Path Into the Darkness
Part Four: WilyKit
Chapter One: Falling to Pieces

The leather-bound journal that once belonged to Grune the Mighty slipped from the exhausted WilyKit’s hand as she fell into a deep and much needed sleep. She was caught up in the accounts of Grune’s experiences on the Third Moon and had intended to stay up and read all she could, but eventually her exhaustion won out over her curiosity. Once she closed her eyes, she went out like a light, and it was not long before she began to dream once more. That time she did not dream about the jungle or the Lunatac lover, however. That dream was different. 

WilyKit walked along the halls of Old Cat’s Lair, the same Cat’s Lair that had been destroyed when Thundera exploded and within whose ruins she had found the journal of Grune the Mighty. Her pace quickened as she moved forward, hurrying to a run as she made her way down the long and twisty hall, as if she were running towards something significant, although she didn’t know what it was or why she had to get there. Finally she approached a door and upon opening it she saw a cheerful child’s playroom. It was the same playroom that she, WilyKat, and Lion-O had shared as children so many years ago. Snarf Clarece stood inside, looking exactly as she remembered her, scooping up toys and neatening the room as most picky snarfs did. When WilyKit stepped in, the snarven nanny looked up and cast her an annoyed look. “WilyKit, child, you still haven’t picked up your toys like I asked you to!” 

“I’m sorry Snarf Clarece,” she responded automatically, the same way she always had when she had been lectured as a child. Then she stopped and looked at the old snarf, puzzled. “But I haven’t played with these toys in a long time. I’m grown up now? Don’t you see?” 

Snarf Clarece frowned. “You still have to clean up your messes, missy! Now no more backtalk, understand?” 

WilyKit lowered her head, feeling the same sort of shame for earning a scolding as she would have as a child. “Yes, Snarf Clarece.” 

The snarf nanny then waddled out of the room, and WilyKit sat on the floor sifting through her childhood toys. She collected an armful of them, but tripped on several more that were still strewn on the floor. As she lost her balance, she lost the grip on the toys she held and they went sprawling everywhere, creating a far larger mess than had been there when she first walked in. “No!” she sobbed. 

At that moment a terrible fear of the consequences of her actions and of disappointing Clarece overwhelmed her. WilyKit quickly opened a closet and shoved all the toys inside hastily, without order or care. When she was finished, she slammed the door shut behind her, forcing it to click shut by leaning against it. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and stepped back to survey the area. The room was now neat and presentable, just like Clarece wanted, and just how the Thundercats expected. Relieved that she had gotten free of the mess so quickly, she started toward the door to leave. However, as soon as she released her weight from the closet door, it burst open and all of the toys inside came tumbling down on top of her in an incomprehensibly large pile. Burying her. Suffocating her. Screaming in desperation, WilyKit struggled as best as she could, but no matter how hard she tried she could not move. It was all she could do to desperately and weakly hold on to the edge of the pile before it took her over and drowned her... 

Just before she had given up all hope entirely, a hand grabbed her firmly and pulled her to safety. “I can help you,” a disembodied voice assured her, and she was yanked away from the pile of terrible toys. She stumbled to find her savior, but as she moved she lost her balance. Suddenly she fell and the world around her disappeared into a terrifying space of blackness, a dark and twisted labyrinth in which she didn’t know one way from another. She was overwhelmed with a sense of panic as she desperately tried to find her way.

“Where am I?” she cried. “Help me! Please somebody help me!” Her shouts were in vain for no one came to answer her pleas for help that time. Desperately she looked around her bleak surroundings, and she felt a ray of hope when she saw a door in the distance. She ran as fast as she could toward it and tried to pull it open. It wouldn’t budge. She tugged harder. “Let me in!” she screamed, tugging with all her might but to no avail. Her fear rose and she cast a terrified glance back into the darkness from which she had come. She was overwhelmed with the sense that the void was chasing her, closing in on her, and ready to swallow her up. In a panic she banged on the door a few more times, but her efforts were fruitless. She knew that she had to get to whatever was behind that door or something terrible would happen to her, that she couldn’t let the darkness that followed her touch her. In a last ditch effort she stepped backwards, planning to charge the door and break it down if she could. As she tensed in preparation for the move, a female figure suddenly appeared in front of the door. 

“No,” she told WilyKit firmly. “I cannot let you enter.” The new arrival paced in front of the door as a guardian in the shadows. “You don’t want to go in there, it’s not safe for you to see. You must trust me,” she told WilyKit in a soothing, calming, almost hypnotic voice. 

WilyKit tried to make out the figure in the dim light. As she stared closely at the woman she noticed that she had the same facial features, height and build as... herself! But that was impossible, for it wasn’t her, she—the real WilyKit—was standing right there! And the figure’s voice? What was wrong with her voice? Who was she, if not who she appeared to be? “Who are you? Please, you must let me in!” WilyKit demanded desperately of her double. “I have to get in there, please! It will get me if I don’t!”

“Behind that door lies madness,” the false WilyKit replied in a silky smooth voice. “I will not let you enter. I will stop you at any cost.” 

“I will fight you then,” WilyKit raged, and reached for a pellet on her belt. 

“But you don’t stand a chance against me, WilyKit,” she countered calmly. “Don’t be a fool and try to fight me. You can’t win. I know what’s good for you, what’s best for you. I am you after all. Trust me, WilyKit.” As the double spoke, her eyes glowed a bright aquamarine color. 

“No!” WilyKit protested. “You’re false! Let me in! You have to!”

The double shook her head. “No. Regardless of what chases you out there.... what is behind this door is ten times more terrible. Give up this foolish quest, WilyKit. Get on with your life. Move on. You know I’m right,” the fake WilyKit attempted to persuade her, and her eyes glowed aqua-blue with even more intensity as she spoke. 

