Disclaimer:Cougara and Ariella are my own, no one else. Well, after all this time of posting, this clan series will soon come to an end. After my own take on the Timedancer story line, it will be farewell to the New York series. However, if anyone feels there could be more to the series, you can write up a story. Please send me a copy when you're done. I'd love to read it. I enjoyed working on this series. Don't forget my email is:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I took a deep breath, feeling very relaxed here on Third Earth. During the last year, I had given Tygra’s love for me a good, long thought. My thoughts about it grew when Elisa found some old tapes of hers with Thundercat episodes. By the time late February rolled around, I could no longer deny the fact that I had feelings for Tygra. But, how strong were my feelings? Little did I know that there would be an upcoming test to prove our love.
The door of my room slid open to reveal Cougara behind it, a smile on her face and Thundercat insignia on her top. I had been surprised when I arrived a couple of days ago and found that she had been anointed a Thundercat. Lion-O even passed her Trial of Agility. Ever since I saw her after my Trial of Combat, I knew we were going to be good friends. Now, we were best friends, even though we were friends with all the Thundercats. Cougara’s anointment wasn’t the only surprise. I met Snarf’s cousin, Snarfer. Plus, the Thundercats know how Tygra feels about me. Apparently, he isn’t very good at keeping something like love a secret.
“Hi, Cougara. What’s up?”
“There’s a guest in the Control Room.”
“Tell me.”
“It’s a human female. Her name’s Ariella. She might be staying for awhile.”
“Great, let’s go. I want to meet her.” I was glad I was human, though I knew Ariella would have to see me at night during her stay.
“Ah, here’s our last Thundercat,” Lion-O said as Cougara and I entered the room. “Ariella, this is Jasmine. Jasmine, this is our guest Ariella.” I looked at our guest. She was pretty with glossy brown hair and jade green eyes.
As I went over to her to say hello, the fay part of me immediately came alive. It was saying not to trust her. That she was trouble. Confused, I pushed the warning away for the moment. Smiling I said, “I’m glad to meet another human here. I bet we’ll have something in common.”
“Maybe.” Ariella’s voice sounded almost cold when she said that word. The fay in me screamed that this was no ordinary mortal. Immediately, I mentally told the fay to stop putting its vocabulary into mine. The word
I must have looked confused because Ariella added, “Maybe we can get together sometime and talk.” Her tone still sounded cold to me.
Lion-O stepped up to us. “We’ll show you to one of our guestrooms, Ariella.”
“Thank you, Lion-O.” Ariella and the male Thundercats left, leaving us female and the Snarfs alone. Turning to them, I asked, “Is it just me or is there something funny about her?”
Cheetara looked surprised. “You sensed that Ariella’s trouble also?”
“More like the fay part of me, which I wish would mind its own business.”
“Snarf. Maybe it was minding its business. It was protecting you,” Snarf suggested.
“Maybe. Anyway, I think Ariella shouldn’t be trusted. She just might be trouble.”
“You could listen in on her. It’ll be night soon,” Pumyra said, pointing at the screen, which showed a beautiful sunset.
“We’ll be waiting in your room,” Cheetara added. The six of them left the room, leaving me alone to watch the sun set on the screen. As soon as the sun vanished, I changed forms and was my blue lavender gargoyle self again. Exiting the control room, I glided out the nearest window and started searching for a lit guestroom window. I found it and sunk my talons into the wall beside it. I watched as Lion-O bid Ariella good night and left. As soon as the door slid closed, I heard an evil chuckle.
“Those fools. They have no idea that they just let their doom into the lair. All of the Thundercat males will be in my power. Tear them away from the ones they love or keep them from falling for another woman.”
I gasped silently. Ariella had the power to do that? Peering into the room, I saw her conjure a wooden basin, about half the size of the bed. I watched her slide into the basin.
“That Jasmine will be trouble. I sense great magic in her. But can it possible beat my magic? I doubt that.” She grinned as she flicked her…TAIL!? A long, shimmering golden yellow mermaid tail came into view as it was flicked. It went back under the water, but the fins were still visible.
I stopped watching Ariella and remained clung to the wall, too horrified with what I discovered. But I knew my friends were waiting for me. Unfurling my wings, I let go of the wall and flipped over so my wings would support me. I then headed for my room.
“Did you find out anything?” Wily-Kit was the first to ask when I glided through the window. Her question reminded me of Ariella’s plan and my eyes glowed for a brief moment before answering.
“I found out plenty. She plans to put the guys under a spell.” There were gasps from my audience. “She can do that?” Cougara inquired.
“Yes, and this is why: She’s a mermaid.”
“Are you sure?”
“She was laying in a basin and I saw her flick a golden yellow tail.”
“So, she gets her legs wet and they form a tail,” Snarfer said.
