto the ground he was nearly knocked over by deja vu. Everything around him was just like his dream. It was on Thundera. There was lightning crashing and wind blowing. He could see two cloaked corpse figures in the background chanting.

And worst of all, Selene was facing off a red-haired Thundercat and a rat-Mutant, with her face stained by tears and—blood. Psiarik closed his eyes in deep sadness when he saw Silvian’s body, deathly still, nearby. Great moons, it already happened. Silvian is dead. Selene will die too. The swords will clash and all would be lost. He had to stop it somehow. He took a deep breath and shouted as loud as he could, and with all of the force his mind control powers within him. "SELENE!"

For a brief moment, Selene looked up. He wasn’t sure if she saw him, but she was drawn right back into the battle as Ratar-O used her distraction as an opportunity to strike at her. He missed, but her attention returned fully to eliminating her two foes and nothing else.

Torlei saw the latest set of newcomers arrive on the scene, her brother among them, and couldn’t contain herself any longer. She wasn’t about to let Alluro betray her a third time and she turned to Mumm-Ra. "I cannot allow this to continue. You can do the incantation yourself, right? I must take care of the new arrivals and see to it that they do not interfere with our plans."

Mumm-Ra nodded. "Yes. I can perform the ritual myself. Stop them from stopping us."

That was exactly what Torlei wanted to hear. "My pleasure, darling," Torlei said wickedly, and teleported herself towards the new arrivals.

Snoelle and Chilla both heard Psiarik’s call to Selene. "I see you Lunatacs needed to bring your reinforcements," Snoelle snarled. "And you claim you weren’t here to take over Thundera!" she said accusingly as she swiped her claws at Chilla.

"We weren’t!" Chilla hissed back as she spat a blast of icy air at Snoelle.

Snoelle caught the ice and flung it back at her using her own snow-powers. "You’ll have to do better than that to defeat me, ice witch!"

Chilla shot a fire-beam at the deflected ice and melted it before it could do damage. Frostor and Tygra’s struggle brought them into the range where Chilla and Snoelle were fighting. "Hey Frostor!" Chilla shouted as Snoelle hurled another ice ball at her that she barely melted away in time. "Some help, please!"

"I have my own problems, Chilla!" he muttered as Tygra struck him with his whip squarely in his back, knocking him to the ground. Tygra pounced on the ice general and pinned him against the dirt. It was only as he lay against the hard and rocky soil that he saw the strange supernatural lightning crashing above and the three sword-fighters. He also heard Psiarik yell. "Psiarik? What the hell is he doing here?" he muttered, and then realized what was happening. "His dream… Oh gods, I was right about the prophecy. It’s come to life…"

"What are you talking about?" Tygra demanded as he held his whip tightly against his enemy’s throat. He didn’t trust the ice man at all. He figured it was likely a trick, knowing how dirty the Lunatacs could fight. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he should ask. "Prophecy? What prophecy?"

"The Legend of the Swords. It’s happening right in front of us! We have to stop it. Stop all of it, before it’s too late."

Snoelle paused. "The Legend of the Swords? The Incantation of Destruction?"

A passage he had read in the Book of Omens recently echoed in Tygra’s head. "The prophecy... I know what you mean. ‘When the past becomes the present—’"

"‘—and the ancient struggle is set in motion—’" Snoelle continued, the reality of what was happening to all of them dawning on her now.

"‘—only what seems impossible can stop the inevitable,’" Snoelle, Tygra, and Frostor finished in unison.

At that point, Chilla was completely confused. Snoelle had stopped fighting her, Tygra had relaxed his hold against Frostor, who was not fight back, and the three of them were reciting riddles about the end of the world? "What the hell is going on?" Chilla demanded.

Snoelle narrowed her eyes at her enemy. "The end of our worlds, ice witch! Someone has set us all up to destroy ourselves in this battle by forcing that prophecy to come true! The past became the present when I was freed from my prison."

"And when Psiarik and I were given the MoonSaber that day on the frozen moon, when Luna returned with the others out of the past, and when we realized that you were Chillandra’s daughter," Frostor added gravely, standing on his own now that Tygra had released him. "The past has already become present. I told you that back on the ship."

Chilla remembered the conversation and realized he was right. She hated to admit it, but he was right. It was happening, and they were all helping it along.

Tygra frowned. "And the ancient struggle—Snoelle against Chillandra for one, but more likely the most ancient struggle of all: Thundercat against Mutant against Lunatac. Great Jaga, what have we started?"

"We must stop our fighting now," Snoelle said ominously. "If the swords don’t clash, we’ll be all right."

The four of them stared at the battle fought by their leaders and hoped that the three blades wouldn’t meet before they could stop them.

Selene swung her sword at Lion-O once more, her face twisted into a savage and bloodthirsty expression. The equally enraged lion stopped it with the Sword of Omens, and the blades pushed against one another. Seeing a chance for victory, Ratar-O swung his weapon at them both and brought the Sword of Plundarr’s blade down onto the other two.

There was a loud crash of lightning as the three swords finally met, and Mumm-Ra began the final verse of the Incantation of Destruction.