Mumm-ra cackled evilly. This new plan of his would surely bring down those miserable Thundercats! "Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decayed form to Mumm-ra, the Ever-Living!"

The lightning flashed and then Mumm-ra said, "By the power of the Ancient Spirits of Evil, I command you, Myrthé, Queen of the Wilis, come forth, to do my bidding!"

Shrouded by a ghostly aura, a figure appeared, floating above Mumm-ra’s cauldron. "Why have you summoned me here, sorcerer?" said the figure in a cool tone of voice. "What right have you to do this?"

Mumm-ra studied her for a moment. Icy black eyes seemed to swallow what assurance he had of her going along peacefully, though her face held an expression of indifference. Deathly pale skin was accented by her obsidian hair, which reached her waist, a silver band across her forehead. She was a queen, after all.

"Long ago, I granted you a favor," he said finally, "It is time for you to repay that favor."

"Ask, and we shall see. I may, or I may not. Ask," she said again, "and we shall see."

He had been right. Myrthé was not going to agree right away. "She’ll probably want something in return," he grumbled mentally. Out loud, he said, "All I ask is for you to rid this planet of the Thunderans; it is a simple enough task for someone with as much strength as you."

"Indeed. But, if it is as ‘simple’ as you say, why must Mumm-ra, the Ever-Living, seek help?"

"Fool! Mumm-ra, the Ever-Living needs no assistance! But," he said, "the Thundercats are used to my plans. Your presence will be unexpected, you will have an edge over them."

The Queen inhaled sharply. "I will do this, Mighty Mumm-ra," she said, injecting a hint of cold sarcasm into her voice. "And rest assured, no one calls the Queen of the Wilis a fool and escapes punishment."

"I defeated you once, Myrthé, I can do it again. Go!"

Defiance flashing across her eyes, the woman smiled grimly, and vanished. Yet Mumm-ra was still uneasy, for he knew that that smile was a promise…a promise of her return.

************

"Lion-o…Lion-o…."

The Lord of the Thundercats looked around for the voice, that of a young girl. "Where are you? Who are you?"

"I’m over here, silly!" giggled the voice.

"Where?"

"Shh!" she cautioned. "Not so loud, they’ll catch me…."

"They? Who are ‘they’?"

"No!" the voice was panicked now. "I wasn’t doing anything! Honest, I—"

And then it was gone. "Hello? Hello?" Lion-o strained his ears for any sign of her voice. He shook his head. "I must be hearing things," he thought. "Maybe I should tell Tygra…no, he’d probably think I was crazy."

The Lion exited his room, heading towards the dining room for breakfast, one final thought crossing his mind about the young voice. "Perhaps I am going crazy…."

************

Lion-o wasn’t the only one hearing things. All of the male Thundercats were, as were the Thunderkittens. "Come play with us," the voices told the twins. "Join the fun before— no! Don’t hurt us! Please, we weren’t—ahh!!!!!"

With Lynx-o there was a different approach. The voice seemed still young, but it did not. It asked questions, with a youthful curiosity. But the voice was more mature than the others, but to Lynx-o, the voice was young. "How long have you been here? What happened to you? Were you ever in love?" Always, though the questions varied, there was the same ending. "No, please! Please, don’t!! PLEASE!!!!"

"Careful," a voice would caution Tygra sometimes. "Hehe! Don’t knock anything over," the voice would giggle. "Oh, no, I’m not gong to break anything. Just let me look around a bit. Hehe, please?" And then the voice would seem to become frightened as someone arrived, and there was no more. Tygra never knew when to expect the voice, it was so random. He even heard it in his dreams, bringing back horrifying memories of times just past, encounters with fearsome nightmares, and memories among them, his worst fears, and the final confrontation with Cassiopeia.

Said a voice to Panthro, "Why do you keep working? What about fun? Come on…tag! You’re it!" When he replied he didn’t have time then to play, the voice seemed to pout. "Why do adults always have to do such dull things…. Wait! No! I didn’t mean any harm! I didn’t, really!"

"Oh Mister Bengaaaliiii! Mister Bengaaaliiii!" a voice would tease. "Help me build my tower! Then we can knock it down together, and build it again, it’ll be so much fun!" Then, "What do you mean? I’m right here, Mister Bengali!" The voice would cry out sharply, then begin to weep. "Nohooh…" it sobbed, "I d-did-didn’t do a-anything!"

For some strange reason, the females, excluding Wily Kit, were oblivious to these young voices, an oddity, considering that, because of maternal instincts, they’d be the first to run to help children in trouble. Yet they simply did not hear the voices. Anyone studying this would have found it surprising, but it all fell into a plan.

************

"Majesty, everything is working perfectly."

"Excellent, Aurora. When will they be ready for…termination?" The Queen of the Wilis sat in her throne, she was almost glad to be carrying out this ‘mission’ for Mumm-ra. Almost. Still, things had been too quiet in her Forest lately.

"Within three weeks, Milady, all will be gone, only the females left. Alysea and Karinina believe that the two kittens will be the first to go. Gullible little ones! They won’t be missed until nearly twelve hours have passed."

"Who will follow?"

"Delilah trusts that the Tiger will follow. She also has an idea for one of the females."

Myrthé nodded. "Send her in later. Have you any idea who the heir of our striped friend will be?"

"The Lynx, followed by the White Tiger and the Panther. After them, we’ll go after the Lion." The woman hesitated before leaving.

"Is something wrong, Aurora?"

"Well…when I was alive I would have said what we are doing was the work of the devil."

The Queen frowned. "We are not demons or devils, we have little magic, though enough, we are merely spirits—evil spirits, some may say, but we only do what comes naturally to us. ‘Haunting’ is below us, but we rarely must lure men into coming to our Forest, they generally come on their own. We Wilis are bound eternally to bring men to their deaths, only when we have ‘true love’ can we return to our graves peacefully. Only one has ever done that. Only one man has ever escaped. This is our destiny, Aurora. Not our choice. You may go."

The woman, although perhaps she was merely nineteen, nodded and exited the room. Staring after her, Myrthé briefly reconsidered what she was doing, after all, it was Mumm-ra’s grudge against the Thunderans, not hers.

"My lady," came a voice she recognized as that of Delilah’s, "I was told you wished to see me."

"I told Aurora to send you in later. I do not believe this qualifies." Seeing Delilah was moving towards the door, the Queen stopped her with a wave of a hand. "No, stay, it would be a waste of valuable time to have you leave."

Nodding, the woman moved to stand in front of the Queen’s throne. "What is it you wish to know, My Queen?"

Gazing into Delilah’s eyes, Myrthé said, "I was informed you have an idea to lure one of the female Thunderans to the Forest. What is this idea?"

"In…working with the Tiger," she said, choosing her words carefully, "I have discovered some interesting things….some very interesting things…."

************

"Wily Kat! Wily Kit!" called two voices. "We want to show you something!"

"But how can you show us something if we can’t see you?" questioned Kit, glancing at her twin.

"Look out the window!" Again exchanging glances, the Thunderkittens glanced out their bedroom window. What they saw were two human girls, approximately the same age as themselves, standing below the window waving up at them.

"Wily Kat!" exclaimed the female twin, "Look!"

"I see ‘em, Kit!"

"Come down so we can show you something," called one of them, grinning. "Please?"

"Well, I don’t know, Wily Kit…." Kat said nervously. "What if we get caught?"

"Wily Kat, they’ll never notice!" cried his sister. "Come on, it’ll be fun, and we won’t be gone that long!"

"Why are you climbing out the window?"

Wily Kit rolled her eyes. "Because, if they knew we were leaving, they’d try and stop us, right?"

"Yes…."

"And they’d ask us where we were going, right?"

"Yes…."

"And correct me if I’m wrong, but we don’t know where we’re going, right?"

"Yes…."

"That’s why."

"Are you coming?" called one of the girls. "Please hurry!"

Throwing a glance at the door, Wily Kit took out her lariat and looped it around a bedpost securely, though loose enough to get it back. That done, she began backing out the window, using the lariat as a climbing rope. Once she was safely down, Wily Kat repeated the procedure; when he was down, Kit retracted the lariat.

