Unknown Enemies

Part Fifteen

In her small home, Cheetara sat with her children in the living room, playing with the building blocks. The twins worked together as they discovered which block goes in which hole.

“Square goes in here.” Lyle said trying to put the square in the circle hole.

“No, it goes here.” Christina said taking the square block out of his hand and putting it in the square hole.

“That’s right, Christina,” Cheetara said proudly.

When the doorbell rang, Cheetara left her children to get it. The twins started to get up to follow their Mom but Cheetara stopped them. “You two stay here while I’ll go get the door.” The twins did as they were told. As young as they were, they wanted to follow their mother wherever she went and wanted to do what she did like answer the door.

Cheetara found Talia on the other side of the door. The two eagerly embraced. “You made it back. I was so worried.”

The two walked in and the twins ran to their aunt for a hug. “Aunt Talia.” They said together.

“I missed you guys, too,” Talia said kneeling to give the twins kisses on the cheek.

“Okay, you two. Nap time,” Cheetara told her children. She didn’t want them to hear the conversation she was going to have with Talia. The children protested but they had no choice but to listen to their mother, especially after she tucked them in their beds and closed the door on them.

When she returned to the kitchen, Talia had made some tea for them. Cheetara sat at the table and poured herself a cup of tea and ate it with the cookies on the table.

“So, what happened? How are the cheetahs?” Cheetara asked eagerly.

Talia relayed to Cheetara all that has been happening in the years they escaped Thundera.

“It’s not just,” Cheetara said biting on a cookie. “But I guess we cheetahs deserve that for attacking the lions.”

“I suppose,” Talia clearly despised the new laws. “But any cheetahs who defy the new orders are imprisoned. I don’t think that’s fair.”

“It might not be fair, but that’s the way it is,” Cheetara said pensively as she sipped her tea.

Talia was in deep thought herself as she wondered if she should tell Cheetara about Lion-O. She decided against it. It was hard enough to keep Lion-O from going to Cheetara’s place the moment they landed. Right now, he was in a hotel not far by, waiting for his moment to come.

Instead of telling Cheetara Lion-O was on the planet, she decided to tell her about his life now and see if she could get a reaction out of Cheetara. “Lion-O never married. He broke up with Leela right after the war ended. He hasn’t been involved with anyone.”

Cheetara’s expression didn’t change as she still thought about the cheetahs.

“Don’t you want to talk about him…find out how he’s doing?” Talia asked.

“No, I do not,” she said curtly but her eyes held a pain emotion in them as if she was reliving their last moments together. “It’s best that I don’t.”

Cheetara‘s voice was shaky. After all these years, she was still badly hurt by what Lion-O said to her. Talia wasn‘t going to force the subject on her any further. “All right,” Talia said setting her empty cup on the table. “I guess I better go then. Jamil’s waiting for me at home.”

Cheetara smiled, but it wasn’t real as her thoughts were still on a certain lion. “The way you two are, I’m a little surprised you married. Then again seeing the way you two are all over each other sometimes, I can see why you‘re married.”

Talia grinned. “It’s a love-hate thing. Mostly hate,” she joked with a wink. “I’ll see you later. I’ll let myself out.”

Cheetara waved goodbye to Talia as she left. Now alone, she took in the silence of the kitchen and the rest of her home. Everything was so quiet, which was rare with twins running around the house. She left the kitchen and lied down on the sofa in the living room. She laid there thinking about the cheetahs on Thundera and Lion-O. Her mind overwork with the matter soon succumbed to sleep.

She awakened thirty minutes later with the ringing of her doorbell. Cheetara not fully awake got up to answer the door. She opened the door, surprised to see her neighbor. She smiled. “Hi Warren.”

Warren was a tall, muscular, rugged looking male, resembling Lion-O’s stature. His personality resembled the lion’s as well when Lion-O looked on Cheetara with love. “Here’s your ladle.”

Cheetara took the ladle. “Thank you, Warren. How did your stew taste?”

