CHAPTER ONE: May

It was a fine spring afternoon on New ThunDera and a young Barbary lioness is sunning herself by a rushing brook in a remote forest. Her thick scarlet mane trailed across her shoulders as she lay on her stomach, trailing a finger through the water. She wore no clothing, save for a pair of dark brown boots and a body suit that matched her fur colors of cream and white. A belt of dark brown leather circled her slim waist. Her eyes, a rich topaz in color, were thoughtful as she studied her reflection in the water. She had started out wearing a dress of light purple years ago, but had shed the clothing upon landing on a foster planet and discovering she had outgrown it while in suspension. Baroness Rella pretty much had to teach her everything once the young lioness got out of suspension and that had been difficult at best. No one knew why Lioness-A had grown, but they had suspected a malfunction.

"This is proving to be a slow day," the lioness murmured to herself, rising to her feet. "Ah, well, I like it this way," she added. "Lioness-A, you know now what you have got to do and so let's go," she went on quietly, thinking back to a long-forgotten time.

Flashback:

It was a slow afternoon at Cat's Lair in the capital city of Calora. Lord Claud-Us was in his office taking care of paperwork while Snarf watched his two cubs, Lion-O and Lioness-A, both aged seven, play in a playroom up the hall. Suddenly, the quietness is broken by a shrill scream. Claud-Us leaps to his feet and heads toward the playroom to find Snarf unconscious and a cougar carrying off his daughter while another cougar tried to catch his son.

"Lion-O! Over here my son!" Claud-Us called out, which startled the kidnappers. Lion-O ran over to his father and hid behind him. Claud-Us turned to see if he was all right and then turned to the cougar holding Lioness-A.

"Drop her and we'll go easy on you," Claud-Us growled even as Jaga and Bernados arrived behind him.

"Lion-O go wait in the conference room. We'll take care of this," Bernados said to the frightened cub, who nodded and took off. Meanwhile, the cougar holding Lioness-A had refused to give up his prize and he was clearly not going to leave without her.

"Baron Ternas wants her to live with him and his mate and there's nothing you can do about it!" the cougar snarled. "Your mate promised Baroness Rella that one of your cubs would go to her for fostering two years ago. Or have you forgotten?" the cougar asked as Claud-Us gasped. Behind him, Jaga and Bernados looked at each other with worry clearly evident on their faces.

"Daddy help me!" Lioness-A cried out.

"What can I say," Claud-Us said dejectedly. "Leave her here for a few days and I will send word to you when she is ready," he added as the cougar handed Lioness-A over to Jaga standing nearby.

"We will be back with the baron," the cougar added as he and his companion withdrew from the room. Claud-Us walked over to his daughter to make sure she was all right about the time Lion-O ran back into the room. Snarf by then, was slowly coming awake.

"Lion-O and Lioness-A stay here with Snarf and make sure he's okay. Then come to my office," Claud-Us said to the cubs, who nodded quietly. "Jaga, Bernados, come with me."

Once in his office, Claud-Us sat down at his large desk and sighed. He then looked to a picture that had him, his mate Claudana, and the twins taken a year before Claudana had died.

"Claud-Us what is this fostering that cougar was talking about?" Jaga asked.

"Claudana and Baroness Rella were best friends before Claudana and I married. They always said that they would remain in constant touch with each other and after Claudana died two years ago, Rella told me that Claudana had said that Rella could foster one of our cubs once they were old enough to be separated. I didn't like the idea of it, but then I didn't have much choice as most of the ruling families do that sort of thing. Lioness-A will have to leave here to go to Baroness Rella for that time period. There's nothing I can do to prevent it. Lion-O must remain here for his lordship training," Claud-Us said and sighed.

Some two weeks later, after many tears and good-byes, Lioness-A was sent to the Cougar Clan home in Bersona. Those first few weeks were horrible away from her family but time had taken care of that. The explosion of ThunDera five years later didn't help matters any further, since Lioness-A knew that she had lost her family forever.

That had been one rough time, Lioness-A reflected as she hiked through the woods back to where the Baroness had made camp earlier in the week. Lioness-A was hoping the baroness would let her go to find her twin and anyone else of her family that was still alive. Besides, for some unknown reason, she was seeing things that didn't quite fit with what she was used to seeing. They were visions of someone she couldn't see but appeared to be in constant communion with him. She wanted to know more about these visions and who the mysterious male was.

Once in the camp, Lioness-A went to the tent where Baroness Rella was inside. She stooped under the tent flap and went inside.

"Lioness-A, you're back already. How was your walk dear?" Rella asked. She was reclining on a couch set up in a corner of the tent. Her features were of the cougar clan with a thick brown mane with black tips. She was dressed in a gown of light green with a wide violet belt.

"I'm fine Rella, but I was wondering if you could help me with something," Lioness-A said as she sat down on a cushion.

"What would that be?" Rella questioned her gently. She knew something was bothering the young lioness and had wondered what it was.

"Well, I keep having visions of someone that I can't see but he seems to be a part of me somehow. I want to find out who he is and how he's related to me," Lioness-A said as the baroness blinked in surprise. She decided then to tell Lioness-A what she knew of Lioness-A's history.