They were met by the two girls, who, after waiting for the Thunderkittens to get down, took off in a run across the land. "Follow us!" called one over her shoulder. "Last one there is a wilted lily!"

"Isn’t it a rotten egg?" Wily Kit called back.

"Not with us!" said the second.

"C-can’t you slow down?" panted Wily Kat after a while. "We can’t keep up!"

Unfortunately, the two girls were already out of hearing range, and soon the twins were hardly able to see them.

"Aww! This isn’t fair," complained Kit. "Let’s stop for a minute, Wily Kat, and rest. I wonder how they could go so fast…."

"Did you see any markings on them? They could be part Thunderan."

Wily Kit gazed incredulously at her twin. "I don’t think so," she said, starting to walk again. "You really think they could be part Cheetah?"

He shrugged. "Could be."

"Wow….."

"What?"

Grinning, Kit shook her head. "Oh, nothing." Actually, she was a bit amazed that this bit of information, which could be true, had been come up with by her brother. "Anyway, I think I see them up ahead, just over that big hill! Let’s run!"

So, they did. But the hill was further than it appeared, at it was an hour before the two reached it.

While they were running, the girls were talking. "I thought you said Thunderans were fast, Alysea."

"They are, just not this particular breed."

The other glared impatiently at the slowly approaching figures of the kittens. "I just hope they hurry up," she said. "It doesn’t matter if they reach us or not. Once they voluntarily close their eyes—even for a second—they are ours!"

"But shouldn’t we have them by now, then?"

The girl sighed. "Blinking doesn’t count, Alysea…."

"Oh."

Their arguing continued until the twins reached them. "How…could you run…so fast?" panted Wily Kit.

"It’s a gift," shrugged one.

"Um, no offense," Kat said, "But your voices sound a little strange…kind of…I don’t know…airy."

The two girls exchanged amused glances. "It’s our heritage. We are…rather advanced in this type of way."

"What type of way?" Kit asked, but the second girl took advantage of the situation.

"There, look!" she shouted, pointing past the twins. "What we wanted to show you!"

Their heads snapped in that direction eagerly. Knowing what the plan was, Alysea created a blinding flash of light in front of the kittens.

Instinctively their eyes closed, turning their heads away from the light. "Isn’t it beautiful?" smiled the one who had pointed.

But the light was not the most important part. What was important to them was—they had finally closed their eyes. "You’re missing it," she chided, as they weaved a spell, bringing them to a new dimension. "Oh! It’s gone now."

One at a time, the Thunderkittens cautiously opened their eyes. "Wh-what was that?!"

"It was a mystical light, legend says it may even be a life-form; it only appears every two years, and even then, only for a few seconds. We are quite lucky."

"But we didn’t see it!" Kat looked around for a few seconds, then shivered. "Brr….It seems chillier than it was before. And what’s with all this mist?"

"After-effects of the light," said the second matter-of-factly. "It’s nothing to be alarmed about."

"Weeeell," said Kit hesitantly. "I think we’d better be going, if we don’t want the others to go nuts over our not being there."

"They won’t notice!" Alysea assured her. "Please stay, it’s not…not often we get visitors…."

"Yes, we don’t….won’t you stay?"

"I-I don’t know if we can. Y’see—"

"Oh, sure, just go and spoil everything!" snapped the second girl suddenly. "And you," she glared at Alysea, "thought we could be friends!" She crossed her arms over her chest angrily. "I’ve had it!" she said, and with that started running down the hill.

"Wait, come back! We didn’t mean it like that!" Kit started run after her. "Wait, please wait!"

Alysea just watched smugly as Kit, than Kat, ran after her friend. "Neither of the poor fools has any idea they’re running—literally—into our trap," she thought. "Of course, I wouldn’t be carrying out this part of the plan, I abhor running." She smoothed out the knee-length dress she was wearing self-consciously. "Once they reach the Forest, everything will be fine. I suppose I’d better organize a ‘welcoming’ committee for them. Yes, that’d be a good idea…."

************

"Almost here," the girl grinned silently. "But I wish those fools would shut up, their shouting is beginning to aggravate me. I wonder where Alysea is…probably waiting for us. She’s so simple! And pathetic, for that matter."

She could see a ghostly forest looming up ahead. "The Forest of Mists, home of the Wilis. Burial ground of several unfortunate men. And soon to be burial ground of the Thundercats!"

"Why are you running?"

"Won’t you stop? Is something wrong?"

"Karinina!" Alysea sent a telepathic message. "I’ll be waiting half a mile inside the Forest, along with a group of others!"

"Thanks," Karinina thought back. "Now if only you were doing the running…"

She was shocked. "How could you think that? You know I’d get all sweaty."

Sometimes, Karinina really wished she could strangle Alysea. "We’re dead, ‘Lysea, does it really matter?"

"Queen Myrthé expects us to keep ourselves in proper condition!"

"She does not, idiot. Now shut up and I’ll be there in a few minutes."

True to her word, she reached Alysea in ten minutes, the Thunderkittens trailing several meters behind. "We have them," she said out loud, dropping the disguise of a light-haired twelve-year-old and returning to her true form of an auburn haired woman in her early twenties.

"Indeed we do," laughed Alysea humorlessly. She, too, had dropped her disguise, though hers had been less drastic; it had merely altered her appearance so that she seemed the Thunderkittens’ age.

"Hush, here they come…"

"You’re mean! Why are you always telling me that?!"

"Because if I don’t, you won’t!" she snapped. "Now be quiet!"

Pouting, Alysea glared at Karinina. "You’re mean…."

"We’ve been through that. They’re almost here; they’ll recognize you, but not me, so be prepared…."

Apparently, these words got to her. She stopped pouting, and put on a friendly—though fake—smile.

"Hey! How’d you get here?!" cried Wily Kat, upon seeing Alysea.

"Oh, I, uh, took a shortcut," she said vaguely.

"But what happened to the other girl?" Kit questioned. "Where’d she go?"

"I don’t know," Alysea lied. "Karinina has a way of running off. She’ll be back."

That answer seemed to satisfy the Thunderkittens for a few moments. Then, Wily Kat spoke up with another question. "You look different….." he looked around. "And this whole area looks creepy. This isn’t like any part of Third Earth I’ve ever been to!"

"That’s because this isn’t Third Earth."

"Whaaaaat?!" cried the shocked twins. "Then where are we?!"

Karinina stepped forward. "Quite simple, really. This is the Forest of Mists."

Wily Kit was skeptical. "I thought you said we weren’t on Third Earth—how close are we to Darkside? And why is it so easy to see?"

Confusion was greatly apparent on Alysea’s face, until her partner spoke up. "Different forest. As you can see, this is an actual wooded area. The Forest of Mists." Before a protest could form on the Kittens’ lips, she spoke again. "Come with us, we’ll return you to your homes…"

The others gathered there jumped on the duo, wielding crystalline clubs, used to beat them unconscious. A smirk played at the corner of Karinina’s mouth. "…Eventually…."

************

"Tygra!" Cheetara’s worried voice interrupted the male Thundercat’s thoughts. "It’s nearly time to eat and I can’t find the Kittens anywhere!"

"Where could they be, Cheetara? There’s really nowhere to go."

"I don’t know," she cried, "I’ve tried raising them on the communicators, and looking for their signal, but I can’t find them! I can sense that something’s terribly wrong!"

"Could they be with Leona? I doubt that she’d do anything to harm them, but you never know…"

He didn’t have to say any more. The Cheetah was already speeding out into the night towards the home of a certain Black Leopard.

Cheetara burst through the Thunderan’s door, left unlocked, mainly because Leona had few enemies on Third Earth…and she was not expecting any visitors, least of all a very angry Cheetah. "Where are the Thunderkittens?!" demanded Cheetara angrily to a startled Leona.

Incredulity and anger were mixed upon the Black Leopard’s face, and in her tone of voice. "Why in Thundera would your precious Thunderkittens be here of all places?"