“No! Get out of my way!” the panicking Thundercat screamed, and threw a pellet at her false double. The projectile exploded against the guardian’s body and she vanished without another word. Fighting back tears of desperation, WilyKit tugged at the door, but still it would not budge. 

“You can fight my will all you want WilyKit, but you will never open that door as long as I exist!” the double’s voice echoed in the darkness. 

Sobbing in fear now, WilyKit tugged at the door one last time. When it didn’t open, she turned around and backed against it helplessly as the darkness in the hallway approached and closed in on her. “No,” she murmured in terror. It came at her faster, and as it reached her, she fell against the locked door sobbing. 

WilyKit was jolted into consciousness and when she looked up, she did not see the frightening void in her dream but the very real vision of Queen Selene’s face above her, lined with concern. Still trembling from her night terror, WilyKit blinked and other faces came into focus around her as well. Snarfer. Psiarik. Vultureman. Alluro. Luna. Amok. Ambassador Darkail. She flushed with embarrassment when she realized she was in a hallway somewhere in the MoonTower, back in reality. “What—what’s going on?” she mumbled. Her head was spinning and she felt physically hot and feverish. 

“You were sleepwalking,” Selene told her gently. “It seems that somehow you left your room, and you were so loud that your screams woke us. We found you here crouched by the wall, pounding on it and crying in your sleep.” 

Snarfer took WilyKit’s hand, and nuzzled against her in concern. “Oh WilyKit, Snarfer, snarfer, you screamed so loud, like you were so, rowr, frightened! What happened to you?”

“Are you all right?” Psiarik asked her. 

“All right? It looks to me like the Thundercat’s psychotic,” Vultureman observed bluntly. The Mutant was clearly irritated at being roused from his sleep for a false alarm. “Caw, we all heard how she was carrying on, ranting and yelling like a maniac.” 

“I had a... a nightmare...” WilyKit mumbled as she struggled to sit up. Unfortunately as she did so, she was overwhelmed by the terrible and all-too-familiar as of late feeling of nausea. “Oh dear Jaga,” she muttered, and clamped her hand over her mouth as she darted for a nearby bathroom. 

“She’s sick?” Alluro wondered aloud. 

“Yes, in the head apparently,” Luna remarked. Like Vultureman, Luna was not the most pleasant individual at any time of day, but she was even more caustic when her sleep was interrupted. 

Snarfer’s easygoing manner was also worn by the hour and by his concern for WilyKit, and he whirled around on his tail to glare at Luna. “You shut up, snarfer snarfer!” he snapped. “No one asked you!”

Luna narrowed her eyes at the snarf with equal contempt, but when Selene cast the other lunar woman a look, Luna chose not to press it further. Selene then walked over to the bathroom door through which WilyKit had vanished while the others gathered in the hallway exchanged baffled looks. Had anyone been paying particular notice, they might have noticed Alluro give Chief Ambassador Darkail a clearly annoyed and disgusted look, but the hunter didn’t even acknowledge it except to frown for a moment and look away.

Meanwhile Selene knocked on the bathroom door. “WilyKit?” she called in. “Are you all right? May I come in?” She heard the Thundercat let out another muffled cry and tried the door. It was unlocked, so Selene slipped in and shut the door behind her. Once inside she saw WilyKit painfully hunched over the sink, vomiting the maroon fluid into the basin, coughing and whimpering at the violent spasms her body made to expel it. The Lunar Queen frowned with concern and pulled a hand towel off the rack next to the sink, and handed it to WilyKit when her vomiting finally ceased. Selene noticed that the Thundercat looked as miserable as she apparently felt.

“Do you feel any better?” Selene asked. WilyKit nodded a silent yes as she took the towel to clean her face, and Selene reached for a washcloth that she dampened in cool water from the faucet. She dabbed the feline’s sweat covered forehead. “You should have let us know about your condition, Ambassador. We would have given you the tea to ease the symptoms,” the Lunar Queen told her with a reassuring smile. 

“Symptoms?” WilyKit asked with surprise. “You mean you know what this is? I’ve had this horrible weird stomach bug for weeks now and I was getting worried about it.” 

It was now Selene’s turn to be confused. “You mean you don’t know what it is?” 

“Know what?” WilyKit asked. “Is it a common bug here, like a cold or something? Is it serious?” 

Selene folded the washcloth in her hand somewhat uncomfortable, not sure how best to broach such a delicate subject with a foreign dignitary, especially since it was apparent to her that the sickness was not natural for Thunderians as it was for Lunatacs. “That depends on how you define ‘serious,’ WilyKit. It’s not a life-threatening disease or anything of the sort. It’s a very common condition Lunar Plundarrian women suffer during the early stages of pregnancy.” 

“Well it’s not common on Thundera,” WilyKit said, and then eyed Selene curiously. “Wait a minute. Are you saying you think I’m pregnant?” she repeated in disbelief. Of all the things she might have expected Selene to say, the suggestion that she was expecting was definitely not on the list.

Selene nodded. “Like I said, it’s a very common hormonal side effect. Most Lunatac women who have had children, myself included, have had the misfortune of experiencing it, sometimes for weeks at a time. It’s nothing more than an expulsion of some blood and hormones, and it won’t harm your body provided you eat properly. Physically it’s a little draining and makes you feel weak, but it’s more annoying and unpleasant than anything else. Would you like me to have the tea remedy made for you?” she offered. “It’s quite effective at curbing the symptoms and calming the stomach cramps.”

WilyKit was still not convinced. “With all due respect, Selene, I’m Thunderian, not a Lunatac, and I’ve never heard of a Thunderian woman having that problem when she was due to bear cubs.” 

“But what if the child’s father was one of us? Hybrid births even among different Lunatac races can have unexpected complications. I’m sure it’s not out of the realm of possibility for a woman of another race if she were to mate with a Lunatac.” 