“Wonderful. Although it would have been better if you had dinner with me last night,” he flirted.

Cheetara smiled friendly at him. “I’m sorry, Warren. I’m just not up to dating right now. I have two kids to look after.”

“And they are adorable,” he said honestly. “We could all go out together.”

He was a persistent one and although the attention was nice, she didn‘t want it. “I’m sorry, Warren.”

“He hurt you badly, didn’t he?” he said sympathetically.

“Who?” Cheetara asked curiously.

“The man who broke your heart. Does he know about his children?”

“No,” Cheetara admitted. “It’s difficult to explain. Our relationship ended badly.”

“So, what if the relationship ended badly. It’s not difficult. He fathered your children. He should know. It’s not right to keep something like this from him. If I broke up with a woman and she was pregnant with my children, I’d want to know.”

He made good points but he was so furious with her. If Lion-O knew about the kids, he probably take them from her and she would never see her babies again. “I did something terrible, he found out, was furious and we never saw each other again after that. What I did was unforgivable.”

“What’d you do?” Warren asked curiously.

“I….I rather not get into it.” Cheetara said. The last thing she wanted to do was spill her past to her nice neighbor. “Thanks for returning the ladle. I have to go now,” Cheetara said and closed the door.

Cheetara put the ladle in the drawer and the doorbell rang again. Cheetara looked at the door with grimace. “Warren,” Cheetara muttered. What could he want now? Nothing he would say was going to convince him to tell her. When she opened the door, Warren wasn’t on the other end. “No,” she whispered.

Cheetara tried to close the door but Lion-O’s strong hand grabbed hold of it so it wouldn’t close. Even if it was a useless attempt, Cheetara tried to close the door on him. Overusing his strength, Lion-O was able to push the door open, causing Cheetara to fall back on the floor. He looked at her ruefully as he stepped inside.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I overused my strength.”

Cheetara didn’t say anything as she stood and kept a respectful distance from him. She was scared, angry and powerless to stop him. He found her and Cheetara knew her life was in his hands. There was no way she could stop him if he used force with her but she wasn’t going to give in so easily.

“What do you want? How did you find me?”

Lion-O closed the door. “We need to talk,” he said ignoring her questions but when he saw the contempt and fear in her eyes, he knew he should answer her questions. “Talia told me you were here.”

“I told her not to tell you anything,” she said angrily. “Why didn’t she listen to me?”

“Because she knew you were wrong and we needed to talk,” Lion-O pointed out.

“What, are you here to arrest me for the war?” Cheetara asked defiantly. “I was the leader.”

“No, I’m not here to arrest you,” he told her sincerely. He knew she was furious with him and after what happened between them, he understood and knew he had to walk carefully around her. “The war is over. Anyone who fought in it will not be arrested and I’m not here for that. I’m here to talk about us.”

“There is no us, Lion-O,” Cheetara corrected him. “You made that clear three years ago.”

“I know,” Lion-O agreed. “But can you blame me? I thought you were using me.”

Cheetara knew he had a point there but she huffed anyway. “You may have a point there, but I’ve nothing to say to you. Our relationship is over.”

“No, it’s not. Have you forgotten what we did three years ago?”

Cheetara swallowed hard as she held in her emotions and spoke as coldly as she could. “That marriage was over the moment I left Thundera.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Lion-O corrected her. “We made vows to each other. ‘Until death parts us.’ Running away isn’t a divorce.”

“I ran away for my safety.”

“Our children’s safety you mean,” he corrected her.

Cheetara placed a shocked hand over her mouth and took a step back. “No,” she shook her head in denial. “She didn’t tell you.”

“She did, and she showed me pictures and a video.” He took a stepped forward toward her while she took another back. He looked at softly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Cheetara saw the softness in his eyes and it made her angry. “Don’t play sympathetic with me because I carried your children.”

