Rita awoke to the soft rustling of trees outside the Shecon’s cave, the dawn casting gold over the Thundarr Forest. Her hand gently rested on her stomach—already showing signs of the life growing inside her. A bittersweet smile formed on her lips. She was pregnant… with Faro’s child.
They had done it. After a secret engagement witnessed by no one but the silent flames of the forest, Rita and Faro had crossed a line few dared to even imagine. Their passion had bloomed under moonlight, beyond the scrutiny of Thundarr City’s rigid eyes. Now, a baby was coming. A child born not of shame, but of wild, fierce love.
Rita knew the city would never accept it, especially not her son Cal—or his ambitious fiancée, Ronda. That’s why she made her choice.
She liquidated Rita Enterprise, her empire of influence and wealth in Thundarr City, and handed it all to Cal, forgiving him for past betrayals. “You are my legacy in the city,” she said, “but my future lies in the forest.”
Cal was stunned. So was Ronda, who was finally accepted as his bride-to-be. Rita’s gift came with no strings. Only one wish—that they not look for her again.
She kept her Pickadaily penthouse, of course—her hidden retreat in the heart of the city. Albort remained stationed there, maintaining the apartment and caring for her sleek sports car, a gift she’d once given Faro. That car would always be waiting.
Now, she lived among the vines and stones—sometimes in the ancient Cave of Falcon, sometimes in her old Shecon’s Cave, where nature whispered lullabies and freedom reigned.
Faro, no longer burdened by guilt or secrecy, stood at her side, his eyes glowing with purpose and fire. Their love, once a wild flame, had matured into something deeper, something enduring.
And in the heart of the Thundarr Forest, far from the judgment of the city and the claws of their enemies, they waited for the day their child would be born—child of forest, of thunder, and of two souls who dared to defy everything.
“A Storm Beneath the Vows”
It was a quiet afternoon in Thundarr City. The sun bathed the marble steps of Cal Mansion in golden light when the heavy doors opened to reveal Rita Faros—glowing with an air of calm confidence and wearing a flowing green dress that didn’t hide her growing baby bump. Her hair was tied up, elegant as ever, and Albort stood behind her, holding a velvet box in his gloved hands.
Inside, Ronda Riy was admiring floral arrangements for the upcoming wedding. Cal Faros, in a suit freshly pressed for a business meeting, raised a brow as his mother stepped in.
“Mother?” Cal said, confused but warm. “You could’ve called.”
“I needed to say this in person.” Rita walked in and signaled Albort to close the doors behind them. Her green eyes glanced at Ronda, then landed on Cal. “I won’t take much of your time. I just came to tell you both—I’m engaged.”
Ronda nearly dropped the bouquet in her hand. “Engaged?” she asked slowly, her heart racing.
“To Faro,” Rita said with a soft smile.
The silence cracked like lightning.
“What?” Cal blinked, the breath leaving his lungs. “Faro? My cousin Faro? You’re carrying his child?”
Ronda gasped. “Wait—you’re pregnant?!”
“Yes,” Rita replied, calm as ever. “We are in love. We’re starting over in Thundarr Forest. We had a private engagement ceremony last week, and I just wanted to tell you both myself before rumors started spreading.”
Cal stood frozen. His eyes searched his mother’s face for any sign of a joke. “You’re marrying your own nephew who is my age. Someone you saw the birth of and that same someone I grew up with. And you’re telling me this… like it’s casual?”
Ronda’s expression twisted. “Faro? My ex? The same Faro who said he loved me just weeks ago?”
Cal asked Ronda surprisingly, “what do you mean weeks ago?”
Ronda replied with a nervous giggle “come on Cal, it was just a slip of my tongue, you know I meant when Faro was my boyfriend.”
Rita tilted her head. “Yes Ronda, when he “was” your boyfriend. And I believe he meant it. But love evolves. He and I… we found something deeper.”
Cal paced, fists clenched. “So this is real? This isn’t some forest ritual nonsense? You’re leaving your entire business empire behind for him and this baby?”
“I’ve already liquidated everything except the penthouse and Faro’s sports car,” Rita said gently. “It’s all yours now, Cal. I’m done with the city life.”
Ronda felt as though her knees might give way. “Did you know Cal and I were getting married?” she whispered.
“I did,” Rita said. “But I didn’t stop you. You’re free to choose your path… just as I’ve chosen mine.”