“That’s my guess.”
“We’ll have to watch our male friends carefully and prevent Ariella from succeeding.”
“You don’t need to worry about Snarfer and me. We won’t be fooled.”
“We probably won’t have to worry about Ariella’s plan until tomorrow, so we should all get some sleep,” Pumyra said. My friends left the room and I put my amulet on before going to sleep.
The next morning the seven of us met in my room again and discussed whom we should watch. Respectively Cheetara, Pumyra, and I got to watch Lion-O, Bengali, and Tygra. Wily-Kit would watch her brother while Snarf, Snarfer, and Cougara watched Panthro and Lynx-O. We watched our friends all day, but nothing happened. I decided to at least try to warn Tygra about Ariella before it was too late. The others thought this was a good idea.
As I stepped out of my room, I saw Tygra come around the corner…with Ariella! When Ariella saw me, she gave a frightened gasp and hid behind my beloved.
“Tygra, there’s a monster in the lair,” she said.
‘Too true,’ I thought. ‘Only I’m not the monster.’
“That’s no monster,” Tygra laughed. “It’s Jasmine. I guess we forgot to tell you that she’s a gargoyle at night.”
“Tygra, I have to warn you. Ariella’s dangerous!”
Ariella stepped out from behind Tygra. “You don’t really believe that, do you?” she purred to the Thundercat. I wondered if she was part catfish as well as being a mermaid.
Looking at me with the sweet loving gaze he had given me a year ago, he said, “Jasmine, you know Ariella is just another human.”
“No, she’s not!” I was beginning to lose my coolness, wanting to tell the truth. “She’s a sneaky, evil…”
“Leave her alone!” Tygra snapped in a tone that was totally unlike him. It stunned me. “I thought I understood you. I guess I was wrong.” With that, he and the mermaid left the hall. I followed them with my eyes until they disappeared from view. Shocked by Tygra’s outburst and how Ariella’s plan was working, I let out my gargoyle scream of complete anger. The scream echoed throughout Cat’s Lair and brought my female friends, Snarf, and Snarfer out of my room.
“Jasmine, what happened?” Cougara asked.
I didn’t answer. All my energy had left me after my scream and the idea of losing Tygra to this evil sorceress mermaid hurt so greatly that I sank to my knees, put my face in my hands and let the tears flow. I felt someone wrap her arms around me. When I looked up, I saw my best friend’s face concerned and comforting.
“We’ll get Tygra back,” she soothed. “We haven’t lost the battle yet.”
“She’s right,” Cheetara jumped in. “We need to tell Lion-O what’s going on. He can use the Eye of Thundera to break Ariella’s hold on Tygra.”
I thought that was a great idea and we all headed for Lion-O’s chamber. Cheetara knocked on the door and Lion-O said, “Come in.” We walked in. When our lord saw us, he gave a teasing smile.
“What’s all this?” he inquired.
“Lion-O, Tygra’s under a spell. You need to use the Eye of Thundera to break it,” Cheetara explained.
“He seemed normal to me. He was giving Ariella a tour of the lair.”
“But Ariella is the cause of the spell.”
“Cheetara, are you jealous of Ariella being here?”
“Jealous?” the spotted Thundercat sputtered. “Me? Never. I…I…We’ve got to go.” Without another word, the swift one herded us out of the room.
“I don’t believe it,” she said once the door had closed. “She’s gotten to Lion-O too!”
Silently, we agreed to try Bengali. He was under the spell, too. So was Wily-Kat and Panthro. Disheartened, we went to try Lynx-O. Approaching the blind Thundercat, Pumyra asked the questions.
“Lynx-O, did you sense anything strange about Ariella?”
“As a matter of fact, yes. I feel as if she’s causing trouble among the Thundercats. Whatever it is, it hasn’t seemed to affect you, your female friends, the Snarfs, and myself.”
“Thank Jaga, she hasn’t gotten you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ariella has put the others under a spell. She got the ones with a love interest first. Then, she got the others. Jasmine told us that Ariella’s a mermaid.”
“That’s very bad. We need to find a way to free them.”
“That may be hard,” Wily-Kit commented.
“I have an idea, but it seems a little ridiculous,” I said.
“Tell us, Jasmine. It may work.”
“Well, what if I was to talk to Tygra? Tell him that I love him. It may break the spell.”
“You’re right. It just might work. Arrange to meet him near the forest. That way, he won’t have Ariella around to influence him,” Cheetara suggested.
“Let’s do it. I also think it would be best to have you nearby, as backup.”
So, we began to put the plan into action. But, Cougara told Tygra to meet me near the forest. Then she and I left Cat’s Lair and headed for our destination.