“But I don’t think I was ever with—I mean…” WilyKit stammered, suddenly very embarrassed by her memory loss and the fact that the Queen of a foreign society with which her people had only recently forged peaceful ties with was standing there innocently making connections about her personal life that she herself could not manage to piece together. “At least I don’t think so,” she finished, her face flushed now more with humiliation than the exertion of throwing up.

Selene raised an eyebrow. “Really?” It was all the Queen could think of to say that did not completely defy any semblance of propriety.

“My memory isn’t very good these days,” WilyKit growled in frustration, throwing the towel into the sink angrily. “The truth is that I don’t even have any memory for a good three months of my life.” The Thundercat buried her face in her hands and forced back angry tears, determined not to cry and embarrass herself even further. How could such a thing have happened to her? The chronic nightmares, the memory loss, and the vomiting were bad enough, but now the Lunar Queen was telling her that at least the last part of it was because she was pregnant on top of everything else? And if that was true, it meant that she was having the child of a man—a Lunatac no less—that she had absolutely no recollection of whatsoever? 

Inwardly WilyKit cringed as she imagined how that bit of news would go over back on Thundera. The scandal of a Thundercat noble bearing a cub outside of a sanctioned marriage was enough to raise some eyebrows, but that added to the fact that the cub was fathered by a Lunatac and not a Thunderian? Sure, her fellow Thundercats would perhaps understand and accept it, but she knew for a fact that many of the old-society Thunderians that lived on New Thundera would look upon it as a terrible scandal and view both her and her cub in high contempt. Oh, gods of Thundera, this cannot be happening to me, she thought miserably. Her life seemed to be falling apart around her piece by piece. The more she thought about it, she finally could no longer hold back the whirlpool of emotion building inside her as she contemplated her situation, and she collapsed against the sink sobbing. 

Selene felt terrible for WilyKit as she lost her composure, and did her best to comfort the Thunderian Ambassador. “I’m so sorry, WilyKit. I had no idea,” she said contritely. “But if you don’t remember everything, then perhaps it is possible?” she asked gently. 

“I guess so,” WilyKit answered. “But I wouldn’t even know who. For all I know it could be the Lunatac from my dreams, whoever in the Moons he is.” 

Selene put a comforting arm around her. “Maybe you should rest. Let’s get you back to your room, and you can talk to me about it if it would make you feel better. I don’t mind listening.” 

WilyKit looked up and offered the Lunar Queen half-hearted smile. “You don’t have to do that. I’d hate to trouble you any more than I have already.”

“It’s no trouble, and I did promise Lion-O when we worked out the details of the celebration ceremony that we would do our best to make you feel welcome.”

“That must be a job in and of itself knowing how Luna and the others feel about me,” she said.

Selene smirked knowingly. “Oh, Aunt Luna isn’t half as bad as she pretends to be. These last years since the Battle of the Swords have really brought out her better side. When you get past all that sarcasm and fire, she’s not such a bad lady.” 

“A kinder, gentler Luna... Jaga help us all,” WilyKit chuckled in spite of herself. 

Selene led WilyKit to the door and opened it for her. “Can you tell me about your dream?” 

WilyKit nodded and began to recount the details as the Lunar Queen took her back to her quarters. 

* * * 

On a dark and dismal planet across the depths of space, WilyKit’s intense mental anguish was sensed by a dark soul looking for such an opportunity to exploit. A weakened and decayed mummy, once known to the distraught Thundercat as Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living, had spent several years now looking for a way to return and have revenge on all his enemies—WilyKit, her fellow Thundercats, the Lunatacs, and the Mutants who had all taken part in his humiliating defeat at the Battle of the Swords. “Heh heh heh,” Mumm-Ra chuckled to himself with cold amusement. He had been waiting for such a time that he could sense the pain of one of his hated enemies, and after five long years, WilyKit gave him the strongest sensation yet, strong enough for him to not only sense her but to draw on it and feed from it. “The Thundercat is losing her mind,” he rasped, his eyes glowing a bright scarlet at the delicious thought. 

Nearby, his wicked bride Torlei, weakened to a non-corporeal spirit state herself, swished over toward her dark mate and eyed him suspiciously. “And what has you so happy, darling?” 

Mumm-Ra ignored the sarcastic lilt in her tone and smiled deviously at her instead. “Tell me, Torlei, how would you feel about using a Thundercat’s pain to regain our powers and return to New Thundera?” 

Torlei grinned maliciously. “Tell me more.” She hoped that Mumm-Ra’s plan was a sound one. She had grown quite tired of working with the witch she was forced to serve as a spirit of evil and wanted the full gamut of her powers back. As it stood she was little more than a ghost at best. The undead Lunatac did not have the energy to materialize into a solid form for very long, and she felt drained even using a small bit of telekinetic energy. She was envious that Mumm-Ra could sustain himself in solid form, but he was a far, far older creation of the Ancient Spirits of Evil and he had reserves and had mastered his powers over the millennia in ways she could not yet do herself. 

Mumm-Ra extended his hand to her ghostly form and drew her closer to him, circling one of his bandaged arms around her waist. Although she was immaterial, their dark bond allowed them to sense one another psychically fairly well, and she could almost sense his touch and she yielded to it just as she would have had she been in her solid form. “Consider this,” he began, his twisted smile showing his sharp white teeth. “We can focus the powers we have conserved and rebuilt these past long years to go back to New Thundera, feeding off the anguish and misery of the tormented Thundercat as a dark lifeline that will strengthen us.”

“That has promise,” Torlei said approvingly.