"Have you seen them?!" the Thundercat continued to demand.

"I already told you, Cheetah," she hissed, "I haven’t seen them, I don’t where they are, and frankly, I don’t care."

Her last words tore through Cheetara, who slapped Leona in outrage. "How could you say such a thing? For all we know, they could be dead!"

Leona’s eyes narrowed in anger, but a smirk crossed her lips. "A little PMS-y, aren’t we?"

"I…I…"

"Never mind. Like I said, I haven’t seen them."

"I see. Well," she felt a small pang of guilt, "I’m sorry to have troubled you…."

"Knock next time. Or better yet, don’t come at all," said Leona, ushering Cheetara out the door.

************

"The Thunderkittens weren’t there, hmm?" Tygra said to an anxious Cheetara.

"No, they weren’t, and I feel I made a complete fool of myself to her…."

"How bad could it be?"

"I’d rather not talk about it, Tygra."

"As you wish," he smiled. "I think it’s time to eat now. Panthro’s turn to cook." The Thundercats had been taking turns in the kitchen since Snarf had been killed by Cassiopeia.

"Panthro? Is it edible?" Unfortunately for them, the Panther was better at fixing machinery than fixing dinner.

"I hope so," sighed Tygra. "The Thundercats at the Tower of Omens are lucky, Pumyra was doing most of their cooking all along."

"Well, we might as well go eat. Besides, we should tell the others about this. They’ll want to know, and they should."

Tygra nodded, and the two headed towards the dining room of the Lair. "Tygra, Cheetara," Lion-o greeted when they got there. "But where are Kat and Kit? Surely they’re hungry."

They exchanged somewhat worried glances, and Cheetara said, "After we eat. I’ll tell you then."

The Lord of the Thundercats nodded as Panthro walked in carrying a tray of what they hoped was food. It looked like it, at any rate. And it was…sort of. Once placed on the table, they could tell it was extremely charred barbecued spare-ribs.

"Uh, thanks, Panthro," said Lion-o, beginning to eat it, as did the others. Truth be told, it wasn’t extremely bad, but they had grown used to Snarf’s cooking, and, well…it just wasn’t the same.

"Where are Wily Kat and Kit?" asked Panthro, nearly echoing Lion-o’s earlier question.

"Well…" the Cheetah began, "We can’t find them."

"What?!" cried Lion-o.

"Surely they haven’t run away again!" Panthro exclaimed.

"We don’t know," soothed Tygra. "And we’ve checked everywhere." Though the architect appeared calm, inwardly he was more worried than he cared to let on. "I’m sure they’ll come back tomorrow, and they can’t be in any great danger if the Sword didn’t warn you, Lion-o."

The Thundercat Lord furrowed his brow. The Sword of Omens had tried to warn him of something, but when he tried to call for Sight Beyond Sight, it showed him nothing but a bright flash of light. When he took the Sword away, he was looking out the window into the sun, so he assumed that’s what it had shown him; the reflection of the sun on the blade of the Sword of Omens.

"Then there’s nothing we can do," he sighed despairingly. "Nothing at all."

************

Nearly a week had passed. Panthro had been out of the Lair searching for them nearly every waking hour. Cheetara was deviating off her normal course of her morning run to look for the Kittens. Lion-o as well would go looking for the twins, under the guise of "exploring". Only Tygra did not. He was worried, but he knew there wasn’t anything he could do to help.

He was an architect, a scientist, and with the absence of the Thunderkittens he became even more immersed in his experiments. Once more he heard the sweet little voice calling to him. "Tygra! Did you miss me?"

Tygra let out a startled laugh. "Friend, you have been absent from here for a while."

"Yes, but…you are happy to see me?"

"Of course, well, to hear you, anyway."

"I’m glad. I have some news for you!"

"What is it?"

"If you’re not going to be polite, I won’t tell you," she said, and Tygra could envision the girl sticking out her tongue at him.

"All right, friend. Please tell me this news."

"I know where the Thunderkittens are!"

He nearly knocked over his chair standing up so quickly at the news. "You do?! Show me!"

"Ok!" beamed the voice. "But, to do that you have to see me, right?"

"It would help."

"Ok…I’ll be waiting outside…."

The Tiger ran out of his lab, slowing his pace a bit so he wouldn’t look upset. "Panthro," he called into the Control Room, "I’ll be out, gathering samples of different plants."

"All right, Tygra. Just be back in time for your shift," he warned.

"I will be." He dashed out of Cats Lair, onto the drawbridge Panthro had extended for him, and into some of the trees twenty-some feet past that.

"Where are you, little one?" Tygra called softly.

"Over here. Silly!" He looked, and there was a dark-haired little girl of about six standing and looking at him with the brightest smile on her face.

"Why, hello! And now that I’ve seen you, perhaps you will tell me your name."

"I’m Delilah."

"Such an important-sound name for such a small girl."

She pouted, sticking out her lower lip, though her eyes seemed to sparkle mischievously. "I don’t like it," the girl declared. "You can call me ‘Lilah."

" ‘’Lilah’, hmm? That’s very pretty as well. All right, ‘Lilah, why don’t you show me where the twins are."

"Well…" she started to tease, but seeing his expression, she again pouted. "You’re no fun. Follow me." Thus said she began running of, Tygra in pursuit.

"What’s the hurry, ‘Lilah?" the Thundercat asked.

"If I don’t get back in time, I’ll be in biiiiiiig trouble," she said solemnly.

He stopped running and took her by the shoulders, staring into her eyes. "Would they hurt you, ‘Lilah? Have they hurt you?" Almost in reflex he released her, having seen a spark of something dangerous in her eyes. As Delilah spoke, he doubted he had seen anything at all.

"I’m not supposed to say anything…" the girl began to whimper. "They don’t really hurt me. But he’s big and scary…he threatens to take away our food if we don’t listen…" She started up walking, and Tygra fell in step with her, slowing his pace so that he would stay with the girl.

"Has he ever done that to you?" the man asked.

Delilah looked at the ground. "Once or twice," she admitted softly, then staring up at him with large, pleading, brown eyes. "But don’t tell! Please! I’ll be in worse trouble then! Please!"

"All right, little one," Tygra said comfortingly. "Here, why don’t I carry you?"

"Yay! Piggy-back ride!" Tygra knelt down, and she clambered onto his back, clasping her hands around his neck and wrapping her legs around his arms as he stood, carrying her on his back.

"All settled?"

"Mm -hmm! Oh, wait. You’re going the wrong way. Turn…um…right!" He did so, fervently hoping this wasn’t a wild goose-chase.

An hour had passed when they reached a small clump of trees. Delilah was seemingly beginning to doze. "Tygra, can we rest? Please?"

"Tired?"

"Kinda. Let’s rest there!" she pointed to the trees. "Can we?"

"I see no reason why not." The Thundercat walked to the trees, putting the girl down before he relaxed in the shade.

"I betcha you’re tired too," Delilah said in her playful manner. "That was a loooong walk!"

Tygra refrained from pointing out that he did most of the walking, plus he was carrying her on his back. Instead he nodded. The girl was not a featherweight to carry. "I am rather tired, ‘Lilah," he yawned.

"Why doncha take nap? I am." She snuggled up against his shoulder with a yawn.

"I may do just that, little one." Stretching, he leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes. Unbeknownst to Tygra, a wicked grin spread across Delilah’s face—quite a startling sight, given her current form of an innocent six-year-old. "I’ve got him!" she thought. "And it didn’t take me half as long as it did Karinina and Alysea."

The trees had been transformed from the common variety on Third Earth to the tall, dark, trees of the Forest of Mists. Mist swirled around her, but in this aptly named forest, it gathered around everything.

Making sure the Tiger had dozed off, she rose, her form reverting to that of a dark-haired woman in her mid-twenties. But for some small differences, she could have been the Queen of the Wilis herself! She was clothed in a sleeveless gown of a soft, light material. The dress was white, a strip of gathered material formed an off-the-hip waist; the calve-length skirt flowed lightly outward.

