Disclaimer: We do not own ThunderCats. If we did, Lion-O and Cheetara would be a couple.

Visions of the Heart

Prologue

Pain. Screaming. Fire. They are all around her. The kingdom that has always made her feel so safe is falling. The air she breathes is hot and she can smell death in the air.

She looks upon the city walls—the fortress she had believed to be impenetrable is crumbling around her. Explosions were shaking the very ground on which she stood and she felt the heat of the burning aftermath through her robes.

Her mentor calls for her—tells her to ready herself to defend their kingdom. The Clerics rush into battle as they had been trained to do. It all happens so quickly.

A different scene. The King. She can sense his pain. King Claudus looks upon an old friend as his capital city is engulfed in flames. The King is betrayed as the life of another old friend hangs in uncertainty as the Clerics arrive to protect the King.

She stays close to Jaga during the battle, afraid to move too far from his side. She wields her staff and takes down many who threaten Thundera, but for every man who falls a dozen more came forward.

The betrayer stands in his way—technology seeming too much for their weapons.

"Your rule has come to a long overdue end, Claudus. Now drop your inferior weapons. How can you defeat technology if you don't even understand it?" The betrayer taunts him.

Prince Lion-O. "Luckily I know a thing or two about it, you traitor!" The Prince hurls the exploding disc and it landed on the huge mecha, bringing it down in seconds.

Claudus looks upon his son with new eyes. Lion-O had been undaunted in his pursuit of technology even as his own father and brother scoffed at him. Claudus felt in that moment the utmost respect and pride for his son. He bowed his head to him and in that instant, the King understood that his son had not been merely a dreamer but rather he had been acting like a ruler.

Claudus frees his old friend; but she can sense the evil in him. He is not who he appears to be. As his sons look on in horror, the imposter strikes.

"Father! Noooo!" Lion-O yells. She can feel the pain in his voice.

The Princes drag their father to the water's edge and listen to his final words. "No matter what happens… you made me proud today." The King takes his final breath and the Gauntlet turns dark. The King is dead.

The cheetah's eyes snapped open and she gasped in a breath as she felt her heart pounding in her chest. Her mentor was by her side now and she could feel his comforting presence. She knew that he was speaking to her, but her mind was still hazy− the sound of her bloodflow pounding in her ears making her unable to process what she was hearing.

The images still floated hazily in her mind; hazy now but they frightened her— threatened her very existence. The world she knew and all the comfort it gave her was on the verge of change. She had seen it—felt it. Yet, her visions were incomplete. She could not see the face of the betrayer, only those faces she knew—Jaga, King Claudus and the princes.

Her heartbeat slowed and she was able to catch her breath enough to speak. Her mentor's reassuring words were of little comfort to her as she felt the frustration of her inability to control her visions.

"Jaga. I saw… I…"

"Start from the beginning Cheetara. Take your time."

She tried to swallow and found her mouth as dry as cotton. Her hands trembled violently, so she clasped them together in her lap to still their movement. With a mighty effort, she managed to wrangle her swirling thoughts and herd them into some semblance of order.

"Thundera was under attack," she said softly, her eyes closing as she relived her vision. Her voice sounded scratchy to her ears. She attempted to clear her throat and continued. "The smoke was thick and I could smell death, so much death."

She opened her eyes then and looked up at Jaga, finding him staring at her intently, his face expressionless. "The city was crumbling, Jaga. Someone, I couldn't see his face, betrayed King Claudus." She brushed her blonde hair from her face with a shaky hand. "The Clerics were fighting, but there were too many attackers. We couldn't keep up."

Standing on legs that felt like jelly, Cheetara wrapped her arms around herself in a hug. "Jaga, the invaders had technology. It wasn't mythical. It was real. Prince Lion-O knew how to wield it, but it wasn't enough. King Claudus fell." She nearly choked on the last word.

Cheetara kept her perception of Lion-O's pain to herself. It seemed like she had glimpsed the young lion's soul, and she didn't feel comfortable sharing that with anyone, not even Jaga.

"Jaga, we have to warn King Claudus." Her eyes were open wide, fear and frustration burning brightly. "If only I could see the attackers' faces. Maybe if I try harder I can-"

"Cheetara, these visions you have are a special gift. In time, you will learn to hone your skills, but it will take meditation and practice." Jaga smiled kindly at her although she could see worry lines etched in his brow.

"But Jaga," she protested, "there is no time! We need to warn the king now! What good are my visions if I can't use them to help?" Tears of frustration burned her eyelids, but she blinked hastily and refused to let them fall.

"Then come. We will tell him together." Jaga took her arm and led her from courtyard of the Clerics' Sanctuary toward the main road that led to the palace.

Cheetara's stomach churned as images from her vision floated through her mind—the sense of betrayal and pain Claudus felt, the shock that the mighty Thundera had fallen, but most of all the hurt in Lion-O's wide-eyed gaze. Those blue eyes haunted her thoughts as she stumbled along the road next to Jaga dreading her encounter with her King.

A roaring whine filled the air as they neared the palace. Both Jaga and Cheetara looked up to see a streak of red shooting through the sky overhead. The ground trembled as an explosion shook the very foundations of the city.

Cheetara was thrown to her knees and the acrid smell of smoke burned her lungs. She looked up at Jaga, horrified. "The attack - it's starting."