“Once there,” Mumm-Ra continued, “we will use the Thundercat in torment to destroy them all. The one I speak of is the one they call WilyKit. She is on the verge of a complete mental breakdown, one that has drained not only her physical body but taken a toll on her spirit as well. You and I could easily wear down her will with a bit of ghostly trickery and dark magic.” The ancient mage’s grin grew more devilish as he met the luminous red eyes of his dark mate. “And then, you can enter and possess her body for your own use. With a strong mortal form to inhabit, you could enjoy exacting both physical and mental revenge upon those that have wronged us, while I use the advantage of the distractions you cause through WilyKit to take the opportunity to destroy the Thundercats and reclaim my pyramid on New Thundera.”

“That is an impressive plan, Mumm-Ra darling, but there is still one problem.”

“And what is that?” Mumm-Ra asked arrogantly. At times he wondered if the accursed Lunatac he was bound to could agree to anything he planned without either questioning or mocking him at least once. He supposed not, for he certainly had not seen evidence of it yet in the years he had been bound to her.

“We’re still bound by the bargain we made with the Ancient Spirits of Evil to work with that damnable witch. What makes you think that they will grant us the remaining power necessary for us to carry this out?” 

“Oh, that,” the mummy said dismissively, as if it was a trivial matter entirely. He was amused by the expression of surprised indignation that crossed his partner’s face as he corrected her. It gave him an immeasurable amount of satisfaction each time he put the upstart Ever-Living in her place. “The witch’s powers have grown considerably under our guidance. She will vouch for us and convince them. She stands to lose a great deal if she does not, with the ways we have enhanced her magic.”

“It’s too bad her magic always fails,” Torlei remarked, casting a disdainful glance in the direction of her altar.

“It is not her magic, but those she works with and against that lead to her defeat,” Mumm-Ra rasped. Perhaps it was a trifle of a rationalization as to why the witch failed, but he had the benefit of thousands of years of dealing with the Ancient Spirits of Evil, and he knew them well enough to know that they would back his plan. It was a sound one, and he had no doubt that they would see that. 

Torlei shrugged. “In the end, it doesn’t matter as far as we’re concerned. They are her battles, not ours. You are right, we have done our part.”

“Yes, we have,” Mumm-Ra agreed. He released Torlei and took her ghostly hand instead. “Come, my dear. Let us confer with the witch and then the Ancients. I’m sure that you, like me, have had enough of this forced exile.”

“Indeed,” Torlei agreed, and fell in step with him as they left to find the witch. 

* * * 

Back on the Third Moon, a lunar servant came to WilyKit’s guest quarters just long enough to hand her a steaming cup of a strong smelling tea just as WilyKit finished explaining to Selene all of the things that had been happening to her. She had not meant to burden the Lunar Queen with the details of her personal life, but she seemed willing to listen and once WilyKit started to talk, it came tumbling out in a rush, as though she was relieved to finally have someone to spill it to. Perhaps it was because Selene was not one of the Thundercats, or someone she had a close relationship with, that made it comfortable. Telling her troubles to a stranger made it seem easier somehow, even if that stranger was related to Luna of all individuals.

WilyKit sipped at the tea set in front of her and winced slightly at the bitter taste. “Thank you for listening,” she told Selene. “I think I might be able to sleep now. I feel terrible for keeping you up like this.”

Selene stretched a little and smiled. “It’s all right. But I do think it would do some good to delay breakfast a few hours so we can sleep in,” she replied. “The tea should help you rest. It’s best to drink it while it’s still hot, and not let it cool too much. And try not to think about all of this so you can rest.” Selene stood up, and WilyKit settled back into her bed, drawing the covers around her. Selene said a polite good night, switched off the visiting Thundercat’s light, and stepped back out into the hallway where she saw that the others were still present, and Chilla had also shown up. The icewalker looked rather grouchy—doubtless from being awakened at such an hour—but she supposed that she had come out to see what was going on when Alluro had not returned to their quarters. Selene had barely gotten ten feet from the door when the irritated ensemble of sleepless individuals surrounded her and began firing questions at her. 

“So is the cat nuts or what?” Chilla asked as Selene approached them. 

“Shut up, Chilla,” Darkail snarled in a low tone, and then turned to Selene himself. His voice took on a note of concern as he addressed the Queen. “Is she all right, Selene?” 

Selene nodded. “She’s been having some nightmares, but she’ll be fine now once she gets some rest.” 

This time Snarfer noticed when Alluro shoot Darkail a brief but distinct look of disapproval, although he did not understand why. Instead the snarf turned to Selene also. “Rowr, are you sure, your highness? She looked sick, like she was going to puke or something, snarfer snarfer.” 

Vultureman let out a caw of disgust. “Thanks for that visualization, fuzzball!” 

Selene ignored the vulture’s outburst and answered snarfer after a tired yawn. “The Mendra Root Tea I had sent up for her should clear that up in no time.” 

Psiarik raised an eyebrow. “Mendra Root? Isn’t that the tea used for…” 

Chilla grimaced at the mention of the foul substance, which she recalled with clear distaste from her own recollection of having to drink it when she carried Erissa. “Yes, it is.”

At that revelation, Luna laughed out loud. “Selene, are you saying that the fool Thundercat is pregnant as well as insane?” Luna shook her head in disbelief. “Just what the universe needs, more Thundercats. Why must they breed?” 

Selene frowned at her relation disapprovingly. “You shouldn’t make light of her situation, Aunt Luna. It came as quite a shock to her, you know. She first started suffering the blood sickness back on New Thundera and she had no idea what it was until I told her. Apparently it doesn’t happen to Thunderian women, unless they mate with one of us.” 

Snarfer did not happen to be looking their way that time, but Alluro shot Darkail another sharp look. The Chief Ambassador avoided Alluro’s gaze and remained silent. 

Luna muttered something under her breath about a cat in heat, much to the amusement of both Chilla and Vultureman, but her remark was not quite loud enough for Selene to hear it, fortunately for Luna.