Delilah bent and caressed his cheek softly with the back of her hand. "Poor man. So easily fallen into this trap. It’s quite a pity, really," she said, "You must have had many females swooning over you."

Drawing back, almost as if she was a small child caught reaching into the cookie jar, the woman shook her head. "And it will be this, this foolish emotion, that will bring down the Black Leopard—her feelings for you, drawn off of your feelings for her."

Tygra began to stir, and, no longer feeling the pressure of the little girl against him, began to look around for her. "’Lilah?" he called groggily. "Now’s not the time to play hide-and-seek!"

"I’m right here, Tygra," she smirked. "Please refrain from calling me ‘’Lilah’. After all, as you can see, I am not a child."

Shock spread across his face; she began to laugh. "De-Delilah? What— Where are we?"

"You are in the Forest of Mists, home of the Wilis. And, I might add, not the barrier between your home and this ‘Darkside’."

With confusion, he asked, "How do you know about that?"

She rolled her eyes contemptuously. "The kittens, of course. I wasn’t lying when I said I was taking you to them."

"They’re here?! Where?!"

"All in due time, Thundercat; all in due time."

The Thundercat growled, springing up and grabbing the startled woman by the neck of her dress. He pulled her face to within a few inches of his. "Listen, slime! I don’t have time to waste on your games! Take me to the Thunderkittens or I’ll—"

"You’ll what?" she spat scornfully, pushing away. "You’re in no position to do anything. You know that, too. As long as I…as long as we," Delilah corrected herself, "have the Thunderkittens, I have you under my power." With a smirk she thought, "And even after that, I’ve got you."

Despair fell over Tygra’s face. "Take me to them. Please," he added as an afterthought.

"Oh, I don’t know," she sniffed. "You were rather rude in grabbing me like that." Tygra glared menacingly at her. "Fine, fine," the woman said, rolling her eyes. "Follow me."

She paused for a moment. "Hmm, perhaps bonds are necessary. What do you think?" Another glare was all answer she received from the Thundercat. "Yes, I think so." With a flick of her hands, the mist around the man’s wrists hardened, drawing his hands behind his back, and forming a perfect pair of handcuffs. "There. Now, come along!" Delilah grinned mockingly.

"This isn’t needed, you know!" he growled. She merely shook her head and laughed. "I don’t see what’s so funny about all this, ‘Lilah."

"Don’t call me that!" shrieked the woman. Pointing a long, thin finger at him, she said, "You will pay for your insolence, Thundercat." Yet even as she said that, hurt shone in her eyes, but Tygra saw only anger. "This way is faster," she changed the subject and transported them to another area in the Forest of Mists.

It was a clearing; six cages made out of this same silvery mist sat in it. They were not large, however, although on was clearly larger than the other five, it sat a small distance from the others. Several women encircled the cages, Wily Kat was in one cage; Kit was in the cage farthest from her brother.

When they saw Tygra, they both started to shout. "Tygra! Have you come to save us?! Tygra!"

Their hopeful cries died when he was thrown into one of the cages, alongside Kat’s. "They got you too?" wailed Wily Kit. "How?"

"The same way as you, I suppose. I was tricked."

"By her?" Wily Kat asked, pointing to Delilah.

"Yes," Tygra said. To Kit he called, as loudly as possible without being overheard, "Kit, I’m sorry, but I doubt that it’s safe for us to talk. They will probably hear anything we say."

She nodded sadly. Of course, having been there a week already, she knew that it would do no good. The Wilis overheard anything they said anyway.

"Now, Wily Kat," said the elder Thundercat, "Which ones were responsible for your capture?"

The boy pointed out two women arguing, one a prissy and childish-looking blond, the other auburn haired and sarcastic-looking. "Their names are Alysea and Karinina. Alysea’s the one with the flowers," Kat whispered.

Taking a closer look, Tygra could see what flowers Wily Kat was talking about. Alysea had woven a circlet of white lilies, which she proudly wore as a crown on her head. "I heard what they said before you and…"

"Delilah."

"Right," said Kat. "Anyway, I heard what they said before you Delilah showed up. That’s when they lowered their voices. I think…I think that only their Queen, the Queen of the Wilis, is supposed to wear the lilies. They’re a symbol of royalty, or something."

Tygra was amazed at the Thunderkitten’s deduction. "Good job," he whispered, leaning against the bars of his cage. He would have said more, when Delilah spoke up.

"Keep watch over these three! Soon, Raymonda, you must leave. I go now to report to the Queen!"

She disappeared, and Alysea and Karinina once again raised their voices.

"…idiot! The Queen would kill you if she found out about this, except we’re already dead!"

"I still don’t understand why you’re making such a fuss about this, ‘Inina!"

"Only the Queen of the Wilis is supposed to wear the lilies! They are her flowers, the flowers of death! The flowers of royalty!"

"I was royalty while I lived, Karinina!"

Karinina looked like she was about to smack her blond companion. "But you aren’t any more, ‘Lysea. The lilies are also the flowers of life, and of peace and…purity." She said the last word with more than a hint of contempt in her voice.

The pretty blond fluffed up her hair. "I still think I’m worthy, ‘Inina."

This time Karinina really did smack Alysea, swiping the lilies off the girl’s head and onto the ground. "You fool!" she cried, "Only the Queen and…her can wear them! It is treason!" she said harshly. Unfortunately, her friend didn’t seem at all moved.

"Oh, well, Zelli hasn’t been seen by anyone for at least two centuries, I’m sure I could pass for her if anyone asked."

"Moron! Giselle’s a brunette, you’re a blond, and a dumb one at that," insulted the auburn haired woman.

"Well, I’m prettier than she is, too…HEY!!!!"

"Moron," Karinina said again, smashing the lilies as she ground her heel into them.

"Hey!" She cried angrily. "What’d you that for?!"

"So that you wouldn’t get sent to the Fire Lands, and I wouldn’t get in trouble for not stopping you from committing treason against the Queen!"

"Oh."

Their arguing continued, but Tygra stopped listening. "What can you tell me about these women? And what the cosmos are ‘Wilis’?" he questioned Wily Kat.

"Oh, um…well, the Wilis are these women, or spirits, I guess. They’re technically ghosts."

"I see. Go on."

"Well, Alysea and Karinina, or ‘’Lysea’ and ‘’Inina’, I don’t think they’re really high-ranked. I think they’re best friends, but it seems like they’re fighting half the time. I’m pretty sure it’s just an act, they make a really good team…."

Kat pointed to a woman with somewhat wavy brown hair reaching to her waist. "That’s Raymonda," he said in a hushed voice. "She’s pretty high up there, maybe third in command. I think she and Aurora," he nodded towards an Asian-looking woman with shoulder-length silky black hair, "Are pretty close. I think Aurora’s maybe second in command to the Queen.

"That one," he moved his finger to a brownish-blond haired woman, her wavy hair just barely reaching mid-back, "That’s Carabosse, she’s not that high on the list. Well, she might be. I’m not sure…she talks a lot with ‘Lysea and ‘Inina, but she talks with Raymonda a lot, but only when Aurora’s not there. I think she’s jealous.

"Your ‘friend’, Delilah, is probably somewhere near the top. I think she’s jealous of Aurora and Raymonda, too." The Thunderkitten shuddered. "There’s something about her that really unnerves me."

"I know," said Tygra. "Funny, though. She was really sweet when she seemed to be a little girl."

"That’s right, they’re all pretty devious," nodded Kat. "But a lot of them have some definite misgivings about all this. Like her," he pointed to another woman. "H’nai." A worried look sat upon her face. This woman’s brownish-blond hair reached her knees.

"This whole business sickens her," he said. "She might make a useful ally, except she hardly ever approaches the cages, and it’s not like we can yell out to her. I think…well, I’m pretty sure that she’s about the same rank as ‘Lysea and ‘Inina, and the only reason she’s in this is because she’s afraid of their Queen. I haven’t seen her, the Queen, that is, and I hope I don’t! I’m pretty sure I will, though…" he bit his lip, and Tygra saw the look of fear in the Thunderkitten’s eyes. "With what their plan is, I doubt she’ll set us free."