“I’m doing it because of them. I investigated the cheetah situation after the war. I know about the prophecy and your role in it. Talia told me you had no choice but to obey. She told me the things you went through that the cheetahs I investigated refused to tell me. “

Cheetara held her breath and wondered if Talia told Lion-O what Chase did to her.

Lion-O continued. “She told me you didn’t want to hurt the lions and you wanted to stop the war. I don’t know why I believed her but I did. I realized you weren’t using me. As I thought about it some more, I realize there were plenty of times you could’ve killed me but you didn’t. You must’ve love me.”

“I saw I was wrong to kill you. It doesn’t mean I love you.”

Lion-O took a step closer and Cheetara didn’t move this time. They were still too far away to touch. “Maybe, but when you to stop denying yourself the truth, I’ll be here.”

He’ll be here? How long was he staying?

Lion-O looked around. “Where are the children? I want to see them.”

“Over my dead body,” Cheetara said vilely. “How dare you come in, put on this apology act, as if you understand what I’ve been through when you don’t know the half of it.”

“I know everything,” Lion-O said.

“No, you don’t. Talia would not betray me that way and if you think I’m going to let you see my children now, then you can--”

“Mommy?” a soft voice cut through Cheetara’s heated words.

Cheetara was cut off suddenly by the sound of Christina’s soft voice.

Lion-O and Cheetara looked behind them to see two children two years old standing in the doorway. Lion-O stared at the boy and girl and the reality of him being a father was as real as him being the Lord of the ThunderCats. The boy resembled Lion-O as child with his short, red hair but resembled his mother with the cheetah spots in his hair and his upper arms. He rubbed his right eye sleepily with his small hand and his other hand was holding the hand of his sister. She had straight blond hair with no spots. Unlike her brother, she didn’t have spots on her arms or legs. In her other hand was a stuffed lion.

“We hungry,” Lyle said.

“It’s ‘Mommy, we’re hungry.’” Cheetara corrected her son.

“We’re hungry, Mommy,” The boy said.

Lion-O didn’t say anything as he stared at his children.

“All right. Go in the kitchen. I’ll be with you in a minute,” Cheetara said.

“Who’s that?” Christina asked never taking her eyes off Lion-O.

Cheetara looked at Lion-O whose eyes were on his children. “No one important,” she said, missing the sting of hurt in Lion-O’s eyes. “Come on. Let’s get something to eat in the kitchen.”

“I could watch them while you get them something to eat,” Lion-O volunteered.

Cheetara eyed him carefully and tried to not let the pleading look in his eyes affect her. She didn’t want to get in a fight in front of the children and she knew he wouldn’t hurt them so she conceded. “All right. I‘ll be back.”

Cheetara swiftly left the room and Lion-O walked to the children. The twins looked up at Lion-O as if he was a giant. He was since he was well over six feet and the children were barely two feet.

“Hi,” he smiled warmly at them.

“Hi,” the twins said together.

“I’m Lion-O. What your name?”

The boy spoke first. “I’m Lyle.”

“I’m Christina.”

“Lyle. Christina,” he let the names roll off his tongue. “Those are pretty names. Come on. Let’s sit on the sofa and talk.” Lion-O picked them both up in his strong arms and sat down on the sofa with them.

The twins looked at him curiously. Lyle wondered why Lion-O touched his face and hair. Christina was puzzled too as Lion-O stared at her. Even though they were two, Lion-O missed so much of their lives and he was never going to get it back. He promised himself he wasn’t going to miss another moment of their lives.

Lion-O recognized the stuff lion Christina was clutching in her arms. “That’s a pretty toy you got there, Christina. Did your mother get it for you?”

“Got it on birthday by Talia.”

“Is a lion your favorite animal?” Lion-O asked.

“What’s that?” Lyle asked.

“What’s what, Lyle?”

Lyle pointed to Lion-O’s leg. He looked down. “Oh, that’s the Sword of Omens.”

“What is it?” Lyle asked again.

“It’s a magical weapon that helps people.”