Snarfer however was shocked by the news. He looked at WilyKit’s closed door and furrowed his fuzzy brow worriedly. “Are you sure? I mean, she couldn’t have, well… snarfer, snarfer… not without knowing who…” 

“Apparently she can,” Psiarik said with a shrug. “And now that the emergency is over, let’s go back to bed, all right? Besides, I doubt she wants us discussing her personal life like this anyway.” 

Selene nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. Let’s get some sleep.” With that she and Psiarik returned to their quarters, and after debating for a few moments if he should go see her or not, Snarfer decided to let WilyKit rest and padded back over to his room as well. Vultureman cawed a few disgusted sentiments under his breath as he left, which Luna not only agreed with but also echoed as Amok carried her back to her quarters. Chilla started down the hall, and then turned with a questioning look when Alluro lingered behind, but the hypnotist waved her to go on so as to not keep her up. She was more than happy to oblige, for she was cranky at having her sleep interrupted as it was.

Darkail passed by Alluro on his way back to his quarters, but the psi grabbed his arm firmly and stopped him in his tracks once they were alone in the hall. “What?” Darkail said, annoyed. 

“You know damn well what,” Alluro answered, an irritated edge to his normally suave voice. “This is quite a mess you’ve created here, Dark,” the hypnotist stated disapprovingly. “I suggest you do something about it, and now. You saw what happened just now. I warned you that something like this might happen if I did as you asked.” 

Darkail frowned. “I saw it,” he said, his tone somewhat flustered. “But I still stand by my decision. It was what she wanted, and I won’t betray that. I have to see it through. I promised her! You know that, and you agreed to that, when you helped me.” 

“I did it as a favor, Darkail,” Alluro said quietly. “But I told you before and I’m telling you again, that this is a bad idea. The side effects of a psychic mind block are not something to take lightly. They can cause it to backfire and drive the one being blocked into madness trying to resolve it. She is tormented, Darkail. You can not deny that.”

The hunter met the hypnotist’s eyes and sighed. “No, but—”

“‘But’ nothing,” Alluro cut him off. “Personally I don’t care if she suffers or not. The Thundercat means nothing to me. But you, on the other hand, claim to love her. If you love her as much as you say you do, then I suggest that you let me remove that block. I can do it while she sleeps, right now, if you wish.” 

“No!” Darkail protested heatedly. “She agreed to this, Alluro, and she knew the risks. You told them to her yourself.” The agitated hunter began pacing slightly. “She begged me, Alluro, she pleaded with me to make her forget it all. It was tearing her apart. She just couldn’t handle the guilt of what happened, of what she did, back in the jungles. She needed me to help her, and I had to do it. Do you think I’ve enjoyed this? Making her forget me, forget what we had? And now you want me to go back on my word to her on top of it? It would be wrong.” 

“And it’s not wrong to stand by watch her slip into madness like this? Especially with a child—” Alluro looked around, and lowered his voice further to make sure that no one but Darkail could possibly hear, “your child—involved in this?” 

Darkail let out a short, bitter laugh. “And since when did you have the right to lecture anyone on morality, Alluro?”

Alluro bristled at the remark, but chose to let it slide. “It’s not a lecture, Darkail. I’m not speaking to you as a hypnotist but as your friend. I told you before, I don’t give a damn what happens to the Thundercat, aside from the fact that you care for her. And in light of the fact that she seems to be carrying your child, I think you ought to reconsider this memory block, especially now that it’s only serving to torment her instead of protect her.” 

“It is protecting her!” Darkail insisted in a loud whisper. 

“And when she bears the hybrid cub, what then? Do you think she won’t notice her child’s hunter features and come looking for the father, if she doesn’t remember it on her own? Or are you intending to just let her go back to Thundera when this visit is over as though nothing ever happened, and let the Thundercats raise your child, if they don’t disown her for it?”

“They wouldn’t,” Darkail argued. “And even if they did, I would see to it that she was taken care of one way or another, even without me there.”

“Right. The same way you restrained yourself from staying behind to see her when you heard she was coming instead of going to New Thundera like you were supposed to, Chief Ambassador?” There was more than a light amount of sarcasm in his tone as he enunciated the hunter’s title. “Keep acting like this and that block will come off whether you like it or not.”

Darkail’s eyes narrowed dangerously and he flexed his fingers, extending his hunter claws. “If you remove her block behind my back, you’ll have hell to pay, do you understand me?” 

“Don’t threaten me,” Alluro countered. “I’m not going to remove your precious block, not when you’re doing such a good job of it yourself by following her around and staring at her every chance you get.” The annoyed psi shook his head in disgust. “You hunters can be so ridiculous and stubborn. No wonder so many of you can’t make it out in mainstream society, away from your jungles. You stick to these outdated, inflexible codes of behavior that cause you nothing but trouble.” 

“You don’t even know what the hell you’re talking about,” Darkail snapped. “Besides, Kalin did rather well in mainstream society, and she had a Thundercat lover of her own, if I remember the history correctly.” 

“True enough,” Alluro conceded. “But you’ve forgotten one important detail: Kalin died for her Thundercat. I hope you’re not foolish enough to share her fate and die for yours, Dark.” At that, Alluro turned to leave for his bedroom and left the hunter alone in the darkened hall. 

Darkail stood in the now silent and still darkness for a long moment, and returned to his quarters with the dilemma of WilyKit weighing heavily on his mind.

* * *

Back on the dark planet, Mumm-Ra, Torlei, and the Old Witch gathered near her altar. The witch let out a chant to the Ancient Spirits of Evil and summoned them to hear her in audience. When they made their presence known Mumm-Ra stepped forth from her side to address them. “Ancient Ones, hear the plea of your humble servant Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living.” The ancient mummy grimaced inwardly as he said the word “servant”, but he was used to having to pander to their immortal egos. He hated it with every fiber of his unnatural being, but the dark mage was practical and he was far from above doing whatever it took to get what he needed. 

“We hear you, Mumm-Ra,” the ghostly voices answered. 