"That’s the third time you’ve said something about a plan of theirs. But whatever it is, don’t worry. Lion-o and the others will find us."

"Don’t you know?" said Wily Kat despairingly. "Don’t you know?" he repeated. "When Lion-o comes here, it’ll be as a prisoner, not as a rescuer. They’re going to capture us all, almost starve us, and then…"

The kitten bit his lip till it bled. "And then," he finished, "They’ll kill us."

************

It was a few hours after Wily Kat had made his despairing announcement. Both Thunderkittens were sleeping, but Tygra found himself unable to drift into slumber.

Though he rested with his eyes closed, sleep kept eluding him. And though he tried to keep them focused on either sleep or escape, his thoughts kept returning to Leona.

"When Wily Kat said they would capture us all," he thought, "Did that include Leona? Or just the Thundercats? Why do I care? I don’t know. Something about her refuses to leave my mind. She’s certainly not the most polite person. Shouldn’t I be more concerned about the other Thundercats? Like Cheetara, she was so worried about the Thunderkittens, she’ll be going into a nervous breakdown with me missing. But if they go for Leona, she won’t know what hit her. She won’t know anyone’s gone, she won’t be prepared for any attack! Cosmos, why am I so worried about her?!"

He shook his head. "But something in me feels for her. It pities her," thought Tygra. "It pities her because of all her sufferings. I pity her. But…is pity the right word? I feel concern for her, surely, but, is there something more? Something different? Could it be…could it be…."

Tygra decided that, yes, it could be. "I love her…Leona…."

************

"Lion-o! Panthro! Come here," cried Cheetara. "I can’t find Tygra anywhere!"

The two male Thundercats came rushing into the Control Room. "That’s odd," said Panthro, "Although he never did show up for his shift on watch." The large Panther laughed. "I figured he’d gotten wrapped up in the plant samples he was taking."

"Plant samples?" Lion-o glanced at Panthro quizzically.

"Sure," he laughed, "That’s what he said he was going out to do when he left. So I took his shift. He owes me one, now!"

"This is serious!" Cheetara said, "Who knows where Tygra is?! First the Thunderkittens, now him! Can’t you see the connection?"

"Of course, the Thunderkittens disappear, Tygra disappears a week later, except Tygra was looking for plant samples." Lion-o shrugged. "I’m sorry, Cheetara, but I just can’t see what you’re so upset about."

"Baaaaad move, Lion-o," murmured Panthro warningly, but it was too late.

"You can’t see?! You can’t see?! Lion-o, what does it take to convince you?! My sixth sense is warning me, warning me of something, but I can’t see what it is! I know that we’re all in danger, and you can’t see?!" Cheetara’s voice rose until it was an enraged shriek.

"Is it just because you’re too blind to see?! Or because you don’t want to?! Are you afraid, Lion-o?! Afraid of the truth?!" she shrieked at him. "Accept the truth, Lion-o! It’s part of the Code of Thundera! Are you afraid of it?! Are you? Are you??!!!"

"Cheetara, I…I’m sorry… And you’re right. They’re gone. You know…I don’t believe we’ve informed those in the Tower of Omens of their disappearance."

"Hey, y’know, we haven’t," said Panthro laughingly. "Should I do that?"

Lion-o was about to say yes, but Cheetara cut him off. "No, Panthro. I don’t think that would be wise right now. Don’t ask why, but I somehow think that they’ve got enough on their hands right now."

And she was right. For at the Tower of Omens, there was somewhat of a kitchen catastrophe going on.

In an attempt to give Pumyra a rest from cooking, Bengali had taken it upon himself to create a meal like never before—and that’s exactly what happened.

"Bengali, how sweet!" Pumyra had said when he offered. "But…are you sure you want to? I really don’t mind cooking."

"Rowr, let some of us have a turn at the kitchen, Pumyra! After all, you cook us so many meals, you should let someone serve you for a change."

Pumyra had finally relented, though she had some serious misgivings about the whole thing. But what the heck, she had thought. It wasn’t every day Bengali was willing to do something nice for her.

She wasn’t the only one with some doubts.

"Grrowl, whose idiot idea was this anyway?" Bengali was so absorbed in his grumbling, he failed to notice that the oven was spewing forth dark clouds of rancid-smelling smoke.

Until the fire alarm went off.

"Where’s the fire?!" he shouted, then realized what had happened to his dinner. "Oh, damn! My dinner!"

"Ben?" said Pumyra, having run in there. "Oh. Bengali….." she sighed. Grabbing the fire extinguisher off the wall, the Puma told him to open the oven. "But do it carefully!"

He muttered something unintelligible, and did so. And was promptly met with a billowing cloud of acrid smoke in the face. "Gah! Ugh, smoke," he began to cough.

"Stand back!" Pumyra yelled, shooting the fire extinguisher into the flames of the smoke spewing oven. This, of course, produced even more smoke, and soon the room was filled. That’s when Lynx-o turned on the sprinkler system.

"Oh, great," muttered Pumyra. "Not only do I smell like smoke, but I’m soaking wet, too. And the kitchen…" she gazed around the room. Besides the obvious damage from the oven fire, cooking materials were strewn all over, and what the hell was that gooey brown stuff on the floor?

"Bengali? What were you making?"

"Well, rowr, Pumyra, I, uh…peanut-butter and jelly…."

"Peanut-butter and jelly?! In the oven?!"

"Well, I uh…."

"You’ve got to be kidding me."

"Rowr, I thought it might taste…."

"Good? No. No, no, no. Bengali. I do not believe you sometimes. It’s your fault the kitchen is in this state, and you’re going to have to clean it up. If you must, ask Lynx-o for help. I’m going to take a nap."

Thought Bengali, "I’d’ve been better off letting Pumyra cook…."

************

"Queen of the Wilis, I command you, come forth!" cried Mumm-ra.

"What is it this time," said Myrthé coldly as she appeared. "I have three of the Thundercats, and will have another shortly."

"You are taking too long," he growled. "You should have had them all by now!"

The Queen’s icy laughter rippled through the Black Pyramid, sending Ma-Mutt cowering behind one of the Ancient Spirits of Evil. "I am not wasting any time, oh mighty one," she said mockingly. "Rather, I am taking my time, so that no flaws shall enter in. It is you, ‘Mighty’ Mumm-ra, who allows flaws to creep into your plans, by carrying them out too quickly! But," she smiled, more accurately, she let a false smile onto her face, "If you are dissatisfied, I will let the Thundercats go, and you may capture them for yourself."

"Do not mock me, woman!" Mumm-ra shouted. "You have not all the time you think you have! Time is moving differently, something is amiss with the Element!"

"Very good, Mumm-ra," came a new voice. A woman was standing next to the mummy’s cauldron; Vega, Elemental of Time. "So you, too, have sensed this disturbance."

"Who…who are you?" he gasped, unwittingly showing some few emotions before Queen Myrthé.

"Haven’t we been introduced? No? Oh well. My name is Vega, Elemental of Time, native of the Realm of the Ancients."

" ‘Ancients’? As in, ‘Ancient Spirits of Evil’?"

"Oh, no. Really, I thought you were smarter than that. But no matter. You wouldn’t gain admittance to the Realm anyway."

"Why are you here…Lady Vega?" the Demon Priest asked, inserting some small amount of respect into his voice.

"Why, you mentioned Time, specifically the current disturbance of it. Time is my specialty." Vega noticed Mumm-ra staring rather oddly at her. "Does this form disturb you?" she said, glancing over her shoulder at her iridescent wings, and moving her hand to touch the gold crescent moon on her forehead.

"Would you rather I were Thunderan?" she changed her form to that of a Thunderan Cheetah. "Or a Lunatac?" she became a Psi-race Lunatac. "Perhaps a…no, never mind. I don’t do Mutants. Well, not if I can help it.

"What would you prefer? If you wish, I can do a very good Virgo."

"Virgo?" he said shakily.