“Can I hold it?” Lyle asked.

“No, you’re too young,” Lion-O told him. “When you’re older, I promise to teach you.”

“Lyle. Christina,” Cheetara called from the kitchen.

The two children crawled down the sofa. Lion-O took their hands and walked them in the kitchen. Cheetara saw them walk in together. She felt a warm stirring in her heart and she immediately shook it away. Lion-O wanted to help Lyle and Christina in their seats, but they said they could do it and they did.

Cheetara made a small peace with Lion-O as he sat at the table with the twins and help them eat. Lion-O was amazed about everything they did from eating their sandwiches to drinking milk out of the tumbler. After they ate, he wiped their faces clean, which had bread crumbs and milk stains around their mouths. The children didn’t mind Lion-O being so close to him and aiding them.

After lunch, Lion-O took them back in the living room where the twins played with the toys. After Cheetara cleaned up lunch, she joined them in the living room. “They are adorable,” Lion-O said.

“Yes. They are my life,” Cheetara admitted.

“I want to be apart of their lives, Cheetara. I want you and our children to come back with me on Thundera,” he whispered so the kids wouldn’t hear.

Cheetara looked at him irate. “I’m not going back with you and you’re not taking my children from me.”

Lion-O was slowly losing his cool at Cheetara‘s insistence. “Do you think it’s right what you’re doing: keeping our children from me—their father?”

Cheetara was so angry she wanted to slap him but her children were there.

“Mommy, look what we did,” Christina said pulling her mother’s leg.

Cheetara turned her attention away from Lion-O and focused it on the kids. She saw they completed a number puzzle. “I see. Good job you two.”

Lion-O crawled on the floor with the twins. “Do you want to show me more of your toys? We could play with them.”

“Could we, Mommy?” Lyle asked.

“Please?” Christina added.

Cheetara sighed. “All right.”

The family spent hours together playing with the children’s toys and having fun together. Lion-O picked them up and flew them around the room as if they were an airplane. Cheetara was afraid at first, a natural mother reaction but the children were fine with their father. Lyle and Christina took an immediate liking to Lion-O. They had dinner together, much to Cheetara’s chagrin. She wanted him out but he wouldn’t leave. Cheetara promised herself to get him out of her home when they put the children to bed.

“Aren’t you leaving?” Cheetara asked closing the children’s door.

“No,” Lion-O said seriously. “Not unless you all are coming back with me to Thundera. My children deserve to learn their true destiny.”

“They’re perfectly happy here. They don’t need your world. They don’t need the violence and hate waiting for them.”

“That won’t happen to them,” Lion-O said.

“Yeah, right. Talia told me what’s been happening to the cheetahs and if you think I’m going back to that, you’re insane,” Cheetara said.

“Cheetara, I’m not going to change what’s going on with the cheetahs because they brought this on themselves. This isn’t about them. It’s about us. When are you going to tell Lyle and Christina I am their father? They need to know. They deserve that much.”

Cheetara felt pressured and it made her angry. “I think I know what’s best for my children and not you!”

Lion-O covered her mouth with his hand. “Shh! Don’t wake the children.”

Cheetara took Lion-O’s hand off her and walked away. Lion-O followed her in the living room. Cheetara bent to pick up the toys and Lion-O helped her with the chore.

“Get away from me!” she ordered.

“Cheetara, I want you all in my lives,” Lion-O said dumping some toys in the playpen.

“Tough,” she said dumping the last of the toys in the playpen.

“Then I’m staying here with you,” Lion-O said.

“Lion-O, you have to get back. You’re ruler of Thundera. You can’t say here.”

“I’m staying here and I’m tired of your bullheaded attitude,” he said losing his cool. “You won’t give me a chance to make up my mistakes to you. I know you love me and I wish you wouldn’t take out what Chase did to you on me. I don’t deserve it.”

Cheetara mouth opened in shock. It was then Cheetara knew Talia told Lion-O what happened to her with Chase. “No,” she shook her head in denial. “She didn’t tell you.”