I stood facing the lair. My friends were hidden in the bushes a few yards away. The lair’s defenses weren’t on. ‘Probably because the guys were all over Ariella.’ I thought bitterly. Mentally I shook my head. ‘Stop that!’ I reproached myself. ‘You’ll get Tygra back soon.’ At that moment I saw the Thundercat approaching me.
He gave his sweet smile and I felt my heart give a little flutter. Was Ariella’s spell breaking already? I smiled back. If this was the case, then it wouldn’t take long to break the spell entirely.
“Hi Jasmine,” Tygra said softly.
“Hello Tygra,” I replied just as softly.
“What was it you wanted to talk to me about?”
“It’s about Ariella.” I braced myself for a storm.
“We’ve been through this already.”
“But, I’ve sensed that she’s trouble. Even Cheetara and-” I was about to say “Lynx-O sensed it” when Tygra cut me off.
“Why, Jasmine! You’re jealous.”
“What!” I felt a replay that Lion-O and Cheetara did earlier coming on. “I’m not jealous.”
Then why would you lie?”
That made me mad. “Gargoyles do not lie.” That was partially true, I wasn’t thinking about Demona, though. Besides, the code of Thundera involved truth, something that was buried deep within myself.
“You’re doing it now.”
“No!”
That was when Tygra drew his bolo-whip. My eyes widened. He wouldn’t. Would he?
“Now, I see that Ariella’s right. You are a monster. You pretended to love me. And when I’m fast asleep, you’ll come into my room and kill me. But, I’m going to kill you first.”
“Tygra, listen to me. I know you don’t want to do this.”
Tygra cracked his whip at me. I jumped into a tree as the end of the whip hit the grass, fire exploding on the ground. I swooped down onto the ground and grabbed Tygra around the chest, pinning his arms at his sides.
“I don’t want to hurt you. And I won’t fight you. Don’t you see? I really do love you. I would never murder the innocent or anyone for that matter. I love you Tygra.”
Suddenly, I felt one of Tygra’s legs knock me down onto the ground. I quickly got out of the way as Tygra again cracked the whip at me. I was now in the same position I had been in when our conversation first started except my back was to the lair. This time I wouldn’t dodge my love’s next attack. I stood there and stared lovingly into Tygra’s eyes. The only thing I saw in his eyes was the most horrible emotion imaginable: hatred.
His whip came at me, fast and furious. I tucked my left wings closely toward my body. But, it didn’t matter. The whip cracked against my left wing and my left side of my body from my wing and the neck down was singed. I screamed in pain as I collapsed. I saw Tygra’s shocked face, then my friends’ concerned faces before I lost consciousness.
I was on my back instead of on my uninjured side. I felt someone holding my right hand. It was a male’s hand. Both of his hands, I realized, feeling my hand encased in two hands. My left side hurt like a Steel Clan robot had fired its laser at me. I moved the claws on my right hand. They touched flesh, not cutting it. I felt my hand being squeezed slightly.
“Jasmine? Are you awake?” I heard Cougara’s voice say.
I took in a breath and said, “Cougara?”
“Yes. I’m here. We’re all here, even Tygra.”
Tygra! My eyes snapped open and immediately focused on the Thundercats around me. Cougara, Cheetara, Pumyra, Wily-Kit, Snarf, and Snarfer were crowded on one side and at the foot. On my right was Tygra, my hand in his two. I also remembered what happened between us outside. I pulled my hand out of his gently and looked at him, wondering what he was going to do to me.
Surprisingly, he didn’t hurt me. For one thing, his bolo-whip wasn’t in sight. Another thing, I didn’t see hatred in his eyes. Only pure love. “It’s all right Jasmine,” he said. “They’ve told me everything. I’m not under a spell.”
“Your plan worked,” Cheetara said. “After he struck you, it seemed like he was snapping out of some kind of trance.”
“Do you think you’ll be okay?” Cougara asked me, indicating my injuries.
Seeing that dawn was coming, I nodded as I changed back into a human. By the time I was changing, Tygra was holding my hand again. I felt the burns on my body disappear completely. There was no trace of my injuries.
When I opened my eyes and saw my completely healed form, I was as shocked as everyone else was. Why did it heal completely, instead of leaving a few burn marks?”
“How did you do that?” Wily-Kit asked.
“I don’t know,” I answered. “I might have to ask Puck next time.”
Focusing my attention back to the right, I saw Tygra. And he looked as if he wanted to kiss me. My heart hammered in my chest. Would he kiss me? I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. I certainly didn’t want to kiss him on the lips. Speaking love words to each other, holding hands, and me leaning my head on his shoulder was fine, but not this kind of kissing. That was something for Aladdin and Brooklyn alone. But from the look of things, I might have to change that rule.
Fortunately all Tygra did was say, “I’m sorry for everything I said and did that hurt you.”
“You’re forgiven. It wasn’t entirely your fault, though.”