"Yes, Lady Virgo of the Stellar Court, Adviser to Lord Zodiac. Weren’t you paying attention to all the dealings the Thundercats had with Ladies Aquila and Cassiopeia, and Lord Pegasus?"

"Of course I was!" though in truth, he had no idea what she was talking about. "You…may keep you true form, Lady Vega….I have no qualms about it…."

"Good," Vega said, satisfied. "In case you were wondering why I’m here, I—"

"You already told us," the Queen of the Wilis said, somewhat annoyed.

"Hmm? Oh, Myrthé. How nice to see you. Don’t interrupt," said the Elemental, her calmness almost hiding the flash of displeasure in her gray-blue eyes. "I’m here to warn you, Mumm-ra. Do not meddle in Time. What you’ve seen me do here is only a fraction of what I could do. I’m not telling you to stop this plan, I’m only telling you to beware of what you may do in the future. Oh, and Mumm-ra?"

"Y-yes, Lady Vega?"

"Two things. First, my proper title is ‘Elemental Vega’; second, you may wish to do some studying on what has happened recently with Aquila, Cassi, and Pegasus. Good bye!" that said, she flashed a knowing smile, and disappeared.

Silence followed until the un-dead mummy cleared his throat. "Queen Myrthé, you may return to your kingdom. But do not fail me!"

"Don’t worry, ‘Mighty One’, I will not." With a last mocking laugh, she disappeared as well, her voice echoing throughout the Pyramid.

Mumm-ra shook his head, he couldn’t believe the power Vega had! She had changed shape as easily as she spoke! And this was only a fraction? Even he, Mumm-ra the Ever-Living had to draw on the power of the Ancient Spirits of Evil to shape-change!

The mummy shivered. Though her outward appearance of friendliness was deceiving, the hidden powers beneath alarmed him. "Ancient Spirits of Evil, tell me what you know of Elemental Vega!" he cried.

"She carries the power of Time," they boomed, "A power overshadowed only by that of Death, though some say that Time is the greater Element!"

"I thought that the power over Mind was the greatest power," questioned Mumm-ra. "Why, then, did I go so out of my way to get Wiz-ra’s golden helmet?"

"Mind is the greatest of the common powers! Three; Death, Time, and Light , are the more uncommon Elements."

"Ancients, I don’t understand—" he started, but a female voice interrupted.

"Mumm-ra, Mumm-ra, Mumm-ra. Everyone has a bit of Elemental power, some more than others. The Lunatacs, for instance," said Vega, "Their race is among the greater powers; although generally, only two of the Elements are prominent. The Ice Lunatacs have power over Ice, and at times, Fire. The Psi’s have the Mind. Among Thunderans, it varies, but most notably are the Mind powers of the Tiger and Cheetah races. Among others…well, I’ll cut to the chase. Now that you’re dead, you have no native powers besides magic. While you lived, you were a somewhat powerful Fire Elemental. Though I am Elemental of Time, my secondary Element is Air. Your secondary Element was Death.

"Understand? Everyone has a fragment of the ultimate Elemental power. Never mind. You don’t understand, that much is clear. Keep in mind, Time is under my power—meddle with it, and know what it feels like to die a thousand deaths; though you assume to be undead, it is easily changed. Now," she ordered him, "Go about your magic, sorcerer. Go about your magic, but trespass not into the Elements. It would be a rather unpleasant thing to have the wrath of the Council upon you, wouldn’t it?"

Once more, she was gone, leaving Mumm-ra muttering to himself angrily. "I hate her…how I hate her…"

************

Lynx-o was tired. Bengali had dragged him into the kitchen to help him clean. Of course, Lynx-o couldn’t see where he was supposed to be cleaning, but it took Bengali awhile to figure that out. More accurately, it took Lynx-o mistaking the White Tiger’s leg for a table leg, and accidentally scrubbing it with soap and water.

So, Lynx-o was also embarrassed.

As he lay in his bed, wishing for sleep, he heard someone speak. "Lynx-o. Lynx-o! I’m back again."

"Welcome back, Raya," he said, having been able to coax the name out of the girl. "What have you been doing lately?"

"This, that; that, this. He’s not happy with me." Another thing Lynx-o had managed to find out was that she lived with her uncle, a drunk.

"Why isn’t he happy with you, Raya?"

"I don’t know. He doesn’t have a reason."

The old male Lynx was silent for a moment, thinking of what to say. With a yawn, he lay back on his pillow, letting his eyes drift closed. "I’m sorry, Raya. I wish there was something I could do."

"You’ve already done it," she said, her voice clearer to him. Suddenly he realized that he no long slept in a bed. He was on a metal surface, his head resting on something soft…

"Lynx-o?" came a familiar voice, that of Wily Kit. "Um, could you get your head off of my legs?"

"Wily Kit?" he asked, sitting up. "How did I get to Cats Lair?"

"You’re not. Didn’t you know that Wily Kat and I have been missing? We’ve been here for a week!"

"A week? No, I didn’t know that. Where is ‘here?’"

Instead of Kit, Raya answered. "This is the Forest of Mists. A completely different dimension then your own Forest. I suppose I should let you know that your Tiger friend is here as well, and that my name is not ‘Raya’ as I have said, but ‘Raymonda.’"

"Bengali? Bengali is here? Nonsense, I just spoke to him five minutes ago!"

"Tygra’s here, Lynx-o," said Kit, and he could hear her sighing. "Not Bengali. Tygra."

Raymonda said, "But Bengali will be the next to fall."

"Raymonda! That will be enough!" a new voice cried.

"Greetings, Delilah. Oh, just a reminder—I hold a higher rank than you. You don’t really want to question me, do you?"

"Huh, Aurora’s rank is higher than yours, you don’t see her chatting with the prisoners!"

A noise like a snort greeted Lynx-o’s ears, followed by an obscenity. Their voices moved off, and he realized Wily Kit had fallen asleep. Lynx-o decided that sleep was probably a good idea; he quickly joined her in dreamland.

************

The next morning, in the Tower of Omens, not only was Pumyra once again in the job of making meals—and they hadn’t had dinner the night before, due to the "mishap"—, but she had the morning watch shift as well. So did she make breakfast, or take the shift?

She decided on the watch. Let Bengali and Lynx-o go hungry—after all, she did all the cooking, not to mention the cleaning!

"Lucky," she muttered. "The others in Cats Lair, they had Snarf to cook and clean for them." Pumyra snickered. "But now he’s dead…I wonder how they’re faring?"

"Pumyra?" Bengali was standing just inside the Control Room’s doorway. "Where’s breakfast?"

"I haven’t made it."

"Rowr, why not?"

"Because I have the watch, Bengali. I can’t shirk my duties to make breakfast. You understand, I hope."

He stepped forward until he had reached the chair she sat in. "Well, of course, but, Lynx-o or I could take the shift for you!"

She spun around in the chair to face him. "Why, Bengali! Are you suggesting I ignore my duty as a Thundercat?!"

"No! Rowr, I just thought—"

"I’m sorry, Ben. But if you want breakfast now, make it yourself. Oh, and get Lynx-o, I think he overslept."

The White Tiger walked off, grumbling to himself. The bits Pumyra could make out were, "…no breakfast…she still mad about last night…stupid….’get Lynx-o’….stupid….stupid…."

She rolled her eyes. Bengali had a way of getting rather grumpy when denied food, and today was no exception. Even so, Pumyra wasn’t going to make breakfast until her watch was over. "So what?" she mused. "I deserve a break once in a while. Everyone else gets a break, don’t they?" Pumyra sighed. "I’m a healer, but what good is that if nobody’s hurt? I can fight, I’m agile, but the other Thundercats just about completely ignore us in the Tower! What’s so different about us? Why do they treat us like we’re completely useless?"

At that moment, a message came through from Cats Lair. "Cats Lair to Tower of Omens, come in!"

"This is Pumyra, I read you."

Cheetara’s face popped up on the viewer. "Hello, Pumyra… I have some news for you—unfortunately, it isn’t good."

