The Lord of the Thundercats stood with his back to the entrance of a crumbling temple. Storm clouds advanced, bringing equal doses of lightning and hail. Under ordinary circumstances the show would have intrigued Lion-O, but not today.

Blinding anger and rage clouded his every thought and he only wanted to finish the ugly business of avenging the death of the Berbil village. He had been waiting for the better part of two hours; across Third Earth the remaining Thundercats were busy fending off a recent surge of activity from groups of mutants and other minions. He wouldn’t be able to summon them for help this day. Deep down, Lion-O was glad. He wanted to personally exact the justice this monster deserved.

The first drops of rain were falling from the sky when Lion-O spotted his adversary, the one called “Balthazar”.

It moved like a cat but appeared to be some sort of evil robot. Its black and red shell glistened with rain as it danced and leapt from rock to rock, closing the distance with between them. Gritting his teeth, he threw back his wet mane of red hair and raised the Sword of Omens before him.

 

 

 

BACA-1’s stream of information scrolled across Baal’s heads up display, keeping him updated on the current weather and terrain. Rain began pouring in sheets and lightning started to hammer into the nearby plains. None of it mattered, his armor sealed out all environmental complications, allowing him to focus on more important endeavors.

Clearing the last outcropping of rock, BACA-1 kicked an image onto the HUD: a red-maned cat creature no more than two hundred meters away. He stood adorned in some sort of blue tunic and had an orange cast to his fur. On his left arm he wore a claw-like gauntlet, and in his right, Baal’s target: A glowing red sword with the symbol of a Mew-Tao priestess set into the base of the blade. Setting his jaw, Baal raced towards the creature. Leveling the weapon, Red lightning leapt form the Sword of Omens and arced towards him. In the span of a nano-second the Trianni warrior both smiled and produced two glowing red lightsabers. Both blades flashed to life and created a blinding wall of light in front of him. Striking the weapons, the red lightning danced along the blades, flashing deadly and beautiful in the approaching dusk.

Without warning the sky opened up, and sent a white bolt of death to the ground of Third Earth. Baal, encased in metal and welding dancing blades of arcing energy, leapt clear of the blast as it slammed into the ground, throwing shards of black glass and lava in every direction.

 

“Blast! BACA-1, analysis!” he screamed, crashing into the ground.. He still held onto one lightsaber, the other skittered from his grasp and landed a meter away. His only view now was of the black ground pressed against his helmets faceplate. BACA-1 ceased to send information and existed as nothing more than a high-pitched buzz in his helmet. Struggling to get to his feet, the volcano began shaking and trembling beneath him. He raised his face from the ground in time to see the summit burst apart, glowing red lava erupting into the dark sky.

 

“What the hell kind of planet is this?” he wondered aloud.

 

 

 

 

“You lost one of your toys, fiend!” Lion-O spat. He closed with the creature, the Sword of Omens humming in his hand; it wanted vengeance as much as it’s master.

A large chunk of flaming rock crashed into his path, Lion-O, still moving at a blinding speed, had to dodge out of the way. He was no more than fifteen meters away when the armored fiend raised it’s hand. Something slammed against Lion-O’s chest, knocking him back towards a lava flow. Pain hammered his chest, the force still driving him backwards; digging his claw shield into the ground, his momentum slowed and deposited him just meters away from the searing flow.

 

 

 

 

Turning his attention from the Thundercat, Baal drew a glowing crimson blade across his armor’s damaged chest-plate. A few more precise cuts with the tip of his lightsaber and the remainder of the BACA-1 dropped to the ground. Baal emerged from the immobile shell, rain and hail pelting him as he gripped his saber and strolled over to retrieve its twin from a puddle of soupy black water. Turning towards his adversary, he let a snarl cross his muzzle. His adversary was regaining his footing; seeing Baal pull free he snarled and made another charge for the Trianni.

Calming himself, Baal harnessed his power and let the Force flow through him. Again, he held up a hand, freezing the young Thundercat in place. The Force was coursing through him now, swelling him with unfathomable power and agility. Breaking into a charge towards the Sith, he twirled his red sabers in a deadly arcs at his side.

 

 

So the Balthazar is a cat, thought Lion-O as the blue-ish feline with black stripping unfolded himself from the black and red suit. “But he is not from Thundera,” he said bracing for the attack. Pivoting as Balthazar swung, the Sword of Omens and the red laser-sword clashed, energy erupting from between the two. Sparks raining down, Balthazar pinned the Sword of Omens high and tried a slash at Lion-O’s midsection with his remaining laser-sword.