Torlei took Mumm-Ra’s side and supplicated them as well. “Mighty lords of evil, my partner Mumm-Ra and I have a plan to destroy our old enemies, which we can achieve with your help,” she stated, an unusually humble note in her voice as she addressed the omnipotent essences of the dark arts. “For five years, we have served you as you bade us, and we have aided the witch many times in her evil magic. Now, across time and space, Mumm-Ra has sensed the pain and torment of the soul of one our loathed enemies, the Thundercats. We plan to use her pain to our advantage.” 

“What is this plan?” the Ancient Spirits of Evil demanded, their tone betraying no hint of their intentions toward the wicked pair. 

“All we ask is that you teleport us back to the Third Moon of Plundarr, where the suffering Thundercat sleeps,” Torlei requested. “Once there, we will plague her with terrors consistent with demonic infestation, until her spirit wears down to the point where I, lacking a physical body in this weakened state, can possess hers. In her body, my powers will be stronger, and I can help Mumm-Ra exact revenge upon those that defeated us.” 

“Yes,” Mumm-Ra continued, picking up where his bride had left off. “And while Torlei uses WilyKit’s body, I will use the power you will generously restore to me to convince those worthless fools of our ruse and then we will destroy them all from within. Once the wretched Lunatacs of the Third Moon are dealt with, we will go with Torlei in WilyKit’s body to Thundera to destroy Lion-O and the others, and from there we will move on and finish those on Plundarr responsible for our defeat five years ago.” 

The witch knelt before the frightening wraith forms that the Ancient Spirits of Evil took in her laboratory. “These two have served me well. They are worthy of your favors,” she spoke on their behalf. 

“Very well,” the Ancient Spirits of Evil agreed, after several long moments of deliberation. “Mumm-Ra and Torlei, we will restore your powers as you asked and transport you to the Third Moon of Plundarr.” Seconds later a brilliant, sinister dark lightning filled the room and surrounded the undead pair. The two ever-living beings screamed in almost orgasmic delight as incredible dark power channeled into them. The laboratory on the dark planet faded around them as the light grew brighter, and when it cleared they were no longer with the witch, but in plush, well decorated bedroom. Upon the bed a few feet away laid the sleeping form of WilyKit. 

“They did it,” Torlei mused with smug satisfaction.

“Of course they did,” Mumm-Ra said arrogantly. “They know who it is that serves them best and most faithfully.” He took a few steps toward the sleeping Thundercat. “This will be too easy.”

Torlei leaned over her. “Sleeping peacefully... how sweet,” she intoned with heavy sarcasm. “We can’t let this continue, now can we?” She turned to Mumm-Ra. “Make yourself invisible now. It’s time to play ‘ghost’.” 

“With pleasure, my dear,” Mumm-Ra agreed with an evil grin, and vanished from where he stood beside her. Torlei then dematerialized out of her spirit form into an invisible essence. Once she was certain that WilyKit could not see either of them, she blasted the Thundercat awake with an intense telekinetic shock. 

WilyKit yelped in pain as she was jolted into consciousness. “What the–?” She looked around wildly to see what had done that to her, but she saw nothing in the dark shadows of the room. She cast a suspicious glance at the thick blanket that lay across her. “Oh, it’s probably just static or something,” she decided. “But it sure did hurt.” She rubbed her arm where the shock had landed and looked around nervously again. Even though nothing appeared out of the ordinary, she felt that something just was not right. A still, oppressive silence hung in the air, and her nerves were on edge. It reminded her of the fears she had as a small child afraid of the dark. She surveyed the room one last time warily, and then shook her head. “You’re being ridiculous,” she grumbled to herself, and settled back down. 

As soon as her head hit the pillow, the invisible Mumm-Ra let out a low, sinister laugh from the corner. It was quiet enough that only WilyKit could hear it, but loud enough to not be mistaken or rationalized away as anything else. 

When she heard the laugh, WilyKit’s eyes flew open in terror. She sat bolt upright in bed, and flipped on the lamp on the nightstand. Dim light filled the room, but still nothing appeared amiss, and there was certainly no one in the room with her. “Great Jaga, am I dreaming this? Am I losing my mind?” she wondered aloud. Then she remembered Grune’s journal, and how she had read it earlier that evening. That had to be it, she realized. All of that reading she had done about Grune had somehow triggered the childhood memory of the time Grune haunted Cat’s Lair back on Third Earth. That combined with the stress of her memory loss, her recent discovery of being pregnant, and the horrible dreams had somehow manifested into her mind playing tricks on her as some form of release. It was nothing more than her imagination. She decided to prove to her imagination that her rational side was in charge and stared at the center of her guest quarters purposefully. “There’s nothing there,” she stated calmly. “I am not afraid, and there is no ghost of Grune here.” 

A hint of a cold and sinister whisper, crackling on the air like the subtlest of breezes, then proved her statement quite wrong. “Heh heh heh... perhaps not Grune...” To enhance the effect, Mumm-Ra used his illusory magic to appear as a grotesque moldering corpse in the corner of the room. 

WilyKit froze where she sat and stared at the apparition, her jaw agape with fear and her body trembling in utter horror and disgust. “What... who...?” she stammered incoherently. The form she saw was too decayed to identify even what species it might have once been, much less the original identity, although the cadaver was a height common to Thunderians and similar races. She could not even summon the will to scream, she was so horrified. Her mind spun, trying desperately to convince herself that it was not there, but even as she blinked the terrifying sight did not go away.

“I am here to make you pay,” the corpse answered, and then extended a gruesome rotted arm toward WilyKit. As soon as it moved, a terrible stench of putrid decay and death filled the room. 

Instinctively WilyKit leaped back, curling against her headboard. “No,” she breathed hoarsely. “You’re not real. You’re not real.”

