"Well, what are you waiting for? I thought you couldn't wait to get across
the Bridge of Light," smirked Cheezey as Sonarion contemplated the
crossing.

"I *am*. I just want to...admire the view."

"Bet you're chicken...poc poc puckock!" laughed the older Lunatak.

"I'm not chicken!" protested Sonarion.

"That's what they all say," grinned Laura from behind. She could afford to
be smug...*she* wasn't crossing the bridge after all.

"I'M NOT CHICKEN!" insisted Sonarion. Then, to prove his claim, he advanced
toward the mouth of the spectrum tunnel and planted one foot cautiously
onto the bridge. He was almost surprised when the solidified light did not
yeild and placed a little more weight on it. Courage bolstered by his
success, the Hyperaudio Lunatak took a couple of wavering steps out over
the water. "Careful," he cautioned. "It's a bit slippery."

"Indeed...no sense in breaking your necks before we can meet in battle,"
smiled Felina as Cheezey followed after her fellow Lunatak.

"No danger of that!" called Cheezey before she could climb out of earshot.
"I intend to *see* Skytomb...not die trying!"

"Well hurry up then!" called Sonarion, running on ahead. The strange magic
which fused the light rays into a solid tube also seemed to muffle their
voices. It was like talking through a soft blanket.

Cheezey ran to catch up with the younger Lunatak thought it was hard to
tell exactly how far ahead he was. The walls of the tunnel were dazzling
and caused the outline of her travelling companion to waver a little.
Sometimes it seemed as though she were looking at him through a dense haze.

Looking down was another matter though. For the most part her view was
unobstructed though occasionally fadded by the thickness of the of the
light beams. Cheezey wasn't sure, but she could have sworn that the water
had begun to churl and boil as Sonarion reached the apex of the curving
bridge. He stopped momentarily at the top of the arch to look back at her
and egg her on with comments regarding her slowness and the clumsiness of
Psi Lunataks in general. He swiftly quieted and his laughing mouth narrowed
to a mere line of concentration as he stopped to watch the water below.

Cheezey took the opportunity to narrow the distance between them though she
slowed her pace to keep an eye on the activity below. The swirling waters
were foaming now, funnelling downward into a suspicious looking whirlpool.
Neither Lunatak said anything...they simply stared in morbid fascination.

Suddenly the river erupted in a spray of water as a huge black object,
bristling with sharp teeth and skittery legs. Screaming, the Lunataks
scrambled back, stumbling against the opposite wall as triple rows of razor
fangs slammed into the side of the Bridge. "BLACK WIDOW SHARK!" yelped
Sonarion, drawing his weapon. But the creature simply fell away, unable to
breach the power of the Bridge of Light.

"Big as life and twice as ugly," agreed Cheezey. She refused to admit it,
but she was shaken. It wasn't every day that huge black sharks lunged for
her...and even for a game this one was frighteningly real.

"Yeah, but it can't get at us!" laughed Sonarion as though only now
becoming aware of the possibilities. He still held his weapon, but he
became braver, taunting the beast as best he could. "Hey, fish lips! Your
mother was a guppy!"

He laughed riotously as the shark slammed into the side of the bridge once
more though the shuddering impact made it difficult to stay on his feet.
Cheezey clung to the far wall in an attempt to keep on her feet. "Can it,
Sonarion!" she snapped. "Just cross the damned bridge and let's get to
Darkside!"

"Aw...what's wrong? Is Cheezey scared?" mocked the younger Lunatak, far too
delighted with his new game to even think of abandonning it now.

"Fear has nothing to do with it," hissed Cheezey. "The Bridge of Light is a
temporary crossing and I don't feel like taking a swim today, alright?
Besides, I came here to deal with Lunataks, not insult overgrown entrees."

"Geez, relax! We have plenty of time," Sonarion smirked tossing off a few
more insults and bracing himself for the next shuddering impact. "Besides,
the bridge only fell apart in Thundercats 'cause Lion-o used the Sword and
shorted it out."

"Fine, *you* stay here and tease the shark, but at least let me pass, I
have place to be, people to see, and things to do."

"You mean people to do and things to see," Sonarion snickered.

"Whatever. Look...just move over and let me by," Cheezey said irritibly.
Sonarion was a nice guy and all, but if the little weasel didn't move she'd
be forced to use her power on him. "You can catch up when and if you ever
make it to the other end."

But before Sonarion could reply or Cheezey could make good on her decision
to bend her companion to her will, another impact tumbled them both to the
floor of the tunnel. From this vantage point, Sonarion could hear the faint
sizzling and popping sounds which vibrated through the solidified light.

Sonarion's head snapped up and he looked back the way he'd come. Following
his lead, Cheezey's head also swivelled back toward the entrance to the
tunnel. There was a suspicious flickering and sizzling at the far end and
it was soon evident to both of them that the bridge was no longer touching
the far bank. In fact, it was dissolving...melting away into the
atmosphere.

"Uh...uh..." gaped Sonarion at a loss for words.

"Plenty of time my ass," muttered Cheezey, dragging herself to her feet. "RUN!"

Sonarion pulled himself up, stumbling as the tunnel was rocked by yet
another shark attack. He raced for the opposite bank, managing to pull
ahead just before Cheezey could pass him.

"Move it!" yelled the Psi Lunatak, peeved that she should be cut off before
she could make a bid for safety.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" roared Sonarion over his shoulder. Looking
back he wasn't prepared for the shock of yet another impact and he nearly
fell down once again, but he regained his footing and put on yet another
burst of speed.