The Thundercat recognized the maneuver and dodged backwards, his powerful legs and reflexes carrying him up and over a lava flow over ten meters away. Not to be outdone, his adversary also moved to close the distance. So the Balthazar is a cat, thought Lion-O. “But Balthazar is not from Thundera,” he said to himself. The thoughts of the carnage he witnessed at the Berbil village flashed before him, and with a mighty roar, Lion-O fired another energy blast from the Sword of Omens.

 

The blast erupted from the weapon and Lion-O struggled to keep it on target. Balthazar again attempted to parry the attack, but bolt struck the handle, knocking the weapon from his hand and flinging it into a glowing white lava flow behind him. A brilliant flash later and the weapon disappeared from sight.

Watching the weapon disappear, Balthazar spun back towards Lion-O, wet fur rising across his body in anger. “You are going to pay for that in blood and pain!”

Brandishing his remaining weapon, he charged Lion-O, swinging the glowing blade in a deadly arc.

Both met, their weapons clashing again. Balthazar attempted a parry and attack, but Lion-O, having fought all manner of swordsmen, matched the feline blow for blow. Thunderheads darkened the countryside, the only illumination coming in the form of sporadic flashes of energy as the weapons struck each other, time and time again.

 

 

 

Baal lost track of time. Seconds, minutes passed as both hammered against each other, skill giving way to brute force. Fatigue began to set in, starting in his muscles and racking the length of his body; what was just moments before filled with adrenaline and power began to sag and deflate. This was the curse of the Force…it granted incredible power, but extracted a heavy price.

Gritting his teeth, he shrugged the Force away from his body as he had his armor, letting it drop. He felt lighter and more graceful in the span of a second, energy and confidence guiding his movements. He sidestepped a slashing attack and stepped forward, hoping to return it

. He never saw the counter coming until Lion-O’s elbow connected with his jaw, the Sword of Omens slashing in, and striking his remaining saber from his grip with a powerful hard parry.

The glowing weapon somersaulted off into the rain, disappearing from his sight. Pain erupted through his arm and he stumbled backwards, hitting the ground. Through pure willpower he was able to roll into a defensive crouch, skidding slightly on the volcano’s wet surface. Clamping his fangs down on his leather gloves, both fulled free of his hands, revealing a pair of deep long claws.

 

 

 

“So that is how it’s going to be, eh friend?” Lion-O asked, taking the Sword of Omens and shoving it’s still humming blade into a nearby chunk of hardened lava. He closed with Balthazar and bounded over a sweeping kick aimed for his legs. The warrior seemed to be slower, but his movements were no less lethal. Countering the leg-sweep with a kick of his own, he struck thin air where Balthazar’s head used to be.

The feline caught the kick under his arm and fired a return kick to Lion-O’s abdomen, folding the Thundercat over and depositing him on the ground. Feigning injury, Lion-O remained prone while Balthazar drew back his claw and went for a lethal jab at Lion-O’s head.

Lion-O dodged the thrust at the last second, rolling to his right. Balthazars fist slammed hard into the volcanic rock, emitting several cracks and snaps as his fingers curled under the force. A howl of rage and pain erupted from his throat but was silenced when Lion-O landed a jab to into his ribcage.

Momentum dropped Balthazar on the ground beside Lion-O. Wasting no time, the Thundercat rolled over on top of his adversary and slashed savagely with his own claws; the exposed flesh and muscle of Balthazar’s throat tore apart, blood erupting in a gruesome spray that coated Lion-O’s coat.

 

He stopped. One more slash would sever a major artery and end his life. Balthazar lay beneath him, air escaping the gaping hole in the side of his throat as a wheeze. Looking down, a pair of brilliant green eyes rolled around in their sockets, unable to focus.

 

Lion-O let his claw drop to his side. Murderer or not, it was not he who would decide the fate of this creature. He struggled to his feet and wasn’t surprised to see Cheetarah speeding across the plains towards him.

 

“Lion-O wait!!!” she screamed, skidding to a stop beside the two.

 

“No need to fear Cheetarah, the foe is…” but she ignored him , dropping beside the prone figure and ripping at his tattered robes. “What are you…”

 

“He’s not the one who killed the Berbil’s Lion-O,” she said her hands moving at an incredible speed. Before his eyes she had fashioned a tourniquet from the robes and stopped the bleeding. “He’s an honorable warrior who was deceived by Mumm-Ra into believing…”

 

“That we were evil,” Lion-O finished, dropping to the ground and tending to Balthazar’s wounds. “You would think after the first dozen or so times we would have learned. Come on, let’s get Balthazar to the lair and get him patched up.”

Winner:Lion-O