"Oh?" she said concernedly. "What’s the problem?" Bengali chose that moment to run into the Control Room.

"Pumyra! I can’t find Lynx-o! He isn’t in his room, or in the hanger, or, for that matter, anywhere!"

"Oh no!" Cheetara had overheard. "That’s what I wanted to tell you! The Thunderkittens and Tygra are missing also! The ‘Kittens have been missing for a week, and Tygra for a day."

"A week?!" cried Pumyra. "A week and you didn’t tell us?! We could have tried scanning for them!"

"I’m sorry! It slipped everyone’s mind completely; we were so busy looking for them! When we finally remembered yesterday, well…I just got a feeling that…things were rather busy at the Tower…"

Pumyra sent a critical glare in Bengali’s direction. "You could say that. There was a small fire."

"A fire? What happened?"

"Bengali set fire to some sandwiches." Technically, he put them in the oven and then proceeded to ignore them, but the Puma was going for the more blunt reply.

"Hey!" he growled in response. "It wasn’t my fault, you know!"

Cheetara laughed, but concern quickly replaced the humor. "What about Lynx-o? Surely there’s something we can do."

"Well…" Pumyra bit her lip. She was worried about the old Lynx; he was like a father to her, or at the very least, an uncle. "I’m not quite sure. We’ll set the scanners to pick up his signal, and if you could to the same…"

"Will do, Pumyra. We’ll alert you if we come up with anything."

"Thank you," she said, relieved. "As will we. Tower of Omens out." Switching off communications, the Puma looked around for Bengali. To her surprise, he wasn’t in the Control Room.

"Ben?" she called, "Bengali? Ben, where are you? I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, but Cheetara asked about what happened!" No answer. "I’m going to make breakfast! Do you want some?"

Even that attempt raised no response. "Oh, Ben," Pumyra sighed. "What are going to do this time?"

Bengali was outside. He was hungry, and he was more than a little annoyed with Pumyra. They had been friends for a long time; he didn’t understand why she had to go telling everyone who asked about his kitchen mishap! And why couldn’t she make breakfast, anyway?

He remembered when they were younger; Pumyra was youngest of three children.

Sienna and Pumeri, her older siblings, were born only a year apart. Between them and Pumyra, there was a four and five-year gap. Their dreams were alike, to marry someone handsome and have adorable little babies.

Then there was Pumyra, the quietest of her family. She had been against the war for as long as she and Bengali could remember. She hadn’t wanted to join the army, and she certainly never wanted to be a pretty and sweet, obedient wife and mother! No, Pumyra wanted to be a doctor, to heal those who were wounded in the fighting.

Her parents, though they allowed her to carry out this dream, did not approve. But; they never had. She never had quite the energy and cheerfulness as her Sienna, or the soft courage of Pumeri. Pumyra was the quiet one, who no one ever noticed—except, perhaps, Bengali. Among her family, though, she went unnoticed.

She tried to impress, that’s why she took up gymnastics, to increase her skills, even though Pumas were already agile enough not to need it. Even though she became incredibly skillful, even participating in a few competitions, her parents were too engrossed in her sisters’ boyfriends, and then weddings.

Pumyra’s self-esteem dropped drastically until she joined the Puma army as a medic, but by that time, she didn’t bother telling her parents what she was doing.

Was she finally regaining her confidence? Bengali wondered. She hadn’t really stood up to anyone since they were children. Sure, there had been times, but they were somewhat few and far-between.

"I think I liked the old Pumyra better," he muttered.

"She seems nice either way, to me…"

"Huh? Rowr, hello! How are you doing, little miss?"

"I’m ok…and don’t call me little miss. I’m a big girl!"

"Oh, you’re a big girl, hmm? Good for you, little miss."

"Hey! I don’t like being called that! ‘M not li’l anymore…"

"I’m sorry. What should I call you?"

The voice hesitated. "I… I… I don’t know…call me H’nai. It’s my name…"

" ‘H’nai’? That’s very pretty."

"Thanks… I like it. Mister Bengali…."

"Yes, little…H’nai?"

"I… I’m scared, Mister Bengali…."

"Why are you scared?" asked Bengali, concernedly.

"I’m supposed to do something…and…I…don’t think…but if I don’t…I could get in big trouble…and…I don’t want to get in trouble…I don’t want to do it…but…if I don’t…then I get in trouble…"

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I…no. There isn’t." He thought he heard something behind him. Bengali turned his head swiftly, in time to see a woman, wielding a club made of some kind of crystal, raise it over her head…

Whump! The blow struck his head, and the White Tiger slumped forward, unconscious. Tears filled the woman’s eyes as the area twisted to the Forest of Mists. "I’m sorry," whispered H’nai, "I’m so, so, sorry…."

************

"You hit him on the head?!"

"Well, I didn’t know how else I should get him here." H’nai mumbled, she added wryly as an afterthought, "There was somewhere else I should have hit him?"

"Show some ingenuity, dammit!" shouted Delilah, causing H’nai to wince at her words.

"Delilah!" Aurora, like everyone else around, had heard what the woman said. "Enough is enough! You’ve been acting like you run this place, bossing people around; being all ‘hoity-toity’, and this is the last straw! The Queen of the Wilis does not tolerate such behavior—would you care to be sentenced to the Fire Lands?"

This seemed to extinguish Delilah’s anger at H’nai. However, it then burst up once more, this time directed towards Aurora. "And you say I’m acting hoity-toity?! What about you?!"

"I’m giving you one final warning, Delilah," said the second-in-command icily. "The Queen doesn’t like ambitious followers. Even if they were once her daughter."

Delilah reeled back as if slapped, her face paling. She knew she had been born out of wedlock, she knew her mother had died soon after her birth, hells; she even knew where the grave was! Beyond that, and the fact that she had been betrayed by a lover, like all the Wilis, Delilah had no idea! "Queen—Queen Myrthé is—you can’t be serious! I know, we look similar, but—"

"And you never guessed?" Aurora smirked. "My, ‘Lilah, I don’t believe you! How…dumb."

"You," growled the woman, "How dare you. How dare you spread these lies!"

"They’re no lies, ‘Lilah. Don’t you remember what was on that gravestone?" Delilah paled even more than she already had. "Yes, that’s right. Myrthé." She raised a hand over her eyes suddenly. "Damn," muttered Aurora. "I didn’t realize…Raymonda!" she shouted.

The brown haired girl rushed over. "I know. I saw—felt—it too. Do you think we should—?"

"We have to." Nodding, Raymonda took a small pouch tied to a rope-like belt off and opened the tie. Then, she poured a bit of gold-colored powder onto her and Aurora’s hands.

Now, there were only three occupied cages of the six. Wily Kit and Lynx-o occupied the one farthest to their right, Wily Kat and Bengali, who had just arrived there and was still unconscious, were in the cage directly in front of them, and Tygra was in the cage to the right of Kat and Bengali.

The two women walked up to the cages closest to them, the ones holding Bengali and Kat, and Tygra. Each stepping up to a different cage, they blew the powder from their hands over the cages. This may not have seemed like much, but it was. Gold sparkles now hovered around the mist-formed bars of the cages, forming a shroud, and the Thunderans in them were beginning to react. Raymonda walked down to Kit and Lynx-o’s cage and blew the rest of her powder over them.

What was this powder? A Thunderan’s greatest weakness; a Thunderan’s death, if there is enough.

Thundrainium.

Only enough to weaken them beyond hope of escape. Only enough that the Wilis might rest while the Thundercats suffered. The Thundrainium was removed, come nightfall, and replaced by several guards, wielding either crystalline clubs or crystal-headed spears.

Why? Perhaps the Wilis were on an alternate schedule. Or, maybe it was something else. The latter answer is the correct one, however, at night the Thundercats slept, during the day they were too weakened to do anything. So, they were unknowing of the Wilis’ weakness; but someone else had a mind to change that.

The right moment just had to come around…and it was taking its time doing so.

************

Now Pumyra was angry. True, she was also worried, but anger came first. When that had subsided to worry, she would call Cats Lair. But for now, Pumyra was angry.