It was a difficult thing, running on the downward slope. The slickness of
the bridge didn't help. Though it threatened to pull their feet from under
them, it was not actually smooth enough to be slid down...any attempt to do
so would only waste precious time.

Cheezey foolishly risked a look over her shoulder. The fly-away rays of
light created a dazzling display, but the edge of the bridge was getting
closer and closer. A sick horror filled her heart as she envisioned herself
tumbling into the turbulent waters below. Maybe she'd be lucky and the
weight of her pack would drown her before those hungry jaws could sink into
her tender Lunatak flesh...

But morbid thoughts never won a footrace.

"MOVE!" she roared as the sizzling disintigration of the bridge grew louder
and louder behind her - she could practically *feel* the light beams
thinning beneath her feet. But the bridge couldn't fall apart now! They
were still over the water.

As though to fulfill some divine prophecy, the Black Widow Shark smashed
through the weakening walls several feet behind the fleeing Lunataks. Their
cautious scramble simply wasn't fast enough! Despite fearing for the loss
of her footing, Cheezey risked a burst of speed and took a flying leap at
Sonarion. The younger Lunatak yelped as they both flew forward and tried to
stop his fall, but Cheezey wrenched his arms back. Landing painfully on his
side, Sonarion was surprised to find that the Psi Lunatak's momentum was
enough to propel them forward, their clothing sliding against the slippery
light with a more efficient speed than their boots ever could.

Sonarion half-closed his eyes and managed to pull his arms away from
Cheezey to sheild his face as the tunnel's exit sped toward him. He grunted
as his shoulders struck solid ground and managed to tuck his body in enough
to prompt a saumersault and reduce the impact as he rolled and scrambled
back to his feet. Cheezey, a few second behind, was not so lucky and the
bridge disappeared beneath her just as she reached the bank.

She made a desperate grab for the bank, but the weight of her legs and
torso falling toward the water dragged her back and she plunged waist deep
into the river. It was hardly enough water to drown in...but it was more
than enough for the huge black shape surging toward her to snap her in
half.

"STOP!" the Psi Lunatak projected with all her might as the crab-legged
monstrosity broke the surface the water, teeth gleaming. "STOP! YOU CAN'T
EAT ME! I'M INDIGESTABLE!"

The shark slowed in its attack and seemed to gnash its teeth in confusion.

"That's right!" hissed Cheezey, standing. Dripping and plastered with water
weeds, she was hardly a threatening figure, but her voice suggested
otherwise. "That's right...I'm not the least bit edible. You might as well
just look for food elsewhere you pathetic excuse for a predator!"

The shark veered almost casually away from the Lunatak as through trying to
salvage its dignity by feigning a lack of interest. It made a threatening
lunge at Sonarion, but as it could not jump the back, the younger warrior
was hardly phased and smirked at the beast being even so rude as to stick
his tongue out at it.

"Guess we showed him," he preened as Cheezey clambered back onto the bank,
soggy and slimy.

"Oh yeah...*we* showed that thing alright," muttered Cheezey stalking off
past Sonarion in the direction of Darkside. "Cut me off again and *we'll*
show you how to shove your head up your ass."

Sonarion wondered briefly if Lunataks suffered from PMS, shrugged the
insident off, and fell in behind Cheezey whistling a tuneless song of his
own creation.

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

Shark crept through the dense undergrowth of the forest. He had never
wished so hard for water. In water he was at home...he could swim around
quite freely. This ridiculous matting of thorns and bushes was nothing but
a pain in the ass.

It was bad enough that he had to smash his way through the woods, but he
had to do it alone. All the others were pressing on to Cat's Lair, except
Fuzzball who had simply disappeared in the night. No one was really sure
what Fuzzball was up to, but as the Snarf had always been presented as the
villainous sort, Shark felt that it was safe to say that it was probably
not in everyone's best interest.

Of course, Shark wanted to cause mass destruction with the Mutants and
possibly eat a few people. Was that so wrong?

He was already kicking himself for taking the long way around the Berbil
Village. His reason for avoiding it was two-fold: first of all, the
do-gooder cat lovers had probably plowed right through it and it would have
been impossible to do anything truly nasty with them around, and secondly,
Berbils didn't have much meat.

Shark was about to give up on having any kind of fun at all when he heard a
shrill voice in the distance.

"Mrr...uncle Snarf's really gonna like this candyfruit, yesiree!" it said
happily. Too happily. "I'm glad I had Bengali drop me off at the orchards
to get some. Mmmm-mmm, it smells real fresh!"

Shark pushed his way over to where he could spy through the bushes at the
red and yellow creature appraising the round, ripe fruits he was carrying
in a basket. Bad enough the furry little critters had such annoying voices,
but now they talked to themselves too? Unforgivable.

Shark grinned that the prospect rising to the front of his mind. "SNACKS!"
he said with a snarl, jumping out from his hiding place and bearing down on
the hairy beast.

Snarfer looked up for one terrified moment. He wondered briefly what kind
of Mutant to could have so many teeth. Then his survival instinct kicked
in. Forgotten, the fruit basket was knocked aside as the young Snarf
barrelled through the woods. "UNCLE OSBEEEEEEEEEEEERT!" it screeched as it
ran.

"Mmmm...fast food," drooled Shark in hot pursuit.

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