The corpse sneered, revealing a row of decaying moldy teeth that held sharp and sinister points. He did not answer, but advanced toward her more quickly, as she fruitlessly backed up against the wall. She knew she should scream and call for help, but she couldn’t seem to get the breath in with which to do it.

Torlei was pleased as she saw the extent of the feline’s fear, and positioned herself invisibly beside her. “Quickly, let me in, let me help you,” she whispered in a sweet, welcoming tone. “I can fight him and make him go away, if you’ll just let me in for a moment.” 

WilyKit felt the presence of something around her shoulders, and leapt off the bed in an adrenaline rush in a back flip that landed her beside the door. “No!” she shrieked in a panic. She quickly flung open the door and bolted from the room. 

Mumm-Ra retook his usual form once the Thundercat had fled the room. He chuckled with evil amusement. “This is surprisingly fun,” he noted to his partner. “A bit childish, but very amusing.” 

Torlei nodded and swished over to the door. “We can’t stop now. We must pursue her, lest she convince herself that this was nothing more than one of her dreams. We were very close that time. She almost let me take her over that time. We mustn’t let her get away now!” she insisted, and fled, still invisible, after the retreating WilyKit. Mumm-Ra followed her out the door. 

WilyKit made it to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her, hyperventilating as she began to splash water on her face to snap herself out of the things she was imagining. “This is just a dream! My imagination,” she insisted, and stared at her distraught reflection in the mirror. “I am not crazy!” She took a few deep breaths to steady herself and when nothing immediately happened, she relaxed somewhat and began to feel a bit better. 

She was almost ready to return to her room when she felt the unwelcome presence of an ice-cold hand on her shoulder. She whirled around, praying that it was one of the MoonTower’s ice Lunatacs that she had not heard come in, but her dread and fear returned when she saw that nothing was there. The sense of something evil, repulsive, and terrifying nearby filled her, and she moved back against the sink, trying to convince herself in vain that she was imagining things again. When she moved, however, it not only came back but followed her wherever she went, sending chills down her spine and making her skin crawl. “Stop it!” she shouted desperately. At the sound of her voice, the walls began to shake and the lights flicked on and off of their own volition, courtesy of some telekinesis and trickery from the invisible Torlei. 

Mumm-Ra disguised his voice again and removed his invisible hand from her shoulder. “You cannot run and cannot hide from me, Thundercat,” he hissed. He drew his deathly cold fingertip down her arm roughly, and then when she tried to yank away from his touch, he drew back his arm and smacked her hard in the jaw. The sudden force sent WilyKit sprawling onto the floor. 

WilyKit tried to stand up, but could not seem to find the strength as her fear grew to immeasurable proportions. Never in her life had she encountered a spectral attack like that, not even with Grune and never alone and unarmed. She scampered back a few feet, trying to get her bearings, when she felt the other presence surround her again. “Please let me help you, WilyKit,” Torlei whispered softly. “Just let me inside you, for a moment, so I can show my power and make that terrible thing leave you alone. Let me make you safe.” 

“I—I—please make him stop… leave me alone,” she stammered incoherently. Everything seemed so surreal, and it did not make any sense. Surely it had to be a dream, and she would wake up. She shook her head violently. “No! No, go away, all of you! You’re not real!” 

Mumm-Ra scowled and decided that the resistant Thundercat needed more convincing, and roughly grasped her leg. He dug his blackened nails into her soft fur and gave her hard and painful tug, sliding the frightened feline across the floor. 

Now fearing for her life, WilyKit struggled vainly to free herself from the supernatural grip and grasped at anything she could to stay where she was. Her efforts were mostly in vain as she was no match for Mumm-Ra’s strength, and the evil mage dragged her across the tile toward him. 

“You haven’t much time, you must let me help you now,” Torlei insisted, doing her best to project a comforting and welcoming sensation that would contrast sharply to Mumm-Ra’s horror. Sincerity was not part of her natural personality but she did put on a convincing act if she did say so herself, and greatly played up the image of a good, helpful spirit. “Quickly, I only need to enter your body for a moment, and I can drive his evil away from you forever!” 

WilyKit gulped and opened her mouth to voice consent, as she felt she had no other option, but was cut off when the bathroom door burst open. To her surprise and Mumm-Ra and Torlei’s mutual annoyance, Ambassador Darkail entered the room and rushed over to the hysterical WilyKit, kneeling beside her and scooping her up into his arms. Mumm-Ra and Torlei exchanged looks and backed away, and instantly the evil touch, voices, and sinister presence that plagued WilyKit seemed to vanish. 

Mumm-Ra and Torlei fumed silently, for they had been close, so very close, until the hunter had come in. We must stop now, Mumm-Ra told Torlei telepathically. If he senses our presence, then it will be that much harder to convince them both. We will wait until she is alone again. Torlei glanced over at her mate and nodded in agreement. The two withdrew into the shadows and waited silently. 

Darkail meanwhile lifted the distressed WilyKit to her feet and held her in a close embrace to comfort her. Now that her fear had subsided, she began crying to release the buildup of stress and emotion. “It was horrible,” she told him through her tears. “There were these ghosts, and there was this horrible dead body in my quarters that chased me from my bedroom and then when I came in here he pulled me across the room and kept touching me and—” 

“Shhh,” Darkail whispered softly, and stroked her silky red and black mane to calm her down. “It’s over,” he assured her, holding her tenderly. The Ambassador was glad that he had not been able to sleep after what had transpired earlier and that he had been there to find her before something worse happened. Although he knew that holding her like that was the last thing he should be doing, especially in light of what Alluro had told him only a short while ago, it was still what he wanted to do. 