“It was for the best. I needed to know. I only wished I allowed you the chance to tell me instead of yelling at you.”

Cheetara stepped away from him and almost ran away but he grabbed her hand. “No. Don’t go.”

“I can’t believe she told you. How could she do this to me?”

“I needed to know.” He pulled her close to him and wrapped an arm around her waist. Cheetara stiffen in his arms and tried to break away. A futile attempt. “I’m so sorry. If I had known Chase had raped you, I wouldn’t have killed him. Death was too easy for him. Do you want to talk about it?”

This is what Cheetara hated most. The guilt. The sound of his voice. She didn’t want this. She dent want his sympathy. “No,” she answered. “I don’t want to ever talk about it.”

“What can I do to convince you to come back with me?” Lion-O asked softly.

“Lion-O, there’s nothing that you can do. Just stop this sympathy,” she begged. “I can’t stand it.”

But Lion-O wouldn’t let go. He stroked her hair softly. He inhaled her scent as he realized how much he missed her. “I love you, Cheetara and I’ve missed you so much.”

Cheetara tried to keep her emotions in check. She wished he wouldn‘t say this. “Please don’t say this. Let go.” Cheetara pleaded.

“Why? Does it remind you of the good times we had together?” Lion-O asked.

“Lion-O, we can’t go back to that.”

“Why not? You do. Talia told me how you celebrated our anniversary,” Lion-O said and rested his chin on her head. “We can go there tomorrow together…renew our vows.”

“Lion-O, we can’t,” Cheetara protested.

“We can. Cheetara, once I learned the truth, what a fool I’ve been—“

“You weren’t a fool, Lion-O. You had every right to be angry.”

“Yes, I was. You wanted to explain, and I didn’t let you. If I had, we will still be together right now on Thundera, raising our children.” He pulled back to stare at her intently. “When I learned where you were, I had to see you. I had to be with you and our children.” Cheetara said nothing and only stared at him. Lion-O took the moment to kiss her.

Emotions Cheetara had locked inside her came flooding back. She couldn’t help but kiss back relive the feelings of his kisses and touches. She didn’t want to stop but her mind was reminding her how she couldn’t relive the past. Even though Lion-O didn’t want to admit it, things were different now. They had broken up. Cheetara couldn’t go back to Thundera. Everyone hated her. She would be a marked woman on the planet and what about the safety of her children? Here on Athena, they could walk free and happy, but on Thundera, they could be subject to kidnapping and who knows what else. Maybe even death. No, she couldn’t go.

Lion-O’s lips were on her neck, when she abruptly pulled back. “No, Lion-O. We can’t do this.”

“Yes, we can,” Lion-O said.


“You’re not thinking straight. Your emotions are clouded. You met your children for the first time. You saw me again. You need to leave and clear your thoughts.”

Lion-O saw there was no getting through Cheetara tonight. He had to concede defeat. “I’ll leave but I’ll be back tomorrow.”

*****

After Lion-O left, Cheetara spent an hour yelling at Talia for telling Lion-O what Chase did to her. Talia told Cheetara he needed to know but Cheetara didn’t want to hear it. She was too angry with her friend for telling her most protected secret.

Lion-O arrived at Cheetara’s place first thing in the morning. Lion-O offered to make breakfast. Cheetara knew he was doing this to impress her and it was, although Cheetara was working hard to resist. It also didn’t help Lyle and Christina liked Lion-O, too.

After breakfast, Cheetara bathe the twins with Lion-O’s insistence. The twins almost got into a bubble bath fight. In the excitement, Lion-O picked Cheetara up and almost threatened to put her in. Cheetara screamed and laughed at the same time while their children encouraged him to put her in, but he smartly decline and set Cheetara back on her feet.