The room was filled with swirling emotions—shock, betrayal, confusion, and strange threads of twisted affection. Cal stared at his bitch of a mother in disbelief while Ronda slowly backed away, tears welling in her eyes.
Rita touched her belly and said, “This child deserves to grow in love and peace. I hope one day, you both understand.”
And with that, she turned and left—gracefully, powerfully—leaving behind a mansion heavy with silence and storm.
“Echoes of the Old Rita”
Later that evening in the peaceful green silence of Thundarr Forest, Rita sat just outside the Cave of Shecon, her hand as usual gently resting on her belly as the sounds of chirping creatures filled the twilight air. Faro was inside, preparing their small dinner, garlic sauce coated grilled chicken, over a low fire. The two had found a strange peace together out here, away from the chaos of Thundarr City. But Rita’s thoughts were restless.
She looked out at the fading sky and whispered to herself, “I didn’t come back to fall in love again. I came back to end something… to fix something.”
Her mind wandered to the unfinished business she had left behind: the dark corners of the city where Clown Inc. still operated freely, the strip clubs that were really human trafficking fronts, the secret rooms where girls were caged and sold, and—most painful of all—Flint Faros, her twisted ex-nephew now brother-in-law, who delighted in ruining the lives of the vulnerable young girls.
Rita had returned to Thundarr City not just to be a mother again, but to be Rita the Builder, Rita the Reformer, the woman who had once shaken up the business world with Rita Enterprise—and secretly worked to dismantle the hidden underground of corruption. She had been so close. She had evidence. She had influence. She had fire in her soul.
But then she had fallen into Faro’s world. Into his fire.
She closed her eyes, feeling the weight of that choice. Love had changed her path. The baby had deepened her purpose. But it also meant leaving behind the fight—the girls she had promised herself she would rescue, the battle she was trained to win, now slipping through her fingers.
Faro stepped out of the cave, noticing the look in her eyes. “You okay Aunty?” he asked, sitting beside her.
She nodded slowly. “Just thinking about the past. About what I left undone. Also please don’t call me Aunty sweety, we are husband and wife now. Call me Rita.”
He placed his arm gently around her. “There’s still time, Rita. We’re not buried here. We can always go back. Fight, together. Or support those who can.”
She looked at him, his young, steady face reflecting trust and hope. Then she placed her hand over his. “Maybe after the baby,” she said quietly. “Maybe I’ll return as both women. The mother… and the warrior.”
He smiled. “You’ll always be Shecon to me. Even if you’re also Mrs. Rita Faro Faros.”
Rita replied, “yes sir, Mr Faro Faros!”.
They laughed softly, and the forest seemed to breathe with them.
But deep in the city, behind velvet curtains and neon signs, Mr. Clown and Flint Faros were still playing their games. And Rita knew… one day, she might have to play hers again.
Shadows Over Thundarr Forest
While Rita and Faro shared their quiet moment beneath the dusk-colored canopy of Thundarr Forest, far beyond the edge of the cliffs that overlooked the Cave of Shecon, a shadow crouched in silence.
Murder Dog.
Perched on a branch like a predatory bird, with his familiar exposed skull face, Murder Dog observed them through a long-range scope fashioned with stolen D.E.C. tech. His breath was calm, his focus unblinking. He had been following them ever since the rumors of Rita’s pregnancy reached the ears of the underworld.
“A child born of Falcon and Shecon,” he muttered beneath his breath. “A threat to balance. A new warrior… Or worse, a new enemy.”
To Murder Dog, the union of Rita and Faro was not simply scandalous—it was dangerous. Their lineage, their gifts, their influence—they had already shifted the tides in Thundarr Forest. But a child born of both? That could become a force capable of rallying the soilmen, exposing Clown Inc., or even reclaiming the Falcon legacy with new power.
He marked his target in his mind. Not tonight. Not while they were unaware. No—he would wait for the moment of vulnerability. The day of the birth.
He slipped from the tree and melted into the darkness, unseen and unheard, leaving only the whisper of leaves behind him.
Meanwhile, Rita held Faro’s hand tighter.
“I feel like something’s… coming,” she murmured.
Faro looked at her, concerned. “You feel it too?”
She nodded slowly. “I don’t know what. But we have to be ready.”
Neither of them could have guessed that the most feared assassin of Thundarr—Murder Dog—had already begun preparing for a strike that would shake the heart of their future.