He wondered what had truly happened, if something had attacked her or if she simply imagined it. He did not see or sense any evil presences or ghosts himself, but he was no expert and it did not mean that they could not have left. But if there were no ghosts, did it mean that Alluro was right, and her repressed memories were trying to force their way out and manifesting in horrifying visions? Did that make this his fault, because he had honored her wish to have it all erased? Would she forgive him if he had it removed, and let her remember? Or would she hate him for it? He sighed inwardly as he held her against him. No, he could not tell her. Whatever she saw now, it would pass in time. He already knew she could not live with what had happened before the mind block, so it was a gamble anyhow. At least this way, there was a chance it would subside and allow her to live peacefully. Maybe I could even let her know me again, some other way, later on, he thought, finding it increasingly harder to resist the temptation to be close to her as she relaxed in his arms. 

As Darkail sorted out his conflicting thoughts, WilyKit came to her senses calmed down out of her hysteria now that she knew she was safe and that the evil presence was gone. She glanced up at the face of the Lunatac that held her, and she guessed that Ambassador Darkail had chased the demons away somehow, and he was now—holding her? She felt an odd comfort in his touch, but was it really appropriate… or was there something more to it?

WilyKit met his eyes and searched them for some explanation. When she found none, only an expression of concern, she backed away slightly, not wanting to add any more awkwardness than necessary to the already trying circumstance. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I shouldn’t have fallen apart like this. You must think I’m crazy,” she said, lowering her eyes. She could only imagine the impression she was leaving on the Lunatacs as a representative of New Thundera, or what they thought of her, especially the ones that were once her adversaries on Third Earth. 

Darkail tried to ignore the stab of hurt he felt as she pulled away from him as if he was a total stranger, and he had to remind himself again that she was not supposed to know him or remember their past. He eyed at her with the most neutral expression he could muster as he offered an explanation. “No, I don’t think you’re crazy,” he stated in reassurance. “Selene mentioned you had problem nightmares, and that’s nothing to make light of or think less of you for. Are you all right now?” 

“I think so. Thanks,” she replied with a smile. 

Darkail nodded. “Is there anything else I can do for you? I’m afraid I can’t sleep all that well myself tonight, so I could keep you company for a while if you’d like.” He knew he was treading on dangerous ground, and he could only imagine the lecture Alluro would give him if he had heard, but at that moment the hypnotist’s approval was not something that concerned him.

“You could walk me back to my room if you’d like,” WilyKit said as she smoothed her hair back into place. Darkail smiled agreeably and put his arm around her shoulders in a friendly gesture, and accompanied her down the hall until they reached her guest quarters. As they walked she realized she found his presence quite comforting, and she was glad when he followed her inside. She stretched and climbed back into bed for the third time that night. The frightening incidents earlier now seemed to her like a faded nightmare, and she dismissed them from her mind entirely as she and Darkail talked. When she pulled the covers around herself, she looked at Darkail, seated on the edge of her bed, and felt a strange and confusing surge of emotion, one she could not place and that she did not understand. She finally decided to say something to him to see if it was all in her head or not. “I know this probably sounds strange, but... do I know you? There’s something about you that seems so familiar to me.” 

Darkail reached over and touched her face gently. “WilyKit... do you trust me?” he replied, answering her question with one of his own. 

She nodded a yes. She realized that she did trust him, for some reason, although she could not explain why.

When she gave her nonverbal answer, he leaned over her and kissed her tenderly. The sudden kiss took her by surprise, but she yielded to it quite willingly and returned it with vigor. The longer they stayed together, the more right it felt to her, and she did not want it to stop. As the passion in their embrace mounted, she circled her arms around him and eased him onto the bed beside her. He joined her eagerly and although he knew it was unwise, gave fully in to temptation and made love with her. 

As the act progressed to an incredible rapture of passion and closeness she felt an overwhelming and delightful sense of déjà vu. It was then that she finally made the connection that Darkail was the Lunatac from her dreams. Although she did not remember the details, she knew that was her unborn child’s father, and that she loved him, once. That discovery thrilled her even more than the erotic pleasure of their coupling, for now that she had found him, she had also found the key to solving the mystery of her missing time. She murmured something about it in the midst of their act, that she knew she had loved him and found him, but he could not bear to ruin what might be his last chance to be with her so he answered her only with another hungry kiss. Their lust carried them through a long and pleasurable session until it reached its natural climax, and then the pair of reunited lovers settled into the comfort of the silken sheets together, snuggling close to one another. However, between WilyKit’s lack of sleep and physical exertion, she drifted off to sleep in Darkail’s arms before she got the chance to ask him anything about their past. 

Darkail kissed her forehead as she closed her eyes into what he hoped would be a sleep of more pleasant dreams, and twirled a lock of her hair around his finger as he watched her sleeping face. It felt wonderful to have her there with him again, but then as the romantic haze faded into reality he sighed sadly. Even though they were physically together, nothing had really changed. He still could not tell her what their connection was, or how they knew one another, without raising the issue of why her memories were blocked in the first place… which led him to the dilemma of what to do next. 

He was certain that she remembered him, and from that it was only logical to make the connection that he was the father of her unborn child. He was relatively sure that she did not remember everything, but it was a good assumption that she would demand that he fill in the blanks. All because I had to indulge my foolish emotions and be with her one last time, he berated himself. Darkail held her close in the darkness and indulged in the pleasant sensation of her furred skin next to his body for as long as he could bear before he regretfully disentangled himself from her and climbed out of bed. He dressed and leaned over her sleeping form, and placed a gentle kiss on her lips one last time. “Goodbye, my love,” he whispered regretfully. “I’m sorry, and I know you won’t understand, but I am doing this for you.” Then, before he could change his mind, he quietly left the room. 

Once he returned to his own quarters, Darkail proceeded to pack a few things into a bag and write down a vague note to the Queen. Silently he slipped out of his room and left the note on the dining table where it would be found at breakfast the following morning. Once that was taken care of, he climbed into a spaceship in the MoonTower’s hangar and departed for Serilune, his homeland in the Third Moon jungles.

Path 7