They spent the rest of the day outdoors. Lion-O didn’t have his Sword of Omens with him and wore civilian clothes to hide his identity. Their first stop was the park. Cheetara took her camcorder with her and videotaped her children and Lion-O together. He crawled on the grass with Lyle and Christina on his back as if he was a horse. He chased them around playing hide-and-seek with them. Cheetara smiled at them together. She knew Lion-O was a wonderful father to the children, but she just couldn’t return or admit her feelings. The past was too hard to return to.

Lion-O may be thinking he was winning Cheetara over now, but Cheetara was only allowing Lion-O this time with his children so he would have many pictures and videos to take back to remember his children by.

For dinner, they ate out at a restaurant and had a nice family dinner. Before they decided to leave, Cheetara went to the restroom and bumped into Warren on the way out. “Oh, hello, Cheetara. Out I see. That’s rare for you.”

“Hello, Warren.”

“Are you alone?”

“No, not this time,” Cheetara said nervous.

“Oh, you’re with Jamil and Talia,” Warren guessed.

“No,” Cheetara said nervously. She knew what the next question would be.

“Cheetara, ready to go?”

Cheetara turned and saw Lion-O holding Lyle and Christina hands. “Yes, Lion-O, I am. Go out to the car. I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.”

Lion-O glance at Warren curiously and before leaving the restaurant with the kids.

“So, uh, who’s the lucky fellow?” Warren asked curiously.

“Nobody you know.” Cheetara said. “I, uh, I have to go.”

“He’s the father, isn’t he?” Warren asked as Cheetara walked away.

Cheetara did a half turn and replied. “Yes, he is.” And she left before Warren could say anything else.

Things were quiet in the car as Cheetara drove home while the children slept in the backseat of the car. Lion-O took the opportunity to find out about the man Cheetara was talking to in the restaurant.

“So who was that guy you were talking to in the restaurant?” The jealous tone in his voice was obvious.

“A friend.”

“What kind of friend?” Lion-O asked jealous.

It was fun to see him jealous but Cheetara decided to let him off the hook since he was so good with the kids today. “He’s a neighbor that’s all, Lion-O. I haven’t been involved with anyone after you.” She knew he was pleased with that answer.

*****

Cheetara closed the bedroom door where Lyle and Christina slept in. Lion-O was waiting outside for her. “What?” she asked.

“I just want to talk.”

“All right,” Cheetara said and lead him to the living. She sat on the sofa and when he sat close beside her, she moved away. “Talk.”

“Do you have anymore pictures of the children?”

“Oh,” she said surprised. She wasn’t expecting that. She leaned forward and opened a drawer in the coffee table and pulled an album. She opened the book and told him about the pictures. Lion-O looked on and listened to every word Cheetara said about the stories in the pictures. Through it all, he tried to think of a way to get through to her on his feelings. He could think of one thing. When Cheetara closed the album, she was stunned when Lion-O kissed her.

Cheetara was caught off guard but when grasps what was happening, she pushed him off her. “Lion-O, what are you doing?”

“I’m sorry, but I do love you. I want to be with you and my children. I want us as a family.”

Cheetara shook her head and turned away from him. “It can’t work. It could never work.”

“It is because of the war and Chase?” Lion-O asked. “It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s all in the past.”

“Maybe to you but not me. I can’t let go.”

“You can’t stay here forever, Cheetara. If you do, you can’t move on. You have to go back to Thundera and face your past before you can let it go. Do you want to take away from the children, their rightful future?”

“Rightful future?” she spat the words out bitterly. “Rightful that they be scorn for what their mother did. No one would accept them and what about you? Do you think your people will respect you anymore for our affair? You may have forgiven me but the rest of the planet won’t.”

“It was a disastrous war but most of the people understand your situation. You have to give them a chance just I as did with you, and I promise, nothing will happen to our children.”

“It’s too big a risk to take.”

“I’m not leaving without you,” Lion-O said looking softly in Cheetara’s eyes. “Never again.”

And with that, he kissed her again and Cheetara didn’t resist him this time.

Go to Part Sixteen

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