“Excuse me,” Cougara said. “But we have a mermaid with her hold still on four Thundercats.”
“And trying to talk to them isn’t a safe plan,” I noted.
“Maybe if they see Ariella’s tail, it would break the spell,” Pumyra suggested.
“It might,” Cheetara agreed. “Let’s try it with Lion-O. Jasmine.” She looked at me. “I want you to get some rest. It’s been a long night.”
Cheetara was right. It has been a long night. And I was tired. As my friends filed out, I fell asleep with Tygra still at my side.
When I awoke, hours later, Tygra wasn’t there. I wondered if the plan worked. I was about to leave when I heard the Thundercat roar. Looking skyward through the window, I saw the signal. The flash of eyes and insignia took a second, then I rushed outside Cat’s Lair and into a waiting Thundertank. Seconds later, the tank was roaring through the forest. While we were rushing to our young lord’s aid, I noticed that Panthro, Wily-Kat, and Bengali weren’t there.
“Pumyra, what’s happening?” I asked the puma who was sitting next to me.
“We freed Lion-O from Ariella’s spell, but she used magic to take the remaining spell-bound Thundercats away with her. Lion-O tracked her to her home.”
The tank came to a stop at a beach. Lion-O was standing there. I didn’t see any sign of the mermaid or the other Thundercats.
“Lion-O, where are they?” Cheetara asked.
“She formed a bubble around them and it went underwater with her. I’m going in.”
“So are we.”
“I’ll be swimming with you,” I told him. I had already cast a spell to help me breath underwater. Lion-O didn’t say anything.
The two of us dove in, followed by the Thundertank. As we searched, I hoped that Ariella hadn’t done anything to the others. I thought about wrapping Lion-O and Tygra in a protective spell so they wouldn’t be under our enemy’s spell again. I mouthed it to myself and silently sent it on its way. Lion-O made no sign of a spell surrounding him. Just as I hoped.
A bright light came from out of the distance. We came closer and there was Ariella in mermaid form with the three Thundercats in a bubble beside her.
“So the lord and his Thundercats have come to save their friends,” Ariella said menacingly. She turned to her captives. “What do you have to say to that?”
“Lion-O, you can't hurt her. The sword won’t attack unless it’s fighting evil, remember?” Panthro called.
Extending my breathing spell, I placed it on Lion-O, too. The lord found he could breath, glanced at me briefly, and nodded thanks. He turned back to the mermaid, who was staring at him intently. At first, I wondered why, then it hit me. She was trying to mesmerize him again.
Lion-O stood there (or rather floated), facing down the mermaid. He must have known that I was protecting him and Tygra. Ariella’s eyes flashed with anger when Lion-O failed to fall under her power.
“I may not get you again, but you will never save your friends.” Waving her hand at the bubble, I saw our friends’ legs merging together. Ariella was changing them!
“No!” Lion-O cried. Pointing his sword at the enemy, he said, “Hooooo!” Magic flashed from the sword and at the mermaid. It shocked her for a minute, just enough time for me to swim up behind her and hold her. I weighted her tail down with a lead weight so she couldn’t use it to attack me.
“Release them Ariella!” Lion-O commanded.
“Why should I? I have the advantage. You are in my element.”
“You are our prisoner.”
“I won’t free them. They are mine!”
“We’ll see about that!” Lion-O stood before the bubble, which now held three Thundercats with fishtails instead of legs. Pointing the sword, he shouted, “Hooooooo!” Once again, magic flashed, shattering the bubble but our friends still had tails. They converged on me, hitting me with their tails. One good smack from Panthro forced me to let go. Wily-Kat freed Ariella’s tail. I went back to Lion-O’s side.
“The sword failed to change them back,” Lion-O said, confused. Just then, Ariella came up to us.
“You!” she hissed at me. “You will pay!”
“I don’t think so,” I said bravely. Crossing my arms, I got prepared to cast a spell.
My magic filled the scene with light and when it passed, all of us Thundercats were outside Cat’s Lair. Including Panthro, Wily-Kat, and Bengali and they had their legs again.
“You did it,” Lion-O said. “You broke the spell.”
I smiled and was about to reply when I gasped and went down. The lord and my love rushed over. “Jasmine?” Tygra asked.
“Sunset!” I growled. The two of them backed up as I changed into my gargoyle form. When I was done, Tygra helped me up.
“Wily-Kat!” Kit cried as she threw her arms around her twin. The force of her hitting him threw them head over heels for a few feet.
“Jeez, Kit. Did you have to tackle me like that?”
“Sorry. I’m just glad to have you back.” Kit hugged her brother, who blushed. “Kit!”
The rest of us laughed at Wily-Kat’s embarrassment. But, I had to agree with Kit. I was happy to my Thundercat love back, too.