"First Lynx-o disappears, now Bengali runs off! How dare they! I can’t manage the Tower by myself, especially now that Snarfer’s dead—not that he did much, but, hey! a girl appreciates all the help she can get!

"Now where could he have gone," she mused about Bengali. "I’ve scanned everywhere for him, including that," she muttered something under her breath, "Black Leopard’s."

That’s when she began to get worried. "Oh, I hope nothing’s happened to him," she said, "And what with Tygra and the Kittens missing from the Lair…I hope he’s all right…oh, Ben, where are you?"

The Puma decided to call Cats Lair, after all, they’d like to know about it. "Pumyra to Cats Lair!"

"I read you, Pumyra," said Lion-o, his face appearing on the screen. "What’s the trouble?"

"It’s Bengali—he’s missing!"

Anxiety radiated from the Thundercat’s face. "No! Another disappearance?! Thank you, Pumyra. Are you alone in the Tower of Omens now that both Lynx-o and Bengali are missing?" She nodded. "I’ll have Panthro go over there with the Thundertank, if you’d like."

Pumyra’s eyes brightened a bit. "Could you? I mean, it’s rather hard to keep everything in order by myself."

"Sure. I’ll tell Panthro, he should be over there within a half-hour. Lair out."

True to Lion-o’s word, the Panther arrived twenty-five minutes later. "Well, Pumyra," he said upon entering, what to you need me to do?"

She rattled off a list of things left undone by Bengali, namely some electrical work, and it was his job to wash the windows this week. The latter was not eagerly agreed to. "I will not wash windows."

"If Lynx-o can handle it, I’m sure you can, Panthro," stated Pumyra.

"I’ll do the electrical work first," he grunted, heading off to do that. So it was when he was found by a little voice, named Carabosse.

"It’s either the blue wire or the red one."

"What— Excuse me?!"

"Those are always the ones people cut. Got me why…"

The strong Panther was still rather confused by this. "All the wires are gray." In the pause, he could sense a blank look on the voice’s face, if she had one.

"Oh. I’m sorry. I couldn’t see them. What’re you doing?"

"Electrical work." The reply was terse, almost harsh.

"I’m sorry! Did I say something wrong?! I hope I didn’t—are you mad at me?" Panthro had to feel pity for the childish worries in her voice.

"Of course I’m not mad with you," he assured her. "I just need to concentrate, that’s all."

"Oh. Ok. I’ll let you contenkate, then."

"That’s ‘concentrate’," began Panthro, but no answer came.

Three days later, he was on his way back to Cats Lair, agreed with Pumyra that he would return to the Tower of Omens if she needed more help. It was then he once again heard a small voice calling to him.

"Are you done contenkateing yet?"

"It’s been three days, of course I am! It’s not ‘contenkate,’ though, it’s ‘concentrate.’ "

"Really? I like contenkate better…look out!!"

An immense boulder loomed in front of the Thundertank’s path; swerving sharply to avoid collision, the Thundertank skidded to a stop. "Thank you, little friend," breathed the Panther, his eyes closing as he leaned back against the seat. "Funny, I didn’t even see the boulder until you warned me."

"You won’t thank me in a minute," she said, and then Panthro felt the Thundertank disappear beneath him. The man landed with a thud on cold, hard ground, opening his reddish eyes in shock.

"Where the hell am I?!"

"Hell?" laughed the voice; to his utter incredulity, before him stood a brown-blond haired woman, her hazel eyes unnatural. "You might call it that." As a smirk crossed her face, she bent before him, trailing her fingertips lightly across his chest, their touch like tendrils of mist, she whispered, "My name is Carabosse."

Panthro‘s eyes closed once more as mist engulfed him. There was no need in his mind to see what was going on. At any other time he would have put up a fight, but for some reason he could not…he had no strength to resist.

There was no feel of Thundrainium, it couldn’t be that, but this woman, this Carabosse…he opened his eyes. He was in a cage! To his left was a cage containing Wily Kit and Lynx-o, to his right an empty cage, after that ones holding Tygra, then Kat and Bengali. He could just barely see a sixth, larger, sitting apart from the rest. It, too, was empty.

All other Thundercats slept around him; Panthro realized it was night. Circling the cages was a colossal group of women, all clothed in white. Despite such differences as hair colors, their skin was deathly pale, and their eyes had an almost haunted, eerie look to them; the same, he realized, as Carabosse had had.

"Who are you?" he whispered, not meaning to speak.

Carabosse came up to his cage, and bent down to get a closer look at him. "Why, we’re Wilis, Thundercat. And we have almost all of you."

"You’ll never get the others!" growled Panthro, grabbing at the bars of his cage.

"Don’t try to escape. Idiot. It’s impossible. Those bars are gathered from the Mists themselves, and strengthened with magic—and even if, somehow, you do manage to get out, I’ll be here waiting for you. And so will they," she said, gesturing to the other Wilis.

"Just what, exactly," the Panther grunted, "Are ‘Wilis’? Is there such a thing as a ‘Wili’?"

"Don’t ask questions!" Carabosse snapped. "But just because this is about us, I will say this: We are Wilis.

"Now why don’t you sleep?" she cooed. "All your friends are."

"When I left, it wasn’t nighttime."

"It is now. Time has no meaning in the Forest of Mists."

"I assume this is not the same as the one on Third Earth."

Carabosse eyed him with some small bit of appreciativeness. "Smarter than the others," she mused. "Good. Correct, cat, it is not the same. Sleep now. And don’t ask questions."

Panthro lay still awhile before drifting off into slumber. In fact, it was nearly dawn before he was able to sleep. "Stay away, Lion-o," he thought. "Don’t let these witches get you. Stay away…"

************

"Sword of Omens, give me Sight Beyond Sight! Show me the whereabouts of Panthro!" A flash of light in front of the Eye of Thundera was all that the Sword would show Lion-o.

"Why won’t it show me?! It will show me Cheetara, Pumyra, Snowman and Snowmeow, everyone! Except the Thunderkittens, Tygra, Bengali, Lynx-o, and Panthro." The Lion decided to try again. "Sword of Omens, give me Sight Beyond Sight! Show me the Thundertank!"

The Thundertank was halfway from the Tower of Omens, and sat in the middle of nowhere, skid marks showing it had swerved to avoid something. But Panthro was nowhere to be seen. "Where are you?" Lion-o sighed. "Where are you, Thundercats?"

Out of nowhere he heard that little voice calling to him urgently. "Help me! Help me!"

"Help you?! What’s wrong?!" he was instantly on alert.

"They’re after me! They’re going to find me! Please, you gotta help!"

"How?!"

"Follow this!" a little ball of light and sparkles appeared before him. "Help me…!" The ball moved quickly, Lion-o following it out of Cats Lair.

Hours must have passed, for night had fallen, when the light led Lion-o to his fall…literally.

He didn’t see the drop. How could he, when he had to fight to keep his eyes open? Of course, the light wouldn’t bother to warn him. It couldn’t speak. So there was no one to tell Lion-o that he was just about to run off a cliff.

"Whoaaaah! Ahhghhhhhhhh!!" The drop was not bad, really, only twenty-some feet, but it was far enough. The Thundercat Lord’s eyes closed in pain as he landed, but strangely he could sense no broken bones.

Through closed eyes and dimming senses, he could see the light hovering in front of him, and then blanking out, though he could not see it becoming a misty shadow as threads of mist wove themselves about him, till he was completely covered. Within a moment they were gone, and he was seated on the floor of a metal cage.

"Lion-o?" whispered Wily Kit’s weak voice. "Oh, Lords of Thundera, they got you, too? We’ll never get out…"

"Wily Kit? Don’t say that, Kit. Don’t…" he felt himself growing weaker by the minute, his dulled senses taking longer than normal to figure it out. "Thundrainium…"

"Why…do you think I said…what I said…?" gasped Kit. "’Cause…it’s true…"

Dread grew strong in Lion-o’s heart. The kitten was right—and he couldn’t do anything about it.