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Vortex - a boundaryless, natural place for lion cubs without parents. Consists of mountains, deserts, beaches, jungles, forests, grasslands and lots of space to run around.
When parents die, a portal appears before the cub whose carers have been deceased.
They enter it into Vortex.
Furaha, Orko and Optimus Prime (Armada) live in Vortex.
They may be friends, but inside, they are family.
Furaha’s mother was killed by her abusive father, who kicked her out of the family.
She found a portal which lead to Vortex, but her memory was wiped clean as a result.
Orko was abused by Man-At-Arms and other members of Eternia, but a portal opened up before him and he entered through to Vortex.
Optimus Prime was exiled from Cybertron by Megatron and his own men, so he entered into Vortex too.
The three friends love playing together every day.
Furaha and Orko play together under Optimus’ watchful eye.
They climb trees.
They swim in the lake.
They shelter from the rain.
They lie down and watch the clouds in the sky.
They snuggle into the long grass and relax together.
They always have each other.
One day, Furaha and Orko are swinging on tree branches.
Orko bets Furaha can climb higher than him.
Furaha playfully accepts that bet.
The two climb for all they’re worth, with Furaha getting more stealth in climbing than Orko.
She knocks Orko out of the tree when she almost reaches the top, and is shocked to see Orko hurt.
Orko starts to have painful memories of He Man throwing him off a cliff and him almost dying because he was of no use to Eternians.
Furaha and Optimus run to their friend.
Orko begins crying and explaining it all.
Furaha comforts Orko and reassures him that his memory might be wiped clean the moment he stepped through the portal.
Orko doesn’t want to tell all.
Optimus takes Furaha and Orko to a grand tree in the middle of the forest nearby.
He explains that deep within the branches, there’s a sign that he will soon forget about his horrid memories with He Man and feel for himself.
Some dried up gourds hang off this beautiful, leafy green tree.
Optimus picks one gourd and cracks it, revealing blue, sticky liquid.
He paints himself on the bark of the tree.
Furaha paints herself, and Orko paints himself.
Optimus draws lines connecting him and his friends, and explains that they are connected in a bloodless family tree.
Furaha and Orko have yet to understand the phrase ‘not linked by blood’.
Furaha and Orko play around the tree while Optimus watches.
They climb up the trunk and swing from the branches together.
They eat apples produced from Orko’s sleeve.
They hide around the tree and try to find each other.
As Optimus rests near the tree, Furaha and Orko sneak up behind their friend and leap onto him, causing him to laugh and chase them around the tree.
The next day, Orko lies in the middle of the grasslands, watching an eagle fly overhead.
A bad memory almost comes to him, and he tries to shake it off.
Orko peers through the grass while lying on his tummy and sees a pride of lion cubs playing and pouncing nearby.
Orko is charmed, but is unaware that Furaha is prowling behind him, practising her hunting skills.
Furaha leaps!
She pounces onto Orko!
The two laugh, and at once Orko is cured of his bad memories.
Furaha tickles Orko.
Orko tickles her back.
Furaha and Orko run into a meadow of fresh green grass and play together, as the wind blows and shadows of the clouds move over the grass.
Optimus watches over them.
Furaha calls for him to join them.
Optimus nearly thinks back to being exiled by his own men.
Furaha reassures Optimus that he doesn’t have to think about it anymore, and she knows what he wants from his little friends.
Optimus thinks for a moment, then grabs Furaha in his arms and hugs her.
Orko cheers Optimus.
Optimus runs to join Furaha and Orko in their game.
They roll down steep hills.
The hills are so steep in fact that Optimus has to carry Furaha on his shoulders must her little legs hurt. Orko can float.
The friends enjoy rolling down hills so much!
Furaha and Orko run with the shadows of the clouds, but Optimus grabs them and they land on the grass, laughing.
That night, Furaha, Orko and Optimus lie head to head on the grass and look up at the beautiful night sky.