"Lioness-A, the young man you keep sharing visions with is none other than your twin brother Lion-O. You already know that you are King Claud-Us' daughter and therefore a princess by birth, but you didn't know about your twin brother. I believe he is the Lord of the Thundercats and was recently crowned King of ThunDera," Rella said gently and watched Lioness-A's face for the reaction. It wasn't long in coming.

"My twin brother?" Lioness-A asked incredulously. Rella smiled and nodded. "Unbelievable. Where can I find him Rella?" Lioness-A asked then.

"You may be able to find him at the new Cat's Lair in the rebuilt city of Calora. Go Lioness-A. Go find your brother and the keys to your past. I release you from your fosterage," Rella said softly reaching down to pick up a small bag from the floor. She handed it to Lioness-A who took it with an odd look on her face.

"What's this?" she asked opening the pouch to find a locket inside. Upon opening the locket, she found two pictures inside. One was of her mother and the other was of her father. Both looked young, happy and in love.

"Those are your parents Lioness-A. Lion-O, your twin brother, resembles your father," Rella said softly. "Take it with you and show it to Lion-O when you see him," she added. "Go now." Lioness-A got up and gently hugged the old Thunderian and quietly left her tent to begin packing for the long journey ahead of her. Rella checked on her a couple of times but as it was, Lioness-A didn't have that much to pack and she was including the boomerang that she had carved from the trunk of a tree, figuring she would need it or could use it.

"Rella?" Lioness-A asked her softly. The baroness smiled and handed a bag to her. Lioness-A took it and opened it to find it was full of cash.

"Some money for your trip and a meal when you arrive in the city," Rella said. "Most of that was yours that your father sent to me for a few years before the planet exploded. I just had it saved until it was time for you to need it. Now seems like a good time."

The next morning Baroness Rella joined Lioness-A as they went along the pathway through the woods toward the village where the bus station was located so the lioness could catch a bus to Calora. She was confident of her hopes that she would soon see her twin brother again.

'There's the station," Rella said as they came up to it. She paid for the ticket for Lioness-A to go to Calora and the two went to a café to get a bite to eat before the bus came. Thirty minutes later found the two back at the station and Lioness-A had her bag on her shoulder.

"Hopefully by going to the capital I can find my brother and reconnect with him and any other family we may still have left," Lioness-A said as Rella nodded before they hugged as the bus rolled into the station. It had come from one of the larger clan cities to the south and Lioness-A knew that Rella would be heading towards her home city soon. Lioness-A joined a group of Thunderians waiting to board the bus as several passengers got off.

Back at the Cat's Lair in Calora, Lion-O was in the control room looking over a few monitors when Cheetara walked in the room. She noticed that something was bothering him and decided to ask him about it. The massive Barbary was looking through something on one of the monitors as his thick scarlet mane trailed down his shoulders and the dark tan of his fur stood out against the pale blue of the uniform.

"Something bothering you Lion-O?" Cheetara asked him gently, laying a hand on his shoulder. Lion-O looked up and his golden eyes met hers.

"I feel like something's wrong Cheetara, but I don't know what it is," Lion-O said and sighed.

"Do you have any clues about why you feel this way?" Cheetara asked him. Lion-O looked at her for a moment before answering.

"There's someone I feel like I'm connected to but I can't seem to see her. I can only see the things around her and that's what is confusing me," Lion-O answered.

"Are you sure that it is a she?" Cheetara asked him.

"I am Cheetara, because of the feminine nature of the visions I keep experiencing. But who it could be is bothering me," Lion-O replied. Cheetara grew thoughtful then as she remembered something from long ago.

Flashback:

It is a quiet September morning and everyone within Cat's Lair is asleep. Well, not everyone for Lord Claud-Us and his friend Jaga and Claud-Us' father, Cristoforo, are in the council room waiting on word from the sick bay about news of an heir that was due to arrive at any time.

About then, the council doors slid open admitting Shella, one of Soberos' nurses. She is excited and the three men quickly rise to their feet.

"How is Claudana?" Claud-Us quickly asked her.

"She and the twin cubs are doing just fine my lord," Shella said as Claud-Us sank into his chair in shock.

"Did you say twins?" Cristoforo asked Shella who nodded.

"Yes, a boy and a girl. Both are fine and they both weigh over five pounds each. Claudana wants Claud-Us to come see her," Shella said as Claud-Us shakily rose to his feet to follow her.

Once in sick bay, Claud-Us was escorted back to sick bay to see his new family. He smiled at his mate as he walked over to the basket, which held the tiny newborn twins. Both of them resembled both he and Claudana and they had scarlet fuzz crowning their tiny foreheads. Soberos, the head healer, picked one up and allowed Claud-Us to hold the cub.

"This one is the male my lord. He was born first with the female fifteen minutes later," Soberos said as Claud-Us cradled the tiny cub in his arms.

"What will you name them my love?" Claudana asked tiredly from the bed. Claud-Us turned toward her and smiled.

"I'll name him Lion-O and the female Lioness-A. Will those names suit you?" Claud-Us asked as she nodded.

Cheetara realized then that the visions that Lion-O kept getting were from none other than his long-lost twin sister, Lioness-A. She wondered how Lioness-A could have survived the explosion of ThunDera and where the young lioness had ended up. What she didn't know was that those questions would soon be answered.